strangetrip | [GP] SNOW DAY

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[GP] SNOW DAY

Thor and Loki got an early start, because there was a lot to do. Almost two weeks to the day since their first small-but-successful experiment with snow, Loki was confident that he'd improved enough for a bigger experiment. Still snow, because Thor wanted it and it did seem like a decent way to try something big-ish without causing Loki unnecessary grief with the other residents. (It was an arrival day, so there would perhaps be some grief with any new arrivals, but that was entirely acceptable.)

It was before dawn when they went out into the grounds. Thor called up clouds and loaded them with water so they hung low and heavy, covering the sky so that the sun, when it rose, wouldn't ruin the event. Loki took his frost giant shape and staff (now very familiar to his hand) and concentrated on dropping the temperature. Just around the Inn and grounds, but that was enough to be serious effort.

When the snow first started, the flakes were big and wet, and melted as soon as they hit the ground, which was still on the warm side. As they melted, they cooled the ground. After an hour or so, the flakes were smaller and more powdery - real snow, not glorified slush - and they were starting to stick to the ground.

By mid-morning, the Inn and grounds were covered with a thick layer of snow, and it continued to fall.

***

Meanwhile, indoors and inspired by the snow, Hurley and Xavin decided to try and make cookies. Cooking together was fun, since neither of them exactly knew what they were doing apart from 'follow the recipe', but since the point was 'try to make cookies' they ended up with a lot of cookies. Sugar cookies, gingerbread, all kinds.

There was no way they'd be able to eat all of them.

Instead, they loaded them onto trays and hauled them to the cafe, then brought out various frostings and candies for decorating. This had been completely intentional. Completely.

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"I understand." And she did, all too well. She'd been pulled away from her place guarding the entirety of the Asgardian refugees just days into reclaiming her duties. To say it stung bitterly was a massive understatement.

"I may not be of your world, but I can say my feelings reside in solidarity with yours."

She wasn't sure where the idea came from, other than the constant need to find things to do here, but she was even more surprised to hear herself dare to say anything.

"I was wondering – and no is a completely valid answer, I wouldn't want to impose or anything – and I'm not much of a natural fighter, not compared to a lot of people I know, but I'd been training, before here. Would you, maybe, be willing to train me some? Even if it's just something for you to fill your time." She could feel the heat rise, spreading across her face and ears as she bumbled her way through the question, and knew her pale skin was going tomato red.

"I have had to fight when we were attacked at home. And here the once. I just... I want to be ready, when I need to again."

Valkyrie had been patting her fingers free of powdered sugar when the question hit her ears, and she cocked her head.

Training. Another warrior. And another woman, at that. How long had it been? She'd done sparring plenty of times, but those rough and tumble matches on Sakaar were for leisure--hardly passing on the legacy. Valkyrie sized the young one up, shifting her weight to one leg. "What manner of training?"

Emma wasn't sure if that was what training she was asking for, or what she'd already gotten, but the latter should give an idea of the former, and really she was interesting whatever Valkyrie would be willing to teach her.

"It started as self-defense – I'm squishy. No super-strength or speed, no invulnerability, and my precog isn't the type to help in a fight – but expanded to broader close combat. Unarmed, as well as swords and knives, staves and canes. For the weapons it was mostly types that show up in tarot decks, so I could use my projections more easily."

She was so used to being out as a mutant here she didn't think at first how Valkyrie might not know what she meant. Showing was usually easier than just telling, so she tugged up her sleeve as she explained. "I'm a mutant. That's what I do, see the future and make projections out of psionic energy. Like this." She looked down at the tattoo revealed on her arm, her eyes went solid white, and a knight on a winged horse, sword drawn, appeared in the air
before landing near them. Emma reached over and stroked along the pegasus' neck as though it was any other horse.

Valkyrie listened, weighing Emma's words against her appearance and her own knowledge of the many and varied types of combat out there in the wide universe. She'd thought her life as a Valkyrie had prepared her for everything there would ever be to see (with some Asgardian arrogance thrown in), but Sakaar was humbling in the unique and delightful methods she'd witnessed thinking beings slaying each other through.

Then, this young lass was summoning a warrior atop a pegasus and she was brought back in time. Whatever Emma was capable of, it was simultaneously new and intimately familiar. Valkyrie moved towards it, nodding towards Emma in silent inquiry to inspect for herself.

The pegasus bowed over its foreleg, the knight crossing his sword arm over his chest in a salute. "You can touch it if you want. It feels real. Well, it is real, just not a person or a horse. It's not an illusion, though.

"I manifest images as if they were real, and can control what they do. I've always been fond of this one. It's saved my life more than once."

Returning the salute in kind with a bow of her head, Valkyrie laid her fingers against the pegasus' snout, feeling its firmness and warmth. She turned her eyes back to Emma, appraising her focus and effort. While her psychic abilities were outside of Valkyrie's scope of experience, the honing of fortitude both mental and physical were invaluable regardless of the ability at play.

"Your intentions are noble." She smiled. It wasn't a difficult decision to make. Filling her time was easy enough, but it was harder to fill time with purpose. If a young woman with some innate ability was approaching her in good faith, was there a reason not to? "In respect of your dedication, I won't treat you lightly."

Dani and Nina had never gone easy on her. And neither had Sage, for the short time she'd trained Emma, and this, asking Valkyrie to train her, felt a little more like when she'd asked Sage to. Emma wouldn't have expected her to do any differently.

She nodded. "I didn't think you would. I won't waste your time."

Valkyrie extended her hand to the young redhead. If she was going to have Emma adapt to her methods, a little reciprocity was appropriate. "As is customary to seal a deal between humans, I believe?"

Emma took the offered hand and shook decisively. "One of the most common ways, yeah, and probably the most appropriate in this case." What? Culture was complicated, but Valkyrie wasn't wrong about the handshake.

"I usually try to be in the kitchen when people are most likely going to want meals, but other than that, whatever times work for you should be all right. And people can always eat chicken or cook for themselves if I'm not around to cook sometimes."

"Do you fancy hunting?" Valkyrie immediately posed as her hand returned to her side.

"It's not something I've really done much before." Carnie and Roma, yes, but that didn't mean Emma was anything but a city girl. She wasn't opposed to the idea – she didn't think she could be, and still eat meat – it just wasn't something she'd thought to do herself.

"Except a few times with a friend, to experiment and practice with my projections." One type of projection in particular, because there wasn't any other way to explore her ability to kill with a thought.

"Then let our lessons start there." Valkyrie stated brightly. Getting a proper cook to harvest some varied meat was an opportunity that she could not simply ignore.

Which would be why Emma had answered the way she had, instead of a simpler no or not really, when she didn't really have enough experience to have an opinion on hunting.

She nodded, "All right," still remembering the few times she'd gone with Nate. The skills she'd learn from Valkyrie would be different, the experiences would probably have things in common too. Maybe it would just be animals for food, but knowing what it was like to take a life was a lot better to learn when you weren't in the middle of a fight.

"There are many sheep with the grand horns." Valkyrie mimicked the classical swirl of the Bighorn Sheep horns with her arms. "The horns are especially prized--the bigger your catch, the more glory you obtain. You know." The Gjallarhorn was said to have earthly counterparts, though Valkyrie doubted that was still something practiced on Midgard.

"If you manage to obtain a set of horns bigger than His Majesty's, please involve me in that reveal. We could fashion it into a drinking vessel." She smirked.

It was probably – no probably about it, actually – missing the point when Valkyrie started talking about hunting mountain sheep and Emma's first thoughts were of how she could cook the meat: grilled tenderloin, sausages, shepherd's pie and other mutton favorites, stew and chili, all came quickly to mind.

How did you even go about hunting sheep? But before she could do more than think the question, another slipped past her filter and out before she could stop it. "Thor has horns?"

Weren't the horned "viking" helmets a misconception from the opera or something like that?

"For drinking--ceremonially, anyway." Considering Thor had quite a significant ceremony on the coming horizon, the horns would see some use.

No word on if they were still ceremonially slaughtering that goat, still.

"Or decor. Furs, wool, other parts make fine gifts." Though it didn't seem that Midgarian still processed their animals or displayed them for status, anymore.

That did make more sense than the helmet. And Nate and Dani both had reasons to have taught her to use as much as possible of whatever animal they hunted and killed.

"Can I use my powers? Or I should stick to old-school hunting techniques?" If nothing else, seeing where she was most likely to find her prey could be helpful. She didn't plan on using at Death projection, though. She didn't like doing it unless it was necessary, and it wouldn't help much with the sort of things Valkyrie was going to teach her.

"Why not both?" Valkyrie clapped her hands together once of them, catching traces of powdered sugar she was certain she hadn't missed, smiling in the direction of the knight and his steed. "Prey would make suitable practice for the real thing."

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[GP] SNOW DAY

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