xp_logs | Asgard, halfway point, or thereabouts

On the road to Yggdrasil (because if you were looking for a way to travel dimensions, the tree of all knowledge would be a good place to start), Marie-Ange meets the very last person she expected or wanted to see. Shiro isn't really having a very good day either, to be honest. Being told to kill a classmate - even if you don't know its a classmate, even if its a classmate you particulary dislike is never a good sign that your employer is honest.

Marie-Ange was getting tired of crossroads. She mentally scolded herself for being foolish enough to leave before getting a map - not that it probably would have done much good, with the raven - Memory - having decided that "as the crow flies" was to be taken literally. Stupid bird. It was not as if she could just stop and ask for directions, and there certainly were no convenient "30 miles to the tree of all knowledge" signs.

At least -this- crossroad had trees. Which meant she could get off the horse, instead of trying to concentrate on using her power and not falling on her ass at the same time.

Once the reins were tied off, she leaned up against the trunk of a tree and shut her eyes. No need for meditation now, just a clenching of her hands and mentally reaching out towards .. well, somewhere. She was still not sure what that was. It always brought the same mental picture - her, as she was now, in leathers and braids, with one eye cast in dark shadow. The symbology did not escape her; Odin had definitely influenced her power somehow, though if it meant she found a way home, she was not going to complain. Much.

Concentrating on the road heading south brought a sense of dread, and a sharp pain in her back, as well as the expected stabbing pain in head. ~Definitely not south, then~ she thought. Nor was it going to be east, as she had just come from there. That left the single road towards the northwest.

As her headache started to fade, Marie-Ange climbed, awkwardly, back onto the horse, and headed down the narrow road. Horseback, she decided, was still not any kind of pleasant, but it was faster than walking.

And faster than either walking or riding a horse is flying. Seeing as it was another sunny day in Asgard, Sunfire was filled to bursting with energy. He admitted that he would miss the forest around Yggdrasil and the beautiful Tree itself, but being the whipping boy of the goddesses of Fate was not what it was cracked up to be. Morisato Keiichi had it easy.

It didn't take long for Sunfire to hunt down the witch he'd been sent to kill, since Skuld had given him her exact location. He hovered nearby as she climbed onto her horse and continued her journey, and decided to get this done with quick. The sooner she was done with, the sooner he could return home.

A plasma beam directly in her path stopped the horse who nearly threw her off in panic. Landing in front of her, Sunfire's power flowed through his body, and he prepared for an omnidirectional blast that would leave only ash behind. "My Ladies, They who weave and read the Fates of this world and the others, do hereby condemn you to death, witch. Stand down, and accept the destiny They have written for you."

"Merde!" A small part of Marie-Ange's brain that wasn't screaming "Run, run, run, it’s a demon, the one who destroyed the tavern, you stupid girl, run." was reminding her that her mouth had -really- gotten very foul lately. An even smaller part noted that the part of her brain calling her stupid sounded altogether entirely too much like Sif. Sliding down off horseback, and thanking the gods that she hadn't been thrown, Marie-Ange drew her sword and half-crouched, ready to run, or if necessary, fight. If this demon was going to be polite, it was only fair to return the favor. "My destiny is already written, I'm afraid. If you want to try to kill me, by all means, do try, but be forewarned that the Allfather himself has blessed me." ~If you can call it a blessing~ she added, mentally.

Sunfire growled. He wanted to be done with this, and this witch had the gall to stand up to him? Didn't she know that he was Sunfire, the half-fire demon Champion of the Norns? Fine. If she wanted a fight, she could have one. "Odin's word does not supercede that of my Ladies, and he knows that." A focused plasma blast knocked the sword out of her hand. "And now you will know the price of denying Their wish. _Shi ne._"

Marie-Ange blinked in confusion. That was -not- Norse. It was not even any of the mangled dialects that the dwarves or elves spoke. What the hell kind of language was this demon speaking? It sounded oddly familiar, and now that she looked at the scowl on the demon's face, so did he..

Pulling her hood back, she shook loose a pair of leather-wrapped braids. Playing a hunch, she responded in English, the words coming out a bit clumsily after weeks of being forbidden to speak it. "Odin's word supercedes -everything-. He is the All Father, and he rules Asgard, no matter what your Ladies might believe."

Sunfire grabbed her neck, ready to squeeze and crush it if she continued to stand against him for another second. Even if she did speak English. And look incredibly familiar. Where'd he seen her before?

"I represent the Norns, witch," he spat, also in English, his accent heavy from misuse. "The Fates Incarnate. Do you understand? Not even Odin can contradict the Voices of Destiny. He can find another mortal vessel to do his bidding. But I am bound to see to your death. Give Hel my regards."

Marie-Ange actually laughed out loud, reaching up to grab the demon she now recognized as Shiro's wrist. "I told you, I know my destiny, and it is -not- to be killed by an arrogant xenophobic jerk." She dug her fingernails into the flesh of his hand and tried - without much success - to pull his grip loose. "Not by strangulation, and not by fire. I really do -not- want to stab you, Shiro, but I will if you don't let go of my neck!"

Sunfire promptly dropped her and took a couple of steps back. This witch was . . . "Colbert?" Of all the things he was suspecting, this was the last. Not just that he had almost killed one of his peers (which was hardly surprising at all), but that three goddesses who knew everything had sent him to do it. They'd wanted him to. He didn't know if he was angrier at Marie-Ange for her words or the Norns for their command.

After landing with a -far- less awkward roll than she would have a few weeks before, Marie-Ange stood, and shook back the hood of her cloak. "I'm sorry your Ladies are upset with me, but I really cannot help what I am." She shrugged and scowled at the still smoking hilt and melted blade of her sword. "You know, that was a waste of a perfectly nice sword that I spent -far- too much time leaning how not to poke holes in myself with."

"Your sword will be the least of your worries. I cannot return home unless the Norns see you dead." Sunfire slumped against a nearby tree. "Now what?" He could let Marie-Ange escape and go on her merry way, and just tell the Norns that she was nowhere to be found, but they would know that he had lied. But he couldn't just kill her either.

Marie-Ange blinked. Then blinked again. "They promised to send you home?" She shook her head fiercely. "And you believe them? They sent you to kill someone you know, and you -trust- these women?"

"I didn't know it was you!" he protested, jumping up. His eyes blazed. "They sent me to kill a threatening witch. They did not tell me you were the witch. And of course I believed them. They are the Norns! The goddesses of Fate. And I am Their Hand in this world." Idiotic gai-jin, she does not understand the meaning of the word 'duty.'

"That is reassuring. It is welcome to know that you would not have killed me if they had told you." Rubbing the back of her neck - and idly noting that it was likely to bruise. Again. she continued. "Which begs the question, why did they not tell you?"

"Don't flatter yourself," he snapped, "I didn't say that." Cracking his knuckles, he looked up at the sky, still cloudless and sunny. He welcomed the sun's rays, hoping that the influx of power would relax him. Because Marie-Ange brought up a good point. Why hadn't they told him? "I do not know. What did you do to piss off the gods?"

Marie-Ange snorted loudly and gestured at the large raven perched on the branch of a nearby tree. "Unless there are gods I have angered who I met without my knowledge, nothing. The one I did meet ... " She shrugged. "Well, I would not call the bird a -gift-." It was a nuisance, a pest, and a nasty carrion-eater. And it had left scars on her shoulder.

Sunfire finally recognized the raven on her shoulder and remembered what she had said earlier. "That bird . . . is Odin's. What does he want from you?"

"I wish I knew. I am certain none of this came without a price, but I have not yet found what it is, besides more bruises than I could count." Marie-Ange held out an arm - one covered in a thick leather glove, and the raven alighted on it, digging its claws in tightly. "Somehow, I would think if the universe were being appropriate, that I would have found the Fates, and not you."

"So what are you doing here?" Sunfire approached Marie-Ange and tentatively reached forward to softly pet the bird with one finger. He was happy when it didn't try to snap his finger off. "Where are you headed?"

"I wish I knew." She paused. "I seem to be saying that a lot lately. The bird flew off half a day ago, and I followed it. It seemed foolish to lose a bird loaned to me by Odin. It led me here, and .. " Marie-Ange shrugged. "And then this crazy fire demon attacked me." She thought maybe she sounded more flippant than she meant to, but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment about Shiro's reaction to her words.

Haha," says Sunfire humorlessly. "Well now this crazy fire demon had nowhere to go. The Norns will surely have me killed if I return to them empty-handed . . ."

"Were you supposed to bring them my head?" Marie-Ange asked, not at all laughing or mocking. "I.. I'm sorry. I just... " Grimacing at her own lack of tact, and ability to be coherent and not stammer like a fool, she continued. "I did not expect to see anyone here at all. I suppose we could go back to the city. The damned bird seems less inclined to go flying off now."

Sunfire - no, he was Shiro again - nodded. "Have you encountered anyone else? If you and I are in Asgard, then there must be others . . ." And maybe the others will know the way home.

"I have not seen anyone. Until I realized who you were, I thought I was the only one here." Marie-Ange shrugged. "I .. I just do not know. I suppose it cannot hurt." She frowned at the remains of her sword. "I should definitely get that replaced, if nothing else. I am not altogether fond of defending myself with a dagger. It ruins it for cutting food later."

"Leave the role of defender to me," Shiro declared, "And save your dagger for meat." Screw the Norns, he decided. He would not be the Fates' bitch anymore. "We will return to the city, round up everyone, and find a way home. Easy, ne?"

"Easy. I would ask why I have a feeling that it won't be, but I know better than to question my gut reactions anymore." Marie-Ange said, and taking the reins of her horse, remounted it. "If nothing else, we can get better food at the city. I am -tired- of dried beef."