Noic woke in the Servant's Quarters of Asgard's Palace- which was incredibly concerning, as she'd gone to sleep in her own bed in Vanaheim.
"It's about time you woke up- It's long past dawn." A sharp, stern looking woman's shadow loomed over head as Noic rubbed at her drowsy eyes with a hand. Finding the movement to summon a drawn wince as the soreness of her muscles complained to the just as sharp and stern bedding she apparently spent the night on. "You'll wake at dawn from now onwards, am I clear?" The shadow above continued.
Noic growled tiredly, throwing a hand over her eyes to shield her drowsy gaze from the bright lights above.
Nope- I'm going back. Goodnight.
The woman sighed tiredly, "Oh, this is going to be a fight all day, every day, isn't it?"
.
As it turned out, the stern woman was named Ragneid- It was a coarse name that belonged on a man, in Noic's opinion. Which suited the abrasive woman just fine. Noic, as well as a number of others, was Ragneid's charge- She wasn't the oldest, the youngest, the strongest nor the weakest; Not by a long shot. In truth, over the week Noic settled unimportantly in the background. Or rather, she did, before her form shifting pendant was taken (For a prank she decidedly did not do) and Noic quickly found herself to be the center of every distrustful look and displeased conversation.
Aside from the newfound attention, Noic found her more colorful form to be one with a thousand burdens.
For instance- Working beneath the sun was no longer an option. After a simple two hours, Noic found herself falling face first into the fields she was to help tend.
A number of things froze beneath her touch, including other's skin.
Upon enterance to any room, Noic's presence drastically lowered the temperature to a brisk, teeth chattering degree (Though that one she quite enjoyed).
The list went on,
and on,
AND ON.
..
Over the next week Noic developed a thousand little tricks for her temperature, one of which being that of a nocturnal nature. She rose at midnight when the air was chilled and cooled to the breath to complet her various tasks for the day before the sun rose. Choosing to laze about for the rest of the day before the sun turned too hot for her taste and she retired for evening to repeat it all again the next day.
There were more than a few servants under Ragneid's care that failed to care on the matter that she rose much before them, and instead took great offense that she was perpetually finished with her tasks before they had.
"You're finished already, again?" Skorri cut sharply, crossing his arms sourly over his tunic in frustration to find the Frost Giant his age to be tearing into a burnt roll with freezing fingertips while he held a lumber axe over his shoulder, "How do you finish so fast? You must be skipping tasks!"
"Mmm.. No." Noic croaked back dismissively as she tossed the hard won swatch of charred roll into her mouth with a scorched crunch.
I don't particularly enjoy laundry, but it's not worth a lashing.
"Then what's your trick? What's your tactic?" Skorri edged eagerly, rolling the axe across his shoulders in eager impatience for the piece of enlightening wisdom Noic would no doubt share.
".. I'm efficient." Noic imparted before offering a thin lipped smile, offering the other half of the bread roll to the boy across the hall happily.
Skorri groaned with exasperation, trudging forward sourly to take the roll in his exhausted hand in passing before exiting the bustling Servant's Quarters to chop the lumber outside. "We still on for trading your laundry duty for my cooking for next week?"
As sure as nobles sweat, Noic thought sharply, offering a thumbs up in approval with a smile.
...