I am happy you like her parents as much as I do Earthsong1 and KnightOwl247. Sometimes I really wish to see more about protagonists parents in stories.
A lump formed in Johanna's throat as she entered the smith's workshop. If she closed her eyes she could pretend to stand in the workshop of her father, the smell and the sound were alike.
The sound of a hammer meeting material with the rustling of the flames in the background, the smell of metal and a hint of sweat. The later may be not the most pleasant smell but it was part of the whole to make the atmosphere complete.
"Are you going to keep standing in the entrance or do you come in?"
She was pulled abruptly out of her daydreaming. The sound of hammering ceased and a wall of muscle came into her line of vision – he was probably the largest man she had ever seen. Due to his size he had to walk with his head ducked to not bump into the ceiling. The dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a messy bun and, unlike the majority of the Æsir with a full beard, he only had a thick mustache. His darker skin tone was covered with black smears.
"Like what you see?"
"W-, What?! Wait, no! I- I have never seen someone as tall as you."
He chuckled, and his eyes shone with mirth.
"Don't worry, I get that a lot. You're not too small yourself – at least compared to the other women around here. What can I do for you?"
Johanna unconsciously shook her head softly to order her thoughts before she answered.
"I am here to deliver the new Bifröst parts to the site."
"Oh, you must be the Midgardian who is stuck here! The gossip about you travels fast. You made quite an impression with your sparring round against Hogun. The people who walked in and out of here were impressed by your skill. You're not very strong according to them, but you compensate a bit with a near flawless technique. Is it true?"
"I guess…?"
The smith laughed loud and bumped a fist into her shoulder, making her sway a bit.
"No need for modesty. If you can do something be proud of it. But please, do tell how someone fragile like you came to fighting? Besides Sif I now of no woman who voluntarily fights. They are all here, cooking, sewing and tidying. Basically, they make sure that everything is alright here while we men make sure the outside is alright. Is it a strange custom of Midgardians to let women fight? – are you an exception?"
Question after question streamed out of his mouth. It was a comical sight to see him sitting on a stool he acquired in the middle of his talk, asking like a small child.
"I…I don't know where to begin with all of your questions."
"You are…?"
"Johanna Smith – Smithdottr…"
The talk with the happy and easy-going blacksmith was just as refreshing as it was informative. Frederik was the grandson of Grumpa – whose name was actually Ellan – and he was named after an Midgardian who saved his family in the past. Because Grumpa, Ellan, was tight-lipped about the incident, Frederik couldn't give Johanna any closer information about it, making him in turn very interested in the things Johanna could tell him about Midgard – especially about the behavior of humans.
The sound of a deep bell in the distance pulled the two out of their conversation. It was time for the lunchbreak.
Johanna rose hastily from the floor.
"I still have to get the parts to the site…and I have to go to Heimdall."
Frederik also rose mindful of the, for him, low ceiling. Due to his strength he was quick to load the twenty-or-so parts onto the carriage, bidding Johanna a good day and inviting her to come back at any time.
While she leaded the horse back to the site, she had time to think about what Frederik told her. As surprising as the family relationship was, in the end, she summarized for herself, she had more information about Grumpa but she still didn't knew anything about him. Frederik's namesake was another thing she found very interesting but had no answer to. For that she had to unfortunately ask Ellan himself.
At the site the coordinator who saw her off, was the only one left. The arms were crossed and his right foot was tapping rapidly on the floor.
"What took you so long?!"
The coordinator didn't leave Johanna the chance to answer.
"I don't care for your excuses! This will be the only time I let you off easy, if you do this again I will report you. And if you have problems with anything like directions, ask someone!"
The contrast between Frederik's personality and him was…worlds apart. Johana felt like someone threw her in ice cold water after she had warmed up in the sun. She hurried to comply and walked fast to the kitchen to escape his scrutiny.
Like every lunch she picked up a heartily sandwich and sat down alone in the very far corner. Without Sif she couldn't pick up the courage to sit down somewhere around the middle in the view of everyone. Before she was half trough with eating, the bell for the end of the lunch break sounded.
Abandon her half-eaten sandwich she disappeared in the mass of people leaving the eating hall. She had a strong dislike for situations like these, it was too crowded for her. Too many people taller than her and bumping into her nearly every step and that without doing it on purpose. With an aching heart she thought of earth. She wasn't a giant but could look at least over half of the people at home. Those situations made her feel alone. The people around her turned in her mind into dark walls, blocking her view. Automatically she hunched her shoulders, making herself smaller in hope to get more space. With day to day materials this equation may work, but not with a mass of people. The smaller someone was the nearer people came.
At the site the mass parted in all directions, giving Johanna a chance to breathe. Heimdall in his golden armor was easy to spot a few meters away from the bridge so she hurried over.
"Hello."
"Hello."
The two just looked at each other for few seconds before he motioned her to follow him. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Grumpa for a moment, but as fast as he came he was gone. Trailing behind the Gate Keeper Johanna looked around , just like a few people in turn watched them interested. Here, it was a rare treat to see the Gate Keeper who leaded her further and further to the outskirts of the city. The houses got smaller and lesser decorated in golden colors.
Johanna lost her track of time as they arrived at their destination. They stood in a bit of forest. The area wasn't big from what she had seen from the outside, a bit further should come the edge of Asgard – but she could be wrong there. Nonetheless the trees around here were large and thick, letting only a few specks of light dancing over the ground.
"We will have to begin from the very beginning. You need to know what your magic is – where it is located the strongest and then you have to learn to understand how fast you tire and when you have to stop to not overdo it. You can do this maybe two or three times but if you do it too often and in short intervals it has the potential to strain your body to death."
"Okey…? So, how do we start?"
"Sit down in a position comfortable for you. Beware that you will sit for a longer period of time."
At first, she sat down where she stood with her legs crossed. That would be uncomfortable over time.
She straitened her legs in front of her. That would be uncomfortable too.
Then she skidded to the next tree behind her. The bark bit into her back.
As a frustrated last attempt, she laid down flat onto the floor. She shuffled a bit and deemed the position comfortable.
"I said sitting but that will do too in the beginning."
Heimdall sat down beside her with the creaking of his armor. His back was straight and the legs long. For Johanna it didn't look comfortable, but she didn't question it either. It really was Heimdall's preferred position, at least in his armor and anything was better than to be confronted with Odin's behavior, for he was more grumpy than normal and quicker to anger and nobody new why.
"First you have to focus on yourself, try to find that warm and energetic spot in you."
To Johanna it sounded like any meditating mambo-jumbo but tried it either way. She heard the rustling of the trees, a few melodies of birds and felt the hard ground beneath her. Whatever Heimdall had explained to her, she couldn't find it.
"Allow me, maybe this will help you."
She opened her eyes she never realized closing. Above her hovered the dark hand of the Gate Keeper. At her careful nodding, he laid his hand over her eyes.
It felt like a soft tingle at first, turning nicely warm and spreading over her whole body. She swallowed hard as she had to think about the safety of her mother's embrace.
Stay focused.
For a while she just swam in the warmth and just like water, it turned colder. At her back, between her shoulder blades it seemed to linger longer.
"Awake Johanna, we have to go back."
Heimdall's voice pierced through her dream like state. She wanted to check the time, but her watch was out – she forgot to rewind it and to her wonder, the stone in the back fap was slightly warm. As she sat up, Heimdall was still in the same upright sitting position.
"We will repeat this every one or two weeks, I sadly don't have time for more. Please refrain from doing it on your own as long as you have no control over it. Remember what you felt now and we take it from there."
The way back was equally silent. Trotting behind the man, Johanna tried to categorize her feelings, heeding no mind to the scenery. As they finally arrived at the palace, the last bit of the sun disappeared and as the Gate Keeper left her alone, sleepiness hit her like a ton of bricks. She barely remembered to eat dinner and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.