two. witch in the woods
Gaïa did not know if news of her visions was something she should speak to Odin about. She feared being ridiculed for being any different from her brother. No one in her family, that she knew of, had ever had visions. Therefore, she kept the visions to herself, until one day, she was unable to ignore it.
Standing in the library, browsing over the books, her senses were overcome. It took away her sight, leaving her to only see the event.
She began seeing flashes of Midgard, of towering skyscrapers and a fight over a stone. Her vision warped to a highly technologically advanced country and a battle, between what she assumed were the natives and space "wardogs". The battle did not seem to be turning out too well when her vision faded.
Gaïa blinked, staring back at the books in front of her. She had an eerie feeling something was coming to Midgard, something big and something bad.
She dropped the books she had onto a nearby table, and rushed off towards the air vehicles. She needed to investigate to see if there really was a witch in the woods, and if she would have answers. Her first choice was to turn to her mother, but that wasn't necessarily an option.
After starting her journey into the woods, she kept a keen eye out for danger. Normally, nothing inhabited these woods, except for Bilgesnipe and several deer-like species. Both lived relatively peacefully unless disturbed, so the young Goddess decided to keep quiet.
She had on her boots, that almost came up to her knees, and these were her riding boots. She also adorned a white dress, coming down just below her knees. Coming out into the woods had been a split second decision after having that vision.
Gaïa knew to not travel far, if she did she would cross into the far reaches of Asgard where it was always winter. But the girl stumbled into the brush, stirring up what Midgardian's would consider butterflies, and she took a deep breath and looked around. Perhaps going along this same path was her best option.
Ahead of her, the trees swayed and a horse emerged, with a lady upon its back. The lady had dark and slightly untamed hair, a black trenchcoat, with black smeared all around her eyes. The horse stopped and the lady stared at her.
"Gaïa, the Goddess of Light and Fertility." The woman stated, her head held high, dark eyes watching the blonde.
Gaia's lips parted as she continued to stare at the woman. "Are you the witch in the woods?"
The woman laughed, "Is that what they call me nowadays?" She took a breath to steady herself. "Call me Zenya. Follow me, child. We have much to discuss."
Gaïa followed hesitantly behind the horse, trying to keep up her pace. She felt stupid for not bringing her own horse, Oen, but she needed to be discrete.
They came along to a hut, built primarily with wood, with a roof that came out far beyond the door. The wildlife was not untamed as if had been in the woods, where weeds and plants overgrew, rather it seemed taken care of. Several plants grew at the farther end of the clearing, crops Gaïa presumed, but they were surrounded by trees so travelers would not happen to stumble upon it. The sun reached in, however, keeping the area warm, and the plants happy.
Zenya unmounted her horse, and the horse walked off to graze. The woman turned her attention back to Gaïa, who was still looking around, glancing at the fire pit not too far from the door, where a kettle sat in the embers.
"Please, come in," Zenya gestured into her home.
Gaïa walked into, to find it seemed larger on the inside: there was a loft where the woman slept above them, a tiny "kitchen" made mostly with wood, a tiny sitting area with books all along the table. It was quaint, but homey.
Gaïa sat in one of the chairs and Zenya lit the light above and even though the windows allowed in plenty of light, the light above helped.
"I come seeking advice."
Zenya nodded, sitting beside the girl, "I know," she began, "I knew one of Odin's children would find me eventually after I heard news of Frigga's death."
Gaia's eyebrows drew inward, "Excuse me?"
Zenya sat back in her chair, "Your mother was really the only one who could've understood. Some call it a curse that was bestowed upon your family ages ago, others would consider it a blessing."
"The visions?" Gaïa inquired.
Zenya nodded, "Aye, your grandfather had them. It skips a generation or two, I've come to learn. I figured it would be you or one of your brothers who would inherit it. It must have been amplified due to your mother being a Vanir."
"Well, not Loki, he was not Odinson in blood, and he is dead."
Zenya raised an eyebrow at the girl, knowing she did not know the full truth, but decided not to speak of it.
"It is called the Sight. It typically spurs up in times of great turmoil, where danger is lurking. It was how your grandfather was able to get to Midgard in time to stop the Jötunns during their first Ice Age."
"So Asgard is in danger? I saw Midgard primarily."
"It does not necessarily have to be Asgard. The Sight lends a helping hand in times of trouble. It probably would not have started so soon, but death and grief can be a trigger for it. Now you have a very big head start into what is to come on Midgard, and perhaps the rest of the cosmos, too." Zenya's voice was eerie, as if she knew something she was not allowed to speak of.
"Are you recommending me to go to Midgard?"
Zenya sat up, "Yes, being on Midgard will hopefully trigger more visions in what is to come to pass, and help you decipher how it is you can help."
Well, I'm not much use on Asgard currently, Gaïa thought with a sigh. And perhaps this will put me in good favor with Father, and have my own heroic story to tell Thor!
"I shall head there immediately then,"
Perhaps she was being a bit naïve, thinking she could just go to Midgard and discover the problem and fix it. But she was born into a family of heroes, being any less than heroic simply was not an option.
"A plan might suit this endeavor," Zenya told Gaïa. "Where shall you stay? You could wait months, years even, for all the events to unfold."
Gaïa pondered that a moment. "Surely someone would want to help out Thor's sister? They love him."
"Midgardian's aren't all pure of heart." Zenya told her, "Have Heimdall drop you off in a place called New York City. Wizards reside there. They go on and on about protecting their planet, I'm sure they would lend a helping a hand."
Gaïa nodded, "Thank you, Zenya,"
Odin seemed pleasantly on board with the plan, perhaps for the sake of getting his daughter off Asgard or that he was happy his daughter wanted to be heroic. Either way, Odin gave his blessing, giving the all clear to Heimdall, who seemed to be growing increasingly distressed.
"Gaïa!" called a familiar baritone voice.
The girl turned to see Bolin, a Vanir, and a good friend despite their age difference. Bolin had been a good friend of Hogun, and Thor, before befriending the girl. Whenever Thor was not around, Bolin thought it his duty to protect the Princess whenever she wasn't in the castle.
"I hear you're heading to Midgard," he started, approaching her.
"News travels fast." she said.
"I'm comin' with you." he told her.
Gaïa rolled her eyes, "I do not need a babysitter. I've asked Alexsei to pop in on me every now and again."
Bolin pursed his lips, "A sound idea. Let me go with you, get you settled."
She knew there was no arguing with him. She knew Thor probably encouraged him before leaving in search of the Infinity Stones. "Fine."
They departed together, Bolin having a quick word with Alexsei. Heimdall wished her luck and they were off into the Bifröst, towards Midgard.
They arrived just outside the city Zenya had told Gaïa to go to. Gaïa knew she didn't have any directions, but Bolin by her side reassured her. Gaïa started to get overwhelmed by the city, the masses of people and how they would bump into her or point fingers for her "unusual" outfit.
Bolin led Gaïa off into a quieter area, "Let me scope this place out. I'll find this wizard." And he was off, leaving Gaïa alone in an alleyway.
The sound of electricity startled her, and she turned, finding a circle of orange light, the center being someplace else. Gaïa looked on questioningly, her hands starting to glow with light.
A man emerged, stepping out into the alley to see the young Goddess staring at him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he had been alerted of someone from another planet arriving to Earth. He did not necessarily believe them to be a threat, but he needed to ensure that they weren't.
Bolin rounded the corner, seeing the strange man, immediately pulled out his knives, which were long and curved and always proved to be a formidable weapon.
The strange man clicked his hands together and two orange circles appeared practically out of nowhere. He stayed in his fighting stance, until it clicked with Gaïa.
"The wizard! We've found him."
Strange cast a confused look at the girl, "More like I found you."
The light in Gaia's hands disappeared, and she extended a hand over to Bolin to lower his weapons. He hesitated before he complied.
"Mister Wizard, my name is Gaïa Odinsdottir, I come from Asgard. I came here to help."
"First off," he said, lowering his arms. "It's Doctor Stephen Strange. Second, what are you here to help with?"
"I've had visions of your world coming under threat from a formidable foe. I was told arriving here would help me see it all more clearly, and I would be able to prevent it."
Stephen raised an eyebrow before he invited them to the sanctum.