Chapter 5
AN: About license classifications it's always been my understanding that Class indicates power level/authority, with Limited/Unlimited indicating how much an individual is trusted to use that power responsibly and Category indicates specialisation, with Category 1 meaning an administrative specialist, such as Urd, and Category 2 being those who interact with mortals. This is the understanding I'm using in this fic, with Urd holding a Category 1 license and Marller and Belldandy a Category 2.
"Control, Urd-chan!" Hild yelled for the umpteenth time (Urd had lost count after thirty or so). "I know you have power, now stop wasting it!"
The Daimakaicho threw an energy ball at her in demonstration, which Urd barely dodged.
"You are still not tightening the spell matrix properly."
Urd began to form yet another Summon Lightning. What was the point in all of this? Her spells worked just fine as they were. Personally she just thought her mother wanted to torture her.
"No!"
Urd gasped in pain as Hild effortlessly shattered the spell before it was fully formed, the magic released harmlessly into the atmosphere
"Call up just a little power, only a trickle," Hild instructed. "And keep it in tight, feed it into the matrix the moment you summon it."
Urd sighed and obeyed, pushing the power into the spell matrix the moment she called it up. Once it was ready she released the spell and gasped at the difference. It was just as powerful, but she felt like she could keep it up all day.
"Do you feel the difference?" Hild asked. "If you draw only what you need rather than everything you can there is far less wastage."
Urd nodded.
"Again then. That was better, but it could still improve."
-x-x-x-
Urd groaned as she flopped down on her bed, utterly exhausted. Her mother's 'training session' had gone on for three hours. And Hild hadn't even worked up a sweat. It was humiliating.
"I hope you've finished that chapter I assigned you, Urd-chan. I'll be testing you in it tomorrow."
She groaned again. The woman was a bloody slave driver.
It was only after she raised the energy to prop herself up into a sitting position that she noticed the bottle of sake on the bedside cabinet.
Maybe Hild wasn't so bad after all.
-x-x-x-
Things soon settled into a routine. A full eight hour shift in Nidhegg Control during the day, while the evenings were taken up by exhausting sessions with Hild practicing her control, followed by reading material of Hild's choice.
When she had a spare half hour she worked on her latest potion, but those were few and far between. She barely had time for sleep, let alone hobbies, and the weekends were worse, with the training sessions doubled to six hours and the rest of the day spent in theory work with her mother supervising.
-x-x-x-
It hadn't taken Kayla long to realise that despite her junior rank Urd was not someone she could manipulate to advance her own career. The 'trainee' was sharp, and getting better at finding plots against her by the day. And her power level never ceased to be frightening.
In fact the opposite was far more likely to be true; Urd was far more likely to end up using her as an informant. The newcomer was going to go far and Kayla wouldn't be surprised to see her reach First Class unlimited in a few years time. In fact, the major question was why she hadn't already, and her mentor not trusting her levels of control just didn't explain it.
No, Urd was a mystery. She was also an opportunity – a loyal follower could hope advancement from a leader she served well. The two things that Kayla loved most combined in one package. There was no way that she was letting Urd slip away from her.
-x-x-x-
"Urd!"
Urd looked up in surprise as a familiar voice greeted her on her way out of the administration building.
"Marller? What are you doing here?"
"I'm a demon, remember? Just like you."
Urd rolled her eyes at the pointed barb. Although she still intended to pay Marller back for her part in that incident she was no longer so upset about her new status, having come to realise that she actually enjoyed certain aspects of it over the last few months. "Yes, but shouldn't you be in Midgard?"
"Monthly reports," was the calm reply. "You know that She has special interest in this case for some reason. She wants me to report in person."
Urd nodded thoughtfully, wondering if it was her sisters reputation as 'the perfect goddess' or something else entirely that had caused her contract with Keichi to catch her mother's interest. Oh, she had no doubt that her own intervention had sparked that interest in the first place, her mother had kept close tags on her she had learned, but that alone wasn't enough to keep that interest, especially after she herself left.
"Meet you for drinks later?" Marller asked her, breaking through her thoughts. "The usual place?"
Urd brought her mind back to the present. "Sure, but better make it eleven o'clock. I have lessons later."
Marller grimaced. "Rather you than me. The time I already have to spend with your m…" she paused, seeing Urd's glare. She'd almost forgotten that she and Hild were keeping their relationship under wraps. "Mentor," she corrected hastily, "is more than enough for me."
Kayla looked over in interest. So Urd knew Marller, the famous 1:2 Unlimited, and Marller not only knew Urd's mentor but…feared her? And there was that odd slip… The mystery just kept getting more interesting.
-x-x-x-
"So I heard you've been working in Sys Ops," Marller commented, as she sipped her sake.
Urd nodded. "It's interesting," she admitted. "Different from Yggdrassil Control. Nifelheims administrative department is smaller, so we handle a lot of things that would go through different offices in Asgard."
"Rather you than me," her friend replied, grimacing. "I'd rather be out doing something. So, what do they think about your relationship to Hild-sama?"
Urd smiled. "They've noticed the resemblance. But neither of us has said anything, and no one's asked outright. The rumours are amusing, however."
"Oh?"
"There are four theories. The most naïve seem to think it's a coincidence, with the argument being that there's a goddess that kind of looks like her too."
Marller laughed. "Yeah, you."
"A few of them have the right idea, while the majority at least suspect that I'm some sort of relative, probably a distant one from an outlying sector."
"And the rest?"
Urd grinned. "Seem to think that mother has messed up a split form slightly as a disguise."
Marller choked on her sake. "Why would she need to do that?" she asked incredulously.
Urd shrugged. "I think they're bored. Sys Ops is pretty routine most of the time. Keep Nidhegg running properly and call up the correct files on request. It only gets really exciting when something goes wrong."
Marller nodded in agreement, remembering her own time there as a trainee. Unlike Urd she'd never had any real interest in administrative work and once she had completed the module she been glad to never see the inside of that room again, unless simply passing through.
"So how are Bell, Skuld and the others?"
Marller frowned. "Did you just meet me to get information on your sisters?"
Urd grinned. "Maybe. But I also wanted a friend to get drunk with," she admitted, pouring them both more sake.
-x-x-x-
"So Keiichi…Keiichi finds himself in the middle of the girls locker room, without any clothes on…" the somewhat drunk Marller concluded.
An equally tipsy Urd laughed uproariously, rolling around in laughter. Considering that she was floating in mid air it was a rather strange sight.
"So they still haven't even kissed?" she asked curiously when she regained her composure. She knew that her sister and her boyfriend's relationship would never progress without her help.
Marller shook her head. "Not once."
Urd groaned. "I swear they both missed sex-ed. No one can be that hopeless on purpose."
Marller grinned. "Well, at least they do half my job for me. I might not be able to make Belldandy leave, or even break them up, but their relationship sure isn't progressing."
Urd looked at her in calculation. "About that…"
"No!" Marller snapped. "No, no and no! I am not getting involved in one of your schemes. Especially not when you want me to disobey orders to do so."
Urd shrugged. "Have another drink," she suggested.
Marller glared at her. "And getting me drunk…drunker… won't change that."
Damn. There went that idea.
-x-x-x-
Urd groaned and opened her eyes, flinching as the light exacerbated her headache. It felt like knives were stabbing into her temples.
She flung out an arm and encountered a warm body, which snuggled closer to her, muttering something like, "Don' wanna ge' up…"
That brought Urd to full wakefulness. She shot upright, immediately regretting the action as the abrupt movement nearly caused her to puke. Once her stomach had settled she began to think about the situation logically.
Hangover…check. Warm body beside her…check. Last clear memory drinking with Marller…check.
Damn it! She'd gotten drunk and slept with Marller…again!
Yeah, it was all coming back to her now…
-x-x-x-
They had been friends since they were both little more than toddlers. Even Urd's being sent to live with her Father hadn't changed that. In fact in many ways it made it easier for them to meet, as Urd's new caretakers didn't keep nearly so close a watch on her as Hild had.
There was an area of more or less wilderness between Asgard and Nifelheim, ruled over by neither Kami-sama nor Hild, and it was here that children of both sides tended to congregate when they wanted to escape the notice of their parents and other caretakers. Normally the two groups didn't mingle, but Urd had often chafed under the supervision of the Heavens and it was Marller who was her companion of choice at those times.
As they became teenagers they became more adventurous, seeking out bars and other haunts – most often in Nifelheim. Urd was adept at fending for herself, and Marller was even less welcome in Asgard than Urd was down there.
They had been perhaps sixteen, relatively speaking, when drinking together first became sleeping together. It was a rare occurrence and something they didn't speak of afterwards. Although both were bisexual neither was interested in the other as a long term partner. They were simply friends with benefits.
Those nights had dwindled as both received their licenses. Urd went through a serious of relationships, including a fairly serious one with Troubadour, while Mara flung herself into advancing her career. They met only rarely, and occasions on which they met on friendly terms were even rarer. The last time had been at the hot springs, just before Marller had decided to split her divine and demonic sides, and that had been the first time in decades.
Apparently though it didn't take much time to slip into old habits now that Urd was a demon and they could see each other socially again without risk of censure.
-x-x-x-
A small moan alerted her to the fact that Marller was waking.
"We did it again, didn't we?" the blonde haired demon stated, before she even opened her eyes.
"Yep," Urd replied, almost cheerfully, always prepared to find amusement in others pain. It was a habit that had gotten her severely disciplined as a child, and left her the recipient of more than a few of Belldandy's disapproving looks.
Marller groaned. "We have to get ourselves boyfriends. Or girlfriends. This is just embarrassing."
Urd nodded. "Agreed. Everyone probably thinks we're a couple now, you realise."
Marller nodded glumly, then groaned again as the movement sent pain shooting down her spine. "Definitely have to do something about it."
"Of course," Urd replied calmly. She was feeling much better now, a result of the potion, one of her own invention, that she had downed as Marller began to stir. "But not now. I have work in less than an hour, and you have to return to Midgard."
Marller groaned again and attempted to hide under the covers.
"Here," Urd said, taking pity on her friend. She stripped away the blankets and handed Marller a potion identical to the one she had consumed. "It's my own recipe."
Marller eyed it warily. "Is it safe?"
"I'll have you know that my problem was with administration, not formulation," Urd replied. "But if you don't want it…" She made as if to take the vial away.
"No, no…" Marller replied hastily. "I'll drink it. Anything's better than this…" The last sentence was half-muttered under her breath.
Urd smiled in amusement and began to get dressed as Marller laid back with a sigh of relief. They went through the same process every time this happened. It was all part of the ritual, as much as the lack of mentioning the incident afterwards.
-x-x-x-
"What did he do wrong Urd?" Hild asked, drawing Urd's attention from the mission report she was studying.
"He underestimated the client," her daughter replied immediately. "He made the loopholes too obvious, and assumed that the client couldn't see and use them just as well as he could – or that she hadn't built in a few of her own."
"And what should he have done?" was the next question, Hild letting no sign of her approval show in her voice or expression.
"Before signing he should have tightened up this loophole here…" Urd said confidently, pointing to the appropriate paragraph. "And reworded here…" The finger moved swiftly over the page. "That would have allowed him to take advantage of the situation while denying the client the opportunity she took advantage of to evade payment…"
Hild listened approvingly as her daughter analysed the report. Although this example was commonly used as a training aid Urd was doing an excellent job, far better than she could have done even a month ago.
-x-x-x-
"You're a half-goddess?" Kayla asked in shock, staring at Urd.
Urd blushed, inwardly damning the slip of her tongue. This was why she tried not to drink too much when out with her new friend. For their relationship, originally one of mutual use, had developed into friendship.
Her expression became determined, almost defiant. She refused to feel ashamed of her divine heritage as she had of her demonic heritage for so many years. "Yes," she replied calmly.
"A Norn?!"
And there was where the real shock came in. Those of mixed heritage were rare, but not unheard of. For them to switch sides was rarer still, usually a mixed-blood's alignment was as firmly set as any pure demon's despite their parentage. But the Norns were known to be the daughters of Kami-sama himself. The idea that one of them could be half-demon had probably never even occurred.
"Of the Past, yes." Inwardly she was a lot less blasé than she appeared. Although refusing to deny her past she dreaded being rejected by almost everyone, the way she had been when it was discovered she was half-demon.
"The eldest daughter of Kami-sama…"
"Yes." This was beginning to get a little annoying. React, damn it. Rejection was better than this state of shock.
"And your mother's a demon?"
Urd nodded. "Obviously."
"How?!"
Urd rolled her eyes, deciding to be deliberately dense in the hope that it would bring Kayla back to her senses. "The usual way, I'd imagine."
Kayla glared at her, annoyance overriding shock. "You know what I mean."
Her ignorant act having gotten the results she desired Urd replied seriously. "Usually someone with my power level who doesn't yet hold First Class rank is fairly young. So people who don't know me well assume I'm younger than I actually am, despite the fact that simple common sense should tell them otherwise." She shrugged, smiling. "It certainly enhances my younger sister's reputation as a prodigy."
Her expression became serious again. "In reality I'm one of the oldest kami or demons outside of the Elders themselves. I was conceived during the period when the roles of demon and kami were still being defined, and there was a lot of switching sides."
"So your mother used to be a goddess?"
"No chance!" Urd laughed. Hild, a Goddess? It really didn't compute. "No, my mother has always been a demoness. But there was a lot of interaction between the two sides at that time, especially amongst the higher ranks."
Kayla nodded thoughtfully. So Urd's mother was most likely one of the Elder Demonesses, given the timing of her birth, and probably fairly high ranking, perhaps even Class Zero. That narrowed down the possibilities significantly.
Her next question was on a slightly different subject, however, as she had long since learnt that her new friend simply would not talk about her family.
"So how did you end up as a demoness?"
Urd laughed. "That was Marller's fault."
Kayla's eyes widened at the mention of the Demoness First Class, one of Nifelheim's most respected field agents, who, unexpectedly, had turned out to be Urd's childhood friend. This should be good.
-x-x-x-
Hild hid a fond smile as she watched her daughter work at her console. Urd had been shaping up splendidly, her control of her powers advancing as rapidly as her grasp of demonic politics. The later of the two could be clearly seen in the way she managed the room just by her presence. The others looked first to Hild for guidance but then they looked to Urd, not the supervisor, despite the fact that she was the lowest ranked person there.
Ordinarily the lack of control on behalf of the supervisor would have been cause for corrective action, either disciplining the upstart subordinate or promoting her to take the supervisor's place, perhaps both, depending on the circumstances. In this instance, however, it suited her purposes to let matters continue as they were.
In all honesty she should have allowed Urd her full licence long ago. With anyone else she would have insisted – and severely disciplined the demon that held their student back in such a way.
However Urd's power and control were such that she would be summoned to take the First Class exam within weeks of obtaining full status and that was something Urd wasn't ready for. She could cope with the power but she wasn't yet prepared for the ruthlessness of upper level demonic society.
And in her case especially there was an added factor, because attainment of First Class status would mean that Urd had to take up the long delayed position of her Heir, and the council seat that went with it. She would be eaten alive by Coucil power plays, and Hild couldn't protect her then without seriously damaging both of their authorities.
No, the only way she could help her daughter was to ensure that she didn't take her rightful place until she was truly ready for it. If that delayed her assumption of independent status…well, it just gave Hild that much longer to work on her power and control…and their mother-daughter relationship.
A win-win situation really, which was the type of situation she excelled in. So would Urd by the time she was finished with her.