Title: Dance a Little Dance

Chapter Six: Intergalactic Incidents Will Happen Anyway (*See Chapter Five on my A03 [Kisnau], as it won't display properly on FF Dot Net.)

Word Count: 5,174

[Total Word Count: 27,719]

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Pairing: Eventual FrostIron/IronFrost, if we can get there in one piece.

Warning: Language, Nine Realms politics, conference delegates, surprise visit, Tony's history, diagrams

Spoilers: Incorporates everything in the main storyline up to the ending of "Thor: The Dark World". Also, Tony still has the shrapnel, electromagnet and arc reactor in his chest.

Author: Kisnau

Date: Friday, May 1, 2015

Miscellaneous Notes: I don't know what's going on, anymore. Hahaha. So much for this being a drabble fic! Let's just see where it takes us, then, lovely readers… Thanks for your patience! I'm moving back to the US from Germany in 28 days (after living here for almost a year), so please forgive me if I'm a little slow with updates. :3 Going to try for at least once a month, and more often if inspiration strikes! :D

Finished writing this today (~2,000 words), so it's nice and fresh, but please forgive any typos I may have missed!

"Man of Iron, are you present?" That unmistakable voice bellowed into the library, and Tony peered over the railing into the foyer of the library, giving a little wave. It was hours after he had finished photographing that children's book which seemed like it might be some help (if only he could translate it). For now, Tony was interrupted by none other than Thor himself, a grumpy-looking Clint in tow.

"Hey there, big guy. What's up?" Thor smiled at him, raising a hand to beckon him down.

"The delegation from Muspelheim arrives within the hour, and you must be present." Tony raised an eyebrow at him, and Thor grinned, widely. "The dignitaries come in the order of their place on Yggdrasil. After Midgard, there is Muspelheim, then, lastly, Nidavallir." Tony frowned at Thor and pushed away from the railing, striding towards the wide stairs to the lower level of the library. He was remembering something…

"Wait, what do those realms do, again?" He questioned as he hopped down the stairs, rewarded with a bright look from Thor and Clint giving him a face something like oh-hell-what-are-you-on-Tony-now-he'll-never-shut-up.

"Muspelheim is the realm of the Fire Demons and Nidavallir is where the Sons of Ivaldi forged my mighty Mjolnir." Thor gushed happily, clearly pleased at Tony's interest, and Tony connected the dots with a good guess about the images he remembered, eyes narrowing.

"Wait, aren't there two more below Nidawhatever?" Thor blinked at him, and in the silence Tony strode up to him, cocking an eyebrow. "Cat got your tongue, buddy?" Thor seemed to hesitate, then shrugged.

"You are correct, but Svartalfheim has been uninhabited since the Dark War in my grandallfather's time. Of course, King Malekith and a few others survived, but Svartalfheim has no people. There is no one who rules it, and no one to send a delegation." Tony frowned, at that.

"Oh." Thor smiled a little at him; just slightly sad.

"Helheim's Queen does not send a delegation to such conferences, although Father has always extended invitations. I imagine there is little concern for matters of the Nine Realms. When everything is destroyed during Ragnarok, all will come to her, anyway."

"I see…" Thor clapped him on the shoulder, disrupting Tony's inner musings on the subject.

"But come! We must away to properly prepare to greet the Daughters of Surtr. We have taken the liberty of finding you and Eye of Hawk the appropriate garments." Tony felt cold in his gut, at that, and cast a surreptitious glance at Clint. One of Thor's arms around each of their shoulders, there was no escape; Clint looked adequately terrified.

"Uh, no, that's OK Thor, I brought a suit – " Thor just steamrolled over Tony's protests.

"Neither your armor nor your common linens are acceptable for such an occasion as this! Do not worry." Thor squeezed his upper arm, and Tony was pretty sure there'd be a bruise, later, but he forced a smile when Thor beamed down at him. "We had Midgardian attire gifted to us centuries ago, in tribute. I am certain it will be acceptable, and you will clearly give the message of being representative of Midgard, so you need not worry of others perceiving Asgard as the 'steward' of you Midgardians. Father was adamant about the nuances of protocol not being ignored." Tony narrowed his eyes, at that.

"It was your father's idea?" Thor nodded, still dragging them along.

"Verily! He does not wish to give the impression that Asgard and Midgard are not equal allies. It was quite fortuitous he recalled these tributes, given centuries ago. I am certain they will be to your liking."

Tony had a very, very bad feeling about this.

They were standing in Odin's Great Hall, with only Odin himself seated. Tony realized he recognized the symbols on the banners some people were holding around them, and matched them silently with the pictures in his memory.

Thor was standing to Odin's right (what was Tony's left, as he looked on). A servant further from the throne, but next to Thor, was holding a banner with the golden symbol Tony had seen at the top of the tree, in the book.

Past this servant, there were two regal-looking women in short but flowing robes (almost like togas), standing with entwining golden adornments wrapped entirely around their bare upper arms. They wore sandals, with matching entwining golden wires going up to their ankles, their heads held high. One was golden-haired, the other dark-haired, but they were both wearing circlets of gold on their heads with a shining mother-of-pearl-like gem in the center. Noticing his gaze, the brunette met Tony's eyes steadfastly, then nodded slightly in respect. He smiled a bit, nodding in return before letting his eyes drift further to the banner; the purple swirly symbol, OK. That was skipping the white one, but Tony could deal.

Beyond the banner with the purple symbol were two dark-skinned figures standing tall and mostly bare. It was probably a trick of the light that it seemed to Tony like their skin had a blue tint to it; then again, all of these people were aliens. They could easily double Thor's height, and that was saying something. Around their muscled shoulders were decorative straps obviously fashioned from some sort of animal hide, but Tony couldn't see any weapons to complete their ensemble. Short capes hung from these straps, falling to just above their waists, and Tony swore they were only wearing leather shorts. Their feet and legs were bare. The only adornments he saw looked like they were made out of bone; sharp teeth strung around their necks in a way that for some reason reminded Tony of old Indian chieftains and their iconic headdresses. The servant holding the banner beside them sported the blue symbol from the book.

That was the other side of Odin's throne; the side Thor occupied. As for Tony's side, there was a gap between him and Odin (only expected, really) large enough to fit three people inside, but that was OK. Differentiating between Asgard and Earth was a good thing, honestly. Clint was at Tony's left, and beyond him was a servant sporting a banner with the green symbol that must be for Earth. Beyond them, there were two conspicuously blank spaces that Tony had a sneaking suspicion would be reserved for the last two realms' delegations.

They waited. Eventually, there was a trumpet, and the sound of doors opening at the other end of the Great Hall. Tony couldn't see who was coming, past the huge crowd of people flanking the wide pathway.

"Announcing, the honored delegates from Muspelheim!"

Honestly, it was just a lot of waiting as the people from Muspelheim – Tony listened, this time, and he felt like he was starting to get the hang of these weird words – marched in. He really couldn't help but stare. Behind a banner identical to all the others, except for the red volcano symbol, two women walked with sure footsteps. Their skin was dark, almost black; like it'd been scorched. Like the scantily-clad, muscular men standing next to the two women from the purple-bannered realm, what Tony could see of their skin (that is, their faces) almost seemed to be some shade of dark red in the right light. Brown leather boots went up to their knees and long leather gloves covered their arms up to the elbows. Their bodies were wrapped from head to toe in what seemed to be blackened plant leaves, only melted or otherwise fused together to form some sort of flexible cloth. One had hair shorn close to her head, but it still puffed out a few inches, like African hair. It was that peachy-orange color you see at sunset. Her companion had longer hair, but it was pulled back in a short ponytail, also looking puffed-out. It was red; as in, bright red like the rainbow, like she had dyed it, but Tony had his doubts. He didn't see any adornments at all; nothing that wasn't necessary.

When they finally stood before the throne (after crossing the long distance from where Tony had first spotted them, to when they were standing right in front of him), Odin rose. Thor had told Tony that Odin always spoke to the people in All-Speak. He didn't explain beyond that it was a spell you had to have cast upon you, and it enabled whoever heard you to hear your words in their own language; a pretty neat trick, Tony thought.

"Asgard welcomes the Daughters of Surtr." Odin raised his left hand (not the one holding his spear) to indicate with his upturned palm the woman with the short, cropped, sunset hair. "Ryok – " And now the one with the stubby ponytail. "– and Aske. We are gladdened that your journey was uneventful." The women – the daughters of Surtr, apparently – looked up at Odin without an inch of fear or hesitation, only stern respect and hard purpose. It was Aske who spoke.

"Greetings, All-Father." Tony could understand her; she must know All-Speak, too – then again, the spell might be required, for foreign diplomats. Tony could see that, although he furrowed his brows at the odd-sounding title in the next sentence. "The Enduring of Muspelheim sends his good will to Asgard, and expresses hope for the conference to bring success in this urgent matter." Odin nodded, and jabbed the bottom of his spear into the ground. As one, everyone in the hall (except Odin, who sat back down on his throne again) bent down on one knee in respect; well, everyone except Tony and Clint. They were a little late to get the memo, but did their clumsy best to follow protocol when Thor sent them a pointed look. Tony looked back up at the Daughters of Surtr and found Ryok staring measuredly at him.

Odin spoke again, telling them to take their place, and Ryok first, then Aske, moved to stand beside the banner for Midgard, their own banner-bearing servant following after.

A few days later, basically the same ceremony for Brokkr and Idi from Nidavallir (the introductions helped, and Tony was sort of sorry he had missed the ones before he and Clint got to Asgard) took place. Thor reassured him that, before the feast, Odin would give a proclamation that would reiterate who everyone was, so Tony didn't have to worry about not knowing. Hey, he was bad with names anyway, but at least he could try not to make an intergalactic ass out of himself. He could admit it would probably happen anyway, but at least he could say, afterwards, that he gave it a shot. Maybe it would be good to at least learn the names of the other people in the conference, anyway. This wasn't like a Stark Industries business meeting; this was important, this counted.

Tony did have to suppress a snort at the thought of the assholes on his board of directors sitting with all these characters, though. All these different people, all seen as equals (as far as Tony could tell, from all the respect going on) and the universe hadn't collapsed into chaos. Those guys would have probably have thrown a fit. Then again, after meeting him, Odin had struck Tony as the same type; old and stuck in his ways thinking it should always stay that way. But he'd shown a remarkable openness to being equal allies with Earth. Sure, Tony had had to 'persuade' him a little bit, but if Odin had really been against it, it wouldn't have happened. Tony was sure of that, whether Odin needed his arc reactor or not.

He still didn't know what Odin wanted with the arc reactor, if and when Tony didn't need it anymore. He still had two trials to pass, after all. No sense getting ahead of himself; not with this.

The feast to welcome everyone 'Asgard-style' and commence the conference was set a few days after the folks from Nidavallir arrived. Thor mentioned it also coincided with Disting, so there was double the reason to celebrate. Since he was going to be eating, Tony full-on refused to wear the ridiculously heavy coat [1] they'd foisted on him for the last two ceremonies. He'd just go with the under-clothes, thanks very much [2]. Not to mention, ancient Viking-style robes really weren't his thing, but at least they saved him the trouble of getting mistaken for someone from Asgard (and thus, someone who actually knew how all this protocol crap worked). Clint had gotten off easy with his clothes. [3] Honestly, Tony suspected that his status on Earth was the reason he'd been given the clothes he had. He wasn't complaining about it, though – mainly because Tony looked good in red and he knew it.

Really, it was all boring, predictable politics and then they'd get to the actual conference soon enough. Wasn't really too much to get excited about, other than maybe approaching the other diplomats for personal introductions and some small talk before they tried to knock their heads together and solve this problem Loki'd dropped in their laps.

[1] Tony's heavy, ceremonial overcoat: . /tumblr_lnmbbdpqVn1qe23mao1_

[2] Tony's under-clothes (the one on the right): user/vanityfairy_photos/media/viking/lj_ .html

[3] Clint's outfit: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQozQFr6Wm5UwkmaUVQtx3zWlp_0nLjpCoseGiVXI7mte20blVLwg

Of course, it would never be that easy. The morning of the feast (which was to start at midday), there was some sort of commotion in the palace and Tony was dragged out of bed by Thor, Clint soon following. Half-asleep, they were thrown into a room and dressed hurriedly by servants in those same Viking-era clothes from Earth before being shoved back out again. Thor herded them to the Great Hall, where Tony caught a glimpse of Odin's stony face before being pushed into his usual position a few paces away from the throne. The other delegates were already all there, in the same places as for the welcome ceremonies, only with all the inhabited realms present and accounted for. Tony exchanged a worried look with Clint, but they didn't have time to do more than that before the doors were opening at the end and there was a booming announcement after the trumpets, from a servant at the end of the hall.

"Announcing, the honored delegates from Helheim!" Murmurs broke out in the audience, which Tony guessed had been just-as-hurriedly gathered together. Instead of the normal respectful silence, people were whispering to each other furiously, gesturing and many looking like they had just rolled out of bed. At the announcement, though, people were starting to peer curiously towards the door, but of course Tony still couldn't see anything because of the crowd and the distance. He risked a glance at Thor, who looked stricken and shocked. Odin was as stone-faced as ever.

"Hey, didn't Thor say Helheim never showed up for these things?" Clint hissed at him under his breath, and the weirdness of the situation finally dawned on Tony.

"Oh, right." Curiosity peaked, now, Tony just waited and watched as the delegation got closer.

When they did, he found himself staring.

Just like with Muspelheim and Nidavallir, there was a servant with a banner sporting a symbol – the grey one, Tony remembered, from the book – walking before them. But, unlike with Muspelheim and Nidavallir, there were only two people. There was the Asgardian servant, and then the two delegates, and no one else. No entourage of advisors, no guards looking like they had tagged along from the other realm for appearance's sake. Nothing; only them.

It was a little girl and a pale-faced, frail woman whose skin looked stretched over too many bones.

There was dead silence, but Tony noticed movement in the audience and found his eyes drawn to it. Someone was forcing their way through, calling out in a broken cry.

"Nanna! Is it Nanna?! Mother!" A person burst out of the crowd, on Thor's side of the hall. He was restrained by the guards lining the edge of the path, but looked anguished, reaching out. The pale-faced woman turned her face towards this call, but did not stop walking, and did not deviate from her path. Tony wasn't sure if she looked at him, or said anything at all. At her look, the man fell silent in what was clearly great pain, and simply watched her even after the woman had passed beyond him, and had to turn her head forward to continue walking.

"Forseti's mother? Is it Nanna?" A voice murmured from Tony's right and he looked, surprised to see Loki standing in the blank space between himself and Odin. Loki's expression was intent, his eyes slightly hooded, and his fingers steepled into one another just in front of his stomach. Tony frowned at him; Loki had never been present, for any of the greetings. Why now? Instead of asking, though, he looked back at the delegates, who were slowly approaching Odin's throne. Tony guessed it was taking longer because the little girl's legs were smaller. She looked five, maybe six. She was wrapped in a black, shimmering cloth that fell around her, concealing the lines of her body. Half her face was hidden behind the fall of a long, matching head scarf which actually looked like it had been wrapped around the entirety of the left side of her head. Tony couldn't see her hands from where they were hidden by the flow of the cloth. [4] By contrast, the pale-faced woman – Nanna, maybe; at least it was easy to say – was in a simple grey shift dress with a thin belt around her waist. The fabric was loosely draped over her arms and legs. [5] Her hair was white, but her face was free of the signs of age, if still far too thin and strained.

They stopped walking, and Tony noticed now that Odin had stood calmly, despite all the commotion. The hall fell into silence as he spoke.

"Asgard welcomes the Queen Hela, and her companion Nanna." Tony jerked a little, staring in disbelief at Odin. The Queen? Thor had told him neither the rulers nor their next-in-lines ever attended these things. A security issue, or something. But Odin was still talking, and Tony looked back at the two from Helheim. And if Nanna was the woman, then that meant…

"Greetings, All-Father." It was a little girl's voice, the sound of her mouth around the words young but the tone itself unhesitating and collected, her one visible eye focused only on Odin. "I, the Truth of Helheim, bring my good will and counsel to Asgard." Glancing back, Tony watched as Odin tilted his head in demure acknowledgement. Eyes drifting, Tony noticed Loki was still staring intently at the little girl.

"We are honored to receive it. Arrangements will be made to give you proper accommodation." Tony felt Loki step forward, speaking suddenly and making himself known.

"We offer our apologies for not being better prepared for your historic visit." His voice sounded a tad tight, and Tony blinked at the back of Loki's head for a moment before he watched Hela, again. Her gaze slowly shifted to Loki, remaining impassive. Then, the slightest of smirks seemed to grace her face, and Tony swore her eyes flickered to his own, briefly, before focusing back on Loki as she answered him.

"Apologies are not necessary, Father. I am heartened to see you well, despite rumors to the contrary." It was stated simply, almost matter-of-fact. Tony watched as Loki's shoulders relaxed minutely, and when he spoke again, it almost sounded as though he were smiling.

"Rumors are not reliable. To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence, Daughter?" Odin was being oddly quiet in all this, but Tony risked a glance at him, anyway. Odin was still standing, silently watching the exchange between Loki and Hela, his expression shrewd. Thor, on the other hand –

"Daughter?" Thor strode down a step on the stairs leading to Odin's throne, breaking the moment and gaping at the little girl before rounding on Loki. "You have a daughter? Brother, when – "

"Discussions of this nature are perhaps better left to the privacy of my chambers." Loki offered crisply, before looking to Odin, his face looking tight, again. Odin acknowledged this by stepping forward to address her.

"We are gladdened your journey was uneventful, and express our deep gratitude for the boon of your counsel, Queen Hela." With this, Odin jabbed the bottom of his spear into the ground, and everyone got down on one knee to bow to her, as they had the other delegates. Tony guessed it was probably more important they show respect since she was the actual ruler of her realm, though.

Tony couldn't help sneaking glances between Hela and her father; amazed at the fact that Loki had had a fucking child. What about the whole thing on Earth he'd said about not conceiving? Was this a result of sometime in the past, where Loki had made the mistake of not being the 'woman' in the relationship? But she looked so young – then again, aging on Earth and Asgard was something done at very different rates, so really, Tony had no idea how old Hela actually was. Just like Loki, in fact.

Well, wasn't this turning into a fun little family shit-fest.

[4] Hela's clothing:

[5] Sculpture of Nanna for reference: wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Nanna_%281857%29_by_H._W._ /320px-Nanna_%281857%29_by_H._W._

Despite Hela's unexpected appearance, the feast went on as usual, although Tony was pretty sure there had been two hastily-added seats. Nanna was, apparently, a goddess that had died long ago and gone to Helheim. Now, she was Hela's companion. Given the momentous occasion of Hela's visit, the tables were rearranged a bit to fit everyone of importance.

The Highest Table consisted of only two seats; Odin on the right and an empty seat for the deceased Queen of Asgard on the left. The two tables (Higher and High, in descending order) on the lower levels had seven seats, but Tony was pretty sure it'd been six, before. At the Higher Table, one of the two tall, muscular men sat at the far end, followed by one of the women from the place with the purple symbol. Next to her was Thor, and Hela in the seat in the middle. On Hela's other side was Tony, with the sunset-haired woman (Ryok, right?) next to him, and finally one of the shorter, stockier people from Nidavallir at the other end of the table. The High Table was of roughly the same layout (Tony was detecting a realm-order pattern to all this), only with Loki where Thor was, Nanna in the middle where Hela was, and Clint where Tony was. Aske was next to Clint, followed by the other delegate from Nidavallir at the end. [6]

At the beginning of the feast, Odin stood to formally address those gathered. Besides the three high tables at the front (and set up on different levels, with Odin the highest, of course), there are numerous longer ones stretched out lying perpendicular to them. (It almost reminds Tony of those feast scenes in the Harry Potter movies – Loki counts as a wizard, right?) Odin takes his time to announce everyone. It's a bit tedious with all the titles, but Tony forces himself to listen, to get an idea of who the people from the purple and blue banners are, and where they're from.

"Of Asgard, my sons; Crown Prince Thor and our returning Prince Loki." There are murmurs spreading around the hall at Loki's name, and Odin straightens a little. "In light of the Queen's death – " Tony swears he sees a flicker of pain in Odin's tight face, and the murmurs in the audience fall utterly silent. " – and for how insistently he has lobbied for this conference, his past crimes are to be weighed against the role he now plays. Should he act befitting a prince, he shall once more be treated as one. However, if he should fall into his old ways, there will be no further quarter given to him. I assure both you, my people, and these honored delegations from the Nine Realms, that if he fails to act in accord as a Prince of Asgard should, that Loki shall be stripped of his title and additionally face disownment and banishment, upon penalty of death. Loki is given this final chance while I believe the Queen would wish it so, given his recent actions, and in respect to her previous mercy I shall bind my wayward son to his word so long as it holds true." There is more silence once Odin finishes, and a long pause from the audience.

Finally, there is a lone pair of hands clapping from the side, and Tony looks over. It's Sif – and the Warriors Three, Thor had introduced them a few days after he and Clint arrived. She's standing, her face hard as always but resolute. Slowly, Thor's Asian-looking friend stands, and lends his hands to the clapping as well. The other two hastily hurry to follow, and soon there is a smattering of applause spreading amongst the audience. It's not everyone, but Tony notices that the people who are clapping look a little sad, although they're still eying Loki like he'll turn into a snake in front of them. The ones who don't clap look far from happy, but they don't say anything since Odin has decreed it; almost grudgingly respecting their king. Odin nods to them, and Tony watches Loki sit back down at the High Table in front of him. His back is tense, although Tony can't really blame him.

"Of Helheim, the Queen Sannhet Hela and her companion Nanna." Right, grey-bat-wing-thingy symbol. Both of them stand as they are announced, then sit back down once the applause stops.

"Of Vanaheim, two Daughters of Queen Bevist Skadi, and the late Queen Frigga's esteemed sisters; Princesses Daggry and Bolge." OK, they're from the purple-swirly-symbol place, Tony's got it. … Wait, sisters? Tony glances over at them, and catches the golden-haired one at their table placing a gentle hand on Thor's shoulder, both of them meeting eyes sorrowfully. If he had to guess, since Daggry was listed first, Tony's going to deduce she's the one with blond hair sitting at the Higher Table. Tony then glances down to the High Table in front of them and sees the brunette exchanging quiet words with Loki under all the clapping, their expressions somber but unreadable; she must be Bolge. After their applause, the two women sit down.

"Of Jotunheim, two trusted advisors of the returned King Sterkeste Farbauti; Hagl and Kjolig." The muscular, almost-blue-skinned men stand to accept their applause, and Tony figures it makes sense that they're from the blue-spiky-symbol place.

In fact, Farbauti was the first king of Jotunheim. He was usurped by Laufey, who started the war. It's a small voice, amidst the clapping, and Tony glances to his right to see Hela staring straight ahead, her expression neutral. In fact, he's not even sure he heard her, until her left eye locks on him. He frowns, just thinking to himself.

Wasn't her other eye the one that was covered, before? The visible corner of Hela's mouth curves in amusement, and she inclines her head in a slight nod.

You are astute, Tony Stark. Has my father given you directions on your situation? Getting it, now (and definitely not freaking out about the fact Loki's daughter is apparently a telepath) Tony squints a little, but tries not to be too obvious about it. He and Clint are up next, after all, and the applause for… Jotunheim's? … delegates is ending.

"Of Midgard, two of the Avenging Warriors; "Man of Iron" Prince Tony Stark of the Kingdom of America and "Eye of Hawk" Clint Barton." Wow, that was a mouthful. Tony smiles charmingly at the audience even as he answers Hela.

Maybe he did. What's it to you, kid? Hela sounds amused in his head as he and Clint bear their applause.

It might be relevant. It might even save your life. I see many burned threads tied to you, Tony Stark.

He doesn't look at her as he sits back down, in tandem with Clint at the High Table in front of him.

Threads? What threads?

You should have died many times, Tony Stark. Each time your life is changed, whether by others or your own design, it results in new paths. Some of these paths lead to death. The ends of the threads that lead to death, if you avoid them in time, are burned. This results in more threads and more paths, as you have not died. I can see your entanglements, Tony Stark; your addictions, Edwin Jarvis burning some threads, Obadiah Stane adding more paths to death, Virginia Potts burning other threads—

Odin announces Ryok and Aske from Muspelheim, and Tony just automatically claps along.

Wait, what about Stane? It was just Afghanistan and then the Iron Monger suit. He didn't –

Do you believe your parents' deaths to be an accident, Tony Stark? Obadiah Stane thirsted for your family's power and you have so very many burned threads that I can see only led to death in the months and years after your parents' demise. These threads came from the changes Obadiah Stane made to your life, and some changes that you allowed him to make.

Tony's blood feels cold. The two red-haired women sit down, after their applause.

I have upset you. I apologize. Hela remarks on this after hesitating, sounding thoughtful but not exactly sorry. She changes the subject, anyway. What did my father say to you? It is of importance, Tony Stark.

Tony doesn't answer her. He doesn't even look at her.

Last to be announced are Brokkr and Idi from Nidavallir; Tony barely hears it, but his hands clap anyway, along with everyone else's.

Hela doesn't say anything more. She doesn't push. Tony hesitates as the feast begins and stares at his food before downing his goblet of something-alcoholic (because it burns going down) and signaling for another. He had thought about asking Ryok about Muspelheim; sure, she's a little scary, but she's sitting on his left and they probably have to make small talk, around here. Deciding, Tony shoots Hela a reply even as he turns towards Ryok with a friendly smile, to which Ryok just looks stoically unimpressed.

He said, 'Do not trust me, Stark. Trust Odin.' Hela doesn't reply, and Tony dives into the same bullshitting socialization he grew up with, all his life.

At least Ryok seems to be a matter-of-fact, manly type of girl with no sexual interest whatsoever in him. Tony's not sure his frayed nerves (of going through memories involving Jarvis and Howard and Maria and Obie) could handle a swooning princess adequately enough to avoid an intergalactic incident.

Thank fuck for alcohol.

[6] Feast seating arrangement for delegates, and their status. (*See the end of Chapter Six on my A03 [Kisnau], as it won't display properly on FF Dot Net.)