The cold of the floor was really nice beneath her palm, though the arguing wasn't quite as pleasant. Having gotten over the initial embarrassment of puking on a huge guys golden shoes, Kari, was treated to some rather ungentle tossing over a shoulder followed by a sideways horsie ride that made her feel increasingly sea sick – horses not being her most favourite of beast either – and finally dragged across a very expensive looking floor to be bellowed at by a guy with a spear that made her cry. By that point, however, even she wasn't sure which part of the days events had driven her off the edge – eight year olds, laundry, moustache-men, getting stood-up, rainbow-puke-rollercoaster, all the gourde gold?
Having tried to explain herself several times and getting no where, Kari had instead elected to puke for a second time on a guard before finally being allowed to sit on the floor and bury her face between her knees. That's when the arguing had started. The big gold wearing guy – Heimdall – was rumbling deeply about having seen stuff he couldn't of possibly seen because she was sure she saw nothing as big and gold as he anywhere near her before today. Then the shouty king guy – Odin – was apparently confused or just tired of repeating something and got into an argument with a tall blond.
Having been drowning the world out like a well-practiced hangover-ee, Kari, wasn't aware she was being spoken to again until someone lightly squeezed her shoulder and offered her a hand to stand with. It was a woman this time, with a much friendlier disposition than everyone else in the hall glaring daggers of suspicion at her. Mesmerized by her smile, she took the offered appendage and regained her feet somewhat shakily and blinked in the room for a second time. There were a few more people in here than she previously noted before, mostly standing around the tall smug looking blond but her attention was quickly redirected to the woman once again.
"Are you feeling a little better, dear?"
"Whut?" Kari blinked in the words rather than hearing them.
"You aren't going to be, unwell, again are you?" The woman repeated.
"No, no. I'm fine. I just really don't like rollercoaster's."
"I see." The woman continued with a slight nod and clearing of her throat as the blond crew began to chuckle before stopped dead. "I am Frigga and this my husband Odin, king of Asgard, as you have well met." There was something of a look exchanged between the married couple but it's meaning far to well masked to decipher. "Our sons, princes Thor and Loki. Lady Sif and-"
"The warriors three!" A fat looking redhead burst out before issuing apologies to the queen for his enthusiasm.
"The warrior's three," Frigga continued, pointing out the mostly grinning and one moody looking warriors, "Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg."
"Oh." Kari nodded, swallowing down saliva as if it were information to process. "I'm er… I'm…"
"Have you forgotten your own name, midgardian?"
"Thor." Odin's tone was neutral but filled with authority enough to halt his son's joviality.
"It's Karian Motter, but, er, people just call me Kari." Kari looked away, a slight blush etching on her cheeks at the sheer amount of eyes penetrating her.
"I don't recognize the name." Fandral shrugged. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Positive." Heimdall said, not taking his eyes off Odin for a second.
"Tell me, Kari, of your parents names." Odin nodded his belief to the guardian.
"What? Why?"
"Humor an old man."
"Um…?" She scrunched her brow, not sure what was going on at this point or any other. "My mother was Darlene Motter and I have no idea who my father was. I think he was Canadian." She shrugged, all eyes flickering back to the shorter blond.
"I do not recognize that name either." Fandral shook his head. "You must have been mistaken Heimdall."
"Further back." Heimdall continued to stare directly at Odin, whom was now pausing for thought.
"I don't know anyone further back." Kari groaned. "Apart from a grandmother maybe called Fran. What's this all about?"
"Francesca?" Fandral's eyes were suddenly alight.
"You recognize that name?" Sif's arms momentarily slipped to her sides before returning to folded as she watched the stranger.
"I do." He came forward, closely followed by Sif, Thor and the other two warriors, until looming down on the terrified looking midgardian. "Let me see you more closely."
"Why are you touching me?" Kari visibly shuddered at the hands suddenly lifting her arms as if she might have a strange tattoo and pulling her chin from one side to the other.
"Hah! Those are definitely your eyes." Thor exclaimed with a laugh and clap on the other blonds shoulder.
"And your nose." Sif commented initiating Fandral into a profile pose touching the tip of his nose with index finger.
"Is it so?"
"Sadly yes, my condolences." Loki had appeared as if by magic to Kari's left making her jump at first and then get somewhat annoyed as she realized what was just said.
"What's wrong with my nose?" She frowned at the green-eyed prince causing him to shake his head with a playful smile.
"That's definitely Francesca's hair." Fandral appeared caught in a moment, fingers entwined in Kari's now messy curls.
"Please stop touching me."
"Enough." Odin commanded, the group scattering back several paces from their previous interest. "It seems we have some answer."
"No! I don't have any answers!" Kari clung to herself now feeling somewhat violated on top of everything else. "I have had a really tough day to day with children's birthday parties, a stood-up date. Rush hour! Museums that guilt you into donating! Roller coasters, horses, shouting people and someone insulted my nose!" She paused to wipe away the prickling of tears. "So will you all stop being so bloody cryptic and touchy feely and tell me what the heck is going on?!"
"Come here." Frigga was suddenly all over her like a pleasant rash - with the added bonus of some back rubbing - whilst she had a bit of a cry on her shoulder.
It took a minute or two for Kari to fully compose herself again, though the others seemed more interested with a discussion of "What's rush hour?" As Frigga stepped back again, reclaiming her space next to Odin, there was a general hush as the king explained as much of the details as he thought the girl could understand. Apparently she'd been touching some sort of asgardian – which is what they called themselves - artifact in the museum that used dark energy to connect with a tree-rainbow-bridge – or at least that was what she took from the explanation and filed under 'lunatic conspiracies' in her brain. The reason he and Heimdall had been so shouty before hand turned out to be because only an asgardian should have been able to use such a device but she was human – except for the fact of Fandrall.
"You are kidding me." Kari's head swung like a demonic pendulum to stare at the blond haired, moustache wielding, hands in her hair creeper. "No!" Her mouth went wide, grimaced and then clicked shut as she stomped over to give him a feeling up now. "No! No! That is my nose. Oh god. No!"
"I do not wish to worry you friend, but I do not think this maiden cares for your inclusion in her ancestry." Thor laughed.
"I would be upset too." Sif added with a snort.
"Do not judge her too harshly, friends. Once she's got a hot meal in her I'm sure she'll come around." Volstagg began to shake the melancholy out of Fandral.
Kari had already scuttled away again, somewhere closer to Frigga's direct line of sight, and was now refusing to meet anyone's gaze. This was a lot to take in and worse still; her grandfather was better looking than her.
"Can I go home now?" she queried, the instinct to run beginning to kick in.
"No." Odin shook his head, leaning back into his throne with a regrettable sigh.
"But-"
"It would be best for both your realm and ours if someone able to open portals between the two were not so vulnerable." He gave her a somewhat weary look, as if he could taste war on the winds. "Who knows what forces watch. I am sure you will come to like it here."
"No I wont! I have a life! A job! Griffin!"
"You have a griffin?" Sif raised an eyebrow.
"Don't be stupid. It's my cat!"
"An easy mistake to make." Thor chuckled, coming towards the now wide-eyed midgardian – he was a lot taller than she'd previously noticed. "Welcome to asgard!" He bellowed happily, slamming his palm into her shoulder as some sort of greeting but failing to recall how fragile a creature she was.
Kari was unaware of the next few minutes. She knew he had smacked her quite hard on the shoulder and things had moved but was completely unaware of whose eyes she was looking into when she regained consciousness.
"You are beautiful." She blurted out.
Loki looked up at the others hovering above himself and the woman in his arms with an apologetic look for Fandral who was now pulling his kin away from the silver-tongued princes grasps.
"She doesn't know what she is saying." He re-adjusted the concussed girl over his shoulder and headed off towards a healing room.