Kari leaned against the wall, then slid down the wall and finally banged the back of her head against it a few times. She'd been waiting outside the throne room to talk to Odin for two, maybe three, hours. Yes, he was a busy man, that was obvious, but weren't there other people to deal with some of the queue she was stuck in.
Finally the doors opened again and Kari jumped up expectantly, having finally made it to the head of the line. A disappointed cloak swished by, slapping her across the face with its fluttering before the exiting man wearing it stomped out of sight. Her guard soon ushered her forward, into the throne room and across the polished floor she'd previously been dragged along.
Odin was leaning back in his chair looking a lot older than she remembered him, his one good eye following her silently as she watched her guard get to his knees, fist to heart. Raising an eyebrow at the display of obedience she suddenly recalled something similar was expected on her own world too – in regards to the queen - and instead did a wobbly curtsy in place of bruising her knees. If Odin was annoyed or appreciative of her demonstration he showed no signs and instead ordered the guard to rise and leave them.
"What have you too say, Fandralkin?"
"Fandralkin?" Kari blurted out before really thinking. Right, they liked to give themselves surnames about parentage and stuff. "Er, well, the thing is…"
"My time is not so free." He spurred her on.
"Yes, yes, I know. I just… how do I put this? I um, I want to ask you to let me go back to earth-"
"No."
"I haven't finished."
"Very well." He made himself a bit more comfortable, ready to listen to more dawdling speech. "Continue."
"I want to go back to pick up some of my things to, uh," What had his wife said again? "bridge the gap between my old life and new one. And maybe tell my friends I'm going away so they don't think I'm just dead and hold a funeral. That would be really morbid."
"I have heard your request and the answer is as it was before." He paused for dramatics. "No."
"Oh, come on don't be like that!" She was starting to get really flustered now. "Just this one thing and I'll willingly stay and stop thinking of you as a kidnapper." Odin laughed at her accusation, which only added embarrassment to her list of issues today. "Your wife just gave me hope, but I suppose you can just take that as well." She gritted her teeth, tossing the flower she still held at the king's feet.
Odin went suddenly quiet, his gaze hard and heavy like a mountain as he stood and retrieved the stem. Moving one foot in front of the other, turning the flower round and round between forefinger and thumb, the king descended the steps of his throne to the girl shaking with mutual fear and anger. As they came face to face, he reached down taking her hand and placing the discarded gift back in her palm.
"Hope is never a gift you should so idly throw away, or, allow others to take from you." He commented, closing her fingers around the stem and simultaneously slamming his spear on the ground. "Go, bring me Fandral." He commanded of a guard and returned to his seat.
Chewing on her lip, Kari fidgeted uncomfortably as they waited for her grandfather to appear – she supposed Odin wanted to have him chastise her as well. As the man in question finally arrived, flashing her a worried look, he took to his knees at the allfathers feet and waited to be commanded to stand.
"Fandral," Odin began, indicating for him to reclaim his feet, "a request has been made for your kin to return to midgard and retrieve items of a personal nature. I cannot allow her to go alone, but, if a warrior volunteered as escort…"
"You know I, my king. I could never turn my back on a maiden in need." Kari visibly blanched, shocked at Fandral's words - she had been sure he'd never even speak to her again, let alone help her, after the array of names she had called him yesterday.
"Then I will allow it on the condition that you both return within the day and you, Fandralkin," he turned his attention back to the woman, "may only bring what you can carry. If there is any hope of your integration then you cannot be weighed down by the past."
"Yes, ok." She nodded, mentally trying to calculate just how many shoe's she could actually carry in one go. "I accept."
Earth! Oh gods was it good to see earth again, she thought between violent up chucking all over the grass. Grass, real, lovely green – also yellow with chunks of orange – grass.
"Are you alright?" Fandral tried desperately not to notice, for her sake as well as his, all the puking.
"Yes." Kari responded, spitting the taste from her mouth. "Oh smell that air!"
"It smells foul."
"I know!" She laughed whipping the asgardian into the humor with her. "I've missed good ole, London air. It's too flowery and clean up there." She pointed randomly upwards at the sky only to have her arm position moved a little to the left.
"Actually, asgard is over there."
"Oh." She looked directly along the line of her finger at the clouds, coming to the realization that this all really wasn't just a bizarre cheese induced dream. "We should uh, I… I live… I used to live, down that way." She inclined her head as her feet began to follow the route.
After an awkward filled and silent walk, the pair made it to a row of houses and stopped at a blue door. She fished about in her bag for the keys, finding them caught at the bottom on some thread and began to fiddle the door open.
"Maybe you should… it's a mess."
"I do not mind. Besides I am curious to see your home." Fandral flashed one of his more dashing smiles.
"Yeah, uh, ok but… I warned you." Kari rolled her eyes, pushing the door open to the unsurprising catastrophe inside.
There was a deafening level of silence as they both carefully made there way into the house. Kari's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, as he said nothing, only surveying the destruction sight with a blank facade. This was why she hated having people over, the silent judging cataloging of her life followed by a sarcastic 'nice place'.
"Make yourself at home…" She shrugged, as he still seemed to in shock to reach the verbal stage of first time viewers. "Take a look around and whatever."
She scuttled upstairs before he could find words to respond and headed straight for the bedroom. A suitcase, that's what she needed, there was one under the bed but first she had to move several piles of clothing out of the way. That was another thing, all her clothes reeked.
"Hey, gramps!" She called down the stairs, the blond in questions head popping into view over the railing. "I need to go to a launderette to get my clothes washed."
"Very well, but only if you never call me 'gramps' again."
"Oh, I thought it would be endearing." Kari snorted, disappearing back into her room to collect up some laundry.