He was looking around in the 'bathroom', it was a lot smaller than the washrooms at home. The views outside were large and had no barrier. The baths were big enough to swim in. The bath was big enough for three people, at best. There was a flimsy curtain keeping it covered. Can't the mortals make their curtains more… well better…
He looked into the mirror, thinking about everything he just learned. She was a young woman, orphaned, living alone in the middle of nowhere. The house was big enough for many people. Too large for just her and a cat. Even though this washroom was a lot smaller than the ones on Asgard. It was still quite the size for a single person. Although he was abandoned as an infant, his adopted father had a choice to save him, raise him, and fought very hard to stay alive for his kingdom and its people. Her parents died leaving her all alone, they didn't take care of their lives enough to be there for their child. They only had to look out for her and themselves, was it that hard to live for that? Although, they didn't probably have a choice on dying in that matter, they were just mortals. But, they could have at least fought harder to live for her.
Did someone take her in, like Odin did for him? Or did she basically raise herself? It would explain her responsibility for her health. No one else was going to take care of her. She should have other family though, where were they?
He wondered why these questions were swirling in his mind. Though the next questions had him stumped.
Why does he care so much? Does he feel he can relate to her isolation? He lost his chances at family too, will he be like her? Living alone, talking to animals like they were conversational beings, they were at least more loyal than a person. Is that why he feels sympathy for this woman? Does he feel like he understood her loneliness? Does he understand her deep down desire to belong?...
He normally wouldn't care about other people and their well being. Maybe it was just this woman's sad past that made him guilty for the way he's been treating her. The strangest part was that despite his cruelty, she never faltered in her kindness. She stayed true to it and continued to help him. She even sacrificed her dead fathers clothes just for him. Even offered to keep his armor safe till he was ready to leave tomorrow…
Thinking of tomorrow…
What was he to do? Where would he go? Would someone else show the same kindness he got from that woman? He highly doubted there were any people out there like her. Even though she was kind, she was still annoyingly smart and perceptive. He was triggered by the fact a human that wasn't even close to five hundred can be so wise and responsible. He was little over a thousand years old, yet she was able to stump him in his mistakes by just stating an opinion.
By tomorrow she will be out of his life. What she does won't matter after tonight. The only thing he should focus on is what he was doing for the following days to come, possibly even years if he chose to stay in this realm. Where else could he go now that the Bifrost was destroyed? Not like he could ask for a pick up and drop off into another realm, even if it was still intact.
He was pretty much done thinking about this woman and of Asgard, both giving him no peace. Only seeming to irritate him to no end.
He was now trying to get out of his armor, he usually never had to do it without his magic. Focusing his magic on the healing was taking it all up along with his energy.
He winced at every movement, groaning when removing every part of the armor.
Once everything on his top half was off, he didn't take into account that his cape would be a problem. He stepped back and slipped over his cape. He fell back into the tub ripping the rod off the wall. Hitting him in the head and the curtain fell over his face. Cutting off his view only to see the design of the curtain. He heard his own cries full of pain. Then suddenly he heard stomping, getting louder till the sound of the door swung open. Finally having his vision returned, seeing a worried expression on the woman's face as she lifted the cover over to see him.
"Are you okay?! What happened?!"
This woman rushed to his aid, without concern of her safety… or his privacy. Even though he was only bested by his own cape…
"I'm alright, I only lost my balance."
"Oh my gosh, your ribs! They look awful!"
She said after helping him up. Looking at his bare torso, his ribs on his left side were purple and one of them looked out of place.
"How kind of you to say."
He sarcastically stated. Though it went ignored as she continued to focus on his upper half.
"Your rib is out of place. God, what happened to you?"
"It's not important."
"How could it not be important!? Did someone hurt you?!"
"No, No one dared to hurt me. I just… I really don't want to discuss this."
She looked very frustrated, she then sighed and looked defeated.
"Fine, but worry about the clothes later. I need to reset your rib, otherwise you will be uncomfortable all night."
"Do you even know what you're doing? Do you have enough healing experience to reset it?"
"Yes actually, I reset my own ribs once. Bad experience climbing a tree, I had a book that helped me out when it happened to me."
"Well that's... helpful."
"Just sit down, I'll be right back."
He chose to stay standing, mostly because he refused to be bossed around. She was gone for a short while and came back with some things. What caught his attention was a long leather belt. She folded it and put it in front of his mouth.
"Bite down on it. Trust me you'll want to bite through your own teeth from the pain."
"...Fine."
She seemed very bossy, but talked like she knew what to do. He didn't want to hear her bickering if he said no. So, he took it from her and bit down on it.
"Now I'm going to need you to put your arms behind your back, intertwine them, and push them as far up as you can. It will hurt but you have to fight it."
He did as instructed, biting firmly on the leather from the pain.
"Okay I'm going to tell you when, and when I do, I want you to relax and breathe in as deep as possible. Alright?"
He nodded and prepared for her signal. She placed her hand on his shoulders readying herself like she's about to put in a lot of force.
"Now."
He breathed in and fully relaxed, as much as he could going against the pain. Once he couldn't breathe in anymore, she swiftly twisted him hard to the left, pushing into his rib that was out of place. There was a crack to be heard, and he shouted through his teeth biting hard on the belt. Maybe it was useful…
"I'm so sorry. I know it's painful. I got some painkillers. Would you like one and some water?"
He nodded, taking the belt out of his mouth.
Pain killers… sounded quite vicious if they were given the title. Might as well see if they live up to the name.
She set a white bean on the counter with a cup next to it. She then turned around and started going through a cabinet.
He grabs it and looks at it, hesitantly. This is it? Is it an egg? Will it hatch if he swallowed it? What if the pain killer will make his body a nest and lay more eggs?
"Do you not want it? It's the strongest one I have, can you not take Naproxen? I have syringes and basically the same thing, it will hurt through injection though."
She said looking back at him with a curious look.
His eyes went wide as he looked up at her from this little thing in his hands.
The strongest one… is this tiny little thing?!? There are more types?! Is she that determined to make more of these… Naproxen?! She will inject them in him if he refuses one she offered! Is she trying to make his body a host for the Pain killers?!
"Hey, it's okay! We don't have to use needles, I promise. That pill is not the biggest one I have. I have pills you will have to grind in order to take. Do you want me to do that for you?" She stated waving her hands, trying to ease his worries.
Wait… grind them?...
"So, this 'Pain killer' isn't alive?"
"Uh…. No?"
…..
"Then, no I will swallow it."
Guess the God of Tricks can be fooled.
He felt like a fool. But she didn't do it, he fooled himself…
Humans don't have that kind of influence or abilities; their realm is too boring to have something that interesting. Hence, why he didn't care enough to research more on this realm. And yet he was already thinking of ways to make more of these things in Asgard. He was willing to sacrifice his pain that was only going to last for a short time anyway, and take the sample back to place it in another test subject. Only to find out it's just plain medicine. Not a living parasite humans can control to take a subject's pain away.
There was that and he ended up thinking of home again… well what was his home… It irritated him even more.
Swallowing 'the pill' dry was a harder task than anticipated, discovering the water was very much needed.
She left before his physical and eternal struggle. She was very off-set by his question. He could tell as she returned with a blue pack and a bandage wrap. It was written on her face how confused she was. Great… more suspicion… Hopefully, she won't badger him about it. She is able to read him like a book at times, she hardly even knows him yet she can tell what he feels or thinks. Not exactly what he was thinking, thankfully. She at least knows what to say to make him not dislike her presence.
"This will be cold."
She placed the cold bag on him, but he didn't flinch. What was this thing's purpose for? He was designed for the cold and it had no use for him.
Only now realizing all the cold moments in his life, why it never bothered him…. So, truthfully he can say-
"The cold doesn't bother me."
"I have heat pads."
"I'll keep the cold."
He couldn't feel it, but it was helping with the pain in its own way. A lot of it was relieved when she popped his ribs back in place. She wrapped the cold bag to his torso and went around, over and over. Straightening the wrap around his body and over his left shoulder. She was firm but gentle; he couldn't feel any more discomfort.
"Better?"
"Yes."
He sighed with relief. Despite her efforts, she didn't have to help him. It would have healed once he had enough rest to properly use his abilities. Of course, she doesn't know that. He was better off letting her play doctor.
She obviously would have never left him alone.
Not after seeing the damage for herself.
Or after barging in here to make sure he was alright.
Not even after she knew how to ease his pain and did all she could in her human power, to make him feel better.
All to help a stranger she barely knows anything about.
Despite his horrible behavior and excessive attempts at getting her to leave him alone….
She's lucky he pities her, otherwise he would have thrown her across the room for causing that much needless pain.
"Good, I'll leave you to get dressed the rest of the way. Unless you need help-"
"No, no, I got it."
He said lifting his hand to get her to step back from him, she kept the same distance after placing on the bandage wrap. Which was too close to his personal bubble. She's been doing that quite often since they met.
"Alright. Come find me when you're done."
She picked up his armor and the cape, folding it neatly and placing it in a box. Then carried it out of the room closing the door behind her.
He finally finished changing, the clothes fit him just fine, they were a lot lighter than his armor.
He came to appreciate the cooler he felt, being in a controlled environment. The blue pack on his side actually felt rather soothing as well.
He enters back into the living room to find it empty. He looked around but couldn't find a trace of the woman. He then hears the sound of metal clanking together in the room underneath the steps. He investigates the sound to find a large spaced room with cookware and compartments all along the walls in the back, a counter in the middle, and a table and three chairs in front of him. The woman was across the room placing a pot of water on top of something and clicking it on to reveal flames underneath it. She walked around the middle counter and to the table. The red and white boxes were open, the contents scattered on the table.
"Please, sit."
She pulled out a chair for him.
He took the chair pulling it farther out, turning it around and sat down. Propping his arms on the back of the chair.
"If you're more comfortable that way."
"I like to be unpredictable."
He said with a mischievous smirk.
"I can see that, though tell me; Was meeting me predictable or planned?"
His smirk faded and was replaced with confusion.
"What?"
"Life is unpredictable, nothing can turn out the way you want or plan. You can never trust that life will steer you right. Just like you can't trust unpredictability, ultimately people won't trust you. You will either surprise people or disappoint them. When you chose to be unpredictable, which outcome came first?"
"I would like to think I surprised them."
"Yes, you would like to think that, but what you hoped would happen probably didn't. Especially if it doesn't help others and only causes harm, all for your own entertainment. It probably disappointed a lot of people by being that way."
"How dare-"
"I'm just saying, everyone can be unpredictable. Meeting new people, you don't know who they are or what they are like. Getting to know someone comes with unpredictability, till they are no longer unreadable. It's just those that like to be that way, end up making other people get hurt or feel betrayed. Because nobody will ever be able to fully trust them or their actions."
"What is that supposed mean to me?"
"What I mean is, I can't predict if you will rob me blind or leave here honorably. I can't predict if you will murder me or let me live. I don't know who you are. If you're good or plagued with terrible intentions. I couldn't tell if I could trust you or not from the start. But, after saying you like to be unpredictable, and from the look on your face you must have used it to your advantage every time. You are making yourself out to be untrustworthy, not just unpredictable. How am I supposed to know if you have good intentions, if you like to be untrustworthy?"
"I-"
He couldn't even defend that argument, it all made sense. After he really listened to her words.
All those times he played all his pranks and little jokes… Most of the time… the people involved weren't laughing, only he was.
When he decided to destroy Jotunheim, it didn't surprise Odin like he thought it would… it only disappointed him…
Once again this woman stumps him. He was silent for a moment, then he stood up and turned the chair around right and sat down. Supporting his arms with his knees waiting for instructions. She stood there a little dazed from his reaction, then smiled.
"Now that was unpredictable, you didn't have to do that. I was just stating how I felt after your statement.
"Enough of this, just… tend to my wounds and get it over with."
"Well at least you're not trying to convince me to trust you, that's a good sign. Usually the people that you can't trust are the ones that try so hard to get you to do so."
"You will be rid of me by tomorrow. Why would I need your faith in me?"
"Good point, I guess."
"Do you always talk this much?"
"No, not really. I don't get much company other than myself and Cleo."
She started sitting down, and going through the variant of objects on the table. Setting down what she needed in front of her.
He was genuinely curious now, was she really that alone out here.
"Do you have other family?"
"No, my grandparents on both sides hate each other, disowned my parents for falling in love and having me. Classic Romeo and Juliet story, except they had a child then they died."
She said with a sad laugh.
He was shaken by the fact this woman was truly alone. Maybe she wasn't as okay with it as he originally thought. He could see the loneliness in her eyes… he knew what it looked like, he saw it every time he looked at his reflection.
She hasn't made any attempts to chase him off, only to convince him to stay and help him till tomorrow came. So either she was blindly trusting, nieve and will do anything for human connection. Or she was genuinely kind, wishes nothing but for him to be healthy and comfortable, and really does only want his company for one night. Does this all for a stranger, in hopes he will do the right thing in the end. Despite just telling her he liked to make people wary of him.
Though his curiosity was taken elsewhere.
"Romeo and Juliet?"
"Shakespeare's Most tragic love story."
He was still blank with confusion.
"You've never heard of it?"
"Not to my recollection."
"Wow, and here I thought you were a book worm. I hope you don't find me a hypocrite, but the way you use big words with your accent made me think that you were."
"I am fond of books."
"And yet you have never read Shakespeare?! Did you grow up on another planet or something?"
"Yes, I did thank you very much."
He said with sarcasm not straying far from the truth. Hoping she would find it was a joke.
She huffed with her hand over her mouth. Like she was hiding a laugh.
"I'll just have to let you borrow the book then. Now, let's take care of these cuts."
She grabbed a cotton ball and dipped it in a liquid substance in a small bowl. It reeked with a strong smell.
"Now this will burn a bit, I got to make sure these don't get infected, don't want to ruin your charming face from scaring. Who knows, it might look good on you."
He winced from the burn, as she dabbed it along all of the cuts on his face. Did this woman just call him charming? He felt a little mischievous as he quickly recovered to say smugly.
"You think I'm attractive?"
Plastering his signature smirk.
"Oh no you don't! I ain't going there. I was just messing around. But now you asked for it."
She made a face pushing out her lips in a smile. Then exaggerated her voice in an accent similar to his, holding her hands up to her shoulders pointing them out. Twirling her hands as she spoke.
"Ohhh don't you worry love, you will still be able to charm the fair maidens. Though if it doesn't work in your time here, don't get discouraged. I am just immune to your charm and of all men's charm, I always have been. So don't fret. I will send you on your merry way as good as new in no time at all. Soon you'll be back to the maidens who will fall for charms."
He stared deadpanned in her direction.
"Was that supposed to be a retort to my good looks? If that was supposed to be how I sound like, I just feel insulted..."
She tried to conceal her laugh and bit her lips to keep from smiling. She couldn't conceal all of her chuckles… Her laugh… was kind of… effectively pleasant.
"I'm sorry, I was just trying to have fun. Don't take offense, it was just a joke, though I think the accent was too far. That's on me, my bad."
"Well, as long as you weren't serious, I guess I can let it pass."
"I appreciate that. Though I gotta say, did you have a fight with a tree? You got lots of splinters."
He felt no need to reply and remained silent. She said as she grabbed a pair of small metal prongs. She started poking around his face, holding it still as she plucked them out.
"Ouch, that hurts!"
"Well of course it's gonna hurt, they are really big and very deep in your face. I'll get it over with as quickly as possible, okay you big baby?"
"I am not a baby."
He's centuries over a baby, she had no idea how much that made no sense.
She pulled away and pointed at him.
"Then don't whine about the obvious and I won't call you one."
"Just finish with your obsessive nursing, and be done with it"
"I will once you stop talking, and to think you were the silencer when we met."
He rolled his eyes at the woman but remained as still as possible, flinching every time she took out a splinter.
He tried to look around for something, just to simply look but she was too close and had too much control over his face to really get a look around.
Since he had nothing else to really focus on other than her face. He looked at her and for the first time, actually took in her features. He had to admit she wasn't ugly, not in the slightest. Her white curled hair went down her back, no farther than past her shoulder blades. Her face was very clean along with her fair skin. Her petite nose and fair lips made her look… well… undeniably attractive. Even in her times of pure concentration, in the way she furrowed her thin eyebrows and pursed her lips.
Her eyes were quite mesmerizing, the blue was deep with all kinds of shades. His favorite blue was the one closest to the irises. It was almost violet.
It was like looking into deep space. He used to enjoy such a view, sitting on the edge of the bifrost as a boy. He missed those times, but that's what her eyes reminded him of. The happy days, and not when all he could see was the darkness within the space. Floating within the nothingness of space…
He somehow felt comfortable despite the sudden jolts of pain every so often. He felt safe in her presence, not something he could easily admit… no selfishness or malice… no judgements or shunning… just kind words and actions that have nothing but care put into them… everyone always wanted something from him… she gave him everything she could without asking for anything in return.
Maybe she really was genuine. Maybe… she really is a kind-hearted mortal.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when she spoke up once more.
"All done."
She said checking once more, moving his face around each edge to be thorough.
"Alright, now this part you're probably not going to like."
He looked confused as he watched her reach for a jar, opening to reveal a repulsing color of green. And he usually likes green….