sixthiterationlogs | if the sky can crack [OTA mingle]

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if the sky can crack [OTA mingle]

Hail had been falling for two days now, peppering the ground and shredding the grass but rather than melt away like a late spring storm it had only intensified, growing in diameter and moving from a mild annoyance to damned near deadly. As the storm raged, ice flew up through updrafts and was forced back to earth in the downdraft, accumulating layer after layer of murky debris until it went hurtling toward the earth with wicked accuracy.

Shingles were ripped from roofs, the wind howled and lightning cracked. The hail had driven both humans and animals into the safety of the indoors, to the dark corners of buildings that might withstand the assault. With only candlelight and the hushed voices of villagers to stave off fear and boredom, the storm raged like a sentient being heedless of those who might be caught in the path.

After the storm, a calm came over the land and weak sunlight glinted off smoke-tinged ice. Steam rose from the melt and humidity was thick in the air; petrichor hung heavy, a soothing scent after a savage display of natural fury.

[OOC: Your hail mingle post. Feel free to have characters on the run, gathering animals or inside the Town Hall waiting out the storm.]

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"Let me tell you about how my father became wise," Thor said, giving Moana a broad smile. He was fond of the girl since she had taught him to dance and he was glad to tell a tale to help keep her mind off the storm raging outside.

"My father is Odin, the All-Father, and one day he thought to give the power of the runes to all the people of Midgard - writing and language. To do this he hung himself from a great tree for nine days and nine nights, all to share knowledge with those lesser than he."

Moana settled down, putting the bunny between her crossed legs and then holding Itiitie in her arms. The pig looked like he was trying to hide in Moana's armpit though it wasn't actually working.

"He sounds really awesome." Her eyes were bright as she indulged in the complete enrapture of a story. It was something she hadn't done since childhood.

"How did he hang himself?" It sounded complicated.

"With a rope, the traditional way," Thor said. He'd never been questioned on such a thing before but he could understand someone of Midgard not understanding the difference between their kind and Asgard.

"When the Fates thought he'd done enough, they blessed him with the knowledge of the runes so he could share it with Midgard. That is how humans learned to write."

Thor was greeted with a blank stare. Moana hadn't known that there was a traditional way to hang yourself. She was still trying to imagine it. Was he hung by his arm? He couldn't have been hung by his neck if he lived. She was confused but decided after a moment not to ask and just let the detail fall into the mysticism of the story.

"The fates taught human's to write?" It wasn't really a question though it did make her wonder about Thorfinn who had spoken another language. "Why did he do that? Do you know what the fates showed him?"

"They showed him runes," Thor explained. "I could show you how they look, if you have anything to write with. If we were able to go outdoors, I could show you in the dirt but it is not wise to tempt the storm."

He gave Moana a half smile, amused that she was listening to him. "I used to be able to control the storm, you know. Not in this place, I don't have that power, but in my own world? Yes."

They couldn't go outdoors but Moana really wanted to know. She glanced around them but found nothing that they could use. After a moment of searching she saw a piece of a chair that had fallen apart and was disintegrating against the far wall. She ran over to fetch it, returning with the piece. "Can you use this?" To explain what she met she drew the letter M on the hall's floor. Black bits of the wood came off in a smooth line. It wouldn't last but he might be able to show her a few.

She passed it over as she continued speaking. "That sounds amazing. Super useful if you're sailing. I was caught up in a storm and I'm pretty sure the ocean wanted to drown me." She sounded very frustrated at the ocean, as if it was a person.

"Knowing how to control the storm is helpful in a lot of ways, yes, but especially over the ocean," Thor agreed. He took the stick from her and drew the runes for his own name, showing her how the letters worked.

"See? This is how the people of Midgard used to write, long ago."

Moana's smiled widened. "That's amazing. What's this one mean?" She pointed to the first letter of his name, not recognizing it for what it was.

"Why not still write like this?"

"That is a T, for Thor. At least in the way people reckon the characters now. As to why they don't use runes any longer? Things change shape over time. People find easier ways of making their marks on the world," Thor explained.

"How do they write where you hail from? Is it different than the writing in this place?" Thor had little experience with cultures of Midgard outside of Europe and North America and he sensed that Moana was from neither.

Moana looked at it before pointing to the next letter. "So this is 'h'." She could spell Thor's name and it gave her a context for each letter. It was strange but she could sort of see why each letter looked the way it did, even though it wasn't a language that she knew.

"I think so." She hadn't tried reading here. "I can show you." She took the stick and wrote out her name: Moana.

"There is also the language that our legends are sometimes written in but a lot of those have pictures too." It wasn't the sort of language that Moana could explain well since it was a series of pictures and letters.

"Many languages are formed that way," Thor said. "I don't know them all because Midgard has thousands of tongues but I have learned some of them. Most of what I know comes from those places on Midgard where my people were worshiped as gods."

He gave her a smile and a wink, teasing a little. "I am no god, though. I am simply myself, a prince of Asgard. I would be a very poor god indeed."

Thorfinn had told her that Thor was a god. She had simply believed him and she wasn't sure what to think now that Thor was telling her that he wasn't a god. Her thoughts drifted to Maui who was egotistical and very proud to be a demi god. Maybe it was different though Moana didn't know how she would be able to tell.

"What makes someone a god? I don't think you'd be poor at it, if you can call lightening." She paused and thought back to her legends. "I think gods are those who won't grow old. Te Fiti is a goddess but I haven't met her."

Moana had hoped to but only time will tell.

"I do not age the way humans do," Thor agreed. "And I do have powers that those of Midgard and, certainly, those of Asgard do not have. I just think to be a god, in some ways, you must be infallible. I am not infallible. I make mistakes and I have hurt those I care about even if it was unintentional. That, to me, is a failing and brings me short of being a god."

He gave Moana a smile though, enough to flash his teeth a bit. "I appreciate you thinking I would be good at it, though."

Moana considered his words carefully, her lips shifting from a smile to a frown before finally settling on an even expression. "I used to think that everything was very simple." She admitted in a slow voice.

"Now I think that it's more complicated than that. I think that you can be a god or a demi-god... I don't think you need to have amazing powers to do it. What makes you you is what's important. And being a god-" She paused and began to smile again. "Well, I think that gods are beings that are powerful, steady and balance the world when we can't. They don't do things for us but give us a chance to grow and teach us. All of our legends and histories. Everything teaches us something that we need to know. If you think of it like that, your mistakes make you a better god because people can learn from you too. I don't think anyone is perfect but we all have roles that we play... in our lives and in other peoples lives too."

"Though I could be wrong." She didn't think she was.

She was wise for one so young and Thor smiled at her, the tender sort of smile he remembered his father giving him from time to time when he was a younger man with considerably less insight. He appreciated the way she approached it, the way she thought, and he thought that by her standards, he was a god and that came with responsibilities to the people he served.

"You are very wise, you know. I have never met someone so young from Midgard that seemed to understand so much. I am over 1000 years old and I couldn't have phrased that any better."

Moana blinked. She hadn't been expecting the compliment. "Oh, no. I'm not wise."

Her expression softened as she continued. "It was the things my grandmother taught me. She was very wise. She would tell me legends and stories and no matter what my father said she'd believe them. She knew in her heart what was true, even if she didn't have to see it. She was strong and kind and understood the world in ways that I tried to understand."

She wouldn't be nearly as wise without the influence of her grandmother. Who she missed with all of her heart.

"Your grandmother sounds like a great woman," Thor said, intrigued that this woman had such an impact on someone so young. The life of a person from Midgard was so fleeting, almost the blink of an eye to someone like him. Part of why he enjoyed the company of humans so much was their passion and dedication to life - they didn't have time to slow down and become melancholy. They were always pushing to make their time the best it could be.

"Was she a god? Because wisdom like that is rare in this world."

"No but..." Moana hand rested softly over her heart.

Her smile stayed in place but her tone became wistful. "She died. She isn't gone though. I think she's still with me. Her spirit became a stingray and she was freed into the ocean. I watched it and it was because of her.. her strength and guidance, that I was able to leave home and do what I needed to for my people."

Moana didn't think she'd been able to go onto the see if her grandmother hadn't been there with her.

"She will always be with you. The ones we lose never truly die unless we forget them entirely," Thor said. It was how he'd thought about his mother in the time since her death and he hoped it would be the way he thought of his father when his time came. Thor simply hoped it wouldn't be any time soon.

"She sounds like a great woman, though, if she inspired you to take to the seas."

Moana nodded her head. "Yeah. I think so to." She realized then that Itiiti had fallen asleep in her lap during her conversation with Thor. The little piglet was snoring softly despite the thunderous sounds of the hail storm outside.

She smiled affectionately down at the piglet. "She was great. I want to be able to influence my people the same way. By listening to my heart, like she taught me." Her hand gently pet Itiiti. "I should probably put Itiiti somewhere he can rest."

"Thank you for the story."

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if the sky can crack [OTA mingle]

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