If you want to help me financially, you can do it on
https://ko-fi.com/neverluckysmile
Somewhere in the massive foliage of the even more monstrously huge tree of Yggdrasil, that prayer, among many, had an impact. Perhaps it was because Dani was indeed a huntress in a time when few real such remained who followed the ways of the Asatru faith. Perhaps it was because, as a convert, her power of faith was a little more strident. Perhaps it was because of the magically imbued area, or that Gaea subtly helped it along as she had begun to do with all such. After all, just because she preferred not to act should not be taken as a sign that she didn't have VIEWS on the Shadows and what they had done to her old lover and his people.
"Just picture it there. We stand by the lady's door as She waits with bated breath to hear her fate. Ah, didst I most want to beat the horrible little dwarf's head in. Verily, such as Alviss daring to touch a dove of Asgard like her? The body shudders. But her father didst make the agreement in good faith for the dwarf's aid in crafting a weapon for himself. Not that it was worth much in the end," Volstagg bellowed in laughter, smiling and waving a haunch of meat around as if it was a sword, nearly braining Hogun, who sat beside him around the fire. "Why, I tell you true, it shattered the instant it did meet my own in later combat. Ah, how he and I came to blows is an even better tale!"
"Nay, my loud friend, you know the rules of the campfire. You must finish one tale before giving over the floor to another. There shall be no trickery, no adding one tale to another," Fandral quipped.
"The overly pretty one has the right of it," Sif said with a smirk of her own. "Yet I do notice you have been most careful not to use any names but the dwarf's in this tale, fat one."
"Thy tongue is ever sharp, dear Sif. After all, is it not the heart of chivalry not to name a lady who might have been so wronged, or, indeed, a father so foolish?" Volstagg retorted, but moved on with his tale. "But the dwarf, being nearly blind save with his hands, did not realize I was not of the house myself. So I did come up with a most crafty scheme. It was pushing midnight, you see. Such as dwarves cannot abide the touch of sunlight, as we all know."
"Ah, I see where this is going!" Thor bellowed in laughter, clapping his large friend on the shoulder. "How did you convince him to hold his suit until daylight?"
This was the best part of being home in Asgard, to Thor's mind: the easy camaraderie and the mead, of course. While the battles were not as telling just yet and he had chafed to return to Midgard, this quest, for all that it was taking over long, had allowed him time to re-forge bonds he had neglected since being introduced to humans and the changed world of Earth.
"You skip ahead, my mighty friend, but very well. After a time I have convinced Alviss that I was the true patriarch of the family and that the agreement was not valid just yet. That to win my favor Alviss had to had to impress me with his deeds and beat me best two out of three in a game of chance and learning! As if such a little man could impress on such as the Mighty Volstagg." Vlostagg guffawed again.
From there Volstagg went on, lavishing the tale of this impromptu flyting with all the detail of such things, but Skadi was no longer listening. Instead she was looking up, as if she had heard a sound at the edge of her hearing. Staring out into the the foliage beyond the light of their morning campfire, Skadi strained her ears to listen past the sounds of booming laughter and camaraderie behind her. Not that any of the others noticed.
The party had been climbing down the ancient World Tree for nearly two months now, their progress slowed because of the morning mists and the need to rest. Even gods felt the impact of climbing Yggdrasil, the World Tree, sapping their wills by its sheer size. Luckily there was game aplenty living among the bowers of Yggdrasil, and they ate well every day. The others were still enjoying it despite the length of the quest, Thor most of all. But Skadi was a more solitary individual and occasionally she wanted to, for example, break Fandral's balalaika over his head. If he attempts to flirt with me again, I swear I'll do it!
Now, though, she was not concentrating on that. She was instead looking around for a moment in silence.
For their part, the Shadows watched this and were pleased. The illusions and other misdirection-type traps they had set up for anyone trying to find Níðhöggr had caught Thor and his fellows. They were so caught in the illusion that they had basically been climbing the same portion of the World Tree every week without even noticing it, up and down.
Yet, despite the fact that their traps were working along with the war between the Dark Elves and Asgard continuing to escalate, the Shadows also felt a bit of consternation and worry. With Hela and Niflheim gone, cut off from the rest of the realms of Yggdrasil, so too was their ability to influence Hela gone. But for some reason the connection between Niflheim and the rest of the pocket dimension created by the joint will of all those within, and, most importantly, Odin, was not.
It wasn't quite one of their tethers, but it was pulling at their control in some fashion they had not anticipated. It was almost like when Thor was on Earth, only worse. The prayers of the Faithful were oddly getting through at times now, and they were having an impact, strengthening the gods in ways the Shadows had not predicted. The Shadows, of course, knew they could take of that sustenance , but even so the Asgardians too were regaining some of their old strengths, and, while the Shadows could slow that, they could not stop all the prayers from getting through.
So it was that Skadi felt the prayer of Dani. "See my target; see the trail true," she murmured, frowning as her eyes glimmered like rainbows with god-light, shaking her head and nodding down the nearby mountainous trunk. "Come, fellows, we must be away, lest you want this mere female to claim all the glory?"
Sif laughed and moved to join her while the men grumbled but stood up quickly, clearing the camp. Then they moved toward the monstrous tree trunk and began to climb, not down as they should have, but up! Skadi barked out a shout of, "Halt, fools! I know you lot like to jape, but climbing upward when we should be heading down is beyond foolish."
Looking at her in confusion, Thor stared then at the tree trunk under his hands. "Skadi, are you feeling well? We are climbing down, as we have for many days now."
"You were just going up, Thor!" Skadi said, moving over to them and tying a rope to each of them in turn before glaring at Fandral. "And if you say I am trying to make a joke, know that it is most certainly not my way!"
As they were tied to the goddess of the hunt, the other Asgardians twitched, as if shaking off a fly, and they followed her downwards without further ado. As they all did so, Skadi scowled, thinking hard. What was that? Some kind of, of mental trap, perhaps? Thor and the others, they did not truly realize what was going on. But what kind of power could ensnare us all like that?
Nor was she alone in thinking about what had just occurred. Thor, Sif, and Tyr were also thinking about it, in particular Tyr, who was most disturbed by the idea that his senses could be muddled so. They climbed in silence for a time, spreading out slightly as they all took in their surroundings, with four of their party now doing so with far more intent gazes then previously. No longer were they just going through a wild forest full of dangerous animals. Now they were traveling through enemy territory, even if the enemy was unseen for now.
As the foliage around them lightened with the sun moving overhead, Thor finally decided to broach this shared thought. He looked around at his fellows, all of them tied to one another as they descended, and cleared his throat. "I think we need to speak of what happened earlier this morn. Skadi, it was you who did free us from the illusion. How long dost.…"
At that point there was a snarling, chittering sound, loud as Volstagg bellowing, and the Asgardians found themselves beset by all sides. Not by any enemy they had ever thought to fight, though. No, they were suddenly attacked by.…
"I thought there was only Ratatoskr!?" Tyr shouted as he freed his sword from his back, swinging it at the first of the, yes, giant squirrels that were charging at them from every direction. They were huge, easily the size of any of them even discounting the large brushes for tails, which doubled their length. Their paws were tipped with claws that gleamed almost like iron, and their teeth were flat-tipped like any squirrel, but were the size of a large axe. And there were dozens of them, climbing toward them from every direction.
"Apparently we were wrong, and, of course, squirrels multiply like rats!" Skadi shouted, the earlier conversations and concerns leaving her mind as a squirrel barreled into her from the side. She attempted to smack it to one side but only succeeded in keeping its axe-like teeth from her side. The thing's body continued thrusting forward, smashing into her and knocking her off the side of the trunk.
Luckily she was tied to all the others and swung there for a moment, battling the squirrel and getting many a cut for her troubles before landing a blow in one large eye. The squirrel yipped in pain, and, in an instant, Skadi's free hand flashed down to her waist, pulling out a large hunting knife out and stabbing it into the thing's neck. The Ratatoskr stiffened and she put a foot up, kicking the corpse away.
Elsewhere the others found themselves equally beset.
Hogun grunted in pain as one Ratatoskr bit him in the leg, only the armor on his thigh keeping it from shearing the limb off, but still drawing blood. He lost his mace, the weapon falling down into the endless depths beneath them. Another attempted to tear his head off, only to be blocked by the helmet he wore just long enough for Hogun to reach up and grab it by its throat with his free hand, hurling it out and away from him before thumping several blows down on the Ratatoskr gnawing at his leg.
"Foolish animals! Squirrels are not a threat to warriors; they are but dinner! Dinner does not eat Volstagg; Volstagg eats dinner!" Volstagg bellowed, slamming out with the powerful blows that were his hallmark almost as much as Thor, even as he still clung to the trunk.
"Get to the nearest branch! We need ground under us to work with!" Sif shouted. She and Tyr had been the only ones able to free their blades before the horde of Ratatoskr was on them and were lashing out to either side, but, given the fact they couldn't turn to really engage their enemies without losing their grip on the trunk, they were still being pressed hard.
Looking around them, Thor used a small cooking knife to cut at the rope tying him to his fellows. Battering aside one Ratatoskr with a solid blow from one hand, he roared and leaped downward, landing on a nearby branch. A Ratatoskr who attempted to intercept him met Mjöllnir in the face, which he had pulled out midair. Thor's flight continued through the bloody shattered form of the squirrel, tossing it to one side and then turning, hurling Mjöllnir up towards a Ratatoskr and smashing it as it attempted to attack Sif from above. "Skadi, to me!" he roared, while other Ratatoskr attacked him now from every side, not even pausing as Mjöllnir returned to him, the foolish creatures.
Yet with Thor's feet under him he could use both fists and even kicks several times. The Ratatoskr were quick and dangerous, but they didn't fight as a real hunting pack of animals would, getting in each other's way, and Thor now bellowed in laughter, having fun as he easily crushed or threw them aside with wide sweeps of his hand and hammer.
Skadi grunted and cut herself free as well, going into free fall for a moment before almost dislocating her shoulder when she grabbed at a large leaf, flipping herself up to another branch. She had lost her bow, something Skadi was furious about, and she too laid into any Ratatoskr that came near her.
Sif and Tyr moved together, protecting one another as they made their way to the same branch that Thor was on. They still were wounded multiple times by Ratatoskr attacking their legs or their heads, but got there. Bloody and sore, they moved to stand back to back cutting any Ratatoskr that came at them.
But that still left the warriors three. Fandral had been the topmost of the group, and he retreated up to the nearest bough. He had been nearly knocked off the tree by a giant squirrel bodily dropping on him, but he leaped for the bough just in time and clung there to one of the smaller branches, kicking the clinging squirrel off his legs before climbing up to the one he'd originally been going for. Weaponless, he had to rely on battering the Ratatoskr away with his balalaika and took several bites and cuts from the blood-maddened beasts.
"Away, beasts, away! You will all feed even Mighty Volstagg for many a year after this battle is done!" Volstagg roared. He had made his way to a small branch like the one Fandral had clung to and, in a moment of cleverness most would not have credited him with, tied himself there with the rope that the others had cut away from themselves. This allowed Volstagg to use both hands like the others who had made it to safety, even though he too had lost his massive great sword in the initial rush and was bleeding badly from many wounds. Yet, unlike the others, he had enough natural armor to his girth that none of the wounds were all that debilitating.
Hogun had been completely knocked off the tree. Grabbing the giant squirrel which had smashed him off his perch, with its tail of all things, he had smashed its head there while he hung there for a moment connected to Tyr and Sif, who had been closest, until one of the other beasts had bitten through the rope. Then all three had fallen, with the still living Ratatoskr angling its fall so as to hit the trunk and climbing after the others.
But Hogun wasn't dead yet. He grimaced and twisted so that the body of his former foe was between him and the tree branch far below, using it to mitigate some of the impact. Grunting, he rolled free of the splattered corpse, only to blink as he came nearly forehead to blade with Volstagg's greatsword. Looking around, he sighed when he saw no sign of his mace. "Verily both good and ill luck here, I think. Still, far be it from one such as I to turn away from such a gift from that most fickle of maidens."
Grasping the greatsword with both hands, he cut the first giant squirrel in half, crossways, and then limped to put his back into a small crevice in the branch, protecting himself from being attacked form the side as he swung the heavy blade, each time nearly throwing off his balance but unwilling to go to his knees in front of such animals. "Come then, meat! Come to Hogun."
Despite being separated, the warriors of Asgard were eventually able to slaughter enough of the odd herd of Ratatoskr to force the few remaining to retreat. With a series of angry chitters they were gone, disappearing into the foliage all around them. Staring after them, Thor shook his head. "Well, I think that was perhaps the oddest fight I've ever been in."
"Look at the bright side," Skadi shouted up at him gruffly. "At least we have enough food to last us for years.
"You're disgusting," Sif bellowed back. Then, with a sigh, she sheathed her blade and moved down to help Hogun, who she could barely make out below them.
As they began to gather together, none of them, not even Skadi, saw another illusion settling around them.
OOOOOOO
While Shadows continued to crawl in Asgard and the still unnamed shape-shifting, magic using aliens in Russia stirred the country to war, there were yet other problems brewing, distant yet from Earth, but which would impact Harry and everyone else who lived there.…
Thanos smiled as he looked down at the leader of the Chitauri, laying one massive, burn-marked hand on the being's head. He could easily have crushed the being's skull, and, judging by the way it trembled, the High Primarch knew it. But he didn't. The burning city, if such a term could be used to describe the current home of the Chitauri, made his point for him. As do the dozens of ships in orbit I personally destroyed.
"I accept your obeisance," he said instead of indulging in further violence. "I have need of you and your people."
Holding up his other hand he created a hologram showing Earth and its galactic coordinates. "This is Earth. It is ripe for conquest, but is on its guard against normal space-based threats. But with your dimensional warping, you can bypass any defense. That is what makes you and your eternally traveling race the threat it is, even to the greater powers out here. I want its people smashed. I want its heroes slaughtered. I want to build a mountain of skulls to my Lady," he said, his voice becoming more and more manic with each word.
"We can do that, my lord," the High Primarch said quickly. "It will take time for us to move within striking range, judging from those coordinates, but once there, and once the dimensional doorway is opened on the other side, our people can pour through. But, my lord.…" He hesitated, then asked hurriedly, "I mean no offense, but how will we infiltrate the planet in order to use our gateways? They must be opened from both sides, after all."
Thanos smiled, having regained control of himself as the Chitauri spoke. He now turned to look over at Loki, who was standing nearby, staring around him at the burning city. "Well, Loki, I have an army now. Are you ready to go through with your part of the plan when the time comes?"
"Of course, Great Thanos," Loki said with a florid bow. "You will have the Earth, and I will have Asgard. This is a simple and profitable agreement for both of us.…"
OOOOOOO
Galactus stared down at the husk of his latest meal before straightening up, his constructed tools dissipating and return to the pocket dimension he held them in as his ship, a nearly planet sized construct on its own, opened, and he strode up into it. "That meal was mildly pleasant but not filling enough, my herald. I must have more soon. Leave now. Find me a new world to sate my hunger, Morg."
"As you wish, my lord," Morg the Executioner said, clasping his massive axe to his chest as he bowed to his monster of a master. He smiled, pointing spinward from their current position and moved in that direction. He knew just what kind of planets could sate his master best, and who cared if the Shi'ar Empire lost a few planets to his hunger. There were millions more, after all.
OOOOOOO
Two days later, while everything continued to brew, Harry and all of his ladies were able to get an evening off together. It was something they had planned for weeks, having wanted some time to themselves, all of them together, which hadn't happened much at all since the big announcement. And, lo and behold, no new crises or political/organizational issues came up to stop them from actually going through with their plans. So Hela found herself standing in her quarters debating between some of the clothing she had bought on various outings with the others.
Owning so much clothing, and so much of it made of cloth, silk, linen and other such things, was still something the goddess of Helheim was getting used to in many ways. Hela was used to armor, leather, and more coarse fabrics, things she could create at need, of simple, if elegant (though she said it herself), design or austere in their utility. The sheer amount of different clothing that was available here on Earth continually surprised her.
Deciding on a simple pants and blouse combination, she laid them out and then turned, heading into her private bathroom, clicking her fingers and sending her nightshirt and underwear to fly and hang themselves up on a few hangers. A quick shower later, Hela was busy thinking about the sights they would see on this date before she caught her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom and gasped.
Hela stood a little shorter than Ororo, who was the tallest of the ladies, her black hair flowing down her back like a waterfall, though at present it was matted and wet. Her body was fit, svelte, and well-cared for, with high, perky breasts around a mid C-cup in modern parlance. Normally her skin was a healthy if somewhat pale color. That last, however, was changing in front of her eyes. Everywhere she had touched with her towel had become neon pink or bright orange in splotches, as if she had been hit by two teams of mad paintballers. "What!?"
Scowling, she looked down at the towel, setting it down and looking around herself, scowling angrily and using a detection spell. "Come forth, darn it!"
She snarled angrily at a sudden chitter of distress and watched as her spell splashed over a previously invisible form, canceling the spell on it to reveal Skipper, Illyana's familiar. The giant otter was nearly halfway to the door to the hall before she hit it with a paralyzing spell. Heedless of her nakedness, she stalked over to the creature and hefted it into the air by the back of its neck, staring into its twitching face. "Of course, Garm stayed with young Rahne and that young African boy with the jackal transformation last night."
With Dani gone, it fell to Garm to keep up Rahne's training with her were-form, and he had taken on the young boy as well, trying to nip some very bad habits he'd grown into in the bud. "Whatever his breed, no wolf-like animal should have so little respect for themselves as to grub after other's leavings!" he'd snarled when the boy had initially been brought in and explained how he'd survived on the streets of Dakar. "You have much to learn, young one!" Garm didn't seem to like the youth, whose name was Salim, very much, but he forced himself to take on training the boy along with Rahne, whose confidence had risen in leaps and bounds since Garm had taken her under his paws.
"So, your mistress sent you here, yet however did you even get in?"
Skipper chittered at her, a low mocking noise, which Hela took to mean he would never tell her that, and Hela shook her head. This is a new and worrisome show of both Illyana's growing ability and an escalation in our pranking competition. I knew Skipper had developed some magical abilities as Hedwig has, beyond his enhanced intelligence. But to turn invisible and somehow get into my room past the spells that keep my door locked? That is a little more worrisome.
Staring first down at her body and then back into Skipper's unrepentant eyes, Hela sighed. "Truly, there is only one response to this a goddess such as I can make. Escalate further." She then grinned, a wide, wicked thing on her gorgeous face, uncovered for a moment since only Skipper, an animal, was here to see. "And you, oh furry trouble-maker, are going to be my tool in this."
Skipper's eyes tried to widen, but he couldn't get away as Hela laid her other hand on his forehead and began to create a spell.
Several minutes Later, Illyana was sitting in the main hall, ostensibly going over some homework while looking at the doors into the hall, her face scrunched up in anxious anticipation. Sitting next to her, Melody giggled, amused by how her friend's music changed whenever she was waiting or planning a prank, shifting to sound like something out of Looney Tunes. The other kids worked on, oblivious and, admittedly much more anxious about their work than Illyana was.
The door to the side of the hall leading up into one of the staircases opened, and Skipper pushed his way in, looking around before he spotted his human, and moved in her direction, his entire body drooping and his tail dragging along the floor. Illyana tsked under her breath, then stood up and moved to her familiar, somehow gathering its large frame into her arms and moving back to her seat through the crowd. The hall was the center of Camelot's daily life, and it was almost always crowded these days.
Setting the giant otter down on the table, Illyana ignored some of the other kids shifting away, looking at Skipper with a pout on her face. "Are you okay?" When Skipper nodded in a manner he'd picked up from humans, she smiled in relief before asking, "Okay, so you just got caught before you could drop off that towel I charmed?"
Skipper shook his head again, and Illyana's eyes widened before she leaned forward eagerly. "Wait, so you were found after the prank sprang?" Skipper nodded, then seemed to shrink. "Well, it must not have worked then. But that's not your fault, Skipper. I should have found a way to make the spells stronger or something. What's wrong?"
With a downtrodden expression, Skipper opened his mouth to reply. But instead of the normal chitter, growl, yip, or low rumble noises he usually used, a loud, obnoxious voice blurted out, "This is the song that doesn't end! It goes on and on my friend!"
"Good Lord, that sounded like that Springer ass from that American talk show," muttered Illyich.
"Who let you watch that?" Piotr asked, shaking his head and also trying to keep from laughing at the look on his sister's face.
The song continued for a time before Skipper could finally shut his jaw, while Illyana sat there, her arms crossed and her fingers twitching. "Oh, it's sooo on!"
"I applaud your attitude, child, but perhaps you should learn the term, 'better part of valor?'" Hela said from where she stood nearby, dressed for her outing with the others, with Ororo next to her, the weather witch's blue eyes sparkling with humor. "I would understand, of course. No mere mortal witch can stand against a goddess, especially given the differences in our experience."
"Never! I have yet to even begin to prank!" Illyana shouted, standing up dramatically, Skipper rearing up on his hind legs to stand next to her in agreement.
"Oh, good. I would have been disappointed if you had backed out," Hela quipped, then turned away, laughing. "Do enjoy the song, by the way. It will remain on Skipper for the rest of the day unless you can figure out how to break it."
With that Hela linked her arm with Ororo and the two turned, exiting the hall before Illyana could reply.
Outside the hall the two of them found Harry, Jean, and Emma waiting for them. Harry shook his head. "This is rather like watching a one legged man challenge someone to an arse-kicking contest. Still, it is kind of funny to watch.…" He trailed off, then leaned in to kiss Hela on the cheek right below her mask. "Especially when the one legged gal gets in a hit. Neon pink and bright orange, huh?"
"Ugh, do not remind me, Harry," Hela groaned.
"On you it'd look good," Jean said with a grin, then looked around at the others anxiously. "Now, come on, let's get this show on the road before the next crisis happens."
Laughing agreement, Ororo teleported them all up to, first High Note, then the five of them moved over to the frigate they had simply called Explorer. For a time, as they moved around the small bridge or used their powers, they were quiet, just murmuring out instructions to one another. But eventually, as the ship pulled out of orbit and made for their first stop, the discussion turned to personal things. By mutual agreement, there would be no talk of any official business besides the one thing they were out here to actually do, at any rate: survey a number of planetary bodies to see what it would take to terraform them.
Needless to say, Emma and Harry's upcoming nuptials, which were due in less than three weeks, was the first topic. Ororo hadn't been very involved in the planning at all for various reasons, and Jean had been more involved with thinking about her own, so both listened eagerly as Emma and Hela explained what they had already decided on. The wedding was being planned abnormally quickly for such events, and Emma herself was acting as coordinator, with Father Garnoff helping her since he would be the one marrying them.
"Wait, what does the color of the shades and the arch matter to the wedding? I mean, I understand the symbolism of white, but why pair it with purple, and why is it such a big deal?" Harry asked at one point.
"Because it was a royal color at one point, and it sets off both my blonde hair and the dress I'll be wearing, Harry, you silly man. And it's not white, it's ivory."
"Um, isn't ivory white?" Harry asked, then chuckled as all four ladies rolled their eyes at him. "Right, silly male shutting up now. But I maintain that I will not wear a bow tie. A tie, yes; a cravat, certainly; but not a bow tie."
"Your objections have been taken on board and will be tossed over the side soon enough, Harry," Ororo said teasingly before pulling him into a kiss. Harry swiftly deepened it, though, to the point that she was moaning and clinging to him, much to the amusement of the others.
"Heh, someone's feeling a little deprived," Jean quipped, then held up her hand like a student answering a question in class. "I'm next!" Then the very pregnant redhead almost squeaked as Emma swooped in, kissing her with a whisper of, 'Why wait?' right before their lips met.
"You did ask for that one," Hela said with a throaty chuckle and a shake of her head before moving towards Harry to take her own turn. "Which means your place is forfeit."
"Why don't you take off the mask, Hela?" Harry asked softly a few moments of kissing and teasing later as he sat on the captain's seat, with Jean in his lap as the others moved about the bridge. "We're alone here, after all."
Hela tensed, then sighed and nodded, reaching up to her mask and slowly pulling it off, the mask disappearing for a moment as she smiled at them all, causing Emma to hiss in surprise and Jean to just smile. Hela was drop dead gorgeous. She had a slightly thinner face than Jean or Emma, but one not quite as queenly as Ororo's. Her nose was small and just slightly pointed. Her face held the same coloration as the rest of her body, her cheeks slightly rosy at present thanks to her fleeting embarrassment. The only blemish was a scar under one eye and another scar just in front of her ear.
"You are gorgeous, sister," Ororo said simply, moving over and gently running her fingers along the tiny scar under Hela's eye and then down her cheek, her black skin a distinct contrast to Hela's skin, which was a little paler than even Emma's. "Why you feel the need to hide your features, I do not know, but please don't hide them from us."
"I suppose it is silly to do so at this point. Perhaps I will tell you about why I wear the mask soon. But not right now. It is a rather angst-riddled tale, after all, and today is a time for joy and romance."
"It is, and, on that topic, I have something for all of us," Jean said, waving one hand and sending a blast of telekinetic energy that reached out into the hallway beyond the bridge. The five of them were the only ones on the ship at all, the rest of it having been fully automated to give them a survey ship/yacht. The Fantastic Four, Carol, and others had made use of it since it had been retrofitted, but Jean and Harry had used it first, and they still felt it was primarily theirs.
"I know I haven't been the best of company lately, and I wanted to both apologize, thank you all for putting up with me, and also show how much I love all of you. So I created these. I got the idea from the rings Harry gave us all, so I bought the raw materials and then shaped them using my telekinetic powers. Then I had Dr. Strange put a few spells on them, nothing really defensive, though there's some kind of communication charm on all of them," Jean explained, looking a little sheepish.
From out of the corridor came four small jewelry boxes. Each, with a small shudder as her power tried to give out, zoomed to a different lover.
Harry caught his and, with his arms still around Jean's belly, opened it at the same time as the others. Inside was a simple ring of silver, burnished to a shine and marked by a small image of the phoenix, holding in its claws a small emerald. Slipping it on, he smiled, holding her tightly. "Is this supposed to be my wedding ring, love?"
"Mmm...from me, at least. I bet the others will come up with their own versions before their weddings, but I wanted you to have mine now," Jean murmured, leaning back. Through their link Harry could sense her rising lust and then her dismay that she was too far along in her pregnancy to enjoy most of their play. He sent back rueful agreement, hugging her tightly yet tenderly, wordlessly telling her she was one of the most important things in his personal universe as well as telling her that he too would have liked to show that more physically.
Then they both turned to watch the others as they opened their gifts, one after another.
Emma's were a pair of diamond earrings, but not like a normal diamond earring. The diamond instead had been shaped into a small triangle, with a chime of gold set into the opening, tingling gently as it moved, but not with any wind or movement from Hela. It also stilled as Emma looked at it, and she blinked and then nodded, realizing that it had responded to her thoughts. "I love it, she said simply, knowing Jean would feel her reaction. Chimes and such were one of her secret pleasures.
She moved over to kiss Jean again, then stood next to her two sitting lovers as she put the earrings on, turning to look at Ororo and Hela.
After a moment of looking at one another, Hela opened her gift next. Inside was a choker of spangold, bronze, and copper bands worked together so as to be smooth both on the inside of the choker and on the outside. In the center was a large ruby the size of Hela's own eye. "It's charmed so if you touch it, the ruby will help dispel any illusions or other spells trying to obscure things. That was the most elaborate work I had Dr. Strange do for any of the pieces."
Jean blushed as Hela looked at her, and shrugged. "It, um, well.…"
"It is both appropriate and beautiful, my dear. Thank you. I will need to create something of equal value for you," Hela said, then moved over to kiss Jean in turn. It wasn't the first time the black-haired goddess of death had kissed the avatar of the Phoenix, but it still sent a shiver of amused delight through her as she did, both at the physical feelings and the sheer oddity of their relationship given their disparate positions. She was still smiling as she sat down on the opposite armrest from Emma, putting her arm around Harry's shoulders in turn.
With that, all the lovers turned to Ororo, who, with a smile for them all, opened her own. Inside Ororo found a torque, a kind of jewelry designed to go around the upper arm. It was made of bronze and copper worked to have images of vines and trees in its surface along with words in flowing Latin. It also smelled of crushed pine and lavender, which were among Ororo's most favorite scents.
Ororo read the words out loud with a faint smile on her face. "'From knowledge comes strength.' Now that is a statement I can approve of." With that she moved over to Jean, leaning down and giving her a long, languid kiss before dropping to her knees in front of the captain's chair and putting her arms around both Jean and Harry as much as she could. "Thank you, my love.
I will treasure it."
For a moment they all just hugged, silently taking strength from one another. Their relationship might have been far beyond the norm, but, then again, none of them were normal in the first place, and having one another to lean on gave them strength and joy. Indeed, they were still there when the navigation computer beeped at them, telling them they had arrived over Venus.
They would need this strength in the days to come. After all, there was a vast difference between preparing for the storm and enduring the storm once it arrived…