driftfleet | February System Mingle

[He huffs out a laugh, amused despite himself.]

And that's just one of many. Earth has so many different kinds of currency that I fear I will never learn them all.

[Gold is far easier to keep track of. If you've got it.]

Though I will have time enough to try once I return there.

-- Ah, yes. The dubious perks of having a planet divvied up into different kingdoms and nations for as long as anyone can remember. [ she's heard, since, of whole worlds that exist under a single banner. she finds those hard to adequately imagine. ]

It's not too tough. The way things are going, I supposed it'll all be 'dollars' before long.

It comes with having such a large world, I expect. Asgard was much smaller than Earth is.

[The colonial power structure also kept things very much in line with one sole power. It's these kinds of musings that have led to the dour weather they're both sitting in. He tilts his head at Peggy, curious.]

Do you think so? I haven't spent much time outside of America as yet, except for missions. There's much I don't know about Earth and its customs.

[Even with a few years of living there under his belt. He's far more aware of his lacking knowledge now, when it could impact on other people very soon.]

[ smaller? is that so? well -- she never fails to learn something when she's talking with thor. perhaps she feels the tug of a fellow outsider. peggy might be from earth, yes, and although a great deal stays the same over 70 years she can't help but feel awed by all that changes. ]

I'm afraid I can't help you much there. Rather, most of our compatriots find my take on 'Earth' customs to be a little outdated.

Because of the time you're from? I imagine great changes have happened in that span.

['Imagine' is the right word, since Asgard rarely changed from century to century, much less in a few decades.]

You know, when my people last spent a lot of time on Earth, it was hundreds of years ago. It was rather surprising how little it resembled that time when I ended up there.

Mankind has a terrific talent for progress. [ she admits, giving her head a little bob as she does. ] Good Lord, the developments I've witnessed during my life alone.

[ her mouth quirks. ]

Something to look forward to, I suppose, once I'm back home. [ ... ] What about you? Have you got any developments in mind for your people?

[He does smile a bit at that, having seen the changes in mankind himself very recently. They may not be at the level of the other Realms, but he's come to find that the opinion that humanity is primitive is sincerely flawed.]

They do.

[At the follow up question though, the smile fades, Thor becoming more pensive. It's thought like these that see him sitting out here whipping up storms in his agitation - though the rumbling in the sky doesn't seem like it's progressing to full rainstorm.]

Many of them, out of necessity. The very first is to get them settled on Earth.

[Hopefully, he thinks but does not say. He can't allow doubt to show in this.]

I've love to wax poetic about humanity's capacity for mercy and compassion -- for taking in those who need a place, regardless of their planetary origin. But I suspect this might be a bit of a tall order for a lot of them.

[ quietly, she thinks about the war of the worlds. it's nowhere near a close comparison, but she can imagine that someone will bound to try and make it. or maybe she has too much faith that anyone remembers the old story. ]

I know it will be no easy task. [Some time en route had been enough for worries to set in. Natasha's own reaction, though subtle, was also telling.] But it's one I will undertake regardless. I have good standing on Earth, and I intend to use it.

[Thor also has the added benefit of not having been involved in the Great Avengers Snafu of '16. It will complicate things anyway, of course. Just... possibly less than it would have otherwise.]

I almost feel as though I should apologize on behalf of the resistance you're likely to face. But -- even after the war ended, back in '45, citizens of the world did not react well to the flux of refugees and immigrants back then.

[ ... ]

Sorry. I'm not being terribly helpful.

[Even with that level of pessimism, Thor's listening to what Peggy has to say. He's not blind to the risks. He loves Earth and thinks the best of it, but he's aware of some of the worse aspects of the place. After a moment, he shrugs.]

I don't mind. I would prefer you speak your mind. [Thor stakes most of his actions on honesty and directness.] But I think things will be all right in the end.

[He tips his head back to look at the clouds. Frowning, he tamps down on his mood. The clouds should start to dissipate within ten minutes, so long as nothing else makes him feel grim.]

In truth, Earth is our best option. I have considered others, and this is still the one I will pursue.

And what of your sister?

[ she points out her eye, indicating his -- the one he's lost. ]

What are the chances she might follow you there?

[He shakes his head at that.]

Hela is dead. Asgard's destruction saw to that. If she had still been alive then yes... she would have come after us eventually. But that is not the case.

[It was the main reason he went to such lengths as destroying his own realm to keep her from wreaking her vengeance upon other worlds.]

Small mercies.

[ she answers, wryly, with a touch of sympathy. peggy rubs her hands together -- as if coaxing warmth from the night air. ]

God, I think I would have liked to have seen it. The day a whole civilization comes to Earth not for war or conquest but -- to cohabitate. I'm sorry I'm going to miss it.

[ spoken like fact. spoken as though she knows, of course, that she never will. ]

[Thor doesn't react with surprise, or ask why she thinks she won't see it. He already knows why. He merely watches her for a moment before smiling pensively, looking back to the sky.]

It is a shame. [Simple as that.] There are others I would have dearly liked to share it with as well.

[The Warriors Three. Sif. His mother. His father. But they're all gone now. What remains is for him to bring this future of cohabitation to life for those that still survive.]

I think it will be a first for both of our peoples.

I'd like to think so.

[ that it's a first. ]

I was told a story, once. About a conquering people who apparently landed on Earth some centuries ago. Maybe more. I never believed it at the time and I'm not sure I believe it now. It seems so unlikely that it went unrecorded or undiscovered.

The man who told it to me, after all, was a bit of a bastard in the first place.

I think you mentioned him to me once before. A HYDRA agent?

[It's been a while for Thor, the details are a little foggy.]

He may have meant the Frost Giants. They did invade Earth centuries ago, and it was Asgard's forces that drove them back. That much I know is true.

Possibly. I confess, I've never been able to corroborate those claims. Considering the horrors we found in his workshop, I thought it best not to give him too much credence.

I do not blame you for that.

[Because fuck HYDRA, honestly.]

And it was a very long time ago on your world. That was before the Nine Realms agreed to leave Midgard - that is, Earth - alone.

May I ask what merited such an agreement?

[Well, Thor's the one who brought it up, so he has to deal with the awkward explanation. Even if he doesn't agree with it, now that he has the benefit of hindsight.]

It was decided that Earth's inhabitants were not advanced enough to continue dealing with. So ultimately the rest of the Nine Realms pulled away from contact.

[He cocks his head a little, with a huff of faint amusement.]

As I told someone much later, it may have been for the best, considering half of what we did on Earth was rampage around fighting wars against each other.

Thor.

[ she almost smiles. ]

That's half of what humans do on Earth in a good century. [ she goes as far as to nudge her shoulder against his own. personable, suddenly. ] I ought to know. I saw a lot of it during the war.

[He chuckles a bit. Ultimately they're all more alike than they think, which is certainly something Thor intends to impress upon his own people before they even get near Earth.]

I am sure you did. But at least you didn't have other-worldly interference for most of the last thousand years.

[Until Thor and Loki showed up .... rampaging around fighting each other. #typical]

Yes, I've -- actually, I've read the report. On the New York incident. Someone had a copy of it, someone who's not here any longer, and he let me look it over shortly after I arrived.

It was something of a revelation. On many counts. [ a beat. ] I suppose I've known about you since then. Admittedly, I was rather curious to meet you.

Oh, really? [He's not so surprised that she's heard of that event, but more that she read it in a report. He would have assumed Steve told her.] I can't say I know what would have been in the report, since I left so soon afterwards.

And what do you think now?

February System Mingle

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