| Midsummer’s Night, Part 2 of 4: The wedding of Thor Odinson and Sif Ragnahilde: The Dance | |||||
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| What: As part of their wedding ceremony, Thor and Sif have a duel in front of their guests. | |||||
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This is part two of a four part scene which was played out over four nights. Parts one, three and four have been uploaded as well.
For hours now, God and Goddess have mingled. They have smiled and talked and gone through the political motions. Leaders for most of the Nine Realms are present as well as various members of each Court from said Realms.
At the moment, Thor and Sif stand at opposite ends of the garden. Attendant come out and approach each. They say nothing. They don't have to. Each is carrying a wrapped bundle. When they reach their destinations, the nod and then bow, offering the bundles up.
At the same time, guards dressed in their very best begin to file out and begin gently but firmly nudging the guest back towards the outter edge of the garden. As they do this Odin, Frigga and the Realm Leaders take seats on a small raised area of the garden and a hush falls over the area.
Having spent an hour or so chatting with Lorelei, Torunn has separated herself from the Asgardian woman and fond her way through the crowd towards Eddie. Once she gets close enough to speak with him she says, "Do you have any idea what is going on there with those bundles?"
Justin had been easily wandering through the crowd, though he hadn't made any more good contacts as of yet. That hasn't detoured him, however, and he's still having a good time. After all, not all of this should be about business, right? As the guards start moving people to the edges of the garden the CEO doesn't hesitate to do as directed. He takes up a position toward the front of the crowd, wanting a good spot in which to watch this next part of the ceremony. He knows what's coming, having puzzled it out during a conversation with the Thunderer and 'Coffee Mom' Hilda, and has been looking forward to seeing the spectacle.
This is an interesting experience for the Manhunter. Who has carefully not demonstrated any shape shifting abilities here. He doesn't want to be confused with Loki. Right now, he's mingling with the crowd, talking to a few people. He ends up at the front pretty close to Justin Hammer. Bundles. Thor and Sif at a distance from each other. Hrm.
Rain is among those being nudged along. She will conjure up her broom, and Harvey the imp still sits atop her hat. But now she is going to sit sidesaddle on her broom to watch over the crowd. Because that is how Rain rolls. Witchily.
Having been quiet for the initial portion of the party, Jocelyn makes her way over towards Eddie, one of the people she knows here. She knows a number of them, of course, but she did want to see her friend and teammate. She'd had a bit of a headache from the trip over (Asgard always did funny things to Jocelyn's sight), but it was mostly gone now. She's about to speak directly to Eddie when Torunn speaks up. "Hi Eddie," the tall woman greets easily as she arrives.
Fandral actually does have a clue as to what is going on. The Swordsman is on the sidelines, his arms crossed, blue eyes watching the event as it unfolds. He's there in his capacity at the moment, his sword set to his side. His gaze shifts towards the guards as they push the onlookers back, but returns his attention to the pair, his brother and his Prince.. and one of his best friends.
At the moment, Thor and Sif stand at opposite ends of the garden. Attendant come out and approach each. They say nothing. They don't have to. Each is carrying a wrapped bundle. When they reach their destinations, the nod and then bow, offering the bundles up.
At the same time, guards dressed in their very best begin to file out and begin gently but firmly nudging the guest back towards the outer edge of the garden. As they do this Odin, Frigga and the Realm Leaders take seats on a small raised area of the garden and a hush falls over the area.’
It has been an eventful ... well, event, for Keith. Their arrival last night was only marred by the strange indisposition which he suffered at once having cross through the portal, but which he kept to himself so as not to put a damper on the festivities. He retired very early, looking positively green... despite the fact that he was purple. After a full rest, however, he felt like his old self again. What mingling he didn't do before, he was doing now, in awe of the beauty of the place. Truth be told, he itched all over, wearing the clothes he was wearing, but he didn't mind too terribly. Tilting his head, he spotted someone. he had seen before. With a grin, he heads towards her, and finds her in the company of the young man from the open house at the Academy. "Hello, Jocelyn, remember me?" he says with a grin, and then he smiles at Eddie "...Academy of Tomorrow, right?" he says, referring the place he saw him. They weren't introduced then.
Francesca eases to the edge of the garden as everyone is moved back to give the wedding party room. She can't stop smiling, though perhaps her eyes are mysteriously wet. Must be allergic to Asgard. Despite her allergies, she can't seem to tear her eyes away from the proceedings, and wrings her hands together while she watches.
Incredibly glad to be free of his newest stalker, Eddie's been doing a little mingling...in the sense that people keep dragging him around to talk and chat. Everything from people trying to suck up to others not so subtly challenging him just like he was warned they would. When guards start appearing and nudging people around, Eddie ends up directed to stand near the edge nearest all those leaders. Nope, he's not sure why. When Torunn approaches, Eddie frowns. "I'm n-not entirely sure but I think it might be something I read about..." he trails off quietly, watching Thor and Sif carefully. "Hey, Joce," he greets his friend and teammate. "Are you d-d-doing okay?" he asks, knowing about his friend's energy sensing powers. Keith gets a wave and a nod when spotted.
Torunn nods to Jocelyn when she approaches Eddie and then asks, "What is it that you think is about to happen?" of the young man directly, her brow furrowing as she tries to figure out what is in those bundles herself.
"Hey Keith. Good to see you. Didn't expect to see you here," Jocelyn responds. She's a little surprised to see him here. She didn't know he was friends with Thor. Then again, there were probably a number of people who didn't know why she was here, so that was alright. "I'm doing alright now, Eddie. Sif brought me here before, so I had some idea of what to expect. Still, it takes me a bit to fully get back up to being properly social," Jocelyn explains to her friend with a small grin. As properly social as the blunt X-Student ever was. Torunn gets a polite nod from Jocelyn, but the girl waits to see what Eddie's explanation is for this event.
He more simply appears at the periphery of the Garden than being ushered there. Bruce Wayne, a figure commonly known for his patronage of the high social networks and functions is starting to look a little more at-home even in the otherworldly realm of Asgard. It's something that only comes with time. The crowd hushes, and Wayne's dark eyes quickly grow piercing. Admittedly, when one stands amongst Gods and Kings, even the prince of Gotham has to be a little more than himself to find his footing and truly--truly--fit in. Bruce Wayne makes sure his tie is straight.
He's getting the hang of it. He's not known much he can't do.
And really, Rain is sitting on a broomstick sidesaddly overhead. She's making sure she gets a good stea, it seems. She also has an imp on her hat. Hmm.
Having been making the best of his time, Ulrik seems to be loosening up quite a lot. The blonde does easily take notice of the guards trying to subtly urge the guests into position. He gives a small wave towards Eddie as he goes to join the crowd. He doesn't really know a whole lot of people here. He's just trying to not be utterly overwhelmed here, something easy to do amongst gods and demigods and other mythical beings.
Hammer glances about the crowd as he awaits the next part of the festivities. He takes a careful sip of the drink he still has, the same one he started out the day with, and rocks back on his heels. Sitting still obviously isn't his strong suit. As he makes another visual appraisal of the area he spots the Martian Manhunter, and quirks a brow.
Thor takes the wrapped bundle given to him, growing somber in a head beat. As the guards gently herd the mortals and Nine Realms dignitaries back, the Thunderer turns toward Sif. He steps toward her, face so filled with conflicting emotions that it is all but an unreadable mask. He moves toward the Goddess, stopping just outside of arm's length. Balancing the bundle in his left hand, he holds it out.
When unwrapped, the bundle reveals a sword. It's traditional for a Viking wedding, but there is nothing traditional about the blade that gleams in the Asgardian sunlight. The blade is crystal clear, literally. Made of diamond, the edge is razor sharp and magically imbued to last, it's crystal structure reinforced and coaxed that way. Within the clear blade rest a swirling pattern of other precious and semi-precious gemstones. Rich red garnets, bright orange citrines, sparkling yellow topaz, hyper green peridot and earthty emerald, with sky blue aquamarine and deep dark blue star-sapphire to the richest of violet amethyst, this gemstone blade is a liter rainbow sword. The hilt is onyx and hematite, the counter balance pommel is a diamond with a garnet set within it. When twisted, the sunlight goes into the blade, refracts about the gemstone and glitters back out in a rainbow of Ancient Norse Runes, the written tongue of the Aesir. It writes out a single word in the language of the Aesir, the bloodline of Borr and Odin and Thor: Everything.
"Well, I am glad to see you here as well." Keith gives Jocelyn a bright smile. "Traveling here... made me a little woozy. I just now felt well enough to come out." to Eddie, he smiles "I'm Keith, by the way... didn't have time to introduce myself the other ni---" The Cheshire cat grows silent as the crystal-clear blade, his eyes grow wide and, in a quiet voice, comments to Jocelyn and Eddie "... heavens, that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.." it seemed to him that all of the colors of the world were trapped in that blade.
Eddie looks relieved at the news from Jocelyn, glad she's not sick or anything like that. He takes a deep breath when asked that question directly. "I think it's s-s-some kind of sparring match," he says. "The book didn't have a lot of information on it," he adds, keeping watch. When the gemstone sword is revealed, Eddie perks up slightly. He recognizes it right away, having helped Thor make the weapon. "I'm Eddie. And d-don't worry about it. It was a pretty busy night," he offers to Keith.
Fandral watches the others as they find their way, congregating in corners here and there around the room. His gaze falls upon Eddie, settled among some of the other dignitaries. He waits to get the lad's attention before he makes a quiet, subtle gesture.. and pauses. He's got people around him, and he settles for keeping a watchful eye.. on him and on the pair that is in the center.
"That makes sense. Very Viking so it makes sense the Asgardians inspired them to it," Torunn says in response to Eddie's comment. Assuming Keith was introducing himself to the whole group she responds to him by saying, "My name is Torunn, Keith, pleased to meet you."
Francesca gasps as the sword is revealed. "Wow!" It's pretty enough to distract her from her allergies for the moment, but only for a moment. Soon she's sniffling and discretely blotting her eyes with the shoulders of her ren fest jerkin.
Taking the bundle, Sif bows her head and when it's lifted, her silver-blue eyes lock on the God of Thunder. Their steps are almost in synch, as if it's a practiced movement. Once within arm’s reach, her own gift is balanced in her right and held out as she reaches out to take the one offered to her with her left.
The gift within is a sword. Not just any sword however.
This is an exquisitely detailed sword that is definitely a design favored by the Viking sorts. More specifically, by adherents to the god of thunder, Thor. The grip and guard for the blade are quite literally made from the traditional symbol used to represent Mjölnir, the hammer of Thor himself. The blade springs from the hammerhead which also doubles as a guard to keep enemy blades from reaching the fingers. This particular blade has engravings in the sides of the hammerhead guard with raven black backing and raised runes of gleaming bright gold. If one were to look closely at the colorations, they are not simple gold metal pressed in there, but hair-thin woven strands of black and gold making up those particular decorations. The same gold material fills in the runes that run up along the first portion of the blade. The runes themselves are a simple statement: Always.
That was a nice looking sword. Jocelyn watches quietly for the moment, and Eddie gets a nod. "Looks like you're right, Eddie," Jocelyn says to the boy as she continues to watch. "And Keith, trust me, I know how you feel," she adds to him. She then realizes she never introduced herself to Torunn, and looks over at her. "Hello Torunn. I'm Jocelyn. Sorry, meant to introduce myself. Must not be fully right in the head yet from the trip up," she offers with an easy smile. "A match would certainly indicate why they moved everyone off to the sides. Just in case," the woman offers. She is, of course, keeping her voice low, if only to be polite.
When the blade is revealed Justin find himself completely memorized. His scanning of the crowd stops, and he focuses on the blade, and the coming events. Sure, swords aren't really his thing, but as a weapons expert, he's completely blown away. Holy crap that is a thing of beauty. Precise, deadly beauty. His almost non-stop fidgeting stops, and he's statue still. As the second sword is shown he takes in a sharp breath.
A trading of swords. It makes sense for these two...J'onn knows nothing of Asgardian wedding customs, although he is expecting the rapid flow of mead. Beyond that? Not a clue. The King and Queen are on a dais. He turns towards it and bows, knowing full well how important and powerful those two individuals are.
Eddie glances Fandral's way when he feels like someone is watching him. The gesture gets a slightly confused look before he nods to Jocelyn and Torunn. "Um...excuse me a m-moment," he says. "I'll be back when I can," he adds, stepping back and putting years of experience slipping unnoticed through New York City crowds to work as he carefully and quickly makes his way over to Fandral's side. He glances up at the swordsman before his eyes return to Thor and Sif. "What is it?" he asks quietly, looking curiously at the second sword revealed.
A Cheshire grin and he bows his head towards Torunn, "The pleasure is all mine." he says quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. I'm still undergoing culture shock. Once it passes I'll go back to being my bizarre self... oh my" he says, admiring the other sword.
Sword taken, Thor reads the runes, the unreadable mask cracking a bit into something more like smitten. The wrapping is dropped to the side, the sword shifted in his right hand, as if testing the feel and the balance of it and then, without warning Thor turns the blade neatly and jabs at Sif's left cheek. His right arm extending, his left hand coming up to guard his own face with his forearm.
From afar, Sif is guessing Thor would recognize that that's her blonde hair in there. It's also her black hair.
Pride this time. Brynn has a smile that is almost like, a parent seeing a child walk for the first time. That is, as Thor's sword is unwrapped. She sips her mead and simply watches silently from afar. However, then it occurs to her that something might need to be explained, "Good people. If I might have your attention for just a moment." she says as she starts moving forward. "I speak to you not as a braggart, but as one who must give thanks to the Lady Sif for bringing me the perfect material for the greatest challenge of my smiting career." She gestures to the sword in Thor's hand. "Not only was I able to forge Asgardian steel for her betrothed, but... she honored me greatly, by allowing me to afix strands of her own hair into the workmanship. A preserved strand of the golden locks she was born with, intermingled with her raven locks now. I thought she might want it known.. just how special her gift to Thor is, and how much she wanted to share of herself, in the making of the gift. Verily, she didst assist me in the forging process personally." That said, she nods and retreats back into the crowd.
Torunn nods to Keith as she, like Hammer, is mesmerized by the appearance of the two swords. Being a swordswoman herself she is appraising them for their shape and probable performance capabilities as well as the simple beauty of the blades. However, she says nothing for the moment, quietly watching the happy couple and the ceremony.
Eddie's approach brings something of an approving nod from the Swordsman, and his voice is low so as not to disrupt the ceremony. "Be on thy guard, lad," he says softly. Fandral certainly is. "Thou art amongst friends there?" He's just making sure. After all, he's duty bound to protect the lad as well as those in the ceremony.
Wait, Rain thought this was a marital event, not a martial event! Well, the more she learns. Rain stays, hovering quietly over most of the crowd (but still in the crowd, just above it because somehow flying over dueling Asgardians strikes her as one of those Bad Items(TM)). "Oh wow." She watches quietly now, eyes widening.
Sif's eyes read down the runes, her own smile turning warm and beaming like the sun. When the attack happens, the War Goddess immediately brings the new blade up to parry the attack before spinning out of the way only to bring her own blade up in a slight arc towards the Thunder God's ribcage. As she moves, the gown flows and billows out around her, making it look all the more like a 'dance'.
Giving Eddie a nod as he leaves, Jocelyn falls quiet, watching the ceremony quietly and waiting to see what happens. Yep, there was the thrust, and it would appear the spar was on. Though Jocelyn was certainly not going to take her eyes off events. Oh no, not a chance. She knew how things could change at a moment’s notice in an event like this. Also, she wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen, and so the naturally watchful girl just kept watching.
Eddie glances up again when told to be on his guard. He nods, glad he wore his Eternal-forged armor and is carrying his staff. "I s-something going to happen?" he asks. There's a nod to the question. "Jocelyn's one of my teammates and Torunn is," he pauses, remembering that she didn't want too much info spread yet. "A friend," he explains. He offers no comment on Keith, thinking he's friendly enough but not knowing about him yet. He nods a little when Brynn explains the sword, impressed. Then the attacks begin and Eddie's tensing up.
Thor attacks Sif. For a moment, the Martian tenses then, oddly, he relaxes again...while he is not reading anyone's minds, he's keeping an overall eye on the emotions, on the feelings of the crowd and the couple. Part looking for trouble, part shamelessly sharing in the happiness of two of his closest friends. Beyond that brief tensing, that momentary widening of the red eyes, he doesn't move. For now.
You paged Sif with ‘but i have books all over the bed.’
Hammer instantly recognizes the woman who steps forward to speak of Thor's sword as the weapons collector he recently made a large purchase from. No wonder she has been so busy in her shop when he had come calling.... And just like that, it starts. Justin winces visibly as Thor strikes the first blow against his soon to be wife and she quickly retaliates. Yep, if there had been ritual combat at his wedding, the marriage may have lasted longer. His face breaks into a grin and he settles in to enjoy the show.
When the swordplay begins Torunn breaks out of the fog she was in over the weapon's appearance and looks ready to leap into the fray but hesitates and instead turns to Eddie and Fandral. "We have to stop this, right?!" Her voice carries a hint of panic as she addresses the two.
What was he expecting in a marriage between War and Thunder? The Cheshire cat kept his eyes on the couple, all too aware that they were immortal, mighty and powerful, and that he was mortal, squishy and not all that. It was an impressive display. Nerve-inducing? Also, yes. "I rather think this is part of the tradition..." Keith says cautiously to Torunn, mesmerized by the first blows.
Thor twists away from Sif's attack, the blade just barely missing him. As it is, the diamond blade slices neatly through his red cape. The Thunderer, not playing nice at all, ends his spin some distance from Sif, facing the Goddess. A smirk plays on his face, and then he stops. The ground gives a shudder and from where his foot falls there's a slight fissure in the ground as the earth ripples and heaves toward Sif, hoping to knock her off balance. Thor knows what Sif might do next: teleport behind him, so no sooner is the stomp done than the Thunderer plants his weight to that foot and spins to slash behind him.
It makes sense. Bruce Wayne eyes the swords presented closely, subtly gleaning details of their composition, committing inscriptions to memory and, instinctively, their potential threat value. Leave it to him to think about the misuse--or use--of such blades. As beautiful as they are and as fragile as they might appear to a seasoned weapons master, he knows in a heartbeat that it would be a mistake to think that they're just ornamental pieces. Asgardians tend to carry weapons with abilities and construction that go far beyond their natural appearance. When another one of the many gods and kings steps u pand takes responsibility for their forging, Bruce Wayne nods to himself, as if he'd personally expected it.
He still smoothly takes a step back when they start jabbing at eachother, eyes narrowing.
He's not beyond the idea that it might just be a ritual he's not familiar with yet. He's probably noticed J'onn's sedated reaction.
...but Wayne isn't dumb enough to get caught in the middle of a Asgard knife-fight, either.
Fandral nods at Eddie's words. "She told me she was a friend of thee," he responds softly, his mien still set on the neutral. He does glance in that direction, however before his attention returns. "Be on thy guard, then, lad. But feel free to return to thy friends."
"Nay young one. We do not stop this." offers Brynn softly as she walks past the youngster she helped the other day. "Come, let us enjoy the display of skill."
The ground shakes and Sif's eyes light up. It takes only a second for her to regain her balance and when she does, she teleports. Just as expected. However... Thor knows her moves and Sif's aware of it. Instead of teleporting to what would have been behind him, she teleports to his side, ducks the swinging blade and then brings her own blade around in a spin that's aimed for his bicep.
Glancing towards those close to him, J'onn notes quietly, "I do believe this is part of the ceremony. I would not, however, get too close." Because this isn't some ordinary man and woman fighting, it's two deities, and he's well aware of what they are both capable of.
When the ground shakes Justin has to take a step to the side to keep from losing his balance. He wasn't quite prepared for there to be small earthquakes, but what should he have expected? These are /gods/ after all. Smiling broadly he claps lightly as he watches the fight, managing the feat while still holding his half-full drink. "Bravo, bravo!" he says to no one in particular. "Absolutely amazing!"
Keith's ears perk at J'onn's words. He looks at him for a second, a little relieved to find someone as... colorful as himself. "I think we're at a safe dista--- whoa!" and the ground shakes, and the cat quickly tries to regain his balance, staggering back a few steps and nearly running into Bruce Wayne "Gah... sorry!" he adds quickly, making sure that none of bright purple fur had the misfortune of ending up on the man's rather elegant clothes.
Missed! AH! Sif, 3oclock! Thor crumples away from Sif's attack, the diamond blade scrapping against the scales of his sleeve. The Thunderer drops to his back, rolls heels overhead, lands in a crouch, then juts out his left hand toward the Goddess. Cue ball lightning being thrown at Sif. His holds his sword in reserve, elbow bent back, so that the leap he makes immediately after has him bringing the sword down to stab as his body might possibly bear Sif to the ground beneath him.
"Perhaps a *truly* safe distance might be on Midgard," J'onn muses. His eyes scan the crowd for particularly fragile people...well, Hammer's nearby...just in case he needs to put himself in the way of an attack. He's Martian. HE can take it.
"Nay, lass.. hold. This is as the lady Brynn says," though Fandral's attention is truly on the spectacle before them. As the ground begins to shake, the Swordsman easily rides the gentle motion of the ground. The crack of lightning causes the Warrior to shield his eyes, but it's brief.. and he's back to watching.
Subtly, Brynn maneuvers herself so that she is partially blocking some of the mortals in the crowd from any fallout from things like.. stray lightning that might unintentionally crash into the crowd or whatnot. Her outfit itself gleams like gold, and the lightning's reflection dances upon the metallic glinting of it.
Francesca watches the two Asgardians dance with their blades, both of them amazingly skilled. It is a beautiful, if deadly display. It does cure here of her allergies though, all the sniffling and watery eyes are put on hold while she moves forward a bit to get a good look, though she stays with the crowd. The shaking of the ground makes her ooh a bit in appreciation, and once that barrier is broken she starts making a bit more sound, even clapping a bit as Sif teleports and Thor answers with lightning.
Torunn is only somewhat mollified by Brynn's words but when Fandral says to back down that seems to carry more weight. She decides to get a better vantage point and floats up to the rafters and finds a perch where she remains to observe the entire fight.
The Cheshire focuses, just in case he needs to create objects to shield people from stray blasts of lightning... or apocalyptic chunks of earth flying. Or other things. Since Thor wanted to know the differences between Mortal weddings and Immortal ones, Keith makes a mental note to mention to him afterwards that the only part of Mortal weddings that ever resembles this is the moment that happens right after the bride throws her bouquet..."I'm Keith" he says to the Martian because, well, it's still a party. Albeit the Thunderdome approach to the Light Entertainment.
He wouldn't admit it... but he was finding this fun. In a 'we might get hit by the fallout' sort of way. It was like going to a demolition derby, maybe, but the vehicles being used were airplane carriers.
Floating off the ground as it quakes, Ulrik's glowing softly as he just hovers as he watches the show of blades. Since the ground's shaking, he doesn't much like the idea of falling on the ground. He is pretty good at surviving whatever they throw out from here. Also he's prepared to create a barrier over the guests of the Hall to prevent damage but he doubts he'll need to do so. It is Thor and Sif. They're both really good at what they do.
Sif smirks, her eyes gleaming as she watches Thunder dodge and roll. His recent relearnings have paid off! She spins away from the lighting shot, and the attack that comes after though the latter only just barely. The blade slices through the skirt of her gown, splitting it from thigh to ankle. This, of course, causes a laugh from Sif. "A little soon, no?" And then she runs, full speed at him only to leap at the last minute up and over his head, when she lands, the sword is brought around is a sweeping arc and aimed directing for his midsection.
Eddie nods but stays otherwise quiet. He watches the battle, resisting all those urges to try to stop it. And while other squishy mortals might be looking for a more careful place to watch from, Eddie's holding his ground. He'll move out of the way if anything really comes his way but he's more keeping watch for anyone else that might need defending or pulling out of the way of danger.
Feeling the earth start to shake around her, Jocelyn simply absorbs some of the kinetic energy around her, and she avoids being knocked to the ground as the tremor simply doesn't do anything to the area immediately around Jocelyn. Yeah, it was a trivial use of her power, but once in a while trivial uses seemed perfectly reasonable to Jocelyn. Especially when it kept her from falling on her butt. The ball lightning that is thrown, however, gets Jocelyn's attention quickly, and the woman's eyes track that ball lightning. If it looks like it's going to hit anyone in the crowd, Jocelyn is ready to have herself a little energy snack.
Hopefully they stick to throwing bouquets, and not swords. Rain isn't sure what to do if they start sword chucking. She looks down below. "Anyone wanna seat higher up?" Granted, sitting on a broom might not be the best, but hey. Air view.
Justin continues with his, perhaps inappropriate, enthusiasm for the event. He lets off with a hoot at the lightning flash, and again claps as Sif so carefully, gracefully, dodges her soon-to-be husband's attack. Sure, watching Superman, Impulse and Flash race was interesting and entertaining, but this... /This/ is truly a sight to behold. Being focused on the fight he misses the fact that Keith is pretty close to where he's at. He hadn't seen the feline since they crossed into Asgard, and had actually started wondering if he didn't make it through for some reason.
Keith looks up at Rain, with a smirk. "A cat, sitting on a broomstick? tempting, but I'd be feeding the stereotype," he quips as Rain speaks. Noticing that Jocelyn barely shook at all, he gives her a curious look. "I could swear the ground shook, but I didn't see you even wobble," he grins, turning his attention back to the duel.
"No," Thor replies, a grin on his face. He stays crouched as Sif runs towards him, rolling to the side at the last second to not only dodge the attack, but to grab at her torn skirt and give it a yank.
"Okay. Perhaps now is a bit too soon?" Thor retorts as he tosses whatever part of Sif's skirt that came free.
Francesca looks up at Rain, then hops up to grab hold of the broomstick with her fingertips. She dangles from it while smiling to the witch, "I'll take you up on that offer if you're serious." It's hard not to watch every second of the fight, but the offer of sitting on a broomstick to watch a fight between her two friends...impossible to resist.
Agent Coulson's reaction to the shaking earth is to reach out and offer his arm to his date of the evening, the formidable Pepper Potts. He doesn't try and catch her though, he's making sure the lovely teal coach bag she's got.
He's watching the perimeter of the event and didn't even see what started the fight. He'll let Pepper do the play-by-play is she chooses.
"Everything alright?" he asks Pepper. They are with the fringe of mortals just entering from the Bifrost, moving out along the outer fringe of the ceremony.
"You could say, Keith, that perhaps it is I who have cat-like reflexes and balance, hmm?" Jocelyn comments to the man with a grin as she continues to watch the fight. Ohh, Thor was going to try and be a little bit more colorful with his attacks now, or what could sort of be considered an attack? Jocelyn wasn't quite sure. Though she'd be curious to see Sif's reaction, that was certain!
Keith gives Jocelyn a sidelong glance and a smirk "Sure, sure, rub it in, why don'tcha?"--- and Rrrrrip!"Wow... now *that* does happen when the bride throws the bouquet in mortal weddins... But I didn't think Thor would be one to skirt the issue."
You can almost hear the groans.
It was such a pretty dress too! A laugh comes from the Goddess as most of the skirt is ripped clear off. What she's left in is a pair of white leather breeches that are tucked into a pair of white suede looking boots that reach her knees. What little is left of the skirt looks more like a sash tied around her waist than anything else. At least the bodice is intact!
A sly smile curves Sif's lips and she grips the flowing part of her sleeves that rest over tighter ones then lashes it out, using it very much like a whip, to wrap around the wrist of the Thunderer's sword arm while stepping forward and swinging the blade in an upward angle across his chest."
Pepper Potts quite readily catches hold of Coulson's arm, the unexpected tremor enough to have her grasping for something to help maintain her balance, even though she's not really that badly unsettled. It's reflexive, okay? And then her attention turns to Thor and Sif. "What the...?"
BEFORE the ground shakes again, J'onn hovers up a few inches. Just in case they do that. He's eying the lightning too. HE can take it. At least neither of them are fire deities. He's watching the fight with interest...they're both so good AND so good for each other.
Fandral, of mostly all in the Hall here gathered, is used to watching a match such as this between those two. His arms are crossed once again, blue eyes watching, though he watches the rest of those gathered. Guards are spaced around the room, keeping guests safe, and the Swordsman is here to make sure the pair that fight come to no harm. (Which is a trial in itself, defining the word 'harm' in this case!)
Hammer laughs at the exchange between the combatants when Sif's skirt is removed. At least she was prepared, and has sufficient clothing underneath to compensate. Keith's comment finally makes it to Justin's ears, and he turns, spotting the purple feline. "Keith, you made it across," he calls to the cat. "Hell of a wedding so far!"
One of the guards steps from the ranks of the gathered and puts self and shield between ball lightning and crowd. There's a grunt and the guard drops to the ground. A healer's aide steps from the crowd to drag him away.
Thor: 1 Sif: 0.
Thor brings the gifted blade up to parry Sif's attack, his left hand bracing the flat of the blade to help him shove the blades down and clear of his face, which he brings down to Sif's so he can smash her nose or forehead with his own. HEADBUTT!
Wayne stares evenly as Sif and Thor start shredding eachother up. Though normally collected and calm, even he has to crack a smile as they exchange wits as well as blades. He's already taken a look at the supporting arches and trusses of the throne room--it's reinforced to a greater extent than most of the other places he's seen in Asgard, so there wasn't as much danger of the entire ceiling coming down on them in case things get a little out of hand. Of course, there are a few people who are at least partially blocking his view of the fight, presumably so people like him don't get hurt.
"Nice try," Wayne comments to no one in particular, subtly cocky as he moves a little closer to ringside, probably not far from where Hammer is coming just shy of wearing a beer helmet to enjoy the show. Legend in his own hometown for his risky lifestyle, Bruce has always seemed just a touch too daring to be perfectly safe. And, well, it's a battle of figurative (careful as always to specify in worlds like these) titans. He's definitely not going to miss out.
At least, so it seems to a casual observer. He's always just a little too vigilant...
Lifting a hand up, Ulrik creates an umbrella of of light over the guests so that any lightning that might come towards them is blocked. He actually creates a nice series of overlapping layers to protect the squishy guests, including himself. His blue eyes watch the fight intensely. One way to learn how to use a weapon is to watch what other people do. He's trying his best to to protect people.
The material wraps around Thor's wrist and Sif grins. Oddly, she doesn't move back from the head-butt, just turns her head to avoid having her nose hit. She does roll with it however. When she goes down, onto her back, she gives a hard yank on the material. This is to accomplish one of two things. Either bring him down with her so his own momentum can be used to move him over her head and end up with her straddling him or throw him off balance enough that he land on his back on his own and still end up with her sitting on him.
One might wonder how Brynn isn't losing her footing with all the shakin' going on. Well, that's easy. She's floating about a half inch off the ground. She watches the skill with which the two combatants fight, and much like a boxer watching a prize fight, her body shows subtle signs that she is twitching like she wants to move in a way that could counter this stroke, or block that attack. She doesn't really MOVE her arms, but there are twitches in her muscles for the perceptive to notice that she does at least, know a thing or two about this style of combat.
Rain looks to Keith, "No worries!" She waves. If she missed someone, she is still, just making sure she didn't forget any takers for a broomstick view.
Francesca hangs from the broom as the fight heats up. She snatches her feet up as the ball of lightning is blocked by the heroic guard. Some of the stray bits of crackling power tickle her toesies and her dark hair puffs up with the infusion of a tiny portion of Thor's power.
Headbutt accomplished. To borrow a line from Tony Stark: What was step two?
Thor is yanked from his feet, but instead of dropping heavily onto the Goddess, Thor very very carefully adds to her momentum, indeed landing on his back with Sif upon him.
"Now, who's taking things a touch too quickly?" Thor asks to Sif smirking. He brings his blade (the one in his hand, you sick sick people) up to draw cut at her thigh while his left hand seeks to grab the rest of the sleeve that wrapped his arm up so that he can give a yank on it just hard enough to send Sif sprawling to the ground beside him.
In an observation patio overlooking the garden courtyard in which the couple as fighting, Frigga leans over to Odin and murmurs something in his ear.
Weddings aren't something Clint does, as a rule. Well, there was that one time when it was /his/ wedding and he was kind of obligated to show up, but... yeah. He's not good at this kind of thing. Unfortunately, he has a lot of free time and no excuses to avoid social obligations any more, except one. Which the engaged couple were more than happy to help accommodate.
So Clint's here. Fashionably late, of course, but Arrow had to be walked and man, Asgard is big. He wanders in fairly unnoticed, wearing a slim-fit black suit in a way that says "tailored just for him" and Ms. Potts is the only one to blame for him not looking like a slob today. Still, he's Hawkeye, so he's gotta go with the purple accents- ever-present sunglasses, little arrow cufflinks and even a paisley purple tie that matches the bowtie on his dog's collar.
Yep, Clint's dog is his +1 today. Shuddup. The one-eyed golden retriever walks at Clint's side as they both sidle up to Pepper, slinging an arm around her hip to pull her into a half-hug and kiss her on the cheek. Well. Clint does that. Arrow just dog-smiles at her and wags his tail. "Hey. What's shakin'?" He arrives just in time to see Sif on top of Thor. "...I love Norse stuff."
Justin Hammer has never been especially known for his good judgment, and seeing that he's already consumed some of the exceptionally strong Asgardian drink, he's being more reckless than usual by staying so close to the front lines. Normally he's at least got enough common sense to avoid physical injury, but not today. Hammer ducks down as the ball of lightning collides with the guard and fingers of electricity split this way and that. One of the charges nearly hits him and he glances back along its path before returning his attention to the fight.
Martian Manhunter is staying close to the front lines, too, hovering a bit off the ground, arms folded. Smiling. He's apparently enjoying this...he knows it's all in good fun, he trusts that they are too good to accidentally do one another serious injury, although he does wonder when it will be "called". A certain length of time? He doesn't see either of them winning.
"Oh, totally serious! Want a hand or I can come a bit lower?" Rain will indeed, lower a little so Francesca can hop on. "Oh wow." Her eyes widen as lightning goes off nearby.
Sif laughs, warm and bright and clear. "Too quickly? Truly, my love? Shall I slow down for you?" Silver-blue eyes sparkle.
The feeling of the blade slicing through her skin causes a fire to light in her eyes, but she makes no sound because of it.
As she's yanked on, her sword is twisted in a manner that, when drug across his, would slice right over his heart. Nothing resembling life-threatening but certainly enough to draw blood before she lands on her back at his side.
Millie Collins is wearing a stylish, but light outfit to the wedding. It is a light blue dress, a tight one and short too, with a slit up one thigh so she can move quickly out of the way if needed. For the interest of self-preservation (just in case), she also wears stylish pumps that only have a half inch heel and no more. The dress is very simple though expensive, thus it is carefully accented with bangle bracelets that clink and jingle as she moves upon both her wrists. Her blonde hair is pulled up atop her hair and beautifully knotted there with fake flowers interweaving her tresses. A simple silver torq necklace adorns her neck, and her earrings are long and dangling, with tiny sapphire and diamond adornments upon them. Her nails are painted light blue to match her dress with white accents to design upon them.
Millie has decided to not sit too close to the fighting, and she works to hide a wince each time blood is drawn. Yet...she does not look away, showing her respect and silent support by not turning away. Her drinking since the event started has been lightly.
Ouch. That stings! The diamond blade in Sif's hand drags across his armored chest. Really, the breast plate is less plate and more finely wrought leather and uru chain mail. It slices through cleanly and draws forth blood just as rich and red as the blood Thor's blade does upon her thigh.
From the deck, Odin grins at Frigga and nods. The King and Queen stand as the blood is drawn, and start toward the courtyard once more.
Circus dangles like a monkey, then she flips up onto the kindly offered broomstick, sitting next to the witch. "I'm good. Just didn't want to crowd you without letting you know I am aboard." Her flip gets her onto the broom in time to see Sif and Thor roll into Goddess on top. "Whoo Siffy!" Blood is drawn and she gasps at the quick action.
Phil just glances over at Clint's tie. It matches his own. Some terrible synchronicity there. No matter. He leans over and asks if either of them would like something to drink. "I think you insult them if you don't have a drink of some kind in your hand while they celebrate. Clear intentions!" After getting their drink orders Phil heads off toward the bar to make their trio complete.
Pepper Potts smiles at Clint as he catches up to her and Phil, returning the hug (but not the kiss, because leaving lipstick on his cheek would be gauche) before reaching to give Arrow an affectionate pat on the side of the canine's head with his good eye. She's kept her other hand hooked through Phil's arm throughout. "Well, if you're referring to that tremor, I'm not sure, but I suspect it had something to do with the two of them doing their level best to destroy several yards of very good quality silk."
When Phil steps away to get them all drinks -- she gave him her chalice that was a gift from Thor to be filled with hopefully something NOT strongly alcoholic -- she takes a moment to subconsciously smooth the bronze Asgardian silk of her 1950s-inspired evening gown. Not like it's anything less than impeccable, but still.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, here's the interesting part! That blood... Must be exchanged... She's sliced on the leg... He on the chest...
Turning her head to look over at Thor, the God is gifted with 'his' smile. She rises up on her knees, head bowed. He drew first blood after all.
Again, it's as if the movements are practiced. At the same moment Sif reaches for Thor's hand to bring to the world in her thigh, to collect a bit of that blood that flows from her, her own hand is taken and pressed to the wound on his chest.
As their eyes meet, they guide each other's hands back to their own wounds and allow their blood to mix and mingle, uniting them on a very base level.
First blood for the blade, not just the combatants. A happy sigh of pride comes from Brynn as she sets back onto the floor and lets herself fade back into the crowd. She saw the fight, saw the blade perform as it was supposed to, saw it blooded. She is a happy smith right now. So it's time for another tankard of mead to celebrate.
Rain smiles, looking over to Circus. "All good. It's a regular broom, so a passenger or two's no biggie," She gasps, at the blood being drawn. It's serious now. Oh wow. She is steady in the air, mindful of any lightning, but the odds are low. For now, she's watching, eyes wide.
<OOC> Keith O'Neil says, "AFK, on the phone wit hospital, be back in bit"
<OOC> Thor nods and hugs and prays for you, Keith. <3
"Uh, whatever they drink around here is fine, I guess. It's mead, right? I don't know. Mead's fine." Clint gives his dog a head-skritch as they both turn to watch the fighting. Or the end of the fight. He's not so sure on Asgardian custom for... wedding battle.
Man, if this is how Norse Gods settle their relationship troubles, so awesome.
Of course. First blood, and a good fight. No bystanders hurt that J'onn can see, and the couple...well...those wouldn't be bad even if they were ordinary mortals. "I do believe that calls for more mead." Can Martians get drunk?
Francesca watches from the broom with Rain. "Oh...what are they?" Then it is clear that Thor and Sif are sharing blood. "Huh...that is kind of neat." Then she puts a couple of fingers in her mouth and gives a loud blast of a whistle, "Whoo! Love you guys! Yay Thor! Yay Sif!"
With blood exchanged, the guards that had kept the mortals 'safe' step away and file back inside. Healers step forward, moving through the crowd to tend to anyone hurt in any way before they too depart. A group from Vanaheim, all flowers and silks, approach Odin All-Father as he and Frigga make their way back toward the courtyard. The Aesir look pleased, the Vanir look unsettled. Thor seems not to care. With the blood exchanged, the Thunderer reaches forward to pull Sif into what might be a kiss, only for his to tilt his chin down at the last moment to rest his forehead against hers. A sigh is given, and then Thor rises to his feet, seeking to draw Sif with him.
Justin falls quiet and still when blood is drawn. He remains respectfully quiet as the final rites are performed. Once the blood has been exchanged he applauds, still managing to hold onto the drink as he does so. The shrill whistle from somewhere above him draws his attention, and he looks up toward the broomstick and it's passengers.
The exchange of blood, the...fighting is over and content is there. Millie relaxes her shoulders and lets out a pent up breath of thanks that there are no major injuries...especially to Sif and...in either cause, Millie smiles softly from where she sits at the two newly wed love birds.
Having done his own part in keeping people safe, Ulrik relaxes when he sees it is over and releases the blue light shield over the squishy part of the congregation. His blue eyes close for a moment as he tries to release the tension that formed in his neck and temples.
As the fight draws to a finish, Eddie lets out a relieved sigh. He glances up at a healer fixes up a cut he got from an evaded blow, mostly ignoring the wound. "Thanks," he offers as the healer goes. When it's all done, Eddie looks towards his adopted parents and waits for now. He's not sure if the ceremony's over or there's more to come.
It was a good battle over all. A proper show was given. Their prowess, strength and abilities proven. Sif smiles, the rest of the world fading away for a moment. Fingers thread into the God's hair, and eyes that have gone slightly more blue, sparkle. The Goddess actually nudges his nose lightly with her own when their forheads meet and softly whispers, "Soon, beloved," before rising with him. There's a beaming smile on her face as she lets her eyes roam over their guests.
"That was quite a display," says Keith by Justin now "I was in awe." he grins, "I have never seen anything like this in my life."
Oh wow. Rain is wide-eyed, watching from her broom. "Congratulations," She waves one hand to the two. She seems happy for them, smiling as she watches now that people are relaxing. "I think it's an Asgardian ritual. Exchanging blood and blows. I forget if there's a similar custom for our world's Vikings. At least, that's what it looks like," Rain could be wrong.
Hammer looks over toward the cat-man with a nod. "I must say I'm impressed," he offers with a grin. "If mortal weddings were more like this, I don't think people would complain so loudly about having to attend them." He takes a drink from the glass he has and looks around at the dispersing crowd.
Francesca stands up on the broomstick as the fighting and blood mingling all seems to be over with. "Let's go hug them! I think this is officially time for hugging. Maybe some back slapping too. Then we drink, and outcome the strippers."
Millie will wait till things have calmed down a bit and will provide her own congratulations. In the meantime, she people watches or god-watches in some cases. There is a soft smile on her lips as she makes sure not to appear unfriendly of course.
Rain smiles. "Okay, I can bring you over." Rain will bring her broomstick near, making sure Francesca is steady first (DEFINITELY first item on the broom travel guide: Ensure all passengers steady and/or secured." And thus, they will be brought over via broomstick. It's exciting, realy.
Thor whines in the back of his throat, the sound likely not heard by anyone other than Sif. He nudges back, then turns with Sif to face those gathered. Sword in his right hand, still stained with Sif's blood, he wraps his left arm about the Goddess in a fashion that says that he's not entirely ready to let go. Seeing Rain and Fran approach, Thor smiles warmly. Yep, seems it's okay to approach now.
Francesca adds, "Asgardian strippers. So I'm sure they are totally classy. Like, they probably wear dresses. Or tunics and leggings." She balances on the broom while Rain takes them in for a bombing run. Once close enough, Fran says "I'm going in!" Then she dives in to hug Sif and Thor, "Oh my god! You two were amazing! And your swords! And..." her allergies get to her right while she's trying to hug them both. Stupid allergies!
"And who would complain about free food?"
With a sly and borderline-Parthian greeting, Bruce Wayne materializes just somewhere off of Justin's port bow, with the sort of cavalier smile that should probably give anyone cause for concern. He's mature enough to know that he's going to have to leave the bride and groom-to-be alone until first aid is administered. Of course, there'll be a laundry list of people waiting to extend a hand of congratulations. Suffice it to say, Wayne has never really been the type to wait in line.
He appears rather close to Hammer because he was more or less already nearby. Wayne's always been a bit of a thrill seeker. It's not like he was getting ready to pull someone out of the way, right? It definitely doesn't have to do with him seeming to be the only one here who's not holding a drink. Right? He seems relaxed enough, and is more interested in shaking hands than raising glasses. Most importantly, nothing went too far out of place. Yet.
Sif smiles at the whine. She feels exactly the same. Her right hand still grips her blade. She isn't likely to let go of th blade or Thor any time soon.
Seeing Fran and Rain, the Goddess gives them both that warm and friendly smile she's so known for among her Midgardian friends. She immediately reaches her sword arm out to embrace Fran as the girl starts to hug them. "Our thanks, dear friend. It is not yet over, however."
Phil returns with a drink for Clint and the chalice for Pepper, and a mug for himself. "Human mead, not that Asgardian stuff. I made sure that we had some human stuff delivered for us mere mortals to partake in." He passes Clint a drinking horn as long as his forearm and nearly as thick as his thigh. "Cheers," he says, raising a yeoman sized stein.
The terrible thing about having a vivid imagination is that it often runs away before you can even set up the carriage. When Francesca speaks of Asgardian strippers, Keith's mind is immediately assaulted by images of nubile women dressed in strategically-placed mail, helmets wicked-looking spears and performing amazing dances to Wagner's 'Dich, Teure Halle!'-- which is what happens when people with ideas like Francesca's express them near people like Keith.
He shakes himself a little, trying to dispel the vision, when a voice near him surprises him. Keith doesn't read the social pages, but it's hard not to notice who the man is.
Suddenly Keith felt incredibly underdressed, and extremely purple compared to Wayne's slick black-and-white.
'I look like the brother of a Solid Gold dancer....' he thinks, self-consciously.
Hammer chuckles at Keith's comment about a throng of lawyers. Before he can respond another voice catches his attention and he looks to his left. "Well, well, if it isn't the great Bruce Wayne." Justin says in his usual, semi-cocky tone. "Good to see you here." He offers the other businessman his hand to shake, transferring his drink glass to his left hand in the process.
"It's not over?" Eddie speaks up from Sif and Thor's right. When did he get there? Who knows, he's a quick little thing and good at getting around unnoticed when he wants to. "What else is there?" he asks, curious.
Rain blinks. As...gardian... strippers. You can almost see the exact moment her brain goes -sponk-. "Well, they can wear or not wear whatever they like, I suspect," She giggles and watches the divebomb hug. "Oh dear. Poor allergic Fran. Rain will pull in for a landing, though, she's okay with waiting a little. She smiles and waves back to Sif, though.
Thor reaches out to embrace Fran as well, giving the girl a nod and a gentle pat on the back. Eddie's question earns a smile from Thor and a glance at Odin and Frigga, who are talking with dignitaries from vanaheim.
"The actual fasting of hands," replies the Thunderer, still bleeding. Note, not a single healer has approached the God and Goddess.
"Father and my uncle in law, the King of Vanaheim must discuss things before the knots are tied officially," he adds with a rueful sort of smirk. Politics.
Pepper Potts smiles her thanks to Phil when he returns with the beverages, accepting her chalice back and waiting for Clint to take the offered drinking horn before hooking her hand through Phil's arm again. Her teal bag -- kind of out of place amongst all the formal wear but still perfectly coordinated with her dress -- hangs from her forearm now caught between her and Phil. She raises her chalice to agent and archer each briefly. "To excellent company during this festive occasion."
Francesca stops herself from outright sniffling...okay, not really. She can't help it! "I'm so happy for you two! This is the most romantic thing ever!" looking over the injuries of the two gods, she says "I guess no band aids in Asgard? You going to bleed all sexy like as a sign of your love?" She sees Rain waiting for her own hug, and steps to one side and grabs at the witch, trying to urge her forward for proper hugging. Oh! Eddie! She goes in for a hug on him! "Isn't it wonderful?"
Sif smiles softly as she releases the embrace. "Excuse me a moment..." Given leave, she moves through the crowd and to the sidelines. A moment of speaking with a healer and there's a small bundle and a water skin handed over to the Goddess who then returns to Thor's side. "Come sit, my love. It is time that wound is tended to." And it would seem as if the Goddess is going to do it herself!
That... is a big drink. "Oh my god," Clint says, eyes wide behind the sunglasses, and accepts the horn reverently. The skies may as well have opened up to send a beam of sunlight down on him at that moment. Doves cry. Angels sing. He carefully raises it to the toast before taking a long gulp.
Arrow whines at his feet. "So not happening, dog."
Bruce Wayne's handshake is pretty solid, as he grips Hammer's proffered right hand and gives it a stiff shake. Wayne is understandably a little overshadowed by Hammer's bluster, but he's always been a little more subtle about his indiscretions, if such a thing makes sense. Call it crazy, but Wayne's very, very comfortable standing in the shadows.
"Wouldn't have thought you to be the type to show up to an otherworld wedding. Asgard's quite the realm," Wayne begins, not having any trouble at all looking Hammer dead in the eye. Those blue eyes shine just a little too brightly when he stares. "But I suppose it suits just fine--those weapons. Think you have any competition out here, or is it just the drinks?" he teases coolly.
"And what about your friend here?" Wayne asks again, noticing Keith's thunderstruck expression. He never actually seems to be the type to laugh much, even when his attention turns, hawk like, to the young man. "Care to introduce us?" he asks Hammer, extending that hand out to Keith next.
Eddie glances at the bleeding wounds with a little frown. Yes, he's worried about them both even if he knows it'll take more than those too take them down. He glances over at the royalty when they're mentioned, nodding. "Oh, so p-political stuff," he guesses. He squeaks when hugged by Circus. "Y-yeah, it's wonderful," he says. He's happy that Sif gets the healing supplies though.
Nonsense. Just listen to yourself, Keith O'Neil. Beast Boy had his panache, and he was green. Kurt had... well, he was sure Kurt had something, and he was blue. Why the hell couldn't he be a cool cucumber and be purple? Even though cucumbers were green, so the whole inner monologue sort of derails at this point, falls down the mountain and drowns into the gulch... but at least Keith's self-esteem is saved from being run over, as it was tied to the tracks just a few turns ahead.
Pushing his insecurities about his appearance aside, for the celebration, he puts on his brightest, most sincere Cheshire grin and extends his hand to Bruce. "Mr. Wayne, it's an honor. Keith O'Neil. Or Vorpal. Either works." Cats didn't need secret identities.
Well, they did. But having a secret identity when you were purple and covered in fur? Yeah, good luck there.
Agent Coulson raises his stein to the toast as well and makes sure he's seen by a few of the Asgardians drinking, and drinking heavily. Fortunately, the mead is less alcoholic than a domestic wine and nearly harmless. "Enjoy, Clint, you should be able to keep up with an Asgardian with this stuff. Just make sure you ask for Odin's Gift for your refill." He slides in beside Pepper perfectly content to wander at her elbow. "Where too, Miss Potts?" he asks.
Kent Nelson steps from out of the crowd near Bruce Wayne. "Ah, yes," he murmurs in that deep voice of his. "It's always so very nice to see love blooming so brilliantly." He glances sidelong toward Wayne. "Ah, Mister Wayne. I don't believe we've formally met." He extends a hand. "Kent Nelson." Noting Justin Hammer nearby, Kent also offers him a polite nod. "Mister Hammer. I trust your business fares well?"
Finally, Millie moves to stand and walks over with her drink in hand toward Thor and Sif so she can give her best wishes. She is careful not to push in front of anyone however, being very polite about it all!
Rain is a little overwhelmed by all of this, but she smiles, watching Circus and the others. She has an imp atop her hat still and he sniffles, wiping off a tear. "Aww, Harvey, you're no good at weddings, huh?" He chitters in impspeak. "Yeah, it is really sweet. Oooh, let's try the mead. Hey wait-" Is that Pepper Potts- awesome! So many people to see. It's mind boggling.
Hammer is full of confidence this particular outing, as well as some drink. He's not drunk, but just buzzed enough that his over the top cocky attitude is in full swing. "Honestly I didn't expect to find myself here," he says to Bruce, "But I guess being on a first name basis with two deities has it's perks. I must admit, this is quite a shindig." He chuckles at the comment about possibly having competition among the Asgardians. "I'll start worrying when they start building guns. For now, it's just the drinks." When Wayne turns his attention to Keith, and the feline introduces himself, Justin smiles lightly and takes a sip of his drink. "Keith is doing some investigative work for me. He's starting to climb the ranks as a hero, ya know." And Hammer knew him first.
When Kent Nelson speaks up, Justin offers the older man a nod. "It goes well," he replies with a grin and a motion from his glass.
Thor grins to Sif as she collects the salves and such. Reaching out, he takes them from her with a gentle shake of his head.
"Nay beloved. My injury would require the removal of my armor. Soemthing I think thou would like to do with less eyes, no?" Thor retorts to Sif with a smirk and a laugh in his voice. He smiles to those standing near by, waiting to speak with them.
"Millie, my eyes see with joy," Thor says to the first face is spots nearby. Umm.. who else is here?
Sif arches a brow as the supplies are taken from her. A bit of a smirk curves her lips and mischief lights in her eyes. "Aye, my heart." Although... Nope. Never mind.
Thor calling out to Millie has the Goddess turning her attention towards the woman and smiling. She also sends a smile towards Rain. "Lady Millie. Lady Rain. It's a pleasure and a joy to see you both. We're honored you could make it."
Well, there's not interrupting while Sif is doing first aid. It is super cute, though Sif would probably beat Francesca silly for even thinking cute and her name in the same sentence. Well, probably not really, but Francesca likes to think so. Sif can be scary when she's mad! She turns to Rain and says, "Hey. Want to get drunk? I mean, sample the local drinks?"
Millie steps forward then, and moves to tippy toes to give Thor a kiss on his cheek, "Congratulations. You are one lucky man to have Lady Sif at your side." And then she moves to hug Sif warmly, kissing her cheek gently as well, no lipstick coming off. She whispers to Lady Sif, "Best he doesn't hear, but you are a lucky woman as well. He worships the ground you walk on." She blinks her eyes, careful not to let tears come, "I am very happy for you both. I believe there are still vow exchanges, but I know this battle was symbolic for you two being one, if I remember correctly."
Bruce Wayne doesn't seem to have a problem at all with Keith's appearance. You know, apparently, either Bruce Wayne is comfortable with Alice in Wonderland, or he's seen a lot in the dark streets of Gotham. It seems to not really be an act put on to be polite, because Wayne has no trouble broaching the subject with him. "It takes all shapes and sizes to do the job right, right? Keith, was it? Just call me Bruce," he says quietly, grinning at him.
"And I love your color."
Returning his attention to Hammer momentarily without taking those sharp eyes off of Keith, Bruce gently ripostes, "Keep on the lookout, even some of their basic tools are supposed to be pretty powerful. Even my engineers would be impressed. I'm just relieved that they're on /our/ side."
In fact, the only thing that tears Bruce's eyes off Keith is the appearance of Kent Nelson, drawing his glance and then a full stare. If Bruce wasn't so nimble, you'd easily think he was just a little bit cautious about the man who just appeared. Fortunately, he doesn't seem to have much of a shy side, nodding once at him. "I don't know. I'm starting to think Justin here knows half the wedding, at this rate!" he grins, shaking Kent's hand as well. "A pleasure," he says, politely. But there is a certain cold distance now, that didn't exist before.
He didn't see that coming. "T-thanks, Mister Wa-Bruce." He quickly corrects himself. Then Kent Nelson appears, and Keith completely misses the distance in Bruce's voice towards Kent. "Mister Nelson--" he says with a sincere smile "I must thank you. You were right, of course." he looks towards the two gods, and the line that is forming. "Yes... their weapons are... that sword. Well, both swords. I've never seen craftsmanship like that. It was so beautiful, I could have stared at those lines forever." Suddenly, a thought, and he turns to face Bruce, Kent and Justin again with a smirk "....I wonder if they are vorpal blades."
It is adorable, even if smitey Asgardians are involved! Rain pauses. "Just a sample. I can't get drunk, because flying drunk on a broomstick would be so bad... Also, Harvey might sneak some if I pass out," She looks up to the imp on her hat. "But the mead does look really good."
And that was an ego stroke that Hammer certainly didn't need. The weapons manufacturer is just getting all the aces at this party- he out-shown Sebastian Shaw, the Black King of the Hellfire Club himself, and now Bruce Wayne thinks he's one of the popular ones at the party. Oh, and he's in in the home of the Norse Gods themselves drinking who knows what sort of divine liquor. Even the presence of Pepper Potts and Phil Coulson, if he were to notice them, probably wouldn't damper his mood. "I'm hoping to maybe get a bit of a tour of some of the workshops here," Justin seems to confide in those he's with. He looks to Keith as he speaks up, still grinning as the feline tries to acclimate to the company he's currently keeping. Hammer makes a mental note to check up on Kent Nelson more as well, since he's only run into him once.
Thor is nice enough to bend down for Millie, left arm unwinding from Sif just long enough to give the mortal the safety in knowing she can tiptoe up as far as she likes and he will not let her fall. He returns teh kiss lightly, smiling and nodding.
"Indeed. A finer warrior and lady, one could not ask for," Thor replies, letting Millie go so she can give Sif a hug and kiss as well. His eyes sweep the garden once and spot Keith by Hammer and... who are those guys with them? One was the one that brought those interesting gifts. A Storm Blade. Thor is looking forward to playing with it. And hte other... His face is familiar, but why? Thor nudges Sif gently on the arm.
"Beloved? Lo there do I see Justin Hammer, and a new friend to introduce to thee. Keith. He is well versed in Mortal Wedding Ceremony and did offer to inform me of the differences. It seems an interesting thing to hear. And there, the elder man? He did bring gifts but.. the other. We have met him before, yes?" Because unless you're always in Thor's face or in battle with him, chances are the god is going to have a goldfish moment and forget your name.
Francesca snags some tankards of whatever is close and after a big sloppy drink she offers the other tankard she stole to Rain, "If you get too drunk, we'll just take away the keys to your broom. You have to get drunk! How many chances are you going to get to have?"
Millie's embrace and kiss is returned in kind, a warm smile curving the Goddess' lips. "Aye. That I am." And then she chuckles. "And I him." A look is given over to Thor and she smiles -that- smile for him.
Her eyes stray in the direction indicated and she smiles again, nodding her head. "Aye, my love. We've met him. I would be honored to meet thy new friend, however, we must also go meet with the rulers of the other realms." Pause. "On their terms. They have things of their own to say as well, my heart." Her eyes stray to said Rulers who seem to be keeping to themselves, off to the side, and away from all the interesting mortals.
"I can conjure my broom at will," Rain carefully accepts the tank. "But I guess if everyone else is around, there's designated drivers or something..." Designated broom riders? Oh well. Though, Harvey might steal a sip where he can. She dismisses her magic broom and will take a drink. Hmmm. "Um, not many, really. Magic and booze are often a terrible combination."
After delivering his quip, Keith reaches out for a tankard, probably because he realized how awful that joke was. He starts sipping and... well. Keith has never actually tasted alcohol before. What happens when he encounters mead is like his taste buds decided to throw a musical extravaganza on his tongue, got his teeth involved into the whole affair, and attracted the attention of his nasopharingeal cavity and brain, who have to bang hard onto the roof of his mouth to see if those bothersome kids will just shut up already. Long story short (too late)? It is a sensation like none the Cheshire has experienced before. He opens his mouth:
"....."
He waits until his salivary glands re-activate again after apparently swooned, and tries to speak again:
"Wow..."
Thor gives Sif a nod, smitten by that smile of hers. Really. She's lethal with a blade, but that smile is Thor's undoing. He nods to her, offering her his left arm while putting the still bloodied blade up on his right shoulder. So like how he used to as an arrogant youth.
Alrgiht, so that arrogant youth was less than 30 years ago. Bite me! Thor's done some growing up recently and it only took killing his brother, dying himself, then having his Betrothed kill his brother again to make it happen... oh, and adopting a son, learning about a Future Daughter, and learning that Sif's got a couple buns in the works well... Yeah, lots and lots of growing up. The Thunderer begs pardon of those nearby before he turns and leads Sif toward the uppity ups of Asgardian politics.
YAY! Politics!
"Never hesitate," Wayne advises Keith, "I try not to." He laughs.
"You know, if there were any more smiles in here, we could do away with the 100 watts, right?"
Wayne seems bemused with Justin's Hammer Dance, but the situation's starting to get a little too cheerful for him. "Well..." he starts, calmly, wayward glance rising over Keith and Hammer as if his attention was focused elsewhere--namely on Thor's grandiose (and again, figurative) light, shone directly on him and his party. It is probably the first time in at least ten months he wasn't recognized on sight. Wayne grins, accommodatingly, and waves across the crowd to them pointedly. Looks like it's a great time to be had by all, and if people are following Thor's attention and voice, Hammer will probably find himself at the very center of the entire event's attention.
"Ah, excuse me."
If Justin gets the opportunity to introduce Wayne to Thor again, he's probably sure to take it. He should just look one more time before he tries. Because Bruce is quite suddenly gone from the table, and has pretty much disappeared into the crowd.
It's really like he was never there.
The booze at this party isn't just some stuff picked up from the local convenience store. This is literally the drinks of the gods. Francesca makes happy sounds after every drink, and sighs after only a few. "They are going to make the prettiest godlets. But oy! Can you imagine what handfuls they will be? I will need to get a hold of one of those cosmic cubes to keep up if they ever ask auntie Franny to babysit." She snags another drink, though her first isn't done. It looked different!
Keith looks up, having been distracted by the fraternity block party that was going on in his body as he drank more of the exquisite... deliciously boozy unearthly stuff. "Where did Mister Wayne go? he forgot to taste this... oh my heavens, this is better than se----" pause "ALMOST as good." he says, and sips again.
"Godlets! Oh crap!" Fran suddenly remembers the bun in the oven! She looks over at Sif to make sure she doesn't look less...bun-in-the-ovenish! Crazy gods! Fighting with a baby!"
Hammer throws a glance back toward Thor and Sif when Wayne offers them a wave. But before he can speak any more with the fellow tycoon, the man has vanished into the crowd. Huh, must have seen someone he knows or something. Justin's attention falls onto Keith, and he throws the feline an odd sideways glance. "Careful with that stuff," he says, indicating the tankard with his own glass. "This stuff isn't just leaded- it's high octane and double strength." He has no idea that the Cheshire is completely virgin to drinking, and that this could turn very scary very quickly.
Millie lets the two couple wander off to greet others, a soft, almost wistful smile on her face. Happiness like they have is something they fought long and hard for, and something...that is beautiful in existence. It's hard for a girl not to wish for some happiness like that for herself. But she then goes to look to getting a bite to eat.
"But this... this is amazing" Keith says, sipping again... this time in less moderation. Keith also forgets about hangovers. "I... It's interesting!" his metabolism seems to react quickly to the stuff. "Oh man, I have to give my compliments for this... you were right, though... the adventure of a lifetime. I wish I could have brought Patrick with me to see this!" he grins. Whether it is a fluke or something else, a few sparkles appear around Keith, and then vanish.
This can't end well. Justin can tell the feline's already feeling the effects. Hell, he's a fairly seasoned drinker and he's getting hit a lot harder than he expected. The sparkles aren't missed, though he doesn't make the connection. He figures Keith is just getting drunk. "Just take it easy, at least to start. The actual ceremony hasn't even happened yet," Hammer tells the cat-man before patting him on the back and wandering off into the crowd. He's still trying to find someone who might be able to educate him further on Asgardian weapons.
"Hmm... you're right..." Keith nods, setting the tankard down.
FOR NOW.
"Where did Thor and Sif go? I promise I'd tell them about.... ..... about..." he frowns for a second. Then brightens "Ah, I'll remember when I see them, I'm sure!" He goes into the crowd, perhaps there somewhere around there?
He really had to pick up some more of that mead, however. Preferably after the ceremony. He was feeling great! If he had a little more of that down the line, it'll probably make him feel even better!
Rain will indulge in some of the spirits. But she and Harvey are likely to do so in a quiet corner, so no one gets newted. Newtifications are so awkward.