Against All Odds (Thor and Vane)

[asgirldian]

The storm has been one of her best, thunder had rolled, lightning arced across the sky and the rain came down in a torrent, the ship never stood a chance. The crew had made a valiant effort to keep control but the verocity of the waves and the storm almost ripped the hull apart. The lightning was the final straw, striking the central mast like a hammer and causing the wood to split and crack. That was when they knew there was no escaping it. The violent onslaught of waves and weather didn't stop until the ship was in pieces, its crew drowned or desperately clinging to flotsam, only delaying the inevitable. The ship would go down with all hands.

Only it didn't. Somehow, through ingenuity, luck or sheer tenacity, one crewmember survived... washed up on a nearby island, some lonely little scrub-covered rock in the middle of the sea, windswept and salted and lonely. It wasn't the worst place he could have finished his perilous journey, there were trees and a lake, if he ventured deep enough into the woods to find the fresh water, the rocks looming enough to form cliffs and caves for shelter. It wasn't long-term habitable, certainly, but it was survivable.

Thor had watched the man, half interested, impressed he had made it that far but expecting him to die soon just as the others had, lying on the beach so close to everything he might have needed for salvation. And then he surprised her again, made it into the woods, took shelter in a cave, found food even, and her interest grew. It grew enough for her to set foot on Midgard, on that lonely little island, and pay him a visit.

She moved through the woods towards the cave, less stealthy than she was usually capable of, ensuring he knew of her approach and wasn't surprised. She stopped outside, not wanting him to feel cornered, he seemed like the vicious sort when he needed to be.

"Hello?"

Comments

[nomanbutme]

The storm had almost killed him; it'd most certainly killed his crew, and left Charles stranded. Which, fuck; the ship was destroyed, from foremast to quill, turned into debris all over the water, and Charles was entirely, completely alone.

None of this boded well for his survival chances, but he was not about to let it defeat him. Charles Vane was a man that defeated the odds instead of the other way around.

After waking up on the beach, sand in his hair, mouth, nose and mouth, he'd taken a short time to orient himself as best he could, before making his way towards the interior of the island; water was his priority.

He found water. He found food, he found shelter. He even managed a small, but necessary, fire. He ached everywhere, a result from the storm, from trying his hardest to right the ship and wreck it to shore, from being dragged and pulled under the waves for an untold amount of time.

Staring into the flames, sitting on a rock in the depths of the cave he found, he gave himself a moment to just feel thoroughly, incredibly exhausted.

And then there was a voice, calling out. Charles stood up immediately, his hand going to his belt and taking out his smallsword without thought, holding it by his side. The voice was unmistakably feminine, but it was no reason for him not to be on his guard.

"Who's there?"

[asgirldian]

"I mean you no harm," Thor called out, stepping closer to the light of the fire. She lifted her hands to show him she was unarmed (and she was, for now, there was no point carrying a weapon when she could call it to her in an emergency after all) "I simply wish to share your fire... the evening is cold..." it was a convenient excuse, even if she didn't quite feel the cold the way the mortals did, she was intrigued by him but she didn't want to scare him off by revealing her true identity right away - although perhaps 'scared off' was not really the right term, he didn't strike her as a man who was easily scared by anything.

She moved close enough that he would be able to see her properly in the flickering light, but not so close that it might be construed as a threat, he was clearly a warrior, she wanted to give him no reason to feel the need to attack.

[nomanbutme]

Charles watched as the woman came closer, slowly, non-threatening, like she knew exactly what he'd do to her if she looked in any way dangerous. And she didn't - not really. She was tall and muscular, but in an appealing way, one that gave Charles pause for a moment.

He didn't let go of his weapon, but his grip on the hilt eased. With his free hand, he motioned for the fire. "I'm afraid I have little food to offer you," he said, sitting back down, the tip of his sword digging in the dirt by his side. He was not going to let his guard down.

"What happened to you? Why are you here?"

It wasn't because she was beautiful that he wouldn't ask; there was no reason for anyone to be on this island - she could be shipwrecked like he was, but Charles didn't believe much in coincidences.

[asgirldian]

"I can help with that, in return," she offered, for while she was interested to watch how long he survived on his own she wasn't completely heartless, and if she was sharing his fire it was only fair to give him something in return. She reached behind her back and unhooked a rabbit that had been hanging from her belt. It had probably been there the whole time, probably.

She took a seat by the fire, pulling a small knife from her boot and setting about skinning the creature as she spoke.

"Like you, I became lost here," she lied as smoothly as possible, she didn't quite have Loki's talent for it, but she could do well enough to fool a mortal "I have been here much longer than you, though."

[nomanbutme]

"How do you know I don't just live here now? Maybe I enjoy the solitude," Charles replied, an edge of bitterness to his words. There was no denying that he enjoyed being alone, but being so with so little prospects like he did now was not too pleasant. She probably knew it, too.

"Have you never found a way home?"

His eyes stayed on her hands, skinning the rabbit she held skillfully. He licked his lips, considering being slightly more polite, just to earn himself some more food for the night. He had seen very little animals around as he walked through the forest, and the idea of a nicely cooked rabbit was definitely making the woman all the more interesting to him.

"I'm Charles. What's your name?"

[asgirldian]

Thor raised an eyebrow at him, a slight smile gracing her lips.
"I saw the storm that destroyed your ship, I know you are not here by choice." judging by the way he so adamantly survived, she was quite certain he wasn't going to sit idly around here 'enjoying the solitude', she fully expected him to find a way home again.

"I haven't left since I came here," she answered as she put aside the skin and reached for a stick to skewer the rabbit on, setting it over the fire. A strange way to phrase it, perhaps, but it wasn't technically a lie.

"My name is unimportant." for now, perhaps later she would reveal to him her true nature, but she didn't want to give the game away just yet.

[nomanbutme]

Charles growled at her non-answers. She seemed to know too much and want to reveal too little, which didn't sit well with him. However, he couldn't deny that he was placated by the smell of cooking meat, his eyes intent on the rabbit.

"A name is never unimportant," he replied, lifting his gaze to her for a moment. His name meant a lot to him, to his men, to his clan. It meant a lot to his known world. It made men fear him, bow to him, help him. A name was never unimportant.

"Do you plan on staying here?"

[asgirldian]

Thor tilted her head, conceding his point but still not volunteering a name. Instead she decided to answer his other question, perhaps a little more firmly than those before, as though she could sense his irritation with her obfuscation.

"No. I do not intend to stay here very long at all." she didn't imagine he would linger particularly long, and she only intended to hang around as long as he did - even then, she probably wouldn't stay as such, but leave and returning as her whims dictated. He was an interesting mortal, but he was not yet interesting enough that she expected him to hold her attention completely.

"Do you?"

[nomanbutme]

The main thought that was running through Charles' mind was that - she was irritating. She kept on dodging his questions and thoughts, cherry picking what she wanted to bring up like she knew much more than Charles did himself, somehow.

Maybe she did, but if it was the case, sharing could only help. He needed to get off of this island as soon as possible, back to his village and his clan. He didn't need her help, but if she knew anything that could make things easier, keeping it from him would only bring anger and resentment.

"No," he replied to her question, gritting his teeth a little. "I have too much to do, too much waiting for me way from here. This is just a test."

[asgirldian]

She could tell she was annoying him and it was kind of delighting, an extra test to see how well he was coping. She felt a little bad, piling such cryptic behaviour on top of an already frustrating and difficult day, but not quite bad enough to stop.

"A test," she repeated, nodding approvingly "That's a good way to think about it. I'm sure the gods are fascinated to see how you'll perform." it wasn't untrue, technically, she hadn't designed it this way when she had conjured the storm that had taken his ship, but now that he had escaped it she was watching him. He was a proud warrior and this was only going to make him stronger, if he performed particularly well under the stress of these events, perhaps he would earn her favour.

"You do honour the gods, yes?" she asked, expression innocent.