Asgard [Summer2018]

This Asgard trip is open from the 21st June till the 28th. Come and meet your god parents!

OOC: Norse characters only. Please refrain from playing any of the gods; only the admins will be able to do so.

Excited didn't quite cover how Ethan was feeling right now. For the last three years he had gazed longingly at the view of Asgard from the balcony of his floor, trying to guess which of these shiny Norse palaces could belong to his father. He had tried to go out there before and find out, but his Valkyrie, a tall redhead with the build of Chris Evans, brought him back by the scruff of his neck. No einherji was allowed inside the godly city without the express permission of Odin himself. He'd have to wait for the field trip.
And today was the day!!
He didn't even know what to pack, because he didn't know what to expect. Would his father throw a challenge at him? Would he ignore him? Dismiss him? Ethan nervously fidgeted with his hair, thinking of all the ways he could die in the city of gods. Just relax. He's your dad. Right, cause I've had so many good experiences with dads.
The shuttle waiting for them outside of Yggdrasil looked a lot like the yellow school bus he'd taken all his life. Except that it gleamed like gold and was etched with Norse designs.

"Shiny!!!!" The children of Freya gasped, starry-eyed. Honestly, never leave anything gold near them.

Ethan got on board with the rest of them, finding a space cramped between Dana and the window. The bus had seemed small from the outside but as more and more einherjar poured in, it seemed to stretch and widen enough for everyone to get a seat.

"Kinda like the Knight Bus, huh?" Ethan said to Dana.

Okay, why was Dana being so weird lately? She wouldn't meet his eye. Had he done something wrong?
"If you want we can watch it together," he said with a little shoulder bump. "My suite is super cozy, and I make a mean popcorn fudge."

The bus halted and a voice announced: "Stop 1. Hall of Odin." All around them, einherjar got to their feet in a buzz of voices. Some had been here before, for others it was their first time. Ethan felt a jolt of empathy for the younger ones. They looked as nervous as he felt.
The demigods emptied into a large plaza glowing with runes. Ethan craned his neck, wishing he'd looked earlier. All he could see of the hall right now were thick, powerful columns and the giant doors of hammered bronze. He had no time to see more though as the bus shook into motion again and sped off through the golden streets.

"Wow," he told Dana. "Imagine living there."

"Bye Miro! Don't kill till you're back in Valhalla!"

He waved at her for a bit as the bus drove away, leaving the winds and lofty heights for the heart of the city. Idunn, Forseti, Vidar... the halls of the gods flew by, each stop emptying einherjar into the golden streets.
And Dana was definitely acting weird.

"Hey, uh, have I done anything to you?" Ethan asked. He racked his brain as he said that, scanning his memories of the past few days. When you live in a place full of people from different times and countries, all of which had their own unique blend of complex cultures and social dynamics, manners were easy to mix up. Maybe he'd done something absolutely unspeakable for a teen of the Middle-Ages. Maybe he said something that would've irked anyone in the 17th century. Who knew?

What? Ethan opened his mouth but no sound came out. Was this it? Oh Hel to the no, these things needed to be talked out. He couldn't believe Dana would just … cop out of it.

"Hey! Dana!" he shouted before she could exit. "I challenge you to tell me what's going on!"

Oh no. NO. Ethan shrunk into his seat, frozen to the spot. Dana had a crush on him? That was the worst thing that could possibly happen! In a flash, he thought of Allison. The single best friend he had ever had, the person he had connected with the most. There were no words, in this romance-crazy society, to describe the deep platonic bond he had had with Allison. She understood him and he understood her. They'd know all of each other's quirks and frustrations, they  could effortlessly read each other's hidden emotions. But Allison developed a crush on him and their friendship had gone to shreds.
And now Dana? His closest battle-partner in the afterlife? Pain, anger, and powerlessness boiled up in his chest. Nothing would be the same anymore. Hed have to tell Dana no, which would break their heart, then it would grow awkward between them, Dana would go hang out with other people 'just the time to get over him', but it would never be the same, never again. Ethan stared at his feet, heartbroken.
Someone shook him on the shoulder. "Hey loverboy. It's your stop." A Valkyrie stood over him, pointing at the door. He glanced outside at the palace of ice and snow, surrounded by slopes and evergreen trees. It was time to meet his dad. But all of his excitement was gone.