Chapter 2
"You're lucky you got here when you did. We've been building loads of new cottages." Korg says from his spot on the floor, trying and failing to solve a rubik's cube that's far too small for his fingers.
He had come in with Meek and Eir and plopped on the floor to watch her give Mantis a more traditional appraisal than Thyra had. After re-splinting her left antenna Eir had promised to check in with her every day and work on her memory loss and healing.
Mantis has spent most of the day inside, on the same couch, hands wrapped around the same mug as it's gone from being filled with water to tea to a sludgy green smoothie that Thyra had prepared for her.
"Oh. If it is not taking up space for others..."
"We've got loads of space." Valkyrie says on her way inside, shrugging out of a jacket. "Having your own place should help with recovery."
"Can I ask what your antenna….thingies...are for?" Korg asks.
"They are linked to my empathic abilities. I have not tried to use them yet."
"Test them on Miek!" He sets Miek down on the ground and Miek clicks his mandibles in greeting as Mantis kneels next to him.
She places two fingers on his head, pausing. Only her right antenna begins to glow, the normal flood of feeling she's used to more like a trickle. "It's...weaker than I can normally feel. But he is full of wisdom beyond our understanding. And immense battle-fury. A pure, crystallized, bloodlust."
"You've nailed him in one! That's just like him!" Korg says excitedly, tossing the Rubik's cube away. "Me next!"
Valkyrie raises an eyebrow, watching silently as Korg stretches a massive arm out. Mantis smile and lays a hand on his arm, a pebble crumbling off onto the floor, and closes her eyes once more. "You feel longing. For another of your kind. They are here in the village!"
Korg covers his face with his hands. "Aw, man, I didn't know you'd be able to feel that! I thought you would just be able to feel my wisdom, like Miek."
"I feel your heart." Mantis says sagely. "It is very strong. You are also frustrated that you cannot complete the small colorful cube."
"It must be an Asgardian artifact. An unsolvable puzzle." He says, kicking it and watching it bounce across the floor.
Valkyrie bends down to pick it up and Mantis reaches over to touch her arm, right antenna beginning to glow again. Valkyrie snatches her arm back. "Don't do that."
"Oh! I am sorry, Valkyrie, I have upset you!"
"...It's fine. Just don't read me. Ever. I'm going to go check on the...kitchen…" She disappears into the kitchen.
"Sorry about her. She's a bit tetchy. What did you feel?"
Mantis is looking down, tracing a finger along the wooden floor. "She is bothered that I am here. She feels it is a distraction."
Korg reaches out and gave her a light punch on the arm.
Mantis frowned. "Why did you punch me?"
"I was trying to be encouraging! Like a friendly 'it's-okay-that-Valkyrie-hates-you' punch."
"Oh." Mantis punches Korg's arm back, sending tiny pebbles flying across the room.
"Wow. Maybe no more punching." Korg says, rubbing at his arm. "Don't take her personally, though. She's like that with everyone. She's a Taurus, you know how they are."
"I do not know what a Taurus is, or how they are."
"It's an earth thing based on when you're born! Taurus means stubborn. Thyra explained it better than me, she said I'm a Cancer on account of all the crying."
"I do not know when I was born. I was taken from my planet in a larva state."
"Larva? Like from an egg? Can you help me figure out if these are eggs?" He points to the floor underneath Miek, currently covered in a slimy alien pile. Mantis peers down at it, reaching out to poke at the pile. Miek chitters at her angrily but calms down again after she pulls her hand away.
"I believe it is just a kind of protoplasm. It could serve an egg-like purpose, though."
"Thanks, Mantis! Do you lay eggs?"
"Not an appropriate question to ask someone." Valkyrie interjects, coming back out of the kitchen with a beer. "And astrology isn't real."
Korg shoots Mantis a look that seems to convey 'classic Taurus' without saying it and she laughs a surprised laugh, proud of herself for picking up on a nonverbal social cue.
"...Anyway. Mantis, can I show you to your cottage? You can grab a few more sweaters to take with you."
Mantis stands up, leaving the mug. "Okay."
"Clean up Miek's goop, please!" Valkyrie calls over her shoulder on their way out, holding the door for Mantis. The sun is setting over New Asgard, purplish-grey clouds beginning to blanket the rocky horizon. Mantis gazes around, taking in the village for the first time after having spent all day recovering inside. She does not know what old Asgard had looked like, could only go off of Thor's brief descriptions, but she likes New Asgard's blend of old and new, particularly the giant carved boats and the golden lights shining all over the village. Most of the villagers are inside, escaping the rapidly-descending chill, but a few are still out and working, including a large Kronan hammering at a sword on a smithing bench that Mantis bets is the one she felt Korg thinking about.
Valkyrie's cottage is the largest, a small path leading up to it and two torches by the door to designate her as king, but the one she leads Mantis to isn't too far away. It's small, sitting in the shade of a few trees, its design simple and clean with an intricately carved door and a few round windows. It's cold inside and Valkyrie lights a fire while Mantis looks around, arms still holding a bundle of sweaters.
There's a small kitchen connected to the main room and a bedroom with a large bed, also nicely carved. Mantis stacks the sweaters on the bed and turns to see Valkyrie behind her, arms crossed.
"Look, I'm sorry about what you might've felt when you touched me. It's not personal, it's just...the people have looked to me as their leader and I have to deal with all of their shit every day. It's...a lot."
"I understand. You are worried about Thor. I am worried about my friends too."
"I...yes, I do worry who attacked your ship. But like I said, your friends have been through much worse, haven't they? I know Thor has."
"Yes, we have."
"How did you meet them?" Valkyrie looks surprised to have asked.
"I was raised by a man named Ego, a Celestial who was Peter's father. He wanted Peter to help him with his quest for universal conquest but Peter refused and then we had to explode him."
"Wow, succinct. That'll do it."
Mantis nods, letting her hair fall around her face in a dark curtain.
Valkyrie smiles and moves to leave, knocking on the door frame once. "Well, I'd better go. I'll find you in the morning."
Mantis doesn't go to sleep right away, taking her time carefully folding the sweaters and pants that Valkyrie had given her and carefully putting them away alongside her old clothes in a chest of drawers. She spends a lot of time in the kitchen poking at the appliances and gorging herself on blackberry jam before eventually falling asleep, the golden torches that light the village flickering outside her window.
She wakes up late to knocking on her bedroom door and blearily rises to open it, confronted by Valkyrie holding a plate with toast and another mug. "Here." She says, handing it over. "I can't stay, there's a huge migration of Haddock passing by that we have to catch. Thyra or Eir should be here any minute to check on you, though. Just try and take it easy." She flashes a smile and is gone as quickly as she'd arrived, leaving Mantis standing alone with her plate and mug. At least she'd taken the time to brew tea.
Mantis spends the morning with Eir, who doesn't do much other than bring a paste for her bruises and a small flask to drink from to dull the slight ache in her head and left antenna.
She wanders out to the village later, standing safely on the outskirts of the main area and watching the Asgardians milling around. Some are carrying strings of smoked fish or buckets of wood while others are perched atop the boats, deftly carving into the wood. She spots the same Kronan she'd seen the day before at the blacksmith forge, dipping the glowing tip of a blade into water with a hiss of steam. She decides that if he's anything like Korg she'll like him a lot and makes her way over.
"Hello." She says, holding a hand out. "I am Mantis."
The Kronan shifts and turns to look down at her, sword still in hand. He looks a lot like Korg but with a rocky sort of mustache, wearing a vest that's far too small for him."Hello, Mantis! I'm Dwayne. Korg mentioned you."
Mantis practices a smile. It seems to work, because Dwayne smiles back. "Korg mentioned you, too." She realizes that this isn't quite true, that he'd only thought about him, and quickly tries to change the subject. "So, you are a blacksmith?"
"By day, yes. I've had plenty of practice."
"My friends and I mostly use guns. I like knives a lot, though. Do you make knives?"
"Valkyrie likes her knives too. I have some here if you'd like to help sharpen them." He holds up a grindstone, iridescent even in the weak sunlight, and leans over to grab a few daggers, both with matching ornately carved hilts and long curved blades.
Mantis nods excitedly and lets Dwayne show her how to sharpen the knives, sitting cross-legged on the workbench.
"Do you know how to talk to Valkyrie? She does not like me very much."
"I'm sure she likes you just fine!"
"I felt it."
"Oh. With your—?" he sticks two fingers above his forehead, mimicking her antennae.
"Yes. While I am here I would like to be helpful and to not make her so quiet when she is around me. Thor made her sound much more...jovial."
"She has her moments. Especially after many, many alcoholic beverages. But she's an intimidating leader, I won't lie. I've been trying to find the right angle to talk to her about something for months now, myself."
"Really? About what?"
Dwayne looks slightly sheepish, shrugging a rocky shoulder. "I don't mind working on weapons, really, I'm good at it and we could always use more, but...what I'd really like to do is teach the children, and not just sparring. We don't even have a school for the little Asgardians set up yet, you know? We're so focused on making sure that nothing like Ragnarok ever happens again that we've neglected all of their academic needs."
"That is a valiant goal to have! I think that you should be honest with her."
"I just need to find the right words first. You won't say anything to her, right? Or Korg."
"No, I will not. You have not told Korg?"
Dwayne rubs the back of his neck, the sound of rock scraping against rock loud in the silence as he thinks. "No, I… Korg was a very fearsome warrior on Sakaar. He loves teaching the kids to fight."
"Surely they can learn both." Mantis says, putting one of the daggers down and starting on the other.
"Learn what?" Valkyrie appears behind Mantis with a tall olive-skinned man. Wisps of hair that have escaped her intricate braids are stuck to her face as she pushes a cart full of fish.
"Nothing, just teaching Mantis the right way to sharpen daggers." Dwayne says, inclining his head. "She's a natural. Successful fishing, I see."
"Yeah, we got lucky. We've gotta get it smoking, so we'll leave you to it."
"Do you need any help?" Mantis asks.
"No, we're alright. I bet Dwayne has more daggers, though." With that she's on her way.
Mantis tries not to take it personally and turns back to Dwayne. "I think you should tell her."
"We'll see."
That night everybody gathers around the central bonfire to eat the fish that had been caught, and Mantis eats some even though she doesn't like the taste very much. It is a good opportunity to meet many new people, but Mantis has begun to lose track by the time the seventh woman with braided blonde hair tells her a name that sounds the same as all of the others. They all seem kind, though, if a bit guarded.
"Their wariness of newcomers can come across as xenophobic, but I wouldn't take it personally. If they warmed up to Miek, they're sure to warm up to you." Korg says, trying to skewer pieces of meat onto a kebab.
"I hope so." Mantis says, looking across the thinning crowd to where Valkyrie seems to be having a chugging contest with the olive-skinned man from before.
Korg follows her gaze and grins, placing a large hand on her shoulder. "Come on."
"Hey, guys! A classic Scrapper-142 chugging contest, I see!"
"You will address me as 'your highness' or nothing at all." Valkyrie says, expression suddenly deadly serious. At Korg's dismayed look she throws her head back in a loud laugh that Geir joins in on. "Only joking, Korg, sorry!"
Mantis starts to laugh. "A practical joke!"
"She pulls that one on me every week." Korg says.
"You're giving him trust issues, is what you're doing." Geir says, also laughing. It's the first time Mantis has heard him speak. He holds a hand out to her to shake. "Hi, I'm Geir. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier."
"It is nice to meet you." Mantis says, practicing another smile. She seems to be getting better at them already, because even Valkyrie smiles slightly in response.
"So, I've heard you can"—he wiggles his fingers—"feel what other people feel?"
Mantis nods. "Yes, I have empathic abilities, though they are not as strong right now because of my injuries."
He holds out an arm, flashing a grin. "Try me."
She reaches out and touches him, right antenna glowing to life. She giggles, stumbling a bit at the feeling of the alcohol in his system. "You feel very happy. And...loose." She squints, trying to push herself to go deeper. "And you feel a new feeling, an exciting one...an attraction?"
Geir leans slightly closer. "Yeah?"
Suddenly Valkyrie's hand is on her wrist, gently pulling it off of his arm. "Alright, I think this one has had one too many drinks."
Grier chuckles. "Alright, alright, point taken. I'll walk 'em off."
"Sorry about that." Valkyrie says, finishing the rest of her drink.
Mantis isn't sure what she's apologizing for but another Asgardian walks up to say hello before she can ask, and just like that Valkyrie's gone again.
***
The rest of the week begins much like her second day had, with Valkyrie popping in to give her some food and always having some reason to leave again, leaving her to wait for Thyra to come "help" her for hours that felt impossibly long.
She's been learning a little bit more each day, though, venturing out into the village and approaching some of the people she'd met at the gathering. She's learned to gut and cook fish (which isn't very enjoyable), how to prepare the cages they use to catch them, and how to help with the near-constant building of more boats and cottages. She particularly likes participating in the carving and the painting, but she'd also done enough gardening with Ego to be able to help tend to the village gardens spread out over the rolling hills without needing much instruction.
She spends as much time as she can sharpening daggers for Dwayne, who is always a polite and thoughtful conversational partner. She can see his potential as a teacher in the way he lets her rattle off questions without ever seeming to get annoyed.
When Valkyrie comes over with breakfast on her eighth day there, saying something about having to go to the stables, Mantis finally feels brave enough to ask to go along.
Valkyrie pauses, slightly surprised, but eventually nods, not looking nearly as put-upon and Mantis had feared she would. Mantis had seen glimpses of Valkyrie's winged horse during the battle and practically skips down the long path that leads to the stables, excited to see him again.
Valkyrie looks at her out of the corner of her eye, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Excited, huh?" Her usual flat deadpan seems much softer, maybe even fond.
"Oh, yes!" Mantis says. "I have been wondering about your winged horse!"
"Aragorn? He usually stays pretty far out from the village. He likes his space. He knows to be at the stable in the mornings, though."
The hill they're cresting tapers into a mostly flat field where the large stable is, the light wood and its elegantly carved roof matching that of the cottages. There are a few cows grazing further up on the surrounding hills, but the horses are all by the stable, prancing around in the dewy morning grass. Only one of them has wings.
Aragorn runs up when Valkyrie approaches, a genuine grin breaking out across her features. "Good morning." She murmurs, running a hand across his flank. He flicks his broad wings in greeting, brilliant white feathers fanning out. When he turns Mantis can see a long scar running down his flank but it didn't seem to bother him or limit his mobility.
"Can I touch him?" Mantis asks, taking a tentative step towards him.
"Yes, but you have to approach him slowly and let him vet you first. He'll probably just sniff you."
Mantis moves slowly towards Aragorn, letting him eye her and sniff at her hand. After a moment he seemed satisfied and inclines his head, letting her run her fingers over his muzzle. She wonders how soft his wings were and reached out towards the left one, but Valkyrie immediately grabs her hand to stop her. She seems to do that a lot.
"He doesn't like to have his wings touched." She explains, dropping Mantis's hand after an awkward pause.
"Do you fly him a lot?" She asks, curiosity still undeterred.
"Usually he flies alone, but I try to get out with him at least once a week. It's amazing with this much space." She's smiling at the thought, looking at the sky over the coastline as though she's picturing it from above rather than below.
"Could I ever…?"
Valkyrie snorts. "Maybe. You'd have to start pretty small, though. And be patient. Have you ever even ridden a normal horse?"
"No…"
"Well that's where you'd start."
"Can I?"
"Now?"
"Yes!"
To Mantis's surprise Valkyrie agrees to this request as well, leading a glossy black horse over after she's finished feeding them. She pulls a carrot from seemingly nowhere, holding it out to Mantis. "This is Nátta. If you feed her first she'll like you."
Mantis slowly holds out the carrot, giggling when Nátta begins to chomp on it, pulling it from her grasp with her teeth.
"Good." Valkyrie demonstrates how to grab Nátta's mane and use the leverage to swing up, leading her in a small circle around Mantis before sliding down. "It's okay if you don't get it on your first try, it usually takes a couple."
Mantis grabs Nátta's mane and takes a skipping step before pulling herself up in a swinging arc, landing neatly on Nátta's back. She laughs again, pulling on her mane to steer her in a small circle that matches Valkyrie's. "You're stronger than you look." Valkyrie says, looking begrudgingly impressed.
"I have been told so before. Can I stay up here?"
"There's actually a trail by the cliffs we can ride to, if you'd like."
Mantis's expression must be all of the confirmation that Valkyrie needs, because she moves to mount Aragorn without another word, leading Mantis down a small path worn into the grassy landscape. They ride at a slow pace for around fifteen minutes, finally stopping at the edge of a cliff overlooking the vast coast and the village below.
The wind whips Mantis's hair all around but she doesn't mind, letting go of Nátta's mane to stretch her arms out and let the salty breeze embrace her, creeping in through the gaps of her knit sweater and making her shiver and laugh.
She looks out over the cliff, taking in the rocky shore and the cluster of cottages and boats surrounded by trees that made up New Asgard. "I did not see Asgard as it was before, but I think that it is still a very beautiful place."
Valkyrie smiles softly, looking out over the village with something like pride. "We've still got a long way to go."
"Thor said that he wouldn't want anyone to lead but you." Mantis says. "I can see why."
"Yeah, well." Valkyrie says, exaggeratedly cocky. "Not anybody could make a roster for the best times of day to catch crabs."
"I couldn't." Mantis says earnestly, looking back out over the cliff.
Valkyrie ducks her head, steering Aragorn forwards. The wind starts to pick up, blowing her braided hair out behind her. "We'd better get back." she says, clearing her throat and already starting on a trot back towards the stables.
By the time they get back to the village the wind has joined forces with a light rain, one that has half of the Asgardians seeking shelter indoors while the other half stay out, enjoying it. Darker clouds are rolling in from the north, steadily increasing the rainfall. "I learned how to use the teapot." Mantis says, an unspoken invitation.
Valkyrie smiles but it didn't reach her eyes. "Maybe you can make me some sometime. I have to go check some of the lines now, though, sometimes more bass come out when it rains."
"Oh, okay." Mantis says, already feeling like the softer version of Valkyrie she'd spent the past few hours with is gone again. "I am sorry if you are still bothered by my presence."
Valkyrie freezes from where she'd begun to walk away, turning back. "I'm not." She puts a hand on Mantis's upper shoulder for only a second before pulling back. "I promise."
Mantis watches Valkyrie walk away, shimmering droplets of rain landing in her dark hair. She tilts her head back and lets the rain land on her face, freezing her cheeks and getting caught in her eyelashes. When she tilts her head forwards again she thinks she sees Valkyrie looking over at her from the path to her cottage, but she can't be sure.
She goes inside and curls up by the heater, thinking of the warm bunk she'd just began to get used to on their new ship. She misses it.