Even through the agony coursing through my body dulled my senses, it was impossible to miss the sheer power radiating off Thor. I knew the Viking people had worshiped him as the god of war and seeing him now, I definitely knew why.

He was a living storm.

Wind blew around him, howling like a wolf, storm clouds the same color as his eyes floated over the sky, blocking out sunlight and through my wind-blown hair, I could see Loki's face going pale. "Thor-."

"I told you not to come here." Thor said in a growl that would've made half the guys on the force run for the hills.

"Have the last few centuries taught you nothing?" Loki asked, crossing his arms and grinning. "I'm a terrible listener."

There was a terrible crash of thunder and lightening split the sky in a sheet of metallic blue light. "Get out of here, now. Before I lose my temper."

"Have you seen the weather buddy?" Thunder cracked again and Loki yelped. "Alright! Jeez I'm going!" I tried to sit up, watching as Loki seemed to shrink before my eyes and then, a large black bird stood where he was once had. Very deliberately, he looked at me, cawed once and then leapt up into the sky. I thought it might've been an apology, but I honestly didn't care. The pain was making me a little less forgiving.

"Suzume," Thor's rough voice was closer to me as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think around the stabbing pain of my broken ribs. "Can you sit up?"

"Yeah, yeah I think so," I rasped, moving slowly to my knees. "Whatever you do, do not teleport me anywhere."

"What?"

"Teleporting makes her sick." Sif explained as she knelt down next to me. "You okay?"

"She's coughing blood," Thor snapped as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small drawstring bag and tipped the contents out onto his palm. Given how I was on another world, I was expecting something glowing and magical-looking. What I saw was just small, black shapes that looked like twisted bits of metal. His eyes still stormy grey, he looked over at Sif. "Sif, go and alert Eir, I'll take care of her."

She nodded and vanished from my side and I looked back at Thor. I knew he was strong enough to carry me, but I wanted to know who this Eir guy was. The name was familiar to me. However, the strange objects in his hand were a more immediate concern. "Um, what are these?" I asked as Thor began to pick through them.

"Pills."

"Pills don't look like that," I said as I eyed the twisted shapes.

"They look like that here, there we are!" He plucked one shape out of the mess. It looked to me like a geometric version of the letter B. "Eat this," he said plopping the pill into my palm. "And fair warning this takes like chalk."

"What does it even do?" I asked, still staring at the unfamiliar shape. "This doesn't look like Advil."

"It's not a pain-killer. Just chew it and get it over with. I promise the effect is worth it."

"I was taught not to take pills from strange men," I told him and I watched as he cracked a smile.

"You're a bit of a smartass," he informed me. Thor plopped down in the chair across from me and grinned. "No wonder Sif likes you so much."

I felt myself grin as well. "It's a skill I've honed over the years."

"But I promise this won't knock you out," Thor said. "It'll help."

"Pill don't fix broken bones or do much for this kind of pain."

"Perhaps not on Midgard they don't. Just trust me."

I felt my apprehension slowly turn to curiosity. I'd seen impossible from this place already. I silenced my inner-cop voice and tossed the pill into my mouth and allowed my teeth to crush it. Instantly, a dry, bitter taste coated my tongue and I gagged as it turned into a sticky paste as I swallowed.

"That was worse than chalk," I croaked as I watched Thor grin slightly at my expression.

"Sorry," he said. "I wasn't really sure how to describe the taste-it is awful. But the effects are worth it. How are you feeling?"

A strange warmth was spreading through my body as Thor said that. Curious, I cautiously took a deeper breath and though it hurt, it didn't send me falling to the ground in agony and I no longer tasted blood. I also noticed that the numerous scrapes and scratches that had marked my arms and legs were gone now. It looked normal, as though I'd never been hurt at all.

"How did you do that?"

"Runes," Thor answered,pulling the drawstring bag shut and returning it to the pocket of his dark trousers. "Or rather just the berkanna rune. It means 'growth' in the ancient language, so they're a base we use for healing magic. Speed up natural processes."

"Then why do my ribs still hurt?"

"They're more severe the wound, the harder it is to heal. And I can't risk giving you more than you've already taken, too much magic can be dangerous for humans. You're bodies aren't built to take it."

"Good to know," I muttered, a momentary pang shooting through me. Those runes couldn't have saved Yuki then, even if Sif had them on her person that night. "Can you give me a hand up?"

"I'd rather carry you actually," Thor said, "just in case they're not quite as healed as you think."

I felt a blush warm my face. "Alright."

Faster than I could process, I was off the ground and his arms. This close, I noticed that, for some reason, he smelled a bit like the ocean and the edges of his short brown hair were a bit damp. "Have you been swimming recently?" I asked as he began to walk back towards the stone manor. His pace was slow and steady, barely jostling me as we went along.

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"You kind of smell like the ocean." I said, "Is there one around here?"

"You like the ocean?"

"I love swimming really, but it's always been on my bucket list to see the ocean."

"What's a bucket list?"

"It's just an expression, when we say 'kick the bucket' it's a way to say dying."

"So bucket list is things you want to do before you die?"

"Yes."

"Interesting," Thor remarked as a gust of wind blew past us and threw open the front door. "What else is on that list?"

"Shoot an AR-15, which is a type of gun. See the Seven Wonders of the world, go to Disneyworld." The last item sent a shot of pain through my chest that had nothing to do with my ribs. That was a trip Yuki and I had meant to take together. She'd been a huge Disney fanatic and even I couldn't resist The Lion King.

"Are you in pain?" Thor asked, thick eyebrows drawing together as he came to a stop.

"No, I'm okay," I said, wiping at my eyes which had gotten a bit wet and not just from the pain in my partly healed ribs. "It's just...Yuki and I were supposed to go to Disney World together."

Thor resumed walking instantly. "I'm sorry."

"So am I."

We said nothing more for a good while until we came down an unfamiliar hallway that, unlike the rest of the manor was decorated more like a hospital with it's dingy white floors and small areas sectioned off with ugly curtains. A man with golden brown skin and curly black hair was waiting at one of them, the curtain drawn back to reveal a small gurney.

"Oh good," he said, smiling brightly at us. "You're here. If you'll just set the patient here please?"

Thor did as he was asked and I winced at the change. "So," the man said, looking at me with eyes so dark they almost seemed black. "Loki got a bit carried away with your training?"

"Something like that," I said while Thor grumbled. I didn't catch the exact words but his tone was telling enough. "Thor did give me a run, a brekena or something," I frowned as I tried and failed to recall the correct pronunciation.

"Berkanna," the man corrected kindly. Eir was his name if I remembered correctly but I didn't want to say it aloud and be wrong. I knew how self-conscious that made me when I was a kid and I'd never really forgotten it as an adult. "I'll need to conduct a quick exam miss, is that alright?"

I nodded and rather than put his hands along my rib cage, as I'd expected him to do, he merely stared, his dark iris's switching from their onyx shade to a sort of silvery grey. "Oh dear," he tutted, blinking as his eyes returned to their original color. "Your ribs are defiantly broken, partly mended but I berkanna is not designed for Midgardian use. It's much less effective."

"Why?"

"We think it has something to do with your lot lacking magic," the doctor replied. "Not sure though, very little research has been done on the subject. Now then, fear not,I can fix you up in a jif. Please just try to hold still and be warned, this is going to hurt." His hands glowed the same golden color of his eyes and he placed his hands on my broken ribs. The touch felt like hot metal and I grit my teeth, trying to hold back a scream and wondering why I didn't smell charred flesh while he worked. My hands twisted and clawed at the flimsy blanket under me, trying to find some way to vent out the agony in my chest.

"There," he said, stepping back and trembling as the heat disappeared. "That should do it." He shivered and I did a double take as I saw blood drip from his nose. I got up, noting that the action brought no pain and grabbed Eir's arm in case he fainted.

"Here," I said, leading him towards the bed and sitting him down on the edge. His dark eyes slide out of focus and I looked up at Thor. "Go for help!"

Thor didn't move. "I'll be alright in a few minutes Miss," Eir assured me, laying back against the flimsy pillow had been occupying a moment before. "Just need to rest up a bit. You're free to go." His words slurred as he began to nod off and I looked quizzically back at Thor.

"Should we leave him alone?" I asked, anxiety twisting my stomach as I looked at the passed out man with dried blood on his face. "He doesn't look so good."

"He'll be okay," Thor assured me, "it's just healing magic. It takes a huge toll."

"I don't understand."

Thor rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, you drive a car right?"

"Yes, how's that relevant."

"Well magic is kind of like gasoline in a car. The more you do, the more energy you use. Eir just needs to rest, he'll be okay. You and I can leave." I could still the bright smear of blood on Eir's sleeve so that really didn't assure me and it must've shown on my face. "Hey," Thor's gruff voice carried across the room and I heard dainty footsteps across the floor. I turned my head and saw a petite white woman with white-blonde hair enter the room.

"Your Highness?"

"Would you stay with Eir? He just healed Miss Hamada and it took a lot out of him."

"Of course sir." The woman said with an amiable bob of her head.

"Thank you."

She shimmed past me and I caught Thor smirking at me out of the corner of my eye. "What?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Is that acceptable to you? Having Helga here to watch over Eir?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Great."

"So." I said, toying with a strand of hair that had fallen out of the ponytail. "Don't you and I have a date today?"

"Yeah," he said, "I guess we do."

"Did you have anything in mind?"

"Yes," his answer surprised me, but I thought I did a good job keeping it off my face. "I was thinking you might like to see more of Asgard, provided you want to of course. If you'd rather train we can do that."

"I think I've had enough training for today," I said honestly, the memory of broken ribs flashing through my mind. And it mad sense, if I was going to marry Thor, it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn more about his home. "Give me fifteen minutes to shower and get changed into different clothes?"

"Sure."

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New chapter! We met one of the other sponsors (albiet briefly) and got to see a little power display from Thor! I had so much fun writing that, not gonna lie! Hope everyone as a Merry Christmas! (Or whatever holiday they celebrate this time of year!)

Write on!