"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked and I felt Thor let go of my hand. "Or do you need a moment?"

"Just a second," I heard the breaking of grass under his heavy frame and his hands were on my shoulders, turning my entire body in a gentle motion. "Okay, now you're good!"

I opened my eyes, noticing we were in a grassy field, but the color of the place was muted by a large shadow and the second I looked up from the ground, I realized what was making it and I couldn't stop the awe-struck squeal from escaping me. I was no stranger to massive plant life; I'd visited the Redwood Forest with Yuki when she had been going to college out in that area, and this tree reminded me quite a great deal of those trees on Earth. The trunk was massive and I was sure, had there been a carved out section, an eighteen-wheeler truck could've driven through no problem, it's thick limbs were twisted but strong, stretching high into the brilliant blue sky before they were blocked from my view by the glare of the sun.

"This is huge," I muttered, knowing it was a very on-the-nose observation, but it was the only one I could make. The vastness of it was too astounding, but the nearer I drew to the black-brown trunk, I knew it wasn't the sheer size that was so astounding. It was something else. The closer I got, the more I could feel it. A sort of vibration, a presence emitting from the ancient tree and it was touching everything around it, even me.

Magic, I knew had to be the answer and as I touched the trunk, I was even more certain of it. The tree was thrumming, though it was clearly alive just looking at it, I could feel the force of that life underneath my palm; almost like a pulse. I looked back over at Thor who had his arms crossed, a curious expression on his face.

"Who planted this? Was it one of your relatives?"

Thor looked up at the massive tree, "That's the question on everyone's mind. We don't have the slightest idea how the Yggdrasil came to be."

"None?"

"None." He looked up at the tree again. "As long as we've been here, the Yggdrasil has been along too. And this is only a section of it." He approached the tree now, spreading his long fingers over the rough bark. "It spreads through all of the nine realms."

"This is on Earth too? I think that would've been noticed already."

"It has been, I believe you call it the Bermuda triangle?"

"Trees don't grow in oceans," I said numbly, knowing as the words left my mouth that the Yggdrasil might've looked like a tree, but that it was by no means bound by the rules I was accustomed to for life. "Is that why people disappear there? They get pulled into this thing and can't get out?"

"It's less about getting out and more about landing on another world, or getting lost on the tree itself." Thor let his hand fall from the Yggdrasil. "Before we built the Bifrost, this was how my people traveled between worlds. It was possible, but it was dangerous. This is always shifting, never stays in the same place in a world too long which made it hard to navigate. And that's not to mention what happened if you ran into a Jotun or a dark elf while you were traveling."

"Dark elves?" I repeated, a goth-looking Legolas popping into my imagination.

"They live in Svartalfheim," Thor clarified. "I believe you called them dwarves on Midgard. Very skilled craftsmen and deadly in a fight-which is why you don't want to run into one in a hostile environment." The image in my head switched, becoming a goth-Gimli.

"And the Yggdrasil is one," I finished, looking up at the tree. It certainly didn't look hostile from where I was standing, but I was quickly starting to learn that many things on Asgard were not what they appeared. "Have you ever traveled on it before?"

"That stopped before I was born, but my father did. When he was young at least. The construction on the Bifrost was done by the time he was my age."

That comment got me and it had nothing to do with his reference to the rainbow bridge. "How old are you anyways? Sif never mentioned it."

"Don't panic," he warned and I rolled my eyes. "What?"

"I never really paid attention in my mythology class in high school, but we did cover Viking myths; you were a pretty strong feature in the stories, so I know you can't be as young as you look. Don't worry, I won't panic."

Thor gave me a skeptical glance. "I was born around seven-hundred A.D. I think that's the year you'd call it and we visited Midgard for the first time about sixty years after that. Which is how those humans started telling stories about us. I haven't researched a great deal on them, but they didn't get a lot right. Like that whole Ragnarok thing."

"That's the end of the world right?"

"Correct."

"All fake?"

"Depends who you ask," he answered and at my confused look, he explained further. "Ragnarok is what we call the end of the world, but what that entails is different depending on who you ask. Some say it's going to end in fire, some say in ice, other's say going to end with the world being drowned-but no one actually knows."

His words were familiar and I smiled. "Did you just quote Robert Frost at me?"

"You know him?"

"Yes. He's one of the poets most Americans study in high school." I touched the Yggdrasil again, thinking of his poem about the yellow wood. "I was never much into poetry, but he was one that I really liked." I let my hand drop from the trunk, the bark rough as it rubbed across my skin. "How'd you know him?"

"Well, like I said, after the Bifrost was built, travel between worlds was easier and safer, so once it was up and running, there's been more inter-world travel as a result. I've only visited Midgard once personally, but others have gone many times and they've brought things back with them. A great deal of them are in our libraries here and I've gotten gone over them when the mood strikes me."

"And you were in a poetry mood at some point?"

"Yes, is that so hard to believe?"

"You don't strike me as a poetry type of guy," I admitted. "You seem too...manly for that I guess." I shook my head at myself, this was a trap I'd fallen into before; the one that stood out most in my mind was Mathew. He was one of the toughest guys I knew and so, discovering that he knew how to knit had taken me by surprise.

"You don't need to look so embarrassed," Thor remarked, "I know I don't seem the type to bury my nose in books. I'm not much of a reader honestly, but sometimes I'll find something to catch my interest."

"I don't read much either, I'm more into movies. They're faster."

"What's a movie?"

I laughed and leaned against the gigantic trunk, sliding down into the soft grass. Once there, I laid myself out on the ground so I could look up at the twisting limbs without craning my neck. As I expected, the twisted brown-grey branches disappeared into brillaint blue sky.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking at the sky, thought that was obvious."

"It is, but why?"

"Well I wanted to see how tall the tree was without having to crane my neck. And now that I'm here," I pointed out with my left hand, "I can see that this cloud looks like an elephant."

"Does not."

"You're looking at it wrong."

There was as scuffle and I turned my head to see Thor laying at my side. "Where's the cloud?" I pointed it out again and saw him frown. "Oh, okay I see it now."

I laughed. "Sometimes all you need is a little perspective." I pointed to another cloud more towards the east. "I think that one looks like a bunny."

"I think that looks like a dog."

"What kind of dog?"

"Does it even matter?"

"Yes."

Thor laughed softly for a moment as he considered. "I think some kind of rat terrier, sort of has that thin tail."

I titled my head as I studied the shape. "Yeah, I can see that. Not fond of those though. Cute, but not my favorite breed."'

"What is your favorite dog then?"

I turned my head so I could look at Thor. "German Shepherds." I'd met plenty during my first year on the force and they were the smartest and bravest pooches I'd ever seen.

"Why that one?"

"They're very smart and loyal-all things you want out of a pet and I can't resist those giant ears, they're just so cute!"

Thor smiled at me, apparently amused by the answer. "You never had one though?"

I shook my head. "Uncle Enemi's allergic, so I never had any pet other than a gold fish as a kid."

"Why not when you moved out?"

"Pure breed German Shepherds can cost anywhere from three hundred to nine hundred dollars and up. Didn't exactly have that kind of money laying around when I was working at McDonald's."

"What's McDonald's?"

"It's a restaurant chain on Midgard," I said, the tantalizing image of a Big Mac and fries entering my mind and my stomach rumbled loudly.

"Hungry?" Thor snickered and I sat up, nodding.

"Starving, getting your ass kicked burns a lot of calories. Think we can teleport somewhere for a burger?"

"No need," Thor said, sitting up and reaching into the pocket of his shorts. He opened his palm and I saw a small brown box.

I stared back at at him. "I don't get it."

"Magic," he replied, tapping a section of the tiny box with the tip of index finger and before my eyes, it expanded until I could see it for what it was; a picnic basket.

"How did you do that?"

"Just a simple shrinking spell," Thor said, pointing to a rune on the top of the basket. "I figured you'd be training and I thought it might be nice to have a lunch packed."

I smiled. "What's on the menu?"

"Ham sandwiches, apples and cold milk."

"I love ham sandwiches."

"I know, I asked Sif to make sure I didn't bring something you hated or were seriously allergic to."

"I'm not allergic to anything actually," I said as he set down the basket and flipped open the clasp and grabbed a tinfoil wrapped square that I assumed was a sandwich and was proven right the moment I peeled it back. The salty smell of ham greeted my nose and I tore into it like a hungry wolf, pausing only to take a breath. I was halfway through the sandwich before I stopped long enough to ask for something to drink.

"Hungry?" Thor asked as he handed me what looked like a Yeti cup and I downed a gulp or two before answering.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be a pig."

"It's okay, nice to see a woman with an appetite believe it or not. After Sif and I split, my parents kept trying to set me up with other women, mainly at feasts for whatever celebration and they'd pick at their food like birds. It freaked me out."

"Maybe they just weren't hungry?" I offered. Yuki never ate much but fact was, it simply didn't take much to fill her up on most days.

"It wasn't just that," Thor said with a slight frown. "A lot of them acted really weird around me.

"Weird how?"

"They didn't really act like normal people. Didn't eat even though they were hungry, fake laughed when I wasn't even trying to be funny, downplayed opinions or didn't voice them at all when I asked-it was frustrating. Not all of them were like this, but it happened so much I kind of gave up on dating for a while."

I took another bite of my sandwich, chewing slowly enough that I could taste the sweet-salty ham inside and a tangy bit of mayo. Washing it down with another drink, I shrugged at him. "I have no idea how to respond to that. Is that why all of us here for the trials are from Midgard?"

"Yep. I know I'm a myth down there, but it's better than people growing up reading about you in tabloids. There's a lot more laughs involved when I tell people that I don't drive a chariot pulled by talking goats."

"I do not remember reading that about you." I wrinkled my nose. "God I don't know what Vikings were smoking but it must have been some strong stuff."

Thor shrugged. "Couldn't tell you. I tried it when I was there and it didn't impact me too much, but most substances on Midgard don't."

"What does?"

"Fire is the same everywhere."

I shoved the last of my sandwich into my mouth. "I meant drugs or alcohol."

"Isn't one that I know of." Thor said as he reached into the basket and handed me another sandwich. I smiled.

"Is mind reading another Affinity of yours?" I asked as I accepted the sandwich from him.

"No, I just saw you eyeing the basket. So, you know about my dating history, but I don't know anything about yours."

"Not much to tell really," I said as I took a bite. Now that the other food had settled, I was full enough that I didn't have to scarf it down. "I dated two guys in high school, Asher and Damien. Asher and I got together when I was fifteen and we lasted about six months. Damien when I was sixteen and we lasted about a year before it ended."

"What happened?"

"Asher and I were just super immature." I said honestly, wincing as I recalled how petty I'd been back then. "I tried to control him, saying he couldn't hang out with this or that person because I didn't like it. He didn't take that well of course and said hurtful things to me. We were just really stupid kids who had no idea how to talk to each other when we were scared or upset."

"I see and what about Damien?"

I took another drink of milk to wash down more of my sandwich before answering. "He was older than me by a few years, when he went to college out of state, we decided it would be better if he and I just ended things."

"Was it?"

"It was. He meet his fiance while he was there and they seem really happy together." I'd seen a few posts on Facebook and enough time had passed now, that seeing it didn't sting like it would have when I was sixteen.

"Was it better for you though?" Thor asked. "What did it do for you? Or do you still have feelings for him?"

I sensed his concern that I might be another Karen Vaughn. "It was better for me too, I moved on eventually. After he was gone, I didn't date again in high school, but I did meet this guy Jared when I was nineteen and we dated for two years before it ended."

"What happened there?"

"I got accepted to the police academy and he was not okay with it." I winced, "it was our biggest fight and our last one."

"Why was he so upset about it? It's a very noble profession."

I snorted, yeah filing paperwork was very noble. "I've never thought about it like that, I just, I knew I wanted that; that was my future and I knew I'd do whatever it took to get there. Jared couldn't deal with it, he said I was neglecting him in favor of training." I shrugged, "And looking back, I can see that I was, but I think part of it was his ego too. I think he wanted me to be more dependent on him for security than I was."

Thor frowned as he nibbled on an apple. "That doesn't make much sense to me. Personally I'd sleep better at night knowing you could defend yourself."

"I don't think it was so much that he wanted me helpless, more like he wanted me to need him more than I did. Being honest, I didn't need him."

"Then why were you with him?" Thor prompted.

"I wanted to be with him." I said as I took another bite of my food and took another drink of milk.  "You should never need someone to be with you, ever." I shook my head, thinking of my mother and her inability to get by on her own.

"Pretty harsh outlook," Thor commented, crunching through the last of his apple.

"Think about it," I prompted. "If you need someone to get by, what are you supposed to do with yourself when your alone? How are you supposed to function  if the person you need has to go out of town for a week? What about if they die?  What are you going to do then? It's not healthy to need someone. Love them yes, depend on them-sure that's okay. But needing someone to complete you is a bad thing to hold onto."

"No one completes anyone," Thor replied instantly. "Some people are just good at bringing out the best in you."

"Exactly," I smiled, "that's why I wanted Jared around. He balanced me out really well but, ultimately he and I had too many fundamental differences for it to work out." I polished off the last of my sandwich and slammed the last of my drink.

Thor snickered. "Um Suzume, you might want to wipe your face." He tapped his upper lip and I cursed wiping the milk mustache off with my sleeve.

"Sorry," I apologized, "I promise I actually have table manners."

"We're not at table, so we're good," he winked at me and smiled. "Are you ready for the next stop on Thor's grand tour, or do you want to stay here for a while longer?"

I looked up at the massive, mysterious tree and shivered. "Yeah, I think I'm ready to go."

Thor got onto his feet faster than my eyes could follow and cleaned up the basket as well. He held down his hand to me, which I took more to be polite than out of actual need. "Though," I said as I rose, knees cracking, "I have no idea how you're going to top this."

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First chapter of 2019! Second date continues and I have to say, this chapter got way longer than I expected it to! What did you guys make of Suzume and Thor's conversation? As always, please VOTE and COMMENT if you've got the time! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and a wonderful New Year!

Write on! :)