nextgen_misc (nextgen_misc) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-05-31 02:53:00

Entry tags:

cosmopolitan, iason, inactive - charlie rogers, inactive - eli paravich, plot-"12-step", ryan spector, svalin

12 Step - Viking Age
There was a flash of bright light and the group appeared on a small hilltop overlooking what would be the modern day spot of the town of Hamre, Norway. Humans had been living in this area since the Stone Age, eking out a living in the harsh climate.

The walled settlement was set at the mouth of a river that emptied into the bay. The buildings and wall were made of timber harvested from the nearby forest and a little land had been cleared for farming. Though in the cold North, most sustenance was derived from the sea and the raiding parties that went out in boats each summer.

The inhabitants of the town were gathered in a field some distance away from the settlement. A large ship sat on top a pyre and the townsfolk gathered around. Men, warriors, carried the body of their chieftan to the ship and placed him inside the tent. A young woman, a thrall, flanked by two warriors and an old woman walked to the ship. She paused long enough to give her jewelry to the old woman and then boarded the ship. She stood on the deck and was handed intoxicating drinks. Afterward, she entered the tent with six men and an old woman. The warriors outside began to beat on their shields.

The men and the old woman left the boat and grabbed torches. They set the torches to the wood and the pyre began to burn.

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	borntolead 2010-05-31 04:24 pm UTC (link)
	Charlie nodded his head. "They don't need the interuption right now." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cosmic_son 2010-05-31 05:10 pm UTC (link)
	"Agreed. Rest, the Eternals can keep watch." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	butterflybullet 2010-05-31 05:34 pm UTC (link)
	Part of Vernique thinks this funeral could damn well use some interruption, but it's too late anyway. "Resting would be a whole lot easier right now if I couldn't count," she says quietly. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	shield_maiden 2010-05-31 05:46 pm UTC (link)
	"The woman didst honor her lord and served him well," Svalin said as she watched the ship burn. "It ist the duty of a thrall to serve." She nodded. "We wilt rest. Anon I wilt go an procure garments for all of thee. Food as well." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	blinkandmissme 2010-05-31 06:22 pm UTC (link)
	The ritual certainly intrigued Eli, but he also thought it would be wise to let the people of this village grieve. He hears Vernique's comment, and walks over to her. "What's wrong, Vernique? Is something else troubling you?" he asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	butterflybullet 2010-05-31 06:26 pm UTC (link)
	"I know we have different ways of looking at things, Svalin," Vernique says quietly before looking to Eli. "Eight living people walked on the boat. Seven living people walked off the boat. I realize we're in a different time period, a different culture, but I think I am damn well entitled to be troubled by that." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

blinkandmissme
2010-05-31 06:39 pm UTC (link)

Eli didn't need his telepathy to understand Vernique's sorrow. There were a lot of things he could say to her, but none of them would truly mean anything. He and Iason were living proof that death wasn't actually a part of life.

"I understand why that would trouble you. If you want to talk about it, I will listen. I only ask that you at least try to rest somewhat in the meanwhile. Please."

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	butterflybullet 2010-05-31 06:45 pm UTC (link)
	Smart boy, that Eli. Not trying to be trite about a reasonable human reaction to a human sacrifice has saved him from tiny human rage. "I appreciate that," she says sincerely. "But I'll be okay." She walks over towards where they'll be bedding down for the night, clutching her little bag. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	blinkandmissme 2010-05-31 07:03 pm UTC (link)
	"Very well. You have only to ask if you change your mind." he says, smiling. Still, when Vernique does lie down for the evening, Eli makes certain to check on her a little more often than the others, as they all seem to sleep well, except for Iason, of course. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

butterflybullet
2010-05-31 07:20 pm UTC (link)

Vernique rests fitfully. And at some point, as he gets near her, she'll speak up.

"Somebody just committed suicide at a funeral because her society dictated she wasn't very important. I can't be the only one freaked out about this."

She knows Svalin's got all that fatalism and social roles stuff internalized. Maybe it just hasn't processed the same way for the boys. Maybe an Eternal upbringing is too weird for them to really think about these things.

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blinkandmissme
2010-05-31 07:36 pm UTC (link)

"I admit that this is not something I agree with, either, Vernique. Perhaps she could have aided the next chieftain as well as the previous, or been given a new role. But these are the ways this culture knows, and they believe in it." he says, gently reaching out to touch her hand.

"There are many things my people find odd about humans but, except for a few of us, we try to understand that those are the ways you know and believe. If there will be lasting change, it must come from within these people." Eli says.

He doesn't mention his own belief that humans are fortunate to pass on to whatever reward awaits them in the afterlife, and that the passing of elders allows them a freedom not shared by others.

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butterflybullet
2010-05-31 08:41 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah. I know that ingrained horrific social practices can't just be suddenly magically fixed. That doesn't make them any less messed up," Vernique says quietly. She'll set her hand on his, but with none of the previous occasion's flirtiness, obviously. Human sacrifice is not flirting-conducive. "I like to consider myself a flexible person, Eli, but ... " A frustrated sound. "I mean, if we don't come back from all this? We were taking down Kang to stop who-knows-how-many horrific things from happening. Because that's the kind of risk people take who know they matter, but that some things matter more. I just hate having seen a death that didn't save anybody, that just inherently mattered less. Random innocent people's lives should always matter."

And then, softer. "Thanks for listening to the rant."

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blinkandmissme
2010-05-31 09:02 pm UTC (link)

Eli listened to Vernique's words as she said so many of the things he thought about but could not truly put into words. At first, he figured that he was only on this mission with the Avengers due to good (or bad, some might think) timing. But the idea of stopping Kang had ceased to be about an "adventure" and was now a very real goal to him.

If they didn't stop him, many would suffer and perish, even the Eternals themselves. Vernique's words about the young woman's passing touched home with him; why should one life matter more or less than others?

"I do not consider that we will not return from this journey, Vernique. We left with six companions, and we will return with six.

However, it is a credit you that you care about the less known and even the nameless who die to preserve those who are considered 'greater' or 'more important'. Too often, in all the history I have studied, do I see that few remember those who helped the 'great' and 'mighty' on their way. Every king, every prince, every leader of men who rose above their circumstances were carried on the shoulders of those who names will never be spoken. You are a special person, Vernique, to think of those who are often not spared a first though, let alone a second, simply because it was their 'duty' or their 'place'.

I guess I am trying to say that I admire you for that." he says, remembering something his mother once told him.

History often remembers those who took the road less traveled, but rarely, if at all, does it speak of those who paved the road those people chose to walk.

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butterflybullet
2010-05-31 09:58 pm UTC (link)

Alert the presses, Vernique doesn't preen when admired.
She just says "That's sweet, Eli," and nods a little.
Knowing and feeling the distinction between a person and window dressing just doesn't exactly trigger the same girlish thrills as being clever and stylish and beautiful, after all.
So they can just sit in the quiet, hands on each other's, for a while until it's time to get up and talk to the others.

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	blinkandmissme 2010-05-31 10:08 pm UTC (link)
	Eli sits with Vernique quietly, saying little else unless she speaks directly. He only wants to offer some form of comfort for the time being, until she's ready to get up and address the group. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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