107/Gods, Spies, Kings and Vodka

Gods, Spies, Kings and Vodka
Date of Scene:	25 February 2020
Location:	Avengers Mansion - Back Yard
Synopsis:	Thor returns to the Avengers mansion from his meeting with Loki. Natasha presses for details. T'challa learns of Loki's return, and Thor laments his father's opaque reasoning before unknown inspiration strikes him and he leaves.
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Natasha Romanoff, T'Challa

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Thor has posed:
    Later the same evening after Thor broke the news as he could to the Avengers, he returns. Though this time there is no ruckus, no fanfare, no flash and flare of brilliance from the Bifrost casting its powerful energy over the rather ill-used lawn. Instead there is just that faint beeping warning inside the mansion to let those within know of his approach...
    And then Thor lands heavy upon the ground with a /crunch/ and crackle of spider-web fractures lancing outward from the point of impact on that concrete driveway. He gains his feet, hammer still held in hand, the grip high as he holds when his thoughts are distant or when he is distracted. Heavy boots thump as he walks toward the side door that leads into the mansion.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    You try beating a Thunder God back to his destination in a car. Try it. It's impossible.
    All things considered, though, Natasha made pretty incredible time. She frowns as her car does a bit of jumping around navigating the now crumbled section of driveway, stops the car, reaches out of the window and physically pulss herself out of car through the window and onto the pavement, walking into the mansion as she straightens out her clothes and fiddles with a wrist device so that the mansion rather pointedly does not announce her presence.
    It's just simpler if Thor doesn't think she followed him with a sniper rifle.
    Natasha spots Thor from behind and takes a detour, navigating a route around Thor so that she pops out ahead of him, casually leaning forward through a doorframe while bracing herself on it with both hands, putting on airs of curiosity as she says "*There* you are!"
    Greet teammate!: Smile.
Note aggrivation: Look concerned
    A convincing moment of thoughtful hesitation passes and Natasha tilts her head with a look of ruefully unsurprised sympathy, and asks, "... How did it go?" as if she expects it didn't go well.

Thor has posed:
    Her first words slip past him and she might get the sense he did not even see her. But the second salvo she launches as he reaches the door and then hesitates, meeting her eyes and then looking at her as if she were wearing clown make up and fake butterfly wings. Then he shakes his head, clearing his thoughts, letting go of whatever train of thought had derailed.
    "Natasha." Good he recognizes her. Then he nods slowly, "Forgive me, I was far away." His lips purse and he smiles a little, then touches a hand to her shoulder in greeting and some small touch of affection. And then he is moving past her into the mansion.
    "It did not go well. Yet what my father has said is true. He is here, bound, weakened. He is to aid me but he is..." Thor shakes his head again and then there's a slippery silvery energy that sluices over his body, removing the armor and leaving in its wake that casual jeans and a hoodie he so often wears. Mjolnir is left upon an end table as he passes by, but he pauses at the end of the hallway to tell her, "He is very angry. Enraged. And he must... must be held accountable for what he's done."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha smiles faintly at the touch, then squints briefly after he passes by her, suppressing an anxiousness to rush to the point. She turns around and follows Thor, staying a fixed distance away from him, more in the interest of giving space than any sort of caution - though an Asgardian's temper flaring in times of stress is something you want to keep clear of at the best of times. She crosses her arms, and when Thor hesitates on what Loki is, Natasha tilts her head and offers "Loki?" as a summary with muted bemusement. She goes quiet when Thor gives his actualy conclusion and sighs.
    "... Plenty of cells at SHIELD's disposal. Sounds like they might even hold him this time." She offers, letting the rest of that breath come out as a gentle sigh as she steps closer and puts a hand on the wall, "... But it sounds like the Allfather wants to put him to work more than he wants to let us punish him." She notes with the unspoken concern of Odin... 'punishing' his lowly Midgardian subjects in some way if they interfere in his design.

Thor has posed:
    "I... Natasha, he is in my charge now. I am responsible for him. Not just to you, but to my father. My people." Thor lifts his hands, then flares the fingers as if trying to hold something back, failing. "I would not raise hand against you and yours. But if you take him into custody then I should be taken as well."
    She may not be able to wind through the way Thor's mind works in this regard, the paths of responsibility, obligation, duty. But Thor tries his best to explain as he murmurs, "For I am my father's representative here on Midgard. I am... responsible."
    That said he holds up a hand, "If you fear severe action must be taken, I only ask you tell me first so I can... make sure no one gets hurt."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "That would be a hard sell." Natasha says quietly in response to the idea of taking Thor into custody.
    Internally she could pull her hair out at the whims and labrynthine political reasoning of the universe's most advanced primitive society. The dramatic theater that gets played out on her world based on the logic of a people that's never felt truly threatened by anything for centuries, maybe millennia.
    None of this is betrayed on Natasha's face, however, who nods with a gentle smile of patient understanding and says, "Of course, Thor."
    She is not actually married to this idea.
    Like everything else... it will just depend.

Thor has posed:
    "If there is naught else..." Thor looks to her and they have known each other for some time. He has no idea exactly how her mind works, no idea how she truly sees the world. But he knows that Natasha Romanova is a deep thinker, and strong. So his eyes remain on her for a time, as if trying to fathom what must be passing within her own thoughts. And then something occurs to him that stops him from trying. He turns away.
    "I will retire to my quarters. If I am needed please make me aware. I will remain here to answer any call so required." And with that he starts to the hall, and then into the foyer for the grand staircase that leads upwards, his footsteps heavy and thumping on each step slowly.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "For now." Natasha nods. There's bound to be more, especially when word gets around. But for now she's mostly content to let him wander off.
    Mostly. The distraction that suddenly changes his attitude is cause for concern; as she doesn't typically know Thor as someone who keeps his thoughts to himself, at least not selectively. He seems like an all or nothing sort of guy.
    But it's a sensitive time to grill someone. That said...!
    "We will." She says at first, letting him get partway up the stairs before she 'suddenly' speaks up, "And, Thor...!" She hesitates measuredly, projecting maximum thoughtful sensitivity, "... You know you can always talk to me if there's anything nagging at you. You know. When you want to."
    Never hurts to try.
    It's not totally insincere, but just because you mean it doesn't mean it's not useful. She's a spy. Everything goes through that filter.

Thor has posed:
    Standing tall on the stairway, hand resting on the banister, Thor looks down at her and then stops his ascent. Instead he turns around and then just sits down. And perhaps for the first time since she's ever known him, Thor just seems so /tired/ as he gingerly rests his weight upon the edge of that top step, and leans forward to rest his hands upon his knees, then shifts his posture forward to rest his elbows there instead.
    His fingers interlace as he looks to her and he says, "Natasha. I hold no secrets. If there is aught you would know you have but to ask me. And I know you... and... well I mean I do not know all that you have endured. But I know you have endured much. So I do not blame you for withholding of yourself. For some it must be that way. To survive."
    The Thunderer looks toward the front door from his perch there high above. He shakes his head as if expecting someone or something to come through. "But know my heart is ever here with my friends."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha is surprised at Thors initial physical reaction, thinking perhaps that it had worked far faster than she'd ever anticipated. At first his reply seems more in line with what she'd expect - denial is to be expected, true or false - but as he goes on she seems subtly taken aback. There's a short list of people she would expect to see through her, to any extent, and Thor was not on it.
    That's troubling.
    Her discomfort is visible mostly in a stiffening of the shoulders, and a period of unneccessarily frequent blinking that she quickly wrangles under control. Her mouth stiffens into a flat line as Natasha's wheels spin trying to settle on a reaction before it lands on a soft huff of a laugh, genuine in its exhausted bemusement, and says, "Heh. Sounds like Asgard's more complicated than I thought."
    Not a confirmation or a denial. Her eyes instinctively follow Thor's to the door. "Or maybe we just made you paranoid down here." She nods once in response to Thor's last statement, and looks to him with a tiny smile, "Well, just don't forget we have your back too."

Thor has posed:
    As Natasha speaks he nods as he listens to her, eyebrows lifting upwards and then away, but when she offers those last few words his lip twists up a little as he confides in her, "That may well be so, Natasha. Or perhaps it is that I have much I care for here and mine eyes are now open." At that last he lifts a hand to her, "Do not let me keep you I think..."
    He looks again to the door, perhaps contemplating what it represents and less the thing itself. He then turns his head slightly to call down toward her without looking at her, "I think I shall sit here for a time. But if you find that bottle of vodka!" He doesn't quite finish that sentence, perhaps assuming she knows his wishes.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha smirks and tilts her head a little. "If a Russian can't conjure up vodka, the world's in a sad state." She taps the railing twice with one nail and begins to move away. "I'll see what scraps the wolves left behind."

T'Challa has posed:
He needed the fresh air. And he didn't feel like working with the holograms in the garden at the Wakandan embassy. As he was about to open the door to the back yard, he finds himself looking at Thor, and the Wakandan King offers a smile. "Vodka? Are we celebrating something?" he asks, then he notices Natasha, and the Widow is given a respectful upnod of his head. "Good evening." he offers to him both.

To the world, there's nothing wrong here. To those trained to look for it - there's a subtle slump in T'Challa's shoulders. "Or is this leftover from Tony's announcement?"

Thor has posed:
    "Panther," Is Thor's greeting, given sidelong as he catches the man's appearance. He shakes his head, "No, I must spend a good amount of time perhaps waiting, and so I felt best to pass the time with friends and with something suitable to drink. To help distract myself from what has passed."

    There's a pause as he looks sidelong, giving T'Challa a second glance as if something stood out that drew Thor's attention all the more. But he says, "I should inform you, T'Challa, that mine brother is on Midgard and I am responsible for his actions and safety. It is a poor situation whose merit escapes me but apparently makes utter sense to Odin."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "Your Highness." Natasha greets at the same time as Thor, putting a bit of a courtsey into her step as she walks in the direction of the nearest bar. Which, considering the owner, is probably within ten steps of any other place in the mansion.
    She returns with a bottle and two glasses. She suspects one of the glasses will go to waste in lieu of the bottle, but that's fine. "When you get right down to it," she says as she's close enough to hear them again, "everything around here boils down to a Stark leftover." she finishes. When Thor finishes speaking, she sighs, "And we're all celebrating. Here:" and reaches out both hands to Thor, one holding the neck of a bottle, the other holding two short glasses together. "Pick your mood. Leave some for T'challa, though."

T'Challa has posed:
"Waiting? You have never come across as a patient God, my friend." T'Challa offers in mild, if playful rebuttal. Distraction. Distraction is excellent. "I could have my runner bring over something from the Embassy?" he suggest, before that other, smelly shoe drops. And his expression stiffens. "After all the trouble has caused. The lives he has taken. The things that he did." he shakes his head with a slightly angry look. "Your father's choice of punisment is akin to catching the stealing candy from the shoppe and offering him the keys of the shoppe to eat as much as he wants."

When Natasha returns, he waits for her to serve Thor first as he blows out his breath. "I was discussing that earlier today. And wondering what will happen when Stark meets the only thing more stubborn than him -- a politcian that has made up their mind." he says dryly.

Thor has posed:
    And, indeed, the bottle is Thor's chosen vehicle for drink. Though he does not forget his friends, instead allowing enough to pour into those glasses should they so wish to join him. It's just casual movement, easily executed with the turn of the bottle on its side gurgling until each glass is filled. Then he hefts the bottle up, preparing to make a toast.
    "To Odin, long may he rein in his wisdom." Though the words are uttered sternly, there is a twist to them that likely inclines the toaster's rumbling roiling displeasure beneath the surface. Whether or not they return the toast, he'll drink immediately after, tilting the bottle back and taking a few long swallows.
    Vodka does not affect him hugely, but he does manage to get a slight flush to his cheeks from it and that at least is pleasing. Yet he continues with his train of thought. "He is perhaps trying to redeem my brother. Or test me. But one thing is certain, he does not seem to put much weight upon the lives lost to Loki's hubris. I at times... I sometimes I imagine I know what my father is doing. But this... this is beyond me."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha smiles very stiffly and raises her glass. She makes a practiced motion of very *nearly* drinking it before 'thinking of something else' and saying, "He's weak, now, at any rate. Weak*er*. But mad as a hornet by the sound of it." She says, giving no outward indication that she, you know, saw. "There's plenty a mortal can do with a chip on his shoulder, but it doesn't sound like he'll be leading any interstellar invasions at least."
    Thor's words make her very, very quiet for a long moment before simply saying, sympathetically "Family's rough."

T'Challa has posed:
"I think I will stick with my strong willed Shuri." T'Challa says with a small snort as he raises his glass to the toast, and he takes a small sip. "I assume you cannot just go to Asgard and ask him yourself about his reasoning?"

Thor has posed:
    "I have, and he treated it as a learning experience." Thor shakes his head, tilting the bottle back. "He cares not for the laws of the people here, what Loki has done to the people of New York." The Thunderer frowns, jaw clenching for a moment as he shakes his head...
    He looks between the two of them, then his brow furrows as his focus slips distant. "Perhaps..." He lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck and murmurs, "Perhaps there is something here I simply cannot see? I am not the most wise individual of Asgard. Perhaps there are others I can speak with."
    He pushes himself to his feet roughly.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha's brow raises subtly as Thor's train of thought seems to carry him away. Whatever she was going to say is forgotten as Thor stands suddenly. "What is it? Have you thought of something?"

T'Challa has posed:
"Noone doubts your skills and intellect, my friend." T'Challa opines. "You have here a God, a Spy, and a King, and we cannot figure out your father's thought process either." he points out before Thor is rising to his feet. "I was hoping to get thoughts, actually, myself. On how I should respond to the Massacre of Genosha. The deaths of so many... even if the man that led them was..." Magneto. "...what happened was not..." he trails off.

Thor has posed:
    "There are... others, who may give me insight into Odin's thinking." Thor says as his expression clouds. He looks to Natasha and T'Challa and murmurs, "You both enjoy my thanks. For tolerating my ill mood and spurring my thoughts ever onward. I shall return and let you know what I find." Perhaps somewhat lost in his thoughts, Thor may only hear part of what T'Challa said. That considered he starts to step down the stairs, footsteps light and bouncing as he descents much faster than he rose. He moves to that front door, reaching a hand out to the side...
    And from the hallway around the corner is the low /whom/ of Mjolnir leaping to hand with a thwap into his palm.
    The door opens and he turns backwards to walk through it, "Until then!" He calls.