3421/Gramercy by night.

Gramercy by night.
Date of Scene:	18 September 2020
Location:	Gramercy Park Hotel
Synopsis:	Thor goes for a speech at the Gramercy Hotel. Elektra is there to try and stir him away but duty prevails!
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Elektra Natchios

---

Thor has posed:
    Late at night upon the Gramercy Park Terrace rooftop dining is a beautiful almost fairy tale like setting. When the old hotel hosts a gathering, there under the stars it is almost picturesque, the only thing missing are the brush strokes and the artist's signature. It is a heady mix of the atmosphere, with the gentle lighting given by the shaded lanterns, the gentle music that is in the air, and the melding of those living vines that are entwined in the lattice work decor of the terrace. All of it comes together to create this aesthetic that has made the place one of the more popular places for high society to gather when they seek to see and be seen. A more subdued setting than the ballrooms and the great halls of those old hotels. A setting that lends itself to wonder.
    Fitting, then, that it is there upon that rooftop with its open air dining and the large dance floor underneath the natural lattice that some of the city's elite have gathered to celebrate those who put their lives on the line for their fellow man. A charitable organization gathered for the first responders of the great city of Manhattan, though many of those there likely don't know exactly what it is they are donating to. Yet still they come.
    Yet every event needs a draw and what better draw is there than something out of the ordinary even in a world populated by individuals with great powers, aliens from other planets, and now here... a god of a sort.
    "Thank you for coming, Mr. Odinson. We'll be ready for you soon, if you like you can have a seat at the bar while we get the podium and the stage set?"
    "Of course," The tall man says, cutting a fine silhouette in that perfectly tailored tuxedo that likely was sent his way by Stark. Since really these events often called for an Avenger and often times... they were pawned off on Thor as he seemed to mind going to them less than some others. "Take your time, I shall sit here and reflect on the day's events."
    The Asgardian cleans up well, handsome of features with his beard neatly trimmed and his long hair pulled back into a precise pony tail. He smiles to the bartender who takes his order quietly, himself fighting back a smile even as around them many of the guests are mingling and chatting.
    It is a small island of peace stolen before the night truly gets underway.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
While Elektra is at that stage where she doesn't exactly *needs* to be seen out and about she sometimes enjoys these more simply evenings, where she is free of being the cold-hearted assassin in relentless pursue of her shady agenda.. It serves another purpose too, it being such an open and public place, along with the security that comes with it that any murder attempts would be ill-advised at best. So she can simply enjoy herself. Something that she gets less and less of these nights..

And who would attack a place where Gods go to?

She is already sitting there at the bar when Thor arrives, cutting an impressive figure in a long, deep red gown, sleeveless and elegant, a cut down a side of the leg that shows some of it, tanned and athletic.

Her attention roams from the glass she was nurturing to the new arrival, dark gaze taking him in. She had seen these so-called Avengers here and there, but as for the Godling it was the first time. A brow arches.

"Being a public face is such a chore sometimes, is it not?" her heavily accented voice heard.

Thor has posed:
    A bottle is brought and set before him, some brand of beer free of label and dark in colour. He takes it up and smiles at it, then turns his head to the side to share that smile with his bar-mate as he shifts blue eyes upon her. And in that instant she likely can get a read of him, a sense of the man in that small shared moment as in her time as that very same assassin... she likely has an ability to read those around her.
    And he is an open book.
    "It can be I imagine," His voice is deep, cheerful, resonant as he offers those casual words to her. "Yet I find it a small burden and if it brings..." He lifts his bottle and gestures to the stage and the podium where the charity spokesman will be addressing the crowd later, "Some measure of thing positive forth then I will bear that burden gladly."
    Surely no one is that open and altruistic. Yet when the smile reaches his eyes as he meets her gaze, eyes crinkling, it might seem that indeed he is so. "I am Thor, son of Odin. Pleased to meet you." He lifts his beer and then extends his hand to her a curious mix of the formal and informal. Much like the man himself.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The corner of Elektra's mouth twists up in a faint smile as she studies the man's demeanor. How refreshing! Nothing hidden. Or at least, that she can see at a first glance. She knows there's always a depthness even to those that may claim otherwise.

"A burden." It comes out amusedly from her lips. "Some would kill to be able to do what you do. Be out there, be known, a public face." elegant fingertips gesturing to the stage even if her eyes never leave the man.

Elektra offers her own hand back to the man, saying. "Elektra Natchios." a dip of her head given. Like Thor there's also a curious mix with her. Formal in mannerisms but the way she talks is brazenly direct and without the flourishes of small talk many have. If anything it does seem like small talk would just .., bore her.

"Where would you be if you could right now?"

Thor has posed:
    He knows, and she knows he knows, that smile says as much. For he's aware that there are those that value fame, and to be fair there is part of Thor that enjoys that he is remembered fondly for the times he has fought for the people of Midgard. So when she tells him about how some would kill for just such a burden he has the good nature to look down and away to nod at the thought and looks back at her with a hint of sheepishness. "I think, perhaps..."
    The tall man turns on his seat to face her, hand resting at the base of his bottle as he leans against that bar railing just a little. "It is more that some look on me with warmth because of what has passed before. A troubling time in their lives, I come here and speak as I can, and they are reminded of that time. When things seemed dark and I rendered what aid I could. It is perhaps not so much me that they honor or look on fondly, and perhaps the way they felt when the world was at its darkest and then they were shown not all was ended."
    For anyone else to say such words it would come across as perhaps cheesy, foolish... naive. Yet the sincerity in the man is so strong. And then his lip curls as he adds, "Though, to be fair, it could also simply be because I am Mighty."
    And ruins it all with that. Or perhaps she might laugh.
    Yet then she asks her question and his brow knits as he gives that some thought, his eyes distancing past her as he ponders. "Ah as to that..."
    He looks away and takes a sip of his beer, head tilting slightly to the side. "If I were free of burdens and knew perhaps that... the people I cared for were safe?" Thor looks back to her as he asks, as if his checking if that qualifier is acceptable, then he presses on. "I would likely be home. Perhaps a ride through the fields. A race with an old friend." His lip curves up and for an instant. Just a bare instant she might see a hint of sadness there. Then he overcomes it almost instantly as he looks back to her. "And you, Lady Natchios?"

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"The idea there's someone out there who keeps them safe. It's dangerous though, to rely on someone like that. The light that many heroes bring does not reach everyone, or everywhere. I do wonder how those do feel." Elektra takes a moment to bring her drink up to her lips, a martini, savoring it a moment before setting it back on the counter. "To rely on others is a ..., difficult proposition."

Yet when the man comes out with that second part about being Mighty it perhaps bring a levity to the conversation, making Elektra chuckle briefly before a smirk appears on her expression. "We can go with that, yes. Noone doubts how mighty you are."

"A race through the fields?" She asks, curious. "You make it sound almost like a mundane thing even if I feel it was anything but.." some kind of knowing look on her expression. But he's an open enough book for her. She notes the sadness, the longing. "Good memories are often a balm that can get us through."

That last question makes her consider though. Where would she be? "Doing something extremely ill-advised and dangerous most likely." she replies in an honest manner. Well, the man's own genuine being is infectious apparently! "I enjoy living in the moment sometimes." maybe not only sometimes! But it's not like Thor needs to know. Unlike him she is no open book.

Thor has posed:
    His features remain at ease, jovial for the most part, but he does nod and seems to give a hint of reflection as she tells him that for some it is not so easy to rely on the idea of heroes. Yet what draws him back fully from that introspection is when she speaks to the race and his smile turns a touch toward the self-deprecating as he murmurs, "Every man, no matter how old, tends to think back on his youth fondly at least in some manner."
    But she answers his question and it's then she'll see the spark of curiousity. His head tilting just so and to the side as he looks to her, a small half-smile settling back into place as she answers him with an honesty that some might well find surprising, but he simply accepts of her.
    "Something ill-advised and dangerous?" The words hang there for a moment between them before his smile broadens. "Those are usually the best things to pursue, especially when one is lost in the moment." For he is ever the one on the team to leap madly into danger.
    Yet her sentiment shared, it casts her in a new light as he looks upon her and she can likely see it in those bright blue eyes of his. "What is it you do, Lady Natchios? That you are so drawn to risk and the wild?"

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"One should be careful with nostalgia though, it often brightens our memories more than they actually were." Elektra retorts about that remembering their youth fondly. "It can make us forget the other parts that came with it." clearly some kind of story there! But not that she delves into it, instead her laughter now more genuine.

"Are they really the best things to pursue? So many try to tell me otherwise.." A brief sigh escaping her lips after the laugh, fingers brushing some of that dark hair away from her face, "But some can afford it better than others."

"As for what I do. Would idle rich be a suitable answer?" Honestly, Elektra looks all but an idle rich kinda woman. "But I am sure you know how it is, inheriting a legacy due to the circumstances of your birth, and then living up to it. Not easy for sure." She says, "I am the daughter of the late Greek ambassador here in the states, Hugo Natchios, and an ambassador as well. A perk of it being that it makes me travel around the world a lot. But as of late I have been staying here in New York."

Thor has posed:
    "Ah," He says as she asks if these things are the best things to pursue, and his response is clear in his features, that smile tells her simply that /of course/ they are the best to pursue. He need not voice those words, "Perhaps you are right." He offers instead, diplomatically.
    Then she offers the conversational sortie that she might well be idly rich, and that as her occupation. His rejoinder given is a twist to that smile as he turns his head to the side as if looking at her anew, the first hint of admonishment heard in his tone as he murmurs, "I cannot imagine you as idle anything, Lady Natchios." For she does not give that impression, something in her eyes seeming always on the move.
    She explains then as to her heritage and his lips part in understanding. "That is a noble professon to many, being the envoy of your people."
    He lets that word trail off as he looks to her, and she might get the feeling that he is gauging her, taking her measure. For, in truth, some of what she's said does not entirely add up. Something about her speaks to something more. It could be the steel in her gaze. The control of her manner. The lithe athletic form of her that denies anything approaching a sedentary lifestyle. It all combines to give him more of that curiousity that she brought forth only moments ago.
    "It makes you travel, Lady Natchios?" He asks, then he murmurs. "For some reason I get the feeling that there are few things and fewer people that can /make/ you do anything."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Then perhaps you are not as clueless as you sometimes may seem, Thor Odinson." Well, if anything there probably wouldn't be many who would so directly address Thor the first time meeting them. But Elektra isn't the type to leave things unsaid. She ends it with another brief laugh. "Don't worry, I am not doing you any special treatment simply because you are Thor. I am like this with everyone." well, at least in social settings. She can be stabby otherwise. Very stabby. But again, something Thor doesn't need to know just yet!

"And yes, it is a noble calling. Honestly, it was not something that I thought would be for me but ..." and she gestures vaguely with one hand. ".. it does seem that I am a natural. And travelling gives me a freedom I would not find otherwise. Besides all the exotic views.."

At those last words though her gaze gains a curious glint, dangerous perhaps? But it's there, an evident amusement. "Only those that I let /do/ so to me. Pressuring me to anything often leads to the opposite result."

Her head cants to the side. "And you?"

Thor has posed:
    'And you?' She asks and his smile widens and then he laughs, a warm rolling thing as he shakes his head and looks away, taking another sip of beer. He sets the bottle down with a faint glassy clink then nods to the bartender for another.
    It's while his second drink is on its way that the Thunderer turns to meet her gaze as he seems entirely charmed. There is something about the woman before him that is enigmatic yet open, she is unrepentantly herself and it is a lovely change of pace from most that he meets. Especially in such a setting as the one they now share.
    "Very well then, Elektra." He says her first name, as if getting used to it, perhaps in answer to her own use of his. I do sometimes enjoy allowing myself to be rushed off into flights of fancy. To surrender to that whim to rush off indulge in the moment. Responsibilities call, yet I am not immune to the siren song of enjoying the now."
    Then the tender steps by and hands him his second beer, a thing that Thor offers his nod of thanks to in return before he looks back to Elektra as he considers her sidelong, then tilts his head to the side. "I am curious, however..."
    Those words float there, remaining for a time as he touches a fingertip to the lip of his bottle, then meets her gaze with his own. "If now your answer would change as to where you would wish to be now if you had your choice?"
    A pause, "For I think mine has."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"I imagine by your laugh it would be something similar. But I would expect no less from one such as you." Elektra replies easily, draining the rest of her drink and sliding it back on the counter. No refill for her just yet though, instead her attention remaining on the Thunder God. Somewhat different from those she has met too. And she has met.., quite a few people in her time. Often in her other guise though!

"First names already?" The woman lets out a brief snort. "Not many that would go with that so soon after meeting me." but she does seem to approve some boldness.

"And what about now. Those responsibilities that call.." She gestures towards the stage where they are getting it finished. "Are you still adamant in staying or shall we figure out a better place to be at?" She asks.

She's like those evil devils in someone's shoulder luring them to the unknown, the danger. But it's such an allure too!

Thor has posed:
    "Alas," Thor says gently even as he turns his head to look at her, still holding his beer. "I do, and I am."
    He eases off of that seat and tilts the bottle back to take a swallow then sets it back upon the bar with a faint clink. "I have promised to speak here and share what little wisdom I hold in the service of those who risk their lives, and so I shall do this thing."
    But then he looks across the way to the podium, and to where the men are working upon the last few moments of preparation while the other guests gather and chat and mingle. A breath is taken as if he well and truly wishes he could just rush off and ignore those responsibilities...
    But then he looks back and murmurs, "Yet if you are still here when I return and have spoken my piece. Then, well. I would love a chance to step away with you to somewhere we can continue our conversation."
    His eyes lower, a hint of a bow as he tilts his head forward, "Until then, Lady Natchios." And as he says that he starts to step to the side and then to walk past her.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The look is shared. Towards the podium, an amused arch of her brow now lingering. Elektra is watching, perhaps trying to figure out which choice the man would take. Or perhaps that's exactly the test. To see /what/ would be chosen. When the path of righteousness is chosen she lets out a low sound that resembles a chuckle. "A man of your word." she dips her head. Is that one of respect? Or simple acceptance? Well, that's for Thor to figure out!

As for whether they would meet later. "You assume much, Thor Odinson. I may grow bored myself."

It's true, she is given to those flights of fancy from time to time. And as for whether she would be here when the man was done? That was a mystery that would be answered another time..