Eternity | T.J.

Even I Was Not Expecting A Cheeta As A Hallmate

     So I Helped save the world, right? Everything went great for a few months, I started a DND campaign with a few Einherji ( Not to the death, thankfully), and got to bond with my hallmates. Everything was nice and calm ( well, not exactly calm, but you get the point) until our new hallmate arrived in Valhalla.

     Let me set the scene. I wasn't on a freaky field trip, or at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, but I was in Valhalla, just like most days.

     For those unaware, Valhalla is one of a few Norse afterlives. Also, when choosing an afterlife, rooming is an important thing to consider. Places like Folkvanger and Helheim allow for closer living and more spacious surroundings ( AKA they have no walls or private rooms), but Valhalla has a different way of keeping its Einherji happy! Each hotel room is customized to fit your personal wants and needs, even if it breaks the laws of reality! Yes, Valhalla, for all your Viking paradise needs."

     ... Alright, sorry about that, Helgi only let me share this book if I promoted Valhalla in it. To cut this short, and save you from falling asleep, Halfborn, Mallory, T.J., and I were leaving my room at about ten in the morning when we noticed X's old room was no longer empty.

     Why were we leaving my room at ten in the morning? Well, the night before we may or may not have gotten chased out of one of Valhalla's many lounges after a group of Einherji from floor 78 decided to pick a fight of us ( thankfully, none of us got killed, although that may have been easier than running from the lounge, to my room, and barricading the door just to be safe). But that's not important.

     Basically, long story short, we went to go see who our new hallmate was, and almost got killed in the process, and then ( and this is the weirdest part) our hallmate went from a kid with green hair, to a cheetah. A CHEETAH IS OUR NEW HALLMATE. So, naturally, when it ran into the hall, we chased after it.

     " Stop that cheetah!"

     " And keep it away from any pottery!" I added, racing down the hall, sword at the ready." It could possibly kill- Oh hey Magnus."

     All four of us stopped running as we ran into my brother, looking like he may have found the creature we were looking for ( his shoes looked like they had gotten run over by a few dozen race cars).

     " Did you see it?" T.J. asked." Where'd it go?"

     Magnus simply pointed down the hall." Um... why do we have a cheetah?"

     " It wasn't our idea, believe me. Our new hallmate isn't happy to be here."

     " New hallmate," Magnus repeated." A cheetah. You mean... the soul Sam brought in. A child of Loki. He's a shapeshifter?"

     " It appears so."

     " Among other things," Halfborn spoke up." I almost got my face smashed by that meinfretr!"

     Mallory put away her daggers." Halfborn, your face could use an occasional smashing. I'm more concerned about that demon destroying the hotel! Did you see what he did to X's room!?"

     " He took over X's old room?"

     " Well yeah, where else in the hall did you expect them to live? We've only got six doors before the hallway turns the corner, and I don't think anyone would be happy with that guy living out in the hall."

     " And not only is he living in X's room," Mallory added." He proceeded to tear it up! We came by to welcome him, found the place in ruins. No respect!"

     " Well... adjusting can be tough."

     " Not like this, the kid tried to kill us on sight. Some of the stuff he said-"

     " First-rate insults," Halfborn interrupted." I'll give him credit for that. But I've never seen one person do so much damage. Come take a look, Magnus, see for yourself."

     I put away my sword ( yes I'd been holding it the entire conversation, you never knew when the cheetah could return) and led the way back down the hallway, towards the still open doors of where our new roommate would be staying. Doors that led to a room that was currently an absolute mess.

     " Holy Frigg." Magnus began to look around." Was it like this for X?"

     " Hardly," Mallory replied." X's atrium was a big pool- a natural hot spring. His place was hot, humid, and sulfurous as a troll's armpit."

     " I miss X, but yes, all this is completely new. Each suit arranges itself to fit its owner's style."

     " Like how Halfborn's room has a whole mixture of different things from the hobbies he's collected in his time here," T.J. offered." Or how Willow's room is a beautiful mixture of nature and elegance."

     I felt my face light up.

     Magnus reached down and picked up one of the many broken pieces of pottery." You think cheetah boy made all these?"

     " Yep. There are a kiln and a potter's wheel in the kitchen too."

     " Good quality stuff, the vase he threw at my face was beautiful and deadly, just like Miss Keen here."

     " You're an idiot."

     My brother turned over the vase he'd been holding, before staring at something I couldn't see, most likely etched onto the bottom of it.

     " It's a symbol of Loki," Halfborn explained ( evidently he was able to see whatever it was Magnus was looking at)." Flexibility, change, slipperiness."

     " How... how do you know?"

     " As I've told you, I've spent my time well in Valhalla, I have a Ph.D. in Germanic Literature."

     " Which he only mentions several times a day," Mallory added.

     I nodded." Seriously, Magnus, you should really remember this, he mentions it every time it's even slightly applicable to the conversation at hand."

     " Hey guys!" T.J. called from the other room.

     We all ran over to see a pile of clothes on the ground, the one that really stood out ( and technically the reason T.J. called us in here) was a green dress.

     " Posh," Mallory remarked." That's a Stella McCartney."

     " How can you be sure?"

     " I've spent my time well in Valhalla," Mallory repeated, imitating Halfborn's voice." I have a Ph.D. in fashion."

     " Oh, shut up woman."

     " And look at this," T.J. continued, picking up a tuxedo jacket ( that was also green).

     " How many people live here?" Magnus asked." Does he have a sister?"

     I raised a finger and was about to interject before Halfborn did it for me... kind of.

     " T.J., should you explain or should I?"

     Before our soldier friend could answer, the horn that signaled meals echoed through the room.

     " Lunchtime, we can talk then... Magnus, you coming?"

     I turned back around to see that my brother wasn't following the rest of us out.

     " You guys go ahead, there's something I need to check first."

     T.J. and I turned to each other, shrugged, and then headed out of the room to catch up with Halfborn and Mallory who were already making their way towards the elevators, pushing their way through the crowd of Einherji who were all headed to lunch as well.

A/N: First chapter of The Hammer of Thor! Maybe not my favorite book in the series, but a good book nonetheless. I hope at least someone somewhat enjoyed this chapter, any to all comments from anyone about anything make my day, and just keep in mind the world is your erster.