Valorous (Book Three)

Chapter: 3

DAY: 105

Lark

Thor kept me company, making small talk out of thin air the best he could, and recounting old tales he heard as a child.

He was huge, just sitting there without his armor. He sat on the floor, an although he wasn't trying to take up much space, he still seemed to swallow a portion. I was impressed by how gentle he was for being so big and yet how dangerous he could be when angered. Not quite Hulk material, he didn't have an on or off button really. Just a hammer and a cape.

"Why is it that the most beautiful people I met end up being those who fight for others safety and never for their own?" Thor asked. "You, Lark, have been through so much in just these past few months alone. I would have expected you to turn your cheek the other way and to ignore the world."

"I can't. Some of the chaos is my fault. I can't just let Hydra attack people and torture them the same way that I was." I answered quietly. "I have a chance to fight for those who can't fight for themselves, I want to take it and run with it. I need to help people."

I couldn't help but look at Thor's glimmering blue eyes and the way his face turned to ease. I think he knew what was floating through my head and why I was openly admitting that I wanted to push myself to do better.

"I admire your bravery." he said. "So rarely is it found in those of true mind."

I grinned a little and stretched my arms over my head. My little episode had left me feeling sore and wiped out, I felt like I could sleep for ages, but I couldn't just sleep around. I had things on my mind and things that needed to be done.

"Does it hurt you to move your arm?" Thor asked. I dropped my arms and looked at the metal.

"Not so much anymore." I answered him. "I mean, holding it up over my head it sort of does, but it's fine."

"So you cannot feel anything with it?" he asked as I held it up and wiggled my fingers.

"Not really, it's not my real arm. It's not the real me." I answered him. "If one of the fingers broke off I probably wouldn't even notice it."

Thor chuckled lightly.

"So what were you doing on the roof of the mall?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I somehow just landed upon the roof." he answered. "Maybe it was because I had not spoken of exactly where I wished to land here on Earth to Heimdall."

"Heimdall?"

"A guardian of the bridge, he keeps the nine realms safe with his watchful eye." Thor said. "He even keeps an eye on us Asgardians who come here to Earth."

"Then he must be good at multitasking." I joked with him.

Thor stuck around for a little while longer before he told me that he had to let me rest. Though I knew it was really for another reason. Bucky showed up not too long after Thor left, which led me to believe that he was there listening to us talk and had been watching us.

Bucky sat down across from me and instantly I fell victim to his blue eyes. They took my breath away more than Thor's ever could. Probably because Bucky's had more of a sense of protection, of trial and error, and of safety from something bad. 

"Sounds like you're doing much better than when I left you here." Bucky said. I nodded slowly. "You want to tell me what happened? Or will I have to wait again?"

I shrugged. I kept Bucky waiting for a long time when we first got back from Hydra, when he rescued me, and it took me a long time to muster up enough courage to talk about what my own father did to me while I was there. It was hard, and it still is. Sometimes just the thought of the whole thing just brings me to total chills.