advanced | for Ivar

for Ivar

[There are some decisions that are unequivocally bad ideas. This is probably one of them. When Quarantine began collapsing and they had all run for the portals, the one leading to Ivar's world had already broken down and left him stranded. There hadn't been much time for thought, no quiet moment to consider the consequences, before Bucky had offered to take him through to where he'd come from.

But now they were here, stumbling out into the depths of a forest god only knew where in the world, with Ivar's chair almost upended in the scramble, Bucky can't help but feel a bit apprehensive.

Even with someone who understands how this world works, there are dangers to being here with him. This isn't Quarantine, there are many dangerous people here who would like nothing more than to track him down and either turn him to use once more or destroy him. But Ivar isn't even like a person from this world, he's from far in the past and can be pretty damn unstable when faced with danger.

Yes, this was probably a bad idea.

Too late now.

He sighs as the portal closes behind them and leaves them alone and stranded, no sound except for birdsong and the faint scrabbling of wildlife.]

--welcome to Earth, kid.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[When there had been time only for a quick impulse decision, Ivar immediately agreed to go with Bucky. Better to end up in a world where he already knew someone instead of going through a random portal and hoping for the best. Ivar peers at his surroundings.]

I wonder how much different it is then home.

[He doesn't really seem all that perturbed for someone who might be stranded forever from his home world. The Norse already believed in the concept of many worlds, so to be here is just another adventure to the young teen. It might sink in later, but for now, Ivar's rolling with the punches.]

Either way, I bet you I could still conquer England with no trouble.

[Fortunately, he's joking. All he plans to do for the foreseeable future is stick close to Bucky until he understands more about this world. He knows there are people hunting his friend, so he'll need someone to watch his back. Ivar might be horribly suited for normal human interaction, but fighting and protecting someone? Yes, he will do that, and quite happily.]

[Bucky is suddenly and acutely aware that he now has responsibility for someone else's life, and that is terrifying. Ivar is barely more than a child, and sometimes his impulse control is lacking, this is the worst possible idea known to mankind. What the hell was he thinking?

He scrubs his hand over his face for a moment, trying to orient himself as to which direction they need to go to reach one of his boltholes.]

It'll be very different. But you saw Quarantine and the technology there, so maybe it won't be a total shock to you.

[Still...]

I'll try and get you someplace safe.

[This might be a very bad idea, yes, especially considering Ivar listens to his own judgment most of the time, which is severely impacted given his mindset and the Norse upbringing he had. But neither of them have anyone else they can turn to. They're all each other has right now.]

Will there be people hunting you?

[Bucky's told him about HYDRA, at least a little, though never the specifics of the organization. He'd known about Pierce back in Riverview and knew that there had to be more here. He knows Bucky could easily take care of himself, disappear, go off the grid, a ghost that no one would ever find. Still, he needs that interaction with people to keep that part of himself that's human alive. Ivar knows this and is determined to be that for his friend.]

[That question is almost funny, except that it serves to drive home just how little Ivar understands the situation at hand. It's not fair, to have dragged him into the shit-show that his world is, not fair to leave him with only Bucky as someone to look out for him.]

Yeah.

[He hesitates a moment, always reluctant to do much talking about this. But the time has long since passed when he can afford to be precious about it.]

Thousands of them, probably tens of thousands, spread across every country there is.

Oh, is that all?

[Ivar manages a small grin. Better to make light of the situation then to admit how being stranded in a strange new world without any hope of getting back to his own is enough to make anyone want to just curl into a ball and freak out for about a good week or so. Then he gets a little more serious.]

You watch my back and I'll watch yours. That's how we'll get by.

[HYDRA may have anticipated a lot of things when it came to trying to find their wayward former agent, but an insane Viking teenage warlord who would gladly burn them all alive if it meant keeping himself and Bucky safe? No one could have seen that one coming and it would be a small advantage they could use.]

...I'm going to take you to other people who can look out for you.

[Perhaps that wasn't the most gracious thing to say to an offer of mutual protection, but he wasn't going to be responsible for getting Ivar killed. He actually cares about this kid, and that means getting him to a better place and better people.

Probably the Avengers, as much as that will suck.]

It's not safe to stay with me, not for long.

[Ivar's face gets that stubborn cast to it that Bucky will know very well. It's the one he wears when he is determined to get his own way.]

And if I refuse?

[He wasn't on-board with being left with some strangers in a world he knew nothing about. He knew Bucky and trusted him. No one else fit that category. He snorts indignantly at the idea of safety.]

I came from a time where there was no guarantee of safety ever. You can't promise there will be one here either.

Then I'll knock you out and carry you there unconscious.

[He says it in a matter of fact tone, eyes steady as he looks over at Ivar, just daring him to make this into a fight. He'll win, but he won't take any joy in it.]

I know this world, you don't, I'm just trying to do what's best for you.

[Indeed, Ivar looks like he's considering the merits of turning this into a fight as well. He knows he can't win, but maybe he could whack some sense into Bucky. It's worked before.]

No, you're trying to do what you think is best for you. You're going to go off and become a hermit again without any human interaction if you can help it.

I don't want that.

[It's quiet and there's an air of surprise, even to himself. He's changed a lot in the last few months and he doesn't relish solitude as much as he used to.]

It doesn't change that it's what's for the best.

You're just going to leave me like everyone else in my life always has.

[Ivar tries hard not to sound hurt but fails. No one has ever stuck around even if they said they would. His father, his mother, his brothers, Floki, Athelstan. They had all either died or deserted him.]

I should have known you'd be no different.

If that's what it takes to keep you safe, then yeah.

[Bucky has never been much of one for comforting lies, and so Ivar will get the truth. Maybe it will be some small comfort to know Bucky isn't lying either about not wanting to leave him.]

You're pretty much the closest thing I have to a friend here, I'm not letting you get killed just to stick close.

You know death has never scared me.

[But he does know how losing someone you care about can be a fear unto itself. He knows Bucky isn't doing this out of malice but concern. It doesn't stop Ivar from still digging in his heels and resisting this course of action.]

I can also take care of myself and have been for some time without you having to worry about me.

Maybe it should scare you. It scares me.

[Not his own death, but the deaths of his friends. The deaths of people that he's responsible for.]

This isn't a discussion.

It does scare me. As if I wouldn't worry that you were lying dead in a ditch somewhere every day after you left.

[At least in Riverview there was only so many places he could run to before Ivar caught up. But here was a great big world and Ivar might never see him again once he left.]

Could have fooled me. Seems a lot like one.

[One of these days Bucky's just going to get tired of his nonsense and whack him over the heard for his impertinence.]

[That day might turn out to be today, he's getting sorely tempted. But he makes one more effort to make Ivar understand, to see that it's not something he's doing out of some perverse wish to abandon him.]

I'm hard to kill.

[That's just the truth.]

But I'd be a hell of a lot easier to kill if I stuck around after dropping you someplace safe, it's hard to hide in a situation like that.

Maybe you're right.

[Ivar lapses into silence, and for a moment, it appears that Bucky might have gotten through to him...but nope. Ivar's merely taking the opportunity to swiftly morph in a small, griffin-like alien. He shrinks down into a form almost as big as a middle-sized dog, wings sprouting and beak forming on his face.

He flies up into a nearby tree, high out of reach, though he nearly overshoots his landing and falls off. He's still not that good at being airborne, no surprise for someone who's never so much as climbed a tree in his life. This Viking teenager really is the absolute limit sometimes. His thoughtspeak voice sounds as stubborn as ever.]

<I'm not going!>

[Well, he just found a solution that will last for two hours unless Bucky manages to get him back down.]

[What the hell is that supposed to be?

He's seen Ivar's weird pets, the flaming pony and the bizarre soul bird thing, but this is a new one. He's got a knife drawn before he even realises he's gone for one, a long serrated hunting knife, and his body has tensed ready for a fight.]

Who the hell are you?

[Not even Ivar at all? Some shapeshifting creature trying to trick him?]

[The griffin-Ivar digs his claws down into the branch of the tree, leaning out over so that he can keep an eye on Bucky. Well, that reaction was to be expected. It's how he acted to 90% of all new things.]

<What, did you think I could only turn into a dog?>

[Yes, actually. Turning into a dog was weird enough, without adding in some kind of mythical creature to the mix.

He doesn't relax, knife still gripped tightly.]

Yeah. Turn back.

[Maybe it was a good thing he'd never explained all the intricacies of morphing to Bucky. He probably would have become paranoid that Ivar would acquire him one of these days.

His little ear tufts flatten back down on top of his head. The griffin somehow manages to look stubborn even with the beak obscuring most of the emotion.]

<No. Not if you're going to abandon me.>

[Looks like they've just entered a very interesting standoff.]

You think a different shape is gonna stop me from taking you where you need to be?

[Either this is Ivar and he needs to take his friend to the safety and protection of the Avengers, or this is some insidious shapeshifter pretending to be his friend and then he needs to take him to the Avengers for containment.]

You're just easier to carry that way.

<Unless you've developed the ability to fly in the last five minutes, I think I have the advantage.>

[Not that he can fly well, but shhh. Bucky doesn't need to know that.]

[He doesn't need the ability to fly.

He'd really rather not hurt Ivar, but just because he'd rather not, doesn't mean that he won't. He doesn't give any warning for what he's about to do, merely reaches for one of the blunter weapons secreted about his person (half a brick, in this case), and throws it at the bird with all the speed his serum grants him.]

[Ivar's expecting him to whip out a gun, not a chunk of brick, so he gets whacked full and center in his chest with the projectile. The shock of it causes him to fall off the branch. He has enough sense to unfold his wings, so rather then fall directly to the ground like a rock, he sort of floats there like a leaf slowly drifting back and forth until he lands, still a little stunned.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject