Welcome to Gaia! ::

"If humans were meant to fly... they would have been born with feathers like all the other self respecting birds I know!"

"Who says I'm human anymore?" John asked with a grin as they bobbed in the air, their legs dangling beneath them as John kept his arms tightly around her, her own arms making a good job of keeping her on him already!

"I'm a God, Hono'o. God of Rain. God of Life. God of War." He said to her softly, looking into her ember eyes with a broad smile and a twinkle in his static eyes. "I can smell the rain in the clouds on the horizon to the east. I can feel the grass growing on the median strips and the parks to the north of the condo. I can sense the neighbours arguing about their dog - a daughter wanting to keep it, a father wanting to put it down."

He closed his eyes and let his head loll back, his smile still upon his lips as he felt the world around them. "I can feel every babies' kick in their mother's womb...I can feel the leaves absorbing the morning sun....I can feel the rain falling from the skies..."

He let his head fall back, looking down to her, tears welling in his eyes. "I can feel it, I can control some of it if I wish...and I want to make the world better. And I will. With you by my side..."

John chuckled a little as he began to float to the ground. "Well....it doesn't work like that, Hono'o. I can't jujst force people to do my bidding, especially when they haven't prayed for it....but I can nudge them in the right direction occasioanlly..."

He didn't know how he knew this....he just knew he did. For instance, he knew the girl would grow up appreciating animals more if they kept the dog, and that the father did not want to keep it because, deep down, it frigthened him....John narrowed his eyes and the father would see the bond between the dog and the girl and feel a little of the ice around his heart melt...hopefully easing him into a position where he would understand that the dog was nothing to fear once it was housebroken. xp

Slowly they landed, and he eased her down so her feet touched the ground, smiling warmly to her as he pulled off his helm. "Sorry, but i'm not omnipotent....I can only fly when i wear the helm, for instance....and i'm a lot less strong then i was when you saw me last....less durable too, so you'll have to take it easy on me!"

John threw his head back and laughed out loud, tears running down his face as he tucked the helm under his elbow and rubbed the tears from his face, his broad chest bucking as he chuckled to her. "No baby....if anything, I have more stamina then before....no bulky muscles to weigh me down, ya know?"

He stepped forward again and slipped his hand around her waist, pulling her in close to give her another kiss. She had no idea how much he'd missed her. In those two days so much had happened... "I'm still me, baby...in all the places that count." wink

Lifting a finger to brush her hair away from her face, he grinned wickedly down to her. "You look like you need a world famous John Tomorrow massage...how about I go get us some waffles, you run a nice hot bath, and I'll fill you in on whats happened, yeah?"

He knew how she felt. Letting her skip from his fingers to go back into the house, her body shrinking from him, felt like a betrayl of nature, and he found his free hand reaching for her, his face full of concern as he took a half step towards her, as if not wanting her to leave his side, even for a moment.

"Of course, baby...of course."

He paused, almost as if second guessing the confirmation - before placing his helm on his head, the shining silver covering the glistening golden locks, and taking off slowly, facing her until he could not recognise the details of her face...before flying away.

That was a very interesting question. John Tomorrow, in fact, did not have money in those interesting new pants of his, god given as they were. Which was why he was arguing with the cashier at the waffle place.

"I don't think you understand what I'm offering here." John muttered, holding his hand out, a sparking line if static leaping from his palm into the form of a glyph. "This is the Helm of Awe. It will protect you from almost any harm in battle..."

The girl sighed and looked st him tiredly. "Look, we only accept cash. No magic charms. Besides, what do I need a protection charm for? I earn fifteen dollars an hour."

"Ah, but with the charm you could earn yourself a bonus!"

"I doubt it." She said tiredly. "Look, are you going to pay not?"

John looked at her with a lightening filled glare, before snapping his hand shut, the glyph disappearing with a crackle. "...Keep that order warm, I'll be back."

The heavily armed man stalked out the store, looking around until he saw an ATM. Suddenly lifting off the ground, people pointing and staring at the barbarian floated over the busy road, he landed just behind the old lady using the atm. Waiting diligently, nodding a polite good morning to the lady as she shuffled off, he approached the machine and, looking left and right, reached out and touched the money slot. The screen fizzled for a second, before a fifty dollar note was spat out of the machine. John snatched it and floated back over the road immediantly, trying to look as non-chalant as a helmed flying asgardian could.

Moving back into the waffle resturaunt, he slapped the note down on the counter and took his food. "If you had a card, why didn't you use it?" The girl asked as she have him his change, but he didn't answer her as he stuffed the notes into his belt, ignoring the coins, and flew away...

She was right - she was definitely a bad influence on him! Luckily he had a lot of guilt about the naughty things that she could help ease for him wink

Landing easily outside the condo carrying a ready of waffles and a couple of drinks, he eased himself through the front door, looking about furtively, before floating silently up the stairs, landing on the balls of his feet just outside the bathroom.

He sighed as he watched her strip out of her dirty scrubs, marvelling at her, before watching her slip into the bath - that was his cue. Subtly, he cleared his throat as he walked into the bathroom. "Waffles, heaps of butter and syrup, and very sweet tea..." He said with a small smile, placing the ready down on the edge of the bath with her cup of steaming tea.

"Thankyou..." He said quietly as he pulled off his helm, his shock of golden hair seeming to burst from the silver armour as he shook it loose. He crouched and placed the helm upon the ground, unsnapping the shoulder guard from his right shoulder to place out upon the ground beside the helm. "And yes...a story."

He said this quietly as he undid the bracers on his forearms, dropping them with the helm and shoulder guard. He then undid the wolfskin belt, pulling the hammer out from the small of his back and placing it down gently ion the ground, almost with infinite care, before dumping the sheathed sword beside it. Quickly unlacing his boots and pants, he stood before her, old but not. His skin was not flawless - he had slight scars on his chest, arms and legs, defensive wounds. he had been fighting - something he had promises her he would not do...

"Scoot forward, i wanna sit behind you..." He said quietly, suddenly seeming ashhamed to stand like this before her...

"Aye, I can heal....possibly better then you can." He said quietly, allowing her to cast her inspective gaze over his fresh, clean body, turning his head to look down at his mechanical arm, flexing the fingers as he did. "...Though there are limits, of course."

Finally unable to withstand her scrutiny, he stepped forward to step into the empty space she'd left him, his legs opening so she could sit between them as his hands curled around her body, settling into the steaming water with a relaxing sigh, as if he had not relaxed at all within the last few days. "...You have no idea what its like..." He whispered to her hair, clutching her tightly to him.

He fell silent, his voice trailing off. He did not want to tell her about his thoughts when he left, he did not want to tell her about what happened with Maximos, he didn't want to tell her about....the Tree and Odin. But she had a right to know, and, ask or not, he would tell her.

But for the moment....her body....her scent....the water steamed, but even if it boiled violently it would not represent one tenth of his love for her and, now he was back, with her in his arms, their life back on track, he felt....drained...yet elated. Exhausted from the last several months of agony and torment, and full of excitement for the new future that lay before them. He wanted her to know everything, but in doing so, she might crease that perfect brow, those burning ember eyes might shed sad tears, those lips might purse with worry...and every single time, it would feel like his heart was being pulled apart, sinew by sinew...