Shirtless Men, oh my! (Baldr)

[Elaine of Astolat]

Elaine was glad to find that this place had a shop for purchasing clothes. Her gown had seen far too much dirt and grime in the forest. Not to mention a bit of what she was assuming was a bit of blood, hopefully from the wolf. The real problem, however, was finding what to buy and in what size. Elaine took in the clothing store and for a moment she was stunned at its size. It was so large and it looked as though it stocked anything a person could wish for. She was entirely overwhelmed.

She took a deep breath. She was Elaine of Astolat. She could make a speech to the people of Astolat. She could convince a man that she was not a dream. She could conquer a clothing shop. And she would do so with style. She squared her shoulders and walked off into the racks, looking through garments to find the perfect thing.

Elaine was sifting through the clothes on the racks when she saw a man. A shirtless man to be exact. Had she been any other woman she might have fainted. The man was attractive. Elaine felt herself flush and immediately averted her eyes. Good lord, preserve her. She very rarely saw men shirtless and none of them had looked like that. She hoped he did not see her.

[Baldr]

Baldr was a bit overwhelmed by this entire situation. There were a lot of clothes in this store, and absolutely none of them looked anything like something he would have worn back at home. But...he was never going to get to go back home, and if he had to live here, he had to live by their rules, which apparently meant not wandering around without a shirt on. He had talked his way into this store by giving the shopkeeper his very brightest and winningest smile and explaining that he had lost his shirt, and they had finally let him in despite the "no shirt, no shoes, no service" sign.

Now he was looking over a somewhat confusing display of long strips of silk, which according to the model, were meant to be tied around one's neck. Baldr couldn't begin to imagine why you would want to wear something like that, unless...maybe you put it on a servant, to lead them around? That was a little barbaric; if you treated your servants well and paid them a fair wage, you shouldn't need to pull them around on leashes. And silk was hardly the best material for that kind of thing, anyway. He turned away from the display, frowning in confusion, and moved towards a rack of shirts.

There was a woman looking through the things on this rack, and Baldr watched her for a moment. She seemed to know what she was doing...or at least, she seemed to be shuffling through things with a sense of purpose, and Baldr wondered if she would have any idea what kind of shirt he ought to be looking to purchase.

"Forgive me," he said, keeping his voice low, because this felt like the sort of place one didn't yell in, "do you know what kind of shirt I would wear to classes? I've just come from Asgard...well, from Hel, really, but I'm from Asgard, I was only with Hel because I died and now I'm supposed to be attending classes here. But I am told that I am required to have a shirt for that, perhaps even more than one shirt, and I've never bought a shirt before."

[Elaine of Astolat]

Elaine wasn't quite sure if she should count herself lucky to see such a man in a state of undress, or to think she was being tested. This was most improper after all. Then again, the rules here were very different than they had been at home. And it was just her luck that the man has noticed. And not only noticed her, he has asked for her help.

She looked up at him, trying desperately not to flush. She could look at his eyes. They were very nice eyes. "Um, yes, a shirt. You do need a shirt. I will help you find a shirt."

Elaine looked about the store, making sure that she was in control. She didn't want to look like she was desperately looking around the place. She needed a moment to think. This man hardly looked the type to want to dress in a button down. That was fast to crisp. Something softer, perhaps, would have to work. She beckoned for him to follow when her eyes landed on just the thing.

The shirt in question was a deep red. It looked soft. The material looked strange, almost like a waffle, but it was clearly woven fabric and not food. Elaine picked it up, unfolding the garment. "I am not sure how sizing works, but this looks too small." Carefully she refolded the shirt and reached for a big size, unfolding it then turning and holding it out, looking between the shirt and the man. "This might do for size, but you had best try it on." She handed it to him. "If you don't like it we can look for something else."

[Baldr]

There were a lot of things Baldr did that would probably be considered most improper by someone of Elaine's origins, but he was blissfully unaware of that at the moment. Right now, he was only concerned about purchasing the shirt he apparently was required to have. And this lovely woman was being kind enough to help him out with that. He followed her over to another shelf of clothes, still looking around the store, wide-eyed at all of the various garments that seemed like they would have served absolutely no practical purpose, especially not in battle.

He was momentarily distracted by a pair of slick black pants. They were leather, obviously, but softer and unlike any leather he had ever seen. "Is this the skin of an animal?" he wondered aloud, his voice tinged with awe. Realizing that she had moved over to some other shirts, he followed after her quickly, not wanting to get left behind. The shirt she held out to him was also of a very soft material, and Baldr petted it lightly with his fingertips for a few seconds, before she said that he should try it on. Ah, of course. How else would he know if it fit him?

He pulled the shirt on over his head, after fumbling with it for a moment to make sure he wasn't putting it on backwards. It fit pretty much perfectly, and he looked down at it, pleased. "Yes," he said, "This is an excellent shirt. Very comfortable. You have done well." The shirt also hugged just about every muscle on his upper body, and he flexed his arms a few times, observing his biceps in satisfaction. "How many of these should I have? I imagine they will not last long in battle. Twenty? Fifty?"

[Elaine of Astolat]

Elaine was focused on the task at hand. It was easier to focus on purchasing a shirt than focusing on the fact that the wearer was entirely shirtless and had so many muscles that Elaine has never realized existed. But as long as she was distracted then she would not be blushing. And when he was properly clothed then she would not have to worry about that any longer.

But she was wrong. Elaine was so very wrong. The shirt looked like it had been plastered to his body. Every muscle was defined. She could see everything except his skin. This was definitely far far worse than she has expected. It took all of her effort not to blatantly stare at him. She had done well. Too well. That shirt looked ridiculous in the best kind of way. Oh dear, then he began to flex his muscles. She looked away, trying to keep her blush under control.

"Ah, thank you," she replied almost automatically to the praise. "No, I-what?" She blinked. They wouldn't last long in battle? No, they certainly wouldn't last long in battle. "Are you planning on going to into battle? Without armor? That's a foolish idea." This was getting quite off task. "I'm not sure how many shirts you should get. I guess that would depend on how long you're planning on staying here."

[Baldr]

She was blushing. That was alright. Baldr was used to people doing that, and he wasn't going to tease her about it. He didn't know her well enough yet to know if the teasing would be appropriate or might hurt her feelings, and Baldr never wanted to hurt anyone who had not done harm to him or his loved ones. And she had done the opposite of harm, she had helped him, so if anything, he wanted to reassure her.

"You have an excellent point," he admitted. "I have never had to wear armor before, because until I came here, nothing could harm me. My mother made sure of that. Do you think I could wear this under the armor? And I think I will not need armor in class, unless classes here are entirely different than I had imagined."

He looked back at the shelf of shirts, wondering how she had known which one would fit him. She hadn't even measured him or anything, she'd just looked at him and looked at the shirts and known. Baldr wondered if she might have some kind of gift for tailoring, perhaps. "I am here until Ragnarök," he informed her cheerfully. "I do not know exactly when that will happen, my dreams are...vague now, at best, but it could be a very long time. At the very least, there will be three long winters before then, so I will need plenty of shirts. Do you think I can trade for these shirts?"

[Elaine of Astolat]

Elaine was beginning to feel as though she had no idea what was happening anymore. She thought that this man might be more than he seemed. The fact that he had once been invincible seemed so impossible. It sounded like it was right out of Phoebus' book of stories. At the same time she had to recognize that perhaps the people in the stories that Phoebus knew were real. Or that they had been real. Perhaps this man truly was some kind of immortal being. What a strange place this was turning out to be.

"Are you saying that you used to be impervious to harm?" she asked. She wanted to be certain that that was what he meant as she wasn't quite following. She wasn't sure how someone's mother could make their child completely impervious to harm. Every child fell and scraped their knees or was stung by a bee. That was life. At least, that was life in Astolat.

She tried not to let the overwhelming amount of confusion that she was feeling show on her face. "What is Ragnarok?" she asked. "Do you have prophetic dreams?" The last question was a rather sensible one. Would they trade at this place of business? Elaine, quite frankly had no idea. "I am not sure but I am beginning to believe that in this place nothing is impossible."

[Baldr]

Baldr nodded emphatically. "Yes," he confirmed. "It was glorious. I could not be harmed by anything, my mother made all the things agree to never harm me, and it made for enjoyable times when people threw things at me and they could not injure me. All the gods enjoyed it, except for Loki, because he is devious and untrustworthy, and my brother, because he is blind." He didn't mention the part where Hodr had accidentally killed him. That seemed like an unnecessary detail that would only reflect poorly on Hodr, and Baldr loved his brother too much to go slandering him to women he had only just met.

"There was one thing I was not impervious to, and that is the thing that killed me," he explained further. "But that is in the past now. I have died and have been sent here, and now it is all just waiting and trying to live as best as I can." He picked up another shirt, this one in a pale blue color that reminded him of the winter sky. "Ragnarök," he explained, "is the end of things, the twilight of the gods, a time of great battles and great destruction. I cannot return until then."

He held the blue shirt up in front of him, giving her a questioning look. "I do have dreams of the future. They used to be vivid and of unfailing accuracy, but they are...different here, less clear, less useful. I have had no dreams of bartering for shirts, so I do not know what to do here."

[Elaine of Astolat]

Elaine felt like a small child listening to a fantastic story, the likes of which she had never heard before. This was no ordinary man if this was really true. This man has to be more than a man. Could she be face to face with a god? "Ah. Yes. I could understand how your brother would not find that amusing."

Elaine blinked. She had no idea what was happening. This man has died and been given life again, but only here? She was not sure she followed this information. "My goodness," she said softly. "Are you mortal now?" she asked. "Will you age?"

Prophetic dreams about bartering for shirts would have been quite interesting. And likely unnecessary. "Have you anything of value? Anything that could be traded?" She had some coins that she had brought with her when she had been magically kidnapped. "I have some money if you have nothing," she offered.

[Baldr]

She was asking questions Baldr did not know the answer to, which made him somewhat uncomfortable. He was supposed to be the wisest of the gods, and here he was, unable to answer a basic question like will you age? He thought about it for a moment. If things could harm him here, that would have to include the grasp of time, wouldn't it?

"I think so," he said, uncertainly. "I think time can now injure me as can other things, but no faster, I hope, than it does other people here. I suppose I am mortal now." That was not a pleasant thought, and he was suddenly distressed over it. Here he was, mortal, aging every minute, with no valuables or anything that could be traded as she was asking him. Was he supposed to take money from this mortal woman? Was that a thing that was frowned upon here? Would taking money from anyone be seen as weakness? There were so many questions he had not even thought to ask Hel before she sent him here.

"I have nothing but what I have on my body," he said, looking down and flexing his muscles again to demonstrate. "Perhaps...perhaps if you could loan me enough to purchase two of these shirts, I can find...employment, and earn enough money to repay you and purchase more shirts myself. I can compensate you in the meantime with...I will tell you of some dreams, if they will be of help to you, but I am afraid I cannot guarantee that. What if I repay you twice again what you loan me?"