19 Meeting the Valkyries

Both I and Thor walked like men with missions. Thor gave off an aura of majesty, just like you'd expect from a Prince, but he also seemed to exude joy and happiness, as he routinely waved and spoke to people we walked past.

I, on the other hand, gave off an aura of power and heat, like a fire dragon in human skin. As I didn't know anyone, I didn't speak which gave me a more stoic look when compared to Thor.

But when the blond/red-haired, blue-eyed people of Asgard saw me they didn't show fear but instead respect as I was walking next to their Prince and my aura didn't lose out to the God of Thunder.

Not that I was his equal in power, it was just my pseudo-Divinity making its presence known.

Before long, and after walking down the winding streets of Asgard, we arrived at a massive gate. Thrud excitedly rushed up to it before pushing open the behemoth-sized gates.

"Valkyries, line up!" her valiant voice echoed throughout the courtyard that seemed to be behind the gate.

With my hearing, I could hear some mock-fights coming to an end before some rushing noises came from both the courtyard and the dormitory next to it.

Thor motioned for me to enter, so I did. I was quickly followed by Thor and Sif, who seemed to have entered a sort of staff-sergeant mode - just like Cap when he trains someone.

Maybe Sif is still the leader of the Valkyries in this Universe?

My thoughts were interrupted by seeing a line of 8 women in front of me. They had varying heights and body shapes but they had their similarities; each woman had a cold demeanor with battle intent practically oozing out of their eyes. They were each beautiful in their own way, each unique.

As I was looking and analyzing them, they were looking back and doing the same thing to me.

I stood there and kept looking them up and down before I unconsciously nodded my head. Each of these women was an experienced Warrior, someone who'd gone through countless life and death situations.

Thrud came up on my left, while Sif was on my right with Thor. Thrud spoke up first, "This is the man who has 'that' bloodline, and also the youth who my Father has been training, who we will begin to train from now on as our specific skills fit him to a tee," hearing what she said the Valkyries redoubled the curiosity in their gazes aimed at me, but Thrud brought their attention back, "You got that?!" her shout shocked some sense into the staring Valkyries.

Each of them saluted before shouting a word I couldn't understand, which surprised me. Don't Asgardians speak in the All-Tongue? Why couldn't I understand what was just said?

Seeing my confusion, Thor whispered to me, "They just spoke in Aesir Runes, even the All-Tongue cannot translate that. The recipient must have enough understanding of Aesir Runes for them to understand what they just said," Thor spoke in a sage-like tone which was rare, so I was inclined to believe what he said.

I wonder, will I get to learn these Aesir Runes? I hope so.

Over the few months I'd been here, I'd discovered I had not just a voracious appetite for food but also for information. I had spent many nights on my phone or my Laptop, absorbing information. This helped develop myself as a person as I learned more than I probably knew during my last life. Though I didn't have the experience to use a lot of the information in my head to an effective degree.

Oblivious to mine and her Father's talk, Thrud continued speaking, "Okay then! We will have a feast with our new Shield-Brother, before then, feel free to get to know him. My mother and I need to talk to our Father," Thrud turned to and winked again before walking over to the side with her parents.

I was kinda confused on why she kept trying to flirt with me but in all honesty, I didn't really mind much, it was seemingly harmless.

Bringing me out of my thoughts was one of the smaller Valkyries who looked up at me with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, "So, you're a descendant of an Angel? Can you show us your wings?" she tried to come off as cool and collected but it didn't work as I could hear and see the anxious excitement in her voice and on her face.

I saw that the other Valkyries looked at me with pleading eyes as well. Thinking for a little while, I didn't see any harm in showing them. They already knew what I was and showing them wouldn't give them an advantage over me.

I nodded my head before taking a few steps back. I took off my shirt before stretching my shoulders a little bit. It had been ages since I last released my wings, so it should feel pretty nice.

When I was done with my stretching, I let them loose.

*WHOOSH!*

My 20-foot wingspan fully extended out, showing it's avian perfection once more. The blood-red feathers fluttered as I stretched the muscles in the wings.

"Haaah~ So refreshing~" I let out a happy sigh as I felt the stiff wings slowly wind down. Once they'd limbered up, I let them fold behind my back.

I kept the Halo and the Tattoos from showing as in all honesty, the Valkyries only asked for the wings, after all~

Internally laughing at my 'cunning' if you could even call it that, I watched as the Valkyries surrounded me. One of them, the short one who asked me to show my wings in fact, went to touch my wings but pulled her hand back before touching the feathers.

I smiled at her, stifling a chuckle with my hand, "I don't mind if you touch them, just don't pluck any feathers, okay?" I winked at her which caused her to giggle. She didn't hold back because of politeness any longer as her hand darted to my feathers and started to ruffle them.

It was a peculiar feeling, kinda like having your hair/head rubbed.

Seeing the short Valkyrie's fascination with the feel of my feathers, the other 7 Valkyries soon joined in stroking my feathers.

Seeing their focus on my wings, I smiled, it felt good to have something so non-human be appreciated.

Even if it did turn me into a petting zoo...

Luckily, they seemed immune to muscular bodies, they were Valkyries and they've probably come across every kind of muscular body; Lean, Bulky, Giant, Sumo-Wrestler fat muscle, who knows how much they've seen? Anyway, I guess it was refreshing.

The short Valkyrie grabbed my hand with both of hers and looked up at me, "I'm Hildr, your name is Michael, correct?" I nodded to her question before she carried on, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Michael...now, how about I show you our wings?" she smiled mysteriously at me and instantly captured my curiosity.

"Lead the way, Hildr," I motioned for her to take me and she let go of my hands before she and the others led me over to a sort of shed.

I got a good look at Hildr as we walked over. Despite her being relatively short when compared to both me and the other Valkyries, she was still 5'11" which put her taller than quite a few men in the world. Her Blonde hair, pale skin, and green eyes all came together to make a beautiful and homely appearance, while her aura made her feel like a hidden spear, waiting to be thrust.

She seemed like a nice person as well, I wonder if she's one of the stronger or weaker Valkyries?

Putting my useless thoughts aside, I saw Hildr stare down the other Valkyries, telling them she would showcase their wings and indirectly answering my question on whether she was one of the stronger Valkyries or not.

She walked into the shed. Once inside, the door closed and I could hear some mechanical parts being fit together and I quickly figured out what their wings were.

Despite knowing what they were, I was still excited to see what they looked like. Were they purely magical or were they scientific? Maybe a little bit of both?

My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and Hildr coming out of the shed.

She looked the same, apart from metal supports which were placed around her body. It looked a lot like armor.

The 'armor' was connected to two wings of about 19 feet in wingspan. The wings were pure metal but I couldn't see where they were connected, so despite being entirely made of metal the wings didn't look too mechanical, more like they were made from a bio-organic metal.

Each feather looked as sharp as a blade and was perfectly carved to have equal amounts of beauty and lethality, some would even say they are one and the same.

I seemed to be one of those people as the sharp edges of the feathers only enhanced its aesthetic appeal.

The wings were a silvery color and as Hildr fully extended the wings, the sun in the sky reflected off of the silvery metal and created a show of lights around us.

Despite me being the actual Angel, I felt that the bright aura made her look more like the real deal than me.

She did a few flaps with her wings before smirking at me smugly, "What do you think, Michael, do they hold a light to your wings~?" she and the other Valkyries laughed in a lighthearted manner. Seeing them having fun, I smiled. I walked over to Hildr and put my hand on her own 'wings'. They seemed to transmit sensation as she twitched a little as I felt her wings.

But she didn't stop me.

Touching the metal was weird because despite it being metal, it felt...alive? It wasn't cold, no, in fact, it felt like it was radiating heat like any other normal living thing.

"They truly are wonderful wings, Hildr...How are they made?" I was genuinely curious about this because of how cool these wings were and the potential for this technology.

Hildr didn't seem taken aback by my question and even seemed to have expected it, as she answered without missing a beat, "From where you're from, it would be better to say it was made through a mixture of Science and what you would call Magic, but here, we call it Rune Crafting," she seemed to go into a sort of teacher-mode but I didn't mind and just listened, "Studying the ancient language of the Aesir and the Vanir, we are able to craft runes that use a perfect blend of Aesir and Vanir Magic. Mix that with our advanced knowledge of the Sciences and Metallurgy, and you get Rune Crafting which can transcend both Magic and Science!" she seemed to be quite enthusiastic about this subject as I could swear she had stars in her eyes.

One of the Valkyrie laughed before jokingly jeering at Hildr, "That's our Shield-Sister Hildr, always a Rune Crafting Enthusiast~!" this seemed to knock Hildr out of her teacher-mode as she went a bit flustered as she glanced at me as she averted her head to hide the light blush on her cheeks.

"I apologize, Michael, it was unbecoming of me to drown you with so much chatter," she seemed genuinely sorry which I didn't get, I did ask for her to explain it to me, so how could I blame her for doing that and more?

"Nonsense, Hildr, are we not Shield-Brethren? I will listen to your Rune Crafting lectures even if no one else will. This Rune Crafting does interest me after all!" my smile stretched fully across my face as I looked at the cute Valkyrie in front of me.

Hearing what I said and seeing my gentle smile seemed to surprise not only Hildr but also the other Valkyries.

Hildr stepped forward and looked up at me, "To think I'd have such a nice Shield-Brother...it brings me great joy to also have another person who seems interested in Rune Crafting just like me. I should thank my Hamingja!*"

(*A/N - A Hamingja is like a guardian Angel which decides the luck of whoever they look over, so her thanking her Hamingja is like us thanking our lucky stars or something similar.)

Hildr smiled at me, just like the other Valkyries. They seemed happy that they didn't just gain a muscle-head who had no hobbies but training into their tightly-knit group.

I, embarrassed from being the center of attention for a group of beautiful smiling women, scratched the back of my head. Before I could speak, I heard some shouting behind me.

I turned my attention to the shouting, just like the Valkyries.

"We shouldn't have a feast to celebrate a man bringing back a boy as his student, while 'they' are here! You could ruin the diplomatic mission entirely, Thor!" Sif yelled at her smiling Husband who didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation.

Thor brought Sif into a hug. Not a bear hug like he did to me or the other inhabitants of Asgard, no, he hugged her gently like she was an incredibly precious and delicate. Though she definitely wasn't delicate, it was was the thought that counts.

"Do not worry, my wife, I will just say we are to celebrate some nonsensical. When have I ever needed a real reason to throw a feast, hmm? Remember that feast I threw when I successfully surprised your brother Heimdall by sneaking past him, despite him being the Sentry for Asgard and having all seeing eyes?" Sif smiled in his embrace as she nodded her head before letting out a surprisingly girly giggle, "See? I will throw a feast in the name of something non-offensive so I do not incur the guests' wrath, okay? But we will all know the real reason, so we will be able to enjoy the feast to it's fullest!" Thor let out a burst of booming laughter which seemed to sooth Sif as she broke away from their hug.

"...Okay, I accept this silly thing, but you have to make it up to me, Thor...And please don't start any fights," she pleading looked at Thor but I and all the others could see the mirth in her eyes; she was clearly having a joke.

Laughter broke out as we all decided to set out to the Main Hall of Asgard. First, we waited for Hildr to put back her wings, however.

But once that was done, I put away my own wings and put on my shirt once again.

And then we made our way to the Main Feasting Hall, where we would start the party. It would be a lie to say I wasn't eagerly awaiting to stuff my mouth full with as much food as possible.

Though I did wonder who these 'guests' were and why they would be such a problem...

(A/N - Sorry about the late chapter, I overslept today...Anyway, just wanna get it out there, flirting and getting flustered by a member of the opposite doesn't mean rushed Romance is gonna happen. It's something natural when you're in front of a hot guy/girl - you either get nervous, flirt with them, or you're an unfeeling machine who doesn't have a sex drive. It's pretty simple stuff.)