2013.03.20 - A Birthday at the Pizzeria (Starring Thor as Himself)

Another busy day. For a wonder, the day is clear and -warm-. Spring finally seems to be coming to the Big Apple, and one shop in particular, Pacelli's Pizza, is particularly packed with both regulars and new customers. The reason? A small sign hanging in the window that simply reads "MANAGEMENT SPECIAL - FREE PIZZA". Balloons have been floated here and there, and someone has thoughtfully provided a banner reading "Happy birthday, Tony!".
On such a fine spring day, Thor found himself flying about the city of New York in search of mortals who needed his attention. He felt slightly bad, as of late, that he's been 'neglecting his duty' - nevermind the fact that Sif has been providing distractions to keep him from flying off to every whimpered and whispered prayer on Midgard--Earth. It was during a low pass that he spotted the balloons, and grew curious. Slowing, the tall blonde and highly recognizable Avenger drops delicately to the sidewalk in front of the pizza palour to peer with open and honest questioning at the brightly colored globes dancing on the breeze. A faint gust, smelling of rain, drifts by from a completely improbable direction, and Thor - eyes still on the balloons - smiles with childlike wonder.
The door has been left open to let in the spring air. Inside, more balloons float here and there, adding splashes of color against the ceiling. Many customers carry party favors, lending to the cheerful, festive air. Their attention is centered around one table in the middle of the dining area, where the shop's owner, still wearing his green flour-stained apron, is seated with his wife. At the counter, Senri is taking orders with a spring in her step, freed from deliveries on account of the special occasion. The orders move quickly, since 'payment' is in the form of either wrapped presents or any amount of money the customer wishes to give. The presents are left at a table adjacent to the owner's family and the money is simply placed in the tip jar. Now, as Thor approaches the store, Senri looks up and exclaims enthusiastically, "Hello! Welcome to Pacelli's!"
The balloons, buffeted by the spring-rain-breeze, bob and dance as Thor studies them. The open door calls his attention. Turning his gaze from the bright colored globes, the Thunderer takes a small step toward the doorway, peering inside at the party decorations and the cheerful festive atmosphere. Some things, like parties, are universal. Welcomes are among them.
Pulling his helmet free from his head with the hand not holding Mjolnir, which of course he clips to his belt with a practiced grace. Thor steps into the pizza shop, a warm and pleased smile on his face as he looks around.
"I thank thee for thy warm welcome," intones the Avenger, in a deep rumbling bass of a summer thunderstorm that brings the promise of a beautiful (if deadly) light show and cooling rains to a parched and dry grassland.
As Thor steps into the shop and speaks, the shop falls silent for a few moments as all within turn their attention to him. This is quickly broken by cheering and laughter, with one patron slapping the owner on the back and exclaiming with a grin, "Tony, ya lucky stiff! Ya got Thor himself to come to your birthday party!" For her part, Senri is momentarily floored as Thor's identity sinks in, her expression nearly seamlessly slipping into her well-worn 'service smile' before it widens into a genuine grin of delight. Nodding, she says, "My pleasure! Is there anything I can get for you? We're offering free pizza in celebration of the owner's birthday!"
The look on Thor's face at the place goes silent is one of expectant politeness. And then the cheer goes up and Thor's chuckling again, right past his confusion of the reason for the party. Senri's offer of 'free pizza in celebration of the owner's birthday' helps a little. Thor steps toward the counter, helm tucked under an arm. 
"Perhaps the owner, that I may congratulate him on ...forgive me, but, I am not completely familiar with the Midgardian custom of celebrating the day of one's birth. Or is this in celebration of the birth of a child of his? For that, truly, is cause for celebration," Thor replies as he gets to the counter in front of Senri, though his route was slightly delayed by various patrons who he pauses briefly to shake hands with or pat delicately on the shoulder.
"Ah! Of course! He's sitting right there!" At this, Senri gestures toward the person in question, who is looking just a bit dazed at this turn of events. His wife takes his left hand in both of hers and gives them a squeeze, her expression showing loving pleasure for her husband's fortune as she meets Thor's eyes. "We have a son, Lord Thor, but he's a man himself now. We celebrate births not just once, but every year after. Life is much too precious to do otherwise."
Following the motion of Senri's gesture, Thor smiles to the owner and his wife. His blue-grey eyes slightly wistful as he spots the clasped hands and the dazed look of the 'birthday boy'. The explanation seems to confuse the Asgardian a moment before he processes the information. 
"I see. This makes sense. Well, then, Tony was it? May this day be ever blessed for thee and thy family, this day which marks another year of a good life with those whom love thee and whom thou doth love," Thor says after a moment's thought. As ever, when speaking with humans, the divine ability of the All Tongue makes his words shift themselves for each listener, so that all hear Thor's words in the most formal and elegant form of their native language.
A slow smile creeps across Tony's face as Thor pronounces his blessing. After a moment, he manages to say, "Thank you very much. You're most kind. Can I offer you anything? There's plenty of food to be had." At this point, the employees in the kitchen have emerged to see what the commotion is about. As soon as they recognize him, they go very still, waiting to hear whatever he has to say. Senri watches with an expression of expectant politeness mirroring Thor's own.
Thor gives a formal sort of half bow to Tony, then smile broadly at the offer of food. 
"It would be rude of me not to accept hospitality given; I thank thee, and will gladly partake of what thy has to offer at thy table," Thor says as he straightens from his bow.
"It's my pleasure! I'd be honored to have you at my table." Seeing that his own pizza has already been finished, Tony turns his attention toward the kitchen with a wry grin and calls, "Another Neapolitan!" Senri, with the others, nods acknowledgement. A fresh pizza is taken from the warming drawer and passed to her. Stepping out from behind the counter, Senri walks Thor over to the seat on Tony's right hand, places the pan on the table with a slight bow of her own and says, "Here you are! Please enjoy!"
At the warm invitation, Thor smiles broadly and settles himself to the seat indicated near Tony. His cape flares out a bit as he sits, and the helmet is dropped almost carelessly to the ground at his feet. Mjolnir is likewise freed fro his belt and left to drop to the ground like a sudden and terrible weight. 
Thor's blue-grey eyes look to Senri as she draws near, and the Norse deity smiles to the girl. 
"My thanks to thee," he says simply but reverently.
Senri glances down involuntarily as Mjolnir hits the ground, but quickly looks up agan and returns Thor's smile with a bright one of her own. "My pleasure! Please let me know if there's anything you need!" she says cheerily before returning to her place behind the counter. The flow of customers has since steadied and tapered off, and those already in the store have all been served, leaving her free to lend a hand in either the kitchen or the dining area.
Thor nods, unconcerned over the direction of Senri's gaze. Most mortals instinctively sense the power in the relic. None so far have been able to master it. Sitting with the owner, Thor eats and talks, happily listening to the stories being told. Of course, there's that moment early in the 'feasting', when Thor took his first bite that he was heard to declare: "This food! It is delicious!" Thankfully, he seems to have curbed that Asgardian habit of flinging the platter across the room to demand more.
As the celebration wears on, Senri makes herself useful, continuing to take orders, handling the phone, serving and bussing the Pacellis' and Thor's table, and providing pleasant conversation. Every now and then, she glances over at Thor, clearly full of questions, but too polite and professional to voice any of them.
And Thor... is, well, Thor. Used to the servants of Asgard, the Thunderer Prince is slow to realize Senri's glances are even there. And so, it's near the end of her shift when Thor rises from the table, having eaten clearly more than any one person should be allowed to eat in one sitting and NOT end up hospitalized from asphyxiation, with no ill effects. 
"Forgive me, for I know not thy name," Thor calls to Senri as he stands, helmet once more in hand (though he seems to have forgotten to collect Mjolnir at the moment), near the table where he had sat.
Looking forward to the end of her shift, but careful to judge by the crowd rather than the clock, Senri is wiping down the counter when Thor stands, so she isn't immediately aware that he is addressing her. However, she looks up as he speaks and, finding his attention on her, replies warmly, "There's nothing to forgive. I'm Senri. Senri Mizushima. I'm pleased to have met you." She bows slightly, reflexively, as she introduces herself.
As Senri bows, Thor does as well. It's that low and well practiced bow of a prince, sweeping and grand... and it extends his right hand toward Mjolnir. The relic seems to leap joyfully from the ground and into his hand. 
"I am Thor Odinson, Prince of Asgard," he replies, purposefully truncating his name and titles out of deference for the surroundings.
"I wish to give thee great thanks for warmly welcoming me into thy celebration," Thor adds as he straightens.
Senri blinks as Thor makes his own polished bow, then blushes as she realizes how shallow her own bow was. Clasping her hands neatly in her lap, she bows once more in a proper display of respect. By the time she straightens, the color has mostly left her face, and she says, "You are more than welcome. It was a pleasure and honor both."
"Likewise," Thor says to Senri with that warm smile of his. He seemed not to have noticed the shallow bow, nor the color that's mostly fled her face. He glances at her work, and seems to shuffle a bit. 
"I fear I may be keeping thee..."
With another blink, Senri thinks, "(Keeping me? Wha...?)" Looking around, she notices the attention the exchange has drawn from the Pacellis and the few remaining customers, all regarding her with looks of curiosity and amusement. Another blush colors her face more deeply than the first, and she bows again. "No, not at all! I'm all done here. I just need to clock out and I'll be right back and..." She closes her mouth abruptly as she realizes that she's rambling and hurries off to make good on her words.
And leaves Thor standing there looking completely lost. He turns to follow her with his eyes as she rushes off. The point of confusion is clear: 'I just need to clock out...' What in the Nine Realms does the mortal mean by that? Uncertain, Thor bows to the owners of the eatery, thanks them once more for their hospitality, and turns to go. He strides toward the door deliberately, hands bringing that winged helm to his head. He really ought to just leave it at home. It's not like the helmet is part of what gets summoned. Frankly, he's not even sure why he wore it today...
True to her word, Senri returns quickly (closer to record time, actually) only to see Thor on his way out. She stops for a few moments, torn between letting him walk out without a word, flagging him down, and wondering why it's such an issue. She looks over at the Pacellis for guidance. Tony makes a shooing motion with his hand, and his wife simply nods serenely. Smiling gratefully, she waves and calls out a quick "Happy birthday!", then turns and dashes after Thor. Catching up, she falls in a half-step behind him and to his right. "I'm sorry! It was time for me to go home anyway. I just needed to make sure there was a record of the time I spent working. I got off-balance after you bowed and I realized that I had only bowed a little, so..." Again, she cuts herself off abruptly.
Feathered helmet in place (he's really going to leave this thing at home next time), Thor gives Mjolnir a tiny little twirl, eyes looking down and pondering it and other things. 'Clocked out'. Is that like 'knocked out'? The thought brings the Thunderer up and makes him hesitate in what otherwise would have been a swirl of wind and cape and him flying away. The delay gave Senri the time to join him at his side, and she's talking before his mind can catch up to her.
"Ah! This record of thy time and efforts is known as 'clocking out'," the Thunderer states, trying to clear up his own confusion. There's a pause for Senri's confirmation, and then Thor's look of concerned confusion melts away. 
"Thou art on thy way home? If thou wouldst like, I would be happy to escort thee," Thor offers sweetly, completely bypassing the whole topic of bowing. He's a Prince. She - he figures more or less - is not.
Senri nods with a smile and replies, "Yes, that's right. We use clocks and paper cards to mark when we start work and when we finish it. 'Clocking in' starts the work day and 'clocking out' finishes it." Her smile becomes an expression of sheer delight at Thor's offer and she nods again sharply. "I am, and thank you very much for the offer. It pleases me greatly to accept." Looking around the storefront briefly, her expression become wry as she says, "I forgot that I had decided to come on foot today. Normally, I'd run home, but I have some questions if you don't mind answering them."
"Thou dost have another method of... oh. Thou dost mean an automobile," Thor again seems to be looking for clarification. But it seems mostly rhetorical, for he merely presses on, unabashed.
"I am happy to walk with thee and answer thy questions."
Senri beams up at Thor and says, "Thank you again! Actually, I don't have an automobile. I use a bicycle when I need to go further than my feet can take me on their own, such as when I deliver pizza to people's houses as part of my job. Since it was the boss's birthday, though, I didn't need it today." She begins walking, glancing back at Thor, then at her surroundings before continuing, "Um, first of all, I wanted to tell you: Last year, the day after my birthday, I think I manifested as a mutant. I've been a runner my whole life, but that day, I ran even faster than I can go on my bike. I don't know how I did it, but the air always feels thinner when I do. I guess what I'm asking is if you could help me figure out what I'm doing, and if I can do more with it. I think I could show you right now." She takes a deep breath and looks back at Thor again.
Thor nods to show he's keeping up with her comment about delivering pizzas (whatever /that/ means!) but as she begins speaking of being a mutant, Thor's brows raise and he gives her his full attention. A look of concern flicks across his face.
"I must admit that running at such speeds is not a forte of mine, but... I will do what I can if thou doth wish. Thou might show me what thou will," Thor says, not at all concerned by speaking of powers or mutants or the like in public.
Relief flashes across Senri's face, with a wide grin hard on its heels. "Thank you!" And with that, she turns to face forward and takes off at a sprint. Before even 5 seconds have passed, a wind picks up, pushing her forward even as, unseen to mortal eye, the air thins and parts around her. At the 10 second mark, she hits and holds a cruising speed of around 20 miles per hour. Shortly after, she throws herself forward, sending herself into a precise front flip. The wind behind her rushes into the space below, buoying her up as she flips twice, then three times before landing on her feet and continuing to run. Another flip, and she's now heading back the way she came. In just under two minutes, she stops in front of Thor once more, carefully controlling her breathing as she recovers.
Thor stops walking, watching Senri as she takes off. He's not sure what he just witnessed. He could just sense that the winds were being moved, and his mind noted that she was moving far faster than a normal mortal is wont to. When she returns, he applauds her gently, and walks her to her door.
Senri smiles triumphantly, enjoying the fading rush from the run, brief though it was. "Thank you for walking me home! Can we meet again, by any chance? I want to keep practicing, and it would help if I had someone to try out ideas with."
"Most certainly," agrees the Avenger easily as he opens a pouch clipped to his belt. From it, Thor pulls out a Stark Phone, one of those ultra high end ones that haven't quite hit the market yet. It looks like it's covered by an Otter Box, only... sturdier some how. This he holds out to Senri.
"I am certain thou art familiar with this communications device. If thou would collect the 
information thou needs to contact it for thyself, I would be willing to collect thee to an area in which our actions will not attract too much undo attention nor cause significant harm to any others," Thor states with a grin.
Senri takes the offered phone automatically with a nod, though her eyes widen slightly as she realizes what she's holding. "Yes, indeed. Thank you very much!" She unlocks the phone (which fortunately for her doesn't seem to have a password lock) and sends herself a text message from it simply reading "This is Thor's cell #". Closing the messaging program, she re-locks the phone and hands it back. After a few moments, her phone beeps, and she nods in satisfaction. "There we go. Thank you again! I look forward to meeting again."
"As do I, Senri Mizushima, Deliverer of Pizza," Thor says with great formality somehow making that profession sound noble and worthy of respect. He returns the phone to its leather carrying case, unclips Mjolnir, bows lightly, and yanks himself away with a twist of air and cloud.
Category:Log