Summary:Drinks after a fight, what could be better? These Asgardians don't need an excuse. Log Info:Storyteller: {$storyteller} |
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"Apart from the groceries I need for dinner, I'm sure we can find something to distract us. But come, I know just the pub where we can drink, first." Astryd smirks at the women, cold grey eyes dancing a little.
She takes out her phone and sends a message. "Ulric may or may not join us. He might have his hands full with Baldur and Hod. I'm sure that's going just swimmingly. And thank you, 'Hilde. A trinket that was a gift when I finally found my way to Midgard."
How long has she been on Midgard? And how long has she been in New York?
"Unfortunately, it's not Asgardian Mead they serve where we're going. But I do have some at home, for when you visit."
Brunnhilde puts a hand on her hip as Sif drifts back over, raising a brow, but doesn't object to her presence. Not if ale's involved. "Quantity can make up for quality." the redheaded ex-valkyrie notes with a quick smirk. "Who's Ulric, then?" she says curiously. And hmmm. Another ex-valkyrie's been on Midgard so long, and she hasn't run into her more? Then again, meeting one person in the entire world isn't exactly easy, but they do sort of run in similar crowds. Huh. She offers her hand, however, because she hasn't actually introduced herself. "I am Brunnhilde. IF I am drinking with you, I'll need to call you something too." she says cheerfully.
Sif actually knows who is going by the name Ulric, but in a brief moment of pettiness, she doesn't share that information with Brunnhilde. She does, though, wait politely enough for the two former Valkyries to get introductions out of the way. It doesn't bother her, she's not THAT hung up on formalities.
"Lady Sif, would you prefer something more genteel? Or is ale appropriate?" It's a slight tease to the dark haired Asgardian to get her to relax and engage. The blonde leads them on, though, to a pub down the road. It's quaint and has an Irish feel to it. "Authentic Irish pub." Astryd snorts "If only they knew what one was like…"
'Hildes question gets a smile at least. "It is the name that Fenris goes by here, at the moment. I'm Astryd to those of Asgard who acknowledge me, Natasha to those of Midgard at the moment. Natasha Kerensky."
She'd told them to find their home under Ulric Kerensky in the phone book….
"It is a pleasure to meet another Sister after all these years, Brunnhilde."
She'll leave the ordering to 'Hilde it seems.
Brunnhilde stills a bit in suprise, watching Astryd, then says slowly. "I've heard rumors about you, yes…you told Odin to fuck off and let Fenris out from his imprisonment." she says as they find a place, then orders a round of dark ale to start. "I think you're the first sister who's found it a pleasure…" she adds wryly, leaning back as she crosses her legs, her arms along the back of her side of the booth. Especially if Sif is there too, because she knows it'll bug her. "Natasha, hmm? Good Russian name?"
"It's a name." Astryd smiles "We like to mix it up. Keep the Mortals guessing. We shed the identities and start new ones every seventy years or so." She accepts the ale when it's bought over and holds it up. "Salut'! I try not judge, Brunnhilde, I know the danger in that. How came you to be on Midgard here? The stories of your departure are … mixed."
There's a pause though as she considers 'Hildes statement. "I wasn't quite so blunt about it but that's accurate. I was his jailor for a bit under two hundred years. We talked, well … he talked, I listened and came to believe we wrong. That the cycle doesn't need to repeat as it does."
Brunnhilde's lips twist a bit, as the drinks arrive, then picks up one of the glasses, pausing to drain it down, her throat working as she empties it, then lets out a 'pah!' of approval as she sets it back down. "I think you're the first Asgardian who's ever asked." she says after a long moment, watching Astryd, her eyes hardening. "Mixed. He deserved no politeness for it, when I left. Did you free him, then, the wolf? Or did you convince him to admit he might, possibly, be wrong, which of course /never/ fucking happens in his mind." There's a bit of a growl in her voice, befoe she inhales, then lets it out.
"…did you know that Thor had an elder brother, once?" she says quietly. "Sigmund?"
Astryd snorts, taking a pull from her own drink. Not emptying the glass but making a dent in it. "Like I said. I've learned not to judge. I've walked the Underworlds of enough pantheons to have learned that not is all as it seems." The Underworlds of other Pantheons? That's… not possible, is it?
Then again Sedna had known the bonde Valkyr, had she not?
She shakes her head at the first question though. "No, When I petitioned Odin One-Eye he cast me out, calling me fallen and a traitor to my kind. I was flung to the farthest corner of the nine realms and stranded. I … didn't know Fenris had been released for nearly a thousand years."
That last piece of information has her canting her head. "I … did not … this seems the start of a story."
Brunnhilde chuffs at that, humorlessly as she snags another from the platter of drinks, draining it down as quickly at the first. "Two, actually…Sigmund, and his sister, Siglinde. Brother and sister, twins, though they did not resemble each other." She hmmphs. "And not born of Frigg, which is why you haven't heard of them. Odin wasn't so faithful, in those days.
"And he was later?" Astryd watches the other woman, setting her glass on the table. "What does this have to do with you, though, Brunnhilde? And your depature for Asgard? I take it …" She's careful how she words this " … you knew them both?" Sigmund at least seems special.
"What happened to them, that we don't know of them?"
Another sigh, then Brunnhilde mutters. "Not nearly drunk enough for this story…" She snags another cup, but takes only a deep gulp this time, before setting it back on the table. "Sigmund was a hero of Asgard." she continues after a moment. "He was my teacher, when I was training to compete to become a valkyrie. The two were separated…they never knew of each other. Until they met. Siglinde was married to another at the time, but they were…." She frowns. "…it…they misunderstood the sense of…of knowing each other for love. They were…together." The redhead's eyes get far away. "…he really didn't know. He was a good man. I'd like to blame Siglinde but she was sad and lonely and I wasn't suprised she wanted comfort." She shakes her head. "I had risen to become a valkyrie….the leader of the Valkyrior. When Siglinde's husband challenged him to a duel, Odin wanted me to intervene, but Frigg talked me out of it." Her lips thin ."…she felt it was up to the NOrns to decide his fate after he had commmitted such…a sin.
Astryd gestures for something stronger to be bought over. A bottle, several bottles in fact, of spirits. That should help.
"So you held your hand against the man who challenged Sigmund because of Frigg and …." Oh, she might see where this is heading. "…and he died?"
The blonde debates for a moment "And what of Siglinde?"
After a long moment, she continues. "Do you believe in Fate, Brunnhilde? At the place the Norns have in it?"
Anger shivers across Brunnhilde's face as her fists clench for a moment. "If fate exists? Then I hate them for toying with people's lives." she growls. She inhales, then shakes her head. "Sigmund was prooud, but passionate, he claimed he would kill himself dishonorably rather than go to VAhalla as a warrior, so he could be with Siglinde. So Odin intervened. He threw his spear in the middle of the duel to shatter Sigmund's sword."
She takes another deep drink. "I couldn't…I wouldntt allow that. It was wrong. Dishonorable. I fled with him and Siglinde. My sister…they would not help. Would not go against Odins' word, out of loyalty or fear. They hunted me. Hunted both of us. And in the end he died saving me, taking an arrow meant for me. Siglinde escaped…but was pregnant with Sigmund's son. Odin's grandson." Her lips twitch. "And for my…transgression, Odin took my divinity from me and put me in a sleep, to be claimed by the first warrior who found me. A human woman."
"So the stories are true then, mostly … just not the origins of them." Astryd says quietly not trying to sooth the other womans anger. "What became of the child that Siglinde carried?" That could be problematic. As for 'Hilde? Well, it's been done now.
"Have you heard, Brunnhilde of 'Those That Sit Above In Shadow'?" That's a strange question really. She might have. There are legends and stories about such beings in Asgard. Beings that don't show their faces but sit above the Norns and push Fate, ensuring the cycle never ends and that events transpire as they should.
"I believe it does exist." The voice is deep and quiet from behind Brunnhilde. Fenris does have a way of moving around quietly when he wants to. He's in a human guise now of course. Tall, short dark hair. He has a sports coat folded over his shoulder.
"But it is not the Norns who are to blame for it. They are, as the midgardians like to say… middle management."
"Good evening ladies." The Old Wolf pulls out a chair as Astryd begins to elucidate upon the matter. "I hope you don't mind the company?"
Having gotten pulled away to deal with other things, Sif takes a little while to catch up with the two Valkyries. But she does, finally, though she stops just inside the pub's doorway when she sees Fenris already moving to sit with the others.
She could just slip back out quietly and return to the Embassy. Or she could stay and get stuck as the representative of the people that wronged those three in differing ways. She might once have been positive that their punishments had been justly served by the Allfather, but after spending a bit of time with Hodr and seeing how he has fared under his exile… she's starting to feel the tiniest hint of doubt.
Another rude snort. "….he found me." she says simply, then knocks back the rest of her drink. She blinks in suprise at the man's arrival, watching him slightly warily for a moment as she cocks her head. "…Ultric." she says slowly. "Mmm. Now this is not a table I thought I'd be sitting at." There's a ironic tone in her voice at that, as she says. "WElcome! Have a drink! It's weak enough, but at least it has a good taste to it."
She turns her attention back to Astryd, furrowing her brow slightly. "Legends." she says after a moment of thought. "What is the saying? The man behind the curtain." she continues, looking between the pair as she finishes her current drink, then waves down the waitress. They'll need more at this rate! Another platter at least. "Why?" she says with a faint frown.
"Sigmunds son found you? What happened?" The blonde Valkyr won't let the story slip.
Astryd might sense Sif as she walks through the door, her grey eyes rise and meet the other womans. "Join us, Lady Sif? There is plenty…" She might know what's going through the other womans mind right now. There's a reason she and Fenris had been recluses until now.
"Hello my heart. I see you found Prince Baldur on your journey here. I trust the Ogresses weren't too onerous. I don't need to have words with them, do I?" She's … teasing the Old Wolf.
"Some say they are Legends. Myths from before Asgard existed. We don't believe that, Fenris and I. We believe they exist and we want to … loosen their hold on our lives."
"You'd have to ask her, but I don't think she's in any condition to answer right now." Fenris taps his forehead. "I have a very hard head."
He signals for a drink and then looks over to Sif, meeting her eyes and crooking his finger in a 'come over' gesture. Yes, he saw her. Well. Scented her really. It's a glorious thing, having a nose like that. Except when it isn't. He can smell Staten Island from Boston.
"If I am right, and I believe I am, they aren't simply legends. They're guiding a cycle. Each of us playing our roles over and over and over again. And when the story ends in it's fiery climax and the nine worlds lie in ruins, well, they hit rewind and play the whole thing over again." It's conspiracy right? To think that there is some force playing the Aesir through endless repetitions of the Ragnarok prophesies. They'd remember, wouldn't they? Oh but the theory goes that they remove those memories. Somehow. And ever remain hidden. As the name suggests: Above, in shadow.
Fenris' drink arrives and he takes a long pull of it. "Brunnhilde, was it not?" He's got a good memory but it's 2800 years long. It takes him a bit to remember if he knows someone, sometimes.
"Hod and Baldur are doing what they do. Which is to say Hod flees and Baldur follows, as summer chases winter." Poetic but also a bit true, at least the way Hod's been conducting things lately.
Well, too late to flee now. She doesn't square her shoulders — that would reveal weakness — but she does walk right on over to the trio to claim the fourth chair at the table.
Two Valkyries, a Warrior, and a Wolf walk into a bar… this makes her think of something she heard a Midgardian telling another a few days back.
As she settles, Fenris mentions Hod and Baldur, and she can't help but ask, "And should Baldur catch his brother? What then?"
Brunnhilde lets out a cackling laugh at that. "Hmmph, a conspiracy? Me playing a role? Bah! If I am playing a role for Asgard, I'm playing it poorly." she says with a little smirk, her lips twisting up as she snags another glass, taking a series of deep swallows. "Mmph. Yes. That's me. Or Hilde, or Brunn..whichever…" the ex-valkyrie says, shrugging. Her eyes follow Astryd's as she calls out to Sif, eyes narrowing, but she doesn't gainsay the other woman in inviting her over, before pausing at Astryd's question. "Mmmm?" Her eyes slit. "…he found me, and thus I belonged to him. I had no say in the matter." She shrugs. "…he was….he grew on me…" She pauses to drain down the glass in her hand, then smacks the glass down on the table, a bit harder than necessary. "And why should he chase him? Let Hod be." she grumbles.
"You … belonged to him?" The blonde casts a look at the God-Wolf before shaking her head in sorrow at Hilde. "And now? Are you free of him or …?" There must be a reason she's here on Midgard, surely? Or is that she's still wandering.
"You, have a role to play. Fenris does. Hod and Baldur, Vali. Even Sif and I. Some are starring roles other supporting cast but play those roles we must until we can change things."
"I know you have a hard head, Fenris." She smirks a little before taking another drink.
"If Baldur catches Hod, I suspect the Norns will be weaving. The pattern already defined, Lady Sif." beat "Unless we change it."
"I expect that Hod will spontaneously combust." Fenris says in a rather self amused fashion. "As to why not let him be, well that's the Baldur I remember at any rate and it doesn't sound like he is much changed. He hasn't seen his brother for twenty five centuries and now, here he is. Attacked by Egyptians and at the center of some kind of plot. It's almost tailor made bait for the Bright One, don't you think?"
He takes another drink and smiles a little bit at Brunnhilde. That is a rather common reaction and he can't really say that he blames her. It sounds crazy. He knows it does.
Sif gets another look and Fenris nods. "Hod is not wrong that proximity to Baldur puts us at greater risk for Ragnarok. He thinks keeping distance will minimize that risk. He does not know that running is exactly what he was planned to do. Or perhaps I should say anticipated."
"So here we are. Have you had a chance to catch up with your Sister-Warrior Astryd? I've not seen so many Valkyries in close proximity in an age. Almost reminds me of Asgard."
He is still listening to Brunnhilde tell her story. It's a curious thing, her exile and he had not heard much of it until now.
Sif nods her agreement with Fenris' assessment. "Baldur has missed his brother, and from what I know of him he will not pass up the chance to speak with Hod again." She can only nod at the wolf-in-man's-clothing assessment. "I have gotten the impression that Hod has been fleeing his past for so long he may not remember how to do anything else." And, really, that's something she's started to worry about.
She looks over at Hilde, having missed the first part of this story, but not exactly wanting to butt in and ask the former Valkyrie to start over again.
"We were not sister warriors together….she came after I had…left." Brunnhilde says, wrinkling her nose. "But it's…nice, yes. We're gettin acquainted." she says with a laugh, then snags another glass of ale. It's certainly being drunk quickly enough by her at this point.
She seems a bit bemused by the attention over her story, feeling…strange, putting it into words. She can't remember the last time she actually told the story, and something the group makes her want to. Maybe it's just fighing along side Asgardians again…
For Sif's sake, she backs up slightly. "Ah, well…so Odin had bastard twins, Sigmund and Siglinde, the first who was my mentor, then rather than paying attention to them left them alone until they met and…had a child. And then Wotan, the one-eyed bastard that he is, killed his son. Would have killed Siglinde too. Turned my sisters against me. STripped me of my divinity, then forced me into a magic sleep, and Siegrfried woked me."
She frowns, swirling her glass slightly. "…he was…a good man. A hero, like his father. When he found me, he had just finished slaying an elder dragon, Fafnr, with his father's reforged sword." She holds up a hand, callused and rough. "…he put a ring on my finger, and told me we would be married. He'd found it in the dragon's hoard. A magic ring. He didn't know what it really was."
"It does, my heart." Astryd at least answers Fenris' question. "But you know I believe that we can change our stars. So much so, I went into exile for such belief. And we've achieved some of that." She looks to the other two women "But someone is playing with the cycle, trying to … nudge it in a certain direction. The attack by the Egyptians on the Embassy and Baldur … is at the heart of it."
"'Hilde had left just before I was raised, I believe, Fenris. Or I was raised not long before she left. Either way neither of us fought or served together." Astryd had been young by Asgard standards, when she was made the God-Wolf's jailor.
"A magic ring from a Dragons hoard? I can't see that going wrong at all …" Astryd snorts softly to 'Hilde. "I suppose the sagas paint this as a romance …"
"The midgardians are fond of romance, Astryd as you know. I believe they made an opera similar to this, doubtless based on their older writings." Fenris and Astryd may even remember when that opera debuted.
"Do you still have that knife, Sif? Or had you given it into another's care. This meeting was a quirk of fate but that assassin is still out there."
Assassin. He's not speaking of brawling egyptian gods, likely.
"Dragon gold. He promised to wed you with dragon gold." Fenris looks at Astryd, then Sif. Even without having heard several HOURS of opera, he knows how this tale likely turns out.
"I have it safe." And that only because she'd not caught up with Loki or anyone she actually trusted to use it properly. "But, I can have it in my hands again quickly enough." She looks at Fenris questioningly, but then turns her attention back to Hilde, knowing that her story isn't complete.
Hilde pauses, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes as she's distracted (perhaps willingly) from remembering events. You get the feeling she's definitely skip over things…maybe things she's just not ready to talk about with anyone. "Is that knife something to do with this curse Loki was going on about?" the redheaded warrior asks after a moment. Then people are looking at her again, before she frowns, answering Fenris.
"Oh, not dragon gold. Nibeling gold." She snorts. "…that opera is a travesty, but it hits the main points at least. It was a ring of power. All you needed to do was give up all love, and ultimate power was yours. The damn thing went straight back to Odin…he'd taken it from the dwarf who made it, then traded it to the giant brothers who built Vahalla instead of giving them Freya. Fafnr, one of them, killed the other, then the ring warped him into a dragon over time. And Odin, damn his black heart, was too /afraid/ to do something about it. Not even to warn his grandson."
The dusky ex-valkyrie pauses to suck down another glass…she's going to be emptying a keg at the rate she's putting them down. "But instead, a king who did know about it plotted with his sister. Fed Siegfried a potion that made him forget me. THat he'd married me. I thought…I didn't know about the potion until it was too late. I thought he was playing with me, all that time…and the king, well, since I wasn't 'married', he claimed me." she says, her teeth gritted slightly at the memory. "And his sister got Siegried. And the son of the dwarf who'd made the ring, Hagen, arranged to murder Siegfried, thinking he had it. AND STILL…." Her fist, slamms down on thet able, shaking it. "….STILL, that cowardly BASTARD let him die. He intervened to mortally wound his son, but he couldnt' be bothered to save his grandson!" THere's pure anger in her words now, distilled by centuries of feeling it fester in her, before she leans back again. It's unsaid…but in that echo of her snarl, there's the words that don't get said: "or for me."
Astryd looks at Sif and shakes her head. "We retrieved that claw so you, or one of the others, could protect Baldur. We don't want it yet." Fenris and Sif can explain the rest.
"So your dislike of Odin has grown in all this time. And still, Sister, you don't think you have a role on the wheel? What if, 'Hilde, you could your stars as well? Would it not be worth it?"
Asgardians. Astryd might miss her Sisters but she doesn't miss that.
"Odin has been afraid for a long long time." Fenris says after letting Hilde's last words hang for a little bit. "That one eye he lost gained him more than he lost in some ways, but cost him more dearly than it was worth in others. Now he sees the weave of fate, he weights consequences. And it paralyzes him. He looked down upon his grandson and could not bring himself to bear the consequences of standing with his family."
To say nothing of his exiled servant. She hates him. Fenris does not blame her for that. But hatred is a powerful driving force. The Old Wolf has seen many a tragedy play out just as it was written… because of hatred.
He does not say that here though. "Have you not seen it, Sif? Deep in the halls of Asgard. The indecision. The agonizing over how to best interact with the others. Is it only mercy that drives Odin to refrain from war upon the Jotun? Or does he fear an uncontrolled cascade of events leading to the one thing he desperately wishes to avoid, but which he sees rushing toward him regardless?"
Fenris nods in Astryd's direction. "She saw it once. And he cast her out for it. Perhaps it is because he IS afraid." Or perhaps there is more to Odin One-Eye's sight than Fenris gives him credit for. For all the Old Wolf is aware of his blind spots… they ARE still blinde spots.
Finding this discussion to be increasingly disturbing, Sif claims a glass of the ale Midgard most commonly pours and takes a few swallows. It's far too weak to have any effect on her, but the flavor it at least reminiscent of something that would. If the Allfather knew how many doubts their words were seeding in her mind, he would likely summon her back to Asgard and never let her leave again.
"I have heard many things which require thought and reflection." It's really the closest she feels she can safely get to saying their stories are resonating with her.
Brunnhilde huffs, then drains her glass, before slamming it down…a bit harder than she meant to, as the glass cracks this time, the soft tinkle of glass almost unheard in the noise of the pub beyond the table. She gets an annoyed expression briefly, before she looks at Astryd. Then Fenris. Then her eyes fall on Sif, as if she almost forgot who she was telling this to. There's a faint flicker of…something, in her eyes, before she looks away from her old rival. Perhaps afraid to see what might be in Sif's eyes now.
"For me to change my starts? Defy fate?" the ex-valkyrie says, her eyes shuttering slightly. "…you really believe that's possible, for someone like you, or me, or her…or even him…" she says, thumbing at Fenris. "To defy someone greater than the gods? How could you possibly believe that would work?"
Sif murmurs softly into her drink, "I have heard one of Midgard's mistrels speak of free will. It seems a very important to them. Perhaps that is why we have all found ourselves here in this time and place?"
"Odin wouldn't hear me when I said Fenris was no Monster. He thought I'd been tainted by the Beast." It's not scorn in Astryds voice but sorrow. Sorrow for a God, a man really, who was too afraid to try. "I'm sorry Sister, his actions have caused you so much pain."
Astryd knows how lucky she has been.
"But yes, we do. Over the last thousand years or so, both us have made small changes. A nudge here, a bump there. Anything to stop the God-Wolf from devouring the sun and killing Odin and for us Valkyries in turn to kill him. I … couldn't do it again."
There it is, they've already had some effect. Astryd being here, estranged from Odin, is proof of that.
"Free will. We might not ever achieve that, Lady Sif. But I believe we've made enough changes to bring us here, at this time. Yes."
"Odin taught me one thing, even if he taught it to me by accident." Fenris says, tapping his nose. "There is no trap so clever that there is no way out. All bounds can be slipped. It's simply a question of finding the way. Astryd and I have found ways of nudging simple tales off course over the years. So, do I think that Those Who Sit Above In Shadow can be defied?"
The Great Wolf nods. "I do." If indeed they exist. But Fenris seems convinced.
"Perhaps it is why we are all here today. But even if not, we are. And it is possible that these mortals have something to teach us about the traps we find ourselves caught up in. There is a wisdom they have, I have found."
Fenris smiles at Astryd. "It's one of the reason's we've stayed."
Brunnhilde grunts at that, eyeing the pair. "I've lived among mortals for centuries. For all they wish they were not bound by fate, that they were special, it seems too many find otherwise." Cynical, but perhaps she has some reason to feel so. "…so you want to learn from mortals how to break your fate, is that it?" She lets out a mirthless chuckle at that, then inhales and lets it out, tapping her fingers on the table as she considers.
"…true it's strange enough we're all sitting at the same table." she allows after a moment. "And I've nothing that demands my constant attention now." She snorts, picking up another full glass. "To Hel with it. If you can show me that fate can be changed, then I'll climb that mountain too."
With that, she drains down the glass in a series of deep swallows, before she sets it (more delicately) down again, before rising to her feet, then rummaging in a pocket, pulling out a plain, rumpled card with a phone number on it. "You can call me here." she says simply. "I need some air." Curt, but more a factor of the emotions dredged up by telling that tale…and she hasn't even explained how she came to have her valkyrie powers back, or where she found the magical blade she carries.
But for now, it's as far as she can bring herself to go…she needs air. To get outside, to breath the open mess that passess for air in the city. Until she has all those emotions, that anger and frustration and betrayed jammed firmly back down in its box, where they can't overwhelm her again.
As Brunnehilde leaves, Astryd watches and sighs. "That ones story is not a happy one." They have her number though and hospitality has been extended.
"Well, my heart, I suggest that we be going. The lamb will be ready soon and we've a good days work behind us. Lady Sif, do feel free join us at our table." The blonde stands and looks to the door. "Just a few groceries, Fenris, and we can go home."
So very, very, domesticated.
Sif watches Brunnhilde take her leave and can't help but think she needs to do the same. "I should be on my way as well." She pulls one of the slips of paper that pass for currency on Midgard from a pocket and sets it on the table to pay for her portion of the beverages and stands as well.
She's completely unaware of the fact that the slips of paper come in different demonimations, and that is very likely why the local taxis are always so willing to help her out when she's gotten herself lost in Manhattan or one of the outlying boroughs.
She carries only $100 bills.
Fenris will probably say something about that. At some point. For now he just finds it amusing as he rises. "It is not, Astryd. But not all stories end well."
He turns to leave with the fallen Valkyr and nods to Sif as they part ways. "Be safe Sif and above all other things… be watchful."
And then they are gone, out the door and onto the street, the Chooser and the Destroyer.