Fierrochase

Magnus Chase and Alex Fierro Hammer of Thor (49-51) “‘Where’s the cheetah?’ T.J. asked. “As if on cue, a raven dive-bombed us. It dropped a burlap bag at my feet then landed nearby, flapping its wings and croaking angrily. The burlap bag moved. A long skinny animal squirmed out of it - a brown and white weasel. “The weasel hissed. The raven cawed. I didn’t speak raven, but I was pretty sure it was telling the weasel, Behave yourself or I will peck your weasel eyes out. “T.J. pointed his rifle at the animal. ‘You know, with the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts was marching towards Darien, Georgia, we used to shoot weasels and cook them in soup. Tasty stuff. You guys think I should get out my old recipe?’ “The weasel transformed. I’d heard so much about this new recruit being a monster that I half expected him to turn into a living corpse like the goddess Hel, or a miniature version of the sea serpent Jormungand. Instead, the animal grew into a regular human teen, long and lanky, with a swirl of dyed green hair, black at the roots, like a plug of weeds pulled out of a lawn. “The weasel’s brown-and-white fur changed into green and pink clothes: battered rose high-tops, skinny lime green corduroy pants, a pink-and-green argyle sweater-vest over a white tee, and another pink cashmere sweater wrapped around the waist like a kilt. The outfit reminded me of a jester’s motley, or the coloration of a venomous animal warning the world: Try me and you die. “The newcomer looked up, and I forgot how to breathe. It was Loki’s face, except younger - the same wry smile and sharp features, the same unearthly beauty, but without the scarred lips or the acid burns across the nose. And those eyes - one dark brown, the other pale amber. I’d forgotten the term for that, having different colored irises. My mom would’ve called it David Bowie eyes. I called it unnerving. “The weirdest thing of all? I was pretty sure I had seen this kid before. “Yeah, I know. You’re thinking a kid like that would stand out. How could I not remember exactly where we’d crossed paths? But when you live on the streets, wild-looking people are normal. Only normal people stand out as strange. “The kid flashed a perfect white smile at T.J., thought there was no warmth in his eyes. ‘Point that rifle somewhere else, or I will wrap it around your neck like a bow tie.’ “Something told me this was not an idle threat. The kid might actually know how to tie a bow tie, which was kinda scary arcane knowledge. “T.J. laughed. He also lowered his rifle. ‘We didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves earlier, when you were trying to kill us. I’m Thomas Jefferson Jr. This is Mallory Keen, Halfborn Gunderson, and Magnus Chase.’ “The newcomer just stared at us. Finally the raven made an irritated squawk. “‘Yeah, yeah,’ the kid told the bird. ‘Like I said, I’m calmer now. You didn’t mess me up, so it’s all cool.’ “Screeeak! “The kid sighed. ‘Fine, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Alex Fierro. Pleased to meet you all, I guess. Mr. Raven, you can go now. I promise not to kill them unless I have to.’ “The raven ruffled his feathers. He gave me the stink eye, like, It’s your problem now, buddy. Then he flew away. “Halfborn grinned. ‘Well, that’s settled! Now that you’ve promised not to kill us, let’s start killing people!’ “Mallory crossed her arms. ‘He doesn’t even have a weapon.’ “‘She,’ Alex corrected. “‘What?’ Mallory asked. “‘Call me SHE - unless and until I tell you otherwise.’ “‘But-‘ “She it is!” T.J. interceded. ‘I mean, she SHE is.’ He rubbed his neck as if still worrying about a rifle bow tie. ‘Let’s get to battle!' “Alex rose to her feet. “I’ll admit I was staring. Suddenly my whole perspective had flipped inside out, like when you look at an inkblot picture and see just the black part. Then your brain inverts the image and you realize the white part makes an entirely different picture, even though nothing as changed. That was Alex Fierro, except in pink and green. A second ago, he had very obviously been a boy to me. Now she was very obviously a girl. “‘What?’ She demanded. “‘Nothing,’ I lied." Hammer of Thor (80) “I watched Alex eat her dinner, gingerly picking pieces of carrot and potato from her plate. It was hard to believe that a few hours ago those same delicate fingers had taken down a dragon - and cut off my head - with a wire. “Halfborn leaned toward me. ‘There’s no shame in being attracted, Magnus.’ “I choked on a piece of feast meat. ‘What? No, I wasn’t-‘ “‘Staring?’ Halfborn grinned." Ship of The Dead (188-189) “As Mokkerkalfe stomped around, trying to dislodge the talking sword from his hand, I ran to Alex’s side. She was spread-eagled, shellacked in clay from head to foot, groaning and twitching her fingers. “I knew Alex didn’t like my healing powers. She hated the idea of me peaking into her emotions and memories, which just happened automatically as part of the process. But I decided her survival outweighed her right to privacy. “I clamped my hand on her shoulder. Golden light seeped through my fingers. Warmth poured into Alex’s body, working its way from her shoulder into her core. “I steeled myself for more painful images. I was ready to face her awful father again, or see how badly Alex had been bullied at school, or how she’d been beaten up in the homeless shelters. “Instead, a single clear memory hit me: nothing special, just breakfast at Café 19 in Valhalla, a quick snapshot of me, stupid Magnus Chase, the way Alex saw me. I was sitting across the table from her, grinning at something she’d just said. A little glob of bread was stuck between my front teeth. My hair was messy. I looked relaxed and happy and utterly dorky. I held Alex’s gaze for a second too long and things got awkward. I blushed and looked away. “That was her entire memory. “I recalled that morning. I remembered thinking: Well, I’ve made an idiot of myself, as usual. But it had hardly been an earthshaking event. “So why was it at the top of Alex’s memories? And why did I feel such a rush of satisfaction seeing my dorky self from Alex’s perspective? “Alex opened her eyes abruptly. She swatted my hand off her shoulder. ‘Stop that.’ “‘Sorry, I-‘ “‘My right, your left!’ “I dove one way. Alex rolled the other." Ship of The Dead (322-323) “‘Keep going!’ Blitz yelled back to us hoarsely. ‘I am NOT dying in this outfit!’ “We obliged, marching step by step toward the narrow gravel beach, where at least we could die on solid ground. “Blitz and Hearth were almost to shore when Alex stopped abruptly. “I didn’t have any energy left either, but I thought I should try to sound encouraging. ‘We - we have to k-keep going.’ I looked over. We were nose-to-nose under the blankets. Her eyes glinted, amber and brown. Her scarf had dipped below her chin. Her breath was like limes. “Then, before I even knew what was happening, she kissed me. She could have bitten off my mouth and I would have been less surprised. Her lips were cracked and rough from the cold. Her nose fit perfectly next to mine. Our faces aligned, our breath mixed. Then she pulled away. “‘I wasn’t going to die without doing that,’ she said. “The world of primordial ice must not have frozen me completely, because my chest burned like a coal furnace. “‘WELL?’ She frowned. ‘Stop gaping and let’s move.’ “We trudged towards the shore. My mind wasn’t working properly. I wondered if Alex had kissed me just to inspire me to keep going, or to distract me from our imminent deaths. It didn’t seem possible she’d actually WANTED to kiss me. Whatever the case, that kiss was the only reason I made it to shore." Ship of The Dead (373-374) “‘Alex is our secret weapon!’ I said. ‘The Terror of Jorvik! The creator of Pottery Barn, ceramic warrior!’ “‘I got some lovely place mats at Pottery Barn,’ one of the giants muttered to a friend. “‘At the House of Chase, he decapitated a wolf with nothing more than a wire, then drank guava juice from the horn of my ancestors!’ “‘He?’ Asked a giant. “‘Just go with it,’ said another. “‘She once decapitated Grimwolf the elder lindworm!’ I continued. ‘She defeated the sorcery of Utgard-Loki in a bowling tournament of horrors! She won the trust and affection of the goddess Sif! She kept me alive across the frozen sea of Niflheim, and when she kissed me under that blanket yesterday...’ I met Alex’s two colored eyes. ‘Well, that was just about the best thing that ever happened to me.’ I turned toward Loki. My face was burning. I’d spoken maybe just a wee bit more truth than I’d intended, but I couldn’t let that break my momentum." Ship of The Dead (404-406) “I’d just pulled off my sticky chocolate-soaked shirt when a voice behind me said, ‘You might want to close the door before you start changing.’ “I turned. “Alex leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chain mail sweater vest, his pink glasses low on his nose. “He shook his head in disbelief. ‘Did you lose a mud-wrestling contest?’ “‘Uh.’ I looked down. ‘It’s chocolate.’ “‘Okay. I’m not going to ask.’ “‘How was Eid?’ “Alex shrugged. ‘Fine, I guess. A lot of happy people partying. Lots of food and music. Relatives hugging each other. Not really my scene.’ “‘Right.’ “‘I left Sam and Amir in good company with their whole families. The looked... Happy doesn’t cover it. Delighted? Ecstatic?’ “‘Head over heels?’ I suggested. ‘Over the moon?’ “Alex met my eyes. ‘Yeah, that works.’ “Drip. Drip. Chocolate dribbled from my fingertips in a completely suave and attractive way. “‘So, anyway,’ Alex said. ‘Was thinking about your proposal.’ “My throat constricted. I wondered if I had chocolate allergy I didn’t know about, and I was dying in a new and interesting manner. “‘My what?’ I squeaked. “‘About the mansion,’ he clarified. ‘What did you THINK I meant?' “‘No, of course. The proposal about the mansion. Absolutely.’ “I guess I’m in,’ he said, ‘When do we start?’ “‘Uh, great! Tomorrow we can do the initial walk-through. I’ll get the keys. Then we wait for the lawyers to do their thing. Maybe a couple weeks?’ “‘Perfect. Now go take a shower. You’re disgusting. I’ll see you at breakfast.’ “‘Okay.’ “He turned to leave, then hesitated. ‘One more thing.’ “He walked up to me. ‘I’ve also been thinking about your declaration of undying love or whatever.’ “‘I didn’t - I wasn’t-‘ “He clamped his hands on the side of my gooey face and kissed me. “I had to wonder: Was it possible to dissolve into chocolate on a molecular level and melt into a puddle on the carpet? Because that’s how I felt. I’m pretty sure Valhalla had to resurrect me several times during the course of that kiss. Otherwise, I don’t know how I was still in one piece when Alex finally pulled away. “He studied me critically, his brown and amber eyes taking me in. He had a chocolate mustache now, and chocolate down the front of his sweater vest. "I’ll be honest. A small part of my brain went, Alex is male right now, I have just been kissed by a dude. How do I feel about that? “The rest of my brain answered: I have just been kissed by Alex Fierro. I am absolutely great with that. “In fact, I might have said something typically embarrassing and stupid, like making the aforementioned declaration of undying love, but Alex spared me. “‘Eh.’ He shrugged, ‘I’ll keep thinking about it, in the meantime, definitely take that shower.’ “He left, whistling a turn that might have been a Frank Sinatra song from the elevator, Fly Me to The Moon. “I’m great at following orders. I went to take a shower.”