Downtime 7: XUB 2 - From the Cold North

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

Valdis sat at the bar, drinking drinking some beer and partaking of the perennial British custom known as fish & chips.

[Wanda Johansen]

Wanda stepped up to the bar, gesturing to Mac, "Beer, please."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"Hello," Valdis said, simply, to the new patron sitting near her.

[Wanda Johansen]

"Hello," said Wanda, looking back at the person who had greeted her. "How is the food," she asked, sipping at her beer.

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"It's tasty, but also kind of heavy. They seem to be fond of frying things."

[Wanda Johansen]

"I had noticed that," Wanda said, "or boiling. Boiling seems to be popular."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

Val nodded in agreement as she took another bite. "I like boiled fish, it reminds me of home.

Then she seemed to remember her manners. "I'm Val."

[Wanda Johansen]

"Wanda. Where are you from?"

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"Iceland! Best place on earth. How about you?"

[Wanda Johansen]

"Sweden. The place Iceland wants to be," Wanda said with a grin.

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"Oh, please. You wish you had our clean energy," Val fired back, though very good-naturedly. She then raised he glass of beer. "To neighbors across the sea."

[Wanda Johansen]

"To neighbors," Wanda said, raising her beer as well. "So how are you adjusting to this place? Or have you already adjusted?"

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

She smirked at that notion. "No, but I haven't been here all that long, either. I'm just waiting for summer classes to begin. How about you?"

[Wanda Johansen]

"The same. Waiting for summer classes and trying to figure out what to do in the fall."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"I hope you're having better luck than I am with that. Any majors that you're looking at in particular?"

[Wanda Johansen]

"Not at the moment. I think I'll have a better idea when I get through a couple of general courses. At least, I hope I will."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

She nodded. "Nice to know someone else in the same boat. I'm mostly here for the X-teams anyway."

[Wanda Johansen]

"I have a feeling that's where I'll end up, but we'll see where life goes." She downed the rest of her beer.

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

She nodded, taking a drink of her beer. "So what is it that you do?"

[Wanda Johansen]

"Incredibly strong, take hits really well, that's about it."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"And tall. But then again, you are Swedish," she said, with a good-natured smile.

[Wanda Johansen]

"My grandmother used to joke that we were descended from the Jotun. My family has been taller than average. She quit joking after I hit my growth spurt."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"I don't see how that would be anything to joke about in the first place. The jotun, I mean."

[Wanda Johansen]

"You'd have to know my grandmother," Wanda said with a shrug.

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"Does she actually believe now?," she asked, apparently expecting Wanda to know what she meant by the question.

[Wanda Johansen]

"I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at," Wanda said, sipping at her beer.

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"In the Jotun, I mean."

[Wanda Johansen]

"I don't know. I never asked her."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"Ahh, okay. Just wondering. True believers in the old ways are rare."

[Wanda Johansen]

"It's not something I've ever talked to her about. I mean, she told stories, but I'm not sure if she was a 'true believer' as you say."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

She nodded solemnly, taking another sip of her drink. "So, I can already tell that I'm going to miss skiing while I'm here. What have you found to do to have fun? Besides drinking."

[Wanda Johansen]

"Nothing much yet. I read a lot, but that's something I've always done."

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"A girl lives on more than reading and drinking, though," she said with a grin.

[Wanda Johansen]

"Well, I eat a lot too, if that's what you're asking," Wanda said, puzzled.

[Valdis Hallsdottir]

"I'm talking about you like doing, not what you have to do to survive. Eating can be both, though," she admitted.

[Wanda Johansen]

"I used to do a little hiking, but I may have to convert it to urban walks here."