Doing a Jotun

Sagnar appeared at Dreufey's desk right before her lunch break, as promised.

"Don't stay out too long," Sunniva said as Dreufey prepared to leave. "But I'll forgive you if you're a few minutes late as it's your first date and all."
"Our first date?" Sagnar asked. "You reckon it is?"
"Well, isn't it?"

Sagnar didn't answer, nor did Dreufey. "Don't you worry about us," she said. "We'll be back in time for you to have your lunch break."

Dreufey took Sagnar's arm, and the two left the building. They strolled along the wide busy road away from the river. The air was fresh and fragrant from flowers on the trees lining the road, and the sun was not too hot.

Sagnar had a pleasant air about him, and he had no trouble coming up with small talk on their way to Sindri's market.

"I have a hard time getting used to the sunlight on this planet," he said at one point, which nearly made Dreufey spill her beans. She wanted to agree with him but realized in time that it would blow her cover.
"What do you mean?" she asked with feigned ignorance.
"I'm used to a sun with bright white light. That's how things are at planet Utgard where I grew up. It's also like that on Earth and other planets where I've been. The only get the light you got here on Nidavellir during twilight hours."
"You've travelled the universe? That must be wonderful. My only journey so far has been from Lavoy to this place."
"You haven't missed much to be honest. Most planets have everything one could wish for in terms of variety, and there are people everywhere. We may look different, but we're all more or less the same. If it wasn't for your cat eyes, you would fit right in on Utgard, or Earth for that matter. Heck, you could be mistaken for an Aesir goddess or a Vanir."
"But my skin colour would give away my Dark Elf heritage, wouldn't it?"
"Not really. People everywhere come in colours ranging from pale like me to dark like you. It doesn't make for much of a difference, considering all the other things we have in common."

It was easy to talk to Sagnar. He had an opinion on all things, and he was well travelled with a good grasp on reality. Their conversations shifted from one topic to another. Effortlessly like the flow of a gentle stream. Once they entered Sindri's black market, their conversation changed once again.

"Boy! This place looks so much like Munich on Earth. It's uncanny," Sagnar said with evident delight. "And look at all the people with round pupils. Why are there so many of them all of a sudden?"

His question caught Dreufey off guard. She had no idea why some Dark Elves had round pupils, and Sagnar's mention of Munich made her all the more nervous. Dreufey was hit by a rush of adrenaline as she tried to come up with a plausible answer. But failing that, she had to admit that she was clueless.

However, Sagnar was himself so distracted by the quaintness of the street they were in that he didn't find it strange that Dreufey had no answer for him. She was from out of town after all, and couldn't be expected to know everything about Ivaldi's city.

"Look at that," he said on approaching an old style café. "That looks so much like the Golden Swan, my favourite café in Munich. Let's go there and see if they serve the same food as well."

Sagnar headed straight for the door without asking Dreufey her opinion. "After you my dear," he said while holding the door open in the manner of a German gentleman.

The interior of the place was as much in the style of the Golden Swan as its exterior. For this, Dreufey was as delighted as Sagnar, because the Golden Swan had been her favourite café as well. But it worried her that Sagnar seemed to have been in Munich at the same time as she had been there with Adolf. Could it be that she and Sagnar had crossed paths in their previous lives, and if so, would he at some point recognize her?

However, Dreufey had no time to ponder this possibility. A waitress with unusually pale skin, long black hair and round grey pupils appeared. Sagnar requested a table for two, and they were seated at a small table by a tall window.

"I absolutely love this place," Sagnar told Dreufey as they were handed the menu. "I'm sure glad you told me about this market. It's amazing! A mini version of Munich right here in Ivaldi's city."
"I thought you might like it," Dreufey replied. "But tell me about Munich, that's a city on Earth, right?"
"Yes, I lived there a few years. Loki wanted me to look into some stuff. It turned out to be quite tricky so I ended up living there a few years. I absolutely loved the town, though, so it wasn't exactly a sacrifice on my part."
"But you succeeded in your mission?"
"I did, as I always do."

Dreufey didn't want to come across as nosy, so she studied the menu and decided on what to order before digging a little deeper into Sagnar's past.

"So you're fresh out of Munich, and now you're here in a place that reminds you of that town."
"Like I said, every place that's inhabited by people is pretty much like every other place, so I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm sitting in a restaurant reminiscent of my favourite café in Munich. But it's weird. I last visited the Golden Swan a few weeks ago. I didn't expect to find a similar place so soon, and certainly not here in the centre of Ivaldi's city."

The waitress with grey eyes came over to their table to take their orders. Dreufey ordered fried trout, and Sagnar ordered a pork schnitzel. Then, before the waitress had time to return to the kitchen, Sagnar asked her about her appearance.

"How come you look so different from other Dark Elves?" Sagnar asked.

The waitress looked at Sagnar with her grey eyes. "Do you think I look like a Jotun?" she asked.
"I do. But you're not a Jotun, are you?"
"No, I'm from around here, but I dig the Jotuns. Are you a Jotun by any chance?"
"Yes, I am."
"Oh my God. That's cool."
"But, tell me... What have you done to change your appearance?"
"It's easy. I got a body shampoo to make my skin paler, and I got these contact lenses. You can buy them in most cosmetics stores."
"Really? How interesting."

Sagnar signalled that he was satisfied with the conversation, but the waitress was eager to ask him one more question.

"Can you guess who I am?" she asked. "I mean, who I'm trying to look like."

Sagnar looked at the waitress. "You look like Hel," he said with a smile.
"You really think so?"
"I do. You're not quite as pale as her, but apart from that, you're pretty much spot on. Tall, elegant and with that long dark hair. Only thing that's missing is her black robe and her cape with fur trimmings."
"She's my favourite. She really is."
"And it shows. I'll let her know next time I talk to her."
"You know her? Like personally?"
"Nobody knows Hel personally. She's much too aloof for that. But yes, I do talk to her every now and again."

The waitress was besides herself with excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said. Then she returned to the kitchen with Dreufey and Sagnar's orders.

When the waitress came back a little later with the plates that they had ordered, she had regained her composure. She was aware that she had acted overly eager and was keen to rectifying the impression that she had made on her two out of town customers.

"You know," she said, looking at Dreufey. "I think you should do a Jotun yourself."
"I beg your pardon," Dreufey replied.

Realizing that she had just said something that could easily be misinterpreted, the waitress started blushing.

"I mean... you should try the cosmetics I'm using. I'm sure your friend here will appreciate it if you do. Isn't that so?" The waitress looked over at Sagnar.
"Is that what you call it?" Sagnar asked. "Doing a Jotun."
"Yes. It's slang. I'm sorry if it sounded weird to you guys."
"No problem. I quite enjoy the idea of pretty girls like yourself decide doing a Jotun."

The waitress blushed again. "Eh... yes!" she said. "You like it, don't you?"
"I sure do," Sagnar replied with a satisfied smile.

The waitress decided to leave Sagnar and Dreufey to themselves. Her efforts to come across as composed had failed her, and she was in no mood to further embarrass herself.

Sagnar turned to Dreufey. "Would you do a Jotun for me?" he asked.
"That depends on what you mean by that."
"I think you'd look great as a blond girl with blue eyes."
"I'm not sure," Dreufey replied. "Wouldn't it be indiscrete of me to play identity games as a receptionist for Ivaldi & Sons?"
"We're Ivaldi's biggest client at the moment. I don't see how a show of appreciation for us Jotuns could be seen as bad in light of that."
"You wouldn't be offended by it? Me pretending to be a Jotun. Stealing your identity as it were."
"No, not at all. We would see it as moral support. We want as many allies as possible."
"I guess you got a point. I'll talk it over with Sunniva. If she thinks it's all right, I'll do it. But don't get any ideas. I'm just curious to see what I might look like as a blond Jotun."

The food at the café was great, and the two decided to top it off with desert and coffee before heading back to the office.

"I'm sure we'll get back there in time for Sunniva to have her break," Sagnar said. "How about an apple crumble with whipped cream and custard?"
"Sounds sloppy but delicious."
"Exactly. Just the sort of thing to finish our first date."
"First date?"
"Those are Sunniva's words, not mine," Sagnar replied. Then he waved their Jotun lookalike waitress over to their table.

The desert was as reminiscent of Munich as their main course had been, and Sagnar was once again full of praise for that city.

Hearing Sagnar describe the city, it was clear that he had no idea that Dreufey had lived there until recently herself. He wasn't suspecting anything. His insistence on Dreufey doing a Jotun for him wasn't a trick to make her reveal her identity. It was a genuine desire to see Dreufey as a blond blue-eyed girl.

Sagnar got so lively at one point that he spilled cream on his tie, which he promptly removed with a paper napkin. But a small wet stain remained, and Dreufey took the opportunity to use her scented handkerchief to rub the stain out of his tie.

"That's better," she said, seeing that the stain had been removed completely.
"I like the perfume you're using," Sagnar commented.

Dreufey couldn't help smiling.

"Thank you. It's my favourite," she said.
"And it will be my favourite too, now that I'm stuck with the scent of it under my nose."
"You can always take off your tie if it gets too bothersome."
"That's true. But the scent is subtle. I'm not exactly knocked out by it."
"So, you'll leave your tie on for now."
"Why not? It's a fine perfume. Delicate and refined. A perfect thing to keep me company."

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