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Thor was uncertain, exactly, why his manner of dress seemed to be attracting positive attention of late instead of the usual confusion he was used to experiencing from those not of Asgard. He had long learned that the people of Midgard did not dress in his style and while those comrades-at-arms he knew as the Avengers did not care, the average person had a reaction ranging from laughter to hostility.

But that seemed to have changed. He had spent the morning in New York, enjoying what was certain to be only the start of a slide into autumn and when it began to rain, he had decided to come back to the hotel, yanking open a door that seemed to go into an abandoned building and ending up in the Nexus once more. While in New York, his attire seemed to be amusing to most and while a few told him that "Halloween is in a couple weeks, you're early," or something of that nature, most seemed agreeable.

Thor wasn't sure what Halloween was, exactly, so he hadn't thought much of it until he got a similar comment from the bartender in the hotel. They didn't normally speak much to him other than to say hello and ask what he wanted and he thought the comment strange, especially given New York, so he wondered if anyone could explain it to him. While he was far from shy, he did have some measure of pride and overcoming that pride to ask what seemed a simple question was often a battle within himself. In the end, his desire to know overwhelmed his desire to not look like a fool.

He sought out the library, then, and started looking among the books to see if there was a clue about this Halloween. He assumed it was a festival or holiday of some sort, based on the way it had been used, and he had pulled out a large tome that professed to be a compendium of known holidays around the world. While he wasn't stupid, his talents lay more in the physical and less in the mental and he wished that Jane could just explain it to him instead of him trying to find it in a book. It would take less time and probably be more enjoyable in the end; while he did not always know what she said, he always enjoyed listening to her say it.

He put the book down and put his face in his hands, trying to soothe his wearied eyes.

"If anyone can explain Halloween, I will buy you a round of any drink you desire."

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"I want to know why people seem to associate my dress with this celebration," Thor said, slightly less friendly than usual out of sheer confusion. He was unsure why the opinion of the public had seemingly swung in the opposite direction from normal.

"Why is that?"

"Just a guess, but it might have something to do with the cape. Outside of Hallowe'en and conventions that cater to role players, we just don't get a lot of capes these days," Nick said, smiling a little. "You might find one or two sporting them, but chances are, they get the same questions."

"But they dress like me for this holiday?"

It seemed a strange way to celebrate a holiday but Thor would not question it too closely, not when he got looks of admiration instead of the usual strange stares he garnered when walking around New York. "Asgard dress does not seem to align with that of Midgard."

"Whoa now, don't go getting all full of yourself there," Nick countered with a laugh. "I said capes. I've only ever seen a few that I'd call a complete mimic of what you're wearing. For the most part, it's just taking on a persona other than their own and lets be honest, what you're wearing is pretty bad ass."

His mind was still wheeling around a little, trying to sift through memories. From Wulf, and from the guy that practically decayed in front of his eyes. "You're going to have to help me with Midgard and Asgard, though. I mean, I've heard of them but I'm more familiar with the Greeks than the Norse."

"We were once called gods on Midgard but few think of us as such any longer," Thor explained.

"I am Thor, son of Odin and rightful heir of Asgard."

"For the most part, humans like to think they're in charge and gods and goddesses don't fit into that mindset very well," Nick nodded in agreement. "For the record, I'm not one of them and my best friend is a Greek goddess." He smiled, just thinking about Artemis.

"It's my honor, Thor," he said with an extended a hand, no surprise on his face over the name. He'd put that much together already. "I'm Nick Gautier and I know someone who would maim, if not kill, to be standing where I am now."

"Nick, son of Ga...how do you say it, again?" It was a tongue that he was unfamiliar with in his admittedly-limited experience with names on Midgard and he wasn't sure he was equipped to pronounce it correctly.

The idea that someone else had experience with gods and goddesses was comforting, though Thor did not recognize the idea of a Greek one over what he considered himself and the rest of the Asgardians to be.

"How about we keep it at just 'Nick' and leave my father out of it?" Nick's back went rigid and he felt the surge of anger through his body, silvering his eyes. "Gautier," he said, slowing the pronunciation between the syllables so the pronunciation, go-shay, was clearer, "is my mother's name. The demon that sired me is long dead and rotting in a hell realm somewhere."

"Apologies. In Asgard, a surname denotes a father and not a mother," Thor explained. Then again, Loki had used Odinson in spite of his parentage.

"I meant no offense."

"No offense taken," Nick said, getting himself under control. "It does here too for the most part, but my situation is a little different than most and I carry my mother's surname. If I ever give in to the fate I was born to, I will use my father's surname, Malachai."

Where he normally wouldn't even utter the name, he did now to see if the ancient high demon was recognizable to the god.

"To honor one's mother is noble in and of itself," Thor said, thinking of his own for a moment.

"It takes a fine woman to bring up a strong son. I have nothing but respect for mothers."

"She was that and more," Nick agreed. It was strange. Before the island, just mentioning his mother would have him feel the thirst for vengeance hit him like a wave. Now, it had the opposite effect. It calmed him to the point his eyes reverted slowly back to blue.

Settled, he quirked a grin at the god. "Speaking of, I should probably tell you that some humans find it endlessly amusing to toss jokes around veiled as insults about another's mother. You'll save yourself a lot of grief if you don't take them personally."

"They would be wise not to," Thor said, grip tightening on mjolnir. "I brook no such insolence when it comes to my mother."

Insulting someone's mother as a jest seemed like something Stark would do and not in the best taste.

"I'm not saying I'm going to do it, just giving you a little heads up that it could happen. Back when I was young, and a hell of a lot scrawnier than I am now, I ended up on the wrong end of a fist or two because of them."

Nick was openly grinning now.

"I have found I am bigger than most humans," Thor said, shrugging a bit. He was not concerned about his ability to be able to hold his own in a fight - unless the person was deceptively miniscule and harboring great strength in an unlikely form.

"Is your mother here in the Nexus, then?"

"No, my mother's in heaven. She died a long time ago," Nick said, and he felt the smile stiffen, if not leave him altogether. He'd been able to find acceptance of that, to hear what Mennie had tried to tell him. "Doesn't mean I don't still defend her."

He let his eyes travel over Thor once, head to foot. "You're right about one thing. You'd be intimidating as hell to most humans I know just on size alone, without the air of badassery around you."

"Air of badassery? What does that mean?"

It seemed like a compliment and Thor grinned a little, pleased with that. He liked Nick, so much as someone could make a value judgment so quickly, and anyone who respected their mother as much as Thor respected his was someone he was inclined to like.

Nick thought about it, trying to phrase his words.

"Ever walk into a group of people and know that even the ones that are thinking about causing trouble suddenly decide they might want to wait until after you're gone?"

Thor smirked a bit. "Ah, yes, I think I follow now. I never thought to apply that to myself, though, but there are others I think of when I think of a man like that. I assure you, I have little to fight for in the Nexus. My brother seems to be behaving himself so I have nobody to exert that particular pressure upon."

"Like recognizes like, and I can sense it in you," Nick said by way of explanation, "but I am interested to know who comes to a god's mind when he thinks of badasses."

He looked around the area surrounding them and shrugged. "Yeah, for now maybe. But If I can come her as I normally am, there's no telling what kind of crazy this place will let in. Can't say I've met your brother, but I did meet someone certifiably insane."

"Loki is possessed of his sanity. We just don't see eye to eye on anything." Thor said. They seemed to be on better terms of late, though, and he preferred that over the alternative.

"Such is the nature of siblings, like it or not."

"Don't have any of my own, siblings, I mean, but I've seen enough of them in action to know that the phrase 'blessing and curse' was probably coined because of them," Nick added with a grin. "God or mortal, it's like no one can ever have an easy relationship even though sharing the same parents."

"It proves difficult at times," Thor agreed. "I have never been the intellectual sort and prefer to sort my differences out with a punch to the head. It does not seem to be a common negotiation tactic among humans, though, and more's the pity. Sometime a release of aggression is the best thing for both parties."

"I sense a beautiful friendship forming," Nick said, blue eyes alight from his smile. "I was studying to be a lawyer before my life unravelled to make me what I am now and I could already sense there were going to be times I would be yearning to just punch something."

"We could spar, though I do not know how matched we are in strength. It could be a good fight, though, and I'm spoiling for one."

It had been far too long since his last entanglement in New York with Loki.