Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction ❯ Rind, the Ring, and I ❯ Don't Fight the moonlight ( Chapter 4 )

Rind reappeared in Rice's small studio apartment in the small village of Buchanan, New York. She didn't have any belongings per se, being a goddess allowed her to conjure up whatever items she required. Never visiting America before, it intrigued her to find out how these people lived. Rice's abode seemed Spartan; he slept on a futon which doubled as a sofa, coupled with a wooden adjustable support. She walked around the apartment examining a small nineteen inch televison, DVD/VHS player, bookcase filled with various works of non-fiction and fiction, and a small kitchen table with two mismatched chairs.

Rind noted a photo stuck to the refrigerator via magnet of Daniel and a dark skinned man posing with their arms around each other's shoulders. Several unwashed dishes sat in the sink, a telltale sign of his busy schedule. She didn't want to intrude further out of respect for his privacy; therefore she resorted to reading an editon of the local paper to pass the time.

Daniel turned in his keys and radio to his relief then walked out into the nearly empty mall parking lot to his beat up Dodge Neon. Once again he had completed an exhausting sixteen hour tour of duty and thanked his lucky stars that he was off the next day. The drive home would take about a half hour, and sometimes he was so spent that he would pull off the road and take a nap for as long as it took. As he turned the key in the ignition, his eyes glanced at the dashboard digital clock which read: 23:05. As if on cue, Rind materialized out of the windshield and onto his front seat. She shifted so she fit in the passenger side and buckled the safety belt. He noticed that instead of her white and blue battledress, she now wore a sweater and jeans.

"Are you going to teach me that travel method?" he asked. "It would sure save on gas."

"Your license will be restricted to Earth so teleportation will not be included. I wouldn't rule out supersonic flight," she replied.

"I can't teleport here to England if needed? I'm not talking about going to Alpha Centauri." He hated how long it took to warm up his car. It was below freezing outside.

"Where?"

"Forget it," he smiled. "Really, what powers are you going to give me?"

"I'll determine that after initial testing," the blue haired goddess responded.

"Okay, but not tonight. I'm so bushed, I plan on sleeping in till noon tomorrow!"

"You do keep rather long hours, I see," she noted. "You look very fatigued, bloodshot eyes, for example."

Daniel drove his car out of the winding parking lot and onto a ramp headed for Interstate 87, the New York State Thruway. Rind didn't pay attention to the four story mall or the ensuing scenery out the window.

He wondered to himself how easy it was to talk to her. "How is it that I was chosen?"

"You were picked from a pool of candidates by one of my superiors."

"There's rank and file in Heaven?" he changed lanes to pass a slower motorist.

"Yes."

"What do you do?"

"I am a goddess first class, special catergory, limited. I am a Valkyrie," she answered, studying how he drove the vehicle. She had never been in one before.

"I've read about them. You choose the slain and work in Valhalla?"

"I belong to the combat division of Heaven and protect other goddesses."

"That didn't answer my question," he smiled.

"We have differing duties from soldiers to armors to servers. I happen to work in Folkvang on occasion."

"Freya's hall?"

She nodded.

"Do you come to Earth a lot?"

"No, this world is very peaceful compared to the others I visit," she said, glancing at the mess in the backseat. She intended to talk to him about cleanliness.

They crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge then headed up Route 9 through legendary Sleepy Hollow then Ossining and eventually Buchanan itself. Daniel lived in a studio apartment on the second floor of a building that housed a deli. He parked his car in the assigned space then got out and waited for her to follow him up a short flight of stairs.

"Well, this is my hole in the wall," he told her.

Rind didn't mention that she had been there earlier as she followed him in. He took off his uniform shirt and threw it in the open hamper.

"There's not a lot of room here," he continued apologetically. "I still have a few months left on the lease too."

"I believe I said your financial matters would be taken care of," her brow showed the slightest inclination of a scowl.

"All I'm saying is you deserve a better place than this dive," he told her, preparing the futon for much needed sleep. After a moment's thought, he offered it to her.

"I don't need it, I'll meditate most of the night while you rest."

"Meditate? Suit yourself, I'm crashing and I'm crashing hard," he gathered up a bunch of blankets and pulled them around himself then flopped onto the comfy mattress.

Rind turned off the wall light then took a position in the far corner.