option a.

( There were many options here - many styles of fighting. Among the gathered military that was shown through the times and various worlds that they were each from. Whilst Maria was comfortable and competent in both hand-to-hand and being able to accurately shoot her target she also knew that it could be beneficial to find other methods. She may not always have a chosen weapon available, and it was certainly another way to pass the time and build strength - and relations among the group.

Although Maria had asked for help in swords work it was something that she had no experience in before. She knew that reading about it certainly wouldn't help her in using it - only practice and guidance there would, but for some reason she was finding reading about it a little interesting. At least she could read about battles that used swords more frequently - maybe learn something about tactics with it, or new tactics as a whole. She'd never faced a giant army before - or fought for gods )

option b.

( That wasn't the only thing weighing on Maria's mind, although if she were asked about it she'd fervently deny it. Although Don had been wheedling at her for months to use her powers - something she'd stubbornly refused at, and not only because it came from a Loki - it was something that Maria had started thinking of a little herself.

Others used their abilities - found help and use from them, and whilst Maria didn't trust them and would rather rely on herself... they had it for a reason - they had to. And there was also that small doubt in the back of her mind that wondered if they wouldn't be able to defeat Thiazi without using them - without accepting the full help and strength of the gods, as the gods accepted their strength.

It was a quiet whisper that Maria had been silencing since she'd arrived in Asgard but now? Now it wasn't so easily silenced. Except she had no idea where to begin, and asking for help on it certainly felt a little embarrassing (particularly if some got wind of it).

She had a pencil - it seemed a safe thing to try - something small, something not particularly dangerous (if controlled). Maria was rolling it underneath her finger at first, trying to get a feel for the object whilst thinking how best to do this - and if she really wanted to. If it went badly she'd be justified in her initial mindset, but if it could help? God she'd hate it, but it was better than being dead.

After a couple of minutes Maria pulled her hand back from it, and with some concentration, several more minutes and a few different thought attempts she'd succeeded in rolling the pencil over without touching it. Trying to move it more than that was where it went wrong. She'd deny panic about it, but there was a definite lack of control, and rather than simply lift the pencil (which happened) it ended up shooting across the room. Slight stray thoughts were never good things to have at that time )