Ink gets called away to Jotunheim, for what she expects is for the usual political problems with Asgard, but instead she has a mission given to her by her grandmother: Farbauti, Queen of Jotunheim. A beautifully coloured Ice Beast has been terrorising the tribal villages in the North Mountains. Ink's mission is to put a stop to it; in any way she can.
AN: Hello once again everyone! This is another short story continuation of Blood and Ink. It is also a sister sequel to A Misadventure with Drakki, which you do't have to read in order for this to make sense, but it helps if you have. If you've already read A Misadventure with Drakki, then you know that the starting of these two stories are the same. If you want to skip it, you can, but it follows on with Ink's perspective, which I think is pretty cool. Similar to how A Misadventure with Drakki was a christmas (Or holiday) treat, this is an Easter (or holiday) treat! Please enjoy and leave a comment down below if you want to!
Chapter one
I manage to dodge the punch by arching my back and angling my face away, my black hair flying from the sudden movement. By executing the back breaking manoeuvre I had evaded the punch but only by just a few seconds. Anymore and I would be smiling through broken teeth and a broken nose. I hadn't been fighting long but I was already winded and tiring. I straightened up as the fist was pulled away. I faced my opponent, high above the New York City skyline, on the roof top of a building. The spring air was crisp, but hinted at warmth as the city shook off the last feeble grasp of winter. The early morning sun shone down, warming the earth. I stared into the eyes of my opponent: Deadpool.
I tensed, I saw him react. In a split second, I feinted, pretending to send a punch for his stomach, but instead angled to send one in to his face. I surged forward, putting all of my weight into my fist. Deadpool dodged easily, infuriatingly easily, by side stepping out of the way. I flew past him, shock, horror and humiliation written all over my face, as his foot shot out, tripping me in efficient manoeuvre. I crashed into the ground, and my teeth sang from the impact. I flipped onto my back, ready to surge up and try again, but there was already a gun pointing at my face. Deadpool pulled the trigger, and it clicked signifying that he would have to reload in order to kill me.
Smirking from under his red and black mask, he pulled to the trigger several more times to make his point.
"You'd be dead like a hundred times by now, you know," He said smugly and pulled the gun away. I glared at him, still sprawled on the ground. "Let's see this is the... fifth time you've lost to me today. If I counted back to yesterday then, oh I don't want to think about it but I will." He gloated.
"Don't remind me," I said darkly from the floor. "Help me up?" I asked.
Deadpool held out his hand, but I hesitated before taking it, as I could see his face was stretched into a grin under his mask. I took it, clasping each other at the elbow and he hauled me up quite easily.
"Will you show me how you did that?" I asked, fully aware of the fact that he still held my hand.
"Show you what?" He asked a little too innocently.
"How you tripped me." I said, exasperated. I would never hear the end of this from Wade. My rapid weight loss had left my muscles weak, not to mention my fighting skills were rather lacking, so sparring with Wade meant that I could regain my strength as well as learning some new moves at the same time.
"Oh you mean this?" Wade asked, kicking my legs out from under me, using the grip on my arm to push me off balance and lower me to the ground. He dropped my arm when I grunted as my breath flew out of me in a whoosh. It took me a minute or two to get my breath back.
"Not funny," I muttered. I started to get up and Wade held out his hand again. This time I slapped it away and got up on my own, though a prior hit to the ribs made it rather difficult. Wade chuckled at my discomfort.
"Well, I'm laughing, 'cause it's funny," He said. "You should have seen your face."
I glared at him one more time. I didn't want to start an actual argument, because if Wade got into a hissy fit he could very well give up and go find the nearest Mexican place to eat. My stomach grumbled, that didn't sound so bad actually.
"Can we take a break?" I asked. I needed something to eat.
"Sure we can go get some chimichangas." He said.
"You keep talking about those things, but I have no idea what they are." I said. I walked over to the sleeping dragons. Drakki opened one of her electric blue eyes, her black scales glinting in the new light and her blue marks flashed and flickered. Hiss shook herself, unravelling from her massive coil. A shudder ran down her body, spikes bristling and shifting, before becoming still again.
"And I'm not telling you until you try one. It will blow your mind. But don't try one of the chilli ones for your first try. You'll find that they're not quite as nice the next day." Wade said.
"Ugh," I said half-heartedly, but chuckled anyway. I nudged Drakki with my boot. She was the reason we were on this roof top in the first place, and she was the only way that we could leave. She grumbled and turned her head away, burying her face behind one of her bat-like wings.
"Drakki," I started. "Come on, my girl, we need to get off this rooftop." She didn't respond. "Drakki," I said more forcefully. Although she was very intelligent, about as clever as an average adult, sometimes I had to treat her like a toddler if she was being rather stubborn; which was nearly always.
Hiss, on the other hand, did whatever I asked, whenever I asked. Her fierce loyalty never wavered. She had already shaken herself awake, and prepared to fly at the edge of the roof top. She slithered around Wade, who had taken to shooting pigeons with one of his guns; thankfully it was silenced so he didn't cause too much trouble. Hiss gave him an indignant huff, but he just shrugged then went back to shooting pigeons.
Drakki obviously needed a little more encouragement then a few words.
"Drakki, my girl, I'll... get you a fish if you cooperate." I said. She perked up immediately at the mention of food. Normally, Drakki and Hiss, and also the talking tiger that hung around, would have to go out and hunt for themselves, but every so often I would buy them a treat.
Drakki looked like she was considering it, but I knew that she had already made up her mind. She got up and beat her wings a few times to bring the feeling back into them and wake them up.
"I swear, Drakki, you're more trouble than you're worth." Deadpool said to Drakki, now that he had killed all pigeons that had been on the roof.
Drakki pinned him with a stare that said: you really wanna go there?
"Yeah, keep looking at me like that and one day I might just believe you." He retorted to Drakki's silent challenge.
Hiss huffed as I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure why Deadpool and Drakki had such a rivalry, but it hadn't given any indication that it would let up soon, so generally I ignored it. However, when Wade needed a ride, Drakki would always enter a mood that was inconsolable, and would not allow me to fly with her as we normally would.
Drakki and I had a kind of bond that strengthened whenever we flew. I would know what she wanted to do and she would know what I wanted to do. I wasn't so much as flying her, but more like we were flying together. It wasn't the same as the bond I shared with Hiss, which was strong also, but we had more of an understanding of each other.
But when Deadpool got involved, it was like riding the worst rollercoaster ever. Or the best, depending how you looked at it.
"So, for your birthday..." Deadpool started, and I groaned. "I was thinking that we could totally get drunk and see where we go from there."
"One, you and I both know it's extremely hard to get me drunk and you can't get drunk, so I don't know why you would make such a plan." I said, but really I knew exactly why. "Two, whoever said that I wanted to do something for my birthday? I know exactly what I want to do and that is: whatever I want." Drakki stretched like a cat and I ran my hand along her shoulder.
"Whoever said that you couldn't do what you wanted also being drunk as hell? I would find it hilarious." Wade said.
"I know you'd find it hilarious, but I wouldn't the next day." I said. "Look, do you want to get something to eat, or do you want to stand here and argue all day long?"
"Wait, I know this one. Lemme think!" He replied.
However, before he could answer, a cold blue light bathed us then faded quickly, like a cloud covering the sun. Before us, on the top of a random building in New York City, stood two Frost Giants; a mage and a messenger.
They both towered over us, swathed in a mix of ice armour and furs. The warmth of the sun vanished and was replaced by a harsh cold as frost started to spread from the feet of the Jotuns and towards us. Hiss started to coil, tensing like a snake about the strike. Drakki tensed, ready to launch at the two Frost Giants. Deadpool reached for a gun and a katana, having never seen a full Jotun before he wasn't sure if they were friend or foe. But I recognised them, and so held out my hand to calm them. I knew neither of them personally, but had seen them around the great ice castle that Farbuati and her court called home.
The messenger stepped forward. "Queen Farbuati summons you to Jotunheim immediately." He said in a deep voice. I blinked in surprise.
"Immediately?" I asked to clarify. "As in now?"
"Yes." He said. I blinked again. This was rather sudden. My next planned trip was in the summer so I wasn't quite sure with why I was being summoned at least four months early. I hesitated, what had happened with Tritan... I wasn't sure if I wanted to return to Jotunheim at all.
"Oh, don't mind me; I'm just standing here, freezing to death." Wade said. Hiss hissed and Drakki moaned, both in agreement.
The two Jotuns fixed their burning red eyes on Deadpool and my two dragons. It was strange that it was this moment that my two worlds met.
"Okay, just give me a minute." I said to the Frost Giants. They nodded. I turned to Deadpool. "Okay," I said gathering myself, "I need you to look after Drakki and Hiss for me."
"What?" Wade asked as the same time Drakki perked her head up in surprise.
"Just for a couple of days while I'm gone." I said.
"You've never needed me to do it before!" Deadpool whined. "Why now? And your birthday is in, like, three days!"
"Please? Just this once. And besides, I'll be back before then." I said. "Don't destroy anything while I gone." I added as an afterthought.
"Now why would I do that?" Deadpool asked innocently. "I'm offended that you actually said that."
I smiled at him. "I'll see you later." I said and turned to the Jotuns. I walked forward, changing from my human form to my Jotun form as I did so. My fighting suit shimmered, the one I had received from the Avengers as a gift. With the help of Deadpool, it had been kitted out with toughened gauntlets and boots that I absolutely adored, and also belts and holsters, to hold various weapons that I actually had no need for, as I had figured out a way through spells to run magic through the suit. I could now cast spells of protection, strength, even invisibility over me, and it would work better than ever. I wasn't the best magic wielder in the nine realms anyway. I frowned slightly as it faded into ice armour as my skin and hair turned blue and my eyes turned red.
I reached the Frost Giants, standing between the mage and the messengers. As the cold blue light filled the air again, Deadpool waved goodbye. I waved back.
Then we were transported to Jotunheim.
The light faded from the teleportation spell but the cold didn't. I opened my eyes and blinked at the brightness of the white landscape around me, both reflective and sparkling at the same time. Above me was a dome of piercing blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. My eyes instinctively scanned the horizon, the Southern Mountains stood tall and proud; bathed in shadow on the left as the Jotunheim sun rose higher in the east. I was back. I was back on Jotunheim.
I hadn't been here since almost two years ago, it seemed like ages. I had been 20 when I first came here, barely settled in New York, trying to get a grasp on my powers. It had been jarring when I found out that I couldn't access them whilst I was in my Jotun form. I never knew why. Jotuns could have magic, but apparently I was an exception. Now I was almost 22, I had a fairly good understanding of my limitations, but it didn't stop me from doing all I could. Again, my eyes swept the horizon. It looked exactly the same as it did two years ago, but the way I saw it changed. Everything I saw was now tinged with sadness.
The three of us, myself, a mage and a messenger, were standing on the battlements on the south side of the ice castle, looking over the large settlement that had been built before it. Small huts and rudimentary houses all stood together in a disorganised fashion, like they had each been built one by one and no thought had been put into viable walk-ways and paths. The Jotuns were tribal people, and so had an entirely different culture to nearly any other planet in the nine realms and beyond. Smoke drifted up from the rooftops, a dark stain across the bright, clear sky. It drifted over the blinding white dot of the Jotunheim sun, sitting high on the east side, so much further away than that of the one in Earth's solar system, and in turn making it so much more cold.
The sun sent rays of light down on to the horizon, outlining in stark contrast the colossal mountains of the south across a large plateau of flat snow and ice. They were big, almost as big as the Himalayans on Earth if I had to compare them to anything, but they weren't as big as the mountains in the north. Separating us from those giants was a giant chasm that stretched deeper into the ground of Jotunheim than any other. Although the castle had been built long before the chasm had split the land seemingly in two, it was stupid to still live on the edge of it. I hated that chasm.
The ice castle was surprisingly small. It didn't stretch high into the sky, like the other one Farbauti use to reside in, but that was before it had been attacked by Thor and his buddies, making in almost uninhabitable without the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters to repair it. So, Farbauti had ordered everyone to move here, to this short and stocky stronghold. It was formidable, with three feet thick walls and home to most of the Jotun army. It was made from clouded Jotun ice so it could withstand just about anything that threw itself at it: raging Ice Beasts, Frost Beasts and Snow Beasts. Although the Jotuns needed better names for their native creatures, nothing could penetrate these walls.
I turned around, the mage and the messenger had already left, returning to their normal jobs and occupations in the castle. Standing under an archway of a door half in shadow was Farbauti. She waited for me with a bemused smile on her face. I bowed to her to show my respect then I stepped forward.
"Grandmother," I started. Although we shared no terms of endearment, I felt as if I needed to appeal to her more maternal side than her ruling side. But I also could have just insulted her age. Farbauti always seemed a little unpredictable and intimidating to me. "May I ask why it is you called me here?"
Farbauti's mouth quirked, "Of course," She said. She waited She was rather a stickler for proper etiquette.
"Why have you called me here?" I asked.
"I have a... mission for you." She chose her words carefully. 'Mission' could mean anything, whether it be a political or a physical one. I hoped to Gods it wasn't a political one.
"Am I to go to Asgard?" I asked. I felt like I could do it if she asked me, but I hadn't been there since before my first time on Jotunheim, and it was so brief, it held almost no weight in my memory at all. All I really remembered was the tacky gold castle that looked like a church organ's wind pipes. I wasn't Asgardian, and I had no intention to ever be one.
"No, thankfully not." Farbauti said. She stepped out into the light. It was only when she was that much closer to me when I realised how much power she wielded. Stature was everything in Jotun society and Farbauti was no exception. She was a rather intimidating 10 feet tall, just over two feet taller than me in my current form. However, Farbauti wasn't just intimidation, she was intelligent too. She knew what was the best way to settle a disagreement between two tribes and she knew that it was best to keep peace between Asgard and Jotunheim than it was to cause war and hundreds upon thousands of deaths on both sides. Even if it did come to a fight, Farbauti knew how to handle that too. She could create a battle plan in what seemed like seconds. Maybe it came with being queen of a rather war thirsty race of giants, maybe she was just naturally brilliant. All I knew was that it was an awful lot to live up to.
"I need you to go on a quest for me." She said. "Already it has been handled rather poorly, and some of my people have been lost, but I know you can handle it."
I blinked. She was throwing me right into the fire. Almost automatically a voice in my head said well she definitely wants to get rid of you. Run. Run far and run fast. It sounded suspiciously like Deadpool.
Gods, when did I become such a coward?
I knew exactly when. When I got kidnapped.
"You want me to go on a quest that multiple Jotuns have already been on and failed... and died?" I asked.
"Yes." Farbauti said, her face hardly fluttering. She doubted me. I could already see it in her burning red eyes. "I have asked you politely to do this, Ink. Do not make me command you. As my heir you will have to be tested to lead and rule, and perform in problematic circumstances. This is a stepping stone."
"There's more coming... You're Majesty?" I added. My slip of the tongue had quickly caused her to doubt me in my ability to be her heir. That was not good.
"Yes, it will come in due time. But right now there is something that needs to be done." She said. She came closer and, for a moment, just for a moment, her face softened. "Lives depend on your success. I wouldn't give you this opportunity if I didn't think you could do it."
I nodded. "With all due respect, Grandmother, you haven't told me what it is yet."
She smiled. "There is an Ice Beast in the North Mountains. It's been terrorising the local tribes. Already it had razed three villages to the ground. I cannot allow any more be taken. You need to stop it, in any way necessary. I know you can handle yourself around Ice Beasts. That's why I need you to do it."
Once more I found myself at a loss for words. I was to stop an Ice Beast. Subdue it, either by killing it or befriending it. An Ice Beast, I grimaced at the memories that surfaced. I felt I could do it. I knew I could do it. Jotuns were dying because of this Ice Beast. If there was any reason to stop such a creature, stopping loss of life was at the top of the list. It must be formidable, if so many had already died trying to stop it. But I would. I knew I could. There was only one question left.
"Why me?" I asked.
"Why you?" Farbauti raised an eyebrow. "Because you're the only Jotun left who I trust that know how Ice Beasts behave and how to stop them."