Hello, everyone! I don't even know where to start this note. This is the first time I publish a story for this fandom, so you don't know what to expect from me and I don't know what to expect from you. Let's just say I am as surprised by how this turned out as I hope you will be in a moment.

I really can't write a big note here without leaving a spoiler for you guys. I actually have a history of spoiling things to my friends because I don't even realize I am saying things that I should not be saying. I also have a history of spoiling things to myself, so...

I'll keep my mouth shut, but I do need to send a huge shout-out to geminalupus, my beautiful, lovely beta. Honestly, she is the best and she somehow agreed to help me with this despite the fact that she has not finished reading the series, thus risking a handful of possible spoilers. This would not have been possible without her, so, please, spread the love.

Also, this is my first time writing a trans and/or gender fluid character, so... I pretty much improvised and hoped for the best. Actually, I had wanted to include trans characters in some of my other stories but I had decided against it because I did not feel I had the resources to represent this part of the LGBT community like they should be. I firmly believe that either you do something correctly or you don't do it at all. So, my lack of knowledge on the matter had stopped me from having a trans character in my work. Then, of course, Alex Fierro appeared and I had no option other than to hop on board.

So here's what I did: I referred to her as female throughout most of the story, as it happens in the books. Then, in case he was male, I made it so that it was explicitly out in the story itself. In case someone is talking about Alex and she was not there to correct them on her gender, I just went ahead and referred to her as she. If something was not done correctly concerning this or if you think I made a mistake on this department, please be sure to let me know about it. Also, I am not an English native speaker, and one of the recurrent issues I know I have is pronouns. Usually, if I'm writing it and re-read the sentence, I will realize I used a "his" instead of a "her", but it's happened before that I simply don't notice it and publish a story with a mistake like that one. Geminalupus did a wonderful job correcting these silly mistakes, but in case we missed one, know it is a typo.

I think that's all I can tell you for now. So, finally, what you came here for... the story! Enjoy!


The Animal


There were not many 'normal' things in Samirah al-Abbas' life, that was a given. She pretty much had bizarre stuff for breakfast, then a little more for lunch, and, if it was a terrible day, then that was supper too. Which was why, whenever she had the opportunity to do something that made her feel like a normal, mundane teenager, she took it.

Sadly, it was also very common that something normal turned into something weird as soon as she was added into the equation.

That day, it had been some quality time spent with her younger sister doing what most teenagers did. Uncomplicated, normal, casual. Just two siblings at an ice cream parlor, enjoying themselves. Probably going out with your long-dead shapeshifter sister wasn't exactly 'normal', but it was as close as Samirah dared to dream she'd get, so she wasn't about to complain.

Unfortunately, for people like her even dreams could soon turn into nightmares, which was exactly what happened that day.

To be fair they managed to enjoy most of the day before things went south. Well, most of the morning at least. In fact, everything was fine until they decided to walk back to Valhalla and call it a day.

To be completely honest, Sam didn't hear anything. It was all Alex's senses that realized something was not right.

"There's something..." Alex started to say with a furrowed brow as she suddenly came to a halt.

"What?" Sam tried to ask, only to be silenced with a sharp movement of Alex's hand. Before she could ask again what was going on, Alex rapidly transformed into a blurry silhouette of dark fur and raced away with no apparent direction.

Allah, she hated this, Sam allowed herself to sigh, before hurrying to follow her sister.

Later, the Valkyrie would reflect that she probably should have imitated Alex and transformed into a faster animal, or maybe one that could actually hear whatever it was that had provoked such a rapid response in Alex. At the moment, however, her energy had only been focused on not losing sight of Alex.

Zigzagging and nearly tripping over a few unconcerned bystanders, Alex finally entered a dead-end alley and came to an abrupt halt. As she shouted back an apology, Sam didn't notice her sister had stopped. She stumbled on her sister, but managed to regain her balance on time. Panting, the daughter of Loki took a moment to look around.

First, she noticed that Alex had transformed into a big dog, some kind of crossbreed, most likely, because she looked eerily similar to a wolf. The second thing that called her attention was the fact that Alex was growling, fangs bared while the hairs of her back and tail were spiked.

"What...?" Sam began to say, still trying to catch her breath. Confused, she followed Alex's fuming gaze and found what had called her sister's attention.

Pinned to the wall of the alleyway, a boy who couldn't be more than fifteen seemed to be in the middle of an argument. Standing in front of him, a blonde woman with bright-red lipstick made small fusses with her hands.

"Babe, c'mon, is a kiss asking for too much?" the woman questioned, leaning closer as she towered over her companion in her yellow platforms.

"Ash... Ashley, please..." he tried, turning his head over his shoulder, first the left, then the right, in an attempt to persuade her to leave him alone.

"Is that how I've asked you to call me?" the woman purred.

"Cookie, please, you know this isn't… this isn't right"

"Baby, I've helped you before, haven't I?" She insisted, to which he answered with a vague nod. "It's your turn now, babe, don't leave me hanging like this."

Before Sam had time to process the meaning of the scene that was unfolding in front of them, Alex let out a deep growl. Instantly, the woman turned to them, not seeming happy with the interruption.

"Excuse you?" She said, staring directly at Sam, a pair of dull blue eyes framed by smudged black eyeliner. "Don't you see we're in the middle of something here? Also, you should have that little beast on a leash."

"I don't think my sis-my dog is the problem here," the Valkyrie pointed out calmly. "Now if you could please stand back a little, I don't think he seems comfortable with you on top of him like that."

As if to corroborate Sam's words, Alex chose that exact moment to let out a firm bark. She took a step forward and raised her thin canine lips even further, making sure that Ashley or whatever her name was could see the sharp ends of her teeth.

"And I don't think that's none of your business," the woman rolled her eyes, fully turning to face the demigods now with a bored look.

"What's your name?" Sam asked, turning her attention to the boy now that it was clear that she would not get anywhere with that woman.

"He doesn't have to answer that."

"And he doesn't have to be here with you either. Also, I'm not talking to you," the daughter of Loki brushed off, as she tried to catch a glimpse of the boy over Ashley's shoulder. "What's your name?"

"Don't answer her," the woman instructed. "You know what? Let's go. I'm done with this."

Rolling her eyes again, Ashley turned on her heels and gripped the boy's wrist. The distance made it hard to be sure, but Sam thought she had seen him grimace minutely at the contact. Alex growled again, deep and feral.

"Let him go or I'll call the police," Sam warned, knowing this was just a mortal and she couldn't use her axe on her.

"The police? For what?" The harpy crackled out a poor excuse of a laugh. "Actually, I should be calling the police, with how you―"

"Because if you have to drag him with you then it means he's not comfortable with you," Sam cut her off. "I'll ask again, kid, what's your name?"

"Justin," he finally replied, earning himself a sharp look from his companion.

"Alright, Justin, how old are you?" Sam tried once more, perhaps trusting her good luck more than she should have.

"Listen, little bomb-maker, that's enough. Whatever he and I do it's none of your business."

"Justin, how old are you?" Samirah asked again, not even caring to look back at the woman.

"Don't answer," Cookie insisted, her grip tightening around his wrist.

"Let him go," Sam repeated, to which Alex barked again. "He's a minor, either you let him go or I'll call the police."

"You don't even know if he's-"

"I'm thirteen," Justin said.

"Perfect, then. Last time I checked, thirteen was still a minor, so either you leave him alone or you'll get in deep trouble."

"For goodness' sake," the woman huffed. "I can't believe this. Justin, let's get out of here. Before this terrorist sets up a bomb because of your little tantrum."

"Cookie, please..."

"Are you listening? Let's get out."

"I don't think so. You won't threaten him while I'm here" Sam interrupted, turning to Justin again. "Listen you don't have to go with her. She can't hurt you, I promise."

"Babe, let's get outta here. Out of the sights of these busybodies," the woman insisted with fluttering eyelashes.

"Cookie, I..."

"Fine," she snapped, setting her jaw tight. Finally, she let go of the boy's wrist. "We'll see how that works for you, because the next time you come crying because it's cold outside I won't be there to pick you up. So please, be my guest."

"Ash, please..." Justin tried, to no avail. With a twirl of blonde extensions, the woman turned on her heels and started walking in the opposite direction in which Sam and Alex had entered the alley. "Ashley..."

To Sam's great relief, the woman ignored his pleas and kept walking. Instantly, Alex left her sister's side and placed herself between Justin and Ashley, growling. Their new acquaintance didn't turn back or even stopped on her tracks to acknowledge she was being talked to, which Sam was thankful for. In all honesty, she trusted Alex blindly, but she recognized her sister was impulsive. All it would take was a wrong look from that woman, and Sam wasn't sure she would be able to stop Alex from attacking her. She was not sure she would want to stop her, either.

Soon, however, the tapping of Ashley's heels had grown faint and Sam felt her breath loosen. Once the woman's shadow had turned the corner, Alex's back muscles lost their tension and the thin lips of her canine snout relaxed to cover her fangs once more. With a stance that was almost apologetic, Alex turned back to stand face-to-face with Justin. In the most non-defensive demeanor a dog her size could manage, Alex approached the boy, ears low and head bowed down, her fluffy tail wagging slowly behind her.

"She won't bite you," Sam deducted. Honestly, with Alex, it was hard to be sure sometimes. "So, by all means, if you want to pet her, go ahead."

As if to confirm Sam's words, Alex closed the distance between them and sniffed the hand that Justin offered her. Convinced now that she wouldn't attack him, he proceeded to caress her muzzle and scratched behind her ears. Once he moved away his hand, Alex meekly pressed her head to his thigh and wagged her tail.

"Do you know that woman?" Sam dared to ask once Justin seemed comfortable enough with Alex.

"She owns a beauty salon down the street. She's let me stay with her a couple of times," Justin explained with a shrug.

"Um. And she thought you should pay her back in kind," the Valkyrie concluded. "Listen, she should have stopped when you said you weren't comfortable. Whatever it is, you're better off without her."

"Let's see about that," he huffed.

"If you need a place to stay..." Sam began. "I know somewhere. You'll get a bed and a warm meal, no questions asked."

"Yeah, and I suppose that'd be your place," he nearly grunted as he eyed her suspiciously.

"Then you'd be wrong," Sam denied, offering him a small smile that she hoped he found reassuring. "It's not my house. It's a shelter, a couple of friends run it and my sister is there often as a volunteer."

Justin didn't answer, but Sam considered it a good sign that he looked down to Alex when she licked his fingers, demanding his attention. If he could turn away from her, when they were standing this close and when he had just met her, then it meant he didn't see her as such a big threat after all.

"I'm sure my sister would like you," Sam insisted. "And I promise nothing like what just happened with this... Cookie person will happen there."

"Her real name is Ashley," Justin explained half-heartedly.

"Still, nothing like what happened with her will happen at the Chase Space. I swear," the Valkyrie repeated.

"How do you know your sister would like me?" He asked, only to change the subject Sam supposed.

"Because that is her dog, not mine," Sam chuckled. "Just a hunch."

As if that were surprising information for her, Alex raised her ears and looked up at Sam innocently.

"You really should have her on a leash, though," David pointed out casually, still scratching Alex behind her ears.

"Let's say I kind of had her on one," she shrugged. "But she heard something was wrong and she ran away from me."

"So that's why you came?"

"Oh yeah. Alex-I mean... Alex is my sister. Al... ba-Alba is the dog," she quickly corrected, earning herself a small growl from Alex. "Alba knew and she brought me here."

Again, Justin ignored her in favor of tending to Alex's canine form. In contrast, Alex played her best impression of a good pup and rubbed herself against Justin's leg, tail wagging so rapidly Sam was willing to bet it actually hurt to be hit by it.

"Look, come and check the place out. If you like it, you can stay, and if not, we'll let you go and it'll be alright," Sam tried once again. "Alba will be with you the whole time, I promise."

"Just..."

"Just come and check the place out," Sam insisted. "Then you'll tell us if you want to stay."

When he finally nodded his agreement, Sam felt the tension melt off her shoulders.

"Wonderful," she smiled. "I'll take you to the shelter and then we'll meet with my sister, is that alright?" Again, Justin only nodded with his head, but the Valkyrie counted even that as a small success. "My name is Samirah, by the way."

"Sami..."

"My friends call me Sam," she brushed off. "It's easier to pronounce."

"Sam it is, then," he replied, giving her a minuscule grin. "Thank you."

"Thank Alba, I'm just here because of her," she shrugged, which earned Alex another scratch behind the ears.

"And, Sam, what Cookie said, about the bombs..."

"Nothing I haven't heard before," Sam brushed off with a shrug. "Now let's get out of here."

With relief, Sam watched Justin nod and start making his way towards her, Alex happily trotting by his side. Quite honestly, the daughter of Loki was confident that Hearth and Blitzen would win Justin over as soon as they met, therefore she wasn't concerned that the boy they had just rescued would end up on the streets again.

This was not the way Sam had pictured the end of their day, but she was glad that Alex had realized something was wrong. How her sister had done that, she had no idea, but at least Justin would be safe in no more than half an hour. Soon, this ordeal would be over, and everything would go back to normal.

Oh, how wrong she had was.

—*—*—

The day Magnus knew something was not right was when Alex didn't realize she was standing in the middle of the hallway at the dining room and accidentally ended up covered in mead. That was when Magnus knew for sure that he had to do something.

In all honesty, Alex had been acting a little strange since the day she had spent with Sam in Boston. Which was weird on itself, because the two of them had been planning that small getaway for months. Magnus had asked what was all about, and so had T. J., only to be brushed off by Alex, who insisted that she was fine. She had been working on a pot the night before and she could not get it right, she'd said. That was all, Alex insisted, she was just tired.

Still, that didn't seem to be the answer because, although Alex's story of sleeping late was consistent with the bags under her eyes, Magnus had known her long enough to be certain that she wasn't being completely honest with them. Whenever Alex stayed up molding something ―and, truth to say, that was in fact a common occurrence―, she always ended up with clay under her nails. Sometimes, she even fell asleep on the potter's wheel and woke up elbow-deep in dried mud, which she didn't bother washing off herself before attending the dining room.

For the last two weeks, Alex's nails had remained perfectly clean and her working table been completely dry the times Magnus had peeked over Alex's shoulder to see the insides of her room. Therefore, Magnus knew with absolute certainty that Alex's story about staying up late doing pottery was nothing but deceits.

That didn't mean, however, that Alex was sleeping nearly enough. Ever since that day she had left Valhalla with Sam, Alex had been a little... distracted, to say the least. For starters, she wasn't making her trademark snarky comments. She barely lifted her eyes whenever Magnus said something stupid, which was strange on itself. She seemed inattentive during combat, and, most of times, Magnus discovered she had played around with her food rather than actually eaten it.

To put it simply, Magnus knew something was not right, but he had yet to work the courage to ask Alex what it was. Besides, knowing the daughter of Loki, chances were she would either deny something was off or throw her machete his way. And Magnus was certainly not looking up to dying by decapitation any time soon.

Therefore, Magnus had left her alone. He thought that, perhaps, he was only exaggerating because Alex had been a little quiet lately. That was all. He was overreacting and everything would go back to normal ―as normal as things got in Valhalla, at least― in no time. There was no need to stir things up and risk having a disagreement with Alex.

Unfortunately, the Norns had yet to leave a contact number for Magnus to send suggestions. For a moment there, the son of Frey had forgotten that nothing ever turned out to be in their favor. Magnus pretended not to notice Alex's absent glances and her prolonged silences for two more weeks. He repeated himself that, soon, everything would be back in its place; soon, Alex would be joking and laughing and rolling her eyes at him.

Until one night, Magnus found that he couldn't ignore the fact that something was wrong anymore.

—*—*—

It happened one Thursday night, Magnus was sure about that because he had died a especially violent death that day. Usually, fighting lindworms would have been enough to make him sleep from the moment he left the dining room after dinner until the next morning. Which had been exactly Magnus' plans for that night, except that he found himself being unexpectedly interrupted.

To be completely honest, Magnus wasn't sure of what had woken him up. All he knew was that it had been a loud noise, presumably the dragging of a piece of furniture on a wooden floor. The first few seconds after he'd been brought back to consciousness, the son of Frey could only rub his eyes as he tried to figure out what was going on.

Disoriented and drowsy, he was about to decide that he had only imagined the raucous noise ―it wouldn't be the first time he dreamt something strange and then woke up, startled and confused―, when a muffled cry resonated through the walls of his room. Directly from Alex's bedroom.

Now completely awake, Magnus jumped out of his bed and hurried to the door. His cousin, Annabeth, had warned him that at her camp, coming out of one's cabin after curfew had to be done with extreme care, as several harpies were in charge of eating the trespassers. At that moment, Magnus could say with absolute certainty that he'd never been gladder that that Hotel Valhalla had no such measures.

Venturing into the hallway, Magnus bustled to reach Alex's door, only to stop with a halt there because, although his first instinct had been to merely open and enter the room, he doubted Alex would appreciate it if he did. Clearly, he thought, if Alex needed help ―and Magnus was certain that she did, because otherwise she wouldn't be making a ruckus in the middle of the night―, there was no time to waste asking the politically correct way to tear down a door. However, if Alex was only crying out in frustration because of her pot, like she insisted she was, and he simply burst into her bedroom... then things would probably take an ugly turn.

So Magnus stopped himself and took the time to knock on the door. He counted three seconds, and received no answer. Inside, he heard a ragged noise, something that sounded suspiciously like the claws of a cat on the wooden floor. A large cat. Feeling his concern grow, Magnus knocked again.

"Alex? Alex, are you there?" He called, changing his weight from one leg to the other.

This time, Magnus counted to five. Then to three again, and nothing, not even a groan or a scream saying Alex wanted to be left alone answered his call. Instead, a very avian twitter came from inside.

This was it, Magnus decided. Something was definitely not right. It was not uncommon that the einherji challenged each other to mortal duels, even when they were not officially in combat. However, usually those warlike games stopped as soon as one had entered their room. There was also the fact that Alex rarely took part of them. Surely, she enjoyed showing off and she was a force to be reckoned with when she was fighting, but Magnus knew her well enough to say that she was not the kind of person who necessarily enjoyed combat. She battled and dueled because she had to, although she would have retired to calmly read or work on her pottery if she had been allowed to.

Therefore, if she was transforming during the wee hours of the morning, then chances were Alex was in trouble. Last time he'd checked, not even Alex, with her vast creativity had managed to make a clay molding cat come to life.

"Alex? I'm coming inside, alright?" He asked. Again, he heard a feline roar inside, but no answer was directed to him. At least, he could say that Alex hadn't ordered him to go away, he told himself as he finally directed his hand to the doorknob.

The wooden door opened with a slight creak. For a couple of seconds, Magnus stood in the doorstep, half-expecting Alex to complain about the rude interruption, or at least to question what in hell he was doing. Instead, he only heard a heavy object being dragged across the wooden floor.

"Alex, are you here?" He asked, receiving no answer. "I'll come inside, I hope you don't mind it."

At last, he stepped into the room. The dim light of the bathroom had been left on. He checked Alex's work area first, if only to give her the benefit of doubt. Like he suspected, her wooden seat was empty and the clay on her table perfectly dry.

Before he had time to call Alex again, another bird-like squeak startled him. Puzzled, he turned to the einherji's bed, and although it was unmade, he discovered it was also empty. The covers had been tossed to the left side, as if something ―or someone, Magnus realized with a halt― were pulling it.

Following his sudden understanding, the son of Frey walked over to the left side of Alex's bed, not sure of what he would find. And what he found was nothing like he could have expected.

With a torn blanket still tangled around the lower part of its body, a Bengal tiger roared. Maybe sensing the einherji's presence, maybe out of something else entirely, the feline writhed, lips pulled back tightly to reveal sharp fangs. With something that felt suspiciously like dread, Magnus noted the tiger's claws where drawn. And it didn't look happy in the least.

"Oh gods..." Magnus breathed out, knowing very well that it wasn't an animal in front of him.

Before he had time to even call out the daughter of Loki's name, the tiger contorted in its ensnarement and began to morph, elongating its legs until they were completely black and bony. In the blink of an eye, where the tiger had been laid now a black horse, with a single diamond-shaped white mark in the middle of its forehead.

Unfortunately, the equine seemed equally as restless as the tiger had been.

Years ago, when his mother had still been around, they'd watched 'Anna Karenina'. Not a movie Magnus necessarily enjoyed, mostly because he'd liked the book better. Nonetheless, at that moment, the scene of Vronsky's horse race suddenly came back to his mind. Frou-Frou, laying in the ground, blood-shot eyes and bellows of desperation as she tried to stand up only to crash back on the floor time and time again.

Likewise, Alex's equine form seemed to be attempting to sit up, pursuits that were met with failure every time. Unable to raise to its feet, the horse whirled around its long neck, provoking its dark-brown mane to agitate around it. As if trying to escape something, the animal's legs moved wildly under the blanket, the effort causing its breathing to become heavy.

"Alex?" The son of Frey asked with a faltering voice, taking a step closer to her.

Unhearing, the horse let out another panicked neigh before its muzzle transformed into a long beak. With something that was half horror and half fascination, Magnus watched Alex change again, shortening the front legs of the horse and bending them until they were resting against a feathered side. Conversely, its back legs, partially covered by the blanket, shifted to be closer to the animal's chest and the hooves transformed into elongated claws.

A flamingo, Magnus recognized, one of Alex's favorite animals. And a terrified one, at that, the son of Frey realized, watching the animal madly flap its wings in an unsuccessful attempt to free itself from the tears of the blanket.

Coming to the conclusion that he had to put an end to Alex's distress, Magnus crossed the distance between them and knelt next to the restless bird.

"Alex?" He asked, placing his hand right on the joint of the bird's left wing and its chest. Instantly, he felt her terrified heartbeat under the tips of his fingers. "Alex, you need to wake up. Alex, please."

When talking proved ―yet again― to be rather unsuccessful, Magnus tried to applying pressure to the animal.

"Alex, c'mon, I need you to wake up," he called once more, gently shaking its body. Immediately, the bird's eyelids fluttered open.

Disoriented, the animal pulled back. It was as if a spell had been broken―as soon as she'd woken up, Alex's body began to shift back into her human form. First, her eyes enlarged until they reached their normal size, the beak shortened to become a nose and parted lips, the wings stopped flapping and came to rest by her side as arms.

What didn't change, however, was the heavy panting of her chest and the confusion in her features.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, a hoarse whisper. Sweat made locks of her hair cling to her forehead.

"I-I heard you," Magnus managed to say, his hand still resting on Alex's left shoulder.

"You heard me?" She questioned, finally freeing her legs from the useless piece of cloth. Passing her tongue on her dry lips, the daughter of Loki looked around, taking in the state of disarray her room was in. In her sleep, she'd managed to push away her bed and claw marks had been carved into the floor.

"You... you were shifting... while sleeping, I mean," he explained. "I... I was worried. I asked if I could come inside, but you didn't answer, so I..."

"I don't need you pity," Alex breathed out.

"Alex, are you alright? I―"

"Go away," the daughter of Loki instructed. In her rage, her eyes looked almost equally as dark.

"Alex, if you need―"

"Didn't you hear me? Get out!" She insisted, an animal-like growl that she seemed to be familiarized with escaping her lips. "I don't need your pity. Get out," she ordered, blood-shot eyes focused directly on Magnus'. Her lower lip quivered, but that didn't make her words less of a threat.

"Fine," Magnus sighed, raising to his feet. "But... for the record, if you need anything..."

"Get out. Just... get out," Alex demanded. Her eyes looked glossy and her breathing was labored as she maintained the visual contact.

"As you wish," the son of Frey concluded sullenly. With an afflicted shrug, he decided there was no use in pressuring Alex. He knew her well enough to be aware that doing such a thing would only make him the target of her wrath, and it was clear that Alex needed no such burden at the time.

Without crossing another word and careful not to establish eye-contact with the daughter of Loki either, Magnus walked over to the door. He halted, with his hand already in the doorknob and he exhaled deeply in defeat before finally walking out of Alex's bedroom. The door closed behind him with a heavy thum that sounded like regret.

He knew he shouldn't be surprised. After all, the nights of demigods were usually plagued by nightmares, regardless of what pantheon they belonged to. At least, that was true for Nordic, Greek and Latin demigods. Magnus had yet to meet a Japanese or an Aztec demigod to ask about it.

Still, the fact that Alex's dream had been bad enough for Magnus to hear her screams through the walls, the fact that he had found Alex in so little control of herself that she was even shifting in her sleep... It was clear ―to Magnus, at least― that if she felt the need to transform like that, then the threat in her mind had to be more than just a few disjointed images.

It was no use, Magnus decided around thirty minutes later that early morning, once it became clear he would not be going back to sleep. If Alex didn't want him mingling in her business, then he could respect that and leave her alone. If, by any chance, Alex thought he could help her, then she would have asked for his help. That was it. And if Alex told him to stay out of her business then Magnus would do just that.

His resolution, however, turned out to be harder to stick to than expected.

—*—*—

An eerily similar scene unfolded only a couple of days afterwards. Magnus bolted upright in bed after a pained cry pierced through the walls. Confused, he rubbed his eyes, and he wondered for a second why he's had such a rude awakening, before another sound made it past the concrete of its walls.

For the second time that week, Magnus raced to Alex's door and knocked with something that was half worry and half resignation. Again, Alex did not answer, and Magnus decided not to knock again. Not wanting to waste more time, the son of Frey decided on opening the door to let himself in right away.

This time, the scenery that greeted him was less disturbing than the previous one. At least, Alex was still in her bed and in her human form, which was a relief, although Magnus' alleviation was quickly replaced with worry when he saw how violently Alex was turning on the mattress, making the covers tangle around her legs much like they had been the last time Magnus had entered her room.

Fortunately, during this second occasion, Alex woke up as soon as Magnus touched her shoulder. With a gasp, the daughter of Loki sat up, until her back was pressed against the headboard. Her right hand immediately flied to her opposite shoulder to brush Magnus' hand away, or at least so did the son of Frey think. Instead, Alex's hand barely ghosted over his fingers as she drew in shaky breaths. She was crying, Magnus noticed with an aching pang.

Now that his eyes had grown accustomed to the murkiness around them and that he was in less of a hurry, Magnus allowed himself to look at Alex more calmly. She was breathing heavily from the mouth, and although Magnus supposed she did so unconsciously, her right had remained wrapped around his own. Conversely to what he had suspected she wanted to do ―that was, push him away and scream at him for invading her privacy yet again―, Alex squeezed his hand until her knuckles had gone white.

When Alex finally dared meet Magnus' eyes, Magnus realized his mistake―Alex was definitely a guy right then.

"You're here again," Alex let out and the son of Frey wasn't sure if that was a statement or a question.

"I-I..."

"You heard me being pathetic again, I suppose," the son of Loki shrugged.

"Alex, don't say that, I―"

"If you're gonna ask if I'm alright, save it. I'm fine."

"Alex, I don't think that. If you want to talk about it, about anything, really, I―"

"I said I'm fine," he growled, and, as if something had snapped into place, his eyes finally focused. With a newfound sense of urge, he finally pushed Magnus' hand away from his shoulder and then used his right forearm to furiously wipe away the trail tears had left on his cheeks.

"Alex, please..."

"Go away," Alex breathed out in something that Magnus could only describe as a defeated whisper. "Go away."

"I will," Magnus conceded. "Listen, if that's what you want, I'll leave you alone."

"Then get out."

"I will," he promised, taking a step back. "I will, but whatever it is that is bothering you..."

"Go away," Alex insisted numbly, pulling his legs closer to hug them to his chest.

With a sigh, Magnus obeyed. He knew what it was like, wanting to be alone and instead being pestered with questions about what he felt and what he needed. Alex wanted space. By the feral look in his eyes, he needed it. Magnus could respect that.

And so, Magnus left Alex's room once again, not less worried than he had the first time.

—*—*—

For all his big talk about understanding, Magnus knew that he couldn't just stand back and watch with his arms crossed over his chest while doing nothing. He certainly had no plans of overwhelming Alex with questions she didn't want to answer. He didn't want her to think he was a busybody, because he wasn't.

Yet, when two more weeks went by and the circles around Alex's eyes only grew darker, Magnus was convinced that he was not imagining things. Going to Alex was a big no-no, but Magnus supposed that, after her, the second person he could ask about the daughter of Loki's strange behavior was Sam.

Certainly, the two sisters had been through some ups and downs, and they did not always see eye-to-eye on the matter at hand. However, Magnus knew with absolute certainty that the trust they had in each other was immovable. Perhaps it was because they both shared a certain kind of ache that would forever remain unknown to the others, the fact that they had seen the tangible face of a tyrant that their fellow einherji would only ever hear about in faded stories if they had any luck.

And not only had they stood in front of an ageless deity whose sins they were forced to pay for every day, but they also shared the debatable honor of calling that person their progenitor, one way or another. Magnus had seen them hold a whole conversation without uttering a single word, he had seen them stand in front of the other in defense, he had seen them in the middle of an altercation, when all that left their mouths were sharp words and their eyes were daggers. And, equally, he had seen the two sisters as they apologized, avoiding eye-contact at all costs, their postures holding an awkwardness that Magnus found very hard to relate to their usual confident demeanors.

The bond the two shared was clearly not a matter of how long they had known each other, as Magnus had met Sam a few months before Alex. Therefore, it was obvious to Magnus that the reason they were so close was, simply, that they trusted each other. Easy as that―when it came down to it, they knew they could rely on the other.

However, when Magnus finally worked up the courage to ask Sam if Alex had commented on something that was bothering her, the Valkyrie merely stared back at him in confusion. Alex hadn't told her anything, she said. Still, she agreed that something about Alex had been off lately. According to her, she first noticed the change in her sister after they had taken Justin to the Chase Space and left him there for Hearth and Blitz to take care of.

"You didn't see her," Sam insisted. "She seemed... nervous, worried. And I mean, I was, too, but it was different. I can't explain it."

Sam confided then, that the plan had originally been that Sam accompanied Alex back to Valhalla after their morning out. Sam had a couple of things to do there, and she would head to her grandparents' place afterwards. Their disturbing encounter with Justin and a woman she called Cookie had drastically changed their plans, that was an understatement, but Sam still found it weird that as soon as they had left Justin in the shelter, Alex had all but bolted off, leaving Sam behind with nothing other than a half-hearted farewell.

In conclusion, Sam knew nothing more than Magnus did about whatever it was that had Alex so worked up. However, she agreed ―to Magnus' great relief― that something was not right and had not been for weeks. Talking to her proved helpful for two things―firstly, it confirmed that Magnus was not imagining things. Secondly, Sam wasn't sure about anything either, but she theorized that the change in Alex's demeanor had something to do with Justin's appearance.

It was not much, but it was all Magnus had. And, until Alex decided she was ready to speak up about what was so clearly bothering her, those fragmented pieces of information would have to do.

—*—*—

The third time Magnus found himself in front of Alex's door without an invitation was also the worst of them. It was not even night yet, so Magnus was almost certain that what had sent Alex into such a state wasn't a nightmare. Still, the amount of crashing noises Magnus could hear from her room suggested that Alex was trying to tear the building down.

On his way out of his room, Magnus found Mallory standing in the doorway of her own bedroom, one of her hands holding a blue hairbrush while the other one was stiffly placed on her hip. From the look in her face, Magnus supposed she was just as intrigued as he was about what had gotten into Alex. Except, of course, she actually valued her life and had chosen to stay out of it.

"Geez. Any idea of what in the name of Helheim she's doing in there?"

"Does it look like I know?" Magnus shrugged. "If I had to guess, she's either throwing pots or destroying them with her machete."

"Well, if I had to guess," Mallory offered, beginning to turn on her heels to return to the safety of her room. "She's canalizing her very strong murderous urges into destroying the hotel."

Quite honestly, Magnus couldn't deny that Mallory's theory made sense. He supposed it was not necessarily the desire to kill someone that had Alex so worked up, as she could literally go to any of the lounge rooms, declare war and begin a blood bath―literally no one would have batted an eye at her. Still, she did sound like she wanted to destroy something, piece by piece, until its remains were so miniscule, so fractured and pulverized that it would be impossible to recognize what that something had been, let alone put it back together.

For a second, he thought that he would have done a better service for himself if he had followed Mallory's example and simply turned back on his tracks. It made sense, it was safe. However, his early death was a glaring example that Magnus was not good at either following instructions or playing it 'safe'. Even if it turned out that the Irish girl had been right about Alex wanting to go on a killing spree, what did Magnus have to lose? He was already dead and Alex had already killed him more than once. He could handle another passing.

With that thought in mind, the son of Frey made the quite-possibly irrational decision of walking straight up to Alex's door, rather than to his own. Deciding that his chances of dying were up in the heights either way, he took the resolution of still being politically correct and knocking.

He was certain that Alex had heard him, as for a moment the crashing noises from inside stopped. However, the daughter of Loki recovered rapidly and, soon enough, the racket was resumed.

"Alex, I know you can hear me," he said, once three seconds had passed and Magnus realized she had no intention of opening the door.

"And? I don't want to see you, I think I'm being very clear with it," came her agitated reply. Another blast followed her voice.

"Alex, please, whatever you're doing―"

"Which is none of your business, by the way. Or anyone else's, for that matter."

"I… I know. Listen, Alex, I know I have no right to mingle with whatever it is that you're doing in there, but I'm worried about you, okay?" Magnus began, inclining into the closed door until his head was leaning on the white wood. "This has been going on for weeks now, and added to the nightmares that you―"

"Who do fuck do you think you are?" Alex hissed through gritted teeth, opening the door so suddenly and with so much force that Magnus tripped into the room, nearly falling over. As soon as the son of Frey was inside, she slammed the door closed again.

"Alex―"

"Answer me, who the fuck do you think you are, screaming things like that into the hallway?"

"To be completely fair, it's you the one who was wreaking havoc in the hallway with all the smashing you're making," Magnus offered, separating himself from the wall now that he had regained his balance.

"Listen, blondie, whatever I do or stop doing is none of your concern. I could burn this fucking place to its foundations and you would still have no right to be screaming what I do like that."

"Alex, calm down for a moment," he tried. The curtains of the room were drawn, and now that his eyes had finally grown accustomed to the darkness, Magnus took a look at Alex. Her dyed hair was disheveled and it hung, clearly unwashed, to the sides of her face. She was covered head to toe in fresh mud that had left stains on her cheeks, elbows and bright yellow pajamas. Along with that, her hair, face and clothes were also caked in brown dust Magnus was certain was the product of the broken pottery. Dry trails of tears ploughed through the dirt in her cheeks and wide, blood-shot eyes stared back at Magnus. From what the son of Frey could see over her shoulder, Alex's room was in a much worse state.

"Oh, so you came here to tell me to 'calm down', how thoughtful!" she laughed hysterically. "In the name of Odin's pants, imagine if it were that easy. For hell's sake. Just 'Calm down', and suddenly everything makes perfect sense. Like some fucking fairy."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. Please."

"No, no, excuse me, but I don't know what you 'meant'," she said, gesturing wildly with both of her hands. "All I know is that you keep coming here and you just won't leave me alone and you don't get the memo that I don't want you. I don't need you. You're not some super hero that has to come to freaking save me, so cut it out. "

"I just want to―"

"Don't say it. Don't you dare say it. If you say that you want to help me I swear to every god there is that I will decapitate you the first chance I get," she hollered raggedly. Magnus decided to shut his mouth. "I don't need you to help me, what part of that are you too dense to get?"

"What is it, Alex?" Magnus finally sighed. "I get it, you don't want me here, I know. But believe it or not, I appreciate you and I am worried about you."

"You're not worried. You don't care," Alex retorted, and Magnus was surprised to see that her voice quavered. "You just want to play the hero."

"Alex, you're not thinking clearly. If you were, you'd know that's not true."

"So, now you're calling me crazy! How dare you―"

"Alex, c'mon, what is it? Are the dreams you've been having about Loki? Is there something that, maybe―"

"Oh, I see it now! Clear as a bell!" she shrieked. "You're worried it's about Loki, of fucking course you are! Newsflash, sweet pea, Loki is not the only fucking problem I have in my pathetic life. Yes, he's a pain in the ass, but he's also the least of my worries right now, so if you're only here because you don't want Ragnarok to start soon, your work is done. Get out of here."

"That's not what I meant―"

"Well, there are a lot of things you're not meaning today. So why don't you get out of here until you know what you want to say?"

"Alex, if it's not Loki, then what―"

"None of your business! None! What don't you understand?" she hollered on.

"Listen, Sam told me something. You've been acting off since you guys took Justin to the Chase―"

"Oh, Samirah! What does Samirah know?" Alex shrieked. "She's too busy being perfect to know anything!"

"Alex, what happened? Blitz also mentioned that you have not gone to the Chase Space since Justin got there and that's weird on itself, I'm thinking maybe―"

"No, no, no. You have no idea," she bellowed. "You know nothing."

"Did Justin do something to you? Maybe he said something that bothered you, or…"

"Oh, now you're throwing him into the mix, isn't this priceless?" she crackled a deranged laugh. "No, blondie, rest assured, whoever did this to me you don't know. Trust me, what happened had nothing to with you or with my mother. Until she made it her business, of course, but that's not the point, either. However it was, put your little conscience at ease―it's not your problem."

"Alex, what happened? Maybe I can―"

"No, no you can't. Leave me alone, that's the only thing I want. Leave me alone," the embers that had slowly retreated in her eyes were suddenly a full-blown bonfire again, lit in rage and glazed over in contempt.

"Don't do this, Alex, please."

"Don't do what? I have never wronged you, I have never pestered you with questions like you are doing me. I have never put my nose in your business. Why are you paying me back like this? Why won't you leave alone?" she muttered, a note of raw desperation in her voice. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Alex―"

"No, I don't want to hear it! I don't need you. I don't need anyone, I have never needed anyone, why don't you understand something so simple?" she inquired almost maniacally as she walked closer to the son of Frey, forcing him to step back. With her eyes still focused on Magnus, Alex fumbled with the doorknob until she managed to open the door "Get out of here! Cut it out and leave me alone!"

"Please, just―"

"Out! Are you not listening? Get out!" Alex insisted, immovable in her intent of pushing Magnus through the doorway with the sheer force of her blazing eyes.

Incapable of doing anything else, Magnus complied and stepped out of the room with a sigh. As soon as he had crossed the doorway, Alex hurried to slam the door shut. Disheartened, the son of Frey began to massage his temples.

"Any luck?" Mallory's voice called behind him.

"Does it look like it?" he pointed to the recently-closed door. With another sigh, he turned around to meet the daughter of Frigg, who had managed to pull her curly hair into a loose bun.

"Well, she's not trying to wreck down the building, so there's that," Mallory shrugged. And, to be fair, she was right―Alex's room had gone dead silent. Which did nothing to ease Magnus' nerves.

—*—*—

The only other person Magnus thought could help was Hearthstone. Certainly, the elf and Alex had not had much time to know each other until Alex started to volunteer at the Chase Space. Magnus knew for a fact that they had managed a way to work together, while both of them kept mostly to themselves. Sometimes, when Alex joked around, Hearth would roll his eyes at her, which was his way of chuckling.

Besides, Hearthstone was the most reliable person Magnus knew when it came to reading people. Without a doubt, Blitz was the most sociable out of the pair, but the dwarf was also impulsive. Conversely, Hearth was used to observe and reflect. He knew when something was wrong from just taking a glimpse at hunched shoulders or tense muscles. More than once, the elf had stopped Magnus to ask him if everything was alright, only because of the pace at which he walked.

Hearthstone was a good listener, despite how odd that phrase sounded. He gave his full attention to his interlocutor and he cared, he cared deeply and appreciated the trust that was being deposited in him. He always kept a cool head and he did not hesitate to let you know when he thought you were doing something wrong. Often times, he had the reason. So, when it came to Magnus, at least, he had a blind trust in his friend.

And Hearthstone, in fact, told him to leave Alex alone. They both knew how overwhelmed she could get. Most of the members of their self-proclaimed family ―and also most of the children that entered the Chase Space― had been forced to grow used to work on their own. They had learned to rely on themselves and only on themselves. They were what one would call lone wolves, as they knew that no aid was going to fall from the sky. If anything, the skies and the gods only brought more problems with them.

Sometimes, even when the logical part of their brain knew that they could trust their friends, there was an irrational side to their thoughts that insisted that only deception could come out of something like that. Magnus had to admit that Hearth was right. He was familiarized with that feeling, with the incessant voice inside his head telling him that he should not trust Sam or Mallory or even Hearthstone himself. The distant belief that he would be better off working alone.

Of course, he knew that was not true. It couldn't be true. The only reason they had come so far and managed to stop Ragnarok was because they had worked together, as a team, as parts of a well-adjusted machine. He knew that, logically. It didn't mean that he didn't feel a shiver running down his spine whenever he realized how comfortable he felt in their company, how much he relied in his friends.

He had only lived in the streets for two years, he reminded himself. Alex had moved around for much, much longer. And still, he had not been completely isolated, not in the way the daughter of Loki had been. Therefore, he could only suppose that the voice that whispered about the futility of allowing yourself to trust someone called more strongly for Alex than it did for him.

She would realize she was only alienating herself further by pushing away the people who cared about her. Eventually, Hearth assured, Alex would realize that they did care about her, and that whatever it was that had put her so on the edge she did not have to go through alone. Until then, however, he strongly insisted that Magnus left her to her own devices. His intentions were clearly good, Hearth said, but Alex was not in the mindset to recognize that. All that he was achieving by pestering the daughter of Loki with questions and inquiries was to make her feel even more weary and cagey.

He was pushing her, more and more, pressuring and burdening her, the elf declared. It was natural that something like that would make Alex close up rather than make her feel comfortable enough to voice her worries. What Magnus was doing, he said, was forcing Alex into a situation that she didn't want, which would bring a time when the daughter of Loki decided to retaliate, and they both knew that Alex was not one to hold back when she felt attacked. He was restraining her, and that would prove counterproductive once she ran out of patience and began striking back.

After all, a caged animal was the most dangerous of them all, as they had nothing to lose and were willing to fight tooth and nail for the off chance of regaining their freedom. And, like he knew he would, Magnus could do nothing other than admit the truthfulness in Hearth's words.


Well... here we are!

Let me just say a couple of things because, again, either I keep my mouth shut or I risk spoiling this thing for you. Point number one, can I just say how much I love Magnus? Honest to God, he's the purest thing ever. He's so sweet and caring. It was the easiest thing to work with him. You know what's the best? I can be as sappy as I want with him, because it's not OOC at all! He is a lovely, lovely person.

Point number two, I absolutely adore Alex, I do, but I have to admit that sometimes our characters clash with each other. Especially when it comes to how she treats Magnus, because at least for my taste, she is too harsh with him and he has done nothing to earn that. Do I, logically, understand why she is like that, after all she's been through? Yes, yes, I do, but it still hurts my heart because Magnus is the sweetest thing, okay? Just something I wanted to get off my chest.

Also, huge shoutout to Victor and Vero, two close friends who were kind enough to hear me rant about this story for months on end. Honestly, people who endure my ranting are the best and I loved them. Also, just like geminalupus, they were patient enough to wait for me to publish this story. I swear, this fanfic has been ready to be published for at least two weeks, but... school prevented me from being able to actually publish it. Nonetheless, it's finally here, and I couldn't be happier about it!

I really hope you enjoyed this little something and please wait for chapter number two, which I will publish in a moment.