As the TARDIS landed with a rather substantial bump, Clara lost her footing and fell to the ground. The Doctor, not realizing, ran out before she could say a word. With a grumble of frustration, Clara picked herself up and dusted herself off.
She stepped out onto the strange place that the Doctor called Asgard. The tall, immaculate buildings seemed to gleam and glow, even in the shade. The buildings grew to enormous heights and seemed to be shaped like long gems. It was a truly magnificent sight.
The Doctor had brought her here to show some of the best Asgardian partying he had ever experienced. These gods were known for their extravagant pageantry and the sense of euphoria that surrounded their merry gatherings.
When Clara caught up to the Doctor, he began explaining to her the local etiquette, tradition, customs, and who-was-who. Naturally, she spaced out. She figured that she might as well focus on having a good time, rather than follow local social convention. The Doctor simply didn't want to be kicked out of the legendary festivities… again.
After meeting gods and goddess', tasting the cuisine, and dancing to a few medieval-sounding sonnets, serenades, and ballads, Clara got the chance to explore, something she wanted to do since she had arrived. The Doctor was far too busy talking to a god named Thor, comparing notes on humans and their activities.
While wandering, she started down yet another long, golden hall, amazed, by the height of the ceilings and the view from the open arch-windows. She turned to look ahead of her and stopped short. In front of her stood a tall, dark haired man. Before Clara could speak, he turned and ran down an adjoining hall.
Who was he? Why wasn't he partaking in the festivities? Why would a member of such a friendly race run from her? She sprinted after him, questions whizzing through her mind. She zigged and zagged, following the echo of his running feet.
As she turned a corner, the sound of his footsteps faded and a large door stood in front of her, slowly closing. She ran inside of the room just before the door shut.
The dark haired man was sitting, with his back to her and his head down, on a ledge looking out through vast open arches to the horizon. Because she could not see his face, Clara walked around to his side, keeping a cautious distance. When she could finally see his face, she noticed that his expression was pained.
Clara didn't feel any need to be scared. Instead, she felt compelled to help this stranger. She quietly walked over and sat down beside him on the ledge.
"Hey." Clara made sure to subdue her usual cheeriness. She waited for him to answer, but got no reply. He didn't want to talk to her, but she wasn't about to give up.
"Why did you run away?" She was genuinely curious. She wasn't scary, intimidating, or fearsome. She didn't consider herself to be terribly ugly or have an offensive odour. She wanted to know his reasons for fleeing from her.
"Why did you follow?" Although the first words out of his mouth were full of venom and a deeper pain, she could not help but notice the dark chocolate quality of his voice.
"Because you ran." Clara's explanation was simply, and true.
"Because you are contemptuously curious." His face contorted to a near disgusted expression. Clara could tell that this man had no interest in conversation, but she was determined.
"You could tell that from one look?" She allowed herself a small smile, only half joking. She wasn't sure what these Asgardians were capable of.
"I could tell that from one action." The looked up sharply at Clara, eyes blazing. Clara could tell that the current anger in his eyes was being softened by an incredibly deep despair.
"You chased me when you had the chance to ignore me." The man's logic was infallible. She could have kept walking or went back to the party, but by chasing the man, she was showing that she wanted to figure answers to her questions.
"What's your name?" Clara hadn't known how to respond to the man, so she asked another question.
"Why should I answer such a puny thing as yourself?" He was obviously tired of her, but would not simply leave.
"Hey!" Clara had not expected that, and was mildly offended. She knew she was small, but 'puny' obviously meant 'inferior' to the rude man. He turned his gaze back down to his lap.
"I am Loki Laufeyson." He responded quietly and almost ashamedly.
"Well, Loki, why aren't you with the other Asgardians?" This, too, Clara felt that she needed to know.
"I am not one of them!" Loki almost screamed as he whipped his head back around to face her. He was enraged. His eyes were on the verge of overflowing.
"I am not an Asgardian! I am a Jotunn! A Frost Giant! An abomination in Asgard!" When Loki had stopped yelling he turned back to the horizon that lay in front of them. The tears in his eyes and down his face glistened with the setting sun. He shut his eyes, looking more pained than he could express.
"You're not an abomination." Clara comforted in a soft voice. Loki only lowered his head further.
"Then why do they party when they think me dead?" He replied, sullenly. "I used to be one of them. I used to think I was an Asgardian. " The actions of the Asgardians had hurt him deeply.
Clara had no answer. She had not thought about why they would be having a party in the first place. Now she wonder if this was the reason, if the Asgardians were really such a friendly race after all.
"Sometimes, when I feel that nothing is going right, I take a vacation." Clara offered a bit of her personal wisdom.
"Vacation?" Loki did not seem to know this word, that or he hadn't considered it an option. Clara couldn't tell which.
"I just pack my bags, choose a random place I haven't been to, and leave for a while." She felt that a further explanation might aid Loki, if in fact he did not know about vacations.
"What does one do on these excursions?" Although still depressed, Clara had managed to pull Loki's attention to another topic, even if he was being condescending.
"Usually I just relax, find something else to do. Something new to focus on." Clara couldn't specifically remember what she did on vacations. Her time with the Doctor had eliminated any recent need for them.
"There is something which I might focus my attention…" Loki seemed a little more distant, and a lot less despaired, through the watery trails of his tears still stained his face.
"Great! All you need to do is find somewhere that isn't here and-"
"Clara! Clara!" The Doctor called for his companion. "Clara!"
"I guess I'd better be going." Clara stood up. She hadn't been keeping track of the time, and the Doctor could have been looking for her for ages. All she knew was that the sun had set and night had fallen.
"Goodbye, Clara." Loki said solemnly, with a closed smile, looking into the distance.
"It's been nice talking to you." Clara wanted to check that Loki would be okay, and for the moment, it seemed that he would be.
"Yes, it has." He looked up at her, smiling with a wide, toothy grin from ear to ear. His smile was brilliant and beautiful. It made her happy just to see it on his face. Loki turned back to where the sun had set, and Clara walked to the door.
As she left and the door fell shut again, she heard Loki laugh. Not a loud, boisterous laugh, but a deep, soft chuckle. The fact that she had helped Loki brought a smile to Clara's face.
With the door shut behind her, Clara ventured of in search of the Doctor. It didn't take long for her to find him. He had wandering around, looking like a lost puppy when she found him.
"And where did you get off to?" The Doctor ran up to Clara, embraced her in a hug, and quickly looked her over, making sure she was fine.
"I just went for a wander. Walked around a bit." Clara wasn't sure if she should tell the Doctor who she had met. The Doctor was friends with the Asgardians, and if they were celebrating Loki's death, the Doctor might not be happy about her consoling him.
As they walked back to the TARDIS, the Doctor talked more about the Asgards and their culture and everything that happened at the party.
"So what exactly did you do when you wandered about?" The Doctor asked, inquisitively. He had spent so long talking about his time at the festivities that Clara wasn't sure if he had even noticed that she was missing.
"You know. Walked around, talked to some locals, the usual." She wasn't exactly lying. She simply kept specific details from him.
"Well, good. Staying out of trouble and all that." The Doctor seemed pleased that she hadn't been up to any mischief during their time in Asgard.
"You know what would be unusual," The Doctor started as they reached the TARDIS, "If you flew her." He unlocked the door and ran inside.
"Flew who?" Clara said, absent-mindedly. As she stepped into the TARDIS, she couldn't help but look back. She hoped that the sad, outcast, Loki she met would be okay, and that the smile he had shown her earlier would stay with him. From what she knew, and from what she could rationalize, he didn't deserve all of the negativity put upon him. Her heart went out to him.
"The TARDIS!" The Doctor exclaimed as he grabbed Clara's arm and pulled her inside. The door shut and she was in the big blue box, off on another adventure.