I was warned by Yord, and I did not bring a weapon, so the fact that this happened is really no surprise. So I suppose I walked right into it. Literally.
A furious Coeg raised from his sleep just before me. My loud footsteps undoubtedly stirred the beast. I'd never seen one, except as a drawing in a book once. Vicious creatures. That large snout hides flesh-ripping fangs, and you needn't good eyesight to tell you just how muscular and terrifying it is. I've never had to deal with wild animals before. That is, unless you count the Asgardian guards.
Its coal-black eyes bored straight into me. When it stood, it was only a foot shorter than I. Its canine fur was a deep red color, and it made me curious as to if it was naturally that way, or stained from the blood of its prey.
I slowly began to back up, too scared to look for roots sticking out or shrubbery that might trip me. I haven't a clue how fast they are, as I never bothered to read the description in that book I once dubbed 'useless'.
I kept backing up, and eventually felt the trunk of a tree behind me as it began to growl and bare it's teeth. This thing will rip me up to bits unless I climb this tree, and fast.
My hands are sweaty from fear but I flip around to grab hold onto the bark just as it lunges for me. I swing to the side and it bites the bark instead. I use this split second to hoist myself higher and grab the lowest branch. I feel its powerful jaw rip one of my shoes off, but words cannot express how thankful I am that my foot wasn't inside of it.
Just as I think I might be out of its reach, I feel my dress get pulled harshly down. I nearly lose grip of the small branch, but I managed to pull myself up with the distinct sound of fabric ripping.
I kept climbing until I was absolutely out of reach, but I could see the nasty creature still snarling, making some inferally dreadful noise. It was as if it was growling and being choked at the same time. It made several more attempts to claw its way up but failed each time.
I won't deny it, I am very shaken up. I've had to deal with nasty people before, but this wilderness is so, out of control for me. That's it, out of control, I am used to having things controlable. Stealing from a store or lifting change out of someone's robes are controlled enviornments, and I know I am stealthy enough to not be caught. But this...
You cannot tame this creature, you cannot come up with a devised plan. It's all, hope for the best and take it step by step. That's what this has all been the past couple of weeks. I don't know the plan, everything seems to just, go. On it's own, where ever.
These thoughts and many more drifted about my mind as I waited for the beast to move on. But I sat there, hour after hour, and it never left. It fell asleep for a while, and I attempted to quietly crawl down the tree on the otherside but it nearly got me again and I climbed back up.
Clever creature. It's going to try to starve me out. I even tried to climb to another tree but the ones around this one were too far, and the branches too weak to support me jumping. Should it snap, I would fall, and my bones would litter the ground for an eternity.
But just before I attempted to do something about this that would surely end in my death, I heard an amused, mischievous laugh from a few yards away. The beast stood up but quickly fell down, as something had landed in its skull.
"You're worse than I thought." I heard him say. Loki.
Grateful or annoyed, I cannot decide on my emotion. "Yes, well, I would like to see you try to kill it without a weapon!" I said, starting to climb down to the Coeg corpse.
"Doppelganger, I would have sent it running off, while I escape." he said, strolling over to the dead animal.
"Well I don't have a doppelganger, Mr. Loki. And I'm not trained to kill, either." I looked down and realized the lower part of my dress had been torn right off, making it uncomfortably short.
"Yes, your knowledge is in deception, stealth. Quite handy. By the way, love, I think your dress must have caught on a branch, it seems torn, did you notice?" he said, grinning.
I narrowed my eyes. "Why, no, I hadn't at all. Thank you for telling me."
He looked amused, and surprisingly, in a good mood. "It's nice to see you again, too." he said, pulling the dagger from the Coeg's head. I didn't say anything.
"Nasty beasts, Coegs. They make fine trophies. Unfortuneately I'm not in to displaying corpse heads in my house." he said, leaning back on the tree from where I'd climbed. "You could have just jumped onto it's head from the tree, he would have died instantly." he said, wiping the dagger off on a now red cloth.
I suppose I should act at least a little more grateful. After all, he did save my life, twice now. "I will keep it in mind should it happen again. How did you know I was here?" I asked, attempting to pull the dress down a bit more, but failing.
"Easy. Yord said he told you not to go into the woods, so naturally I knew you would. I had just returned a short while ago, and I have good news." He extended his hand and motioned for me to follow.
I walked over and he put his arm around me. I couldn't help but look at his hand and want to shove it away, but I didn't. We walked through the woods, presumably back to the house.
"Most everyone in Asgard thinks you're dead." I felt really surpised, my stomach seemed to jump around on its own. "And that's good?" I replied. He nodded. "Yes, very. And I'm not a traitor, at least by their word." By their word?
"So you are a traitor?" I asked. He looked away for a moment. "Well, it depends on how you look at it, really." he said. I could tell he was not terribly excited to discuss this subject, more like he was obligated to.
"I mean, by letting the frostgiants in, I saved Asgard from my brother's foolish rein for at least a little while longer." I stopped dead in my tracks.
"You? You left the frostgiants in?" I could hear my jaw hitting the wood's floor.
"I had to, love. Thor is immature, unready for the throne. He thinks of it as a joke or a game, and only recently is our father beginning to realize this."
"They don't who the real culprit is, but as far Asgardians are concerned, you have been brought to justice for your, heinous crimes." He laughed aloud. I kept staring at the ground, and I realized it was nearly dark out. I could see the field that led to the house just up ahead.
I did not want to continue that conversation, and he seemed somewhat quiet of other recent news, so I didn't push it any farther. After Riya nearly lost her head upon seeing my shredded dress and hearing that I disobeyed Yord's advice, she pulled up a warm bath and a fresh dress for me.
"The master speaks very fondly of you." She said, brushing my hair out after the bath. I couldn't think of what to reply, he always seems narcissistic in my opinion. Like he is somehow above me, but in a way that you doubt he is.
We walked to the dining hall and saw a beautiful dinner set on a large table, set for two. This is actually the first time I've eaten at the table.
Loki pulled my chair back for me. Manners are something I never grew up with, so it was no surprise to see him almost study the way I ate. "What?" I asked. He shook his head. "Nothing. You just have much to learn." he replied. "Learn? What do I have to learn?" I asked, my mouth full of bread and wine.
He acted like a child caught doing something he shouldn't be. "Well..." he said, sipping the wine like a gentleman. "I have someone coming to see you tomorrow. A very wise man."
I swallowed all my food, wiped my mouth and pushed the plate from me. "I see. What does he do?" I said. He grinned. "You're very defensive. He will train you in the art of hand-to-hand combat."
"What ever for?" I said. Riya and Yord cleared the table as we walked to the outdoor room. It is a beautiful, roomy patio that I only now realized how wonderful it really is.
"I need you trained, Skye." he said, as he sat next to me on a cushion on the floor. "It's just a...precaution. Most of Asgard thinks Skye Arteag is dead, I plan to rebirth you, in a way."
I looked to the night sky for a distraction, until he said my name. "Beautiful name. I hate to change it. Almost as beautiful as you are." I am not sure if I avoided his eyes out of childish shyness or distrust.
"Well, thank you, I suppose." He slyly smiled. "Can I ask you something?" He nodded. "Why can you freely return to Asgard even though you disappeared for three days?" I asked.
He sighed. "Odin knows you are alive. Thor does, and a few close 'friends' of theirs. They also know you're probably innocent, so they don't bother to ask why I did what I did, or where you are, as long as you're out of sight, and nearly all of Asgard thinks you're dead."
"Can't I ever return? To see friends?" I asked. He tilted his head as if tossing an idea around. "Definitely not." he said after a moment. "Asgardians would know you live, and too many complications would arise." I suppose I have little to return to anyway.
I stretched my legs out and straightened out my dress. Yech. I hate dresses nearly as much as prison, and there is little difference!
"You need rest. Cowering from that Coeg must have been exhausting." he said, laughing. For the first time, I playfully shoved him, as I would a friend. A friend.
"Indeed it was! I thought I would have to resort to eating the bark unless some hero galloped along to save me!" I said, giggling. The wine is probably getting to me.
"My apologes that I was not the hero you prayed for." he said. I shook my head and smiled. "Villains are better than heroes." I said flatly. Though he did not reply for a moment, I could see his ear-to-ear smile through the corner of my eye.
"So you like villains more than heroes." He said. I nodded. "At least villains get to have fun." Yes, the wine is definitely getting to me.
"You think I am a villain?" he asked, slightly more serious. I realized how out-of-hand I was getting and tried to calm myself. "The word villain is subjective. Some people have called me that, though I see myself stealing, yes, but not from innocents or poor. I used to steal because I would die if I didn't."
He thought this over for a moment. "Just as some might see you letting frostgiants in to Asgard as a villainous act, though you were only doing Asgard a favor." I added.
He stared at me for a moment, thinking about something. "You are quite right, Skye. I have never thought of it that way. Thank you." I nodded and he grinned.
I stood up to retire to my room as I assumed tomorrow would be an active day, or at least an interesting one.
He stood up as well and we bid eachother good night. Just as we were to split ways to go to our rooms, one final thought occured to me. "So I was more or less a name picked out of a bowl?"
"Well, they needed someone to take the blame, filthy Asgardians. The citizens became restless for a criminal to hate. And a parentless, vengeful thief looked convincing enough."
