Hey ya! How are you my dear readers, followers and reviewers? miss me?
well yeah I know its been quiet a long time since I last updated but ... I've eventually updated haven't I ?
So, I'd like to thank my dear friend and beta reader Loqi and all the thanks to lovely followers, reviewers and of course readers.
Now... please Enjoy!
Chapter 6 :The Thunder, The Lightning and The Beast
As the griseous clouds that were moving smoothly among the dark heart of the night sky battled with the wide emerald wings of the flying serpent, a blinding white light lit up the area, followed by the deafening sound of thunder. A trumpet of the uprising war had been blown in the young warriors ears when they moved their steeds up the top of the grassy hill not far from the forest.
Thor pulled back his steed's bridle, looking furiously between the ebony high branches of the Mystic Forest, his curious eyes searching closely for a movement of some kind. The cold wind howling through the grass below their feet had integrated with the roaring sound of the coming thunder, sending cold shivers in waves down four riding shadows on the hill. Still, their stern faces showed not the slightest trace of fear.
Sif grimaced inwardly, pulling her dark cloak closer to her body to avoid the frozen drops of the falling rain, which seemed to get faster by the second. She raised her head and looked upon the sky, creasing her brows slightly when the drops of the frosty rain transformed into long chains, tapping on their figures and penetrating the soil ground like thousands of lances. Soon they all were soaked from head to toe as if they'd been drowning in a deep river.
Sif narrowed her eyes and pulled her horse's leash to stand next to Thor, "We can't see anything. How are we going to find the monster like this?" She asked calmly.
"Our priority is my brother; we'll find him first." Thor exclaimed as he pushed aside his wet hair.
"And how exactly are we going to find him in the Mystic Forest in this storm?" Fandral uttered wryly.
"We split!"
Silence. Everyone looked back and marveled at the one who had just spoken. The orange haired boy, a few feet away from them, looked at the others shocked expression with widened eyes, then gulped nervously and moved his horse closer to them. Fandral was the first one who broke the awkward silence with a rather dry laugh, tapping on Hogan's shoulder as he still stared grimly at the huge boy.
"This is the craziest idea I have ever heard." Sif said, rolling her eyes.
"A great idea indeed!"
Sif and the future warrior's three were stunned for a moment, looking immediately at the god of thunder. Their mouths hung open and their eyes widened in terror.
Thor shrugged, looking away and ignoring their horrified expressions before explaining, "If we split, we'd have a better chance of finding my brother. Then we reunite at the center of the forest, fight the monster, doom it to death and leave for our homes."
"You make it sound like a walk in the park," Fandral said disdainfully while poking Volstagg's belly with the tip of his sword, "Or leaving a large plate full of baked lamp for Volstagg to swallow within seconds!" He hissed ferociously at the boy.
Thor looked from one boy to the other, grinning widely this time, "My friends, trust me. We can't be threatened by a mere monster easily: we're warriors!" He said haughtily.
"Not yet," Sif sighed while petting her horse.
"We discussed it before, Sif… if you want to share this glorious victory against the monster with me, then it's settled."
"Thor," Sif moved her steed to the edge of the hill, "We're never going to make it out of the forest this way. We probably would get lost, let alone find Loki," She shook her head in frustration. "I think we should stick together."
"Enough!" Thor exclaimed, making Sif wince at his loud voice. "We'll split, as decided." He said imperiously while pulling the bridle harshly and sprinting down the hill, straying away from the others.
Sif looked back, throwing a death glare at Volstagg. Fandral and Hogan eyed the boy, infuriated as well. He retreated his horse a little, drawing his hands up in surrender, "Don't look at me like that! I was just jesting."
The lightning filled the dark crooked stony walls of the small cave, making Sigyn withdraw at the harsh light. She squeezed her eyes shut as she hunched on the ground, cringing noticeably at the loud sound of the thunder. Loki started at the light, jumping to his feet, his eyes widened in shock as the crashing sound echoed in their surroundings. He crawled to the mouth of the cave and looked above at the sudden rainstorm.
"Is something wrong?" Sigyn asked weakly from the other side of the cave. She looked at Loki, whose head was peering out of the cave, looking around nervously. She tried to get on her feet, but the pain of her injured foot seemed to return to her the moment she moved her ankle. She stifled her cry and pulled herself together to once again ask, "What has happened?" this time a little louder to get Loki's attention.
Loki looked over his shoulder at Sigyn, just realizing how worried and panicked she looked. Serenely, he leaned back against the rock, his brows forming a deep frown. "My stupid brother," He scowled and took another glance outside, searching for the monster this time. "Listen," he rose from his position, whispering as if someone was listening to their conversation, "If I sneak out the cave quickly, the monster might not notice me, not in this storm."
"Wait, what?" Sigyn uttered. Realizing how panicked she sounded for a second, she tried to calm down when Loki got closer to her.
Loki knelt next to her, looking directly in her deep blue eyes. "I'll go find my brother. He might be nearby, but he doesn't hesitate to take any stupid action. Somebody has to stop him from doing so. "
"No, no, no, no…" Sigyn folded her knees, ignoring the pain pumping through her body once again as she leaned forward, "This is not supposed to happen… This is not right…." She said in a pleading tone.
Loki cocked one brow, looking at her vaguely, "What do you mean?"
She took a breath, biting her bottom lip to avoid tears, "I can't let you go out there, not like this… I am coming with you. "
"But you're injured."
"I am well- look…" Sigyn pushed herself to stand half-raised in the small area of the cave, but the pain of her broken ankle was too much for her to bear. it made her fall back on the dirt. She pursed her lips and whimpered inwardly, looking into Loki's eyes. Her eyes started to glitter with newborn tears, "Please… don't go."
"Don't worry…" Loki threw her a friendly smile, stepping back slowly to leave the cave, "You'll be alright."
"It's not me I worry about," Sigyn closed her eyes as the warm tears began to flow on her cheeks. She bit the inside of her cheek, feeling desperately vulnerable.
Loki was confused. All he knew was that he had never met her before: it was too bizarre for her to act like this towards a stranger like this. Then again, he wondered why it seemed like they had known each other for a long, long time.
"Why do you care?" Loki couldn't help but ask the girl, to test if she was lying, if she was scared for her own life, her own loneliness… or if she actually cared for him as the friend he'd never had.
"Because I…" Sigyn breathed out, but soon her delicate voice was interrupted by shouting coming from not so far away outside the cave.
"Loki!"
Loki turned around, looking at the dark view of the bushy branches. It was Thor. He put his palm on the stony wall and looked over his shoulder at the girl, "I have to go now. Make sure you stay here. I will come back," He turned and looked at her glowing eyes, how they shone in the darkness, how unnatural she was. And for a moment, just for a brief moment, he saw images of a girl, in an icy frozen castle. In his nightmares, she always appeared as a friendly spirit… as a balm. How familiar she was, how close she looked to an angel of Valhalla. And he wondered, was this even real? And he didn't know why his heart was beating so fast, he didn't know why he felt like his chest was on fire. It was all too surreal for him to understand.
"I'll come back for you," He said in a whispering tone, and he ran out into the cold forest, though he wasn't sure if Sigyn had heard him.
He didn't look back. It all scared him somehow… the warm aura inside the cave scared him, no matter how ambiguously safe he felt there, with her next to him. And it was scary indeed for such a child like himself, for him who only felt safe in the company of his own mother, or Thor for some reasons. He would never feel warm, comfortable and sacred next to someone he had never met. Of course it scared him. And, funny, it might be at that moment and he was thinking maybe the girl-witch had put a spell on him… though this horror, this frightening feeling inside, was it strange to enjoy this anyhow?
Loki didn't know how many feet he had run between the rocks, the bushy branches, hiding, and rising while his mind was swirling elsewhere. The cold rain soaked him the moment he took one step outside, but he didn't care. He might have needed some air, though it wasn't the time to think about his odd feelings. It was a bit awkward, actually, so he focused on finding Thor.
"Loki!" When he heard Thor's voice once again, his head swung backward and his eyes darted to where the blonde boy started to get off his horse, running at him while brandishing a rather monstrous sword. Loki narrowed his eyes at him and walked a little faster to meet his brother.
"Thor! What in the Helheim are you doing here?" He scolded abruptly.
"I came to save you, of course, little brother!" Thor yelled back in an attempt to make his voice be heard through the heavy rainstorm.
Loki winced at his brother, "I don't need to be saved, Thor!" he snapped, "You could just inform father, he would have sent a squadron of his! You just put our lives in danger, coming here on your own-" Loki trailed off when he saw the stupid wide grin on his brother's face. He let out a sigh of disappointment. "Why would you drag those witless friends of yours along, brother? Unless you wanted to earn stupid glory for the battle with the bea-"
"Watch out!" Loki was cut off when he got pushed by Thor, and when he came back to his senses, he realized how hard his back had hit a bough. Slowly, Loki got back to his feet, rubbing his back painfully. Then his eyes locked on the flying serpent that was shooting savagely in their direction.
"Thor!" Loki yelled as the harsh sound of a bare blade crashing against a solid surface filled the area around them. His eyes shifted on the blonde boy who had drawn his sword just in time to block the monster's brutish attack. The sword crashed the monster's head, preventing it from moving forward while leaving deep wound marks on its forehead and between its eyes.
"Go to father!" Thor shouted with his back facing Loki, his huge figure tensed, his left knee bent and being pushed back into the muck by the force the monster was inflicting on him. "Find the others and direct them this way!"
"What about you?!" Loki yelped back, slightly trembling as the monster's head was only a few feet away from Thor. He took a step back nervously.
Thor let out a chuckle mixed with his groaning while the monster was still pushing him back, trying to break free from his sword's grip. "I'll fight the monster until you return," He said looking over his shoulder before directing his gaze upon the monster's one bloody eye. He smirked, "I'd like to present its head to father."
"But-" Loki caught his breath, "But Thor you can't- I mean- this-this is madness!"
"No…"Thor swung his sword and with a flick of his wrist, he shouted loudly while thunder embraced the dark sky, he changed his position to now face the monster's long neck. He hit it violently with his sword, which sent thousands of tiny crimson sparks through the air. The tip of the silver-like sword left a long scratch on the monster's neck and throat, causing its shriek to combine with the sound of thunder. Thor grinned from ear to ear before pulling his sword back afresh, "This is fun!"
Loki shook his head nervously, and when the boy started to once again jump at the monster, he strode backward, slowly quickening his steps to the other side of the forest, where he supposed the others were.
Thor looked at his brother straying away from him, and the corner of his lips went up to form a smile. He sighed in relief and directed his gaze on the monster's one hale eye, which was vengefully fixed on the boy. He smirked slightly, "I suppose it's just you and me now!" He exclaimed before swinging his sword, holding its tip to tear the sky apart. And he charged as quickly as he could at the monster ahead.
"My liege, look…" Vidar remarked, holding the bridle in his grip and pointing at the thunderous night sky.
Odin frowned as the cold chains of the rain started to fall, "My son…" He whispered.
"You think he is at the forest as well?" Vidar shook his head, looking at his king next to him.
Odin paused for a moment, his grip on the leash tightening, "We march our way to the forest before it gets too late!" He declared, pulling his eight legged horse's bridle and moving towards the heart of the mysterious forest.
"Look!"
The crimson tailed serpent, flying in circular paths between the thunderous clouds, took a turn to Sif and the three juveniles' direction. Now they could finally see what the beast looked like.
"You think Thor has found Loki?" Fandral asked, his eyes locked on the beast while he was trying his best to not sound frightened.
Hogan shook his head, swinging his bridle, "No," He uttered dully, "Over there," he said, pointing at the other side of the forest.
Between the tall figures of the trees, a rather small shadow was moving fast towards them. Loki stumbled among the trees while looking frequently back and forth. With his face drained of color, his figure shaking under the massive rainstorm, and his clothes covered in muck, he was running to them.
"Loki!" Sif got off of her horse, running at the boy, " Where is Thor?" She asked when the dark haired prince stopped a few feet away from them, his hands on his knees while he breathed heavily out of exhaustion.
Sif narrowed her eyes before storming to him. She put her hands on the boy's shoulders, holding them firmly so she seemed a few inches taller, " Where is he?!" Sif repeated, this time irritably.
Loki held his breath for a moment, eyeing her. He peered over her shoulder, looking at the others worriedly, " He's fighting the monster. " He declared only to get a frightened look from Sif . The other three boys slowly got off their rides, looking concerned.
"How could you let him do that?!" Sif's shrill voice made Loki wince under her grip.
"There was no stopping him!" Loki yelled back while jerking himself out of the girl's hands," You all know how stubborn he is!" He looked at their scared pale faces one by one, " There was nothing I could do!" Loki felt a lump in his throat, his hands shaking noticeably. Thanks to the cold rain still falling on their heads, he could blame the cold. Serenely, he took a deep breath, blinking away the tears. He tried to soothe himself a little, " He told me to find father and the others and bring them to his location."
"He's buying us time to get the others?" Fandral asked anxiously, stepping closer to Loki. He nodded nervously and opened his mouth to say something, only to get interrupted by another scream from Sif.
"I swear to Yggdrasil," She raised her fist a bit, staring intently at the raven haired boy a few feet away, "If anything happens to him, you won't get away with it easily, Loki!" She threatened.
Loki creased his brows, throwing poisonous glares at the girl," How dare you speak to me like that?" He shouted furiously, " I didn't ask him to come for me," He looked at the others hatefully, " I didn't ask any of you to come!"
"You were the one who caused the trouble in the first place!" Sif moved a step closer to the boy, "He cares for you too much, he couldn't just sit back there and do nothing, unlike you!" She spat.
Loki raised a brow and, even though he felt he was exploding from the inside, a smirk crept onto his features, " And what trouble are you talking about, Sif? Huh?" He said bitingly, " I am not the one who's causing trouble, it's Thor!" Loki snapped while gazing at the other boys, " And don't you think I don't understand why Thor or any of you are here? You haven't come for me; you stupid cowards just followed Thor to be worthy of the title of warrior!"
Sif bit down on her bottom lip resentfully, "I am here only because of him!"
"Oh, really, Sif?" Loki said mockingly, " And you think he cares about how you feel?"
Sif didn't know how it happened: she just felt her body burning in a wrathful fire. It took a moment for her to realize how her knuckles had turned white as her fist tightened. All she felt was hatred towards one boy who always was trying to humiliate her. She was now a step away from him, so she raised her fist, thinking of punching him in the face-
"Shut up, you two!" Fandral's shout made her stop dead where she was. She looked over her shoulder at the blonde boy, whose eyes were fixed on something above.
"That is… " Volstagg frowned, pointing his index finger to the sky, " Tell me that isn't Thor?"
"Damn." Hogan murmured.
Loki and Sif looked at each other with concern and then both of them raised their heads with widened eyes. There on the crimson tail of the monster, Thor was clinging, his sword dangling loosely in one hand while the other gripped the monster's moist skin.
Sif drew out her sword immediately, " We have to help him!"
Loki put his hand on the hilt of her sword, bringing it down a bit, only to catch sight of Sif's glare, "You can't help him like that. " He uttered, nodding at the others to unsheathe their blades as well.
Sif yanked her hand out of Loki's grip abruptly, " And how, pray tell, my prince, exactly do you suggest we help your brother? Perhaps hide in the shadows or run back to safety? "
"It's not an ordinary monster," Loki ignored Sif completely, turning his gaze on the others, explaining, " It's an Echidna, a mother of all monsters. She means no harm, though; she only came for what belongs to her."
"What is she after?" Fandral asked, pulling his sword back down.
"I do not know." Loki lied. " I just know an Echidna doesn't appear out of nowhere without reason. She has to have come for something that was stolen from her realm. "
Volstagg narrowed his eyes at the boy, "And how do you know all of this?"
Loki caught his breath, looking widely at the orange haired boy. He slowly opened his mouth to answer-
"Perhaps if you spent a tiny bit of your time in the grand library instead of eating all the time, you would have known as well. " Fandral said, looking at Loki, who nodded his head vaguely in approval.
"Still, it doesn't tell me why we shouldn't help Thor!" Sif said from behind, making Loki turn on his heel and look at her with a deep frown.
"It means that we don't have to fight the monster… we could just give her back what she wants." Loki answered dryly.
"How do we give her back what she wants when we don't know what it is she wants?" Volstagg asked unexpectedly.
"I don't know." Loki shrugged, " But father would. That's why I am going to inform him, before it's too late, " He looked above at the swirling monster and the lightning, which tore the dark sky with its blinding white light every now and then. " And something happens to Thor. " He finished, whispering.
"Why haven't you told Thor this? " Sif asked this time calmly.
Loki tilted his head at her, "Really ? Does he ever listen? "
Sif rolled her eyes at how true Loki's reasoning sounded, " Still, we can't stay here. You go inform Allfather," she pointed to herself, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg, "And we go to Thor. "
"I suggest you stay here. " Loki said while stepping back, took Volstagg's horse's bridle and threw him a half smirk, " If you don't mind, " He got on the horse, yanking its bridle towards the other side of the forest, which led to the grand hills and palace's training grounds." I don't want to get blamed for your stupid actions and eventual death!" He yelled before riding to the other side, outside the forest.
Sif muttered something under her breath, cursing the boy inwardly before looking once again at the dark sky, searching for the monster and for her friend. But what she saw next made her heart almost stop.
Thor was still clinging to the monster's tail, but this time he didn't have his sword with him and his body seemed to be dangling off the end of the monster's tail loosely and out of his control. At a long, high-pitched scream of the monster, Sif and the others jumped to their feet.
"By Æsir… "She whispered before unsheathing her sword and running to the heart of the forest, "We have to do something!" She yelled, and the others followed her without hesitation.
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