Author's Notes - Thanks to the reviewers! You really help motivate me to continue this story going :) I'm really hoping its turning out as AWESOME as I had envisioned!
"Ah, so all of my belongings wound up here, eh?" Winter peered about one of the many guest rooms of the palace of Asgard interestedly. It seemed no different then the other guest rooms in the sense that it was overly indulgent, and far too spacious.
The room itself was clad with a bed of comedic size, with intricate carvings decadently printed upon the walls with the color of gold twisting throughout. The roof was nearly nonexistent, far higher then logic would dictate, and far more extravagant than common sense could justify.
The room was equipped with the necessary furniture, and far more, for performing as one's bedchambers.
Winter had been banished upon such a short notice that many of her most treasured belongings had still remained in Yayl's tavern, hidden away inside her room. In truth, she'd imagined them long gone, a loss she hadn't allowed herself to feel for long.
To know they weren't gone from her grip, sent her into a strange sort of mood, one she couldn't recall ever feeling before. It was as if the smile upon her lips couldn't depart for the life of her! Truly, it wasn't the trivial little things that mattered to her, they were far to replacable. No, it was the memories that clung to their surfaces. The many adventures she'd had, all in good company and pleasant enough circumstances, all came to mind upon a mere glimpse to their surfaces.
Knives, jewlery, clothing, and the like were carefully placed around the new room with gentle care. Clearly, the hand that had moved them treated them as if they were his or her own treasures, and not some traitor's.
"Yayl made it clear that your belongings were no to longer remain at her tavern." Loki explained, stating aloud what they both quite simply knew, a bitter, resentful tone sneaking into the statement. The man stood in the doorway, the door slightly ajar at his back. He stood far taller then her, and most certainly enjoyed rubbing in such a fact with QUITE the amused sort of grin at any chance.
She didn't particularly know what he stared at so fascinatedly with those eyes of his, but hell, sometimes he just did that. Staring at her. It gave her the eerie feeling she was to do something spectacular any minute.
Well, she DID do that, but still..
She wasn't doing anything fascinating at the moment!
"Considering what happened, I am not surprised. What does fascinate me, however, is the survival of my belongings." Winter was indeed awestruck, leaning down a moment to lift a slightly dusted viking blade between her fingertips. Turning it gently, Winter felt a sweet, nostalgic sort of smile place itself upon her features, eye brightening with the memory that clung to the metal.
"You expected them to be destroyed?" His eyes stuck upon her face, his grin widening as she gently rubbed the dust from the viking dagger.
"I did commit treason" Winter shot him a look over her shoulder with a smirk, fingers absently twisting around the hilt of the finely etched blade. "Or so the vast majority of Asgard seems to believe." Winter gave a wink. Loki laughed openly, "No, I believe that they imagine a far different tale."
"And just what might that one be?" Winter inquired absently, narrowing her eyes to the Viking dagger as she more furiously rubbed at the collection of dust. It quite simply, and contentedly ignored her, remaining happily where it was.
In fact, she couldn't feel the grit of the dust beneath her fingers.
What the hell?
"The story changes upon who tells it." Loki shrugged his arms absently, shifting in the doorway slightly before continuing, "Some believe I decieved you, others choose to believe I placed the blame upon you, a fair few imagined that it is all ungrounded rumors. That you are simply away on a trip to Midgard, as usual, simply taking longer than usual. The majority, however, believe I stole your heart."
Winter's finger slipped, slicing open on the blade of the dagger. Swearing in Nightmarish, Winter pressed her thumb to her lips, shaking her head. "Stole my heart? Pretty sure I'd need a beating one for that." Winter quipped, removing her thumb from her lip to investigate the damage.
Beads of blood bubbled to the surface, moving down the base of her thumb to her palm in a slow fashion, the skin showing no sign of healing in the slightest.
Oh WONDERFUL. She even BLED now.
Being a Nightmare without any power was truly an inconvenience.
"What are you doing?" Loki strode over, raising an eyebrow at her antics. Ha! Apparently her spectacular actions weren't quite what he'd have imagined.
Heh heh, served him right for having expectations!
"There's dust on this. I see it." Winter narrowed her eyes to the dagger in hand, quirking an eyebrow in joking challenge, "Sitting there.. Taunting me.." Playfully she stretched her voice out, as if speaking was a challenge from her desire to destroy said dust.
"There is no dust upon that dagger." Loki frowned almost concernedly, backing up a few paces to the bedstand table. Drawing open the drawer, he removed a roll of bandages that he'd long since taken to stashing around the place as winter had often frequented the palace itself. She'd gone either to answer for trouble she'd committed, or to visit those she'd grown accustomed to the company of usually. But as time went on Winter's injuries grew slower and slower to heal, but her distaste for healers, on the other hand, did not.
As such, he'd grown to stash a few bandages every so often about the place. So as to have the ability to patch her up, without appearing as though he'd cared too much, or perhaps he simply didn't desire the burden of carrying the bandages himself.
With him, one truly couldn't be certain with anything.
He'd change the sky green for the day, simply to see how it looked.
Winter offered her hand without a thought, Loki turning her palm up as he carefully bandaged the wound. "Nightmare hearts don't beat?" He inquired absently, the bandage pulling at her tender wound. Winter, of course, didn't flinch.
She'd endured worse then a pesky little paper cut.
"Oh, no, they do, in a physical sense. What alive thing doesn't have a beating heart after all? Beyond that, however.."
"Are you certain?" A challenged grin found its way onto his features as his eyes met hers with a smirk. His fingers worked a knot into the bandage, tying it off. "All you need, I believe, is someone for it to beat FOR."
"You're being very corny, Loki" Winter chuckled, mock scoldingly. "You should know to play your blushing game on someone else by now!"
His grin only widened, lifting to his eyes, "It is a good game." He stated before switching the conversation upon a whim, "You saw dust, did you?"
"Indeed I did," Winter bounced the dagger in her hand, walking past Loki without a thought and lifting a thin stretch of leather from its resting place upon the vanity. It was used to buckle in a hidden knife anywhere one liked, and as Winter preferred it, upon either high upon her arm, or high on her leg. As she wore a sleeveless dress, a hidden knife wouldn't be too hidden out in the open like that, she supposed as she rested her foot upon the chair nearby. Rolling up the dress with her finger tips, she quite found the bandaged hand less then eager to obey.
"It's no matter, though." Winter continued, bending over her exposed leg as her fingers quickly wound the leather strap close to her hip. "Simply the matter with my eyes, everything looks like it has some deal of dust upon it. Makes things rather pale, and distorted in color, actually, particularly the farther away I am." Winter sighed and shrugged her arms, "But hell, complaining is for the dying, or so I have been told."
"I do not believe they should take this long to heal. Perhaps I should take a look, since you despise our healers."
"Not your healers, specifically. It's not like I'm Asgardian Healer-sist. Besides, I'm kind of in the middle of something here." Winter looked up, rather surprised that his back wasn't to her in the slightest. Rather, he was watching her closely as he spoke.
"Nothing I haven't seen before, I assure you." Loki winked with a likable sort of laugh, Winter sighed, twisting the leather strip closed, the sheath perfectly positioned. "Mm, not mine. I should think."
"Why should your legs be any different?"
Winter smirked wider, "I don't know if you noticed, but I have legs for days." Winter joked, raising herself to her own height, though her foot was still firmly planted upon the chair. Winter's eyes met his, her slitted white eyes meeting his green ones with a look of boredom painted across them.
"What are you even looking for, exactly?"
"Any bit of damage, really." Loki narrowed his eyes, leaning forwards slightly as if he'd glimpsed at something that shouldn't be there.
Was her appearance failing?
Wouldn't that just be her luck..
"What are you doing?" Winter slowly raised an eyebrow, pushing down the chill in her blood at the very idea of her Nightmare form appearing over the Asgardian one.
What man could stand the presence of a demon, after all?
"I thought I saw something.." His eyes narrowed further, searching across her entire face at this point.
"Like what, exactly?" Winter inquired tensely, heart slamming against her chest despite her best efforts.
What the hell? This was a man, not some wild beast! Fear was for the threat of death! Winter assured herself, stilling her heart with a firm mind and an iron will.
"I'm not certain, it was almost-"
"Well, back the hell up! It looks like you're going to-"
Thor knocked twice on the door, striding in with a sentence already on his tongue before the door could be answered. The words on his lips dying away as Winter finished her own cross words.
"-Kiss me, fool!"
For a moment, the man stood stunned, eyes skimming the scene before him, painted in the misunderstanding of those three damnable words. Winter blinked, cursing herself with a nearly pained expression to Thor. Her bare leg still rested upon the chair between Loki and herself, the leather cord untangling itself at some movement she hadn't noticed. His brother was seemingly leaning in to kiss Winter, at her own demand.
Oh, misunderstandings.
Thou art a fickle bitch.
Thor threw his hands up, apologizing profusely with a wide sort of grin, striding right back out of the room, his laughter preceding the closing of the door.
Winter and Loki exchanged a quick look, before Winter sprinted out after Thor, eager to fix the misunderstanding. She was in such a rush, in fact, that she tied on the cord and sheathed the knife as she ran, bringing a sort of hopping, rushed motion. Skidding out the door with a flurry of movement.
Loki, on the other hand, simply laughed at the hilarity of the moment, unable to help himself a moment longer.