Notes: I suppose I should make a note that everything about the elves is AU and entirely made up. I actually do know quite a lot about the real elves in Norse mythology, but that wasn't as fun as coming up with my own little mini universe and characters. Their names are loosely based on LOTR elven words/names except Taure which literally means 'Forest' in Sindarin.
So, obviously all the elves Tony and Loki will encounter are OCs. And even though I'm reusing Taure from another fic/series of mine, this has nothing to do with that one in the slightest. I just liked him too much to not write more about him. :3
Chapter 25: Don't touch the plants!
"Seriously, can you just let Thor carry you? You're killing me." Tony whined as he followed Thor and Loki down a winding cobblestone road in the middle of a dense forest full of flora that Tony was sure didn't exist on earth. Tony could feel every twinge of pain that passed through Loki due to his wound as he walked along steadily. It was somewhat muted from what Loki must actually be feeling, but still.
He hoped this forest was somewhat more populated than the one in Arkansas.
But of course it was a forest. They were going to see the elves.
"So how long 'til we get to Rivendell?" Tony quipped irritably. Loki stopped in his tracks and turned to face him in annoyance.
"We are not going to Rivendell." He hissed. "Cease your needless chattering. It is irritating enough to have to hear it within my mind as well."
"Oh, I'm sorry princess." Tony retorted, smiling and disgustedly grateful for Pepper giving him the Lord of the Rings to read. Having Loki understand one of his random references was like finding the holy grail. For all the venom in Loki's voice, he wasn't nearly as angry on the inside.
"You are the single most infuriating cretin I have had the displeasure of meeting." Loki snapped and kept walking. Thor listened to them bicker in confusion. Tony only smiled, knowing the statement was entirely sarcasm. Loki was annoyed, yeah, but he considered Thor to be at least fifty times more irritating than Tony.
"We are heading to a place called Lior. It is an academy where those elves that wish the learn the healing arts go to study. I stayed here some five hundred years ago. The man we are going to see, Taure, is a friend of my uncle Frey who is the king of this realm. He is one of the greatest healers and warriors known to the history of the elves. Taure is nearly ten thousand years old, so please be somewhat respectful – both of you." Loki explained obviously barely restraining the desire to rip Tony a new one and disembowel Thor who had insisted on coming with them.
Tony was kind of in agreement where Thor was concerned. The thunderer was nothing but supportive of their relationship, but he still kind of looked ready to murder Tony whenever he thought of the fact that, yes, they were sleeping together. ...Among other things that he really did not want Thor to know about.
It took them about an hour to reach the academy. Tony was absolutely speechless at the sight of it, even if Thor and Loki seemed used to it. The place looked like something straight out of a fantasy movie. The buildings, full of graceful arches and delicately carved decoration, seemed to be cut out of the very mountainside. But the stone was pure white, like semi-translucent marble and seemed to glow in the sun. Amazed by the sheer artistry of it, Tony trailed his fingers across a lovingly carved vine that twisted around a pillar that held up the entry gate. He almost walked into Thor while he stared at the lifelike white elk statue that was tangled in real vines atop the gateway. He'd always appreciated art, but this was different. It seemed... Alive.
"It is alive, in a sense. Magic is life energy made real. Elves unconsciously channel magic into everything they do because they have so much of it. With the ability to sense the presence of magic that you must have already gotten from me, you are feeling those traces left behind. You will notice it in all things eventually, but anything crafted by the elves has a stronger vibration." Loki explained as they passed through the vibrant gardens in front of the main building that were full of elegant animal statues.
"That's going to take some getting used to." Tony thought and turned around to look at the white elk one last time before going inside. It was like having an extra sense; he was beginning to notice that sometimes the air felt different near certain objects. Absently, he touched the arc reactor in his chest, feeling the hard surface beneath his nearly worn out ACDC t-shirt. Loki had said that it felt like the Tesseract. He was beginning to understand what that meant, and it thoroughly freaked him out when it noticed for the first time that morning that he could feel a slight vibration coming from it. At first he panicked and thought it was having a malfunction, until Loki briefly explained what he was feeling.
It was cool and smelt pleasantly of lavender inside the main building of the academy. Tony could see that the long arches carved into the stone that served as windows were left open to let the air in on temperate days, but had heavy wooden shutters to keep the rain out if necessary. Something about it seemed medieval, yet Loki had said the elves had a more advanced culture than any of the other realms. Tony wasn't quite sure what to make of that just yet. He wordlessly followed Loki and Thor up a wide ornate spiral staircase carved from the same dense white stone as everything else. A group of what had to be the equivalent of teenagers for the elves passed by below them, chatting about the lesson they had just left.
That struck Tony as a little odd.
"Hey Lokes, what language do they speak here?" Tony asked, curiously.
"Various dialects of Elvish. I will simply call it Elvish since there are many different language that qualify as such. Though, the elves can usually use these tongues interchangeably since many words and phrases are shared between them." Loki explained as they made their way up the staircase that seemed to go on forever. "Why do you ask?"
"...Because I'm trying figure out why I could understand what they were saying just now." Tony replied awkwardly. "Somehow I knew they weren't speaking English, but that doesn't make any sense does it? ...What the fuck?" Loki looked over his shoulder at him curiously.
"Not all of the power you inherit from me will be something you will need to consciously learn." Loki said cryptically.
"Oh, I believe I know what this is, Man of Iron." Thor said happily, finally glad to be able to participate in the conversation. "It must be the Allspeak."
"Yes." Loki confirmed as they finally reached the top of the stairs. Loki seemed indifferent to the aching of his wound, but Tony half wanted to kiss the floor and pray that these were the only stairs they had to go up. "The Allspeak gives us the ability to understand and communicate in all languages - that includes reading them with some practice. Mostly it is just the Aesir that possess that power, but some elves and Jotnar do as well. It is how Thor and I can communicate with the people of your Realm. You did not truly believe I wasted time learning that guttural nonsense you call a language, did you?"
"I'm kind of surprised something like that didn't give me some kind of massive psychological trauma. I mean, that's pretty serious business. Wow." Tony commented. Loki frowned for a moment.
"So am I." The trickster replied. "Taure's study is through here." He said aloud and led them to a pair of huge mahogany wood doors with the Yggdrasill painstakingly carved into them. Loki didn't knock, he just pushed the door on the right open and walked inside. The old wood didn't even creak. Tony recalled what Loki said about Taure being thousands of years old and swallowed nervously. That didn't sound like someone he wanted to accidentally sass. Especially not if Loki actually respected the guy - because if that fact didn't speak volumes, Tony didn't know what did.
The study was much less orate than the rest of the place so far. Though, it was impeccably neat. Tall bookshelves that nearly reached the arched ceiling dominated the room in rows – all of them stocked in perfect arrangement. Taure must be pretty OCD, Tony thought. There was an upper landing as well that looked like it split off into two separate rooms. On the far end of the main part of the study, there was a large open balcony full of potted plants and a modestly decorative worktable. There was also a large hearth built into the wall beside the balcony.
No one seemed to be around.
Thor, being as incapable of sitting still as he always was, wandered to the balcony. He'd never seen plants like these in Asgard. He would assume they must be used to make medicines. Curiously he reached out to touch the large fuzzy looking leaf at the base of an enormous purple flower.
"Do not touch my plants, Thunderer. I am certain my apprentice would be rather displeased to spend her entire afternoon putting your entrails back where they belong." The words were spoken softly in a voice that had an almost musical quality to it with absolute calm. Yet, the threat was obvious. Thor made a rather uncharacteristic girlish squeaking sound and backed away from the plants.
No wonder he and Loki got along so well.
Tony had to admit, he didn't even notice the elf seated at the table with a book propped up in front of him until he'd spoken. Tony could definitely imagine him being a few thousand years old. There was something positively ageless about him. He seemed old and possessing of incredible knowledge, yet he looked at least ten years younger than Tony. Still, the elf who Tony assumed must be Taure, looked like something right out of a fantasy novel. He had long, waist length auburn hair that had part of it neatly braided and pulled behind his head with a white ribbon that perfectly matched his immaculate white robes with a silver vine patterned trimming on the hems.
He didn't even glance at them. He seemed completely absorbed in whatever he was reading.
Either way, Tony had to give him some credit. He'd freaked Thor out with only a few words, without even looking at him, and that was kind of awesome – considering he'd never come close to managing it.
"Please excuse my idiot brother, he insisted I bring him along." Loki said miserably. Taure smiled fondly and finally set the book aside.
"All these years, Loki, and you still have not mastered the art of trust – or saying what is actually in your heart." Taure said, but smiled warmly. "It is good to see you."
"You as well, Master Taure." Loki said cordially and blatantly ignored his comment about not trusting anyone.
"What brings you here?" Taure asked, his dark blue eyes meeting Tony's brown ones curiously. Tony liked him immediately, in spite of his usual paranoia. Something about the old elf was calming and he obviously had a sense of wit to rival Loki's. Taure and Loki having a verbal pissing contest, oddly it was something Tony was curious to see.
"It will not happen." Loki informed him resolutely. "It is... Complicated." Loki said aloud with a sigh.
"You are in pain." Taure noted. Loki flinched, obviously he had been hoping Taure wouldn't notice, but he nodded in agreement. "I found myself on the wrong side of a certain enchantress. But... that is not why I am here. Perhaps partially. I would rather not keep the scars."
"Scars sometimes serve as a necessary reminder of trials we have survived. Perhaps they are ugly to look upon to some, but they are also beautiful because they are a visible manifestation of our strength and lessons learned through the experience that created them." Taure said enigmatically.
Tony thought about it for a moment, and his own rather nasty scars from various workshop accidents and the more gruesome ones from implanting the arc reactor. He'd never really had a sense of shame as far as his body was concerned, but he did make an effort not to look at it in the mirror unless necessary. What Taure said was true though, especially in Tony's case. For him the scars, both mental and physical, served as a reminder and motivation to stay on the right path. ...A reminder of why he'd stopped making weapons and become Iron Man.
"I would rather not need a physical memento on my body of Amora betraying me due to my own foolishness. The only lesson to be learned from it is that, as always, I have no sense of trust when it matters most." Loki said bitterly. "But again, that is not why I am here."
"It is a lesson you would do well to remember. It has always been your greatest downfall." Taure told him sagely.
Loki sighed and introduced Tony to Taure. Sheepishly, he told his old mentor about his mishap with Amora and the soul bond. Awkwardly, he added the fact that Frigga had suggested speaking with him about it. Taure considered everything Loki told him in silence before addressing Thor.
"As much as it gladdens my heart to see you, son of Odin, this issue is one that there is little you can do help with. In fact, it would be best if you gave your brother the space he needs. Accepting it is difficult under circumstances like this, and your presence here will only make that harder for them both."
Tony wanted to hug Taure.
He had nothing against Thor, but the whole protective big brother thing was starting to drive him nuts. Now he understood the whole cliché about not dating a girl with protective siblings. ...Of course he'd never had such a relationship because apparently that didn't apply to one-night stands with the infamous Tony Stark. Loki obviously agreed, even if Tony couldn't feel the relief through the bond, he'd know Loki would want no part of having this discussion with Thor in the vicinity.
Thor looked at Loki with those big watery puppy eyes. Loki just gave back as good as he got. Eventually Thor caved, vehemently making an oath to come back in a week if Loki hadn't returned to Midgard by then. The trickster just rolled his eyes and muttered obscenities under his breath as Thor finally left.
"Honestly, I have no idea which one of you is the bigger pain in the ass. Thor's too clingy and you're too much like a starved rabid bear. Like, seriously. Anything I say to you is like very carefully poking an angry bear in the eye with a pointy stick." Loki glared daggers at him, but the slight twitch of a smile on his lips didn't escape Taure or Tony's notice.
"And you are an absolute whore. I never would have imagined the depravity of your mind without this bond. Do you ever not think of sex?" Loki whined.
"Do you ever not think of sex?"
"I hate you so much." Loki growled.
"No, you don't. Seriously. You can't lie to me so just stop trying, will you?" Tony replied, laughing. Loki gave him his best menacing glare.
"The fact that you are capable making such comments is a good thing. It means the soul bond hasn't affected your free will in any way. You must have already had some level of acceptance and affection for one another." Taure told them, smiling in amusement at their little battle of wills. "Do not worry about that either, it is perfectly normal for two people who love each other to have their arguments. Compromise is never easy, and sometimes one must battle it out to reach that place. Some people more than others."
"You do not understand; this is -" Loki began.
"Loki, relax. You are over-thinking this entire situation." Taure said softly, effectively silencing him. The demigod looked ready to explode from rage, which Tony distinctly felt in every part of his being. It wasn't Taure he was angry with, it was Amora.
"I will NOT relax! And I will not rest until I find that vile snake and tear her heart out with my bare hands! You cannot possibly understand how I feel! I am -" Loki shouted, finally losing control of the blind rage. Tony backed up a pace, but Taure held his composure and regarded Loki in an almost bored manner.
"Beyond reason, obviously. Are you quite finished? Unless you have decided to begin Ragnarok early, the universe is not ending." The healer commented in an even tone, interrupting Loki's outburst.
"Ouch. I bet that stung." Tony thought, smirking at Loki. Taure must have balls of steel to basically tell Loki off like a screaming kid that couldn't have a toy it wanted at the Walmart. Tony couldn't help but wonder if anything would rattle this guy's cage.
"Oh no, I am not finished! While I waste time here that miserable wench is probably destroying everything I have striven to do in order to redeem myself! Why does no one else seem to understand that simple fact!?"
"Enough, you cannot think clearly like this. If you are in enough pain for me to be able to tell by just looking at you, it is making both of you miserable." Taure said calmly in a manner that would allow for zero argument. Loki sulked like a scolded child, but followed him out of the study with Tony trailing behind wondering what the hell he had just witnessed.