It's been a while since we posted. Life's gotten the best of us, so if you're still out there reading and hoping for a new chapter, just know we're very grateful for you and that you should review to let us know what you think :D

-The Phantom's Flutist

Luna: The morning came much too soon for Luna, and even sooner came the moment when they left the peculiar little motel room in which such curious things happened.

Before they left, she planned out a pathway for the two of them, still headed north, but through a forested area much thicker than the previous ones they've trodden. It was either that or the highway, she thought, with cars and other people and inevitable, prolonged pain for Loki. Any sighting of the two of them was not recommendable, and was a risk she'd rather not take.

And so, she chose this way - it might have been longer by a hair from the other roads they might have taken, but the options were few, and safety was a must. She doubted that very many things could affect them in a forest; she had to admit that having Loki with her promised at least some safety, as he was superior in strength to any other being they might encounter on Earth. After all, it would be favorable for him, as he would not have to maintain his facade for any longer than it took them to reach it. Certainly, he might be iffy about staying for any period of time in a place as empty of comfort, but he would have to make do. If she could, he absolutely could. Neither of them had to like it, but it was very close to inevitable.

And the silence? The silence was filled by the sounds of their footsteps and the chirping of birds, the whispers of leaves and the voices of the half bare forest.

Loki: He began to assume that any amount of friendship or relations they shared was close to being withered away as she retained her silence, surprisingly enough, throughout the following day. As the night began to descend during their silent venture through the woods, he began to foresee the fact that they would not be spending the night in any sort of civilized manner. He did not very much like the thought of having to sleep upon the forest floor, without the comforts of a bed. It was quite demeaning, but there was very little he could say about such a thing, as they did not say a word to each other in the first place.

His frown began to build as the woods became darker and darker and there was less and less of a chance they would find any sort of buildings. He sighed heavily at the very thought, the frown almost permanent now as they walked. "Where shall we sleep?" were the first words that he uttered to her since the night prior, coming out as half-frustrated and half-curious.

Luna: She gestured to the space about them. "Wherever you see fit," she said indifferently, knowing that their silence would be broken by one of them, at some point, and that it would have nothing to do with what got them into the silence in the first place. They would spend the night in the woods, to both of their dismay, but they had to rest, as their destination was not near enough for them to walk all the way to it. Perhaps for him it would not be a problem, but unless he intended on carrying her, she did not see how she would make it. So far, her steps were almost automatized, as she paid more attention to what she was thinking rather than her body's innate actions. She was tired, and rightfully so, but she would hold out.

Loki: He sighed, looking about their surroundings, wishing she was not human simply so they could continue walking without rest. He pressed his lips together and nodded, though he was obviously displeased with such a thing. It was dirty, full of animal feces and other disgusting things. He then looked ahead of him, his brow pulling together as he made out an opening in the trees amid the darkness. He pointed to it, looking at her. "There," he said simply.

He despised this very concept. Thor and his friends would often go hunting and coerce him into going with them. Normally, it would only be a day-long event but there were times they found themselves too deep within the Alfheim forest to go much further and make it back out with their catch. Thor insisted upon sleeping within the forest, and of course, his friends agreed, making Loki the only displeased one. He attempted to sleep upon the stump of a tree only to have a firegrub come across his foot, shooting poison into his veins. He woke up writhing in the pain of the poison as it began to fester, only for Thor's fun to be cut short and call upon Heimdall, because of Sif insisting upon it, to deliver his false brother to the healing rooms. He did so with a pout, saying that if he had his way, he would make Loki wait until he had his first catch in which case Loki would most assuredly be dead. Loki glowered over such a memory, knowing that there was hardly anything upon Midgard that would harm him such as an Alfheim firegrub would, but it was still disgusting.

Luna: She looked over to where he pointed, her eyes surveying the area, seeing that it was a clearing, as opposed to the thicker trees that surrounded them; perhaps another place in the forest might be safer, but at this point, it hardly mattered, as they did not have time to wander about and find another one. It should keep them sufficiently concealed. "Alright," she said, "but we stay at the edges of the clearing," she pointed out, and as soon as they approached, she placed her gaze to the ground and went around the brim of the opening and then across it, this way and that, checking if everything was well enough for them to stay the night. Her eyes got long used to the dark, but still she squinted at the ground and at the trees, trying to find if there was something off with the place that would indicate that they should simply move on and find another shelter. All seemed quite calm, save for the bugs she knew were there somewhere, as she could hear the sounds of at least one kind of them. She returned to Loki, disgruntled, her eyes boring the ground, looking at all the leaves that could be concealing who knows what, and she got quite nervous. She remained standing, though she looked all about her every few seconds, reluctance in her each motion.

She never did enjoy camping or spending more time in the nature than was enjoyable. She'd gone camping several times with her family, to their urging, and though she'd shared tents with her brother, she could not help but feel quite unsafe, as anything could get in at any time. It was so very difficult for her to fall asleep under such circumstances, though she wished that she would, if only to rid herself of the jitteriness.

Loki: He watched from the corners of his eyes as she looked about the spot where she decided they remain for the rest of the night, her eyes dashing this way and that as she looked around thoroughly. He smirked as she did so, withholding a chuckle, as she did not seem to be able to relax even as he slid down to the ground, settling himself down next to one of the tree stumps, leaning against it as he watched with great amusement. She looked impeccably uncomfortable. He scoffed as she looked around herself as though something was going to leap up and bite her.

Luna: She knew that she could not keep standing for hours on end, and so, with utmost hesitation, she cleared up some area upon which she decided she would sit, ridding it of leaves and such things, knowing that she would end up usurping whatever - if anything - was underneath them, either way. She sat down and closed her eyes tightly for several seconds, cradling her bag in her arms and hoping with all her might that nothing would choose to crawl onto or into her clothing, nor into her bag. She hated the thought, and she shuddered.

Loki: Her reactions were quite comical, as he watched while she clutched her bag to her as if whatever she was frightened of was going to eat her now. Her body shook slightly to complete all of it. He could not suppress a chuckle at the very sight, and then looked away, knowing she would be angry if he mocked her, considering she had not spoken to him the entirety of the day.

Luna: "Oh, shut up," she seethed, turning around to check the bark of the tree behind her, glad to see that it was not cracked and full of crevices in which so many things could hide in. At least the ground was dry. She leaned against the tree uncertainly, hoping that nothing would choose to descend at any point. Once again, the thought nearly had her part from the tree. She had to stop with such thoughts, she knew, otherwise she would not have a second of peace. She was nervous enough, and his mockery only pushed her mood lower.

Loki: He chuckled louder when she responded, shaking his head as he watched her continue. "You have spent the past few weeks with one of the most dangerous men on your realm, and you are most frightened of a forest," he scoffed, running a hand through his hair.

Luna: She looked at him through narrowed eyes. "It's not the forest I'm afraid of," she said shortly, feeling simply much too odd to say aloud what she was truly afraid of. She knew her fear was hardly rational, but she could not help it one tiny bit. Words rang in her head, what countless people have told her - the insects are small, they fear her more than she fears them (though she hardly believed that), and they are of very little danger to her, at least not one that would be difficult getting rid of. Despite having heard such things an innumerable amount of times, they did not help at all. It was simply how things were, how they've been for years, and by all chance they would continue to be so.

Loki: "Oh really?" he asked with a smirk, looking up to her narrowed, cold eyes. "Then what, pray tell, is it?" he asked with another chuckle as she continued to look about herself, her eyes dashing from one side of the forest to another. "What can possibly be more frightening than sleeping with a war criminal, hmm? Enlighten me."

Luna: It was not helping when he was phrasing it as such - it only emphasized just how ridiculous and silly it was. "Nothing," she said and shook her head, heaving a deep sigh and holding her bag to herself, using it as a pillow to place against the knees she drew up to her chest. She would not hear the end of it if she told him.

Loki: He laughed at her reaction, "Come now, Luna," he replied with another laugh and shake of his head, "Let's hear it so I can vanquish it after a glorious battle," he chided.

Luna: "If you laugh, I will force leaves down your throat until you choke," she mumbled irritably before sighing once more. "There are far too many things in this forest which have too many legs for my comfort," she said finally, in a rush.

Loki: He pressed his lips together to avoid making a comment of her threat, knowing very well she would not like it very much. However, he had guessed that insects were her fear, the way she looked skittishly at the ground. Pathetic little Midgardian insects were hilariously tiny in comparison. She quite possibly would die of fear in any other realm. "Dearest Luna," he began in the same tone as Thor might use before marching off to battle, repressing a chuckle, "I shall crush every single one, and send them straight into Helheim if they dare come close," he said melodramatically.

Luna: Her laugh was in a large part a scoff, as well. "If you don't, can I do that to you, instead?" she asked. If she truly were to encounter something which she feared, and if all he did was joke on her expense, she would simply turn around and leave, not without a considerable amount of anger for the seemingly sadistic man. "I know that they're mostly harmless, Loki, but it's not something I can help. And I tried. I just... can't." She shook her head.

Loki: He scoffed again and shook his head, despite the fact that his last comment entertained her as well to an extent. "Ah... very well..." he replied with a nod. He looked over to where she was wishing to settle down, looking through the leaves himself for any sort of movement. There was one small roach who shuffled its way through, running away until it reached another tree. He sifted through the leaves once more, continuing to search for anything he might have missed and when he found nothing he looked up to her, feigning sincerity. "See? There is nothing to fear..."

Luna: She supposed that the main reason he even did all this was so that he would not have to have a mortal scared out of her wits on his hands for any period of time. Whatever his reasons, she was grateful. "Thank you," she said, glancing about the forest floor, herself, before exhaling slowly and trying to relieve the tension that build up in her shoulders from the strung nerves.

Loki: He smirked and nodded to her, as well, seeing that what he did at least relieved her somewhat and she would give them both peace for one part of the night. "Of course, my lady," he replied simply before leaning back against the tree stump he resided against, folding his hands on top of his chest as he tried to relax onto the dirty forest floor.

Luna: She brought her jacket more tightly around herself. She was not particularly cold, but if she was to be still for several hours, sitting upon the ground in dry, yet crispy weather, there was a chance that the chill would sneak into her. She looked over at Loki, wondering if he ever felt the cold. She did not assume he did, as why should he? At least the silence was softened and not so taut anymore, and that was a relief in itself. Perhaps, with time, things could return at least partly to how they were during those precious hours they did not spend stressing because of each other.

Loki: He relaxed against the tree and shut his eyes, attempting to at least have some sort of rest while he could, knowing what awaited him the next day. He began to drift off, ignoring any sort of thoughts that would threaten to take his mind or any sort of look that she shot his way. Perhaps she would feel obliged to speak to him the next day...

Luna: It was some time until she unwound enough to be able to keep her eyes closed for longer than a few seconds without snapping them open, only to have them scan over the area yet again. With a sigh, she settled herself into as comfortable of a sitting position as she could, attempting to make herself believe that she was elsewhere, where she would not have creatures prowling on the edges of her fear, all too free to go within at any point. She knew she had to sleep, and the faster she did, the faster she'd wake up and they would be on their way again. Rest would do her good, whenever she managed to catch it.

Loki: He eventually drifted off into unconsciousness, that was not in the least bit peaceful.

"Loki Odinson," a deep, familiar voice began as a tall, bulky figure began to walk about a chamber in the darkness that was similar to an Asgardian prison cell. "You have not paid your debt," it continued.

He narrowed his eyes in the darkness as he began to attempt make out what the figure was. Red, gleaming eyes stared back, with a familiar blue-tinted skin. It was Laufey, he realized. But the voice was not Laufey's... no, it was much deeper, much more articulate than Laufey's was. It was the voice of his nightmares, the voice that seeped through even the moments he was most alert. It left him trembling where he stood.

"You shall suffer... And Asgard shall fall... Because of you..."

He hissed. He began to disappear into the dank darkness, reaching out to him with a bulky, long hand that was obviously not Laufey's. He flinched away until he saw Frigga take his place. He breathed in disbelief at the sight of his adoptive mother, nearly falling over in order to embrace her, but when he did, he felt a warm wetness upon his hand. He pulled away, and looked down to it, seeing that it was blood, and she was falling over into him. He gasped as she fell over. "You must wake up now," his mother said into his ear, "Protect the girl-"

His eyes shot open, his body tensing suddenly at his consciousness. It was just in time to hear a crunching of leaves in the distance that was more forceful than the trees blowing in the wind.