Ashera packed for her trip with Jane. She didn't need to bring much it was mostly an overnight trip in a van full of electrical equipment, but she packed snacks and a change of clothes in case of any unanticipated delays. As she packed she thought of the book Loki had given her. She had spent all of her free time reading it and had just completed the last chapter. Her green magic was apparently nature based. She drew most of her power from her natural surroundings, which made a lot of sense when she had paused to think about it. Whatever went unused was stored in her reservoir which, as far as she could tell, was just part of her being. If it was used up it would regenerate over time, faster if she was surrounded by natural forces. She had also learned that some green mages had the ability to shape shift and their chosen form tended to be their strongest or what some considered their true form. She was excited to read the next book to learn even more. She had already noted a few useful (and apparently easy) starter spells she wanted to work on…

Her phone buzzed. It was Jane; she had just pulled up outside. Ashera knew Loki would have covered their tracks well enough but her help couldn't hurt so she made sure to do what she could on her end to stall.

Jane sat impatiently in the driver seat. Ashera was clearly dragging her feet. Jane texted again "Hurry Up!" and waited a few minutes. She could swear the girl was doing it on purpose, although she could not fathom why. She had noticed her acting differently as of late but couldn't put a finger on exactly what was going on. She shuffled papers against her steering wheel, looking over all her facts and putting small marks on a map. She was planning a route to what she hoped would be the location of the rift. Ashera finally walked out with a bag over her shoulder, "Finally." Jane said to herself as she began putting her papers away. Before she could get everything back in order Ashera opened her door letting the high wind assault her work. "Ashera NO!" Jane cried in dismay. The papers flew across the ground as if swept into a tornado. "That's all my research! Quick! Get it before it blows away!" Jane jumped from the vehicle to chase down the papers which had gained a mind of their own flying every direction.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry Jane!" Ashera jumped back out grinning to herself as she clumsily gathered the papers, wrinkling a few in the process. So far her sabotage job was easier than expected.

Jane scrambled around to get the rest of the now dirt covered sheets. Thrusting them into her bag she threw it in the back and got into the driver seat. Ashera returned to the car as well shuffling the papers and giving an awkward smile. "Sorry" she said as she put the papers in Jane's bag. Jane, somehow, stifled her annoyance and managed to say "It's ok, let's just get going, and hope nothing else goes wrong."

With Ashera as their guide and Jane driving they began down a long seldom used dirt road. It took them all day to get even remotely close to Jane's estimated location and soon they would be traveling in the dark.

"So," Jane began, "Have you decided to tell me about your mystery friend?"

Ashera looked shocked at Jane's question before becoming uncomfortable and looking out the window to avoid her gaze.

"You know it's still a long drive, and I can be very persuasive…. You did let all my work fly out the door earlier I think you owe me." Jane bribed, thinking this might be the reason for Ashera's odd behavior.

Ashera rolled her eyes and let her head drop into her hands. "Ugh! Fine you win I'll tell you; but you have to keep your mouth shut about it ok?" Ashera bargained, buying her more time to make up a good story.

Jane looked excitedly at her and nodded taking one hand off the wheel to pantomime zipping her mouth shut.

Ashera smiled despite the stone that had suddenly formed in her stomach, she hated lying.

"He is fairly new to town; he works at the garage next to our store. He comes in a lot to get equipment and such." Ashera clasped her hands in her lap and bit her lip. It sounded realistic enough and Jane never went to the garage insisting she could fix everything from flux-capacitors to toasters by herself. "He started talking to me one day and we decided to exchange numbers. We have been talking ever since."

"Ohhhh!" Jane exclaimed, "Is he cute? Does he send flirty texts? Has he gotten you other things? Why haven't you just gone on a date already?!" Jane fired the questions faster than Ashera could keep up. At least most of these she could answer with some honesty. She just had to use her experience with Loki instead of… what had she named him? Hopefully it never came up.

"Jane calm down! It's not like we are getting THAT serious."

"You never know what can happen though, and you could use some fun in your life, all you seem to do is work, I would let go a little."

"Jane when have you ever 'let go' a little?"

"I can; I just prefer research over people. You are an exception." She amended and gave a large smile, "And if my work is correct I will 'let go' when Thor and I can be together again." She giggled a little at her own words, and with that thought in mind she turned back to her map. Ashera just groaned.

Time passed as they traveled and it now looked even more like they were in the middle of nowhere.

Ashera began to doze off as the van bumped around on the rough dirt path. A large bump had her opening her eyes again. She shook her head and looked at the map. They were approaching the original location, she had to stay awake. "Jane, take the left fork up here." Ashera directed, hoping she was just as tired and would follow without question. She had to turn them away from the portal. As Jane took the turn Ashera's eyes closed yet again.

A voice called to her from the dark. It was gentle but she couldn't make it out. It was familiar but she couldn't recognize it. It called out again but it seemed to only sound in her mind, a male voice if only she could hear more clearly. She strained trying to listen. A second voice sounded but this one more distant as if far away or out of range but it grew quickly. "Ashera!" a female voice called, "Ashera wake up!" Bolting upright Ashera looked around her.

Jane was in the driver seat but had clearly stopped the van and was staring at her. "Are you ok?"

"Where are we?" Ashera said groggily, rubbing her eyes, still trying to wake up.

"Well that I don't know; none of my equipment seems to be working properly anymore." Jane had a small electrical device in her hand and gave it a few whacks against the steering wheel. "I am going to get out and look around anyway, you coming?"

"Yeah, of course." Ashera stifled a yawn. Grabbing her pen and paper pad she followed Jane as she circled out from the van.

Ashera tried to sense the rift but she felt nothing. She didn't recognize the spot so they were either in the wrong place or Loki had done a fantastic job of hiding it. Relief flooded her and she contented herself with following Jane and writing down notes.

After a few hours of walking circles Jane sighed loudly. "We will have to try again some other time. I'm not getting anywhere with this."

"I'm sorry Jane, I'm sure we will find it again eventually." Ashera falsely reassured. The feeling in her gut resurfaced. It was getting harder to lie to Jane. She swallowed hard to keep the feeling from overwhelming her.

"We will just have to try again." Jane stated somewhat reluctantly, as she set a new course toward the town.

"Sounds good to me." Ashera responded.

Her stomach stayed in knots all the way back and after fielding more uncomfortable questions, her discomfort had only grown. By the time they reached the town again it was early morning and Ashera let herself drop onto her bed, exhausted from the effort of keeping quit. Not even able to decide on going to sleep, she drifted back into the darkness that was her dreams.

Ashera slipped between the pine trees that surrounded a small lake. She was moving away from the cabin and the men that had been following her. The forest was dark but she let her senses guide her. She slunk over to a rocky outcropping. A voice spoke softly in her mind. It was the same voice from before and again she couldn't quite make out what it was saying or who it belonged to. She couldn't sense anyone nearby so she sniffed the air and moved forward; again letting her instincts have control. The voice came again, this time louder as she stepped out onto a desert like clearing, it echoed in her mind. "Ashera!" It ran through her whole body ringing in her ears from the inside; it was as much heard as it was felt. "ASHERA!"

Suddenly the landscape changed, it bent and molded into a cold rocky plain the trees receding behind her. The tundra was tinted blue and looked sharp to the touch. The voice, she realized, was Loki's. She looked around wildly to find him. Locating his green tunic she inhaled sharply, he looked far away struggling as if bound to the edge where the forest crept away to reveal more pale rock. His face contorted as if in pain, she heard his voice again but his lips never moved. "RUN!" his voice reverberated inside her. It called out with enough force she could not resist the command. She turned to run, feeling his terror within her, making her own fear reach out and grip her. She had barley taken a step when she felt resistance; something was pulling her back. It pulled down as if to take her into the earth itself. She struggled against the cold metal tearing and clawing at the magical chains. Finally she heard a crack, the bonds tried to reinforce and repair themselves but she continued pushing at the forces trapping her. Ashera realized she could feel Loki struggle as she did, his emotions running high, the fear in him spreading making her hackles rise. Urgency filled her, something new had arisen, it was making Loki's emotions unbearable but she had to focus. She couldn't see past the magic that surrounded her as it somehow blurred her vision but she continued to fight it. The chain was weakening as she pulled.

Breaking free at last Ashera woke tangled in blankets and sweating. She felt feverish and afraid.

"Loki." She breathed heavily pulling her knees to her chest.

She shook her head, it was just a dream. He couldn't have called to her. That can't be possible. It can't be real. She had just seen him a few days ago. Nothing would change that quickly would it? Her thoughts swirled around her as she tried to calm her nerves. Dream or not it had successfully terrified her and she had to find out the truth. If Loki was in danger she may be the only one that knew, or cared. Pulling herself together she made a plan.

*** Asgard***

Loki tossed about his covers going everywhere the restlessness overwhelmed him as he opened his eyes again to the canopy above. He had to get some rest he was meeting Ashera in the morning. He reluctantly went over to a cabinet near his bathing suite. Opening it he picked out a bottle of blue liquid and took a swig. Immediately he felt more relaxed and tired. He would have to make more of the calming brew in the coming days. It was the only thing that helped him sleep some nights. Returning to bed he fell into a deep slumber.

He walked slowly through a forest its branches thick and green. It smelled of pine and moss. It was a relaxing walk and he remembered Ashera mentioning how she enjoyed the forest more than most places. He took a deep breath to take in more of the fresh air but this time he could only smell metal and ore. Frowning he moved toward what looked like a clearing. As he crested the small hill the expanse before him shattered the illusion. He was in no forest. As he realized this it began to pull away from him, leaving him stranded on the outskirts of where he saw himself yet again in front of Thanos. Just a dream, he told himself over and over trying not to watch the inevitable memory. As he looked away trying to force his mind back to the forest and a more pleasant thought he made himself see what he wanted.

He looked beyond the rocks to the trees, through the forest, letting his magic guide his thoughts. He saw Ashera in wolf form trotting over the fallen logs and weaving through the brush. Ashera he thought. The wolf paused and Loki frowned slightly. Ashera he thought again a bit more forcefully. He knew she couldn't hear him she wasn't even real just a figment of his imagination, his own lucid dream of sorts; but again she paused sniffing the air and turning toward him. Loki looked back toward Thanos, suddenly aware that he had just passed over the staff to the image that stood before him.

Loki looked frantically for his version of Ashera again. Seeing her approach the edge he called out to her with his mind, Ashera, ASHERA! He struggled as he watched her walk out onto the wide expanse of rapidly disappearing wilderness. She saw him and took a step forward. He tried to scream but couldn't. He tried to move but was held firmly in place. He screamed in his mind with everything he could, his feelings of fear pouring into his words. RUN!

It was too late, magical chains snaked around the wolf and held her feebly in place as she thrashed. He turned to watch himself stride across the rocky field; his fear tearing through him as he watched helplessly. He stood struggling against invisible bonds trying to do something. He watched defeated as he lifted the scepter. Then a flash of light blinded him into waking.

A/N: Hi everyone! I am still writing and I do apologize for the wait! I will try to do better with updates. I hope you all still enjoy and thank you for reading!