HERE'S MORE OF MY MARVEL!ROWMER AU FOR YOU GUYS! SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG!
GOD BLESS AND GOOD DAY!
~THE LUPINE SOJOURNER
"Careful." Heimdall says, offering a hand to help me down the cliffside and onto solid, horizontal ground once more.
The walk was mostly quiet, the need for silence unspoken, and I didn't know just what made the silence necessary.
And I found I didn't want to know.
If my Irish twin (meaning we were born less than a year apart) brother, Everett, were here, he'd be all over this in a heartbeat, but me? Nah. I prefer knowing just enough to understand, and remaining on the sidelines, where I was safe.
Everett was curious enough for the both of us and then some, and I was gullible enough to chase him through our childhood. Then, he'd joined the Air Force and couldn't persuade me to join him. I knew I wasn't cut out for it, so why bother?
"Are you alright?" Heimdall asks suddenly, shaking me from my reverie. "You seem...overwhelmed." I nod, smiling a little.
"You're the first person to even think how this is affecting me." I muse, sighing. "Skurge just- -"
"Made a hasty decision and must now live with the consequences." I frown.
"What decision? Bringing me here?" Heimdall shakes his head.
"No. He, after seeing what Hela was capable of, agreed to help her, seeing as she would have killed him otherwise." I lick my lips.
"He's working for the Goddess of Death?!" I ask breathily, shocked. Heimdall nods.
"Not from any sense of willingness, I assure you. He is merely a survivalist." I take a breath. Just what had Skurge sucked me into?!
"...Now what?" I ask softly, fiddling with my fingers. Heimdall offers me a small smile, steadying hand on my shoulder.
"Now, I need your help." I raise a brow.
"With what?" Heimdall's jaw re-sets to the firm, serious expression he usually wore and I already miss the small smile.
"With the evacuation of Asgard." I pale. Me?! "There is no one else around." I swallow, shaking.
"I- -I...Um…" I'm not my brother! This is too much! I can't! But...these people need help. And, like Heimdall said, I'm the only one available. There's no one else. If I don't do this, innocent people will die. And it would be my fault.
Taking another breath, I swallow and face Heimdall. "What do...what do I do?" Heimdall gives me another small smile.
"Simply follow this path. Tell the occupants of the first two houses to follow you on my orders and lead them back down this path to the large, gnarled tree. I will meet you there." I nod, shaking. Oh, boy…
Automatically, I turn and begin walking down the path when Heimdall halts me with a hand on my shoulder, the other unclasping his cloak.
"You'll be less conspicuous with this on." He points out, already draping it over my shoulders. I nod.
"Thank you." I mumble gratefully, my head still swimming with what I just found out I was involved in. Heimdall's hand stayed on my shoulder.
"I know you're scared, and I know this is overwhelming, but I need you to know I believe you can do this." I swallow.
"And...and what if I can't?" I mumble, hardly even audible.
"I know you can do this. All I am asking of you is lead people down this path with you. Then we will be safe." I nod. That helped put it in perspective.
"Okay. it's not that much." I whisper, unsure if I were speaking to Heimdall or myself. Not that it mattered. Heimdall was already walking down the path in the opposite direction he'd told me to go. I turn my back on the retreating guardian and make myself walk. I envisioned the trails around Loch Ness, comforted slightly in their familiarity in this vastly unfamiliar situation and place.
=#=#=#=#=
"H-hello?" I ask, knocking on the first door, the third one from where I started. Figured I should start at the end and work my way back.
Now I faced another problem; what do I say? 'Hey, so...I'm new here, but Heimdall trusts me to lead you guys down this path because Hela's back and, trust me, she's bad news. So...let's go!'?
...Yeah, no.
Too late, the door opens.
"What is it?" A tired-looking man asks, but notices the cloak on my shoulders. His eyes harden and he seems to understand. "Heimdall sent you?" I nod, my tongue seeming too big for my mouth and unable to form words. I then force myself to breath. This was going to be easier than I thought, if Heimdall's cloak was so recognizable.
"The Goddess of Death is here, and I don't know who she is, but he says we need to evacuate Asgard, so- -"
"I will get my family." He interjects, motioning me inside. I stay right inside the door as the guy runs through his house, yelling instructions. Within a minute, feels like, he, his wife, and two young kids are ready to go.
I take a breath. I can do this.
Soon, we reach the second house and it's much of the same, except me and the family wait outside. One Asgardian, the man that came to the door at the first house, puts a hand on my shoulders.
"Are you well?" He asks. I frown, looking down to find that I was shaking.
"Oh! Um...yeah...sorta." I confess, slumping a little before straightening up again. "I'll feel better when we get out of here." I add. The man nods.
"I agree. This Goddess of Death may be unknown, but clearly Heimdall believes she means disaster for everyone. And if Heimdall deems the threat severe enough to warrant evacuation, I trust his judgement." I nod, and the third family finally shows up to save me from whatever nonsense my mouth would have spewed in response. I swallow and continue walking down the path with more confidence then I really felt. All I had to do now was- -what was that noise? "Shh!" The man beside me hisses. He only needs to hear a few more seconds of something coming toward us to pale and scream 'run!'. I make myself stay put, ushering everyone down the path. Whatever was coming, I had to make sure I completed my mission. Heimdall believed in and was counting on me.
"Keep going!" I scream at the children, only for a thin bar of some kind to slam into my ribs, knocking the wind out of my lungs and my body back into a tree. By the time I recover, I have been thrown over a bony shoulder and am being carried through the forest toward the city. Luckily, I can see that, though pursued, the kids have a good head start. I breath out in relief. I'd done it. Now...I just had to survive whatever was about to happen.
Dang this skeleton has a sharp shoulder blade!
=#=#=#=#=
Within five minutes, I am thrust into a gathering crowd of murmuring, frightened, confused Asgardians.
Great. Blending in shouldn't be a problem. Cus I'm frightened and confused. I stand where I'm left and try not to draw attention to myself. The seconds tick by and, just as I open my mouth to ask someone what was going on, I hear someone loudly clearing their throat at the head of the crowd. Assuming this was something here to tell us what to do or something, I slowly make my way a little closer to see- -oh, you have got to be kidding me!
Skurge?! I know Heimdall said you aligned yourself with Hela just to survive, but you still agreed to- -holy frick is that a giant wolf!
I have officially lost my grip on what's happening (not that I ever truly had it, really) as the giant thing first sits, then lays down at a woman in black and green's commands. That things eyes glow green, I swear, the same green as the skeletons and- -oh, that makes sense. The woman controls them. Okay.
"Some misguided soul" Skurge begins, with an air of someone who has to sound tough, but can't quite fully commit to the role. I frown. What was Hela making him do? "has stolen the Bifrost sword." No idea what that- -was that the sword Heimdall took from the Bifrost? Oh. "Tell us where it is, or there will be consequences." Skurge then looks at who I assume is Hela, and I just notice how utterly spiky her head is all of a sudden. Like, it is a helmet or- - "Bad ones." Skurge add, cutting my odd thoughts short. The seconds drag on in silence. "Well?" Skurge presses. Still, the people remain silent. Hela eventually clicks her tongue.
"Her." She points out some random woman not ten feet from me. Instantly, shocked and horrified gasps and murmurs ring around the crowd. It occurs to me then that I could give myself up and possibly save this woman. I knew who had the sword and the rough area he was supposed to meet me in.
However, the cowardly part of me doesn't let any words form as the crowd is forcibly parted by skeletons and the selected girl was dragged forth to her doom and thrust into a kneeling position not far from Skurge. My heart leaps into my throat as the seconds slowly inch forward. And yet...Skurge can't make himself swing the ax. "Well, executioner?" Hela drawls expectantly. I swallow. No way...Skurge wouldn't...would he? Just as he steels himself and lifts the ax, a look of utter remorse and horror at his own actions on his face, Hela steps forward. "Wait." She orders, walking forward. The Asgardians, still shocked, part before her and suddenly, she's two feet away from me. I swallow. "You." She states, almost curiously, glaring at me. "You're not from Asgard." She muses. "...Midgardian, what is your name?" She asks, eyes narrowing further. Figuring I'd better not risk what would happen should I not give her what she wants, I lick my lips.
"Roslyn." I stammer, shaking in terror as she grips my chin, stepping back from the crowd and her nails dig into my skin as she half-drags me with her. I go half on tip-toes just to make sure her nails didn't break my skin.
"Skurge, you can keep your petty toy, as long as get on with your job." She hisses, all but throwing me at Skurge before resuming her place before her wolf-thing. Skurge looks weak with relief and terror as he eases me back to my feet and turns back to the cowering woman before him. Once more, he lifts the ax, but then a man steps forward.
"I know where the sword is." He yells, desperate to be heard before the deed was done. Skurge immediately lowers the ax. The man explains that there is a kind-of magically sealed bunker in the mountains and that that's where Heimdall was taking Asgardians until they could be evacuated.
"Well done, commoner." Hela congratulates the guy once he's finished, smiling evilly as the man slumps in guilt over his betrayal. "Come, Skurge. And bring your toy, but keep her on a short leash, or you won't like what happens next." Now I was over the shock of meeting the Goddess of Death, I bristle slightly at the demeaning way Hela spoke about me.
Not enough to say or do anything, but I was still highly annoyed. And thus began a hike through the woods to the mountains. Not a word is said as we move closer to this supposed bunker.
Worst.
Hike.
Ever. Thankfully, it wasn't too far up the mountain. But...would those people have any warning? Or would I have to watch as thousands are slaughtered?
That thought stops me in my tracks. Of course, Hela takes no notice as tears prick my eyes. This was all becoming so heavy, so unbelievably heavy, and I was nearly broken under its weight.
It startles me when Skurge places a gentle hand on the small of my back as he walks. It's subtle, hardly even noticeable, but there and my legs respond automatically. How is he so big, so brash, but yet...so gentle?
"We can't stop." He says lowly, so Hela can't hear. I blink. 'We'?
Maybe Skurge isn't so bad, after all...okay, sure he kidnapped me and stole a bunch of stuff just cus he could, but...he at least had the decency to make sure I wouldn't be hurt.
Right? Or was this just another 'if I don't, there will be consequences' type thing?
Ugh, my brain hurts!
Is he a good guy or not?! Maybe one day, I'll find out. But, for now, I guess I have to keep walking and pray the people somehow had warning and were able to leave.
I barely hold in my scream as I leap back when Hela literally makes giant knife-spear things appear out of nowhere, slamming noisily into the walls around the doors. She then pulls them back out, and the doors form a bridge.
I try not to collapse in relief as I see the cavern deserted.
Then, as if something caught their attention, Skurge and Hela turn to look behind us. I frown, but know better than to ask before we're off running. After a few hundred yards, I'm a wheezing mess, having not run in a while. Suddenly, I'm swept off my feet and tucked like a sack of potatoes under Skurge's arm. Knowing it was pointless to resist, I try and catch my breath.
In a shorter time than I thought possible, I was at some big building in almost the exact center of Asgard. Turns out, it's some kind of palace, with a huge entry hall, ending in a large, ornate golden throne with...Thor, sitting there, holding some really weird looking spear-thing. Also, his hair looks really sloppily cut off.
Is it bad that it only makes him hotter? I was normally ambivalent about the God of Thunder, acknowledging his handsomeness without being a weird fangirl about it, but now? I might just consider myself more of a fan.
I am getting way too attached to men I've just met. Ugh.
"Sister." He greets icily. I blink. Wait...what?!
"You're still alive." Hela retorts, like Thor was an annoying cockroach that kept coming back into her house.
"Love what you've done with the place." Thor muses idly, glancing around. I do, too, to find some remnants of stone scattered in evidence something had happened here. I look up and see bloody murals of cultures being decimated and Hela proudly leading armies to battle, wielding Thor's hammer! I officially don't think I've ever been more confused in my life! "Redecorating, I see." There was underlying tension between the apparent siblings. A hand on my shoulder startles me. It's Skurge. I glare at him and turn back to the conversation happening in front of me, absently knocking his hand off. Call me petty, but I wanted him to know I was upset with him.
"It seems our father's solution to every problem was to cover it up." Hela muses.
"Or to cast it out." Thor replies like he knows this first-hand. Cocking a brow, I dismiss being curious because my brain was about to overload with the million and counting questions in my head right now. "He told you you were worthy; he said the same thing to me." Was that sadness in Thor's voice?
"You see?" Hela encourages smugly. "You never knew him. Not at his best." Skurge taps my shoulder again, but I swat his hand away. "Odin and I drowned entire civilizations in blood and tears. Where do you think all this gold came from?" I swallow. Whoa… "And then, one day, he decided to be a benevolent king, to foster peace, to protect life, to have you." Thor seemed relatively unfazed to find out his father seemed to have been a homicidal maniac once upon a time.
Just then, Skurge has had enough playing nice, apparently, and tosses me once again over his shoulder. As with the first time, I felt his armor digging into my hips painfully. Growling, but knowing better than to make a scene and attract Hela's attention, I wait til he plops me down in a side room to speak.
"You have got to stop doing that!" I growl, rubbing my hips. Skurge slams his hands on either side of me, but in anger at my behaviour or relief that we'd managed to get away from Hela, I can't tell.
"You have a death wish." He growls, eyes dark.