Chapter 21: We Need a Plan
It was only thirty minutes after the Norns decided to check on Loki's condition, when Urd rang his doorbell. "Verdandi, you made sure Mayura-san won't wake up while we're gone right?"
"Yes, she'll be in deep sleep for a good six hours unless I wake…" stopped a shocked Verdandi. For in front of her was a ragged looking Narugami. His hair was uncombed (not something you would notice unless you know him really well—or at least stared at him often), his clothes were wrinkled, and his eyes red from lack of sleep. "Thor-san! What happened? You're a mess!"
"Yeah… you could get a part in the 'Night of the Living Dead'… without makeup."
"Skuld, this is no time for Loki-ish humor," reprimanded Verdandi.
"Thor-san, we've come here to see what condition Loki-sama is in. Mayura-san is fast asleep in our house under one of Verdandi's spells because she has not been acting normally lately," crisply informed Urd in a business like fashion.
"Oh… I'm sorry… you woke me up… please come in. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep between work, my watch shift, and an almost constant monologue—complement of Loki," Narugami yawned.
"Eh?" responded the three sisters.
"I think I'll just show you. It'll be easier that way."
Narugami showed the Norns up the stairs and opened the door to Loki's study. Sitting in one of the chairs was an equally tired Yamino. Fenrir was sleeping in his lap and ecchan was snoozing away on his head. The room was completely silent for several moments and the Norns were beginning to think Narugami need something more than sleep when Loki walked to their view.
"Is th… that Loki-sama?"
"I'm afraid so Skuld… but…"
Loki reciting: Hamlet in Act III, scene i (58–90)
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?—To die,—to sleep,—
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to,—'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die,—to sleep;—
To sleep: perchance to dream:—ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would these fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,—
The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns,—puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought;
And enterprises of great pith and moment,
With this regard, their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.
Narugami closed the door, hoping that doing so will allow the Norns' to process the information they had just seen quicker. "No reason to completely destroy their brains," whispered Narugami. "Why don't we go into the kitchen were we can discuss this? Shall we?"
Settled into the kitchen, and a cup of tea later Urd was the first of the Norns to speak. "This is worse than I thought…"
"Eh… run that by me again?"
"Eh? Oh… sorry Thor-san. As I said earlier, Mayura-san isn't acting normal and we tried to figure out why, we… we found something unusual."
"It seems that Loki-sama and Mayura-san had formed a bond or link between them somehow… and it broke for days ago," added Verdandi.
"Did you say four days ago?" questioned Narugami.
"That's right Thor-san. Why?"
"It was four days ago when Loki started to be suicidal and act like… act like… THAT!" Unable to describe Loki's actions in words, Narugami pointed up to the ceiling towards the direction of Loki's study.
"So Loki-sama is suffering from the detachment just like Mayura-chan," Skuld mused.
"Are you trying to tell me that all this is just some sick kind of withdrawal symptoms?" Narugami asked incredulously.
"In a weird way… yes."
"Will they get over it?"
"If we could reform the connection between Loki-sama and Mayura-chan, or whatever it is… it might be possible."
"You don't even know what this connection thing is and you want us to reform it? How will we be able to do that?"
"If we can get them back together… hopefully they'll do that on their own."
"And what if they don't? Will they ever return to normal Urd?"
"Without the bond between them… I think it would be better if they never regained their minds," answered Urd in a soft harsh voice.
"Urd/Urd-san, how could you say such a thing?!"
"If Loki-sama regains his mind without the bond… I'm afraid we'll learn how evil Loki-sama could truly be…"
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.
.
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"Then the only question is, how do we get them back together?" asked Narugami.
"That's the problem Thor-san. Even though they love each other desperately… I'm not sure if they can get back together," answered Verdandi.
"I don't think Mayura-chan will be a problem… I heard her openly state, and I quote, 'Loki… I love you Loki.' Not even a –kun attached!" excitedly stated Skuld.
"But Loki-sama will probably be a different matter," pointed out Urd.
"Daidouji-chan rejected him twice. I don't know if Loki would… but then again, he loves her," Narugami mused.
"That still doesn't answer the question. How do we get them back together?" asked Urd.
"Tomorrow is Loki-sama's birthday," announced Skuld.
"I completely forgot… I could probably get Loki out tomorrow then."
"How?"
"I'll invite him out to drink of course! To drink on your birthday and get drunk; it's the only thing to do on your birthday when you don't have a girl."
"That's all we need Thor-san… a drunken suicidal Loki-sama."
"I didn't say I'd actually take him anywhere near alcohol. That's how I'll get him out of the house. I'll drag him past the Twilight Café. It's on the way to Cohen's. Your job," as he pointed to the Norns, "is to get Daidouji-chan there. Tomorrow night, nine o'clock."
"That'll be easy enough," responded Skuld. "Lead her around by the hand and she follows."
"It better work," complained Narugami. "Do you realize how much literature can be recited in four day's time? He's already gone through all of Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, A Tale of Two Cities… and yes he recited it verbatim without looking— I checked… ummm… Dostoyevsky I think… and now he's working on Shakespeare—only the depressing ones of course. Too bad you girls missed Macbeth."
"Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble," recited the Norns in unison.
"You know it huh?"
"Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble."
Author's Note: "Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble."
The Three Witches
Throughout the play, the witches—referred to as the "weird sisters" by many of the characters—lurk like dark thoughts and unconscious temptations to evil. In part, the mischief they cause stems from their supernatural powers, but mainly it is the result of their understanding of the weaknesses of their specific interlocutors—they play upon Macbeth's ambition like puppeteers.
The witches' beards, bizarre potions, and rhymed speech make them seem slightly ridiculous, like caricatures of the supernatural. Shakespeare has them speak in rhyming couplets throughout (their most famous line is probably "Double, double, toil and trouble, / Fire burn and cauldron bubble" in IV.i.10–11), which separates them from the other characters, who mostly speak in blank verse. The witches' words seem almost comical, like malevolent nursery rhymes. Despite the absurdity of their "eye of newt and toe of frog" recipes, however, they are clearly the most dangerous characters in the play, being both tremendously powerful and utterly wicked (IV.i.14).
The audience is left to ask whether the witches are independent agents toying with human lives, or agents of fate, whose prophecies are only reports of the inevitable. The witches bear a striking and obviously intentional resemblance to the Fates, female characters in both Norse and Greek mythology who weave the fabric of human lives and then cut the threads to end them. Some of their prophecies seem self-fulfilling. For example, it is doubtful that Macbeth would have murdered his king without the push given by the witches' predictions. In other cases, though, their prophecies are just remarkably accurate readings of the future—it is hard to see Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane as being self-fulfilling in any way. The play offers no easy answers. Instead, Shakespeare keeps the witches well outside the limits of human comprehension. They embody an unreasoning, instinctive evil.
The Three Witches (In-Depth Analysis)
From Spark Notes
Author's Note: I did not write Hamlet. That belongs to William Shakespeare. This version of Hamlet's soliloquy was found on Spark Notes if you wish to understand what Hamlet is really saying in this speech, there is an explanation link on the web page above, under the quote's text. (Quote #5) Oh, and I didn't write Macbeth either.
To LittleGreenWolf: Well if you have to write a depressed Loki, might as go all the way. And Poe is just too funny to ignore. Loki has a good memory doesn't he? And Narugami probably wished that zombie Loki would sleep more.
To Akuweaselgirl: I update every other day. At least for now.
Arysta: Glad you think it's neat. And go ahead a write a secret admirer story. I'd love to read it. And that's to anybody; I don't take dibs on the "secret admirer" theme or plot line. Just don't take my fluff letters k? And you'll learn a lot more about the 'connection' later in the story.
To Manda-chan: Yup, the "connection" is very important. Maybe you can guess why. It'll be fully explained in chapter 37. And don't worry, it gets fluffy again. Hehe… I love sap.
To Erinys: This "connection" will cause quite a few surprises along the way. Hehe… Hope you like the Norn's and Narugami's plan.
To Bibliomaniac:
1. Yes, the "turning into a flame" has to do with Loki's fire god abilities… somehow.
2. Loki's and Mayura's relationship nor temporary break-up are not normal in any sense of the word. There's a very good reason Loki became suicidal. I hinted at it in chapter 19.
3. Yes, Loki is usually optimistic, but when lose types of people become depressed it's usually pretty bad. Narugami never would have believed it possible for Loki to get that depressed either.
4. Genki and witty Loki is back in full by chapter 23 don't worry. And nope, I won't forget about the university thing.