There was no doubt about it - Asgard was stunning. It was mid afternoon, so the sun was glaring gloriously in the sky above the smiling Asgardians as they did their daily duties. Loki and Christie were being transported through town via horse and chariot, and Christie was staring out of the window in awe. "This place is insane," she breathed as her breath fogged up the glass.
"Mmm," Loki agreed unenthusiastically. Christie turned her head to frown at his considerable lack of excitement. She understood that he lived there so it was probably not as exciting, she felt the same about tourists when they came to London - but still.
"You don't like it here?" she frowned.
"Annerledes," Loki drawled tiredly, "I live here. At some point everything merges into one and you're left with a muddled land of nothing but drunkenness, forced smiles and empty laughter."
Christie blinked at him.
"Wow. You really are just a bundle of joy, aren't you?" she smirked, causing Loki to smirk back. "So if all this Asgardian joy is such a tedious sight, how do you deal with it whenever you leave the palace?"
"I don't. I use magic - it's faster," Loki answered simply.
"Oh ha ha," Christie tutted back before turning away again. Loki frowned at her response and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Had he upset her?
"D-does magic make you uncomfortable?" he stuttered.
"No, I'm just too tired to deal with your sarcasm right now," Christie answered shortly. Now Loki was completely lost.
"Sarcasm? No, Annerledes - I'm being serious, I teleport there," he blinked. Christie turned her head to shoot him a sceptical stare. Loki didn't know whether to laugh or be offended at the fact that she clearly didn't believe him - now his sarcasm was coming out. "Oh I am sorry, Annerledes - so you believe that I can burn messages onto your hand but not that I can teleport?"
"The hand thing could've easily been a trick, but teleportation? Really?" Christie teased, trying her hardest not to laugh at the irritation building on his face. She knew full well that Loki was able to teleport because she'd seen him do it twice now - but something about Loki's desperation to prove himself to her was enticing, and she was loving every second of winding him up.
Clearly he wasn't the only mischief maker between them.
"Right. Sit on my lap," Loki suddenly instructed her with daring eyes. Christie replied with a genuine scoff.
"Not a chance, your mother would kill me," she hummed.
"Oh, just do it, Annerledes," Loki murmured, still staring her down relentlessly. Christie completely broke under his gaze and found herself letting out a reluctant,
"Fine." She carefully shuffled across the leather-bound carriage seat and ducked her head so that she didn't hit it on the roof as she carefully perched herself on Loki's lap. She felt his knee bone poke into her, but the two of them were slim so it was relatively easy. Being this close to him made her heart pound…it made her shaky. She didn't know where to look so she kept her gaze focussed in her lap, internally wishing she had never challenged him in the first place. Loki could see that she'd shied up, and truthfully, he was relishing in it.
And then, the silence hit.
"…so did you just want to get me on your lap or…?" Christie couldn't help but mutter, breaking the silence. Loki released a deep chuckle.
"Hold on tight Annerledes," he murmured into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
She really didn't like how out of control she felt of her feelings.
She hooked her arms around his slender neck and he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. Just as Christie was about to make another smart remark about him just wanting to get his hands on her, her breath felt like it had been stolen straight from her lungs. Her surroundings had suddenly changed from the darkened interior of the chariot to an outdoor courtyard that she didn't recognise. She let out a sudden gasp and began to hyperventilate, the shock of everything weighing down on her all at once. "Oh, so you're one of those," Loki murmured wryly, although his eyes showed signs of concern. He carefully placed Christie's feet on the cobbled ground and steadied her once she was standing upright. "Annerledes, breathe," he frowned, placing his hands on either side of her cheeks and looking dead into her silvery orbs to refocus her.
"What…do….y-y-you….mean….one…o-of…those?" Christie finally panted out, praying that her heartbeat regulated soon.
"…Really? You can barely breathe and your main concern was whether my words were laced with offence?" Loki tutted. He was clearly trying not to smile. Christie raised an eyebrow as she slowly calmed down. "Some tend to feel nauseous after teleportation," Loki further explained, moving his hands from her face again. "Clearly you're one of them."
"You got that right," Christie murmured. She looked at their surroundings properly. The building circling the courtyard was extremely tall and almost castle like, and its grey stone walls appeared to go on forever, yet somehow was was still well lit. There were trees lining the courtyard with leaves much greener and juicer looking than the ones on Earth. As she continued to look around, an elderly man with knobbly knuckles and a long wispy ginger beard approached them with a gap toothed grin.
"Master Loki - and this time with a friend!" he chuckled heartily, slapping Loki's shoulder. Christie spun back around again and swiftly dropped her head as she usually did whenever she met someone new.
"Danforf. Always a pleasure," Loki hummed back with a solemn nod before gesturing towards Christie. "This is Annerledes - she's a new serving girl."
"A pleasure m'lady," Danforf bowed his head to her. Christie smiled and bowed hers back gracefully. "Danforf Lingbodian, responsible for all winged, hoofed and clawed of Asgard. Are you here to meet our beautiful storkatts?"
"Please," Christie breathed, still genuinely excited. Loki smiled over at her but quickly ducked his head when she locked eyes with him.
"Then follow me," Danforf beamed, spinning on his heel and leading them towards the furthest door ahead. "Now, there are around twenty to twenty five storkatts in there. Mighty, they are, but they're also passive and peaceful beasts who enjoy being indoors. They match energy, so ensure that your intentions with them are pure. Sit with them, bond with them - love them. Any questions?"
Well, yes, Christie had plenty. But she shook her head.
"Excellent! No sudden movements either - just walk in and take a seat, they'll come to you," Danforf whispered before unlocking the door and stepping aside. Loki allowed Christie to step into the huge indoor enclosure first, which she did with hesitation. The walls were dark grey and the lights were dim, and there was a further enclosure towards the back of the room that resembled a jungle. But it wasn't interior decor that was impressing Christie the most - it was the big cats sprawled across the room that stunned her into silence. They were magnificent, they were peaceful, they were purring. Their sleek black fur was a work of art, and those jewel like eyes of theirs lit up no matter how far they were. Some were sleeping, some were showing their bellies and lying on their backs, others were simply observing with one paw tucked underneath themselves. They were essentially panthers with pointy ears but with the characteristics of a house cat: peaceful, playful and purring.
"They're beautiful," Christie finally murmured, finding herself frozen to the spot. Loki approached her and held out his hand.
"Come. I'll show you where I normally sit," he told her quietly. Christie allowed him to lead her to the corner of the room where a bundle of pillows were huddled together. Loki sat himself down and Christie did the same. "Look, there's one coming over already," he muttered, pointing towards Christie's far right. And true to his word, there was. She was a big storkatt, with an incredibly feminine face, and her eyes were locked on Christie's as she prowled over to her.
"What do I do?" Christie hissed, not wanting to scare her away.
"You welcome her and she will be drawn to you," Loki answered as if it were simple. Christie had no idea what that meant - but she did know that she really wanted her to come over.
That must've been what Loki meant, because over she came.
Her large head was twice the size of Christie's, but she still plonked her chin directly onto Christie's thighs and her eyes fluttered shut. Christie could feel the vibrations of her purrs against her legs and found herself unable to breathe out of pure anticipation. She had never even met a big cat before - and now she was meeting an Asgardian one for the first time. But she still lifted her hand and stroked her sleek fur, almost gasping at how soft she felt under her touch. "Ah, this is Orva," Loki murmured under his breath as two other storkatts made their way over to him instead, having recognised him all too well. "She's pregnant."
"Ah, she's stunning," Christie pouted. "Hi Orva! Is she…always this friendly?" Loki let out a small chuckle before saying,
"Actually, no." Orva gave a yawn, demonstrating how large her jaws and teeth were, which set Christie back a few paces.
"Woahhhh Orva, you've got some mouth on you," she winced. Loki chuckled at her uncertainty.
"Storkatts eat many things, but I've never heard of them eating people," he assured her. "You're fine. And the fact that Orva is resting on you is a sign of trust - she's taken to you well."
"The feeling's mutual," Christie cooed, scratching Orva's chin as she fell asleep. "You said she's pregnant?"
"Yes, with twins," Loki confirmed with his eyes set on her. "She is due to give birth in the next year-"
"Poor girl has to be pregnant for a year?" Christie hissed back with widened eyes, making Loki smirk.
"Perhaps you can witness the birth," he suggested quietly. "It's an amazing sight. Sadly, the mothers tend to pass on shortly after and so they entrust their young into the hands of another. It seems as if you've been chosen to be that person." Christie smiled to herself and shook her head. She didn't know how long she'd be in Asgard, so who knew if she'd actually be able to witness the birth?
That was when she suddenly remembered her mission status.
Time to get to work.
"Loki, if you don't mind me asking," she began slowly, looking up at him. "Growing up…as a prince…what was it like?"
"What was it like?" Loki repeated with a dry chuckle. "It was…interesting. Thor and I were close. But it was clear who the preferred son was." Christie tried not to let the realisation fade onto her face, but this was the second time that Loki had made an abrasive comment about Thor. She was beginning to see it as resentment, which was a clear a red flag.
But then again, she felt that way towards her own sister and she turned out fine. Didn't she?
"Wait," Loki suddenly frowned, snapping Christie out of her thoughts. "You've seen me teleport before! Twice, in fact, when I dropped off the pecan pie and then at training!" Christie couldn't help but giggle and give him a careless shrug. "So why did you act as if I was lying?"
"Because, Loki, winding you up is fun," Christie admitted, tucking her hair behind her ear and shooting him a knowing smirk. Loki raised his eyebrows back at her. They locked eye contact for a few seconds, and neither one of them wanted to look away. It was like they physically couldn't.
"I'm going to get you back for that," Loki finally murmured out. But Christie didn't care - that was exactly what she wanted him to do.
The bond had been formed.
Target: secured.