I want to thank each and every one of my reviewers for the wonderful words of encouragement and praise. It is because of you that I finally pulled my head out of my own ass and wrote this chapter. To BeepKeeper, the ever supportive Of Stories Told, Silvermane1, Evil-step-sister, a guest, Rike1Rike2, ThexGypsyxPrincessx, Niko Scorpion, and Graffiti-Kami, I can't say or do much more than write down all your names – which took some time – and say thank you!
To Graffiti-Kami: I hope that this chapter will shed some light upon Loki's abilities. Also, I really loved your idea of Loki as a palulukan! It would be both awesome and cute, to have Thrym and Loki roam the jungle together.
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Green foliage and animal life flew past Loki as he sprinted through the jungle, away from the Sky People's camp and into more familiar territory. His cold heart hammered excitedly from its place in the middle of his chest, not because of his sudden escape but because of the news of the Sky People's origins. If Midgard existed, so would Jotunheim and her people. He still had a chance to get home or come into contact with his family, who he was deeply worried for. The Midgardian's sudden development in technology could not have been so sudden and indicated that much time had passed. And instead of going back in time like Loki had intended, it would seem that he had travelled forward in time. He couldn't know what Jotunheim had suffered at the hands of Asgard in the time of his disappearance. But though he hated Odin, he comforted himself with the knowledge that Odin wouldn't let an entire species, a species that had chosen to surrender, die.
As the light gradually disappeared from the sky and the flowers and trees began to glow with their own inner light, Loki continued his silent run back to Hometree. It was him a mystery why Thor had not come for him, arriving in that ray of light that was the Bifrost in his golden armour to whisk Loki back to his golden cage. He didn't fear Thor's rage about his escape; he was certain that he could convince Thor that it had all been an accident. He wouldn't be happy to be back in Asgard where he had started, but at least he could always try again.
But Thor hadn't come, none from Asgard had, and that could only mean that this realm was somehow shielded from Heimdall's gaze; which could both turn out to be a blessing and a curse.
A giant black shadow joined him in his run and Loki came to a stop to greet Thrym.
"What have you been up to?" Loki asked with a fond smile and the question was answered with deep purring sounds as Loki's blue hand scratched Thrym's snout.
"Not as much trouble as I, I'm sure."
But Thrym seemed to disagreed as he proudly showed the trophy hanging from his teeth. It was a pack, clearly of the Sky People's making, which made Loki beam.
"Oh, have you been eating pale-skinned demons? Aren't you just the most dangerous beast in this whole jungle?" Thrym loved the attention, and Loki was happy to shower Thrym with attention and belly rubs while he simultaneously checked Thrym for injures.
"Can I have that?" Loki asked after having found no injuries on his companion, and Thrym released the pack willingly when Loki took hold of it. Sadly, it contained nothing that held Loki's interest and he discarded it without a second glance to the forest floor. Loki had hoped to find one of the Sky People's advanced weapons to examine it, but he would just have to steal one at another time.
Ready to head back again, Loki jumped upon Thrym's back with ease, after having long since gotten used to riding, and enjoyed the rest of the ride back to Hometree with Thrym.
At the foot of the giant tree, Loki was meet by the tribe's children and young.
'What's going on here?'
It wasn't unusual for the children to be together, but none of them were playing or being unruly; in fact, all of them sat expectantly on the ground with their heads fixed curiously in the direction of the ground opening into the giant tree.
As Loki came closer, the children noticed his presence and sprang up to meet him. The young Na'vi, being much more accepting of Thrym, was unbothered by his looming form as Loki jumped down among them but Loki was still quick to send Thrym away before he got tempted by the young trusting Na'vi.
"Loki, Loki, Loki," the children all yelled in excited greetings, causing Loki to laugh as they surrounded him.
"Calm yourselves, children; what is all the fuss about?"
He always felt a bit silly when he called them that, as most of them were already much bigger than him; but the Na'vi children didn't seem to mind.
"A demon in a false body has been captured. A meeting has been called to decide what is to be done with the prisoner."
'Really? I must see that for myself.'
"We haven't been allowed to attend the meeting," a sullen Na'vi child muttered disappointedly as Loki moved to the entrance of the tree.
Loki smiled at the sulking children around him. "I promise to tell you all about it after," he said with a wink. "But in the meantime, I expect you all to behave."
"Thanks, Loki," The children called after him from the entrance as he continued to walk further inside.
Loki had already heard from the other Na'vi that the Sky People had somehow managed to create false bodies, identical to that of a Na'vi, and that they could inhabit them at any time. It was something Loki was curious to see for himself. He had desired the ability to shapeshift but he hadn't even been close to mastering the skill yet. So how come a simple race like the Midgardians, who didn't possess any magic to begin with, could accomplishes something he could not?
As he quietly entered the hall, filled with tall cyan bodies, he was drawn from his thoughts by Mo'at's raised voice,
"It is decided; my daughter will teach you our ways. Learn well, Jake Sully. Then we will see if your insanity can be cured."
Silence descended over the hall for a short while. What was happening, Loki could not say as he still couldn't see. Feeling nothing short of disappointment at having missed the whole display, Loki's heightened feelings must have alerted Mo'at of his presence.
"Loki?" she called out and cyan bodies moved aside to let him pass, now that they were aware of his presence. Several hands were lowered to touch his shoulders in silent greetings as he walked towards the middle of the room.
"I was worried about you today. Eywa, has been very distant." Mo'at would undoubtedly have said more but Loki was quick to stop her; he didn't want to talk about his daily adventure now.
"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine." And he made a show to spread his arm out to display his unharmed self.
That, however, didn't deter Tsu'tey from making his own assessment and Loki didn't bother to smack the searching hands away. Loki would never admit it out loud, but he loved the attention and care bestowed upon him even though he pretended to be indifferent.
"You always laugh at danger, Taronyutsyìp, but do not dismiss us when we are worried," Tsu'tey said as he caught Loki's green eyes.
"But I'm fine," he repeated and escaped Tsu'tey, to finally look upon the prisoner.
Jake Sully, as Loki had heard him called, looked like any other Na'vi. There was nothing distinctive about his features which gave him away at being an outsider. His face was perhaps a little boarder then normal within the Omaticaya clan, but other than his clothes and name, one could almost be fooled to believe that he was a Na'vi.
To Loki's amusement, he wasn't the only one busy with examining the other. Jake Sully's curious eyes roved up and down his body and his mouth had slowly fallen open.
"Do you find me beautiful?" Loki couldn't help but tease.
"Yes," The dazed Jake Sully answered before realisation hit him. "No, I mean no."
Loki just laughed, unaware of the other Na'vis angry sneers.
"I see, but all fun aside," a small smile stayed on Loki's lips as he lightly poked around Jake's alien body, "I'm most curious about how your race has managed to change your forms. What kind of magic have you used?"
To Loki's surprise the other male burst into laughter at his question and for a moment Loki didn't know whether to feel insulted or humoured by the happy laugh.
"I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no clue about that myself. I'm just a… just a warrior."
Loki had to look away from Jake's intense golden eyes as they settled on him again, an unpleasant feeling beginning to erupt in the bottom of his stomach.
"I see; what a pity."
'Then he isn't of much use to me after all.'
"Do you know of his people, Loki? He said that he is from the Jarhead Clan," Tsu'tey asked, seemingly more than ready to attack Jake, should Loki give him the least bit of reason to do so. But Loki did no such thing and only looked back upon the uncomfortable soldier; curious to see what he would do now. To Loki's surprise, Jake did nothing but smile sheepishly when he discovered that he had Loki's attention again.
'The Jarhead clan, indeed, just what is he playing at?'
This situation was nothing but the result of a coincidence. The awkward mortal had clearly gotten unlucky or lucky enough to have been caught by the clan, thus avoiding a night alone in the jungle. But Loki would not have him stay. He knew that the love and care of the Omaticaya clan could change people, he, himself, was a good example on that. But that change took time and Jake would only use his foothold in the clan to gather information and spy for his fellow species members' and bring forth ruin and destruction on the loving people who had showed Loki kindness.
"His race is indeed familiar to me. It is a primitive species my people call Midgardians and they hail from the realm Midgaard."
"Who are you calling primitive?" Jake shot back, clearly insulted by the call, but he reserved saying anything more so as not to provoke the wary Na'vi Loki calmly observed.
"The last time I visited your realm, your kind was nothing but pitiful creatures that had only just discovered fire and lived in caves."
"That's impossible," Jake was quick to say, to which Loki only smiled,
"Do you call me a liar?" And when Jake didn't say anything in return, Loki continued,
"I admit that your specie's has evolved much from your last state, but you are still only humans."
"Oh yeah, and what makes you so much better than us, aside from your physical appearance?" Jake asked, obviously pleased by his own question, if his gleaming eyes were any indication.
But Loki was done bantering with the male, who had nothing more of interest left to say to him, and seemed more interested in flirting with him than anything else, much to Loki's annoyance.
"Are you all sure that we shouldn't just kill him now?" Loki turned to ask Eytukan, completely ignoring Jake's shocked expression as he continued to voice his thought aloud. "He is a danger to all of us. He will only ever support his own people and we are stupid for wasting our breath and energy teaching one who can't be taught."
"It has already been decided that he is to stay." Mo'at, was the one to answer. "Eywa has led him to us like she did you."
"I see," Loki mumbled angrily, for nothing he could say or do from this point on would change Mo'at's decision. He knew that the moment she mentioned their deity, Eywa.
"I will see you all in the morn; it has been a long and tiring day and I will go to get some rest." Loki's departure was met with many replies and well wishes for a pleasant night, but Loki didn't hear nor reply to them, occupied with the wild thoughts running through his head.
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Loki woke the next morning much later than he was used to, perhaps more exhausted by the previous day's activity than he had first realised. The first light had only started to shine, it still being early in the morning, but Loki was used to being one of the first down for breakfast, but now the ruckus of the morning feast alerted him of his late awakening.
He was quick to change out of his skin-tight pants from yesterday into his beloved gold-studded, red cloth from home. With a wave of his hand, his hair came loose of the many gold rings which he attached to his arms and lower legs, and his hair blew loosely around down his back.
Breakfast was, as always, a rowdy affair. The Na'vi were getting ready for a new day and everyone had to carry their own share of the weight. Someone had to watch and care for the children, teams had to be organised and sent to hunt and gather, others stayed to weave new fabrics, and some learned the skill of the bow or the spear.
Before he had made his way to his seat, past all the Na'vi on the floor, Loki had been crowded with many offers to join different daily activities. Partially guilty for not joining in on any clan activities the day before, Loki agreed to help Liyanin dive after shell creatures for today's supper. Part was also for his own selfish reason, the small creatures were delicious, eaten cooked or raw, and he never could resist the temptation of eating a few while diving.
Loki sat gracefully down beside Tsu'tey, and accepted the passing bowl of bread and fruits with nimble fingers.
"I don't like the way he stares at you," Tsu'tey spoke from beside him, preventing Loki from passing the broken ball of bread into his mouth in order to see what had provoked Tsu'tey so early in the morning.
Jake was indeed starring at him, but he completely failed to do so discreetly. As a stranger, his presence and strange manner made all the Na'vi aware of him along with the fact, that Jake hadn't touched his food once since Loki entered the hall.
A smile broke out on Loki's lips when Neytiri grew impatient with Jake's pace of eating and elbowed him in the side, which made Jake look bewildered around.
"So?" Loki asked before taking a bite of his own food.
"I don't want you to get hurt. We'll have to be extra careful around him until he falls and shows his true colours; only then can we get rid of him." Tsu'tey didn't bother to lower his voice, speaking to anyone who wanted to hear. Not that it mattered; Jake couldn't speak or understand the language of the natives, and the Na'vi around them all shared Tsu'tey's views.
"You don't have to warn me," Loki replied before taking a bite of the sweet fruit from his plate; chewing and swallowing. "I'm aware that he can't be trusted, which is why I will keep my eyes on him as well."
"You'll do that, Taronyutsyìp," Tsu'tey said while beginning to take small bites of his own food. "Just be sure that you don't do more than that."
Giving Tsu'tey a sidelong glance before averting his attention back upon his breakfast, Loki spoke,
"I can't possible imagine what you are referring to."
After that, Loki had been quick to finish his breakfast, mad at Tsu'tey for his quick and awkward comments. He was no child; while smaller than the Na'vi, he had reached adulthood, but Tsu'tey seemed to forget that from time to time.
Loki and Liyanin left Hometree with finely woven empty bags and baskets, and walked the short distance to the deep blue lagoon, where the shell creatures lived and bred. It was a deep, freshwater hole, so unlike the others around the jungle; its bottom had yet to be touched much less even seen.
When they reached the wet edge, they dropped their baggage and stripped off their clothes before stepping fully into the water.
The empty bags and baskets, bound along the water edge, were slowly filled with shell creatures. Loki and Liyanin were careful to keep them in the water to keep them fresh, before they would carry them home to eat. Loki ate his fill and played around the water with an equally playful Liyanin in between work.
"Jake!" Loki was startled to hear Neytiri's cry of alarm behind him and wholly unprepared for the direhorse running directly against him. He only just managed to throw himself out of the way before the horse trampled through the place he had stood moments before. He, however, had no time to avoid the next obstacle which fell upon him from above.
Loki was pressed under the water by the heavy body on top of him and the force of the impact had made him breathe mouthfuls of water through his nose and mouth. Loki was vaguely aware of the other body moving away from him and the next moment he was heaved up from the water into the air by big hands on his shoulders.
Loki spluttered and coughed to clear his lungs, meanwhile, his hands flailed around him in mild panic for something to hold on to and he desperately grabbed the warm flesh his hands first came into contact with.
His view was obscured by his black hair which clung along his body and face, but now that he was steady at last, and somewhat more calm, he freed his left hand to push the hair out of his eyes.
It was Jake who stood towering before him, both of their feet still stuck in water and with his hands still on Loki's naked body.
"Are you okay?" Jake dared to ask with a stupid smile stuck on his face.
'How dare he!'
Loki couldn't believe the nerve of this male that was smiling at him and touching him so carelessly. The sneer Loki threw back at Jake was all teeth, and Jake's hands flew away from him with a hiss, as Loki let his body's automatic defence mechanism forth.
"If you touch me again, you will find yourself short of a pair of hands." And with all his might, Loki pushed at Jake's chest and made the taller male fall back into the water on his behind. Loki didn't linger to stare at Jake's stupefied expression; he was suddenly self-consciousness and uncomfortably aware of his nudity. With a last angry hiss, Loki went to return to the bank where his cloth laid from where he had carelessly stripped. His strides were long and quick in his haste to cover himself, and he was grateful when he could finally wrap the red leather around himself again. Loki wasn't ashamed of his body, Jotuns could walk naked freely amongst one another, but before Jake, his body was on display in a manner he didn't like.
"Loki, are you okay?" Neytiri and Liyanin asked as they carefully gathered around him like he was a spooked animal.
"I'm fine," he told them, fastening the black string around his hips with a little knot before looking past them at Jake, who had risen from his wet seat. "Perhaps I overreacted," he said with a thoughtful tone. "I'm sorry if I scared you two."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Loki," Neytiri was quick to say before she was upon Jake. "Jake, you have to be more careful in the future, and you also have to apologize for your mistake."
Jake wasn't the least intimidated by Neytiri's raised voice or the rap on his side when he stepped closer; he had without a doubt gotten use to her temper during the day, after failing to reach her expectations. Neytiri wasn't the best of teachers, still young and quick to anger, but it seemed that Jake had already learned to adjust.
"I'm sorry…" but Loki just waved Jake's apology aside before he could even begin.
"No matter, I'm not happy with how things happened but it was all an accident and I can forgive you for that." But while his voice was light and his smile present, Loki was far from having forgiven Jake for his humiliation.
"Let us sit down for a bit." Loki gestured to the rocks by the water edge. "Liyanin and I have caught many shells for tonight's supper so you are welcome to them, should you be hungry."
The two Na'vi females turned to occupy some seats and Loki turned to follow but was stopped by Jake's hesitant hand on his arm.
"Look, you don't have to forgive me if you don't want to," Jake said with a hesitant but honest smile on his face. "You feel humiliated and, though I will want to reassure you that you have no reason to feel so, you can't, just like you can't just forgive me."
To say that Loki was surprised would be an understatement; how could Jake read him so easily? Loki was a proud being with many faults but he was gifted enough to hide the fact, yet Jake had seen through him and all he did was smile at Loki.
When Jake didn't get burned by Loki's cool skin, he gave his arm a light squeeze.
"I'd rather have you hate me than have your silent contempt and false friendship. Somehow, I think that I would come to regret that more."
"You are not as empty-minded as I had first thought." After a short break of silence, Loki added with unconcealed sarcasm, "Good for you." Having nothing more to say about the matter, Loki walked away from Jake to join the chattering Na'vi females by the water.
"I heard from Grace that you were visiting yesterday," Jake said as he fell into step beside Loki but stopped midstride when Loki came to an abrupt halt.
"Don't tell them, they will just worry needlessly," Loki insisted while indicating towards the two females a short distance away.
"I won't. Grace just wouldn't shut up about you, she was moaning all morning about how much she wanted more samples from you, since she had never seen anything like you before. That woman is so damn curious, but I can't help but be slightly curious about you too. What's your story? If you are not from Pandora; how did you end up with these people?"
"You can stay curious for all I care; my past is not your concern."
"The past is in the past, and I can't imagine much will change should I get to know yours," Jake replied persistently, not that Loki could understand why he bothered when he already knew that Loki wouldn't give.
"Who can really tell? But I feel no need to share information, no matter how trivial it may be, with a spy like you. Do you even know what you are doing here? These people are good, and what your people are doing is wrong. Claiming this land for their own, destroying the land and wealth around them;" Loki indicated to the forest and ground around them. "What is your purpose here other than to destroy?"
"All I ever wanted was a single thing worth fighting for: a purpose."
"Well, that is simple," Loki said with a cynical smile. "You need a mate. Your, human's, only purpose in life is, after all, to survive and reproduce before you die a meaningless death."
Loki was once more surprised when Jake just threw his head back and laughed as if he hadn't insulted the whole human race. "It seems that I won't even manage to accomplish that. But what about your own significant life, isn't your life meaningless to?"
"My purpose?"
"Let me guess, that is not my concern either?" Jake joked with a light-hearted shrug of his shoulders. It was not mocking, but neither did Jake hide the fact that he thought Loki's need for secrecy a tad excessive.
"My purpose seems to be forever changing; to rule and prosper, to survive, to live the last of my days as a prisoner in the pretence of maintaining peace, but now my purpose is to find my home."
Somehow the words just slipped past Loki's lips without his permission, and Loki was staggered by his sudden lack of control in Jake's presence.
"You are lost," Jake said in revelation, and Loki looked up into Jake's yellow eyes, only to feel his mouth open again and confirm what Jake had already stated.
"Indeed, it is a blessing as much as it is a curse."
"Jake, Loki, come join us," Neytiri drew their attention with a loud call; she was waving her arms gesturing for them to come and join them by the water.
"We'll be there in a moment," Jake called back and turned to face Loki again when the two females went back to their own conversation.
"You say that you want to find your home but to me it seems that you have already found it here with the Omaticaya clan," Jake finished in a soft voice and Loki, contemplating his words, turned to look at the laughing and chattering females. Unbidden warmth filled his chest, a feeling Loki had grown more and more acquaintance with in his time with the Omaticaya clan.
"Perhaps," was all he said, pushing the thoughts and feelings aside to ponder over at a later time.
"Perhaps," Jake mused along with him, before a playful grin broke out on his whole face.
"Or, could it be, that what you seek in truth is just a mate of your own?"
Loki had not anticipated to have his own words thrown right back at him. It was wholly unexpected but also a welcome surprise and Loki couldn't help his own playful reply,
"Is that a proposal?"
It was impossible for Loki to keep his face straight for long, not when Jake's face filled with panic and his mouth hung uselessly open, Loki's mask broke and his laughter filled the air.
"You should see the look on your face," Loki said in the mist of laughter.
"And here I had hoped that you were serious," Jake said in a hurt voice.
Loki couldn't contain his snort,
"Don't be daft. I have only just escaped my last engagement and I'm not currently seeking to shackle myself to another at the moment."
"You have been engaged before?" And just like the other times in the past few minutes, Loki's mouth opened as if on its own accord.
"Two times now. I was, upon my birth, engaged to mate with lord Thrym, a mighty giant amongst my people and a renowned warrior. But before we could mate, I was taken from my home after a great war, and engaged to the prince of my people's sworn enemies. Thor," Loki spat the name out as if the name alone called forth a foul taste in his mouth, "the God of thunder and a suitor of war; a beast of a man. I'll be happy to never set my eyes upon him again."
"Thrym and Thor… mhhh," Jake mused with a puzzled expression.
"Yes, have you heard of them?" Loki inquired. It was doubtful that Jake had, but there was still a slight possibility, and Loki clung to that hope, but not for very long.
"No, I'm just wondering how that would work."
Jake suddenly seemed shy all of the sudden, he certain didn't want to meet Loki's eyes.
"How, what, would work?" Loki asked curiously.
"The children," Jake awkwardly stated while rubbing at his quickly colouring neck. "Wouldn't a lord and a prince need heirs to continue their lines?"
"They would, and it would fall on me to carry and birth said heirs. As a Jotun, one of the few intersexed species, I'm quite capable of both fathering and carrying a child."
"Intersexed," Jake mumbled as his gaze fell upon Loki's flat chest. Perhaps, he expected to find an explanation or a pair of newly sprouted breasts to confirm Loki's sex.
"It is impolite to stare," Loki stated with drawl and his voice made Jake snap out of whatever trance he was in. His head drew back from where it had once been lowered, and his eyes flew away from Loki's pierced nipples.
"I don't have breast, their purpose is moot until the day I'm heavy with child," Loki explained before adding with a coy smile. "Do you have any more questions I need to answer?"
Jake swallowed visibly and shied away once more when Loki caught his eye. When he spoke, his voice low and raspy.
"Not for the moment, no."
'You're sure about that?'
"Well then, if you are sure, I think that we should finally join the others."
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What do you think? Did the first meeting play out like you had hoped or did I fail your expectations? Also, I'm still curious about what you all thought of the last chapter; was the interaction between Loki and Quaritch too much?
