Songs from Dead Tongues
Author's Notes: One thing I want and need to make perfectly clear is that Nuada is NOT based on Norse mythology. This is something that a lot of Loki/Nuada shippers get wrong. In their scramble to hook these two up, they don't delve far enough into Guillermo del Toro's inspirations, namely Irish mythology (Nuada Silverlance is based in part on Nuada SilverHand, a King of the Tuatha de Danaan), they just apply Norse Mythology and that makes me a sad panda. I've been trying to delve into it myself, but it's difficult because a lot of it has been lost or it just gets lumped in with Celtic myth which is related, but not quite the same.
Disclaimer: All Marvel characters and properties are (c) Marvel Studios & Disney, All Hellboy Characters are (c) Dark Horse Comics, Mike Mignola, & Guillermo del Toro. Please forgive any abuse of Norse and Irish mythology. All original characters are (c) Draco's Daughter/ Ashley Shadowheart.
-x-x-x-
Chapter Two: Ancient Nightmares, Archaic Legends, Enigmatic Dreams… All of this is True
"Are we there yet?"
"Stark, you ask that one more time…"
"It's a legitimate question! You didn't even tell us where we're going; it was just all "Okay kids! Load up in the Quinn Jet! We're going on an adventure!"
Steve Rodgers lightly massaged his temples, the mood in the Quinn Jet was tense at best with Tony and Fury trapped close together in such a small space. So much snark, so little time… Fury looked like he was about to strangle Tony (which all things considered was Fury's natural response to Tony), while Tony was taking his usual childish glee in pissing off the SHEILD director. Looking around the jet, Steve took note of his teammates' current demeanor. Natasha and Clint where curled up against one another, half- asleep. The pair was used to grabbing rest at any opportunity, so nothing short of an emergency would make them move. Bruce sat analyzing data from the Hellicarrier concerning Hel's attack; he had taken samples of the rust and mold, studying their composition. He was making notes in a small moleskin notebook, muttering quietly to himself as he worked.
Steve's gaze moved on to Thor, the Thunderer was sitting apart from the rest of the group, his head rested on his hands, elbows resting on his knees. He was oddly quiet and pensive, his eyes showing his mind was far, far away. Steve got up and approached Thor, sitting down next to him.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked. Thor blinked lightly, looking over at Steve.
"Tis a heavy cloud that hangs over my head, my friend. The recent events have many grave implications for this realm and others," Thor replied.
"You mean Loki and this Nuada guy teaming up?" Steve asked.
"Indeed… but it's not just that they are teaming up. We always knew that Nuada held radical ideas, and now that Loki has rejected Asgard and a great many of his old morals…" Thor trailed off, his expression dark and foreboding.
"We'll be landing in 10, Director," the pilot said, interrupting their conversation.
"Thank god!" Tony declared, being an ass still.
-x-x-
The BPRD had certainly made several changes since the threat of mass quitting after the Golden Army incident. There was a very different atmosphere around the organization, one that allowed their agents a better amount of freedom, as much as could be safely afforded. Luckily the public's eye and massive PR machine had drifted off to other distractions, giving them time to recover from the insanity. The arrival of the twins had also caused some big changes, which included a very important new designation for several "lucky" agents…
"Six, seven, eight, nine… TEN! Ready or not, here I come!"
John T. Myers would never call himself a family man, nor did he have much experience with kids, so he was damn grateful that his werewolf boyfriend was great with kids. Many agents were wary around the twins, especially since their daddy had a bad habit of standing over one's shoulder and glowering, but not Swiftbolt. The werewolf was forever unfazed by Hellboy's intimidation techniques and had the added bonus of having helped raise a few pups of his own in the past, making him a damn good babysitter in tandem with "Uncle" John.
No one was exactly sure how the agent had earned coveted "uncle" status, but he had. Of all their baby sitters, the twins loved John the best, with Swiftbolt coming a close second. There was a rotating schedule of agents that kept an eye on the twins, but the task normally fell to Swiftbolt and John unless the pair was absolutely needed for a mission. Since the human was now dating the werewolf, Hellboy no longer viewed him as a threat and had been able to make peace; it helped that Trevor and Jonas adored him. Speaking of which…
"Found ya!" Swiftbolt declared to the twin shrieks of Trevor and Jonas, the two young quarter-demons leaping up from their hiding spot and fleeing from the werewolf's outstretched arms. The hangar made for the best games of "hide and seek" with all of its nooks and crannies, crates and containers to hide around and in.
"Uncle John's base!" Trevor declared as he ran to the human agent, leaping up into his lap. John let out a light "oof" as he caught Trevor, almost falling off the crate he was sitting on as he watched Swiftbolt and the twins playing. Trevor was the active, sqiggly one who was forever getting into mischief, the very image of his father's personality.
"No fair! No fair!" Jonas whined as Trevor squirmed into John's lap, making himself comfortable. John chuckled softly as Swiftbolt approached stealthy, moving very quietly for a six-foot-two man, quickly scooping the unsuspecting Jonas up into a big bear hug, fingers tickling his sides to pull squeals of delight from the young quarter-demon.
"I got one!" Swiftbolt declared, nuzzling and blowing raspberries against Jonas's skin. With a grin, John swiftly grabbed Trevor close, ticking him as well.
"Waaaaaaah! Uncle John! Nooooo!" Trevor declared as he squirmed in John's grip, attempting to escape even as he began to laugh his head off.
"Who said I was base half-way through, hmm? What did we say about changing the rules?" John asked, continuing his assault. Trevor squirmed and attempted to call for Swiftbolt's help through bouts of laughter, but the werewolf only chuckled, Jonas resting happily on his hip, the little quarter-demon's tail lazily wrapped around his waist for security.
Before he could open his mouth to say anything, Swiftbolt suddenly stilled looking towards the hangar door.
"Uncle Swiftbolt?" Jonas asked, gripping the front of the twill trench coat Swiftbolt wore while in human form and looking up at him with big, expressive eyes. Jonas took more after Liz, quiet and very observant.
"Open your senses, child… can you hear that?" Swiftbolt asked, looking down at his young charge. Jonas closed his eyes and stilled himself, listening. Few children his age would ever willingly sit still and listen, but he was very good at it already.
"Plane," the little demon replied after a few moments, opening his eyes and looking back up at Swiftbolt, who grinned wide.
"Very good," he said, looking back to John. "But the real question is who's arriving?"
John moved to stand, helping Trevor slip down off the crate as well. The little demon moved to curl a hand in John's pant leg, looking up curiously at the two adults.
"Dr. Krauss isn't due back for another week or so, and Kate won't be back from Tibet until next month," John stated, running down a mental list of agents who were out in the field that would be using one of the BPRD aircraft. His eyes met Swiftbolt's, who nodded to him; the wolf had reached a decision for them…
"Alright! Last one back to the family quarters is a smelly manticore!" Swiftbolt announced, looking at Jonas and then Trevor with a big, mischievous smile.
"But Uncle Swiftbolt! I wanna see who's coming!" Trevor whined, looking up at Swiftbolt with big, pleading eyes. Jonas chimed in with noises of protest as well, squirming in Swiftbolt's hold. The werewolf set Jonas down before kneeling down to the twin's eye-level, looking at them both seriously.
"Do you remember what your mommy and daddy and Director Manning told you about being seen by visitors?" Swiftbolt asked. The twins fidgeted a bit under his gaze before answering.
"If they're not BPRD, they're not supposed to see us," the twins chimed back in perfect unison, hints of disappointment in their voices. They both had more of their father in them than sometimes even Hellboy admitted.
"And why are you not supposed to be seen?" Swiftbolt asked, still serious and keeping eye-contact with the twins.
"Cuz not everyone understands about us bein' part-demon," Jonas supplied in his small, quiet voice as Trevor fidgeted.
"Very good…. And your daddy would also skin me alive if someone tried to hurt you on my watch, so we're all going to make sure that doesn't happen," Swiftbolt said, lightly ruffling Trevor's hair before standing once more. "So! If you two come without a fuss I'll tell you about the time your daddy ran afoul of Goddess Hekate herself!"
With the promise of a story about their daddy, Trevor and Jonas each took one of Swiftbolt's hands and let their werewolf uncle lead them towards the exit. John chuckled softly as he watched them before he heard the mechanism that controlled the hangar door buzz into life, opening the door as the sound of an approaching jet became clear to even his human ears.
"I hope Manning is expecting company," he commented before moving to follow Swiftbolt and the twins. As they were leaving, a party was approaching led by Manning himself. There were a few agents, but most importantly Liz and Hellboy were among them.
"Mama! Daddy!" The twins declared both letting go of Swiftbolt's hands and running to greet their parents.
"Hey, there you two are!" Hellboy said with his usual good humor, easily scooping up both boys. The pair were talking quickly, telling their father about their game of hide-and-seek as well as begging him to let them come with him.
"And there's our wayward werewolf, I need you to come with us, we'll need your input," Manning commented, looking to Swiftbolt.
"Aww, I'm touched! The mighty Manning needs lil' old me," Swiftbolt said, lightly nudging John with his elbow. John politely smiled and said nothing, forever neutral in the ongoing Manning/ In-human war.
"Hellboy, let Agent Myers take the twins back to the family quarters. We've got guests arriving," Manning stated, looking back to the demon.
"Aww, how come we can't stay," Trevor whined from his place on his daddy's shoulder.
"Because this is work-related," Manning stated. The twins could never get any quarter from the Director, no matter how hard they tried.
"Uncle Swiftbolt promised story…" Jonas stated, his voice very quiet as he spoke to Manning, rarely actually having the courage to do so.
"Come on you two, let's go get you settled down for your afternoon nap," Liz stated, accepting Jonas from Hellboy before the demon set Trevor down on the floor, giving him a small nudge to encourage him to follow Liz. "I'll catch up with the rest of you at the meeting."
"But mama… uncle Swiftbolt's story," Jonas complained, his voice a near-whine.
"I promise I'll tell it to you later, but you have to be good for your mama and Uncle John, okay?" Swiftbolt said, gently ruffling Jonas's hair. The quarter-demon sighed but nodded, laying his head down onto Liz's shoulder as she, Trevor, and John headed back towards the entrance to the hangar. Swiftbolt turned to fall into step with Hellboy.
"So, we ARE expecting company?" He asked, looking to the demon.
"Manning got a call from another secret branch of the US special forces, SHEILD. We haven't sat down with them in a long time, so you know that when they call it's something big. They're meeting us for a conference session, but Manning's being all secretive about the reason for it," Hellboy explained as they moved to stand and wait for the arrival of this mysterious SHIELD group. Swiftbolt hummed his understanding of the situation, standing next to Hellboy and crossing his arms over his chest as the hangar doors were opened wide to allow a decent-sized jet inside. Hellboy whistled, impressed.
"Looks like they get the shiny toys, much better funded than we are the lucky bastards," he commented, nudging Swiftbolt who only gave a soft snort at the comment. As the jet came to a stop, the back hatch opened up, letting out a man with an eye patch and dressed in a long, black trench, followed closely by two agents.
"Director Manning thanks for hosting us on such short notice," the man in the trench coat stated, approaching Manning, who stepped forward to shake hands.
"Anything for SHIELD, Director Fury. You mind telling me what all this is about?" Manning asked.
"Let's get all of the shocked introductions out of the way first," Fury replied, nodding respectfully to Hellboy who gave an acknowledging nod of his own.
"Fury, how you been? It's been a long time," Hellboy commented.
"Too long," Fury replied with a half-smirk. "We can catch up later. Right now I'd like to introduce the Avengers."
"Finally he gives us our cue!" was Tony's frustrated statement as he, Steve, Thor, and Bruce emerged from the back of the jet. "He makes us sound like some kind of boy band…"
"Stark, please," Steve said with a exhausted sigh. Hellboy's eyes were as big as saucers and Swiftbolt immediately dropped to one knee, a hand over his heart and head bowed reverently.
"Holy shit… Captain America," Hellboy stated.
"Captain," was all Swiftbolt said, his voice low and reverent.
-x-x-
Far away from any human activity, Loki shifted lightly, feeling the warmth and weight next to him. His mind wondered why SHIELD had suddenly allowed him a cell-mate before he remembered… he was free and it was his beloved Nuada lying next to him on the fur pallet. His eyes opened as he looked over to see his Elfin lover wide awake and silently observing him. Seeing that Loki was awake, Nuada's dark lips formed into a smile as he gently moved to caress Loki's cheek.
"Sleep well?" He asked, his voice low and rough. Loki could only nod in reply, words failing him at the boon he had finally been granted. "Good… I'd get us breakfast but I'm afraid I'm too comfortable to move at the moment."
At that Loki had to smile lightly, moving to caress Nuada's cheek in turn, thumb running along the Royal Scars that ran across his face. So very much like the lines of his Jotun form…
"I thought you lost to me forever…" Loki whispered, finally finding his voice. His energy had been much restored and his magic was now quietly taking care of his unhealed wounds.
"I thought the same as well, but our little schemer decided that it was high time you had something go right for once," Nuada replied, leaning down to kiss Loki. Ah, so Hel was involved in all of this, Loki smiled lightly as he returned the kiss whole-heartedly. "She saw fit to return me to you, my love. She has broken her sacred vows, returning one who was dead to the realm of the living at full power, even going to far as to break the ties that my sister and I once shared. She saw fit to keep Nuala in her realm, in enchanted sleep as not to disturb any plans we may craft." Loki could do nothing but smile sadly. He had not seen his beloved daughter in a very long time.
"The humans will not stand for my release nor your return. If I heard right you made yourself quite the enemy in that Hellboy creature," Loki stated softly, a hand starting to run through Nuada's hair, twirling the strands around his fingers.
"They will all burn in our wake, my love," Nuada stated, taking Loki's hand to kiss each finger individually before kissing his palm and wrist. Loki couldn't help but shiver in anticipation of the unspoken promises Nuada's kisses bore. He had forgotten how tender a lover Nuada could be. Nuada Silverlance was a renowned warrior and leader, his soul burning brightly with passion and purpose. What was less well known was that his affections ran just as strong – he was a possessive lover without being a jealous lover. It was only with Nuada that Loki had ever felt safe, loved, and protected.
"Nuada… I cannot believe that nothing has changed…" Loki stated softly, his voice full of worry. He watched as confusion clouded Nuada's eyes for a moment, thinking of what Loki meant. "I… I am not Aesir…"
"I know…" Nuada whispered. Loki blinked.
"You knew?" He asked, watching Nuada.
"Yes, I had my suspicions but was unsure due to you presenting yourself as Aesir. I had known the Jotun long before I met you, I knew of their ways and their forms. When Hel was conceived I began to wonder what you truly were, for the Aesir are most definitely a two-gendered people. No matter how much Odin told everyone that you conceived only because you possessed magic that no other man ever had and that you could change your shape, I knew that wasn't the truth. I know enough about magic to know that such a feat does not happen by chance," Nuada explained, golden-red eyes burning with an inner fire. Loki found himself entrapped in those eyes, any protest dying on his tongue. "I knew that Odin was lying to you, but I did not want to burden you with yet another problem at that time, having to deal with so much… I had also hoped that you would figure it out quickly on your own, you were always so clever."
Nuada leaned down to nip at Loki's throat, smirking lightly against his flesh.
"My suspicions were quite confirmed when I first laid eyes on Hel and saw her Royal Lines. She bears both the royal scars of Bethmoora and the lines of the house of Laufey. I traveled to Jotunheim in attempt to gain an audience with Laufey- to see if he had a missing prince in need of returning- but he would not receive me," Nuada stated. Loki shivered lightly, holding tightly to Nuada. Nuada had known this whole time? And he had still loved him for all these centuries?
"But… I am a monster," Loki said, his voice soft and small. Nuada shook his head, making Loki look right into his smoldering eyes.
"No, you are no more monster than I, my light, my love, my all. The Jotun and the Tuatha de Danaan are not so different in the eyes of the Aesir, we are both too close to the elements that spawned us, making them fear us," Nuada said, he gripped Loki's chin lightly, tracing a thumb over his lips as he leaned in closer to whisper breathily into Loki's ear. "I want to see you for what you truly are… I wish to see the form that allowed you to give me the greatest gift I ever received… the form that gave us our Hel."
Loki shivered gently as Nuada's words entered his mind, letting him know that no matter what Nuada loved and accepted him. Why was he even worried in the first place? Nuada had been one of the few constants in his life that kept him going with support and encouragement, no matter what he had been pursuing. Had it not been Nuada himself who taught Loki how to walk the dark paths of the world tree, the very paths that kept him out of Heimdall's sight? The secret ways the Tuatha du Danaan used to keep their court dealings away from the prying eyes of Heimdall? Nuada was not of the Aesir, who turned their noses up at anything they perceived as weak or dishonorable. He was a good warrior and tactician because he recognized that all people and aspects mattered and took time to understand the abilities that promising people possessed, be they "honorable" or no.
With a slow exhale, Loki closed his eyes and concentrated. It took effort to dispel Odin's glamour, it had been ingrained into his very being by the All-Father, but now that he was aware of it he could lift it. He kept his eyes closed as he felt himself shift, the raised royal lines that declared him of Laufey's line and blue skin overtaking the unmarred Aesir pink.
"There you are…" he heard Nuada whisper in an encouraging manner, hands gently starting to caress the lines of his face, fingertips tracing along them, sending little shivers down Loki's spine. Slowly, he opened fiery red eyes, looking up into Nuada's golden-red ones. It had surprised him how close the Tuatha de Danaan and the Jotun were. The natural Lines declaring their lineages, the fiery eyes of gold and red…
Seeing the light of love intensified in Nuada's eyes was so very exhilarating. Until this moment, Loki had despised his Jotun form - and part of him always would thanks to Odin and the Aesir – but seeing how much Nuada still adored him gave him that much more confidence in himself.
"You are most definitely not a monster. Look my beloved," Nuada said, lifting Loki's hand back to his lips, kissing his palm and the inside of his wrist again. He then intertwined their fingers, the bone white and icy blue of their respective skins making a rather pretty picture. Loki couldn't help but smile as he looked at their intertwined fingers. In this moment he felt so normal, in this moment they were just two lovers sharing everything they had to give to one another. Nuada glanced back down at Loki's face, watching him before moving to kiss him full on the lips again, the act returned by his Jotun lover. Loki moved to let go of Nuada's hand, moving to fist his hand in Nuada's hair as the Elf Prince's kiss became hungrier, a tongue slid into his mouth as a hand moved to seek out the clasps of Loki's armored tunic, revealing a blue, Lined throat and chest quickly.
As Nuada's hand moved to caress down Loki's body a noise emerged from Loki's throat that certainly wasn't one of pleasure. It was a pained noise as Nuada's fingertips brushed against deep purple bruising, causing the Elfin Prince to pull away and look down, a noise of sympathy emerging from his throat.
"Who did these?" Nuada asked, they did not look fresh.
"They will heal," Loki stated quietly, looking away. He did not want to speak of them… not yet. However, Nuada was having none of that and moved to force Loki to look at him once again.
"Tell me everything," he commanded, gentle but firm. And so the story came out, about how Loki allowed Jotun into the Aesir palace to interrupt Thor's coronation, about how he had learned of his true heritage, about how he nearly killed the mortal Thor, destroyed the Bifrost, and fell into oblivion. He had wanted to die, to follow Nuada into the realm of death and remain there forever content because nothing could tear them apart ever again. But he had not found death, instead he had been found by Thanos and the Chitauri…
"They were most… persuasive… in securing my assistance in obtaining the Tesseract, for reasons I know not," Loki finished, letting Nuada hold him tight as he recounted the tortures enacted upon his person to secure his loyalty. Internally, Nuada was shaking and vowing revenge upon this Thanos, no matter what it took, however he would not let his own anger show, not yet.
"You need proper healing," Nuada finally stated. Lightly, Loki shook his head.
"No… I will be fine, just let me rest," Loki begged, but Nuada was already on the move, standing up from the pallet to put out the last lingering embers of their fire.
"Those bruises should have been healed by now if your magick was working as it should. You are exhausted, physically and mentally, and need a proper healer. One with knowledge of skills that neither of us possess," Nuada said, moving to scoop Loki up. The Jotun could barely stand; wobbling lightly on his feet as he grabbed at Nuada's chest plate once again, only then did he nod in agreement to the idea of seeing a healer. Wrapping an arm tightly around Loki's waist, Nuada called once more on his Elfin magicks and in the blink of an eye they were gone as if they had never been in the small cave…
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To learn more about Swiftbolt, please check out my Hellboy story "The Ninth Circle."