Chapter Eight: The Frightening Visit
Loki could not be happier to finally have his son in his hands. Octavius was like a beaming bundle of joy, he brightened up every room with his bubbly smile and rosy cheeks. He was a stark contrast to the lovely dark brown skin of his older brothers, but to Loki, he was the perfect edition. Magnus was, of course, happy to welcome the new addition, Eugene was coming around. It was hard for Eugene, getting used to not being the baby anymore, but Loki and Saksi made sure there was an unlimited amount of love to go around.
Eugene glanced from the page to his baby brother nursing in Loki's arms. He was a little jealous of the crying baby. He wondered why he could speak but his brother and he could not.
"Eugene? Is everything alright?" Loki could sense the change in his son's mood.
Eugene stopped and looked at his paper. "How come Octavius can speak and I cannot?" He pouted as he folded his arms in mid fit.
Loki smiled softly; he knew these questions would come up. "Eugene, sweetie, every child is different."
Eugene started to pout.
"Even I am different." Loki changed his skin from pale tan to an icy blue.
Eugene's eyes popped as he watched his father change from Asgardian to Juton. "See? Change does not divide us, it brings us together." Loki changed back. "And no, you might not have the ability to speak or turn it off or on like I can with my skin, but that does not make you any less valued. You have a sharp mind and a strong body and you will be a mighty warrior one day after of course you master your adding and subtracting." Loki smiled.
Eugene nodded and beat his chest. He was still a little jealous, but he would work hard to prove that just because he couldn't speak didn't mean he didn't matter.
Loki was eager to get back into the kitchen and prepare meals again. After a very long year of not being able to move around, he pretty much walked everywhere. There was no fuss made about the new baby, which Loki liked. The attention was always on Thor, Jane, and Tola, giving Loki the freedom he desired, which he enjoyed. Loki walked down to the kitchen to start dinner. Saksi had moved some things around, making it tough to find the things he needed. He pulled out the flour and mashed the tomatoes, tonight he would treat his family to baked tomato and vegetable stuffed rolls. Octavius was on his back, sleeping soundly. Loki missed the feeling of carrying a sleeping baby on his back. He loved the feeling of little-wet fingers and baby breath on the back of his neck. He loved being close to his baby.
Loki whistled while he worked and had dinner ready in no time. Saksi would not be joining them tonight. He was out covering an assignment, much to his displeasure, but he needed it. Loki could tell when Saksi was getting stir crazy. Saksi was more social than Loki, he couldn't deal with hiding away for days on end. Loki, on the other hand, reveled in it, he could move to an island all by himself and be perfectly happy. He only ventured outside to enrich his children.
The boys ran around the table before Loki called them for dinner. They were happy to eat, as they loved their father's cooking. Magnus talked about his insect findings, he found one beetle and six caterpillars. He caught them and put them in his incest garden. Eugene showed his father his latest paintings, which were mostly landscapes. Eugene was so young, but his taste for adventure was clear, just like his father Tiverus. Loki thought of him from time to time. Neither of his children had the pleasure of meeting him; they only knew what was in the books he left. They were eager to meet him, but it would still be many many more years till that day. In a way, Loki was grateful for this. He didn't know what he would say to Tiverus when they finally met again. Would he still feel the same way about him, what of his feelings for Saksi? Loki struggled with the idea of actually telling Tiverus that he was no longer interested, despite the strong attraction they shared so many years ago.
Saksi yawned as he walked down the halls to Loki's rooms. He hated to cover assignments that put him away from the kids, but it was the easiest way to deal with Loki's ever changing moods. Loki was so independent, sometimes it was okay to step away for a few hours. He opened the door to the rooms, everything was dark. He checked on Magnus and Eugene, both boys were sleeping tight in their rooms. It didn't bother to check Octavius's nursery as he knew his son would be sleeping with Loki. He was quiet not to wake Loki and the child when he walked into the room, but when he poked his head in Loki was nowhere to be found. Octavius was sleeping soundly in his crib, but Loki was missing. Saksi started to worry, it was unlike Loki to leave his baby unattended. That's when he heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. Saksi smiled and chuckled. All that worry for nothing. Saksi walked to the bathroom and opened the door and was completely taken off guard by a nude Loki sitting legs crossed on the edge of the bathtub.
"Loki?" Saksi blushed hard.
"Welcome back Saksi." Loki blew little kisses to his love.
Saksi chuckled and quickly closed the gap between them. Loki loved to do little things like this to make Saksi feel welcomed. Saksi was a little more traditional and preferred to make breakfast in bed or surprise Loki with a bouquet of flowers, but Loki, on the other hand, jumped right to it. Either way, it was a great way to spice things up and keep the relationship fresh.
Thunder ripped across the Asgardian sky as Heimdall ran from his golden chamber. Something wicked was making its way to his home, he could sense it. He stood outside looking over Asgard, watching the clouds stir. Odin noticed the change in the air too. There was a slight chill in the breeze as he stood and looked into the sky. A storm was approaching, but it was unlike anything he had ever sensed. Lightning cracked the sky as dark gray clouds rolled in over Asgard. Thunder rocked the ground proceeding the lightening before it. This was no Asgardian storm. A message was sent to the king from Heimdall himself, confirming his worries and Asgard went on high alert.
Odin summoned his son to his chambers. If something was approaching they needed to be prepared. Out in the gardens Freya looked into the sky, the clouds changed from dark gray to nearly black and a terrible wind ripped through the palace. In a panic, she hurried and gathered all her maids and workers to the safety of the palace walls. Saksi noticed this too and rushed to help his fellow citizens into the palace. Once he was done he rushed to Loki, whatever was coming, which he was sure was not good, he wanted to be by Loki's side.
Lightening cracked again behind the cover of the black clouds and a great funnel of clouds descended onto the palace. Many ran in fear as the clouds moved through the palace walls into the halls. There was nowhere to hide, the clouds passed through everything and everyone, turning the palace black. Saksi was caught in the middle and stumbled through the darkness. He cursed under his breath as he tried to navigate the halls in total darkness. He fought to clear his mind over the sounds of screams and cries from the frighten people all around him, focusing on only reaching Loki.
Eugene was frightened of the loud thunder and ran to his brother Magnus. The two held each other tight as they felt the vibrations from the thunder through the walls. Magnus grabbed his brother and ran down the hall to find their father, but it was hard to see as the light was consumed by darkness. Loki ran up the stairs as fast as he could to his children. He could sense something terrible was coming and the fear in his little ones hearts. Thunder rocked the palace again but this time, the vibrations were felt closer to the palace as if it were coming from within. Loki reached the stairs and the entrance to the main hall of his rooms. Something was coming and it was coming towards them. He raced to the main door and locked it, pulling down the wooden slab to lock them in. He turned around and saw his children running towards him. He shuffled them quickly to Octavius's room when he heard something slam against the old wooden door. His children clung to him, but he had to hide them, put them somewhere safe. He pulled them to the closet, grabbing the baby too and hid them away.
"Now listen to me very carefully little ones." The main door busted open with a loud crash, just down the hall. Loki panicked as his little children whimpered in the darkness. "Stay here. Do not come out. Do you understand me?" He quickly kissed each and every one of them. "Magnus, protect your brothers, daddy will be back." He closed the door and ran out into the hall.
It was dark and he could not see, but he could sense he was not alone. He looked out into the hall, there was nowhere to run, whatever was there was very close. Loki stepped back into Octavius's room and closed the door as quickly as he could, but a hand stopped the door. Loki gasped and pushed as hard as he could to keep the thing out, but a shockwave of wind and dust blew the door back, sending Loki flying to the ground. He got up quickly and moved to the center of the room. He glanced over his shoulders at the closet door. He knew this wasn't the best place to fight, but he had little choice. Thunder and lightning rocked the room, illuminating everything. Another strike of lightning hit the ground exposing the creature's humongous dark form. He was a towering giant, with big gold eyes, and a body of muscle. He was a beast. Loki stepped back an inch as he prepared himself.
"Loki of Asgard." The creature chuckled in a deep voice, the kind that commanded beast to their knees.
Beads of sweat formed on Loki's forehead as he held his ground. "Who are you?"
Lightening cracked as the creature erupted in thunderous laughter. He turned and faced Loki, clearing the clouds to expose himself to the prince. Loki gasped as he was shown the creature's true form. He was Stjarnavatian, but he was not the boy's father.
"By the look of it, it would appear my brother did not do a bad job in selecting another cow to breed with." The creature rumbled as he laughed.
His insults fired Loki up, but he did not budge. "You're Tiverus's brother."
"And you're the father of my nephews." The creature looked past Loki.
Loki glared, he knew too much and Loki was still not sure his intent. "What do you want?"
The creature warped his mouth into a distorted grin. "Is it not obvious?" He looked towards the closet, making eye contact with the children peeking through the cracks.
That was the last straw. Loki charged and landed a blow right on the creature's face. He stumbled back a few but bounced back and used his power to blow Loki away. Loki fell to the floor just inches away from the closet. He growled and charged once more, but was constantly blocked by the creature's strong wind.
"Come on Loki, you'll have to do better than that." He laughed.
Loki attacked from every angle, as the creature easily used his wind power to stop him. Loki used his ice power to ice the floor where he was standing. The giant was caught off guard but easily hovered in the air to regain his balance.
"Yawn." He laughed and taunted. "Is that the best you got?"
"Actually, I was just getting started!" Loki shouted, but was not expecting his son Magnus to burst from the closet, dagger in hand. Loki's eye's widened as he saw the creature turn and smirk at his son. It was like watching a disaster in slow motion. Magnus charged with everything he had, as the creature readied his hands for the next attack. Loki mustered every ounce of energy he had into one final attack. He teleported next to the creature and punched him with such an unimaginable force that the shock wave through Magnus back and the creature right through the window. The clouds cleared when the creature was cast out. Loki hit the ground hard and rolled to the wall. His hand hurt something fierce, but he was quick to gather up his children and run down the secret paths to a safer location.
Outside the palace walls, the creature was withering in pain. He was sure his jaw was broken. He whimpered a little, but looked up and smiled.
"You made a good choice Tiverus." He smiled.
Dayes came out and formally introduced himself to Loki and the rest of the family a few days later. Word traveled fast on his home planet about Tiverus's exploits and Dayes wanted to see for himself the care Loki had put into raising his nephews. Being a parent on his planet was the highest honor, any parent who failed in their duty to love and protect were punished without say. Not only that, he wanted to meet the man who had stolen his brother's heart.
Loki was calmer now after Dayes explained why he had to do the things he did a few days ago, but that didn't make Loki any less pissed and his hand still hurt.
"I apologize." Dayes chuckled, at the little green eyed Jotun.
"Yes, you've said that six times already." Loki glared at him, but Dayes paid him no mind.
"You know, if you look up at the stars, you can almost see the light from my home world. It travels thousands and thousands of light years to get to you, your planet of Asgard, realm of the gods." He chuckled to himself. "But out there, in the vast openness of space, there are no gods." He looked into Loki the eyes, with his giant gold ones. "No one rules the universe."
"Yes, I'm told." Loki was getting tired of the idle conversation, Dayes could sense it and it made him chuckle to no end.
Loki could hold a grudge, Dayes could feel that too, but did he understand what he gave birth to. Star travelers were spirits of the universe, spending their entire lives in the vastness of space, where galaxies were their backyards and stars their friends. Their whole lives involved around the stars and frosty comets and fiery asteroids that moved around them. They were destined to merge with the matter in space and become part of the elements that mold and shape all life in the universe. Dayes looked into Loki's eyes, he could tell that a force kept him trapped on Asgard. He needn't ask, for he already knew his past. He only stared and absorbed his essences with his big gold starry eyes.
Loki stared in frustration and was ready to walk away from Dayes lightly grabbed his arm. "What?" Loki turned and rolled his eyes.
Dayes paused at gazed right into Loki's eyes. "How do you feel about my brother, Tiverus?"
Loki couldn't look away, he knew he would reveal how he felt without having the chance to explain, but in reality, he didn't know what to say. His tongue was tied. He didn't know what to say or rather how to say it.
Dayes let go of his arm and smiled as he turned and gazed up at the sky. "It's okay you know.
"What?" Loki watched his eyes.
"If you do not love him." Dayes said without making eye contact at him. He smiled and admired the beautiful Asgardian sky.
Loki clenched his jaw in guilt when he heard the word. He did love Tiverus, once upon a time. If only he were here, said the fading voices in his heart. Loki turned and walked away, there was nothing left for him to say, nothing that would be truthful anyway. Dayes watched him leave and smiled.
"Yes brother, you are a fool indeed." Dayes chuckled to himself.
Dayes used a great deal of his power making his entrance and needed to leave right away so he can replenish his lost energy. He left, though not without leaving a special gift for Loki and the children. For them he left a black crystal ball that would change color over time, counting down to the day Tiverus would come. The children loved it and set it up in the hallway of their rooms. Despite how they met Dayes, they were still very excited about meeting their father. Before parting, however, Dayes left Loki one final message. When the ball turned crystal clear Tiverus would be back for his children. Not to punish Loki or to harm them, but to show them their way. They were star travelers and would one day have needs that even Loki could not provide. Their hearts would long for the open space and mind and body would transcend into the sky. When that day came Tiverus would be back for them.
Loki and the children waved to Dayes as he floated away into the sky. He promised to stop by every few decades. It pained Loki to see the jet black crystal ball in his children's hands. It was a painful reminder that one day his children would leave and travel far beyond his reach, but it was also a sign of love, a constant reminder that his children would always be loved and accepted, not only by Loki but by Tiverus and his kind as well. His children would always have a place and always have someone who loves them.
Chapter Eight End.