It took very little effort for Loki to track down the location of the woman he had inexplicably been driven to save. Usually the destructive God left a trail of death in his wake upon his visits to Midgard, not enough to arouse the attention of Thor or their father but enough to ensure he took some enjoyable memories back to Asgard. Human life meant nothing to him, as far as he was concerned the Midgardians were there for his entertainment only. And yet there had been no hesitation from him when he saw the danger presented to her. The redhead would have died if he had not intervened, both of them were well aware of that fact. Though he hid it well, he had been as shocked as her, but more leaning towards the fact that he had actually acted instead of watching her be crushed in a fiery haze.
Loki's intelligence was revered in Asgard, at least among those who were intelligent themselves. In the circles that focused on strength and brawn alone, Loki was nothing more than a feeble child. He could best any warrior, but he used magic and trickery to do so. Not something enjoyed by Thor and his friends. The fact that he had been presented with something unknown irked him. He knew not what she was, nor why he saved had saved her.
No matter how many times the incident replayed in his mind, he could find no reason for his sudden leap towards her. And so the decision to find her had come after very little internal debate, his tracking skills proved as strong as ever when his magic led him to the building she clearly resided in. Locating her specific apartment had not been difficult, he merely asked the receptionist if there were any red heads in the building.
'Oh, well there's Miss Rushman on the 9th floor, her hair is about as red as they come. Pretty too, that one. Got some important job, I forget the details… I want to say assistant but.. that might not be right. Something similar though, walking in sharply dressed, I mean really sharply dressed, heels that could carve out a heart if she desirde it…..'
Loki had opted to simply walk away as the middle aged woman prattled on and on, her use fulfilled. The God paused at the elevator doors, his slender finger raised and merely inches from the button. Perhaps a surprise would be a better way of beginning their next encounter. Loki had long since learned that if others were uneasy, he was more relaxed. Because he could not understand his experience with this woman, he was put off guard. If he could make that happen to her, surely he would calm.
He turned on his heel and his hands automatically coming to clasp behind his back, shoulder set back, raised high as they always were. He may have been nothing compared to Thor in the eyes of many people, but Loki was a royal Prince of Asgard and he had higher standing than anybody who attempted to look down on him. His poise alone always showed that.
His initial plan was to knock on her door and invite himself in, but he recalled that there were a series of balconies for the top floors, starting from the 5th level, so his target was definitely in an apartment with access to one.
Loki stood on the street and ignored the impatient people bustling past, his gaze focused solely on the building before him. It was a simple matter of blinking and waving his hand, even behind his back. The very next second he was no longer on the side walk, but on one of the 9th floor balconies. As luck would have it, he had chosen the correct one and did not have to keep searching. He could smell her, albeit faintly, he would assume she spent very little time on the balcony –if any.
The sliding door was locked as he expected, but the lock slid open with another wave of his hand and he stepped inside, out of the chilling evening. To Loki's confusion he had always enjoyed the cold, at least more than any Asgardian should have. The scent of the woman was far stronger once within the confines of her dwelling, which wasn't much to boast of –though it did seem clean and organized.
There was a large flat screen TV on one wall and two matching couches in the lounge, but other than that the room was barren, no personal effects, no pictures of any kind. He had discovered most Midgardian homes were full of such things, still images that had recorded personal events. But there was nothing in the lounge, nor the kitchen, which was just as clean and devoid of life. If her scent had not been flooding his nostrils he would have assumed no tenants were currently occupying the space.
The God paced from the lounge to the kitchen and back again, his footsteps absolutely silent regardless of the thick boots encasing his feet. He should have moved heavily, as the other warriors of his homeland did but Loki had always been more graceful and elegant. His long legs moved him back to one of the couches and he dropped lightly onto it. He was now dressed in his full robes, not one of the Midgardian suits he had adorned previously. His look would have been best described as regal, perhaps even kingly. He was definitely a royal, any fool would have been able to see that.
His entire body froze as the occupant of the dwelling emerged from another room and moved straight to the balcony door which had been left open by Loki. He announced his presence and was admittedly surprised at the speed of her reflex as she turned towards him, a familiar weapon in her hand. Part of his mind took note of the firearm and that was the warrior side of him, the side that recognized a weapon was being aimed at him and quickly identified it, assessing a threat level.
But another side of him –the male side, saw the woman and not the small weapon. She was barely clothed, wearing nothing but a thin shirt and shorts, by the Gods she would be eaten alive if she roamed the golden halls of Asgard in her current outfit, which evidently left very little to the imagination by the way it hugged her toned curves. Loki was not as enchanted by her beauty as most men would have been, not only did he roam around the woman on Midgard, but he lived with genuine Goddesses. But he certainly noticed how attractive she was and could immediately list many royal women from home that she surpassed in pure beauty. Perhaps it was the color of her hair, which was not familiar to Loki. On Asgard hair was a solid color, Loki's was raven black, his brother's was blonde, as were many of the God's and Goddesses.
She was feisty this one, if the color of her hair did not immediately tell him that, perhaps it was the way she held her weapon. Raised and steady, aimed so expertly that he doubted she was even capable of missing. Loki had seen what kind of damage those weapons could do, shooting tiny projectiles that could kill a man instantly. Loki could not say for sure if such a weapon could kill him, but he did know that his healing abilities could bring him back from the edge of death so he was willing to assume he would survive if she pulled the trigger.
"Now now." Loki's self-satisfied smile did not fade as he smoothly transitioned to his feet, much taller than her when they were both at full height. Her aim changed as he moved, in line with the center of his forehead and never wavering. "Is that any way to treat a guest, Miss Rushman?"
Her expression did not change, he could not read this woman and it bothered him, though of course he wasn't going to let her know that.
"What are you?" Her voice was hard, but held just enough of something that let him know she craved the answer. He also picked up on her wording, not 'who' but 'what.' Clever girl, she wasn't going to pretend that he was normal and she was apparently desperate to be assured she was not going crazy.
Having her in his presence refreshed her scent and he could smell her energy. There was something intriguing about this woman, she was something he had not come across before and he was tempted to revert her question straight back at her. His hands remained behind his back, his fingers shifting slightly to disable her weapon. She had no fear in her expression, nor in her eyes, if he did anything to threaten her she was definitely the type who would shoot instantly.
"Do you really want to know what I am?" His fingers were still as his work had finished and he casually strolled to the side, pacing in line with the couch, aware of her gun never lowering as he stepped silently. "Knowing what I am will only open more questions and I for one, am rather interested in you." He glanced back, seeing no change in her whatsoever and he hadn't expected any.
"You broke in, you talk first." She said simply, beautiful lips forming the words in an enchanting way. If Loki had any less will power, he would have been in danger of falling under her spell.
"The door was open." Loki answered, still moving in a way that suggested he was just going to circle her like a shark hunting for a swimmer.
"It was locked." She didn't miss a beat, her eyes locked directly to his.
"Perhaps you forgot to lock it?" He phrased the words like a question and again her reply was instantaneous.
"I didn't."
Well she was right, he couldn't argue with that. She was very astute and the more pieces she gave him, the more Loki desired to finish the puzzle.
"How did you do what you did?" She asked before he could speak any further. There was a burning anger in her, born from her confusion and fuelled by his presence. The more she let herself lose composure, the easier he could read her.
Loki did not reveal his true identity to every woman he slept with, but he had told a few over the ages. For varying reasons and usually in different ways. He had learnt not to simply announce his title, for Loki could not stand being laughed out and any human who dared laugh at his expense was eradicated from their planet instantly. He had learned to show rather than tell, usually by some form of magic and nearly always he had wiped their memories after the encounter.
He took a moment to decide which way to reveal himself to this woman, stepping back a little and breaking the circle. His feet ceased in their movement and his arms splayed in front of him, palms flat as they faced her. He spread his fingers and saw her jaw tighten in preparation; aware he was going to do something though she would have no idea what it was.
Both of his thumbs flicked and the gun went sailing from her hands, flying across the room to clatter across the ground in the kitchen somewhere. It would have been a lie if he said he did not enjoy the surprise and confusion that instantly crossed her face. Before she could gather herself and react, Loki closed his left hand into a fist and the edge of his lips twitched slightly. During his pacing he had managed to circle her and reverse their positions so that she was now in front of the couch that he had been sitting on when she entered the room.
At his hand movement, the couch sprung forward and caught her behind the knees, ensuring she was quite literally swept off her feet as she dropped onto the leather. He would freely admit how much satisfaction he felt when the shock crossed her face. She was on her feet instantly, but did not advance towards him or step to the side as Loki had anticipated and any surprise was wiped from her face in an instant, her composure returning as she stepped backwards onto the top of the couch, balancing impossibly well. She didn't pause to even let him try to understand what she was planning, instead she bent her legs slightly and launched backwards, flipping at an angle that required more flexibility than a human should have. Her leg flicked up and he was so focused on the graceful movement of her body that he didn't realize what she had kicked towards him until it was too late.
As she flipped, her foot had purposely connected with the light hanging from the ceiling. There was a bulb inside a nicely styled glass shade and it shattered across his face after coming loose and flying towards him. He turned and tried to shield himself but not soon enough, the pain was manageable but the shame was not. This Midgardian had gotten the jump on him, she had not even been trying to distract him with her body and it had still worked.
When the God recovered he looked for her even while he brushed the bloodied shards of glass from his face. She was moving with speed to the kitchen, no doubt going for her gun which would be of no use to her anyway. Loki did not hesitate for even a moment, he slammed his fist towards the roof in a mime action and laced the air with magic. The God watched with malicious satisfaction as his attacker was lifted from the floor and thrown to the ceiling at a speed that would cause broken bones. She let out a cry which cut out on impact and Loki let his hand fall so that he body would drop –along with half of the roofing tiles that she had crashed into.
His own heartbeat was pounding in his eardrums as Loki licked his lips, a dark expression across his face. It disappeared in a flash when he realized what had just happened. His intention had not been to kill her, he had tracked her down to learn why she captured his attention in a way that he was not ready to acknowledge. Even if she had attacked him, she was a feeble human and no threat to him, meaning his actions were dishonourable since a human battling a God was no different than a soldier battling an old man with a walking stick. This was not the first time he had lost control, it was happening more and more lately but it was the first time in years that he regretted his actions instantly.
It was the strong scent of her blood that snapped him from his daze and drew him over to her still body which had been covered by the rubble from the ceiling after it rained down on her. Loki flicked his hand and the broken ceiling tiles fell aside, revealing the way her body was clearly lying at an unhealthy angle. She was definitely alive, her heart beat was there though it was remarkably faint. From his first glance Loki could see her shoulder was fractured, his anger had fuelled the force of his actions and she looked as though she had been thrown from a high building.
It should have been so easy for him to walk away, this was just another human to him and certainly not the first to die at his hand. For her injuries would surely kill her if she was not given medical help. So why could the God not simply walk away? He had done this, he had allowed his anger to best him in the same way that children could not control their emotions and outbursts. It was more humiliating to have snapped at a woman than it was to have been attacked by one.
He knelt beside her battered body and rested his palm on her shoulder. A light action that would have caused blinding pain if she had been awake. As it was she stirred lightly, her lips parting as though to speak but she was clearly still unconscious. The air around his hand shimmered lightly and if he concentrated he could literally feel her bones mending back together. Once an Asgardian shows promise of sorcery, the first thing they are taught is the art of healing. Only once they have mastered medicinal care are they shown how to attack with their gift. It is to show the importance of life over death, to teach someone that it is always better to heal, than to kill.
Loki, being one of the greatest sorcerers Asgard had ever seen even at his young age, was more than skilled at healing. But there were very few times he had healed anybody other than himself. Before healing this woman's shoulder, Thor was the only person to experience Loki's skill and only on fatal wounds such as hunting accidents and one time a spear through the neck.
Once he was finished with her shoulder, his fingers trailed up across her neck and rested lightly on her temple where a large gash was bleeding heavily. After that too had been taken care of, she seemed to wake but not entirely. Her eyes opened ever so slightly and her pupils moved but while she appeared to look at him, he knew she could not focus.
"Ribs.." She coughed, blood dribbling out of her mouth and trailing down her cheek. Her body was not paralyzed but she did not move, as if she could sense that Loki was helping her. Loki's hand moved down her chest and ran purposely over her breasts, rather enjoying the warmth before his palm setting over her ribs. It was immediately apparent that not only were the ribs crushed, but they were piercing her lung, hence the blood welling up in her mouth. She coughed and Loki gave no warning before pressing down harshly on her side, having to use magic to pull her ribs back into line and only then could he seal them into place. Though she tried to hide her pain, a cry was torn from her throat along with the sound of her choking on her own blood.
That covered all the major wounds, the rest being only scratches and minor gashes but Loki found himself moving his hands over her to heal those to.
"Who… are you.." She was no longer dying, but clearly still weak. Loki noticed she changed to 'who' this time instead of 'what.'
"I am Loki of Asgard, brother of Thor and son of Odin, the Allfather" He said, his emerald eyes travelling back up her body to settle on her face. "And what is your name?" Normally he added wench when speaking to the Midgardian whores he bedded and a lot of them like it, liked being treated that way. But this one deserved respect.
"Natalie… Natalie Rushman." She murmured, barely getting out the words but managing not to cough. She was lying, but Loki could not question her further as he could feel her energy slipping away as she passed out. Her body stilled as she fell unconscious and Loki paused a moment before slipping one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees so he could lift her from the ground. It did not take long to find her room and despite the fact that she was bloodied Loki set her gently on her bed, assuming she would not care about stains.
She truly was beautiful and Loki found himself marvelling at her. This was a human woman with more allure than a Goddess. Clearly he was a danger to her health, but he needed to know more, needed to unravel the mystery that surrounded her. The God was tempted to watch her a while longer, but he felt a sharp pain in the back of his mind which was a very clear sign that his father was calling him back.
Loki frowned and tore his eyes from the sleeping beauty, moving quickly through her apartment and locked the door the balcony, before he took a steadying breath and thought of his home, of Asgard.
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