Title: I've got Friends in Low Places
Author: Ash Gray Kitsune
Fandom: Avengers Movieverse
Chapters: 3/?
Pairings: FrostIron
Warnings: Some PTSD mentions, and some sexual torture. Don't worry, Tony and Loki both don't take that crap. :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel's The Avengers, nor do I make any profit off of it.
Tony took a moment to thank a deity when the window-turned-escape-hatch opened out into a swathe of heavy brush, and that Loki had slunk down under one of the taller ones, eyes glancing all around, hands glowing faintly with power. Tony followed, feeling rather exposed by the small ring of bare ground before he slid under the branches, heaving a soft sigh of relief.
"Alright...you got a spell to figure out which direction is safest?" Loki glanced at him, strain showing around his eyes.
"...I've one for dowsing, but otherwise..." The glow disappeared and he rocked forward, stopping only when Tony caught him. "Ah...thank you. We'll have to rely on tracking and survival skills. Thank all the realms Father forced us to learn to hunt as children..." He blinked suddenly, and swayed in Tony's grip. "...I believe I've taxed myself a little too much." The engineer sighed and looped an arm over his shoulder.
"Yeah, you did...c'mon. You tell me where to go, I'll help you there." Loki gave a soft chuckle.
"It's rather odd, isn't it?" Tony just smiled.
"Yeah, well...I tend to let bygones be bygones when I'm in the same boat as someone. Unless it's Justin Hammer. In which case, that fucker can squeal all he wants in chains, because I will drop his ass." Loki stifled a laugh at that, and carefully, quietly, the pair started through the thickets, each hoping that the next turn wouldn't mean a trap.
...
"...Alright, dude. We are so lost."
"Hardly. Follow the deer track, Stark."
"Looks like goats to me..."
"Their tracks are far too small. See, look at that hoof-print? That is a deer print, or so help me, I'll eat my pants."
"Trust me, I'm hungry enough to take you up on that offer."
"...I was joking."
"...I'm not." Loki sighed and motioned for Tony to let him lean against a tree; a proper tree, in a forest that shielded them from the worst of the sun, though said sun was setting and it was definitely cooling down...and his lockpicks would work with flints. Provided he could find flints...
"Look, I'm aware this is all very new to you in terms of escape...but please, trust me. I know forest survival...and if you're that hungry, we can forage. Which might be a wise thing; they didn't feed me much back there." Tony gave him a onceover and winced; he could well imagine that...
"Alright, so...what are we eating?" Loki studied the forest around them with interest, even if he was sagging into the tree, and pointed to a set of dark red berries, sighing a little.
"Bring me one right quick; I can't tell if they're the right ones or not..." Mystified, Tony brought back a whole sprig, letting Loki crush one and delicately lick it's juices...only for the mage to smile. "Thank the realms, they're wild strawberries; pick as many as you can reach." Stealing a couple, Tony gave a soft 'Oh!' and started picking the bushes clean, using his shirt as a basket and coming back to the mage, almost giddy.
"Holy crap, these are amazing...and they're safe to eat?"
"Very. I thought it might be a strawberry bush, but with the light falling, I just couldn't quite tell. They'll keep us hydrated as well..."
"...Thank god for that, I do not want to deal with bearshit-inspired e-coli." Loki almost snorted a berry, laughing softly.
"You're quite the character, Stark..." Tony just saluted him, grinning wickedly, and Loki chuckled.
"...It's a pity we started out as enemies. I...would have liked to get to know you." He murmured, delicately eating the berries off his fingertips, which Tony was steadfastly not watching.
"...Well, enemy of my enemy, right? And right now...we're not enemies. We're comrades." Loki's eyes were quiet, but he nodded.
"That, we are." His eyes went up, and sighed. "As soon as we're finished, we'd best get moving. Keep your eyes open for a suitable tree; I'll not sleep on the ground tonight." Tony grinned a little.
"Too lowly for your Highness's back?" Loki gazed at him, solemn, and Tony felt a chill go up his spine, grin freezing on his face.
"No...there will be dogs. And not the sort my brother takes after."
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Chapter three. Might move on to four too tonight; we'll see.