Chapter 9: Bad Riddle
Disclaimer: I don't own PPG or Norse Mythology figures.
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"Gggrrr!"
They had been traveling all morning! If she didn't find the passage soon she was gonna freeze every piece of bark on the tree until she did! Not only was she irritated about not being able to find the passage she was tired too. Thanks to that Loki character she had been up long before sunrise and to top things off Brick still hadn't woke even though it was nearly noon. She was beginning to worry about that.
Since the wind wasn't blowing Accendo had dug his way out of the bags. Unfortunately he had been anything but helpful. He complained more than Brick ever had and was pissing Stiria off so much she had threatened to personally whip up a blizzard for him.
"We might as well stop and rest for a while." Blossom sighed as the squawking birds proceded to pecking each other trying to see who could pull the most feathers out. "Noctis, usque." the raptor slowly did as he was told and crouched down to allow her off. When Brick was left on his back Noctis swiveled his head around to glare once more. He looked like he was about to bite the boy, giving him a stern look Blossom untied Iento and took all their equipment from her back. The female lizard wriggled around for a second before dropping into the snow with a contented hum.
When Blossom had finished Iento and Noctis were rolling around in the snow a few feet away. Accendo and Stiria were perched on a cluster of vines still screeching at each other. The girl furrowed her eyebrows, they were really making things difficult for her. Rubbing her temples gently she tried to ignore the two but it was getting harder to do with the slight pounding in her head.
'Ugh! You know what? You are no longer a Phoenix!' Squawking loudly Stiria flapped her wings whacking Accendo slightly. Blossom assumed he had grumbled back about what he was then because Stiria went off. 'Your a fire CHICKEN that's what you are! Phoenix are regal, majestic, beautiful birds.' Stiria's eyes had developed a glazed dreamy look. Moments later she snapped back and ruffled her feathers. 'NONE of which you are! So your a FIRE CHICKEN! And if you don't shut up in the next ten seconds I'm gonna find a way ta barbecue ya ALIVE!'
With a growl of frustration, Blossom tried her best to tune out the angry birds. They would drive her insane if she listened much longer. She decided to use the time to check on Brick once more. For him of all people to have been knocked out for this long was not a good sign. Worse yet if Loki could do this much damage without even trying, for there was no way he had been serious, then he could be a formidable foe to deal with. If he decided to come back it could mean serious trouble for the redhead.
Looking down at the boy she gently placed a hand on his forehead. She had to admit it just didn't feel right, normal Brick was constantly making noise and was the center of attention. For her to be around a silent unresponsive version was unnerving. If he didn't get up in the next few hours she didn't care about the mission she was heading straight back to the castle.
"Looks like the Ice Queen's melting a bit." Blossom was on her feet in seconds blades in her hands. Her eyes glowed faintly as she glared up at the figure lying amongst the branches swaying back and forth as if he were in a hammock. "Your not gonna do that every time I show up are you?"
"What do you want Loki?" Blossom half growled as she watched him sit up. 'How the hell did he sneak up like that again!'
"Aww your still mad at me?" Rolling onto his side Loki propped himself up on his elbow, cheek resting in the palm of his hand. "Would it help if I said sorry?"
When Blossom didn't respond he dropped his gaze sighing loudly. "Alright already I get it! I didn't exactly make the greatest first impression." he rolled his eyes before huffing loudly and sitting up. When still she didn't respond he jumped down, landing without so much as the soft crunch of snow. He crossed his arms behind his head swaying one foot back and forth. "Well I'd say an apology is out of the question since I'm not actually sorry. But I must say your friend really should have been back up by now. I didn't hit him all that hard…at least I don't think I did."
She knew he hadn't been serious during their last encounter. He himself just confirmed her suspicions. Though she wanted to trust Stiria, Blossom couldn't rid herself of the uncomfortable feeling she got around the dark haired man. And the fact that he had knocked Brick out only fueled her suspicions.
Just as she had that morning Stiria once again landed on Loki's shoulder. The Erie Raptors once more stood beside Blossom, though this time only Noctis remained tense.
"I'll ask again. What do you want?" Blossom questioned as she stared him down.
"You know, I don't think I ever got your name Pink." Loki stated completely disregarding her question. "Besides is that any way to talk to someone whose trying to help you?"
"Help?" she half shouted in disbelief. How dare he claim he was helping them after what he did that very morning. "How is knocking out my friend help!"
"That was purly self defense." He crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air like a snooty child. "Its his fault for trying to hit me. Those swords could have really hurt you know."
"Well your not exactly one to side step the blame." Easing slightly out of her defensive stance Blossom stood tall. "If you hadn't appeared out of thin air like you did we wouldn't have attacked."
Loki spun around then, one hand raised as he pointed a finger, mouth open though not a word escaped. He closed his mouth then only to open it again. He continued this motion for a minute looking very much like a fish. With a loud snort he shaped his jaws shut, turning away with his arms crossed. He muttered something inaudible while glaring at the tree bark.
"Exactly my point." She stated with smug satisfaction. "Now you mind telling me what you did?" she waved a hand gesturing towards the redhead beside her.
"I didn't hurt him if that's what your implying." the dark haired teen huffed, refusing to look at Blossom. "All I did was-…oh…Oops…" Loki turned around then smiling sheepishly at her as he scratched the back of his head.
"What do you mean OOPS?" Blossom questioned her voice dangerously cold as she brought her weapons up again.
"Its nothing to worry about." Smiling apologetically he waved his hands in a dismissive fashion. "I just remembered that I hit a nerve is all. He's probably awake as we speak. He just…can't…move. Hehe."
"I'm sorry does this look awake to you?" Blossom nudged Brick gently in the side with her foot to emphasize her point. As expected she got no response.
"Yah… I can fix that I swear." Loki said looking like a child trying to cover up an accident before his parents found out. "All I have to do is pinch the nerve again and he'll be right back to the temperamental demon child he was last night. Can I do it after I'm done talking though? I really don't wanna have to put him back out right after I wake him up."
Blossom just continued to stare at the audacity the teen before her displayed. Did he take her for a fool or something? And there was no way she was letting him get anywhere near Brick again. He must have noticed the look on her face because he let out a small sigh, eyes closing for a moment.
"There's just no winning with you is there?" Dark brown eyes met pink as Loki gave her an almost sad look. "Seeing as I won't be trusted for a while. Here's a clue for you. 'I hide in plane sight I'm so easy to see I'm long and I'm strong there's so many of me I twist an I turn I whirl and I twirl I disguise what you seek yet you need only peek'."
"Huh?" in the smartest way possible, Blossom stared blankly at Loki trying to figure out what he was talking about.
The expression on Loki's fell even more as he crouched down. He began drawing shapes into the snow as an absolutely depressing aura surrounded him. Blossom could practically see storm clouds over his head as he glanced up at her pitifully. "I suck at riddles don't I?" his voice cracked as his eyes watered up with crocodile tears.
The young girl was at a loss for words. He looked so down right pathetic that, had she not been on her guard she would have walked over and tried to comfort the boy.
When a few minutes had passed and it was obvious the Blossom wasn't going to react the way he had hoped, Loki sprung back onto his feet. The large tears disappeared as he grinned widely at her.
"Well it's obvious I'm of no help at the moment soo... I'll get going now."
Without even a second for Blossom to react, Loki was standing in front of her. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her nose, grinning at her shocked expression. Ducking under Blossom's arm, he kneeled in front of Brick as he reached out and whacked, not very gently she might add, the side of the unconscious teens neck.
Like a Jack in the Box toy, Brick shot up to his feet. Obvious mixtures of shock and irritation plastered across his face. If Loki had still been next to him, Brick definitely would have attacked him again. But as it were the dark haired teen was already springing his way up the vines he had been on previously.
Blossom remained frozen in shock and simply watched him make his way up at a leisurely pace. About half way up a glint of silver caught her eye, snapping her out of her trancelike state. He paused once he reached the top and glanced back.
"Since you lot didn't like the cool guy act, I'll just be plain old me." Loki stated as if he had just made the discovery of a lifetime. His mouth curled back in a wide grin. "I just hope your ready for some really random crap cause I'm gonna be popping in." with that said he disappeared again.
"Well he definitely fits into the 'Psycho Stalker' category…" Blossom nearly jumped out of her skin as Brick's low voice reached her. He was standing directly beside her with his arms crossed, an irritated scowl on his face. He didn't seem to notice her mini episode and continued "I really want to punch that guy."
'Well… at least he's back to normal.' as this thought crossed he mind, Brick turned around and began digging through the packs until he found whatever he was looking for. Blossom assumed it was food for the redheaded boy immediately set it aflame and began gnawing into it. He must have been really hungry for he was ripping at it like a starved animal. 'Well… about as normal as Brick can get anyway.'
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IM SOO SORRY! Some things came up that I had to deal with and before I knew it a whole month had passed since my last update.
When I saw how long I had taken I kicked my butt back into drive and forced myself to finish this chapter. Even though I'm not entirely satisfied with how it turned out.
From now on I'll try my best to at least update once a week. I'm just having slight difficulties since I based this in a Medieval setting and even though I am horribly challenged when it comes to technology I realized how much I need it.
I'm very tempted to write a story in a futuristic setting to make up for my lack of tech in this one. And admitably that one comes much easier for me but I yelled at myself that I shouldn't even try writing a new story before I finish the one I'm working on first. I've always complained about the story's I come across that are really good and don't have an ending. My story may not be all that great but I want to make damn sure I don't turn into a hypocrite and leave a story hanging.
On a different note I'd like to thank my only constant reviewer Dreams for giving feed back. I know most people just write story's and don't need them but I really like reading reviews. The fact that I'm not getting reviews is a little discouraging and then I don't really feel motivated to write more... DANT IT I KNOW THERE'S MORE THAN ONE OF YOU WHO READS THIS CAN'T YA TAKE AT LEAST A SECOND TO LEAVE A REVIEW AFTER?
Sorry for the random outburst... But seriously can I at least get two reviews this time? How am I supposed to know if my story is turning out ok if I don't get feed back?
Well anyway please leave a review or comment…or not I'm getting tired of caring…
If anyone needs me I'll be under the dark doom clouds munching on a plate of cookies. *Quietly sits in emo corner.* 'IM NOT SHAREING MY COOKIES THIS TIME! THEIR MINE!'