Chapter 7

To Stalk a Mocking God

The next day, after giving him his food, Loki doesn't give me any chores (partly because there's not really much to do, anyway). Instead, he draws out the dining chair to rest it in front of the couch, and gestures for me to sit on the chair.

"You may start teaching me these Midgardian words now," he says, in an oddly polite command.

"Okay..." I say, sitting down carefully. "Do you, er... have any paper?"

Can't say I've ever taught a god to speak slang before...

"I'll remember," he assures me.

"Alright, then. I guess I should start on words that can be taken offensively, even if they started with more innocent origins.

"Let's start with the words I already mentioned. The word faggot is usually seen as a very offensive term, even though from what I understand, it's also the name of these weird little edible ball thingies that I think Birds Eye sells... But anyway, be careful with saying that word; specify that you mean the little edible ball thingies if you ever do find yourself having to mention them- especially if you are in the company of gay men.

"Then there's the word gay-"

And on it goes. It lasts for what feels like hours -of me telling him all the words I know that have multiple meanings. As surreal as this may be, I get the reasoning behind it. Here on Earth, it's very easy to offend people these days, and I'm sure Loki would rather not go about unintentionally insulting the wrong people. He has enough hate as it is on this planet.

"And finally, the negative terms that can be used to mean positive things are: wicked- which means that something is really awesome; bad- which means that something is pretty cool; oh, and er, cool, which means that it's good; and there's also sick, ill, and I think I've heard some people use the word 'shit' positively, too. I might have missed a few out, but I'm sure you'll get them," I say at last. I never actually realised just how much we've messed up the English language until now. It gives me a whole new appreciation for foreigners...

"That is a rather lot to remember," Loki comments. "However, my memory has never failed me before, and I doubt it shall do so now."

"Yeah, I'm sure. But that was only the words with multiple meanings. The real fun comes with the swear words," I say with what must have been a frighteningly mischievous grin. Loki stands up from the couch in clear dismissal.

Maybe next time...

"I... appreciate what you have done," he says, looking like it pains him to say it. He moves to the door, and puts his boots on.

"As in the lesson, or my grudging weeks of servitude?" I ask him. He gives me a very insulting, patronising look.

"The lesson, Shana," he says as he walks out of the front door.

"The lesson, Shana," my mind mimics childishly. I realise that yet again, I'm left behind with nothing to do but just stand around, waiting for him to return.

I stare at the door.

Don't do it. Don't go after him!

My mind is at war; the safety of boredom, or the thrill of discovery? My feet, almost of their own will, takes me to the door. If I'm going to do this, I'll have to do it now, and as quietly as I can.

My shoes are on, and I peer around the door. I see Loki just walking through the trees at the edge of the clearing. I stealthily sneak after him, the pink panther music running in my head. I remind myself to keep quiet. Ignore the spiders, ignore the other creepycrawlies, they're just insects.

A big twig snaps under my foot. The figure just ahead of me stills, turning his head in my direction. I duck behind a tree.

I'd actually been doing surprisingly well, up until now. He must be distracted or something.

He continues walking, and I follow after him.

I lose him several times until finally, I'm well and truly lost. I wander through the trees; searching for where he had gone- these trees are so fucking dense! All I can see is trees, and that doesn't seem to end.

Finally, after I've near enough given up on all hope, I hear his familiar voice in the distance. He's speaking another language.

Sounds like he's swearing, in fact, I think proudly.

I head in that direction, and come across a very small area that is void of trees- barely big enough to actually be called a 'clearing'. To the side of this area, barely in view, is... Loki?

Except, he doesn't look very much like Loki. He wears the same clothes, has the same voice and he looks like him, except for one major difference.

He's blue!

Yet again, my feet seem to get possessed by some greater power, and I find myself walking into the area. He's crouched down, his hand on the ground and seems to be trying to do some form of magic.

"Loki?" My stupid mouth that seems to have been gifted with some form of free will blurts out uncertainly.

His head snaps up, his hand jerks up to face me, palm out. I suddenly feel cold. Ice cold. I fall to the floor, the world growing dim around me.

"Shana?" I hear his confused whispered question. It's the last thing I hear.

-BREAK-

When I finally regain consciousness, I lie still, trying to reorient myself.

I remember the clearing, and Loki. I remember that... he was blue! He was blue, and he did something to me.

I open my eyes a crack, and try to seek out Loki.

I'm so comfortable... where am I?

"Don't move," I hear him say softly to my side. I turn to face him anyway, my eyes still barely open.

"I'm sorry for hurting you," he says in the same soft voice. "You should not have tried to follow me."

"You... were blue?" I ask, my voice scratchy and painful.

"Yes," he says, sounding like the admission hurt him.

"Was it... spell?" I ask. I feel like absolute shit.

"Of a sort," he says softly. "What you saw was my true form. I am not Asgardian, Shana. I grew up thinking that I was, but I recently discovered otherwise. My father and my mother had lied to me my whole life, only for me to find out that I am a... a..." his voice trails off, seeming to get caught in his throat.

"Those bastards," I croak, smiling a little. "It's not... too... bad, though."

"You do not know what I am, Shana," he says darkly. "If you were to know, you'd be repulsed."

"You'd be... surprised," I say. "What did... you... do... to me?" My throat is really starting to hurt now.

"I froze you," he says softly. "I had not meant to. I've been trying to learn to control my Jotunn heritage. But it gets so... painful seeing myself become one of those things," he sneers.

"I... I think... you..."

"Shh, stop talking," he says gently. "I was able to heal you through magic and the use of some Asgardian salves I was able to summon. However, I am not a healer, and so was unable to heal everything. You need rest now, Shana." I nod my head slightly, but even that feels like a lot of effort. I close my eyes again, feeling a hand that is not my own come to rest lightly on my shoulder.

-BREAK-

When I next open my eyes, I'm startled to find no Loki in sight. Slowly, I try to pull myself up.

"Not yet, Shana," I hear him say. I turn to the direction of his voice, to see him just standing up from the couch, a book in his hand.

...wait, if that's the couch, then where am I now?...

I'm startled to realise that where I am happens to be on top of Loki's bed, covered in a mountain of blankets.

"Why am I on your bed?" I ask, my voice still rough. I rub at my throat, which is still quite sore.

"It was more convenient for me than the couch," Loki says, but there's something a little off about the tone.

"Admit it," I croak, smiling a little from where I'm stubbornly sitting up slightly. "You like me."

"Shana," he says seriously. "You were dying." I scoff.

"Like you care... unless you do."

"I lay you on my bed, because it allowed me more space to work on keeping you alive than on the couch. Besides, a healing patient tends to heal better when they are comfortable." I roll my head slightly towards him and give him a light glare.

"Loki, why did you keep me alive? Wouldn't it solve all your problems to let me die?" I ask him. He frowns at me.

"Of course not," he snaps. "Perhaps I have grown to care for you, to some small degree, but I could not bring myself to willingly watch you die without doing something to save you."

"Aw," I say, my voice breaking a little, and my cracked lips painfully stretching into a grin. "So you do care, princess!" Loki rolls his eyes.

"If you keep calling me 'princess', I might change my mind," he threatens, but it seems to have lost the weight it once had.

"You wouldn't dream of it, princess," I say softly, smirking knowingly at the man. He glares lightly at me.

"Obviously you are feeling better now," he says. "Perhaps I should move you back to the couch, so that I might have my bed back."

"No," I whine softly, snuggling down into the heavy fortress of blankets. "Like it here. Nice and warm..." I hum in contentment, hardly noticing when I drift off into sleep once again.

-BREAK-

I see green eyes, staring intently at me.

"Shana," the voice of the man they belong to whispers. "Do stay."

I feel like something is different here, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

"Shana," he whispers again. "Never let them take me."

I don't know what he's talking about. Who? Why?

"Who's going to take you?" I ask him softly. He really has beautiful eyes. They can be quite expressive when they want to be.

Why do I get the feeling that they are always usually hiding their true feelings? That it's only for me that I see their true emotions? His arms wrap around me, and I hear a whisper against my ear.

"Never let them get to me. They will take me from you both." My eyebrow twitches in confusion.

The world shifts and he's no longer anywhere in sight. I'm back in the snowy landscape, except... It feels familiar, like I've been here many times. Vague memories float lazily into my mind as I gaze into the distance at the fortress that lies just visible there.

I hear a rumble coming from behind me. I turn and see a giant, scaley creature standing right in front of me. I look straight up, my neck straining as I take in the size of the thing. The beast leans down, but I still can't quite make its features out.

"The ice will never harm you," it states softly.

A brief flash of memory comes to me.

"But it did!" I argue. "It did hurt me, badly!"

The creature shakes its head slowly. "It will never kill you, though. Not when you hold its master's heart." I frown at the creature. What does it mean by that?

"What do you mean?" I ask. "Do you mean... Loki?..." I ask it. It lets out a soft chuckle.

"There are many who control the ice," it says. "Some are even said to be the ice... know the ice, and it will never harm you."

The whole world shifts again, and I soon find myself floating in space while being chased by a dangerous, sentient plastic water bottle.

-BREAK-

When I next open my eyes, it's dark outside.

"How long was I asleep for?" I ask the room.

"For the entire day," a voice materializes to inform me. "I believe it is now seven in the evening."

I must have been much worse off than I originally thought... I struggle to sit upright, wincing at the residual ache in my throat. My head swims slightly with a dull ache piercing through it, but the aches and pains seem far better than they were the first time I woke up.

"That magic of yours is brilliant," I say, my voice now sounding hoarse rather than like gravel on a driveway. "How long was it since you aimed your Freeze Ray fingers at me?" There is a slight pause- most probably Loki trying to understand the Freeze Ray reference. Finally, he speaks again.

"It has been four days, and shall soon be five," he says softly.

"Oh," I look down at my hands, trying to gather my thoughts. My hands look burnt- horrible and red, with skin starting to peel. I grimace, looking away from them, and notice a nice smell in the air.

"Is that dinner?" I ask Loki. It certainly smelled like it; and from the smell of it, it will be far better than anything I could make.

"Yes, it should be ready soon," Loki says, walking into the kitchen. I hear some movement coming from there, with what sounds like plates being drawn and cutlery clashing together.

For some reason, it seems unreal for Loki to be making the food, even if he'd helped me multiple times, especially with the meats. I suppose it's because this time, he's making it all himself, for my benefit.

Not long later, he returns, placing a plain cloth on the bed, and then magicking the dishes on top of the cloth.

"Clever," I comment appreciatively.

"I believe you mortals call it 'common sense'?" He says with a raised eyebrow in my direction. He knows I have zero to no common sense, and if it were left up to me then his sheets would already be ruined by grease and fat.

I tuck into the meal, quite surprised at how... kind he's being, even though I suppose it's not that huge of a deal. After all, we'd been getting along surprisingly well the past few days.

I try to remember when things had first started taking a turn in our relationship- when I had first stopped looking at him like my jailer, and starting seeing him as my... friend? Maybe as a kindred spirit? I haven't a clue as to what to label this as, and I can be very stingy on whom I label as my buddy.

I find that I actually can't pinpoint it, though I think it might have been a few days ago... erm, I mean a few days ago before a few days ago... well, I know what I mean!

Loki is staring at me very intensely right now, and it seems like he wants me to say something specific.

"Thank you," I say quickly, realising what it must be. "For the food, it's lovely!" I smile at him happily. He just looks a little upset, though.

"Thank you for making me feel better, also," I hurriedly add. But he just looks a little more upset. His lips tighten as he stands up, walking to the couch, where one of his books lies waiting.

"I'll eat whatever is left," he says softly, sitting down to read his book (looks to be the one about the little orphan boy).

And they say us women are the complicated ones!