So it goes with saying that only things I own with any connection to MARVEL I bought on Ebay or Etsy. MARVEL COMICS & MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE are their own creatures and I have nothing to do with either of them aside from the fact I enjoy reading or watching them, and am grateful for the ability to play in their world. I claim nothing, and I receive nothing for this, expect the pleasure of putting something out into the world.
You can also find this story on ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN under the same title and pen name along with a place to post suggestions.
Don't forget to check out the Photobucket album listed on my profile page too.
DAY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND 2012
1819 HOURS
SUBTERRANEAN BUNKER
LOCATION UNKNOWN
LOKI
After I made her see reason, and to dissuade the shame from her cheeks I offered her the wine she asked for earlier. She accepts the offer again, but where once she seemed almost eager for it, now there is hesitation occupying her eyes.
"There is no pressure for you to drink it my dear." That catches her attention, bringing her slightly surprised gaze to mine."...or offense if you do not." Surprise which transforms into embarrassment on her cheeks once again.
"I-I.." she starts but then stops herself, closing her eyes and taking a breath before they open again and she offers me a meek smile of apology "Thank you. I've just never actually been able to have wine before, with my sulfate allergy."
"No?" That did come as a bit of a surprise. It was not an important piece of knowledge for me to gain from the killer I control so I did not think to ask it on him, but I would have assumed she at least partook from time to time, even on the earth's meager swill. "Then I suppose you are blessed. Little here can compare to the quality of Asgardian cuisine."
The shift in her temperament is quick, but distinct. Her brows furrow with offense before she can conquer it and smooth her features back to neutrality once more. "Maybe you just had a bad chef." This shift is something beautiful to me.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND 2012
1820 HOURS
SUBTERRANEAN BUNKER
LOCATION UNKNOWN
NORA
I didn't mean to say that, I didn't mean that at all! The words just rolled off my tongue quicker than the thought appeared in my mind.
I felt a little annoyed that he was insulting part of earth's culture, specifically a part that I was very fond of too. I understand how he believes he is a god from a paradise compared to us, but that doesn't mean everything here has to be mud on his boots.
Then the last syllable was out and my eyes were even wider than his! Then another second passed and my heart started beating again with the sound of his chuckle.
Oh thank god he's not mad! I'm not gonna die! This cycle of stress and relief always ends with comfort, but I'm beginning to worry with the frequency of it might just do more harm than good in the long run.
"I am sorry." He intercepts my sentence and finishes the word with me. "I did not mean to offend you. I forgot they said you enjoy that art. It was not a condemnation of your own skills my dear. Simply that however carefully prepared, a dish will always be limited by the quality of the ingredients available."
His hands weren't exactly idle in that small speech. One was reaching, and when he finished its goal was held out in offering for me. It's one of those apples. "These are from Asgard. Try one, it will prove my point better than my words ever could."
Is this symbolism? I think I'm okay with this. Will it hurt me? These thoughts recycle through my mind again, followed by another newer one. It doesn't matter. I already said yes.
It's just an apple Arnora, you're determined remember? Wait, an apple? It's a nagging this time not a twinge. It's an apple in golden jeweled hands, and a gentle aura somehow split between three faces that aren't faces, its nervousness and giddy joy. It's suddenly gone, leaving me feeling shaken.
A sensation against my leg is what brings me back with a bit of surprise. I sort of forgot about the fact my kitten was still here, and he caught me off guard when he apparently woke up from his nap and rubbed against my leg in affection. Which was sweet of him, and completely undeserving of the kick it almost got when I reacted with too much alarm!
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND 2012
1821 HOURS
SUBTERRANEAN BUNKER
LOCATION UNKNOWN
LOKI
The scrabbling hiss of a sound that appears under the table following her soft yelp makes it rather clear what just occurred unseen. So does the appearance of that tiny weight landing in my lap.
But before the creature can get too comfortable on my legs I betray it in its escape attempt and take it in my hand, lifting it up from beneath the surface of the desk and offering it back to its ashamed and concerned caretaker.
Whatever feelings of annoyance the mammal had for me fade after about three seconds of it feeling her fingers running through his fur. "Thank you." She offers me after a moment, letting her eyes meet mine even as she nuzzles her cheek against the press of its head. My response is just a soft smiling nod in return, it conveys my silent 'of course' well enough.
I see no problem with letting her comfort the creature, as it also comforts her as well. In the mean time I can occupy myself with other things. I did offer her an apple, and my desire for her to eat it has not changed. However, given what she has been through producing a blade of any size to cut it for her does not seem wise.
I do have other means at my disposal however and she did make a request to see more magick.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND 2012
1822 HOURS
SUBTERRANEAN BUNKER
LOCATION UNKNOWN
NORA
I'm blinking, specifically I'm blinking in disbelief. He just... Even the mildly frustrated patting of my kitten's paw isn't really getting through to me after what I just saw. He just tapped an apple on its head and it split into eight perfect pieces! And the skin is even rolling off into neat curls too!
"We have more apples, shall I do it again?" That sentence made my eyes leave the fruit and find his, only to also find him smirking rather broadly at my expression. I must look like some slack jawed child or something to him. I mean, I'm sure to him it's completely inconsequential. But to me it's something incredible, and a bit intimidating too. If he acts like things like that are nothing, I'm not sure I want to see what he considers something.
"N-no, no thank you." The tone, or maybe the words, or maybe none of it really matters, but it doesn't change the fact he noticed something in that sentence and is now looking at me with curious concern. "I mean, it's marvelous, what you can do, but it's just…" His smile spreads with casual gentleness as he seems to come to some sort of understanding.
"Too much too quickly?" He offers, and I nod in confirmation with embarrassment now hot in my cheeks. "Then we will slow down." He says it likes it's something so simple. He follows it with a bit of a chuckle at my expression of surprise in response. "I do want you to remember yourself Arnora, and there is much I'm eager to share with you, but…" He pauses as he takes one of the apple slices in his fingers and holds it out to me. "...overwhelming you will do neither of us much good."
I'm not sure how to respond to that. There's gratitude there in what I'm feeling but suspicion, concern, curiosity, and the ever present undercurrent of fear as well. On top of all of that I think I'm developing a hunger headache! It's not one of the twinges preceding an episode, or an honest headache, just that dull heaviness sitting all around my skull. It makes my decision to accept the apple and agree all the more compelling, but it seems I'm not the only one to do so.
I barely finished the 'of course' in my response when Jareth strained his little neck and body out of my grasp, curling his nails into the side of my palms as he used my hands to prop himself higher, and starts licking the exposed flesh of the apple!
Needless to say watching my cat try and devour an apple was a surprising sight to both of us; but my concern melts away when Loki's frown does the same and transforms into a smirking chuckle directed at my kitten. "What an odd little creature you pet is." He smirks even more as he pulls the fruit away, despite Jareth's little growls and pleading grip, offering him a scratch under the chin in meager compensation. "I thought for sure his species was carnivorous."
"Uh, well, Jareth's more of an omnivore really. He just likes food, a lot." I stammer a response distractedly, noting oddly that it's without a stutter this time. I'm distracted because while I've know my kitten to examine fruit before simply because it was something I was willing to eat so it might be good, he never actually went after it much. The only real memory I have of him going after an apple was when I left him unattended for a SECOND with a bowl of stuffing that just came out of the turkey. Maybe Loki is right about 'his' food being better than ours.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND 2012
1824 HOURS
SUBTERRANEAN BUNKER
LOCATION UNKNOWN
LOKI
That damnable little mammal almost did more harm than good when it sought out the magic in that fruit! I can not have her become suspicious of Idunn's apples, and refuse to eat them! If she does that it will be near impossible for me to restore her strength, less so in the limited time I have to do it. If she was not so attached to the creature I might have considered killing it for that mistake!
I suppose I will just have to make sure I feed its addiction well from now on. To such a low life form, the magic coursing through it no doubt feels like a type of opiate, and like any opiate it's blissful effects will fade into harsh withdrawal symptoms. Again the creature is lucky it is so loved by her, because I would not cater to its needs otherwise and simply let it suffer through them.
She finally took the apple I offered her, reaching a little higher to meet my hold on it. I had to hold it out of the kitten's eager reach after all, and then to keep it from pursuing the fruit I tore apart one of the salmon croissants I had brought here for her, the smell of the fish inside was enough to distract its instinctual brain away from the aura of magic it sought. One appetite overcoming the other as all my annoyance with the feline fades as I watch her eyes light up at the first taste of that fruit.
I will admit certain eagerness when I saw her teeth test the strength of that flesh before sinking into its surface, and a certain delight as she stifles the sound of bliss that tries to follow the first taste.
She may not be aware of it, but her body yearns for the magic of those apples as much as I do for her's. She has been a creature starved, living here so long among mortals with no avenue but to become as a mortal. A terrible fate compounded by terrible fate. What cruelty the Norn's wove for this one.
"The taste is to your liking then?" I ask, drawing attention to her reaction while at the same time not acknowledging it out loud. She is embarrassed enough by the fact that she let slip that tiny moan as it is, if the flush in her cheeks are an indication.
"Y-yes, it's very good. You were right." So is her humble response. I doubt though that 'very good' as anywhere near her true opinion of that apple, but insisting that she voices it serves me no purpose and will gain me nothing at the moment so I do not see the need for the effort. Instead I just extend another. "I have more then enough, you're welcome to as many as you like."
I make a point of not allowing my delight to show when she takes a second slice to eat. However my focus does catch on something else which provokes a different response. As she reaches out her wrist is once again exposed to me, and offers me the sight of that scar!