#and I lay down and make horrendous noises like a wounded animal

[lobpoints]

They do not know that one the point of LC is that A could have break out of the cycle of pain during all those 10,000 years or maybe even in the earliest version of the loop but he always fail to do so (Angela's voice "you are a prisoner trapped in the prison you created your own, but the key have always been in your hand", Angela's success in replicate the script handed to her perfectly doesn't mean anything if the manager himself fail to overcome and properly face the ordeal that are presented to him) until the moment of the end of LC then maybe the actual long process of it says something more about him as a person rather than just simple notion of "guy who so determined to torture people and himself for his gain"

[prismatales]

Oh my goodness, finally the request thing is showing! It wasn’t for the longest time. First, I’d like to thank you for being such an amazing human being. Here’s an idea: Mirio and maybe the other two (separately) with an s/o who’s Sir Nighteye’s daughter. She’s with them at the raid and is there when Nighteye gets hurt and later dies. I crave angst and hurt/comfort. Of course you don’t have to! Thanks either way, you rock!

I hope you don't mind if it's only Mirio, but I tried to make it long enough, hope you enjoy it! 💖

Warning: Death, Slight mentions of gore, Angst and Fluff.

Reassurance

Everyone could feel the misery coming out in massive waves, filling the surroundings with a sorrowful feeling to such an extent everyone could feel that same pain as their own.

Nobody has the courage to approach the young girl whose bloodshot eyes can no longer shed a single tear looked like the physical embodiment of despair as she stands in front of her father's memorial.

She was there when everyone gave it their all for the sake of the mission, to capture the Shie Hassaikai and rescue Eri-chan, that little girl who had to suffer endlessly at the hands of that sociopath father of hers, the one person their group called their leader and the same man who didn't hesitate to use a small child, all for the sake of his horrendous goals.

She was there when her father, Mirai Sasaki, also known as the hero Sir Nighteye did everything in his power to protect the little girl, and his intern Lemilllion, just to be defeated and fatally wounded by the monster known as Overhaul.

She was there when her father fought for his life, even with a gaping hole in his chest together with the knowledge there was nothing else that could be done but wait for everything to be over, and in spite of being fully aware that his time in this world was not far from coming to an end, he never stopped smiling.

Caressing his little girl's face with a sense of pride, knowing that just like everyone else, she gave her everything to accomplish their mission. The last thing he asked of her was to keep smiling, before his eyes eventually closed for the last time.

A gut-wretching cry nearly shook the whole building, loud enough for everyone nearby to jump out of their skin, nobody had the courage to touch the grieving girl as her body gave up, fearful that the lightest of touches would end up breaking her apart, all they could do was watch as she cried, and cried and kept crying until her throat became raw from the ache, making even the slightest of whispers feel like hellfire itself on her vocal chores.

The day of her father's funeral was not different, the tears wouldn't stop falling down, everyone who had the honor of working with her father gave their condolences as well as offering to help out in any possible way, while aware it wouldn't do much to help, they could only hoped it would make a difference to soothe her grieving soul.

One person in particular knew exactly how much she's really hurting, and he'd made sure to do everything in his power to take care of her, that was a promise he made to his mentor, a promise he swore on his life that would never be broken.

Sir Nighteye was like a second father to Mirio, someone who believed in him from the very beginning, if he was in pain he knew it was probably small compared to what you were currently going through.

After all Sir was your father, the man who saw you growing up, who's wallet was full with pictures of his little girl, from a wiggling little newborn to a young teenager's first day at UA. The same man who couldn't stop crying of joy when your stubborn baby self refused to take her first steps for anyone but him....And the man who approved of their relationship in the blink of an eye, and asked Mirio for one thing only, to take good care of his daughter and make her happy.

If Mirio's good at something else than being a hero is at keeping promises, that was proven as he made way towards (Y/N)'s room, where said girl had been isolating herself after coming back from the mission. When their classmates told him she wouldn't come out, anxiety started eating him from the inside, but all he did was shake off the uneasy feeling before rushing towards her room.

You refused to move from the position under the soft blankets, the spot in the mattress right under your face was damp with ever flowing tears, motivation and energy abandoning you ever since that cursed monitor went flat, alerting everyone of the end of a journey. A stuffed giraffe squeezed firmly against your chest, it's the very first stuffed animal he bought for you as a baby, one eye was missing and one of its plushy ears long gone, but it was still a memento of your Dad which could never be discarded.

Someone knocked on the door softly, the vibrations could be felt throughout the utterly silent bedroom, where not a single noise could be hear aside from your soft breathing going off in a steady rhythm.

"(Y/N), It's me...Can I come in?"

Everyone who knows about your relationship with Mirio knows that if he's asking IF he can come in, it means the matter at hand is a serious one, the amount of trust between you was at such level he could just waltz into the room without asking. But this time he knew better than just burst in. The door slowly creaked open, Mirio's head peeking around the edge at the same time his blue eyes began looking around, however when he caught sight of your limp self it made his heart feel heavy by the sight of his girlfriend's non-responsive state.

The edge of the mattress dipping down by his additional weight was not minded, neither that or anything else in particular as you just keep on staring at the wall with dead looking eyes, fingers tracing a small pattern on the soft material of the stuffed animal comforting you during this moment in time filled with ever lasting pain.

"...I miss him so much" Mirio barely manages to catch the monotonous murmur coming from your side, gone was that sweet tone of your voice that he loved so much, the person laying in bed next to his sitting form was someone completely broken.

Right now you were not living, you were only...existing.

"...I miss him too" His hands reached forward to caressing your shoulders in a comforting manner, his touch was something that always brought a sense of comfort no matter the situation. That time when you had an argument with your best friend? he was there to cheer you up. The first time you failed the provisional licence exam? Mirio was there to cuddle your sadness away.

The ruffling of the sheets indicated Mirio moving around the mattress, the heat of his body enveloping you from the back, chin resting against the top of your head while his arms sneak around your waist to bring both bodies together for comfort.

Was it selfish of you not to see how much he was hurting as well? Mirio's someone who shines as bright as the sun, someone with a comforting warmth capable of help during the hardest moments in life, and yet in this moment, even with that bright smile on his face, he too was mourning on the inside.

"...Can you turn around?" He asks softly, in a way comparable to someone would ask a small child, the last thing he wants right now is to leave your hurting and alone, he can't help but smiling weakly when your body carefully turns over so your face is buried into his collarbone, the stuffed toy resting in between of your bodies, he can't help the sad smile that comes out knowing how much the little guy means to you.

"I heard you didn't come out all day, not even to eat something?" It takes a while for Mirio to get an answer, the silence no longer being so suffocating the moment your body started to relax thanks to his warm hold.

"...I'm not hungry, I'm just tired" In that exact moment the one thing that should have stayed quiet decided to betray you as your stomach began to grumble furiously at the comment on food. Mirio can't help the oncoming laughter as you start blushing despite the sadness. But at least the tears have stopped flowing for now, that's a good start.

"...Listen...I know how much you're hurting, I'm hurting too..." One of his hands start caressing your cheek, his touch bring so much comfort that you can't help but lean towards it with eyes closed, craving for more of his warmth like a moth attracted to the bodies of light.

"But we made a promise to him, remember?"

...A promise, the last thing your father asked before he left...

"Smile"

"...Easy for you to say...you're like the human equivalent of the sun itself" You couldn't fight back the tired smile that came out, and Mirio noticed that, relieved his actions were having at least a tiny but effective reaction on your mood.

"Look...I know you're in pain, but I promised your dad to take care of you, remember? And I can't stand to see you suffering like this" He slowly lifts himself up, dragging you along into a sitting position. "So I'm going take good care of my cupcake until she's back to her sweet ol' self, alright?"

Mirio pulls away from his cuddles session before getting up, taking you by the wrist to lift your still in pajamas body out of bed.

"Now, let's take you to the bathroom to take a nice warm bath, once you're done with that we're getting you something to eat and if you want we can go for a walk or something? What do you say?"

Your only response was to latch onto him once more, his eyes darting down to take in the sight of his girlfriend taking in as much of his warmth once again, nuzzling against his chest affectionately.

"Think we can go back to cuddling instead after we're done eating?"

His arms wrap around your shoulders as he gives you a small peck on the lips, it's his way to accept your proposal.

"Cuddling sounds good too"

He knows it would take time, but Lord help him if Mirio doesn't give his everything for the sake of being able to see that beautiful smile he adores so much.

MASTERLIST

@t-amajiki @undead0relived @shoobirino @bnha-ra @godtieruwu @mysticalite

[imagine-loki]

Loki's Daughter Trigger warnings - Child slavery, mental illness and past abuse.

TITLE: Loki’s Daughter CHAPTER/ONE SHOT: Chapter One: Saved

AUTHOR: traveling-classicist ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Avengers: Endgame AU Loki that gets away with tesseract has been using it to explore the universe. During his adventures, he comes across a little girl with developing but oppressed magical abilities. Intrigued (and subconsciously lonely) Loki keeps her around.

AO3 LINK: Loki’s Daughter RATING: Mature for possible triggering content NOTES/WARNINGS:

Trigger warnings:

-Child slavery (this topic is being explored throughout the story)

Nota bene: I promise I’m not making Loki enslave any children, that’s not our guy

-Mental illness including mentions of schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety

-Mentions of past torture and abuse: physical, emotional, and mental

Notes:

I know these are strong triggers for some people and I fully respect you. There will also be lots of fluff and love and happiness in this story but as I say, these more difficult and triggering topics are being explored.

            With the hype for the Loki series starting to build, I’m feeling inspired. So, I’m going to give it a go.

            Also I’m not new to Tumblr by any means but I’m not super active in posting or reblogging even on my own account and I don’t know all the ins and outs of primary vs secondary blogs and blah, blah, blah… I mostly just lurk about in your likes and look at beautiful pictures of Tom/Loki on here… but I made a secondary blog for this fic where I’ll also be posting the chapters, in addition to here, and may start to open up some discussion if it gains any traction. So feel free to visit https://lokis-daughter-fic.tumblr.com/ and give it a like or follow or whatever. God, I feel old. I really need to just read up on this shit. There’s also an AO3 for the fic too if you prefer reading it on there.

            Okay, I think that’s everything. Anyways, if you read through my rambling notes: thanks, otherwise, enjoy what I hope will be a very lengthy, multi-chapter fic! I have lots of adventures in store for Loki and my little OC, Kuna.

Chapter 1: Saved

Loki walked through the giant forest. These were some of the tallest trees he had ever seen, reaching hundreds of feet into the sky. The canopy seemed distant but its thick leaves blocked out most of the sunlight to the ground. Occasionally, he would hear the sound of some creature calling out in the branches high above him. The canopy dampened the sound all around, making the animal calls sound further off than they truly were.

            He stopped, now and then, to admire the massive trunks of the reddish brown trees. Some of them would likely take a whole minute to walk around. Their roots, as thick as normal sized trees, dug deep beneath him. He wondered how deep they would have to go to hold up such large trees. He thought the planet’s crust must be made up of hundreds of thousands of miles of tree roots.

A light breeze made it’s way through the forest, shaking the leaves on the branches of the trees. Loki imagined you could cover an entire Asgardian skiff with one leaf. He imagined what would happen if one fell on him, and quickly continued walking. Indeed, the forest floor was littered with gigantic leaves and debris from the canopy world above. He thought this is what an ant must feel like, so small in a world far too big.

            Wanting a better vantage point, he used the tesseract’s energy to transport himself to a branch high above. He materialized on the branch but quickly dropped to his knees. Up here, he could feel the tree gently swaying. But a gentle sway to behemoth tree was a dizzying ride to a tiny ant. He sat there a moment, trying to acclimate himself to the new altitude and his tree legs. Before long, he shook his head in disbelief at his dizziness and stood. Feeling slightly more stable, he walked out on the branch, testing his fate. He blinked lazily.

            “Not so bad,” he mused. Afterall, even if he did fall, he could simply use the tesseract’s energy to teleport himself safely to the ground or wherever he wanted. In fact, the thought made him wonder what more he could do with this energy here.

He took off in a fast sprint down the branch at full speed. As the branch began to thin, he leapt with all his strength into the air. In a flash of blue, he disappeared, reappearing again mid-air but hundreds of feet in front of where he had been, landing gracefully on the branch of the next tree over. He laughed, looking back at the tree he had just leapt from. Amused by his maneuver, he took out the tesseract from his pocket and flipped the cube in his hand.

            “Not bad at all,” he said. “I think I’ll use that.”

            Suddenly, the tree shook violently. Loki lost his balance and fell. The tesseract took two light bounces on the branch before falling towards the ground far, far below.

“Ah!” Loki screamed and leapt of the branch after it in an instant.

The wind whipped through his hair and made his eyes water, the ground flying up at him. Through the tears, he nearly lost the little blue spec of the cube falling below him. He reached out and caught it, instantly teleporting himself at a far safer speed to the ground. He fell only a foot onto the forest floor and let out a tremendous sigh of relief. He held up the glowing cube in front of his face.

            “We are not doing that again,” he panted.

Suddenly, a horrendous howl wrenched him up from his place on the ground. A massive beast roared at him from the trunk of the tree. It was hunched over, putting its weight onto its knuckles. Sharp claws as long as Loki’s leg, curled upwards from its paws. Its back was covered in a light brown fur cast with gray stripes while its belly lay bare, a dark shade of brown. The head of the beast was encased in a thick, brown armor, reminiscent of a horn but the shape of a battering ram that protruded from its skull.

Loki made a quick glance up at the tree and let out a sharp breath. There was a massive divot in the tree’s trunk. Splinters hung all about the outsides of the hollow dent. Dark sap had begun to ooze from the center of the wound.

            “Oh,” Loki whispered, letting out an exasperated laugh at the creature. “So, you caused the treequake, then?”

            The monster roared in response and lunged for him. Loki scrambled to his feet, tesseract in hand, dirt and debris flying up from the ground as he regained himself. He tore off, away from the beast as fast as he could. Still out of breath from the fall, his head felt like it was spinning. He could hear the creature pounding towards him. It was massive, there was no way he could outrun it.

            He looked up quickly and saw he was fast approaching a massive tree root that stood nearly twenty feet above his head. He groaned and made a sharp turn, following the root’s path. The beast behind him slammed into the tree root. The noise sounded like an explosion, echoing through the forest. The beast quickly regained itself, shaking its head for a moment, before chargeing towards Loki again. Frantic as he ran, Loki looked for a way out. The light glinted off the cube still in his hand and if he wasn’t running for his life, he would have smacked himself.

“What am I doing?” he exclaimed.

            In front of him, he spotted a large arch formed by another tree root dipping back into the ground. He lengthened his stride. He could practically feel the beast’s breath on his back. Using the tesseract’s energy, he teleported through the arch and safely on to the other side.

            The beast lowered its head and slammed into the archway at full tilt. The ground shook under Loki’s feet as another thunderous explosion rang out around the forest. Only the head and shoulders of the beast had made it through the other side of the archway. It tried to stand up again but was firmly stuck between the root and the ground. Loki laughed, surprised but relieved that it had worked.

            “I’m just going to leave you there,” he said. The creature’s nostrils flared and it let out another deafening roar. Loki winced at the sound. “Yes, you’re very loud,” he told it. “I’m sure that will help you out of there. Just keep trying,” he mocked it as he teleported a distance away.

            Leaving the monster safely behind him, he looked down at the tesseract again. He liked the way it shimmered in his hand. He quickly made it disappear again into his pocket before anything else bad happened to him or it.

He looked up at the trees again and thought of what he had been trying before he was rudely interrupted by the beast. He summoned the tesseract’s energy and leapt far up onto the side of a tree. He caught himself with his dagger, digging it in deep into the bark. After steadying himself a moment, he located another tree about a hundred yards off. He focused on it and pushed off the tree he hung from, disappearing a moment before reappearing a few feet beside the other tree, midair. He dug his dagger in hard on the bark and slid a few feet down. Amused by this game, he continued jumping between the trees using the energy of the space stone.

As he played this fun game, he thought he heard a sound in the distance. He stopped, clinging onto the side of one of the trees. He found a good foothold and listened, trying to locate the direction of the sound. He truly hoped that thing from before could not track him.

A child’s scream rang out to Loki’s left. He sighed in relief at the sound. At least it wasn’t the monster. Slightly intrigued and growing bored and tired of his game, he teleported in the direction of the screams. Where before, the ground and large trunks of the trees had dampened the noise within the forest, now he could hear the child’s screaming echoing for what sounded like miles.

The ground beneath his feet gave way from dirt, moss, and decaying giant leaves, to compact clay and stone. He pushed aside a the fronds of a large bush and stepped out into a clearing. Or at least, what he thought was a clearing. Upon further examination, the sudden lack of trees was caused by a large, rocky ravine. He looked one way down the gorge and then the other. It seemed to stretch for miles in both directions. On the other side, the trees started up once more, rising high into the sky. Another scream rang out. It sounded like it was coming from inside the ravine at the far end to his left.

Loki followed the sound of the screams along the edge of the gorge. Once in a while, he would lean out over the edge to peer down to the bottom. Vines covered in thick moss had somehow found their way to good grips on the other side of the gorge. They crisscrossed up and down the ravine. The bottom was quite dark. It probably rarely saw any sunlight what with the canopy still covering a majority of the sky above. At some places, the ravine narrowed to a length Loki could easily jump across if he wanted. At others, the cliff faces pulled away from each other leaving close a hundred meters between them.

As he walked he began to feel a slight vibration in his own aura. He stopped in his tracks. There was another magical being nearby. A rather powerful magical being by the shimmering sensation he felt in his aura.

He had become adept in sensing the magic of others. Frigga had taught him to develop these senses until they were highly acute. He stood for a moment, focusing on this sensation. The vibration was quickly followed by a severe disturbance, like static electricity. He shook his head, alarmed by the feeling. He had never felt anything in his aura like this before.

He started off again, his interest piqued. He was getting closer to the screams, now. He was also approaching what he assumed was the end of the gorge from the wall of trees looming before him. He returned to the underbrush and crouched low. Two more voices sounded down the ravine. Loki could not make out what they were saying but he could tell there were at least two men and a child at the end of the ravine. He crept closer, silently making his way through the brush, when he spotted a rather peculiar scene.

Two men stood either side of a small crane-like mechanism hanging out over the edge of the ravine. A long chain swung down out of Loki’s view. A child screamed from below the ledge. They had built a rough camp with debris from the forest floor. A small cart held a few crates and barrels. A ramshackle shelter was propped up with a large bit of bark from one of the giant trees. An extinguished firepit with an old spit lay a few feet away.

One man braced himself on the crane and kicked the chain with his boot, making it swing. “Scream louder, girly,” he shouted down. “I don’t think they can hear you!”

In his hand, the man held aloft a long necked, primitive-looking gun. He and his companion laughed as the chain swayed back and forth and even louder screams rang up from below. Loki was about to stand when he heard a far more chilling sound. Somewhere at the bottom of the gorge, a guttural roar rose up and then another. Two creatures. Loki lowered himself back down. They weren’t the monster from before but they surely sounded monstrous.

            “Ha!” the other man exclaimed. “Keep doing that, girl. They like it when you wriggle around like that.”

            “Hear they come,” the first man said.

            His friend picked up his gun which had been leaning up against the crane. They aimed over the side of the cliff. The girl was still screaming from the end of the chain. The two men took their time to find the right sight down to their prey.

Two loud bangs echoed down through the ravine along with the terrified shriek of the girl below. The two men looked down the gorge, following the echo that seemed to go on for miles. The whole forest seemed to have fallen silent. The pair looked back at each other and high fived.

            “Oh, that was a good one!” the man said, appearing to rejoice in the disruption they’d caused to the balance.

            They both looked down over the edge again.

            “Did you get hit, girly?” one asked.

            Silence but the girl must have made some sort of indication as the man quickly followed up with a grunt: “Good.”

            The other man took hold of a large push crank on the crane and began to turn it, hoisting up the chain. A small girl, no more than five, appeared above the ledge, wrapped in tight chains. The man grabbed the chain and pulled it in. It still extended below and, from the tension, Loki could see there was still something heavy at the bottom. He unhooked the girl from the larger chain and she fell onto the ground in heap, her restraints clanging against each other. Her chest was heaving with effort. Her legs and feet kicked, treading ground and pushing her a bit further from the ledge. She came to rest at the base of the crane but went no further. Her body trembled and she cried quietly.

            The man continued to crank the chain upwards. Loki could then see their haul. In a massive net made of metal, two large beasts lay tangled up with one another. The two men heaved against the crane, turning it to pull the net over the ledge. One kicked the crank and the net fell onto the ground, splaying open. They separated the two creatures; large cat-like animals with deadly looking fangs and claws.

            Loki chose this moment to emerge from the undergrowth. “What an ingenious set up you’ve got here,” Loki said, startling the men from their work.

“What in the hells? Where’d you come from?” the one man asked, whipping around.

“They like live bait, do they?” Loki gestured towards the girl, ignoring the man’s question.

The men laughed, happy to oblige the stranger’s requests if it meant harassing the girl more.

“Little girl’s their favorite thing to eat!” the other said, kicking the scared child in the stomach. She coughed and slumped over againi, sobbing.

“You’ll have to excuse my ignorance - I’m not from around here – but what are these creatures?” Loki continued, pointing at the two beasts they’d killed.

“You ain’t never seen kapka before?” the first man exclaimed.

“Oh, they’re vicious beasts, aren’t they?” the other began. He turned towards the little girl, nudging her with the barrel of his weapon, teasing her. “They move like giant cats but got the scales of dragons! See them claws, they can rip you to shreds in seconds. But that’s not how they like to kill.”

"No?” Loki asked, sensing this was the response he wanted.

“Nah. They’re evil bastards, they are. Instead, they’ll tear you down and sink those big ol’ fangs into ya! That way, they inject their toxic poison–”

“Venom…” Loki corrected him.

“What?”

“Nothing. Please, continue.”

The man’s eyes narrowed on the stranger but he went on, “They inject their - venom - into ya and that paralyzes your whole body. You’d think they’d kill ya then, right?”

“I assume the answer’s no?”

“Wrong! What, wait. No! Right! They don’t eat you right away! Instead they tear off bits and pieces of you. Not enough to bleed you out and kill you but enough to feel all that pain. ‘Cause on top of that para-lie-sis–”

“Paralysis…” Loki corrected him, again.

“What?”

“Nothing. Please, do go on.”

“On top of that - paralysis, that venom makes your bleeding stop quick too,” the man continued.

"Really? How interesting.”

“It’s the worst way to die in all the worlds. Perfect for this little shit right here, that’s for sure!” the other man said, giving the girl another sharp kick, that sent her onto her back.

“I’d treat your bait better if you want it to stay alive,” Loki said.

"What? Her? She was made for this, weren’t ya?” the man said, grabbing her chain and yanking on it. The little girl nodded frantically, willing to answer any question that would make him stop.

“Oh, so she’s your daughter, then?” Loki asked.

“Hells no! She’s a slave, you moron.”

“Is that right?”

“It’s plain easy to get them,” the other interjected.

"Hmm. And so, what is it that you do with these creatures? Certainly not eat them?” Loki continued.

"Hells no! You can’t eat them. They’d be all tough and chewy anyways, not to mention the - venom.”

“No instead, we sell them for their - venom. You make good darts from it,” the other continued.

“The blood’s valuable too. The best makers can turn it into powerful healing potions!”

“Extraordinary,” Loki mused.

"You can practically use the whole beast! Those scales can make good armors–”

“And them fangs make deadly daggers,” the first man said.

"Oh, I’m very interested. Please, go on.”

“The claws can be useful too. They’ll cut through just about anything but they can be crushed up into a powder also to cure all kinds of illments.”

“Ailments. Or illnesses. One or the other.” Loki corrected him once more.

“Well, you are a learned one, aren’t you,” the man said, now annoyed with the stranger’s quips. “Where you say you were from, again?”

"I didn’t. Oh, but look, I think more of your prey is arriving,” Loki said, pointing to the far end of the rocky ravine.

Three more scaly kapka were stalking down the ravine, drawn either by the scent of their fallen brethren or the now silenced screams of the girl.

"Ha! Time to get back to work, you!” the man shouted at the girl.

He grabbed her and quickly hooked her back on to the line. They both heaved the net over the edge. The metal rods seemed to snap together, straightening out to help the net fall flat onto the rocks below. The chain was quickly flying over the ledge. The girl gasped and hopped about on the spot.

“You know it’s easier if you jump,” one man said to her, amused. She shook her head, madly, not wanting to jump. Before the chain could rip her off the edge, the man gave her a hard kick, square in the chest. She screamed. Her fall was cut harshly short about a quarter of the way down the cliff face. Her head snapped painfully downwards at the sharp stop as the chain came taught.

It was wrapped tightly several times around her middle, trapping her arms to her sides. The strong hook attached to the chains at her back kept her face down towards the raging monsters. She screamed in terror.

Upon seeing the bait, the kapka charged down the ravine. Their claws made deep cuts in the dirt beneath their paws. They stopped abruptly, necks craned upwards to see their dangling prey. Guttural roars and growls rose up from the bottom of the cliff face. The girl cried out and kicked, swinging back and forth on her chain.

The movement clearly enticed the kapka even more as they began to leap up at her, swiping with their giant paws at her kicking legs. One leapt up the rock wall with powerful hind legs. It pushed off a small ledge and leapt, swinging it’s paw towards her. It came dangerously close to hitting her but fell just short, landing gracefully on its feet back at the bottom. The others were clawing at the wall, hungrily trying to find traction.

The girl’s arms were stuck tight to her sides from the chains but she still pulled and tugged at the restraints. Loki watched her movements, closely. He thought for a moment, he caught a quick flash of light from her hands as she struggled. She shrieked as if she had been caught by one of the beasts but none had touched her. He felt another strong disturbance in his aura, like electricity, nearly to the point of physical pain. Something strange was going on with this girl.

“Oh, you’re in luck, then, stranger, you’ll get to see the show,” they laughed.

"I can’t wait,” Loki said coolly, stepping forward. The hunters leaned over the edge to get a better line of sight at their prey. Loki took another step forward, firmly placing both hands on the backs of the men and shoved hard. The two men hurtled over the edge into the ravine, falling past the screaming girl, and into the awaiting jaws of the kapka.

            The girl turned her head back up towards the ledge, straining to see what had happened and why her former masters were now being paralyzed for dinner down below. The stranger peered over the edge at her and slowly began hoisting her up by the chain. She no longer struggled nor screamed but her chest heaved at the thought of what he might do to her now.

            Once she was back at the level of the ledge, Loki turned the crane-like mechanism around and lowered her onto the ground. She was breathing hard, soft whimpers escaping her lips. She had a thick, metal collar around her neck and shackles on her wrists and ankles. Judging from the thick bands of scars beneath the manacles, she had probably had them on for a very long time.

Loki turned back to look over the edge again. The kapka tore into the men with their massive fangs. Loki watched as the venom worked its way through them. Their screams slowly stopped as their bodies went limp but their eyes still twitched about in horror.

The first kapka struck, tearing an arm off one of the men and swallowing it whole. The next kapka ripped off a leg and in two big gulps, it was gone. The third tore away another leg and swung it about wildly, beating it on the ground before lazily turning onto its side and eating the leg whole.

“Well, that’s not at all what I was expecting.” Loki said, looking down at the horrified little girl. “I thought they’d at least torture them a little longer. What was all that about bits and pieces? He just tore off his whole leg!”

The girl whimpered at the stranger’s feet horrified at the scene below them. She turned her head away, not wanting to watch anymore.

Loki marveled at the sheer lack of blood the scene produced. Perhaps these morons knew a bit of what they were talking about after all. He watched for a moment longer before turning to the dead kapka behind him. He stooped, conjuring several jars and vials from his pocket in a smooth motion with his hands, and began extracting venom and blood from the creatures.

The girl watched him. Could he be a maker? What awful things was he going to do with that venom? She struggled, trying to free herself before the scary man could push her over the edge too.

Loki carefully filled each vial and jar before cutting away eight large fangs from the jaws of just one kapka. He was sure to take all the claws as well. He thought a few specimen of the scales would be useful too, for study, since the rest of the kapka had such alchemical properties. He already had the best armor any money could buy after all.

He revealed his sharpest knife to cut away at the tough skin. The glint of the blade sent the little girl into a frenzy.

“No! No! Please! Don’t hurt me, sir! Please!” she exclaimed.

“Calm down, it’s not for you. I’ll get to you in a minute.”

This was not at all calming for the girl, who only struggled more. Loki didn’t bother looking up. He could hear her chains clanking together as she desperately tried to free herself. He focused his attention on his work.

The scales were difficult to remove, indeed. Eventually, he was able to lift the edge of one gnarled, greenish-black scales and dig in at the slightly softer skin below. He carved out a large swath of the creature’s skin about as long as his arm and folded it neatly before making it disappear back into his pocket.

He studied the creature’s musculature beneath the skin he had removed. Intrigued and already covered in blood, he made another long cut down the beast’s belly, cutting through skin and muscle before he felt the grate of his knife against bone. He dug his hands into the beast’s chest cavity. He placed one foot firmly on one side of the rib cage and hooked his arm under the other side. He pushed upwards, expecting the bones to break easily but was met with tremendous resistance. Determined, he took a deeper breath and heaved his shoulder against the ribs of the animal.

Sickening cracks rang out in the forest that made the girl jump. Loki didn’t notice, he was too interested in what he was seeing. The internal structure of the beast was quite similar to that of a large cat but the bones were black as night. He extracted several rib bones from the beast as well as its heart and a few other organs, placing them again in conjured jars and boxes that vanished as quickly as they had appeared. Taking a look around the men’s small camp at the edge of the ravine, Loki located a large water skin. He poured some out into a bowl and crouched as he washed away the blood and bits of broken black bone and tissue from his hands. He looked up at the girl as he rubbed his hands together.

She opened her mouth to scream again, frightened senseless by the man covered in kapka gore. In an instant, the stranger appeared in front of her, clapping a hand over her mouth.

“If you want to stay alive, I wouldn’t be screaming and calling those things - or anything else around - to us,” he said in an even tone. “I’ll get to you in a minute. Just be patient.”

She nodded vigorously, tears flooding down her cheeks. He straightened up and walked back to the bowl of water he had poured. She watched him. She wanted that water so badly. Her throat was dry and scratchy, her lips chapped and cracked. The stranger looked up at her again, having finished cleaning off his arms and armor. She looked away sharply, finding a sprig of grass to look at instead.

She heard him stand up. Her breath came faster. His feet barely made a sound as they strode across the ground in her direction. She closed her eyes and tucked her chin to her chest. Her whole body trembled as his feet came to rest beside her. She braced herself for a kick but it never came.

Loki examined the chains. They were thick and old. Probably not made for the purpose of dangling a toddler over a cliff for evil beasties. They’d clearly been on her for a while too. They had left deep purple bruises in bands across her arms. He removed the large hook from the back of the chains. The sudden touch made the girl practically jump out of her skin. She began to weep again.

Loki rolled his eyes and continued examining the chains. He found a padlock resting on the girl’s shoulder blade. He looked up and around the camp again. Hopefully, the key wasn’t now inside the belly of a beast down below. He stood and began searching anyway. His eyes came to rest on a tough leather bag. He stood and grabbed it, turning over the flap and finding a small ring of keys.

“Ha, morons,” he muttered. “Just leaving the keys laying around.” He took the keys back over to the girl and tested each one in the lock.

“Ugh, you know, it’s always the last one you try,” he said out loud, inserting the last key into the lock. It clicked and the padlock opened. The girl flinched at the loud sound the lock made. Loki turned the lock over. It was old and rusty, grinding against itself. Unhooking the lock from the chains, he set it down beside him. The chains loosened around the girl’s morbidly thin frame. Loki was surprised that the weight of the chains had not crushed the tiny girl.

“There,” he said, finally freeing her. “I bet that feels a little better.”

She sniffled. She did not dare make eye contact, not even with her savior. She swallowed hard and nodded weakly. She did not dare to run either. This stranger would surely catch her and who knows what awful things he could do then.

He stood slowly and walked back towards the water skin. She slowly sat up, following him with her gaze, his back now turned to her. He was tall and lean with long black hair. A tattered green cape hung from his shoulders, falling just below his knees. He stooped to pick up the water skin and glanced over his shoulder at her. She quickly averted her eyes again, looking for anything else on the ground to stare at. He walked back over to her and crouched.

Loki could see how terrified the little girl was of him. Deep down he felt a pang of guilt for eliciting such a reaction from something so small but he quickly batted the sentiment away. He offered her the mouth of the water skin. She turned just a bit further away.

“Come on,” he said. “You clearly need it.”

She turned back towards him, her gaze rose to the water skin. Loki noticed her eyes were the same vibrant shade of green as the plants around them. Dark circles around her eyes, caused by exhaustion, only accentuated the color more. Her face was pale and streaked with dirt and tear trails. She sniffled again. Leaning forward towards the mouth of the water skin. Loki gently edged the skin closer for her. Her eyes flinched at the movement, her lips just centimeters from the skin. She turned her head away sharply as if expecting a blow.

Loki sighed pityingly. “Come on,” he urged her, moving the water skin a bit closer to her. “It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you.”

She hesitated a moment before turning her head back again. Loki nodded, reassuringly. Slowly, she lifted her hand to brace the skin and put her lips around the opening. Loki gently tilted the skin upwards. As the water flowed into her mouth, she grabbed the skin with her other hand, overwhelmed by the first taste of water she had had in days. Loki let her finish it off before lowering it again.

She wiped her mouth and then licked the back of her hand, not wanting to waste a single drop. He let out a sigh. What a wretched creature. She dropped her hands in front of her, folding them in her lap and lowering her head.

“Do you have a family,” he asked.

She shook her head no, still staring at the ground.

“What happened to them?”

She took a shuddering breath. “They didn’t want me anymore.”

Loki shook his head, glancing away from her.

“Is this your home-world?” he asked.

She shook her head again.

“Where are you from? Do you know?”

She looked about on the ground for a moment, searching for a stone or a blade of grass that would give her the answer. She swallowed hard and shook her head again, dejected.

“I suppose even if you did, you wouldn’t want to go back,” he said. He nudged his foot at the chains absentmindedly, then remembered something.

“Why have you not used your magic to escape?” he asked.

Her breath caught in her throat. Chills crept up her body. Her chest began to heave. She looked up, only raising her eyes to the man’s armored chest, shaking her head frantically.

“I – I – I don’t have no magic, sir,” she choked.

He cocked his head to one side. “Really? Well, it certainly felt like you did.” He knew she was hiding something but she was far too scared to tell.

As he stood there, trying to figure out what to do with the child, her head suddenly snapped around, looking in the opposite direction. He turned round to see what she was looking at. She gasped and her hands went to her mouth, remembering what happened the last time she had tried to scream in front of the man.

At first, Loki could not figure out what the girl was hearing or seeing but the pounding footsteps that were growing ever-louder and ever-closer answered is questions.

            “Oh no,” Loki said. His shoulders fell.

            The monster that had knocked him out of the tree was crashing through the underbrush. He could just make out its stiff mane above the leaves of the brush. The girl scrambled to her feet and tried to run. She tripped over her self and the chains at her feet and crumpled into a ball.

            “No, don’t do that!” Loki exclaimed, hauling her up by the arm. “We need to leave now!”

            He ran into the trees behind them, practically dragging the girl along with him. The monster tore through the camp behind them. They could hear the sounds of wrenching metal and the breaking of wood as they ran away. The girl cried out at the noise.

            “Ugh,” Loki groaned. “I don’t have time for this! I need a drink!”

            He summoned the tesseract’s energy once again. A jump like what he was planning would take some serious concentration; concentration that a mad beast chasing them was disrupting. He ran, eyes half closed, hauling the girl alongside him.

            “No! No!” she cried.

            He could feel her pulling away from him. He looked up and saw that they were running straight for the trunk of a great tree. Groaning with the effort it took to focus the tesseract’s energy with his magic, he finally felt the vapors envelope around them. They disappeared moments before they would have collided into the tree, leaving the beast behind them careening into its base.

            They both collapsed onto the ground on the other side of the portal. The girl covered her head with her hands, waiting to be trampled by the gigagrunt behind them. When she did not feel the pain of certain death, she sat up and looked around. They were in a wide meadow nowhere close to the dominating trees of the forest with no gigagrunt in sight. The sky above her was clear but two suns shined down on her face.

            She blinked rapidly and shook her head but both suns were still up there. The man sat up and shook his head.

            “That planet was insane!” he exclaimed. “Will not be going back there anytime soon.”

            She stared at him. That was magic that he used. It made sense now. Even though his cape was torn up, his armor was accented with gold and silver all over. And he talked nice. Only rich people talked like that.

            “Are you alright?” he asked her.

            She looked around, startled by his question. Realizing that they were completely alone and that his question truly was directed at her, she nodded.

            “Yes, sir,” she said, softly, looking down at her hands.

            “Good,” he replied. He stood and brushed himself off. He walked past her. She followed him with her eyes. He put his hands on his hips and looked around, then up in the sky at the double suns above them.

“I have no idea where we are,” he admitted, dropping his head. He turned back towards her. “Sometimes that happens. To be fair, we were being chased by a vicious monster so the fact we ended up on solid ground and not somewhere in the vacuum of space is rather impressive.” He stopped in front of her. “And on top of that, it’s a planet we can both breathe on! I’d say that’s pretty good for teleporting on the run.”

“Y – Yes, sir?” she said. She was not entirely sure if he was speaking to her still. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She swallowed hard. There was little sustenance in her stomach to begin with, save for maybe what was left of the water she’d drank, but it very much wanted out of her mouth. Her head began to spin and she pitched forward.

“Oh, yes, sorry,” the man said, crouching down to catch her before she fell flat on her face. “That’s pretty normal after a big jump.”

She flinched at his touch. He gently turned her onto her back. She closed her eyes, trying to make the ground stop spinning. She blanched and felt a hot flush race over her face, traveling down her neck to her chest.

Loki watched her. Her chest still rose and fell. At least she wasn’t dead. He knew that could sometimes happen too. Not to him, of course. He knew what he was doing. But this girl did not. She was small and small things sometimes have a hard time fully materializing on the other side of portals. He examined her body. Despite the obvious lack of food and water and the cuts, bruises, and scars that covered her bare skin, she seemed to be all there. She opened her eyes again.

“Am I dying, sir?” she asked, meekly.

“You don’t appear to be,” Loki replied. This seemed to calm the girl for a moment before her eyes widened in fear.

“Is this one of the hells?” she asked.

Loki wondered what sort of religion had such beautiful hells but reassured her with a smirk, “I doubt it.”

Her face twisted with fear and she asked, “Are you a demon?”

Loki smiled and hesitated a moment before answering, “Some people probably think I am -including myself occasionally- but no, I am not.”

She sighed, relieved. She blinked a few times, still trying to make the two suns turn back into one. Seeing that her blinks had failed, she began to sit up slowly.

“Welcome back,” the man said, smiling wryly. “Better?”

She nodded and then looked down seemingly disappointed in herself. “Yes, sir,” she said.

“My name is Loki,” he told her. “What’s your name?”

For the first time, her eyes met his. She seemed confused by the question at first. Loki nodded, prompting her again. She quickly looked down at her hands before looking back up at him.

“My – My name is Kuna,” she said, holding his gaze for a moment before submissively adding, “Sir.”

She wondered if he would hit her for telling him. No master ever asked her name and certainly no rich person. All the slaves she had ever seen tell a master their name were beaten so senseless. She would have forgotten hers a long time ago from disuse, if she hadn’t carved it into her wrist with a rusty nail in the stockyard.

Loki nodded. “Kuna,” he said, testing the name aloud. She dropped her head, anticipating a smack at the very least but it didn’t come. “That’s a beautiful name,” he said.

Her eyes widened at the ground below her. This must be some trick. He was not possibly being… nice to her. He stood up again and looked around. “Well, it looks to me like those suns are setting,” he observed. “We should make a camp before it gets dark.”

This was definitely the strangest rich person Kuna had ever met.

[lokis-daughter-fic]

Loki’s Daughter Chapter 1: Saved

Originally written for imagine-loki, link to imagine below.

Imagine Avengers: Endgame AU Loki that gets away with tesseract has been using it to explore the universe. During his adventures, he comes across a little girl with developing but oppressed magical abilities. Intrigued (and subconsciously lonely) Loki keeps her around.

In his efforts to learn more about the tesseract and keep it away from prying hands, Loki keeps in constant movement; never staying in one place for too long. So, they travel to new worlds far beyond the Nine Realms. The young girl is in awe at the beauty of the universe and thrives with Loki. Through a series of events, the two grow closer and Loki begins to feel what he would assume is affection for the little girl.

TITLE: Loki’s Daughter CHAPTER/ONE SHOT:

Chapter One: Saved AUTHOR: traveling-classicist ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Avengers: Endgame AU Loki that gets away with tesseract has been using it to explore the universe. During his adventures, he comes across a little girl with developing but oppressed magical abilities. Intrigued (and subconsciously lonely) Loki keeps her around.

AO3 LINK: Loki’s Daughter RATING: Mature for possible triggering content NOTES/WARNINGS:

Trigger warnings:

-Child slavery (this topic is being explored throughout the story)

Nota bene: I promise I’m not making Loki enslave any children, that’s not our guy

-Mental illness including mentions of schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety

-Mentions of past torture and abuse: physical, emotional, and mental

Notes:

I know these are strong triggers for some people and I fully respect you. There will also be lots of fluff and love and happiness in this story but as I say, these more difficult and triggering topics are being explored.

           With the hype for the Loki series starting to build, I’m feeling inspired. So, I’m going to give it a go.

           Also I’m not new to Tumblr by any means but I’m not super active in posting or reblogging even on my own account and I don’t know all the ins and outs of primary vs secondary blogs and blah, blah, blah… I mostly just lurk about in your likes and look at beautiful pictures of Tom/Loki on here… but I made a secondary blog for this fic where I’ll also be posting the chapters, in addition to here, and may start to open up some discussion if it gains any traction. So feel free to visit https://lokis-daughter-fic.tumblr.com/ and give it a like or follow or whatever. God, I feel old. I really need to just read up on this shit. There’s also an AO3 for the fic too if you prefer reading it on there.

           Okay, I think that’s everything. Anyways, if you read through my rambling notes: thanks, otherwise, enjoy what I hope will be a very lengthy, multi-chapter fic! I have lots of adventures in store for Loki and my little OC, Kuna.

Chapter 1: Saved

Loki walked through the giant forest. These were some of the tallest trees he had ever seen, reaching hundreds of feet into the sky. The canopy seemed distant but its thick leaves blocked out most of the sunlight to the ground. Occasionally, he would hear the sound of some creature calling out in the branches high above him. The canopy dampened the sound all around, making the animal calls sound further off than they truly were.

           He stopped, now and then, to admire the massive trunks of the reddish brown trees. Some of them would likely take a whole minute to walk around. Their roots, as thick as normal sized trees, dug deep beneath him. He wondered how deep they would have to go to hold up such large trees. He thought the planet’s crust must be made up of hundreds of thousands of miles of tree roots.

A light breeze made it’s way through the forest, shaking the leaves on the branches of the trees. Loki imagined you could cover an entire Asgardian skiff with one leaf. He imagined what would happen if one fell on him, and quickly continued walking. Indeed, the forest floor was littered with gigantic leaves and debris from the canopy world above. He thought this is what an ant must feel like, so small in a world far too big.

           Wanting a better vantage point, he used the tesseract’s energy to transport himself to a branch high above. He materialized on the branch but quickly dropped to his knees. Up here, he could feel the tree gently swaying. But a gentle sway to behemoth tree was a dizzying ride to a tiny ant. He sat there a moment, trying to acclimate himself to the new altitude and his tree legs. Before long, he shook his head in disbelief at his dizziness and stood. Feeling slightly more stable, he walked out on the branch, testing his fate. He blinked lazily.

           “Not so bad,” he mused. Afterall, even if he did fall, he could simply use the tesseract’s energy to teleport himself safely to the ground or wherever he wanted. In fact, the thought made him wonder what more he could do with this energy here.

He took off in a fast sprint down the branch at full speed. As the branch began to thin, he leapt with all his strength into the air. In a flash of blue, he disappeared, reappearing again mid-air but hundreds of feet in front of where he had been, landing gracefully on the branch of the next tree over. He laughed, looking back at the tree he had just leapt from. Amused by his maneuver, he took out the tesseract from his pocket and flipped the cube in his hand.

           “Not bad at all,” he said. “I think I’ll use that.”

           Suddenly, the tree shook violently. Loki lost his balance and fell. The tesseract took two light bounces on the branch before falling towards the ground far, far below.

“Ah!” Loki screamed and leapt of the branch after it in an instant.

The wind whipped through his hair and made his eyes water, the ground flying up at him. Through the tears, he nearly lost the little blue spec of the cube falling below him. He reached out and caught it, instantly teleporting himself at a far safer speed to the ground. He fell only a foot onto the forest floor and let out a tremendous sigh of relief. He held up the glowing cube in front of his face.

           “We are not doing that again,” he panted.

Suddenly, a horrendous howl wrenched him up from his place on the ground. A massive beast roared at him from the trunk of the tree. It was hunched over, putting its weight onto its knuckles. Sharp claws as long as Loki’s leg, curled upwards from its paws. Its back was covered in a light brown fur cast with gray stripes while its belly lay bare, a dark shade of brown. The head of the beast was encased in a thick, brown armor, reminiscent of a horn but the shape of a battering ram that protruded from its skull.

Loki made a quick glance up at the tree and let out a sharp breath. There was a massive divot in the tree’s trunk. Splinters hung all about the outsides of the hollow dent. Dark sap had begun to ooze from the center of the wound.

           “Oh,” Loki whispered, letting out an exasperated laugh at the creature. “So, you caused the treequake, then?”

           The monster roared in response and lunged for him. Loki scrambled to his feet, tesseract in hand, dirt and debris flying up from the ground as he regained himself. He tore off, away from the beast as fast as he could. Still out of breath from the fall, his head felt like it was spinning. He could hear the creature pounding towards him. It was massive, there was no way he could outrun it.

           He looked up quickly and saw he was fast approaching a massive tree root that stood nearly twenty feet above his head. He groaned and made a sharp turn, following the root’s path. The beast behind him slammed into the tree root. The noise sounded like an explosion, echoing through the forest. The beast quickly regained itself, shaking its head for a moment, before chargeing towards Loki again. Frantic as he ran, Loki looked for a way out. The light glinted off the cube still in his hand and if he wasn’t running for his life, he would have smacked himself.

“What am I doing?” he exclaimed.

           In front of him, he spotted a large arch formed by another tree root dipping back into the ground. He lengthened his stride. He could practically feel the beast’s breath on his back. Using the tesseract’s energy, he teleported through the arch and safely on to the other side.

           The beast lowered its head and slammed into the archway at full tilt. The ground shook under Loki’s feet as another thunderous explosion rang out around the forest. Only the head and shoulders of the beast had made it through the other side of the archway. It tried to stand up again but was firmly stuck between the root and the ground. Loki laughed, surprised but relieved that it had worked.

           “I’m just going to leave you there,” he said. The creature’s nostrils flared and it let out another deafening roar. Loki winced at the sound. “Yes, you’re very loud,” he told it. “I’m sure that will help you out of there. Just keep trying,” he mocked it as he teleported a distance away.

           Leaving the monster safely behind him, he looked down at the tesseract again. He liked the way it shimmered in his hand. He quickly made it disappear again into his pocket before anything else bad happened to him or it.

He looked up at the trees again and thought of what he had been trying before he was rudely interrupted by the beast. He summoned the tesseract’s energy and leapt far up onto the side of a tree. He caught himself with his dagger, digging it in deep into the bark. After steadying himself a moment, he located another tree about a hundred yards off. He focused on it and pushed off the tree he hung from, disappearing a moment before reappearing a few feet beside the other tree, midair. He dug his dagger in hard on the bark and slid a few feet down. Amused by this game, he continued jumping between the trees using the energy of the space stone.

As he played this fun game, he thought he heard a sound in the distance. He stopped, clinging onto the side of one of the trees. He found a good foothold and listened, trying to locate the direction of the sound. He truly hoped that thing from before could not track him.

A child’s scream rang out to Loki’s left. He sighed in relief at the sound. At least it wasn’t the monster. Slightly intrigued and growing bored and tired of his game, he teleported in the direction of the screams. Where before, the ground and large trunks of the trees had dampened the noise within the forest, now he could hear the child’s screaming echoing for what sounded like miles.

The ground beneath his feet gave way from dirt, moss, and decaying giant leaves, to compact clay and stone. He pushed aside a the fronds of a large bush and stepped out into a clearing. Or at least, what he thought was a clearing. Upon further examination, the sudden lack of trees was caused by a large, rocky ravine. He looked one way down the gorge and then the other. It seemed to stretch for miles in both directions. On the other side, the trees started up once more, rising high into the sky. Another scream rang out. It sounded like it was coming from inside the ravine at the far end to his left.

Loki followed the sound of the screams along the edge of the gorge. Once in a while, he would lean out over the edge to peer down to the bottom. Vines covered in thick moss had somehow found their way to good grips on the other side of the gorge. They crisscrossed up and down the ravine. The bottom was quite dark. It probably rarely saw any sunlight what with the canopy still covering a majority of the sky above. At some places, the ravine narrowed to a length Loki could easily jump across if he wanted. At others, the cliff faces pulled away from each other leaving close a hundred meters between them.

As he walked he began to feel a slight vibration in his own aura. He stopped in his tracks. There was another magical being nearby. A rather powerful magical being by the shimmering sensation he felt in his aura.

He had become adept in sensing the magic of others. Frigga had taught him to develop these senses until they were highly acute. He stood for a moment, focusing on this sensation. The vibration was quickly followed by a severe disturbance, like static electricity. He shook his head, alarmed by the feeling. He had never felt anything in his aura like this before.

He started off again, his interest piqued. He was getting closer to the screams, now. He was also approaching what he assumed was the end of the gorge from the wall of trees looming before him. He returned to the underbrush and crouched low. Two more voices sounded down the ravine. Loki could not make out what they were saying but he could tell there were at least two men and a child at the end of the ravine. He crept closer, silently making his way through the brush, when he spotted a rather peculiar scene.

Two men stood either side of a small crane-like mechanism hanging out over the edge of the ravine. A long chain swung down out of Loki’s view. A child screamed from below the ledge. They had built a rough camp with debris from the forest floor. A small cart held a few crates and barrels. A ramshackle shelter was propped up with a large bit of bark from one of the giant trees. An extinguished firepit with an old spit lay a few feet away.

One man braced himself on the crane and kicked the chain with his boot, making it swing. “Scream louder, girly,” he shouted down. “I don’t think they can hear you!”

In his hand, the man held aloft a long necked, primitive-looking gun. He and his companion laughed as the chain swayed back and forth and even louder screams rang up from below. Loki was about to stand when he heard a far more chilling sound. Somewhere at the bottom of the gorge, a guttural roar rose up and then another. Two creatures. Loki lowered himself back down. They weren’t the monster from before but they surely sounded monstrous.

           “Ha!” the other man exclaimed. “Keep doing that, girl. They like it when you wriggle around like that.”

           “Hear they come,” the first man said.

           His friend picked up his gun which had been leaning up against the crane. They aimed over the side of the cliff. The girl was still screaming from the end of the chain. The two men took their time to find the right sight down to their prey.

Two loud bangs echoed down through the ravine along with the terrified shriek of the girl below. The two men looked down the gorge, following the echo that seemed to go on for miles. The whole forest seemed to have fallen silent. The pair looked back at each other and high fived.

           “Oh, that was a good one!” the man said, appearing to rejoice in the disruption they’d caused to the balance.

           They both looked down over the edge again.

           “Did you get hit, girly?” one asked.

           Silence but the girl must have made some sort of indication as the man quickly followed up with a grunt: “Good.”

           The other man took hold of a large push crank on the crane and began to turn it, hoisting up the chain. A small girl, no more than five, appeared above the ledge, wrapped in tight chains. The man grabbed the chain and pulled it in. It still extended below and, from the tension, Loki could see there was still something heavy at the bottom. He unhooked the girl from the larger chain and she fell onto the ground in heap, her restraints clanging against each other. Her chest was heaving with effort. Her legs and feet kicked, treading ground and pushing her a bit further from the ledge. She came to rest at the base of the crane but went no further. Her body trembled and she cried quietly.

           The man continued to crank the chain upwards. Loki could then see their haul. In a massive net made of metal, two large beasts lay tangled up with one another. The two men heaved against the crane, turning it to pull the net over the ledge. One kicked the crank and the net fell onto the ground, splaying open. They separated the two creatures; large cat-like animals with deadly looking fangs and claws.

           Loki chose this moment to emerge from the undergrowth. “What an ingenious set up you’ve got here,” Loki said, startling the men from their work.

“What in the hells? Where’d you come from?” the one man asked, whipping around.

“They like live bait, do they?” Loki gestured towards the girl, ignoring the man’s question.

The men laughed, happy to oblige the stranger’s requests if it meant harassing the girl more.

“Little girl’s their favorite thing to eat!” the other said, kicking the scared child in the stomach. She coughed and slumped over againi, sobbing.

“You’ll have to excuse my ignorance - I’m not from around here – but what are these creatures?” Loki continued, pointing at the two beasts they’d killed.

“You ain’t never seen kapka before?” the first man exclaimed.

“Oh, they’re vicious beasts, aren’t they?” the other began. He turned towards the little girl, nudging her with the barrel of his weapon, teasing her. “They move like giant cats but got the scales of dragons! See them claws, they can rip you to shreds in seconds. But that’s not how they like to kill.”

"No?” Loki asked, sensing this was the response he wanted.

“Nah. They’re evil bastards, they are. Instead, they’ll tear you down and sink those big ol’ fangs into ya! That way, they inject their toxic poison–”

“Venom…” Loki corrected him.

“What?”

“Nothing. Please, continue.”

The man’s eyes narrowed on the stranger but he went on, “They inject their - venom - into ya and that paralyzes your whole body. You’d think they’d kill ya then, right?”

“I assume the answer’s no?”

“Wrong! What, wait. No! Right! They don’t eat you right away! Instead they tear off bits and pieces of you. Not enough to bleed you out and kill you but enough to feel all that pain. ‘Cause on top of that para-lie-sis–”

“Paralysis…” Loki corrected him, again.

“What?”

“Nothing. Please, do go on.”

“On top of that - paralysis, that venom makes your bleeding stop quick too,” the man continued.

"Really? How interesting.”

“It’s the worst way to die in all the worlds. Perfect for this little shit right here, that’s for sure!” the other man said, giving the girl another sharp kick, that sent her onto her back.

“I’d treat your bait better if you want it to stay alive,” Loki said.

"What? Her? She was made for this, weren’t ya?” the man said, grabbing her chain and yanking on it. The little girl nodded frantically, willing to answer any question that would make him stop.

“Oh, so she’s your daughter, then?” Loki asked.

“Hells no! She’s a slave, you moron.”

“Is that right?”

“It’s plain easy to get them,” the other interjected.

"Hmm. And so, what is it that you do with these creatures? Certainly not eat them?” Loki continued.

"Hells no! You can’t eat them. They’d be all tough and chewy anyways, not to mention the - venom.”

“No instead, we sell them for their - venom. You make good darts from it,” the other continued.

“The blood’s valuable too. The best makers can turn it into powerful healing potions!”

“Extraordinary,” Loki mused.

"You can practically use the whole beast! Those scales can make good armors–”

“And them fangs make deadly daggers,” the first man said.

"Oh, I’m very interested. Please, go on.”

“The claws can be useful too. They’ll cut through just about anything but they can be crushed up into a powder also to cure all kinds of illments.”

“Ailments. Or illnesses. One or the other.” Loki corrected him once more.

“Well, you are a learned one, aren’t you,” the man said, now annoyed with the stranger’s quips. “Where you say you were from, again?”

"I didn’t. Oh, but look, I think more of your prey is arriving,” Loki said, pointing to the far end of the rocky ravine.

Three more scaly kapka were stalking down the ravine, drawn either by the scent of their fallen brethren or the now silenced screams of the girl.

"Ha! Time to get back to work, you!” the man shouted at the girl.

He grabbed her and quickly hooked her back on to the line. They both heaved the net over the edge. The metal rods seemed to snap together, straightening out to help the net fall flat onto the rocks below. The chain was quickly flying over the ledge. The girl gasped and hopped about on the spot.

“You know it’s easier if you jump,” one man said to her, amused. She shook her head, madly, not wanting to jump. Before the chain could rip her off the edge, the man gave her a hard kick, square in the chest. She screamed. Her fall was cut harshly short about a quarter of the way down the cliff face. Her head snapped painfully downwards at the sharp stop as the chain came taught.

It was wrapped tightly several times around her middle, trapping her arms to her sides. The strong hook attached to the chains at her back kept her face down towards the raging monsters. She screamed in terror.

Upon seeing the bait, the kapka charged down the ravine. Their claws made deep cuts in the dirt beneath their paws. They stopped abruptly, necks craned upwards to see their dangling prey. Guttural roars and growls rose up from the bottom of the cliff face. The girl cried out and kicked, swinging back and forth on her chain.

The movement clearly enticed the kapka even more as they began to leap up at her, swiping with their giant paws at her kicking legs. One leapt up the rock wall with powerful hind legs. It pushed off a small ledge and leapt, swinging it’s paw towards her. It came dangerously close to hitting her but fell just short, landing gracefully on its feet back at the bottom. The others were clawing at the wall, hungrily trying to find traction.

The girl’s arms were stuck tight to her sides from the chains but she still pulled and tugged at the restraints. Loki watched her movements, closely. He thought for a moment, he caught a quick flash of light from her hands as she struggled. She shrieked as if she had been caught by one of the beasts but none had touched her. He felt another strong disturbance in his aura, like electricity, nearly to the point of physical pain. Something strange was going on with this girl.

“Oh, you’re in luck, then, stranger, you’ll get to see the show,” they laughed.

"I can’t wait,” Loki said coolly, stepping forward. The hunters leaned over the edge to get a better line of sight at their prey. Loki took another step forward, firmly placing both hands on the backs of the men and shoved hard. The two men hurtled over the edge into the ravine, falling past the screaming girl, and into the awaiting jaws of the kapka.

           The girl turned her head back up towards the ledge, straining to see what had happened and why her former masters were now being paralyzed for dinner down below. The stranger peered over the edge at her and slowly began hoisting her up by the chain. She no longer struggled nor screamed but her chest heaved at the thought of what he might do to her now.

           Once she was back at the level of the ledge, Loki turned the crane-like mechanism around and lowered her onto the ground. She was breathing hard, soft whimpers escaping her lips. She had a thick, metal collar around her neck and shackles on her wrists and ankles. Judging from the thick bands of scars beneath the manacles, she had probably had them on for a very long time.

Loki turned back to look over the edge again. The kapka tore into the men with their massive fangs. Loki watched as the venom worked its way through them. Their screams slowly stopped as their bodies went limp but their eyes still twitched about in horror.

The first kapka struck, tearing an arm off one of the men and swallowing it whole. The next kapka ripped off a leg and in two big gulps, it was gone. The third tore away another leg and swung it about wildly, beating it on the ground before lazily turning onto its side and eating the leg whole.

“Well, that’s not at all what I was expecting.” Loki said, looking down at the horrified little girl. “I thought they’d at least torture them a little longer. What was all that about bits and pieces? He just tore off his whole leg!”

The girl whimpered at the stranger’s feet horrified at the scene below them. She turned her head away, not wanting to watch anymore.

Loki marveled at the sheer lack of blood the scene produced. Perhaps these morons knew a bit of what they were talking about after all. He watched for a moment longer before turning to the dead kapka behind him. He stooped, conjuring several jars and vials from his pocket in a smooth motion with his hands, and began extracting venom and blood from the creatures.

The girl watched him. Could he be a maker? What awful things was he going to do with that venom? She struggled, trying to free herself before the scary man could push her over the edge too.

Loki carefully filled each vial and jar before cutting away eight large fangs from the jaws of just one kapka. He was sure to take all the claws as well. He thought a few specimen of the scales would be useful too, for study, since the rest of the kapka had such alchemical properties. He already had the best armor any money could buy after all.

He revealed his sharpest knife to cut away at the tough skin. The glint of the blade sent the little girl into a frenzy.

“No! No! Please! Don’t hurt me, sir! Please!” she exclaimed.

“Calm down, it’s not for you. I’ll get to you in a minute.”

This was not at all calming for the girl, who only struggled more. Loki didn’t bother looking up. He could hear her chains clanking together as she desperately tried to free herself. He focused his attention on his work.

The scales were difficult to remove, indeed. Eventually, he was able to lift the edge of one gnarled, greenish-black scales and dig in at the slightly softer skin below. He carved out a large swath of the creature’s skin about as long as his arm and folded it neatly before making it disappear back into his pocket.

He studied the creature’s musculature beneath the skin he had removed. Intrigued and already covered in blood, he made another long cut down the beast’s belly, cutting through skin and muscle before he felt the grate of his knife against bone. He dug his hands into the beast’s chest cavity. He placed one foot firmly on one side of the rib cage and hooked his arm under the other side. He pushed upwards, expecting the bones to break easily but was met with tremendous resistance. Determined, he took a deeper breath and heaved his shoulder against the ribs of the animal.

Sickening cracks rang out in the forest that made the girl jump. Loki didn’t notice, he was too interested in what he was seeing. The internal structure of the beast was quite similar to that of a large cat but the bones were black as night. He extracted several rib bones from the beast as well as its heart and a few other organs, placing them again in conjured jars and boxes that vanished as quickly as they had appeared. Taking a look around the men’s small camp at the edge of the ravine, Loki located a large water skin. He poured some out into a bowl and crouched as he washed away the blood and bits of broken black bone and tissue from his hands. He looked up at the girl as he rubbed his hands together.

She opened her mouth to scream again, frightened senseless by the man covered in kapka gore. In an instant, the stranger appeared in front of her, clapping a hand over her mouth.

“If you want to stay alive, I wouldn’t be screaming and calling those things - or anything else around - to us,” he said in an even tone. “I’ll get to you in a minute. Just be patient.”

She nodded vigorously, tears flooding down her cheeks. He straightened up and walked back to the bowl of water he had poured. She watched him. She wanted that water so badly. Her throat was dry and scratchy, her lips chapped and cracked. The stranger looked up at her again, having finished cleaning off his arms and armor. She looked away sharply, finding a sprig of grass to look at instead.

She heard him stand up. Her breath came faster. His feet barely made a sound as they strode across the ground in her direction. She closed her eyes and tucked her chin to her chest. Her whole body trembled as his feet came to rest beside her. She braced herself for a kick but it never came.

Loki examined the chains. They were thick and old. Probably not made for the purpose of dangling a toddler over a cliff for evil beasties. They’d clearly been on her for a while too. They had left deep purple bruises in bands across her arms. He removed the large hook from the back of the chains. The sudden touch made the girl practically jump out of her skin. She began to weep again.

Loki rolled his eyes and continued examining the chains. He found a padlock resting on the girl’s shoulder blade. He looked up and around the camp again. Hopefully, the key wasn’t now inside the belly of a beast down below. He stood and began searching anyway. His eyes came to rest on a tough leather bag. He stood and grabbed it, turning over the flap and finding a small ring of keys.

“Ha, morons,” he muttered. “Just leaving the keys laying around.” He took the keys back over to the girl and tested each one in the lock.

“Ugh, you know, it’s always the last one you try,” he said out loud, inserting the last key into the lock. It clicked and the padlock opened. The girl flinched at the loud sound the lock made. Loki turned the lock over. It was old and rusty, grinding against itself. Unhooking the lock from the chains, he set it down beside him. The chains loosened around the girl’s morbidly thin frame. Loki was surprised that the weight of the chains had not crushed the tiny girl.

“There,” he said, finally freeing her. “I bet that feels a little better.”

She sniffled. She did not dare make eye contact, not even with her savior. She swallowed hard and nodded weakly. She did not dare to run either. This stranger would surely catch her and who knows what awful things he could do then.

He stood slowly and walked back towards the water skin. She slowly sat up, following him with her gaze, his back now turned to her. He was tall and lean with long black hair. A tattered green cape hung from his shoulders, falling just below his knees. He stooped to pick up the water skin and glanced over his shoulder at her. She quickly averted her eyes again, looking for anything else on the ground to stare at. He walked back over to her and crouched.

Loki could see how terrified the little girl was of him. Deep down he felt a pang of guilt for eliciting such a reaction from something so small but he quickly batted the sentiment away. He offered her the mouth of the water skin. She turned just a bit further away.

“Come on,” he said. “You clearly need it.”

She turned back towards him, her gaze rose to the water skin. Loki noticed her eyes were the same vibrant shade of green as the plants around them. Dark circles around her eyes, caused by exhaustion, only accentuated the color more. Her face was pale and streaked with dirt and tear trails. She sniffled again. Leaning forward towards the mouth of the water skin. Loki gently edged the skin closer for her. Her eyes flinched at the movement, her lips just centimeters from the skin. She turned her head away sharply as if expecting a blow.

Loki sighed pityingly. “Come on,” he urged her, moving the water skin a bit closer to her. “It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you.”

She hesitated a moment before turning her head back again. Loki nodded, reassuringly. Slowly, she lifted her hand to brace the skin and put her lips around the opening. Loki gently tilted the skin upwards. As the water flowed into her mouth, she grabbed the skin with her other hand, overwhelmed by the first taste of water she had had in days. Loki let her finish it off before lowering it again.

She wiped her mouth and then licked the back of her hand, not wanting to waste a single drop. He let out a sigh. What a wretched creature. She dropped her hands in front of her, folding them in her lap and lowering her head.

“Do you have a family,” he asked.

She shook her head no, still staring at the ground.

“What happened to them?”

She took a shuddering breath. “They didn’t want me anymore.”

Loki shook his head, glancing away from her.

“Is this your home-world?” he asked.

She shook her head again.

“Where are you from? Do you know?”

She looked about on the ground for a moment, searching for a stone or a blade of grass that would give her the answer. She swallowed hard and shook her head again, dejected.

“I suppose even if you did, you wouldn’t want to go back,” he said. He nudged his foot at the chains absentmindedly, then remembered something.

“Why have you not used your magic to escape?” he asked.

Her breath caught in her throat. Chills crept up her body. Her chest began to heave. She looked up, only raising her eyes to the man’s armored chest, shaking her head frantically.

“I – I – I don’t have no magic, sir,” she choked.

He cocked his head to one side. “Really? Well, it certainly felt like you did.” He knew she was hiding something but she was far too scared to tell.

As he stood there, trying to figure out what to do with the child, her head suddenly snapped around, looking in the opposite direction. He turned round to see what she was looking at. She gasped and her hands went to her mouth, remembering what happened the last time she had tried to scream in front of the man.

At first, Loki could not figure out what the girl was hearing or seeing but the pounding footsteps that were growing ever-louder and ever-closer answered is questions.

           “Oh no,” Loki said. His shoulders fell.

           The monster that had knocked him out of the tree was crashing through the underbrush. He could just make out its stiff mane above the leaves of the brush. The girl scrambled to her feet and tried to run. She tripped over her self and the chains at her feet and crumpled into a ball.

           “No, don’t do that!” Loki exclaimed, hauling her up by the arm. “We need to leave now!”

           He ran into the trees behind them, practically dragging the girl along with him. The monster tore through the camp behind them. They could hear the sounds of wrenching metal and the breaking of wood as they ran away. The girl cried out at the noise.

           “Ugh,” Loki groaned. “I don’t have time for this! I need a drink!”

           He summoned the tesseract’s energy once again. A jump like what he was planning would take some serious concentration; concentration that a mad beast chasing them was disrupting. He ran, eyes half closed, hauling the girl alongside him.

           “No! No!” she cried.

           He could feel her pulling away from him. He looked up and saw that they were running straight for the trunk of a great tree. Groaning with the effort it took to focus the tesseract’s energy with his magic, he finally felt the vapors envelope around them. They disappeared moments before they would have collided into the tree, leaving the beast behind them careening into its base.

           They both collapsed onto the ground on the other side of the portal. The girl covered her head with her hands, waiting to be trampled by the gigagrunt behind them. When she did not feel the pain of certain death, she sat up and looked around. They were in a wide meadow nowhere close to the dominating trees of the forest with no gigagrunt in sight. The sky above her was clear but two suns shined down on her face.

           She blinked rapidly and shook her head but both suns were still up there. The man sat up and shook his head.

           “That planet was insane!” he exclaimed. “Will not be going back there anytime soon.”

           She stared at him. That was magic that he used. It made sense now. Even though his cape was torn up, his armor was accented with gold and silver all over. And he talked nice. Only rich people talked like that.

           “Are you alright?” he asked her.

           She looked around, startled by his question. Realizing that they were completely alone and that his question truly was directed at her, she nodded.

           “Yes, sir,” she said, softly, looking down at her hands.

           “Good,” he replied. He stood and brushed himself off. He walked past her. She followed him with her eyes. He put his hands on his hips and looked around, then up in the sky at the double suns above them.

“I have no idea where we are,” he admitted, dropping his head. He turned back towards her. “Sometimes that happens. To be fair, we were being chased by a vicious monster so the fact we ended up on solid ground and not somewhere in the vacuum of space is rather impressive.” He stopped in front of her. “And on top of that, it’s a planet we can both breathe on! I’d say that’s pretty good for teleporting on the run.”

“Y – Yes, sir?” she said. She was not entirely sure if he was speaking to her still. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She swallowed hard. There was little sustenance in her stomach to begin with, save for maybe what was left of the water she’d drank, but it very much wanted out of her mouth. Her head began to spin and she pitched forward.

“Oh, yes, sorry,” the man said, crouching down to catch her before she fell flat on her face. “That’s pretty normal after a big jump.”

She flinched at his touch. He gently turned her onto her back. She closed her eyes, trying to make the ground stop spinning. She blanched and felt a hot flush race over her face, traveling down her neck to her chest.

Loki watched her. Her chest still rose and fell. At least she wasn’t dead. He knew that could sometimes happen too. Not to him, of course. He knew what he was doing. But this girl did not. She was small and small things sometimes have a hard time fully materializing on the other side of portals. He examined her body. Despite the obvious lack of food and water and the cuts, bruises, and scars that covered her bare skin, she seemed to be all there. She opened her eyes again.

“Am I dying, sir?” she asked, meekly.

“You don’t appear to be,” Loki replied. This seemed to calm the girl for a moment before her eyes widened in fear.

“Is this one of the hells?” she asked.

Loki wondered what sort of religion had such beautiful hells but reassured her with a smirk, “I doubt it.”

Her face twisted with fear and she asked, “Are you a demon?”

Loki smiled and hesitated a moment before answering, “Some people probably think I am -including myself occasionally- but no, I am not.”

She sighed, relieved. She blinked a few times, still trying to make the two suns turn back into one. Seeing that her blinks had failed, she began to sit up slowly.

“Welcome back,” the man said, smiling wryly. “Better?”

She nodded and then looked down seemingly disappointed in herself. “Yes, sir,” she said.

“My name is Loki,” he told her. “What’s your name?”

For the first time, her eyes met his. She seemed confused by the question at first. Loki nodded, prompting her again. She quickly looked down at her hands before looking back up at him.

“My – My name is Kuna,” she said, holding his gaze for a moment before submissively adding, “Sir.”

She wondered if he would hit her for telling him. No master ever asked her name and certainly no rich person. All the slaves she had ever seen tell a master their name were beaten so senseless. She would have forgotten hers a long time ago from disuse, if she hadn’t carved it into her wrist with a rusty nail in the stockyard.

Loki nodded. “Kuna,” he said, testing the name aloud. She dropped her head, anticipating a smack at the very least but it didn’t come. “That’s a beautiful name,” he said.

Her eyes widened at the ground below her. This must be some trick. He was not possibly being… nice to her. He stood up again and looked around. “Well, it looks to me like those suns are setting,” he observed. “We should make a camp before it gets dark.”

This was definitely the strangest rich person Kuna had ever met.

[carumens]

When Valba left the school and a troubled Tom inside it, the plaza was still brimming with students, but it was easy to spot Gerah because he had decided to wait for her in the Romello Public School’s part of the square so that there was a wide empty circle of students surrounding him, sending him side glances as if he were a rare animal inside a cage.

                                         [full excerpt under the cut]

Valba stormed past them with elbows and stomps. “What are you looking at?” she snapped at Daniella Johnson and Fred Galindo.

Gerah was talking to Violetta Quillers, who was apparently oblivious to the expectant audience around them. Valba supposed she was already used to stares, what with her crazy attires and chameleonic hair.

“Let’s go,” said Valba when she reached them grabbing Gerah sharply by the elbow and leading him to one of the side alleys that branched from the square without even acknowledging Violetta’s presence. She heard her chirpy voice call after them: “Good day to you too!” Valba rolled her eyes and kept walking.

“Hey,” said Gerah, who kept pulling at the restless sleeve of his uniform jacket. “Hey, Valba, what the hell!”

She let him go, but didn’t stop her single-minded route.

“Valba! Valba, where are we going?!”

“The basketball courts.”

“What?” Gerah ran to catch up to her. “Why?”

“I wanna talk to Henry.”

“Oh,” said Gerah. “Henry?”

“Sanders.”

“Oh, uhm, I don’t―”

“He’s a cousin of Tom and Senka.”

“Oh.”

Gerah looked like he wanted to ask more questions but was too lost to find one to begin with. Valba couldn’t understand how he’d survived all of his life in Romello without knowing the first thing about it. Now again, rich people didn’t really need to survive.

“He’s the one who hit Mark.”

“What?” Gerah said, stopping dead in his tracks. “How do you know?”

“Gerah,” she said over her shoulder. “In Romello, it’s easy to know everything.”

The basketball courts were near the town hall, a couple of intricate streets further, and it was the place of reunion for most of Romello’s youth. People didn’t really play basketball there ―that activity was reserved for the courts inside the school. The asphalt was cracked and the field lines almost completely erased by time and the drag of feet. What young Romellians really did there was play mus, drink cheap beer and smoke cigarettes and spliffs from Cristian Bahnmann’s very own harvest. Valba thought he really ought to drop out of high school and start selling seriously. It would definitely help his family’s economy.

“But I thought you said Mark was looking for it,” said Gerah. He sounded slightly out of breath, and Valba slowed down her pace.

“Well,” she said. “I was wrong.”

Gerah didn’t answer, but Valba could feel him gaping at the back of her head. The thing about rumors travelling fast in Romello was that they often got distorted in the process, so sometimes it took some time to get to the real happenings behind them. Valba had seen Mark’s war wounds. Valba had assumed without knowing and she hadn’t stopped to think that because something happens often, it doesn’t mean that it will happen always. Valba had heard the whispers in the corridors and had only been reassured in her belief. And then Valba had heard Henry Sanders goading and had had to force her rage down not to crack Mrs. Barsau’s water bottle against his head.

The basketball courts came into view. The fences that surrounded the red and white surface were rusty and holed, and only one of the four baskets conserved its hoop. The fastest and most eager students were already lounging in the corners, cradling beer bottles and chatting loudly.

“There he is,” said Valba.

Henry Sanders looked the same as most of the members of the Sanders family. Tall, thin, blond and white as a lime wall. He was also, of course, a Catholic, which wasn’t a bad thing per se but was a horrendously easy shield to wield for those who hated everything that was different from them.

Valba entered in the court through one of the big holes in the closest fence, and ignored the startled looks falling upon her as she crossed the space to where Henry and his entourage of mindless apes loitered.

“Henry,” she said, grabbing him by the shoulder and forcing him to turn.

“What the―” the annoyed look in his face changed into something akin to respect when he registered her presence. “Oh, Barsel.” He frowned when he saw Gerah standing nervously behind her, but didn’t say anything about it.

“You have ten seconds to explain what happened with Mark.”

All trace of respect was gone when Henry heard Mark’s name. His face twisted into an ugly sneer. “That faggot got what he deserved.”

“Excuse me?” There was something hot and stingy simmering in the pit of her stomach.

“You heard me,” he spit out. “I saw him the other day in Uncle Roger’s carpentry, he―”

“He what?”

“He was molesting Tom!” Said Tobias Galindo, sticking his head behind Henry’s. He was pulled back by a wiser hand and a don’t get in there, man.

Valba limited herself to raising an eyebrow at Henry.

“You heard him,” he said with a jerk of his head.

“Okay,” she said. She breathed in and out slowly. Two times. And a third. “Time’s up.”

Valba grabbed Henry by the shoulder and smashed her fist against his nose. He doubled up with a shout and a very unholy string of curses. He looked up at her. There were tears forming at the edge of his eyes but Valba could not see blood, so she gripped his hair to bring him closer and crashed her forehead against his nose. It hurt, but from the loud scream he let out and the crunching noise she heard, it must have hurt him more. When he raised his head there was bright red stream falling from his nose, he wiped it uselessly with the sleeve of his jacket.

“Fucking bitch.” Someone grabbed him from the back, but he shook them off easily and lunged for Valba. She stepped to the side and tripped him with her foot. He fell to the floor, ripping his jeans at the knees and the skin of his hands. Valba wasted no time in jumping over him, a hand around his neck and her knee sinking in his stomach. Through her peripheral vision, she could see a mass of violence-horny and slightly stoned teenagers. Some of them cheered on, some other tried to establish peace with words Valba couldn’t even make out through the rage pounding inside her head, none of them stepped closer to try to prise her from Henry.

She could feel his throat straining under her hand, his windpipe uselessly trying to expand to let some air in. Valba found that it was enough, that he had got the message, that she wanted to release him, but couldn’t. Then there was a hand on her shoulder, a touch so gingerly that she almost didn’t feel it. She breathed out and open her fingers. Henry took in a noisy mouthful of air. Gerah helped Valba stand up, she left a blood smear on his hand that looked extremely dark against his tanned skin. She was trembling all over; Henry too, but for completely different reasons.

“Next time that you dare lay a single of your filthy fingers on Mark,” she said, the words coming sharp and strained through her teeth. “It won’t be just your nose that I break.”

She wiped rest of Henry’s blood sticking to her hands in her rough jeans and turned around to leave the basketball courts. Gerah fell in step beside her.

“Let’s go see Mark,” he said. “Shall we?”

Valba couldn’t speak through the knot in her throat, so she simply nodded.

[evolutionsvoid]

I want to start this entry out right away saying that I absolutely despise the name of this species. Savanna Devils?! Seriously?! It's not only insulting but wrong! The name makes them out to be some bloodthirsty killers who are a menace to everything that lives and breathes! Ridiculous! Who gave them this horrible name? Not a natural historian, I can tell you that! They would have called them Savanna Spiders, or Cacklers or anything else that accurately describes what they are, but nooooooo, we got to be all horribly dramatic about it! It makes my leaves stiffen just thinking about it! Oooooo, I hate it. I hate it so much. But I guess we must put this aside and actually talk about them. Perhaps people who read this entry will see that the name is a complete misnomer. The....Savanna Devils are found exactly where the first part of their name suggests: savannas. Their habitats always contain large amount of grasses, with only a sparse amount of trees or shrubs to be found. These habitats also lean towards the hot side of the spectrum, possessing sweltering summers and mild winters. The Savanna Devils prefer these tall grass biomes, as their low profile allows them to hide within them. At the peak of their humped backs, they stand about three feet tall, with their body length stretching to about five to six feet. Mind you these lengthwise measurements are for the body, and are not including the forelimbs. Many storytellers like to add in their forelimb length in order to make these creatures sound more massive and terrifying. At this size, Savanna Devils are perfect for scurrying through the tall grass, keeping themselves concealed from predators and other dangers. These tall grasses are also used to form dens for them to hide and rest in during the non-hunting hours. If you spot a tube-like structure made of swirled grasses, it is safe to guess that it might be a resting spot for a Savanna Devil. While Savanna Devils may appear opposing enough on their own, they quite prefer to keep together in cackles (or clusters if you prefer). These cackles have about six to eight individuals within them, with there usually being one or two more females than males. With the cackle, there will be a dominate female, who is often the largest and strongest of the group. She is the one who leads the cackle during foraging expeditions, taking the front position of their arrow-like formations. While in this triangular formation, the males will take the out most corners behind her, with the other females positioned between them. It is believed that this formation is best used to ensure that breeding or carrying females aren't the first to be attacked if a predator arrives. While the lead female may be the one most exposed, she is often able to put up quite a fight for those foolish enough to attack her, giving the others time to escape harm. When out to forage, this formation will streak its way through the tall grass, following scents and smells to locate their favorite food: carrion.

"Now wait a minute, Chlora," you may say. "When you say carrion, you mean dead things they kill, right?" Nope! When I say carrion, I mean dead things that were already dead before the Savanna Devils got there. That is because Savanna Devils are scavengers! Scavengers, you hear?! Not predators! Not voracious killing machines, scavengers! They eat things that are already dead! Though Savanna Devils seem scary and monstrous to those with poor taste, they do not like to do any actual hunting or killing themselves. They prefer to search for carcasses and feast upon the scraps that are left. When they spot a carcasses to feed upon, the formation will widen and split apart to encircle the corpse, keeping themselves hidden in the tall grass. When they have surrounded their food, they will check to make sure no predators are waiting in ambush. If the coast is clear, they will all scurry forward at once and begin to feast. The other reason they secretly circle the carcass is in case other scavengers are on the body. If vultures and other carrion eaters are there, the cackles' mad dash from all sides will scare them off, that way they don't have to share!   When a carcass is secured, the cackle will happily feed. Everything on the body is consumed: meat, hides, claws and bone. The mouth parts of a Savanna Devil are incredibly powerful, acting as both shears and bone crushers when needed. Dried, hardened flesh is nothing to their jaws, and leg bones are easily snapped in half with a powerful bite. Their long forelimbs are used to pin down parts as they bite and chew, making the process easier for them. Every part is shredded into tiny pieces to be swallowed, and their digestive tract is well suited for dissolving every scrap they take in. In the course of hours, a cackle of Savanna Devils can erase a carcass from the landscape, leaving just a dried stain in the soil. Already I can hear people start saying things like "But Chlora, I heard Savanna Devils hunt and kill their own prey." Or "I was told that they sneak into nests, dens and houses when prey is sleeping and rip them apart during their slumber." Or a "don't Savanna Devils have flesh melting venom they spray onto people that rot their limbs off for eating?" No, no and absolutely not! These are not just myths, they are lies! Horrible lies! Savanna Devils are scavengers, and the only time they kill prey is when it is already mortally wounded and dying. Yes, they will finish off a wildebeest that is dying of disease or bleeding out, but they don't strike the first blow. The animal practically has to be laying on the ground in a state of almost-death for them to be confident enough to do that. They are fast, but not nearly fast enough to chase down prey of that caliber. Also, Savanna Devils don't have venom glands. At all. They literally have no way to create, store or use venom, so there is no way that the "flesh-melting venom" myth is a thing. If you hear anyone rambling on about such a thing, do the world a favor and tell them to shut their lying mouth hole. When it comes to reproduction, most Savanna Devils breed within their cackle. The males and a few of lesser females will usually breed amongst themselves, but interestingly enough, the dominate female does not. While the other females will simply take whichever male is closest, the lead female will choose which male she wants to breed with. This can include a male from an entirely different cackle! When out foraging during breeding season, the dominate female may catch a whiff of a potential mate, and drag her group along to hunt him down. When she spots the cackle that contains the male she wants, she will confront the lead female and communicate with her. This involves some kind of odd fight/dance, where the two nip at one another and stalk around as if they were ready to go for each other's throats. If all goes well, the other lead female will offer up the wanted male and the two will breed. After the leader gets what she wants, the groups will part ways. Sometimes the cackles may even swap males if they choose to. It is quite the odd system. After breeding is completed, the fertilized females will lay their sticky eggs in the grass, and then attach them to their undersides. This does not include the lead female though, as she will attach her eggs to one of the lesser females who did not breed that season. She will be the one to carry her eggs, so that the leader may move, defend and take charge without the worry of damaging her eggs. These females are labeled as "carrying females." When the larvae hatch, they will continue to cling to their mothers (or carriers), riding on their backs. If predators attack, the young will scurry to their mother's underside to shield themselves from danger. Once they reach a certain age, the young will climb off their mothers and scatter out into the wilderness, looking for another cackle to join. While I addressed this before, it should be brought up again that Savanna Devils have a horrendously fake reputation tacked onto them. The sheer amount of myths and outlandish tales about them is infuriating, as each one is more bonkers than the last. The venom is the craziest of the bunch, as people act like these things spray acid everywhere. I feel that these tales are only created because people find Savanna Devils so frightening (thus the stupid name). No doubt early settlers and explorers saw the cackles ripping into a carcass and instantly assumed that these arachnids downed the beast themselves. I can't blame them for that first impression, but the fact that no one bothered to research them before giving them that stupid name is what frustrates me. What further frightens people are the noises Savanna Devils make when foraging, feeding or communicating. Their stridulations and rubbing of hairs can create chirps, crackling buzzes, but most famous is their "laughing." These "laughs," a high-pitched, fast-paced "yer" sound, are used when the group is out searching for food. These sounds appear to be used to keep track of where the others are, but to other ears, people hear it as demonic laughter of predators hunting down prey. With that, you have packs of large spiders that laugh and yip as they search for meat, which sounds terrifying to many. Outsiders to the area often believe that Savanna Devils are waiting in every bush and piece of grass, ready to jump out and bite their legs off. This idea is only emboldened during harsh seasons. In times when Savanna Devils cannot find enough food to get by on, they will wander towards towns and cities. Savanna Devils are a lot smarter than people give them credit for, as it has been shown that cackles can recognize hunters from different species. They will quietly follow the hunter, and wait for them to down prey. Once the animal has died, and the hunter goes to claim their kill, the cackle will rush out from all sides. This display is meant to scare, so that the hunter runs off and they can claim the body. It is important to know that this is not an attack at all, just a scare tactic. Local hunters have shown me that standing your ground will eventually deter them. They will not bite, claw or scratch, they just want to spook you. If you stand tall and proud over your kill, they will give up and find someone else to follow. While this is an ingenious tactic on their part, it has fouled their reputation a bit. Hunters from other areas do not know this is a ruse, and assume they have come to devour them. After they run off screaming, they will go to the nearest bar or tavern and ramble on about how they were viciously assaulted by Savanna Devils and just barely escaped with their lives. Which will eventually lead to some group going out to hunt them down, which forces the Savanna Devils to defend themselves. When trapped, Savanna Devils will indeed bite back,and they bite hard. Fools who attack them have a chance of losing a foot or leg, as they can shear right through the flesh and bone. If you don't want to lose a limb, just leave these poor things alone. Thankfully, my visit to the towns close Savanna Devil territory has put some ease to my anger on the subject. While tourists, outsiders and fools see the Savanna Devils as spidery menaces, many who live near them understand their true nature. These villagers construct their towns and farms to keep these creatures out, and know that one needs to be careful when hunting and butchering animals. In some cases, defending your kill from a cackle of Savanna Devils is a sign of manhood (or something like that). If you have the guts to stand your ground from their fake assault, then that shows how big and strong you are (which is nice that they understand they mean no harm, but how is it some feat of manliness if you know that they won't attack you? Guess I am just an ignorant outsider on that front). Some people have even taken in Savanna Devils as pets or guard animals. They will happily feed on any bones or scraps that remain after a meal, and they are used to working in groups. As a pet, I have heard that hunters use them to flush out prey from the brush, like a hunting dog! Others take them in as guard dogs, or pets meant to intimidate others. With their appearance, false reputation and powerful bite, certain locals find them as suitable creatures to ward away robbers or intimidate others. I remember visiting a store in a more touristy side of town once whose owner had a Savanna Devil. The little guy had his bed setup by the pay counter, so that he was mere feet away from customers who came up to pay for their goods and souvenirs. You should have seen the looks on outsiders' faces when they saw him! They went white as a ghost! In one case, a man dropped everything and ran right out of the store! From the sounds of laughter outside, I think many locals sit outside to see such spectacles! I conversed with the owner and asked about his pet. The little guy's name was Amani, and he was such the sweetheart! The owner told me that he originally got Amani to help with hunting, but eventually settled down with his store. Now Amani served as a "guard," who deterred robbers and shop lifters. He used the word "guard" loosely, as Amani had never bitten anyone in his life. His mere presence kept people in line, even though his owner was sure he could never get him to bite anyone if he wanted to. Most of the time he just snoozed in his bed, only called to action in special cases. He told me that if he spotted suspicious figures in his store, he would order Amani to "flush out the prey." This command was used back in his hunting days, which would cause Amani to rush around prey to spook them into flight. This order now caused Amani to run through the aisles of the store, usually scaring the lights out of the suspicious customer and causing them to make a quick exit. Honestly, he was just the cutest little guy, and I would love to have such a creature as a pet! Unfortunately, my pet wish list is almost reaching the triple digits, and most of them I don't think are legal either.               Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian Editor note: Don't even be surprised that this entry needs some serious re-editing, Chlora. Some professionalism and restraint would be nice.  - Eucella - ----------------------------------------------------- Here is a species I quite enjoy, the Savanna Devils! A mix of baboon and camel spider for appearance, hyena for some of the behavior (as some hyenas are more predators than scavengers) and more camel spider for the horrendous and fake reputation. Writing this out made me love these little guys even more. I want one! I want one so bad!  

[unscriptednotes]

Red

Poppy threw a chunk of raw meat to the large wolf with a thick icy grey coat before returning her focus to her grandmother across the table.

“I just don’t understand why he must stay this way, mother told me that he was attacked before I was born and that was thirteen years ago and I get to shift and return why can’t he?” Her grandmother reaches across the table and took her hand

“He did it to protect you-“

“I know that Nana, it’s all I’ve ever heard.” Her grandmother sighed and looked to the wolf who was staring expectantly at them from the floor. He bowed his head as if to give permission. She turned towards her granddaughter again, her eyes glassy.

“It was closer to fourteen years ago really. Your mother and father were happy as they could be, married merely a year... It’s was a late October night, the first storm of winter. That’s when he came. They called him the huntsman. Your mother was here with me when your father was attacked. When she arrived home it- it was bloodbath. That monster had slashed him within an inch of his life. Left him for dead and he would be too if it wasn’t for your mother, I guess the huntsman hadn’t heard about their marriage or what came after. He was in critical condition when she found she was pregnant. She was terrified she had to raise a baby on her own. You’re father stayed like that-“ she gestured to the wolf “for his whole recovery, to make it like she was caring for a wounded animal so there wouldn’t be any suspicion. Sure enough your father got better and changed back. It was good, life was good but then you arrived just as rumours circulated about the huntsman being back. He knew if the huntsman found out he was still alive he’d come for him and not only kill him but kill you too.”

“Why me?”

“Because of what you are, just like him and as long as the huntsman is out there he nor you are safe-“ the wolf was no longer lying gingerly on the floor but stood, focused, ears pricked and growling softly under his breath. Her grandmother stood suddenly and panicked. She grabbed Poppy’s arm and lead her over to the door. She thought she was being thrown out until her grandmother tore up two loose floorboards and told her to get in. Scared, Poppy obeyed

“Whatever happens don’t make a sound, promise me” Poppy nodded

“Promise me, Poppy, I need you to say it” her face was flushed and voice was shaky

“I promise Nana” she nodded and put the floorboards back. She looked around. The light streaked through the cracked floorboards illuminating the ground below the house, it was empty but she could hear and see the shadows of her father in wolf form and grandmother walking frantically

“Pigs blood” she whispered before a sticky crimson liquid seeped from the floorboards above.

There was silence for a few moments before the front door was kicked down. The huntsman. Poppy jumped but made no noise as promised. The footsteps of boots came slowly into the cottage. Her father growled and a knife was drawn. The sounds she was forced to endure after that were too horrendous to describe but one thing was certain- her fathers cries of agony was something she’d never forget.

When the fighting stopped and the footsteps backed out of the cottage again Poppy waited a moment enduring the huntsman had left before clawing out from under the floorboards and rushing to her fathers side crying out

“Papa! Papa!” Her small shaky hands cupped his face. He was human, it was the first time she’d seen him like this but she knew it was him. They had the same eyes and crooked smile. It was surprising to see him smile, in the condition he was in.

“My darling Poppy, my girl in the red riding hood. You are so beautiful, I’m so proud of the young woman you have become” he smiled at her “It was my idea you know? The hood. I wanted to teach you but as fate would have it...” he trailed off coughing and spluttering “I never wished this for you my child, I’m so sorry”

“No papa, no. You did it to protect me and you did. You did protect me papa, I’m alive and so are you”

“Not for long” he smiled a crooked smile that didn’t quite reached his eyes as he spluttered again

“Don’t say that Henry” Poppy’s grandmother was suddenly next to them, soaked in pigs blood.

“I know I’m not going to be so lucky this time Mother but know that I love you and that I am so grateful that you helped raise Poppy” tears welled up in both their eyes as she grabbed his hand and brought it to her cheek

“Of course my son, I love you so much” she stayed like that for a moment before stepping away muttering something about giving us a second alone.

“Poppy do you you know why I insisted on a red hood? Or the name Poppy? Symbolising red? She shook her head “it’s because, when I woke in a daze after I had been attacked before you were born, what I saw was your mother; she was covered in my blood. Her face was filled with steely determination and love with such a willingness to save me; she was the strongest woman I had ever seen; stronger than anyone I’d seen even and it only made me fall in love with her deeper. I see you now, covered in my blood simalarily with a face full of steely determination and emotion- not to keep me alive however, you’re smart enough to see that it’s not going to happen but instead to keep your eyes on me, filled with love and for that I cannot thank you enough” he leaned forward and kissed her forehead and she let a few stray tears escape

“I love you papa”

“I love you too, my little red riding hood” and with that his life drained from his eyes and he was gone.

“No!” Screamed Poppy “No! Papa No!” She was shaking him now. Her grandmother grabbed her and pulled her close and there they stayed grieving into the night. A silent knowledge laying heavily on their shoulders.

Nothing will ever be the same. Poppy will never be the same.