Friends With the Monster - private

[Saiytanya]

Kara didn't even hear to conversation behind her as she was fully focused on Lavinias. "Mesozoic era? Like, with the dinosaurs? Well, that's odd." She pursed her lips and reached a hand up to the time stone, "I suppose it's this one's fault. I must have accidentally activated when I got hit in the head with that barrel." She glanced back at the others and saw that Druian was finally standing and talking to the others. She only caught the last bit of the conversation, Loki explaining Khan and talk of speaking to his mother and Kara perked up. "We can go and get him right now." She smiled, "Leave you guys to talk. Lavinias and I can handle it."


Druian looked over at Kara, his eyes full of confusion and curiosity, his words interrupting her earlier statement, "So, you're not really my sister?" He asked, his eyes shifting briefly to Lavinias then back to Kara.


Kara laughed, "Well, yes and no. I am Kara, and you exist as my brother in my universe. How to explain..." She paused, looking down at the ground as she attempted to find the best way to explain everything to him. "I am Kara if different choices were made in her life. I still grew up with you, played with you as children, beat you up." She gave him a playful look at that before continuing, "Like, I'm sure in some universe you chose not to become an Einherjar. You would still be you, but your life would be extremely different."


Druian nodded, though his brows were still furrowed, "I see," he glanced to the disheveled prince, "Then he is your King in your dimension?" Kara nodded and he finally relaxed, not entirely sure how to deal with the whole thing, or what was going to happen now that there were two Loki's, he looked back at the King, "What title would best suit this...other Loki?"


"Think of him as Loki's twin," Frigga told him after Loki had told him how to address her other son, seeing that the poor man still seemed a bit wary about the whole thing.


Druian nodded before looking back at Kara, "You said you're going to go and get this other man? Allow me to accompany you. I cannot in good faith allow my sister and this lovely woman to go into potential danger without a guard."


Kara laughed at that and looked at Lavinias, they both knew full well that they could handle themselves. But Kara also knew full well that men needed to feel useful. Looking at Lavinias, she thought toward her, hoping she was listening, 'Should we let him come?' At the other woman's hesitance confirmation she looked back at Druian with a smile, "Very well, but you need to listen to me. I've been doing this for a while, I know what I'm doing." She held her hand out, "Take it." Druian looked wholly confused but he took the hand as she directed. Kara meanwhile looked at Lavinias, grabbing on to the woman's hand with her other, "Okay, Mesozoic Earth," The stone around her neck began to glow brightly, "Find him Lavinias." Eventually both women began glowing as well and the floor fell underneath them.


Moments later they landed in water, about 30 feet from a raging waterfall and deep enough that they could only just touch the bottom with tippy toes. "OH!" Kara exclaimed, "Cold, cold, cold!" She quickly began swimming her way toward the shore, pulling herself up onto the warm, sun heated rocks. She waited for the others to join her before drying them all off and standing to look at their surroundings. It was a beautiful place, to be certain. The jungle around then was gigantic, off in the distance they could see the beautiful long neck of a brontosaurus eating from the trees. The water of the river was crystal clear and beautiful colored fish swam around within. Not too far from where they stood was an obvious stone wall, a heave wooden door fitted into it, "Who want's to bet that's where they're staying?" They moved toward it and just as they were about to knock, the heavy door of the wall opened to reveal a rather odd sight, a wild-man of a person, who was very obviously, Khan.







T O X I C P A S T I C H E


I was thinking, maybe Mel's off hunting? He could come it while they're talking?

[Saiytanya]

Druian smirked as the woman shot back about manhandling him, "You shouldn't promise such things, dear lady." He teased back as the continued on their way. While the woman was much shorter than him and looked quite frail, she certainly was a firecracker and he couldn't help but admire her spirit. As she gave her name he smiled, "I'd prefer Lavinias. Being your friend seems like the better choice and the more entertaining one."

---

Druian stood when he was allowed and looked at the King curiously as he explained things. Turning to look at Kara when the King mentioned she was no of this dimension his eyes passed over her form curiously, "So, you're not really my sister?" He looked toward Lavinias, the beautiful Joten garbed woman didn't seem phased by any of this, then she was from this Kara's...universe. His eyes looked back at his sister and she began explaining things to him. It was still a bit confusing, but he sort of understood it. "I see," He managed to get out before looking at the...not the King? "Then he is your King in your dimension?" His sister nodded and he relaxed slightly and looked back at his King, "What title would best suit this...other Loki?"



The King gave him something to call the other and Druian nodded, the Queen-Mother's voice causing him to turn to look at her."Think of him as Loki's twin."


Druian nodded and looked back at Kara. She had mentioned something about going to get the final member of their party. Loki had mentioned that this man could help against Thor. It was best to know about all potential enemies so he gave a concerned look, "You said you're going to go and get this other man? Allow me to accompany you. I cannot in good faith allow my sister and this lovely woman to go into potential danger without a guard."


The women seemed to have some sort of silent understanding pass between them before Kara accepted his coming under the condition that he listen. He nodded and took the hand offered to him. Then something happened that Druian was fully not expecting. The stone around Kara's neck began glowing and then the women began glowing as well. Before he knew it they were falling through space and landing in the freezing cold water of a river. Instinctively he moved to try and help Lavinias, but she seemed to have this swimming thing down pat. His only trouble was his heavy armor and he was forced to walk the length to the shore. If it had been any deeper, he would have been drowned by the metal.


As he joined the women on the shore he looked around incredulous, his mind in shock of what had just transpired. Even more so when he was suddenly try and his sister was walking toward a stone wall not too far away. He moved with them and as the door opened, his brows raised in shock. This was the man they were rescuing?

***

Time passed and Lavinias had not come. While Khan had tried to hold out hope, eventually, he just couldn't continue. Either Kara had refused to rescue him or they simply couldn't find the right time and place. For all he knew, by the time they arrived, he would be an wrinkled old man and what use would it be if he were on his death bed when the finally came? Kara certainly wouldn't wish to make him young again and Lavinias would surely prefer him dead. He wasn't sure if the boy still hoped, they never spoke of it. It was too hard for them to do.


He sat in the cave, stringing a few teeth onto his third necklace when he hear something slash into the water, "Damnit!" He muttered, tieing off the end and slipping it around his neck. It was probably another damned pterodactyl that decided to die over their river. He needed to go and fish it out, or it would get stuck in the rocks and taint their water for a few days. Then something reached his ears that changed his mind entirely--voices--female voices. He rushed to the door then and unhooked it, pulling it open roughly and staring at the sight before him with wild, large eyes.


Khan was certainly an odd sight to see, his black hair was shoulder length and looked like it had been crudely cut on the bottoms. His skin was a darker tan, from hours and hours outside and his chest was bare, adorned only by the three necklaces of dinosaur teeth and claws of varying sizes. He had two bracelets on either arm of smaller flatter teeth. His bottom half was adorned with an animal skin kilt and his feet were covered in crudely made shoes of rough dino-leather. He looked at Lavinias, his pale blue eyes piercing, "And what sort of time do you call this?" Before the woman had a chance to react he rushed to her, taking her up in his arms and kissing her passionately.


Behind him Druian raised a brow, swearing under his breath. So the man they were coming to get was the lovely woman's lover. His jaw tensed and he looked over at Kara, "How serious are they?" Beside him Kara giggled and shrugged, "I don't think even they know." Druian just glowered then, watching the two with gritted teeth. Maybe he would get lucky, maybe there was still a chance.


Khan pulled from Lavinias then and looked down on her with concern, "Why did you take so long. We'd nearly given up." He had given up, but he couldn't admit that to her, though his eyes betrayed his complete and utter shock of her sudden return. He wasn't certain how long it had really been, years, at least. From the brush he heard something move and instinctively pushed Lavinias behind him a pulled the Klingon dagger from his side. But seeing a familiar young man coming he visibly relaxed, his eyes shifting to the kill he was toting being him. The boy--no the young man--was getting better and better at catching larger game. He couldn't help but smirk, "Mel. We have guests." He stepped aside then, to let the boy see his sister standing behind him.

T O X I C P A S T I C H E

[T O X I C P A S T I C H E]

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XXX

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▉▉▉▉▉xxxxx★xxxxx ❨ Lavinias Anona ❩ ↙ ↙ xxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed;
get along with the voices inside of my head - -
You're trying to save me...stop holdin' your breath.
And you think I'm crazy? Yah, you think I'm crazy.
Well, that's nothing.

“I believe so,” Lavinias responded. It was pretty unbelievable, but Kara came up with a plausible explanation for it: the time stone had somehow activated, probably in attempt to protect the woman. To Lavinias’ relief, Kara offered to take her to get Khan and Melluvian sooner rather than later. It hadn’t been all that long, but she didn’t want to leave Mel alone with Khan for as long as she could help it. Who knew what lies he was feeding the boy? The very thought of them having a conversation together made her stomach churn slightly—even though Khan had said he wouldn’t dream of hurting the boy, if Mel was being any bit as impudent as she was in any way, he wouldn’t exactly be safe. And for heaven’s sake, there were dinosaurs. Every second that passed was a second too late. “That sounds like a good idea to me,” Lavinias responded mildly. She didn’t know what was going on between Kara and Loki, but it appeared she wanted some distance for the time being.

Loki—the one Lavinias was familiar with—looked at her with confusion, but if he was going to say anything, Druian’s questions distracted him. Lavinias listened quietly as they tried to explain the situation to him. It was almost sad to hear him realize that Kara wasn’t, in some sense, his sister. Not the one he had grown up with. Slowly he came to understand, and he had more specific questions that the group answered.

It wasn’t until he mentioned that he wanted to accompany her and Kara on their journey to get Khan that Lavinias perked up a bit. Her lips parted, not sure whether if she wanted to inform him that they needn’t need a guard—especially one that was weaker than both of them—or that him coming along probably wasn’t the best idea. But she saw the look in his eyes, persistent, and her lips pressed back together. Kara’s question entered her mind, and she glanced at the woman. ‘I really wouldn’t recommend it,’ she admitted, ‘but if he wishes to come, I won’t stop him. It is not my place.’ Perhaps it would be better this way—there could be a situation in which an extra person came in handy.

She grabbed Kara’s hand, clearing her mind, searching for the light in her mind that was Khan. It didn’t take long, with two other stones present, even though he was living in a different era than they. In a matter of moments she had found him, relayed his position to Kara through a mind connection, and the portal was created.

There was a splash as they landed in a river. Immediately Lavinias felt the heavy coat she was wearing weighing her down, and she slipped out of it, and under the water before heading towards the shore. Her body didn’t even have time to react to the change of environment by the time she made it there, joining Kara. While they waited for Druian, Lavinias took a look at their surroundings. A lush and thriving jungle surrounded the area, but not far from the pool of water they had emerged from. Earth, to be certain, was beautiful in its own right. Her eyes traveled to a door fashioned into the mouth of what must have been a cave. Lavinias let out a sigh of relief; they had found somewhere safe to stay, at least. “It’s so humid here,” Lavinias mumbled. She wasn’t sure if the moisture on her skin was from the water or the humidity. “There's only one way to find out,” Lavinias said as they moved towards it. She raised her fist and cleared her throat, but the door opened before her hand met with the wood, and her eyes fell upon the figure at the door, rendering her speechless.

He looked utterly savage. His hair was long and unkempt, his skin darker than she had ever seen it, and he was hardly wearing anything, and the only thing on his upper body was a necklace adorned with teeth and claws. But what struck her the most was his shocked look—he looked genuinely surprised to see her, as if he hadn’t expected her to come for him. His rumble of a voice seemed more grizzly than usual, and before she had time to do much more than look at him in awe, he had her in his arms. He pulled her in, her heart hammering away in her chest, as their lips met. For those few moments, she forgot that there were even other people around. There was only him, and the rush of his touch, his muscles seeming stronger than ever as her hands rested on his chest. If there was ever a setting that more fit her attraction to him, she was unaware of it. When he parted, she felt her eyes staring at his chest before moving back to his concerned gaze.

Her brow furrowed slightly. “Long? It’s been no longer than a week,” she said, her voice confused as her fingers reaching to his hair. He was not one to exaggerate, and his long locks suggested that he’d been there for a long time. Longer than a week, at least. “Did you give up that easily?” she asked, looking at him intently. No, he couldn’t have. They had spoken not that long ago in their minds, she had found out where he was.

Something rustled from the jungle, and in an instant Khan had moved instinctively to protect her, obscuring her view of what was going on. From the line of vibrant jungle bushes and trees stepped a young man. His skin was tanned, like Khan’s, but darker, as it was darker in the first place. His dark brown hair was kept shorter than Khan’s, curling only slightly, giving it a tousled look. He was a little shorter than six foot, around Lavinias’ height, but not quite done growing. His muscles were not as bulkily defined as Khan’s but they were still prevalent; he was in shape, and looking healthy. Like Khan, he wore nothing on his chest save for necklaces with prizes from his kills, and hanging low on his waste was a leather pair of shorts—well, more light underwear—that were tightly fitted to his body. Over his shoulder was the carcass of a dinosaur that was bigger than he with the tail included, which he had killed. It would provide at least a week’s worth of dinner.

Amber eyes travelled to the two figures near Khan—on of which he recognized as the woman that had created to portal that sent them there: Kara. He dropped the carcass with a thud, eyes turning to Khan. They had guests. His mind froze at that as the man moved away to reveal the figure that could only be Lavinias.

When Khan said Mel’s name, she had expected to see a boy—her little brother, and her eyes filled with tears. But when he moved aside, a young man was staring at her. He had the same amber eyes, the same messy hair—but he looked strong, and so old. She looked at Khan in disbelief, but the smirk on his lips said everything, and she looked back to her brother. “I don’t understand,” her mind was in a daze, and her whisper was audible only to Khan. “It’s only been—only a week…less than that…” A hand moved to cover her mouth, to keep her incessant babbling inward.

The young man was grinning now, walking rushed, and then running to her. “Lavinias!” His embrace around her was strong and warm, and he picked her up and spun her around a few times. “I never stopped believing you’d come back,” he whispered into her ear before finally parting wit her. His eyes filled with concern as Lavinias’ shock was obvious. She was out of it for a few moments before she looked at him—really looked at him, and a hand moved to his jawline delicately. There was light scruff there.

“How did this happen?” she asked, her tears gone now.

“It’s been three years, at least, Lavinias." He had kept track of every day in a makeshift journal he had made out of a rock with some charcoal. "You didn’t expect I’d be a boy forever, did you?” his tone was soft. Her burgundy eyes only widened, and her head turned to Khan.

“Three years?” Her hand ran through her hair, and she looked back at Mel. “I’m so sorry, brother.” And a small, sad smile formed on her lips. “You have grown into a fine man.” That being said, he was way to handsome for his own good. ‘What…what happened?’ she thought to Khan. ‘How is he—?’ she didn’t even know what to think. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach. The time stone, of course. It had to do have malfunctioned somehow. She turned to the rest of the group. "I-I think I need a minute." She moved away, towards the water where they had landed.

Three years. She crouched down, looking through her reflection in the water to the bottom. That was three years of his life that she had missed, that she would never have back. Three years with Khan, and he looked better than ever. No wonder Khan didn't seem annoyed at her, or angry about the last time they had been together. But it would return soon, wouldn't it? His anger at her. It was never kept at bay for long.





Saiytanya

short but fun to write x3

[T O X I C P A S T I C H E]

SECRETISSECRET
xxxxxx LOKI LAUFEYSON x§x BURDENED WITH GLORIOUS PURPOSE
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Kara seemed all to eager to avoid the fact that he wanted to speak with her about everything. He didn’t want her to leave with Lavinias to go get Khan—he wanted to speak with her as soon as possible. That was selfish of him, he knew, but he didn’t care that it was selfish. He wasn’t about to say anything in front of everyone, though. She would have her time away, if only for a little bit, while Loki could take the time to speak with Frigga. “Very well,” he couldn’t hide the slight irritation in his tone, but it was to be expected. He had found Kara, but upon their reuniting he had been able to spend no time with her alone, and very little time with her at all anyway.

It was a bit entertaining, really, to see Druian struggle to understand what was going on. Loki didn’t like the fact of Kara being dead at all, in any parallel universe, but he didn’t mind the feeling of taking her away from her rotten brother. His spite for the man ran deep—although when he thought about it, perhaps Loki should thank him. It was his brother’s arrogance and rude behavior that had led him to meet Kara in the first place. He wondered briefly if the man knew that, and what he thought about it if he did—if he regretted his actions, whether because he saw Loki was a fit match for his sister now and he regretted his actions, or if he detested the fact that Kara loved him. That was the same in all dimensions—or at least, in two.

Now, what to have the man call him. “Does ‘your royal highness’ not suite me here?” Loki asked, an eyebrow perked. Druian served him in both worlds—so why not stick to the titles he deserved? “Prince is a title fine enough.” He was, after all, not quite a king yet—well, technically. But he had been acting as king for quite some time. It was a suitable title for Druian to use here, anyway.

Loki hated to admit it, but he did feel slightly better when Druian insisted that he go with Kara and Lavinias. If he had already lost Kara once, he would not let her take any unnecessary risks on the trip. He watched as Kara took both her brother and Lavinias’ hands, and started to glow. “Be careful, my love,” he whispered, watching them until they were gone.

There was a pregnant pause of silence between the three after the other three were gone. Finally, the King spoke. “I have work to do. The sooner we find Thor if he is plotting an attack, the better.” He turned and kissed Frigga on the cheek gently. “I am sorry to have disappointed you so, mother,” he whispered to her before turning to Loki. “I know you blame me, and yet you don’t at the same time. Take my apology for what it is: I am only sorry that this Kara is not the one I first believed it to be; my own. Speak with mother, if you wish. If you need me, I shouldn’t be hard to find.” With that, the King took his leave.

Loki looked at Frigga, before moving towards Odin’s chambers and opening the door for her, motioning for her to enter. After she had entered, he followed, shutting the door lightly so as not to disturb Odin. It was more of a polite gesture than anything—if something was going to wake him up, it would have been their earlier skirmish. He wasted no time. “Loki Laufeyson, mother. That is who I am, no matter what universe.” He looked at her, his expression calm, but his eyes filled with past anger that never be distinguished. “Tell me, are you planning on telling him, or are you going to wait until he realizes what is different about him on his own? Because I’ve been through this. I know what is like to have been lied to my whole life,” anger was rising in his tone, and he looked away, not wanting to upset her. She wasn’t a feeble woman, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to feel the pain and lack of remorse in Loki’s words, and feel hurt as a result. “I spoke with Laufey in Jotunheim. I know what Odin has done. Is that why I am to be King here? Because Odin wishes to repent? Or is it simply because Thor has made some irreversible mistake that cannot be forgiven, despite Odin’s clear favor for him?” Damn it, this conversation was not going to end well if he kept this up. His eyes softened momentarily, and he looked at his mother. “You need to tell him. He will take it better than I. He is in a better place than I was.”



Saiytanya

[Saiytanya]

When Lavinias mentioned that they'd only been apart for a week he tilted his head to one side. Had it only been a week for them? They must have somehow misused the time stone. He looked over at the Valkyrie, with a darker expression, or perhaps she had done it on purpose? But no, she knew how much Lavinias cared for her brother and Kara cared too much for Lavinias to do such a thing to her. The Aesir was far too kind hearted to be so cruel as to try to abandon them to their death, despite her fear of him. When she asked if he had given up he paused, but didn't answer. He didn't want her to know. His pride wouldn't allow it. He was meant to be a rock, unbreakable, immovable. No. She couldn't know. She could never know.


Khan moved away so that Lavinias could have a proper reunion with her brother, his eyes remaining locked on them for the time being. Off to the side of them he though he heard the Valkyrie say something, but he wasn't paying attention. His eyes watched Lavinias, her shock. Part of him felt bad for her, knowing she had missed so much time in her brother's life. Part of him felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that her impudence came with a price. If it had only been a week, then likely she was still angry with him, and her betrayal had been more recent. Khan felt annoyance rise up in him as he thought of what he would have to go home to... A mess that she created that he would have to fix. Let her cry. She deserved it.


It was only then that he realized the third person. The person who wasn't Loki but was equally, ridiculously dressed. "Who is this?" He glowered, his blue eyes meeting with the paler blue eyes of the man. The other man approached and spoke, "I am Druian Halvorson, brother of Kara." Khan's eyes shifted to Kara with solid emotions, "I see. Very well." His head shot toward the door as a few members of their little proto-human club poked their heads out, seeming to test if it was safe before the entire clan of 15 came out to inspect their guests. One of the males moved up to Druian and banged his chest wildly and the Aesir just stared at him unimpressed.


Another of the males spotted Lavinias near the water and ran at her, grabbing onto her hair with the intention of dragging her off but Khan was by her side in a flash and decking the filthy creature who backed away, avoiding eye contact as Khan growled at him, clearly getting his point across, "Mine." He sneered. He bent down and picked Lavinias up, pulling her to his side, and facing the others as he pointed at her, "No. No touch." He had trained them to understand a few important words. 'No' and 'touch' had been among the first words he had taught them and they understood them, all of the males backing up with eyes averted.


Khan released her then and looked down at her with his bright blue-green eyes that were only made brighter by his tanned skin. "Forgive me. They needed to understand. If you had fought back they would have ganged up on you. They don't comprehend a strong woman. They understand little." He explained to her calmly, tilting his head to one side. A hand reached up and moved over her hair where the beast had grabbed, smoothing it down gently, "Are you all right?" It was have in regards to the hair grabbing and half in regards to her brother. "I know it's frustrating for you. But there was nothing myself or Mel could have done to have given you a better time zone to search. We're just lucky it was only three years and not fifty. He's a strong man, though. He has learned much and proven himself an excellent warrior. I think, perhaps, the Lacertean society just never gave him a sure enough chance."


Across the way Druian glowered at the wild man, 'Khan's' little display. So the man was protective? Druian could take him. While the man looked strong, Druian was an Aesir, they were biological pinnacles of evolution in the galaxy, he was a God compared to him. Behind him he heard his sister scream and turned with his sword drawn. She was pushing away one of the creatures, with an annoyed expression and the idiot didn't seem to get the point. Another behind her reached out for her arm and Kara smacked him away, only causing the beasts to get more riled up and the other males to join in. Kara was obviously trying to not just kick the crap out of them, which Druian knew full well she could easily do. He was about to move over to help her, when the young man beat him to it. Well, that worked.

T O X I C P A S T I C H E

Druian's color is brown, but I'm thinking it may be too close to the red, let me know if it's confusing you.

[Saiytanya]

Kara's mouth dropped when here eyes fell upon Mel, her eyes widened and a faint, "Oh my..." Slipped from her lips. The boy was no longer a boy and he was gorgeous. For several moments her mind went blank as she shamefully gawked, her eyes transfixed on his fit form. He was no Loki, but he was definitely beautiful to look at. He would surely have his pick of the women when he returned home. Except for her of coarse, she much preferred her darling Loki's more lithe frame and pale skin. When he ran to Lavinias she shook herself out of it, turning her eyes downward. Clearly they'd gotten the time wrong. Kara was willing to offer to Lavinias to try and give it another go to get closer to their arrival, now that they knew where they wore now it shouldn't be to hard to go back, but she wasn't sure if Khan or Mel would accept that. So she kept her mouth shut, it was entirely up to them.


She let her gaze wonder then, looking out at the jungle beyond and peering through the brush at the lovely sight. It wasn't too bad a place to look at, although, with dinosaurs around, it likely wasn't much fun. From the corner of her eye she saw Lavinias move to the water's edge and she looked at her with a curious expression. This was likely quite hard for her. Kara understood only a little as she had a brother who's growing up she missed. But then she had never been particularly close to her brother and he was the elder of the two. She wanted to go and comfort her, but she suspected that she needed a moment alone. Kara would go to her when she requested. Heavens knew, Kara could use some time alone after the whole two Loki's kerfuffle.


Behind her, Kara heard the sound of the heavy wooden door opening again and she looked back to see a few head popping out. Humanoid, for certain, but they had thick brows and deep set eyes and an alarming amount of body hair. They looked out for a moment or two before an entire group of them came rushing out. Khan had a proto-human clan? Weird. It made sense though, Khan was certainly an alpha personality. She saw one of them rush Lavinias and Kara began moving to go and help her when Khan beat her to it. Effectively shooing the man?--off.


In an instant a few of them were at her as well, one of them reaching out to snatch a handful of her hair. She screamed instinctively and turned around smack the beast and shoved him back away from her. This only seemed to rile them up however as others moved over and tried grabbing ahold of her. She smacked the second one as well. She really didn't want to fight these things, although she was certain she could take them. But that whole, 'step on a butterfly' thing was worrying her. If she killed one of them by mistake how would that affect the future of the planet. If she showed them her "magic" how would that affect it. She wanted to avoid affecting the future more than Khan and Melluvian's presence already had. Her efforts to keep them away, however, were not working. "Back off!" She pushed away at another. Why weren't they getting the hint?



**Alt Asgard**



Frigga smiled warmly as her son kissed her cheek, but she said nothing, for nothing needed to be said. She watched politely as he apologized to the other Loki before moving off to tend to his duties. Prince Loki then opened the door for her and she politely entered Odin's chamber, calmly moving over to stand by his bed side. But then Loki spoke and she looked up with wide eyes before she sighed, accepting it for what it was. She politely waited until he had finished speaking, noting the growing anger and frustration in his voice as he spoke. It was upsetting, but it was to be expected, she was certain her Loki would be just as upset when he found out, but perhaps, since he was King and the Legitimate heir, he would not turn into the wild-man this Loki seemed to be.


As he finished she looked at Odin with a sad expression. "I wanted to tell him the truth from the beginning, there should be no secrets among family. But Odin made me promise that as long as your father..." She paused, knowing Loki did not consider Odin a father by his name, "my husband still lived, that I would not tell him. I cannot break my word." She sighed and stood then, moving to walk around the bed, "That being said, I do not believe Odin will survive the night." She looked up at Loki, before moving the rest of the way around the bed to stand before him. "King Loki is still the rightful heir, with or without his Jotun heritage. Loki was always the people's preferred leader growing up. He was always the smart one, if a bit mischievous."


Frigga smiled with a smile that told Loki it was a trait she adored. "and Thor, he was always starting fights, causing trouble where it could have been avoided. The people did not trust him. When he got banished, I convinced Odin that he needed to take it for what it was; a sign, a sign that he had the chance to make up for his past transgressions. The people wanted Loki on the throne, he was always the better choice." She smiled up at her son from another dimension and reached up to cup his face in her hands. "You seem as though life has not been as kind. My dear boy," She pulled his head gently toward her and moved up to kiss his forehead. "You have more than you realize. You have a legitimate claim to your own throne, through your birth mother, my daughter and if your brother Thor is as troublesome as my son Thor, you will have your chance to take the Throne. And don't forget, you have Kara. That dear girl loves you as I love Odin, she will never betray you and she will always obey your word."


She moved up to hug him warmly, kissing his cheek before whispering, "As soon as Odin takes his last breath, I swear he will be told." A few tears had grown in her eyes as she pulled away, "I fear his reaction. I only hope he understands that I am still his mother, in every way that matters and that I will always love him as I love you and as I am certain your Frigga loves you as well."







T O X I C P A S T I C H E

[T O X I C P A S T I C H E]

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XXX

█████████████████████████████████████████████████ XXX❤

▉▉▉▉▉xxxxx★xxxxx ❨ Lavinias Anona ❩ ↙ ↙ xxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed;
get along with the voices inside of my head - -
You're trying to save me...stop holdin' your breath.
And you think I'm crazy? Yah, you think I'm crazy.
Well, that's nothing.

Slowly Lavinias reached out a hand, her fingers gently grazing across the water. Mel had survived three years with Khan, and probably because of Khan. She took in a deep breath, shaking her head slightly. What she needed was a drink, but even that was no good to her now. Everything she had tried to avoid for Melluvian had come rushing back to slap her in the face. Was all this her fault? The thought crossed her mind, and she considered it carefully.

No, the Klingons had started the attack, and Khan’s crew would have tried to destroy the Enterprise anyway. The planet would have been unprotected, and the same events could have occurred from different causes. But the one thing that could have been avoided? Mel being there, and that was wholly Khan’s fault. What had he been trying to prove, taking Mellvian with him on such dangerous missions, risking his life? Not that it had suited the boy—young man now—ill, but it rubbed Lavinais the wrong way—

All thoughts halted as a painful grip tore at her hear, yanking her head backwards violently. A light gasp of pain pushed out of her lips from the back of her throat. She had heard the footfalls, but ignored them assuming, she didn’t know why, that they weren’t a threat. The burning sensation at her hair follicles now begged to differ. Before she could unleash her fury on her idiotic assailant, the grip was gone, and a word reached her ears that was both pleasing, and yet she did not like it. “Mine.” That word could have many definitions, but she was sure with Khan that it only meant one thing. Glaring at the proto-human, Lavinias felt Khan’s strong arms pulling her up, reeling her into him. In his arms was the last place she wanted to be, but before she could push away he released her.

Her simmering gaze now fell on him. “What the [********] she hissed at him, “was that?” Whatever it was, it had worked, as the males cowered back, staring ashamed at the ground. Still, these proto-humans were nothing—Khan had watched her fight to the death and not stopped in, and almost killed her once. Why would he step in now, of all times, when she needed it least? His explanation was less than satisfactory. They didn’t understand a strong woman? Well, they could have learned really quickly. But that wasn’t what was bothering her. He didn’t understand a strong woman.

When his hand move to her hair, she hesitated briefly before snapping her hand up to his wrist and removing the appendage from her completely. “I am fine,” she said calmly, despite the silent, tangible rage that radiated from her. She would not deny that he was a strong man—he looked it, and if Khan said he was, then it was most likely the truth. No, her disagreement with him aroused elsewhere. “Nothing you could have done—is that right?” She folded her arms across her chest, an angered amusement in her tone. Then a finger jutted out towards him and she moved closer, the lack of volume in her tone not at all an indicator of her anger. “Let me tell you something: we wouldn’t be here right now if you hadn’t brought him along on your monomaniacal trip to destroy an insignificant Vulcan and his crew—or at least I wouldn’t. You are lucky he ended up here with you, because if he hadn’t, I would have never come back for you.” Those words felt true now, but part of her wasn’t sure they were. She did not forgive him—not yet. She turned to head back towards the rest of the group, but paused, and whirled back around. “And you do not own me,” she said, her finger actually pressing into his chest.


- - -


Mel had expected a happier reunion with his sister, but it was quite clear that she hadn’t expected him to be as old as he was. It had only been a week for her. The thought was mind boggling for Melluvian as well, but it was explained, apparently by another stone that Kara had in her possession.

Kara—the woman was no less beautiful than he remembered, and she looked as kind as ever. He felt a bit of pride in his appearance normally, but he still felt inadequate around her—humble and embarrassed because he was unworthy. The Loki man—he was her lover, that much was clear, and he knew he had no chance with Kara. That being said, he still couldn’t shake the nervousness that he felt in his stomach when she looked at him, or the heat rising in his cheeks when he looked at her.

His gaze shifted from her to the proto-humans as they began appearing from behind the door, curiosity in their eyes. Savage as they were, their curiosity was soon clouded by the need to have what they saw before them—the beauties, creatures of femininity that they would never understand in their life spans, nor see again. One ran for Lavinias, a few others following suit, and Mel’s first instinct was to go to stop the humanoid life form, but as per usual, Khan’s instinct kicked in before his; always sharper, always quicker.

Kara’s scream was the next thing his senses picked up, and then the unmistakable sound of skin slapping against skin. Eyes of Amber shifted towards her, alarm in them. The beasts had never been smacked, never been denied by a woman before, and they didn’t appear to be taking it well as more reached out for her. Mel wasn’t stupid, and he knew the woman could fight, but she was holding back, concern and confusion in her eyes. She needed help.

Without another thought, he moved to grab the nearest proto-human between them and flung it backwards with ease. Then he barreled into the next one, effectively moving between her and the creatures. “Stop,” he ordered. But Mel was not their leader—their leader was preoccupied, and they would challenge him. So be it. His uppercut smashed into the jaw of the nearest humanoid, and the creature staggered before falling to the ground, the cracking noise stopping the rest in their tracks. “No,” he said firmly. This time, they seemed to get the hint, moving backwards in shock, their eyes wide. He scratched the back of his head, turning towards Kara. “Sorry about that,” he said, “they’re not used to seeing such a beautiful woman.” His eyes widened slightly and cheeks reddened, feeling stupid—why had he said that? “I-I mean…they don’t get—they just don’t understand…” he took a step back, realizing how close in proximity he was to her from defending her. “Sorry.”

Luckily, Lavinias was walking towards them, a scowl on her face, Khan not far behind. “Can we please get out of here?” she asked impatiently to Kara. Clearly the place had struck the wrong chord with her. Mel found her gaze, and he gave her a half smile. It was going to be okay. They would go home and he would finally fit in. She looked at him for a moment, sadness in her eyes, before finally, the smallest of loving smiles reached her lips.




Saiytanya

[T O X I C P A S T I C H E]

SECRETISSECRET
xxxxxx LOKI LAUFEYSON x§x BURDENED WITH GLORIOUS PURPOSE
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It didn’t appear that his mother was used to him speaking so boldly, so harshly and honestly with her wide eyes. However, despite his demands and lack of sensitivity, she was as composed and dignified as ever. His heart sank when he remembered the disappointment of Frigga on his own Asgard, when he had bitterly asked her if he had made her proud. She had not laughed in his face, she had not given up on him. She had asked him not to make things harder for her than they already were—than he already had. How had he become the Loki that was the mistake, while this Loki was granted the prize of becoming King? Why had the title been taken from him unjustly, and not the Loki of this Asgard?

This woman, so wise before him, felt badly for her son. But the sadness did not stem from pity for Loki, but of her love. Her love for the daughter that she had bore that Odin had murdered, the love for her grandson, whom she had taken in as her own. When she mentioned that she did not believe Odin would live through the night, Loki glanced at the sleeping man. His slumber was deep, and indeed it seemed to look impenetrable. Odin had come back from his deathbed before, much to Loki’s annoyance, but this time, it didn’t look like he would be coming back to life. Unless Kara had anything to do with it. But he doubted, after he told her what he had learned of this Odin, and possibly of his own origins, she would be willing to revive the King.

When she mentioned his own knack for being mischievous, he couldn’t stop the faint smirk rest upon his lips. The smile she adorned told him that she had always loved that about him, but if she had known the things he had done in his universe, she might think of that a little differently. It appeared Thor was no different in this world—just handled and treated differently. The way he saw fit. Did this world’s Loki lead him into fights too, as he had? Of course, words had a way with convincing people their heart’s innermost desires, so Thor’s actions in his own universe could not simply be blamed on him, though everyone’s blind love for his blunt and brash personality seemed to peg him as Thor’s problem.

He leaned into her hands as their warmth framed his face. “Did he want it—the throne?” he asked the question about himself. Growing up, he had never particularly been fond of the idea of being King—not until he realized that that would be the only way to affirm his self worth: to gain the title that was forever out of his reach. But now, she was right. His claim to the throne, his anger at it being withheld from him was righteous, in a way. He was the son of the first born of the King. “I will never forget Kara,” he said, his tone serious. At first, he had intended to use the stone within her to help gain power, but he had found so much more in her. He had never thought he would be able to love someone as much as he loved her, and she could make him feel stronger than ten thousand of Thor’s strongest lightening blasts combined. To hear his mother confirm Kara’s faith and love for him, though meant the world and more. Frigga would never be able to voice her approval in his universe; this was as close as he would get to having her blessing. “She makes me realize there is good in me—something I could never see before.” Not that he was all good—heaven’s no, he was far from it. But he was good enough to be King, whether his darkness would have to come out or not (which in all honesty, he was quite hoping it would).

He welcomed her embrace, squeezing her a little tighter than he had ever before, and felt a wistful sigh escape his mouth as her soft lips grazed his cheek. An ache pounded faintly in his chest. “It is for the best, Mother,” he said, his tone soft, reassuring, and so silky smooth with that silver tongue of his. “He may be bitter, confused. But I saw my birth mother in her icy tomb on Jotunheim, and I realized something as my gaze passed over her frozen flesh: you were the woman who raised me, who always believed in me, and whom I will always know as my true mother. You need fear not. After the anger and pain passes, he will come to you.”

He paused then, letting that sink in before moving to another topic entirely. "Mother," he said slowly, "What knowledge have you of the creature Thanos?"



Saiytanya

[Saiytanya]

Khan became rigid when Lavinias began scolding him. He stared at her, with surprising calm. Far more calm than he felt. She hadn't changed at all, and why would she? It'd only been a measly week for her. He waited until she had started moving off before grabbing her arm with a vice-like grip, his voice a deadly calm, slowly growing more and more intense a she spoke, "Perhaps, next time, you could start with a thank you. Thank you, Khan, for keeping your word and not killing my brother for calling Starfleet. Thank you, Khan, for making my planet and my people's safety a priority. Thank you, Khan, for carrying my brother off the battlefield knowing it was too much for him and giving up your chance to kill Spock. Thank you, Khan, for keeping my brother alive for three years in a carnivorous dinosaur infested jungle and teaching him to be a magnificent warrior. Thank you. Would it kill you, really? To show the slightest bit of appreciation for the things I have done instead of constantly trying to pick a fight?"


At her last words he straightened up, letting go of her with a slight push. "You're right I don't own you and I'm wondering why I want to. You clearly are determined to hate me and see the worst in everything I do." His words transferred to thought briefly, 'The only reason I don't snap Mel's neck right now is because of his own merits, I like him as a friend, as a brother and as a warrior. In fact it is my love for him as a brother that keeps me from snapping your neck.' He leaned down over her speaking darkly, his eyes intense, his voice almost a snarl, but it was low enough that the other's could not hear, "I'm done chasing after you. Why waste my time on someone who it too damned stubborn to appreciate what's in front of her? No matter what I say or do, you will never love me the way I love you. If you ever change your mind, my arms are open, but until then, I am done with you."


Druian was probably the only one who noticed the two fighting and he had to hold back the smirk that threatened to break through onto his solid expression. Well, the two certainly had their issues. Part of him wanted to go and break them up, but one, it was not his place and two, he knew enough about women to know that doing so would not earn him any points. This was a domestic dispute. No. He would wait until later, after she had some time to calm down and when she would be more receptive to his advances. Until then, he would just be patient. If there was one this Druian was, it was patient.


Although, he was rather cross with his ...sort of sister. She had said she wouldn't sleep with the King, and yet she had, come to find out he was the wrong King to her and she the wrong Kara to everyone else. What did that mean for them? Did he even have a right to be upset? He sighed, watching the young man blushing while talking to his sister. He couldn't blame him. Kara was his sister, so there was no attraction there, but he knew full well how lovely she was. She was never for want of admirers, although she had usually denies them, her eyes focused on a prize Druian did not approve of. Clearly, it was the same in another universe. This Kara was polite to the boy, but she was still very much, Loki's woman.


Khan stood up then, marching into the cave to retrieve his batleth, which was covered in strung together teeth and bones, like charms. Mel had the Klingon dagger, he left everything else, it wasn't as if the Proto-humans could use anything, and by the time modern human's began digging things up, any trace of this place would be gone. He came out of the cave and looked at Kara, who didn't even flinch when he spoke to her, "Get us out of here." Khan's expression changed to confusion when the woman actually talked back to him, but at Lavinias' confirmation that they were ready to go, the woman held out both of her arms, Khan and Druian grabbed Kara's right arm, leaving the other open for Lavinias and Mel. Moment's later, they were in the halls of Asgard and the great doors to Odin's chamber were beginning to open.

T O X I C P A S T I C H E

[Saiytanya]

Frigga was happy that Loki understood what Kara was for him. Every great man needed a woman at his side who loved him and reinforced his confidence. It was a great pity that Kara could not be that for her universe's Loki. No, her poor boy would have to find a new love, and that was sometimes not as easy as people thought. Her eyes grew wide at the mention of Loki's mother and her features grew sad. "You saw my darling girl? She's dead?" She blinked a few times curiously, "How long? Odin told me she had chosen to stay behind with Laufey and gave Loki to him in a plead for him to offer Loki a better life. I believe I may make a trip to Jotenheim, myself, to speak with Laufey after Odin passes." She seemed to relax a bit as Loki told her of how he realized that Frigga had loved him, and was, in all the ways that mattered, his mother.


Frigga looked confused when Loki asked about Thanos, however. "Thanos?" She shook her head, and behind them Odin stirred as if having a nightmare. "I have never heard of Thanos, but is seems as if the name disturbs my husband." She moved to Odin's side and placed a hand on his, the man seemed to calm at her touch and returned to his peaceful state. She looked up at Loki, her eyes showing that she was considering telling him something, but wasn't certain if she should. Looking at Odin briefly she seemed to find her resolution and looked back at Loki, "There is something that I believe you may not know. It is something I feel you and my dear Loki should know. You mother, while one of my daughters, was a child of both Odin and I. Thor, however, is not of my blood at all. In the years leading up to his birth, Odin took a mistress. I had not known about it at the time. Odin came to me, one day, with a baby, Thor, and asked that I take him as my son. Odin confessed to me his betrayal and promised that he had sent her away. I know not if he truly had."


She stood and moved around to Loki, "I love Odin, dearly, but he has never been very truthful, when it suited his needs. A trait, it seems, my dearest boy has inherited." She took Loki's hands in hers. "You were born to be a King, Loki. Do not let anyone dissuade you of that fact." She let go of his hands, "Now, Why don't you go and find your love? I must stay and tend to Odin."



****



Kara found herself rather shocked when Melluvian came to her aid, clearly he knew better than she how to deal with these creatures. She tilted her head and watched awe as he managed to drive them back. "I think you just showed them who the beta is." She told him with a faint smile. At his compliment she giggled, but more because of his fumbling reaction and attempt to explain himself. He took a step back and Kara kept her smile on him, "Thank you. That was very kind of you. I was afraid of changing history by doing the wrong thing. The presence of you and Khan could already have changed things as is." She shrugged, "Or just made another parallel universe, they seem to be quite infinite." She tilted her head to one side and reached out to place a hand gingerly on his shoulder. "You've grown into a fine man Melluvian. Though I suspect your sister will be fighting the girls off with a stick." She told him with a giggle, letting her hand drop from his shoulder, "I'm sorry we didn't arrive sooner. This seems a very savage place to be stuck."


Kara couldn't help but smile. While Melluvian was grown now, he was still quite sweet, which she found rather ironic considering he'd been stuck with Khan for so long. Surely he would have ended up with a more dark personality. But then, some people were just naturally kind, or perhaps, and Kara dreaded the thought, Khan was simply not as bad as Kara had originally thought. Khan marched up to her then, his words abrupt and harsh. "Get us out of here." Kara looked at him with raised brows, here tone a bit meaner than she intended it to be, "You are not my King. You don't give me orders." Then Lavinas approached, her tone just as impatient, but Kara felt that the woman was just upset about her brother's aging. Kara nodded and held her arms out. "You all know what to do." One by one, everyone grabbed on and in a swirl of color and light, they landed back on the palace floors right outside the Alfather's chambers.


Looking up at the door Kara felt her stomach sink. She would have to face Loki now. That little venture had only taken ten minutes, max and as Loki came out, in all his long haired, disheveled glory she took in a slow deep breath ready to resign herself when an idea struck her to put off the inevitable a bit longer. "Um, we should get you guy's rooms." Kara suddenly piped up, looking at Khan and the other's. "I can take you to...no...Druian, who would be the best person, besides the King, to talk to to get them rooms?"


Druian looked at her with quirked eyebrows, "Um, the Matron of the servants, Gretta."


"Excellent!" She beamed, doing her best to not look at Loki, "Where is she?"



Druian knew very well what was going on, well, perhaps not entirely, but enough to know that she was avoiding Loki, he wasn't certain why, but he wasn't going to play along. "I can take them to her myself, while you speak with your Prince." He looked at the others, "Come, we'll get you rooms and..." He paused looking at Mel and Khan,"...baths. I'll take you to Gretta." He moved off them, expecting them to follow. Kara's lips opened to argue and began following after, "Are you sure?"








T O X I C P A S T I C H E

[T O X I C P A S T I C H E]

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XXX

█████████████████████████████████████████████████ XXX❤

▉▉▉▉▉xxxxx★xxxxx ❨ Lavinias Anona ❩ ↙ ↙ xxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed;
get along with the voices inside of my head - -
You're trying to save me...stop holdin' your breath.
And you think I'm crazy? Yah, you think I'm crazy.
Well, that's nothing.

In a way, Khan was right: he did deserve a thank you for keeping Melluvian alive here, in this perilous jungle. “Thank you for keeping Mel safe,” she snapped at him haughtily, eyes still full of spite. There, it didn’t kill her, and she said it just as much to prove that to him than any other reason for saying it. But as for the rest—she was not going to thank him for not having an extreme reaction to Linas’ honest mistake, a murder in which only her insistence prevented. As for putting her people’s safety as a priority—he was their leader now, that was his job. There would be no thank you’s for him acting like a normal ******** human being.

At the mention of her hating him her lips tightened into a thin line. So that was what he thought? It was clear now that to him she was a nagging brat that only wanted to pick a fight. He let go of her and she pulled her arm back to her side, letting out a hot breath of irritation. “You just don’t get it.” She thought maybe he would, but he didn’t get her. He was not a man meant to have a conscience, because he already thought his choices were either without error, or if they didn’t involve killing things, that he was merciful. He was better. He was meant to be a great man, a great ruler—but he never would be if he couldn’t understand compassion. And he didn’t. At this point, she wasn’t sure why she thought he would change; trying to get him to understand the position he put her in constantly was like banging her head against a brick wall and asking it to understand the pain she felt.

His words traveled to her in thoughts briefly. Contempt rose within her as he spoke of Mel as if he was his brother, and not hers. And then he did the most absurd of things—he threatened to kill her. He was every bit serious, but she thought it almost laughable. In fact she wasn’t surprised at all that he was thinking about snapping her neck. Because that’s what he did, wasn’t it: he killed those he thought too weak in any way, or those who thought differently, disagreed, and deviated from him. She stared back up at him, eyes equally harsh and intense. ‘You want to kill me? I’d love to see you try.’ He did not scare her, and his threats, even if he did have the guts to carry them out, would never become reality—not with the stone. It hadn’t been tested yet, but she was quite sure that Khan didn’t want to test it. It knew everything about him, from the fears he claimed he didn’t have to the very thoughts he had at present, and it could easily protect her.

Not unexpectedly, he expressed his thorough doneness with her, and she couldn’t have agreed with him more. He didn’t say she didn’t love him, nor did he deny loving her—but they didn’t love the same. They were from two different cultures, let alone two different times. “Maybe you should take some time and listen to your own advice, because you hardly ever take what I have to say seriously. I’m certain your hubris will kill you before you take another’s opinion that doesn’t think exactly as you do into consideration. Good riddance,” she said as he marched towards the cave to get his things.

While the two argued, Mel was caught up in Kara speaking to him. Her comment about being the beta made him blush. “I wasn’t trying to…I just…” he just wanted to help her; he hadn’t meant to make it seem like he was vying for some position or something. She changed the topic, explaining that she hadn’t wanted to fight them off and change the timeline they were in. Melluvian thought about it seriously before speaking. “We probably have created an alternate dimension already by arriving here—or perhaps that was the timeline of this universe all along. I’m not sure we will ever know for certain.” Her hand moved to his shoulder then, causing him to tense nervously at the skin on skin contact. She was very soft. He let out a nervous laugh at her words, before growing suddenly serious. “She would do that, wouldn’t she?” he realized, concern ringing in his tone.


- - -


They were back in Asgard in a matter of seconds, and Lavinias wanted nothing more than to find solitude by herself somewhere. Luckily, it seemed Kara and her brother weren’t going to leave them without their own rooms. Lavinias glanced at Druian. At least now she didn’t have to feel a pang of remorse flirting with him—Khan had released his ‘claim,’ and she took that as a sign that she could do whatever she wanted with whomever she desired. Not that she was particularly interested in doing anything with anyone at the moment, but he was now at least a viable option in the back of her mind. He was exceedingly handsome, and at least fun to be around, which was definitely a change.

Lavinias moved to follow Druian, just as Mel and Khan did. Kara started to follow as well, but Loki called to her, saying something about needing to talk with her. A short time later, Lavinias was standing in the doorway in awe at the grand room allotted to her for the short period they would be staying on Asgard. Everything in it, from the high ceilings to the grand furniture and wall pieces were extravagant. It was the exact opposite of anything in Lacertae. “Thank you,” she muttered to Gretta before moving into the room and closing the door behind her.

The sound of it shutting echoed, and then there was silence. She took in a deep breath. She didn’t want to cry, but she felt a bit hollow physically, while her mind raced. What she needed was a good bath to mull things over in her mind. She headed to the bathroom, expecting to find a shower that was perhaps just a bit larger than one on Lacertae, but what she found was much different. The room was made of a soft gold marble, and in the middle of it was a square shaped underground pool with faucets spouting up out of three of the sides. Pillars rose around it on all four corners and there were stairs leading up to a ledge. It was empty at the moment, but with all the faucets, she doubted it would take long to fill up. She moved to the faucet that was in the center of them all, larger than the rest, and adjusted it so the temperature was hotter than she normally would have had it. This place seemed like it was made purely for indulgence, so why not indulge? There was also a get of lovely pink soap that seeped in with the water: bubbles. Water jetted out of both all the faucets, and seemed to leak into the pool from jets on the sides. It would be full in no time.

She slipped out of her shoes and the Jotun clothes, leaving nothing on save for the necklace that Kitari had crafted for her. It was by no means a finely made piece of jewelry, but it was still beautiful. And the sentiment was strong enough for the woman to wear it.

When the tub was full, the water stopped flowing automatically, and Lavinias moved over to it. The center must have been seven or eight feet deep, while there was a ledge that jetted out a few feet that was only a few inches under water, and then the decline dropped sharply probably to five feet. Slowly she slipped her body into the steamy water, her muscles immediately relaxing in pleasure. It felt pleasant, and the bubbles were certainly a nice, playful touch.



Saiytanya

[T O X I C P A S T I C H E]

SECRETISSECRET
xxxxxx LOKI LAUFEYSON x§x BURDENED WITH GLORIOUS PURPOSE
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Shock moved through Loki’s features briefly when Frigga questioned him seeing his birth mother—she didn’t know that Odin had killed her? She didn’t know that Odin had killed her. His countenance darkened, his hatred for the unforgivable man only growing. Of course she didn’t know. Frigga would never have let him kill her child, would never look at him the same way if she knew that he had murdered her because of her choice of lover. He looked at his mother, concern in his eyes. Did he have the heart to tell her the truth? That the man she loved had done such terrible things? Would it affect her? Loki had done terrible things, killed people that were more or less considered innocent, if judging from a non-Loki standpoint. But Kara knew all that and she had still loved him. She was loyal. The woman in front of him was more loyal to those she loved than anyone he had ever known. She loved him still despite his rude arrogance and his inner turmoil. Just as Kara had, Frigga would want to know the truth, and even if she didn’t—she had a right to know what had really happened to her daughter.

But perhaps it would be better if someone from this dimension, if Laufey spoke to her and revealed the entire truth about her husband. “You should speak with Laufey, and take your son with you. There is more he must reveal to you that I shan’t say. Secrets even I wish not to tell for they may break your heart.” He would leave this in the matters of people in their own world. Usually he was all up for meddling, but when it was something of this measure, something that would hurt both himself and Frigga immensely, he thought it would be better for them to work it out together without him. Laufey could explain and it would be up to them if they wanted to believe him.

Interestingly enough, it was not his mother, but his father that seemed to know about Thanos. The way he stirred abruptly was ominous, and Loki could only guess that it was a foreshadowing of what would come if they were not careful. Loki raised an eyebrow at Odin, but other than that pressed the image of him jolting in his sleep to the back of his mind. There was a look on Frigga’s face that made his eyes fill with curiosity, and the look he gave her was a receiving one, egging her to tell him whatever she was on the edge of revealing to him. It could do no harm if he was from another dimension. Or at least, that’s what he would have said if Frigga had not spoken a moment later.

At first, the words were confusing. It didn’t make sense to him. Thor wasn’t really her son—just as he was not their son. But this was entirely different, and he felt a rush of familiar contempt for Odin flood his veins, his knuckles tightening in a fist so severe they turned paler than the natural color of his flesh. Odin took a mistress. It was an intimate detail in his life that Loki wasn’t particularly keen on hearing, but it was so infuriating—because was Frigga not good enough? No, that wasn’t it. She was too good. Too wonderful, too queenly—Odin was undeserving of her, if anything. And yet he had broken a sacred bond that supposed to be knit tightly in their souls together. And Frigga was still so loyal to him. Loki felt the urge to both scream and cry—he wasn’t sure what he wanted more. Why was the world so unfair to his mother? Why did she love this retched King so? He had killed her first born and bore a son out of unfaithfulness that he loved more than the child Frigga had bore for him. It was despicable.

“Mother…” he didn’t know what to say, before she stated that perhaps Odin’s characteristics of lying was passed down to her son, meaning him as well as the King. It was a striking thought, and Loki couldn’t deny that perhaps it was true. And suddenly he hated himself for being like Odin and never seeing it. For despising the one man he hated above all others, and realizing it was because in him was the successful version of himself, denying him the access to the throne he deserved. Loki didn’t want to be a better man, he wanted to be deemed worthy and not seen as unworthy. Perhaps that’s what Odin saw in Loki: his past mistakes, and all those things he had done that made him unworthy of the throne, though he still had it. “I wish I had been a better son to you in the days before your death,” he said as she took his hands. “I promise you mother, the mistakes he has made will not be inherited by me.” Especially because he would love Kara to his deathbed, and never betray her. “Thank you.”

Just as he exited the room, he found the group had return a matter of seconds before hand. He was slightly distraught from the information he had received from Frigga, and partially angry, but the sight of Kara sent a flood of calm through him. That was, until, he realized that she seemed to be avoiding his very gaze, let alone him. He approached, nodding to Khan. “Welcome to alternate Asgard. In just as magnificent a shape as ever. You appear as if you could use some magnificence,” he added with a smirk, noting Khan’s brazen appearance. His gaze then shifted and scrutinized the other member of their party that he did not recognize. Amber eyes looked at him shyly before looking to the ground. It struck him as he studied the features of the young man’s face that that had been the boy, Melluvian. Interesting. It appeared that Kara’s injury to the head had somehow lead to a time discrepancy in the places the two groups had been sent. "We should catch up later," he added. After Khan was cleaned up and less...barbaric looking.

His eyes fell back to Kara, who seemed all too eager to show the group to rooms. Clearly she had no idea what she was talking about, and she wanted to avoid being alone with him. Loki felt a sad sigh build up within him. Was he that abrasive that she did not wish to speak to her about the matters of the heart that needed to be healed before they could move on with their relationship? No doubt if they didn’t get past this now, her guilt would grow worse, as would his own. Luckily, it appeared that Druian wasn’t about to let his sister off the hook so easily. Perhaps there was something yet that the two could agree on. “Kara, let Druian handle things. It is not your place to carry out such tasks here,” he said, his tone carrying a healthy measure of sternness and a bit of annoyance in it. He approached her, stopping about a few feet away. It felt as if every step of progress they had made together had been wiped away, and it was frustrating. “We have matters to discuss,” he said, his tone low. “Do you not wish to be in the presence of your Prince any longer?” He didn’t wait for her answer. “Then follow me.”

He turned and headed down the hallway, leading her if she would follow until they were in the familiar refuge of the underused library. He turned when he heard the door shut behind them. “Kara,” he said patiently, looking at her. “You must stop this now.” Again his voice was firm, but not an ounce hateful—he was genuinely concerned for her. “Whatever transpired between yourself and the King was not your fault.” He stepped closer, grabbing hold of her arms. “Do you understand?” he asked, looking into her eyes as he loomed over her. He would not let her think otherwise. It would not be allowed.



Saiytanya

I hope it's all right that I had her follow him. If not, then just let me know and I can edit.

[Saiytanya]

Khan couldn't deny that he was impressed by the architecture of this place. It was a spectacular sight to be certain as the Prince greeted him Khan gave an amused snort, "A bath, yes. Your eccentric level of magnificence? No thank you." There was a pleasantly playful hint to Khan's words, however subtle they were. The Prince did amuse him and some small part of him was grateful to see him again. Any grievances he had with him previously, for the moment, forgotten. It remained that they Prince was his ally, and he would not complain. He had been the ruler in his own land, here, Loki was the one in charge, and Khan would respect that as the visiting party.


The the brother of Kara mentioned a bath and Khan looked over at him then down at himself and shrugged. He was rather clean all things considered, but he certainly could use some grooming. A hair cut and a shave that wasn't done with a flat blade would be a great thing to have, and perhaps some real clothing, aside from the skins of his kills. Yes. A hot bath would be rather nice. He moved to follow the man, and in due time they met the rather motherly old woman who was the matron of the servants. Druian took his leave and the old woman took Lavinias to her room first.


"My dear, I'll send some servants in after you've had a chance to bath to take your measurements and git you some clothing." She told Lavinias sweetly. "If there is anything you need, pull that rope against the wall to summon a servant." She turned to the men then, "Come along you. To the men's guest wing." She lead them through the decadent halls to another part of the palace before directing them to two rooms across from one another, "The left for the handsome young one. The right for the wild man." She smiled sweetly.

Khan looked at her with raised brows. Well, he was a wild man, but the boy was rather wild looking as well, "Thank you." Khan found himself saying regardless, the woman seemed too polite to be rude to.

"The same for you, I will sent some valets to come and take care of your clothing situation." She gave them both a nod before moving off and disappearing down another hallway.


Khan looked at Mel incredulously, "This seems so very odd after so long in the wild." He chuckled and moved to push his door open, "Maybe they'll have food with more flavor than Stegosaurus meat and fruit." He left with that pleasant though lingering int he air and went in to go and take a bath. He had almost fallen asleep in the warm water when the doors opened and five men came in with a stack of clothing and grooming supplies. They ushered him out, dried his body for him and put up in a pedestal to have his measurements taken. Then he was moved to a chair to have his hair cut and his scruff shaved, while one of the men modified a few of the garments they had brought. He was then dressed in thin cloth undergarments(top and bottom) followed by black leather pants, a well designed and fitted black leather shirt with blood red highlights, fitted metal bracers and high leather boots with several straps.


While it had disturbed him at first, Khan found he rather liked the pampering. It wasn't something he had ever really had. Even when he was a ruler on Earth, he had never kept servants for his purpose, to clean house and cut his hair, sure, bot nothing so elaborate. Perhaps, after he took over other planets, he would make the Vulcan's his personal servants? After he was dressed he was lead by a servant out to the hallway where he met up with Mel, who was similarly dressed, and together, the two were lead into a great hall with a long table, covered in food. "It seems we may need to make certain we remember our manners, Mel." He told the young man, his gaze turning to him with an excited glint and a faint smirk. His mouth was watering at the sight and smells of the decadent food. Yes, it would indeed be hard to remember their manners.

****

Druian had been required to return to his duties after taking the small group to Gretta, he was an Einherjar after all. After his shift he requested the honor of gathering their female guest and it had been granted. So he made his way to the female guest wing and knocked firmly on the door, waiting for it to be opened before offering a bow. He was no longer in his armor, but instead in the more casual Einherjar garb, suited for a fine evening dining. "Lavinias, allow me to guide you to the dinning hall, I expect you must be rather hungry. It would be my honor." He held a hand out, a small smile on his lips as he waited for her to take it. Pale blue eyes were focused on her, a light playful glint in them.

T O X I C P A S T I C H E

This same thing that happened to Khan with the servants will happen with Mel and Lavinias. ^.^ Except, you know, a dress for Lavinias, razz

[Saiytanya]

Kara visibly cringed when Loki called for her. This was it, she wasn't getting out of it this time, she would have to face him. It was unavoidable. Her head hung as she let out a small sigh before turning. She was about to answer his question when he moved away, obviously expecting her to follow. Well, so be it. Holding her head as high as she could and putting on a brave space she moved to follow after. She immediately recognized the path they were taking. She knew where they were going before they arrived. The Library.


As they entered the beautiful place, her favorite place on Asgard, Kara waited for Loki to speak, which he didn't do until the doors closed. She looked at him with sad wide eyes as he scolded her. It was not rude, but she still felt awful. She listened quietly, her eyes turning away from him. She couldn't bare to look at him, even though he didn't blame her, he was wrong. He was being too kind. As he grabbed onto her arms she felt compelled to look back at him, her face contorted with sadness, her brows furrowed her lip fighting the urge to quiver. She shook her head, "No. You're wrong." She broke away from him, turning to walk toward the display of Ydrassil. "It is my fault. I should have known! I should have been able to tell! The stone knew! But it saw fit not to tell me until I saw you both in the same room! 'Every loki is your Loki' it said," Tears were welling up in her eyes, her lip quivering as it pleased, she shook her head, looking down at the ground, "That's a lie, your my Loki, my only Loki and I...I slept with him!"


She expected Loki to hate her for it. How could he not? His willingness to forgive her just made her more angry. She wanted to hit something, to put a hole through a wall, "I couldn't tell the difference! He was so like you, the way he moved, the way he spoke, that mischievous glint in his eyes, even his smell and..." --his taste. She couldn't say it out loud, she just couldn't bring herself to say it. "What does that make me? That I can't see through the lies? A harlot? A fool? I don't deserve you. I'm not worthy to call you my love." She sat down on the short marble wall that surrounded the Ydrassill display, leaning down to put her head in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees.


"I can't...I can't look at you without thinking of what I did with him, how I betrayed you..." Her green eyes finally looked up to meet with Loki's blue, her sadness and regret clearly reflected in them, "and it breaks my heart." She didn't know what to do; how to fix it. Frigga had been kind, even she had said Kara had betrayed no one. If that was really the case, how come she still felt like she had? Tears wet her cheek now, despite how much she had been fighting them. She felt awful. She wanted to just vanish, to just disappear. Her emotions were a wreck and all around her the books were beginning to crumble. Even the marble was cracking under her feet. She needed to calm down. She needed to stop it, but she didn't know how. She didn't know how to make everything better again; not with Loki, not with her out of control power. Everything was falling apart and she hated it.







T O X I C P A S T I C H E



I figure they can always show up late to dinner or Loki can lead them there, or they can skip it entirely.

[T O X I C P A S T I C H E]

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XXX

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▉▉▉▉▉xxxxx★xxxxx ❨ Lavinias Anona ❩ ↙ ↙ xxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm friends with the monster that's under my bed;
get along with the voices inside of my head - -
You're trying to save me...stop holdin' your breath.
And you think I'm crazy? Yah, you think I'm crazy.
Well, that's nothing.

As someone who very much enjoyed learning about other cultures and their history, Mel could only gape in awe as he tried to imagine how such a grand palace was made. Had it been slave labor, genius, or simply some sort of magic? While it was much different than Lacertae, the young man couldn’t complain that it didn’t excite him to be in such a place, even if Khan had a distaste for such things.

Melluvian couldn’t help but snicker as the woman called Khan a ‘wild man’ while previously referring to him as a ‘handsome young one.’ His only reaction was raised brows, but Mel gave a half grin and looked at the woman. “Many thanks,” he told her as Khan thanked her as well. She was so polite, so pleasant, not even Khan seemed to be bothered by her banter. Before she left she mentioned that they were going to get new clothes, which quite frankly sounded heavenly to him. He was severely underdressed here. “Odd, but not unwelcome. It’s nice to be back in the civilized world,” Mel responded, a faint smile on his lips. He was grateful, actually for his time in the wild with Khan—it had taught him a lot of things, and pushed him farther then he would have ever got on his own. But it had also taught him to appreciate things and places such as these. At the mention of dinner, Mel flat out grinned. “I can’t wait to find out.” With that the men headed to their rooms. Even the privacy of having a separate place to take care of himself was wonderful to him.


- - -


Lavinias took the requisite time needed to bath as she thought about her options for the future. Perhaps going back to Lacertae wasn’t the best option for her anymore. Loki had expressed needing her help on Asgard; if she could get used to life here, then maybe his Asgard could offer her something. She didn’t want to endanger her people, and that seemed to be all her actions were doing. They were lucky so far that Khan had not punished them for her actions. He clearly felt things would be better off without her. But still, it would be extremely painful to leave everyone, and she wasn’t completely convincing herself that she could do it, that she could trust Khan.

Overall, by the time she stepped out of the bath, dried herself, and pulled a robe over her body she was still no closer to knowing what she was going to do. Luckily, it was only a few moments later that the servants knocked at the door and distracted her with taking her measurements, bustling around her, and helping her get ready for dinner. She had only been pampered like this once before, and it had been before she was to die. This time it was a bit more pleasant, and she was polite to these strangers because she was their guest. The dress she wore had a dark collar made of a soft, almost leathery material that draped around her elegantly. From the center a white, silky fabric fit tightly against her body in an a-line fashion. It was much more modest than the last dress she had worn, and although she would have very much appreciated wearing her Jotun clothes instead, this would do because it had to.

After the servants finished the intricate braids looping around her much more manageable than usual hair, they left, and told her that her escort would be arriving soon. Despite herself, Lavinias looked into the mirror. She had never really been interested in appearances—that was something she was never taught, unless the importance of looking menacing counted. Right now, she looked anything but strong. She looked positively dainty, or perhaps ethereal was a better word—not nearly as beautiful as any of the Asgardians in her own mind, for certain, but still. The delicateness of the silk made her skin look softer somehow, and her arms being completely visible showed just how much muscle she lacked compared to her Lacertaen counterparts. She looked weak. Her brow furrowed. Was she?

Just then there was a nock on the door: the servant that would be her escort. When she moved to open it, however, she found that it was Kara’s brother, Druian. She looked at him, not sure if she didn’t want to deal with him at the moment, or if he was just what she needed. The playful glint in his eyes and his words won her over eventually (not to mention he looked rather dashing). He was debonair, and she was beginning to think perhaps a bit too soon that he was a better match for her—at least for having some fun. “I’m completely famished,” she said dramatically, smirking at him a little as she took his hand. “I suppose I can settle for you escorting me for now.” His fingers were slightly cooler than hers, but she didn’t mind. The contrast felt nice.

When they made it to the dining room, Lavinias felt her eyes widen. “Are dinners here always so lavish?” she asked. Getting used to things here would prove to be a challenge. There was so much food, and so many people.

Earlier Mel had arrived with Khan at the hall, and he had been similarly shocked. “I never forgot my manners,” he told Khan. It was a pass at a joke that didn’t exactly shine through the shock in his voice. “I don’t think this place will ever not surprise me,” he muttered as he moved to sit with Khan where the servant had led them.

The room was buzzing with chatter, but Mel didn’t know anybody, so he stayed silent. More than once he felt a pair of eyes on him, mostly females who immediately turned away and blushed at getting caught staring. One of the young women winked at him before moving to speak to a friend once more. “I would love a chance to get to explore this place,” Mel said with a sigh as he glanced at Khan. “Or at least get the chance to do some sparring with some of their warriors.” He was not yet super-Lacertaen like his sister, but he thought that perhaps when they returned, he would have a chance at getting the serum. It had been on his mind since Lavinias came to get them.

Speaking of Lavinias, Mel spotted her entering the hall with a man—Druian, his name was. He appeared to seem a bit too friendly with her, and his eyes narrowed slightly. The tension loosened almost instantly, though—wasn’t Khan…? If it worried him surely he would have said or done something, so Mel need not worry. Druian must have just been friendly, otherwise Lavinias wouldn’t be putting up with him. The boy had been oblivious to the fight between Khan and Lavinias earlier, so he smiled at the two when they moved to sit across from them.

“You look handsome, Mel,” Lavinias said, mostly cheerful—but there was a hint of worriedness that he didn’t miss, and he remembered Kara speaking of how Lavinias would be fighting girls with a stick off of him. Oh dear.

Lavinias glanced at Khan with a mild distaste, for that was all she could muster seeing that he had indeed been cleaned up as well. She couldn't say that she had disliked his stone age look, as he was handsome no matter what his hair or clothes looked like, but he looked well put together now. He was more debonair even than Druian, which was saying something. But seeing as it didn't make a difference any more, she pushed all notions of attraction to him from her mind, and turned back to Mel as he spoke.

“Thanks,” he said. He paused a moment before asking, “Where’s Kara?” This was directed more at Druian than his sister. He had expected her to join them for dinner, seeing as this was her world…sort of.



Saiytanya

sorry it took so long x.x