Friends With the Monster - private

[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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Seeing Kara in her armor was more satisfying than he originally thought it would be. Of course, he had enjoyed the finished product when the servants had shown it to him, but this was much more glamorous. The fit was perfect to every curve of her body, and green did look exquisite on her—more so than he had expected. It was rare that any man, Loki especially, was unable to imagine something as beautiful as the reality of that said thing. Even taking in consideration the color of her hair, he had gotten everything perfect—from the pants to the mobility the armor provided. He could only wait to see if it served her as well as he expected it to. Armor could save her from crippling blows, but it was in no way a substitution for skill. Loki knew that the last thing Kara was, was arrogant, so her little quips to train with Thor indicated that she had good fighting ability. That, and she had shown as a child that she was more than capable of matching many male warriors.

Perhaps the more satisfying thing about seeing Kara in her armor was the fact that she looked absolutely pleased with it, smiling brightly as he greeted her. “Green is the color of nature—it represents many things, among them growth, harmony, and vigor. I thought it fit you well,” Odin responded wisely. Loki, however, could feel a light blush rushing to his cheeks. There was something in her eyes that told him she didn’t miss the fact that green was by far his favorite color. While she embodied the more noble aspects of the color, he couldn’t deny that he fit the more negative aspects associated with the color: he was sly, selfish, and often times secretly jealous. He had to admit that despite any meanings, they both looked damn good in the color. Neither Odin nor Thor would be able to pull the color off—or so Loki liked to think.

Speaking of Thor, the son of Odin took little time to try and coerce Kara to join them. He was smiling, emotions clearly unguarded, as he was looking at her with excited eyes. It was sickening for Loki to see him so obviously infatuated—it was disgusting, and yet Loki felt this time that at least the source of his interest was more than worthy. Loki glowered as the woman grinned back at the prince, let out an airy laugh, and waved back. He knew he could not covet or control Kara as much as he would have liked, but he wouldn’t have the yearning to do so if Thor was never around…Loki rolled his eyes in response to her comment about him being as lovable as a puppy. That was pretty damn lovable. “He may be sweet in appearance, but some candy is lacking in the way of filling,” Loki remarked under his breath, more than slightly annoyed. Everyone was always infatuated with Thor—

What was that she just said? Her words suddenly became more elongated, leading him away from his thoughts and setting his eyes on her, watching closely as her hands gripped the railing. Surprised by her sudden movement, and looking at Kara with confused and amused features, Loki waited for her to finish her sentence.

‘I’m more of a cat person.

Not long ago, Loki had been in a situation in which he was fighting six of what Earth deemed its ‘hero’s’ in New York. During said encounter, the man who had used the bow and arrow had shot an arrow at him—Agent Barton. Arrogantly, Loki had caught it and sneered mockingly, almost insulted that the man thought something so lack luster could do him any harm. Unfortunately for Loki, the arrow had exploded in his grip, sending him soaring off the hovering aircraft he had been riding on. In that moment, he imagined that Agent Barton felt rather satisfied, and had a right to feel superior to Loki (despite the fact that he was not). In those few words that Kara whispered to him, Loki felt the smallest smirk come to his lips—hiding a full blown smile that would display the sensation of joy that overwhelmed his body—and he felt for once that perhaps someone thought he was superior, in any way, to Thor. It was the first recognition he had really received from anybody. Not that he would ever admit needing verbal recognition he was better than Thor—but if someone did the one person he would want to voice that opinion would be Kara. ‘Excellent . He was already having fun, and the fights hadn’t even begun.

While Kara initially approached Thor to train, Loki knew full well that this would be a battle between Sif and the new heir to the throne. While men often missed the cunning, cutting meaning behind women’s words, Loki recognized a battle when he heard one. The fact that Sif thought that Odin had encouraged her desire to prove herself as a suitable replacement was only a fuel to the woman’s volatile rage. While Thor backed away, still smiling stupidly. “Very well. You should serve as suitable practice for her for now, Sif.” Loki almost chuckled aloud. The fact that Thor had implied Sif was only practice for the real deal proved to show how really oblivious he was—and Kara would be at the brunt of his foolery, though he would not realize it.

The two women exchanged names, a few shots were fired back and forth, and then the real battle began. For the first time, Loki felt as if he was really getting to see an angry side of Kara. He had done many things that should have earned him grief from her, but he had received relatively little fury from her aside from their quarrel when she first arrived. Feeling one another out, the spar started slowly, and as things heated up, more and more people joined the crowds. If Loki had less faith in Kara, or if he was actually Odin, he might’ve felt nervous—if Kara lost, it would prove that she lacked skill in battle and perhaps would not be able to protect them against their enemies. But Loki was not nervous. Inwardly he was giddy, while he (and Odin alike) stood stalk still and observed the fight with little emotion betraying what he thought.

Before anything got too involved, Thor moved to Odin’s side, watching from the railing next to the illusion of his father. “They appear to be more than sparring,” Thor observed.

“A lot is on the line,” Odin agreed. The two locked eyes, and Thor nodded knowingly, his attention back on the fight.

One difference became clear as the fight progressed: while Sif let her anger get the better of her, Kara channeled her emotions into smooth, smart movements. That wasn’t to say that Sif wasn’t a smart warrior, because Loki knew very well that for her to have risen so well in the ranks and to have beaten so many Asgardian men who were stronger than her, she had to outsmart her opponents to win.

Everyone in the area held their breath as Sif deweaponed Kara. Silence dawned on them all as they waited for it to end, but much to the crowds gasping surprise, Kara wasn’t about to give up. There were cheers as a few moments later the tables had turned, and Sif was equally weaponless. The cheers died down swiftly as they waited to see what came next. SIf ran for her sword, and Kara was not far behind—but it didn’t appear that she was going towards her own weapon. Blocking Sif from her sword with a very elegant movement, it appeared at first that the two would be sparring hand-to-hand; but no Asgardian sparred with just one weapon. Well, none, it seemed, save for Kara.


The intensity of the battle only spiked from that point until the end. Loki found himself eating his thoughts from a day earlier in the week during their training sessions. He had thought the Earth fighting styles to be useless—but clearly, in the knowledge of an Asgardian, they became extremely useful, especially against an opponent unfamiliar to them. Loki smirked as Sif conceded, and Odin put his hands out. “It appears we have a victor,” he announced. Some of the viewers were too shocked, jaws dropped, to cheer—but once they started, the roars of energy and laughter were hard to stop.

Thor rushed down to Kara, almost completely ignoring Sif as he made his way towards the heir. “That was spectacular Kara!” In one swift movement, Thor’s arms enveloped her and picked her up in an embrace that lifted her from the ground.

“Try to refrain from crushing her, Thor.” Odin was behind them not by far, Loki’s eyes fixed on Kara. The sarcasm in his tone was only audible to Kara, while Odin sounded actually concerned. “Do you see now that she is more fit than you know to take my place?”

Thor’s happy expression disappeared for a few moments, and he set Kara down. He composed himself quicker than usual, though. “But of course. It was ignorant for me to doubt you, Father.” He turned to Kara. “You are a prodigy,” he told her, grinning goofily. His smile faded a little as he looked at her with embarrassment. “I owe you an apology for my barbaric actions the other night. At times I can be a fool to my anger. I thought, perhaps, I could make it up to you—take you somewhere on Asgard, any place you’ve always wanted to visit?”

Loki’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t speak. Thor was often one to brood. Sure, he thought Kara was pretty, but that usually was something even his shallow brother would not care about when his future was on the line. But to think that Thor was perhaps looking to get on her good side, to seek her hand just to get to the throne? That was much too…underhanded for Thor. So his feelings were genuine. And he was so persistent because he was not used to being rejected, and because Kara was the new heir. In other words, Thor was getting smarter.

The question was, was Kara really more of a cat person, like she had earlier claimed?



Saiytanya

I thought I'd add a little more Thor drama into this. I wasn't sure where to go after the fight, so I thought that was a good way to keep things spicey.

[Saiytanya]

Khan turned when he saw Lavinias enter the room, a faint twinkle in his eye was the only hint that he was pleased to see her. At her biting words toward Farshus, Khan couldn't help but be amused. At her question toward him, he turned toward Farshus. "You have my word I will protect her as much as she will allow." He knew Lavinias would not make things easy for him, but he had every intention of keeping her alive and well. He also knew that Farshus understood that. It was clear that he had been fighting the fight to protect the woman who did not want to be protected longer than Khan. The man surely knew what Khan was in for. "Now leave us, our champion demands a word with me." His voice rose at that, his eyes shifting to the bedroom, "and you, councilman, I hope my point was made." He had not forgotten about the councilman, and he wasn't about to leave him to possibly over hear a conversation he was not meant to hear.


Khan waited for both men to leave before fully acknowledging Lavinias. Turning he found her attempt at modesty or was that nerves? Either way, it amused him as she began to speak. "Such poison for a man who just gave his life blood to heal you." Khan spoke firmly. "I assure you, I have done nothing to change you permanently. I would not make changes to your DNA without a full understanding of your abilities. I do not want to cause those abilities to vanish through lack of knowledge." And it was without a doubt true. He would need to perform research before he would feel comfortable even attempting to manipulate the perfect structure a Laceartan womanhood that stood before him. Briefly, he caught his thoughts, could she hear him any time he let his mind wander? Suddenly, his private thoughts felt a little less private.


"Come, let us return to practice." He told her, heading to the lift. He needed the people to see that their champion was still well, and let them be reassured that she was in good hands.

****

The days passed, and Khan was learning just how stubborn this woman truly was. She fought his at every turn. It was beginning to anger him and when he got angry it was dangerous. With powers like hers however, it seemed she needed to be strong in mind lest she lose herself in the mind of another. But Khan needed her to obey him, so he worked her harder. He didn't want her losing control of her power, but he needed to control her, or at least, gain her allegiance.


There was something he didn't understand, if she could speak telepathically, why did she not do regularly, and why did she do so with him only now? Why not before? There were so many questions surrounding this woman. Why did she have this power and none of her people did? What made her so unique? Was she already a genetic anomaly? An experiment? Perhaps, that was why he liked her so much, she was a mystery and he wanted to solve her. It was this very fact that stopped him from getting rid of her all together.

*****

The day of the Klingon's arrival, Khan fulfilled his end of the bargain by staying out if sight. He was instead holed up in the lab where they had brought the remains of the bodies found in the wreckage. He had spent the entire night and part of the morning scanning DNA and searching the shattered torpedo pieces for some sign of his people. He kept coming up empty handed, and he was beginning to grow furious. There wasn't even a sign of the cryotubes among the wreckage. Nothing.


And then it dawned on him. "That worthless green-blooded elf!" Khan shouted, startling one of the scientists that were assisting him. He slammed his fist into the table, creating a large dent in the solid metal. His breathing sped up through gritted teeth as he began pacing the room like a wild beast. How dare he? That over analytic creature! He had taken the pods out, his people...his crew, his FAMILY was still alive! He sneered, teeth bared as the scientists slowly crept out of the room due to the heavy feeling radiating off of him. He closed his eyes turning his head upward as he cracked his jaw, trying to calm himself down.


No, he could deal with this. The plan only needed a few small changes. He would continue his plans with this planet. He would make them better, he would create a new army of super soldiers and then he would tear down the universe to get his people back. What ever it took, that Vulcan would pay the price and Khan would burn across the universe to make an empire under his rule, starting...with Earth!


‘If I am going to wear a dress, why then should you not join us at dinner disguised?’


Khan jerked slightly from the sudden speech in his mind. Taking in a slow deep breath he calmed more quickly, then responded in thought to the woman assuming she was still in his mind, 'Very well. I shall make certain to look the part. Women do need escorts to such events.' His words were not condescending or flirtatious, simply, straight forward and honest as most things tended to be with him. This said, Khan stood and moved out of the room. He had a lot of preparing to do if he was going to pass himself off as one of their people.

*****

Several hours later, one could not tell Khan apart from the native peoples. His skin had been darkened thanks to technology and he was wearing eye color lenses to mirror Lavineas' own burgundy eyes. He was wearing the formal-wear of the Lacertian people and he actually looked rather good in it. But then black always looked good on him, as did the color of the trim, he had made certain it would match Lavinias' dress. He had both the height and the strength to do the outfit justice. He wasn't vain, in fact, he could care less about his appearance but oddly he found himself looking at his reflection critically before leaving to meet with Lavinias. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted her to like what she saw. He tried to just think of her in terms of a warrior, a weapon to be used, but his interest was, to his disappointment and against his better judgement, leaning toward some thing more...personal.


He moved slowly among the crowd as he headed to the location where the dinner would take place. He was good at blending in. Like an expert spy he wove around and through the crowd, managing to slip into the dining hall without even being stopped by the guard. Even in the dining hall which was filling with those who were considered most important in this society. Khan fought the urge to sneer when he came in close proximity to a few Klingon warriors. The beasts smelled. Most people couldn't smell them, but like the rest of him, his sense of smell had been enhanced and Klingons smelt wretched; like bloodwine and death.


Through the group of Klingon's his eyes scanned the crowd, searching for the woman he was meant to escort. Instead, he found Farshus. Subtly he moved up beside the acting Councilman and spoke quietly at his side, "Where is she?" His deep voice issued forth. From an outsider's view, Khan looked merely like a manservant delivering his master a message. He found an odd pleasure in knowing it was truly the other way around.

[Saiytanya]

Kara couldn't help but blush a bit at the crowd's reaction. A small smile grew on her face as she looked around at the large group of cheering men. As Thor began toward her she made a glance to Sif, who looked thoroughly irritated. In fact, in one sudden realization, she knew what Sif's anger was all about. The look on the other woman's face at being ignored by Thor was abundantly clear. Though Kara didn't have time to think on it further as at that moment she was suddenly enveloped by two large arms, a rather girlish squeak exiting her mouth from the shock. Not sure how to react she held her hands up, trying to figure out if she should push him away or hug him back.


Lucky for her, Loki/Odin's words directed the well built man to put her down. Kara blinked a few times before offering a nervous smile. She remained silent as Thor spoke briefly to Odin, her eyes drifting once again to Sif who had moved to reclaim her weapon with gritted teeth. She couldn't help but feel a little bad now. But Thor or no Thor, Kara couldn't have afforded to throw that fight. She had to win, even if it meant hurting Sif's chances with Thor, albeit temporarily.


Her head shot toward Thor once more when his words turned to her. He apologized, that was a start but, wait...was he asking her on a date? Oh no, she wasn't about to do that. Not only was she really not intimately interested in Thor, but now that she knew what she knew about Sif, she didn't want to get in the way. Sif deserved Thor and Kara had always been one of those girls who backed down when a female friend liked the same guy she did. Granted it was partially because she knew her mother would never allow it, but it was also due to the fact that Kara didn't like to take away the happiness of others if she could help it.


She offered an apologetic smile then, "I'm sorry Thor. But my schedule is as such that it does not allow for much time for frivolities." She looked brifly sad, she really did want to see more of the city, to see the hidden beauties of Asgard, but Loki had made things quite clear, he would never allow it. She glanced sadly at Loki. He would never let her wonder Asgard. At least, she didn't think so, she'd never bothered to ask. She forced her smile back and continued, "Besides, I have promised your father that I would focus on study and training, I would not want to be a woman to break my word." She glanced at Sif, who was now glaring at them from the other side of the ring, "Also, I have something..." She bit her lip. "How about this, the next time we have a moment together alone, I shall impart upon you a secret? Something I can not share here. That shall have to satisfy you for now." She turned to Odin/Loki. "If you permit, my King, I should like to talk to a few of the trainers and try my hand at some of the smaller Asgardian weapons." She gave a bow to Odin before turning and offering the same bow to Thor. "My Prince."


Kara turned from them both and moved over to the group of men still gathered, a bright smile painted on her lips, "So, who wants to help me learn some new weapons?"



*****



Several hours later, Kara had left the training grounds to take her lunch in the same training room she had spent the last week with Loki, assuming her King would want to eat with her again. She also assumed he'd have questions about that secret she wanted to tell Thor. She sat eating slowly until he entered, "It's not what you may think." She started with a smile, looking up at her King, "I promise it has nothing to do with you, your secrets, or even myself. It is entirely unrelated to us and it's private so no I will not tell you." Kara didn't mind sharing her own secrets with her King, but this was not her secret to share. Granted, she would tell Thor, but only because the man had brains of pudding and couldn't see how much the woman loved him even though it was painfully obvious.


Kara leaned back in her chair, hesitating slightly. "Um...My King..." She took in a deep breath, "I was wondering, if maybe...you know after the ceremony in a few days, maybe I could see more of Asgard?" She was uncertain what he would say about it so she felt she needed to explain further, "You know, I've been away from it so long and so far all of it that I've seen is a room or three in this castle and the bi-frost. I remember it having some beautiful places, but I can't seem to picture them." She tilted her head, "What do you think? Maybe?" She wasn't meaning to, but she was giving him a rather wide eyed pleading look. She was terrified he was going to say no and call her a foolish, sentimental girl. It was something her mother would have said. She could well have said yes to Thor just to see some of the places, had it not been for Sif and her desire to not lead the poor man on. But really, she would rather go with Loki, if he would take her. She didn't want to tell him that though, and make herself seem like a frivolous girl.



*****



Kara was nervous as the pits of Hades itself...granted, that was the wrong mythology, what was it here, Hel, helheim, something of the sort? She took in a deep breath, staring at herself in the mirror as the servant behind her put braids in her hair and pinned them up neatly and with a purposeful pattern. Into her hair the woman wove delicate shining purple beads that contrasted with her hair nicely. She wasn't sure what they were made of, but they certainly weren't anything found on earth. A few strands of hair had bee curled loosely and left to hand down her cheek. She had been permitted to choose the color of her own dress for the ceremony. Oddly, after seeing many many dresses to chose from she had stayed with the green that Loki had picked out, it made her red hair pop and she had to admit, she looked good in it.


As the servant finished with her hair she moved over to the table to pull from it a necklace made of the same gem so she could wrap it gently around Kara's neck. A single hand rose to touch the gems lightly, they were indeed quite lovely. Kara was then outfitted with matching earrings. It was strange for her, to be dressed so decadently. She stood then, taking a few moments to look herself over. This dress had the typical flowing nature of Asgardian fashion, but there was far more to it. Every decorative piece was either made of the purple gems or of pure gold. Even the faint embroidery on the edges of the gown was gold. She was fitted with golden bracers, a golden chest-plate fitted to her form, and shoulder adornments. From the golden shoulder peices flowing down and back like water was a sheerer material that added a majestic touch to the dress. But that was not all. The servant brought over a fine cloak, that was even more decadent and placed it around her shoulders, clipping it softly. The cloak was of the same color as her dress, but with beautiful and intricate golden embroidery that matched that on the dress, and it trailed a few feet behind her.


"It's time to gather in the great hall miss." The servant's soft voice broke Kara from her daze.


Kara smiled at her, "Of coarse, thank you." The servant bowed and backed away as Kara looked once more into the mirror, giving her reflection an I-can-do-this look before turning and heading out into the halls. Respectfully, two guards escorted her through the halls and into the waiting chamber from which she would emerge and walk the long distance to the throne to be named the official heir of Asgard. Once in the chamber, Kara stood in front of the doors to the great hall, her nerves, making her hands fidget a bit. She was terrified she was going to trip on the long journey down the isle or something. Swallowing, she took her last few moments to do a sun salutation, trying her best to calm her breathing and subsequently her heart. This was really happening. It was as if just yesterday, she was just a normal human girl living a solitary life on Earth...no, Midgar, she needed to call it by it's Asgardian name, it was appropriate here.


Kara took in one final breath then as the doors before her opened, "Breathe, Kara, just breathe." She told herself softly as she began her journey down the long and decadently decorated golden hall and toward the throne that held the man responsibility for this whole situation. Head held high she walked with grace until she came to the bottom of the stairs leading to the throne. There she saw Odin/Loki waiting for her and she dropped in the appropriate feminine curtsy to her King.








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


I suddenly have this urge to get out my sketchbook and design this darned dress.I have something very particular in mind and I just can't get it to translate into words....nor find anything similar on google. ...grrr

[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.

“Ouch—you’re pulling it!” Lavinias wined as a brush ran through her hair, tangles unwinding as the beautician behind her clicked her tongue.

“You are a piece of work, is what you are. All warrior, through and through, but you can’t take getting your hair pampered.

Pampering? “Is that what you call it? I thought it was some form of torture,” Lavinais muttered, keeping all rising groans in her throat as the hairdresser continued.

“It wouldn’t be if you’d take the time to brush it ever once and a while,” she chided in a sing-song tone. She was all too happy to be doing this. “Now, I’m going to brush this hair until it’s straight!” There was a excited giggle and then more brushing, and Lavinias glared at the mirror she was sitting in front of.

“Stop your glaring—I’m going to start prettying that face up.” Lavinias eyed the other beautician warily. “Don’t worry, it won’t be too much. Farshus insisted you wouldn’t need more than a few enhancements. You’ll be done in no time.”

What was no time to them felt like ages to Lavinias. Never before had she spent so much time getting ready. It proved to be what she assumed was worthwhile—when they were finished, she hardly resembled her normal self: her lips were a darker tone than normal, and her eyes looked bigger, and brighter, with dark burgundy and black shadows covering her lid. Not to mention her hair—to her surprise, the hairdresser had not been kidding. It was straight. Lavinias didn’t know what to say, so she simply gaped. “We thought you might shut up once we were done. Now, on to getting you dressed.” Lavinias got out of the chair, and moved to see what she would be wearing.

“He has got to be kidding me.”

“He said you might be resistant, but orders are orders.” The hairstylist shrugged. “Come on now, Farshus said we could sedate you briefly if you didn’t comply. We’d rather not do so.”

Unclenching her jaw, Lavinias took in a deep breath before undressing.

- - -


Farshus stood, sipping from a goblet as he waited for Lavinias. It didn’t really surprise him that she was late; he expected her to be late. While on the outside he stood stoically, albeit a little more relaxed than usual, he was actually quite nervous on the inside. Tonight was his first event as the head councilman. The only problem was, he wasn’t the head councilman, and he would have to answer questions as such. They had already predicted what the questions would be—what happened to Zellain? Why was the Chancellor not notified by the immediate leadership change?—but there was still a chance that there would be a suspicion from the Klingons, especially if they were planning on attacking anyway. Farshus felt as if he was the figure head of a great empire that was about to spiral downwards. Of course, he wouldn’t be the leader against the Klingons. That was, according to himself, Khan’s job. For the sake of them all, Farshus had to believe the human knew what he was talking about.


A moment after the thought of Khan came into his head the man appeared by his side, demanding to know where, he assumed, Lavinias was. Doing a double take, Farshus concluded that Khan looked more like a Lacertaen than he ever thought possible. If he had arrived on their planet looking as such, he would have been welcomed whole heartedly, and it would be much less suspicious that he wanted power. He looked the part of strength more so than any of them. A shame he only realized this when he was in disguise—if only he had noticed sooner. Farshus opened his mouth, and sighed. “I would have asked you the same thing had you not asked first. As far as I’m aware, she has yet to arrive.” He paused, looking at Khan pointedly. “But she will show up,” he refrained from adding ‘Sir’ at the end of his sentence. He could never be sure who was listening in on their conversation. “She’s probably just arguing with the stylists,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes.

His eyes scanned the crowds of people, until they settled on a mini bar. Apparently he needed a fill of his drink. He was about to turn his attention to one of the servers walking around, when he realized that he wasn’t as thirst as he thought. “There,” he said, gesturing towards the back of a tall feminine figure covered in a floor length, long sleeved black dress. He was fairly certain it was her—because of course she would be at the bar—but he couldn’t be certain until he saw the figure from the front.

“You don’t clean up badly, Lavinias. If only you would take that sour look off your face,” a man with a deep voice teased as he handed the woman a class with a deep red liquid in it. She gave him a questioning look. “Nothing too hard tonight.” Rolling her eyes, Lavinias muttered something unkind about Farshus, before taking a sip. The liquid touched her lips just as she felt a pair of eyes on her, and slowly she turned, the glass lowering in her hand.

Ah, there they were. Lavinias smirked a little at the look on Farshus’ face. It only served him right, seeing he had picked her attire out. She assumed it could have been worse, but while it was conservative from the back, the front ensured there was some skin showing. The neckline was high, ending about halfway up her neck—but it was covered by a tight, silver necklace anyway. The sleeves were long, tightly clinging to her arms until her wrists, where then each side met between her thumb and her forefinger. Silver bracers adorned her wrists, breaking the solid line of black between her arm and hand. Each of her fingers was plated with large and flat rectangular rings of silver made to mock the look of armor. At her hip, the skirt of the dress began to fan out, and there was a rather high slit on one side so that her legs were far from hidden. At her waist was a matching silver belt, curving upwards and downwards slightly at her center and both hips to create little points. But her absolute favorite part was the chest area, in which there was a diamond shaped cutout that left little to the imagination. It wasn’t as large as it could have been, being much longer than it was wide, but it was still unnecessarily provocative in Lavinias’ opinion.

Moving to meet the couple halfway, Lavinias said farewell to the bartender and glided towards them. “It took you long enough to find me—I never expected to arrive somewhere before anyone,” she said tartly. In fact she had been on time, and she had been banking on the fact that neither of them would think she’d be on time.

“You look—”

Deadly eyes snapped to Farshus, warning him briefly before cutting him off. “Yes, well, I never thought I had the bust or the bravado to pull something like this off. Apparently I was wrong. Are you who I have to thank for enlightening me, Farshus.”

“I…uh-mm…” he fidgeted with is words, and Lavinias rolled her eyes before glancing at Khan. His new look caused her to raise an eyebrow.

She didn’t voice her opinion, but rather made it known in his head. ‘You look better out of costume.’ It wasn’t that he looked bad—he was still handsome, just not as handsome or as strikingly so. When Lavinias looked back at Farshus, he was looking at her suspiciously, and she realized she had forgotten that he didn’t know that she and Khan had a mind connection. “What?” she snapped, seeming to put his suspicion off guard for the moment. He was about to respond with something cheeky, she could tell by the annoyed look in his eye, when he was interrupted before he even spoke.

“Pleasant as always, aren’t you sister?”

“Linas, that is no way to talk to—do I have to remind you—our champion.” Lavinias turned and stood up straighter almost immediately. That was a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time. An enormous man, muscular, tall, and weathered looking, grinned through his curly beard down at his daughter.


“Father.” She was unsure what to do—the last time they had spoken she had made sure to treat him disrespectfully, to show that she wanted nothing to do with her family any longer—so she stood nervously, silent and waiting for him to do something. He took her hand, kissed it, and dropped it before looking at the men behind her. He nodded at Farshus, and then looked to Khan, unimpressed.

“You’ve met someone?” he inquired, looking between the two a few more times.

Lavinias felt her eyes widen and her cheeks rush with blood. “This is her escort,” Farshus butt in a little too quickly. “His name is Karthus. In fact, Karthus should probably escort Lavinias to her seat now.”





saiytanya

I couldn't resist that last bit xP

[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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From a short distance, so as not to impose himself (or rather, Odin) on the situation, Loki watched, and waited. Odin was smiling and chuckling lightly to himself, clearly happy with the result, but Loki was watching silently, showing no sign of how he felt about the Thor situation. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. While he wasn’t ecstatic to see him waiting for an answer, expecting to hear an ‘of course,’ Loki wasn’t brooding, either—not yet. Sif, on the other hand, he could not say the same for. The beautiful warrior had always had her eye on Thor, and no doubt after he returned from Midgard with news that he no longer had a female love interest there, she had hoped the prince would finally look towards her. But alas, there was yet another obstacle, the one in which she had intended to defeat today, whom was still in her way. But Sif was hardly competing for the prince’s heart. Even if she had managed to win somehow, Loki doubted Thor would suddenly realize she loved him. Oh no, he was much too thick headed, and Sif much too prideful to admit to his face how he felt.

Sif, at least, he could relate to.

To Loki’s satisfaction, Kara turned Thor down. He didn’t really like to see the sad look on the features—as beautiful as it was, he felt something in his chest falter at the sight of it. But still, he was happy enough to ignore what that feeling implied to instead relish in Thor’s reaction to being turned down. His smile deflated, and there was a slight confused look in his half narrowed brow. “Oh. I see. You’re training is certainly paying off, and your diligence is admirable. Don’t let my father work you too hard, though.” Loki almost pitied Thor, but no matter how pathetic an expression the prince made, it would not break his hatred for his ex-brother. Thor turned to leave, but Kara added something that made him turn back. “What is it?” There was a glimmer of hope in his voice, and Loki wanted Kara desperately to crush it—selfish, but very Loki of him. The next words she spoke were intriguing—he was right there, so she would dare not mention something such as revealing his secret to Thor in front of him. Kara was not stupid. But then what was this secret? Loki felt a hint of jealousy at the thought of Thor knowing something about Kara that perhaps he did not. But what could she possibly tell him that he did not already have knowledge of…Loki’s train of thought suddenly focused solely on one possibility, and he felt something like panic flood him. He would have to forbid her from telling him about her hidden powers—if that was what she was going to tell him. Even though Thor didn’t know of Loki’s existence, he was sure that the prince knowing of the stones would cause all sorts of chaos. “Until then, Kara,” there was a small smile that was barely more than a neutral expression, and a little confusion in his eyes, but he still managed to smile nonetheless.

“The trainers are at you service, I would see it as an insult if you refrained from using them,” Odin responded before moving up the stairs simultaneously with Loki. He couldn’t help but smirk when the trainers hesitated, but then all volunteered at once to help her. She showed more than promise.


- - -


While Kara trained, Loki made sure everything was on schedule for the ceremony. There was still much to do, but everything was going smoothly. After he was finished, he made his way to his own quarters—the deceased room of the beloved Loki had not been cleaned out, or so much as touched by anyone. He hadn’t even been the one to order that—more likely the grieving Frigga. Nobody visited the room aside from himself, and it was one of the few places he was able to drop his guise without worrying someone might spot him. He moved to his closet, where his more exuberant clothing was stored, and found everything untouched. A little more armor, a cape, a helmet. All waiting for the wearer who wasn’t supposed to return.


He smirked. He would wear them tomorrow, only for Kara to see, just for the fun of it. There was nothing like making fun of old Asgardian traditions.


Wasting little time after this, Loki made his way to the training room, assuming Kara would be done with training soon and want to meet with him. She didn’t particularly wander. To his surprise, she was there before he was, and already eating. Almost immediately at his presence she perked up, and smiled at him. It wasn’t what he thought? The secret. He was about to ask when she answered. It didn’t have anything to do with her either? Loki raised an eyebrow, smiling amusedly, and started pacing back and forth. “A riddle? I suppose I shall just have to figure it out on my own, then.” He kept moving, mind racing. If it wasn’t her secret, and it wasn’t about him, it was most likely something he already knew. The event had seemed like a spur of the moment thing, like she wasn’t sure if she should say anything to him. But she had gone with her gut instinct, all the while bearing the heavy gaze of Sif after defeating her. “Ah, I see,” was all he said, a twinkle in his eye.


He looked at her, wanting to smile but noticing something different about her. She was nervous. Loki expected this day. He knew sooner or later, her anger at her mother would fade, and she would wonder if the woman was going to be at the ceremony. He would have to make preparations for her to arrive, without making it seem like Odin had just run off with her daughter… “Kara, I realize—” he stopped himself, pausing as he looked at her. She wanted to look around? Shocked, Loki felt something rather like guilt; had she felt like she was locked away in the castle—had he made sure she was? “I think…but of course,” he said, as if it was out of the question that she even had to ask. While her widened eyes and softened expression were ethereal, he hated the thought of keeping her from seeing the world he had been graced with in his childhood, and that she had been kept from.



- - -



When finally the day of the ceremony arrived, Loki was giddy. He knew that while Thor had apologized for his reaction, he still did not want to see Kara named as next in line for the throne. What was even better was that after Kara had proven herself and defeated Sif, most of Asgard had changed their opinions about her, and had fallen under the impression that yet again, Odin was doing the right thing no matter how crazy it seemed.

Dressed in his more formal wear, even donning his helmet, Loki waited for Kara with the rest of Asgard, the last guest, to arrive. The hall was buzzing and merry, like most Asgardian celebrations were. At the sight of Kara, he knew they would all stop to relish in her beauty. He wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but he knew that she wasn’t going to disappoint. Not today.

And sure enough, he was right. He heard her coming before he saw her, because the hall grew silent and her footsteps echoed against the walls. When he saw her he felt his breath catch in his lungs. To his delight she seemed to know how good the color green looked on her, complementing the soft creamy tone of her flesh and the vibrant color of her hair. The purple jewels that adorned her hair and neck did nothing less—in the back of his mind he compared her to the loveliest flower, though he would never voice such a pathetic metaphor aloud. Her pulchritude surpassed any flower he had ever laid eyes on, and she certainly didn’t hold herself in a way that a demure flower might. She was strong, and proud. It was only until she was bowing in front of him that he remembered that he should breathe. “You are stunning,” he whispered, so low he wondered if she had even heard him, before his rendition of Odin took over.


“My people,” Odin boomed, his voice projecting to everyone in the hall. “Today is a great celebration. Even though I have failed all of you in so many ways, you always have followed me with great faith, and passion beyond my worth.” There were a few glasses raised at this, and Odin’s eyes glimmered, as if he were about to tear up. “It is my great honor today, to name to you my successor. It has been up in the air for many years now, and I have finally found in my heart, a calmness at the idea of this young woman leading us.” He paused, smiling at Kara. “When I first voiced my wish to give Kara this honor, there was much opposition. But many of you have come to see what an amazing, talented, and brilliant woman she is. I still have a few years left in my rule, but I assure you, I will ensure that in those years, I teach Kara of my mistakes so that she not make them, of my successes so that she reproduce them, and of the joy that comes with reigning, so that you may be happy and at peace for forevermore.” There were roars at this, the speech—while it was a little sad for some to hear—was even more convincing than Kara’s own deeds. Words had a great impact on people’s opinions, of that Loki knew well.


With that having been said, Loki/Odin made his way up the stairs, beckoning for Kara to follow him. They stood before the throne, and silence arose as Odin gestured for a servant to come forward. He had a pillow in his hands, and on the pillow was a circlet crafted specifically for Kara. It was gold, with the purple gems like the ones she wore now encrusted into it, perfectly cut. Odin took the circlet in his hands, and raised them above Kara’s head. “Do you, Kara, daughter of the Valkyrie Rhia, accept the honor of becoming Asgard’s next ruler when I, Odin, pass into the next life?”

He would wait for her answer before placing the circlet on her head. After the ceremony, he would discuss with her the creation of a helmet, personalized specifically for her to wear in battle.



Saiytanya

[Saiytanya]

Khan harrumphed with amusement when Farshas mentioned Lavinias was probably fighting with the stylists. He could just imagine it in his mind, and the very though made him inwardly chuckle. Lavinias was, perhaps, a bit too stubborn for her own good. When the other man directed his attention to the black-clad figure of the woman Khan smirked deeply, seeing her in the sleek dress made his otherwise foul mood lift and he at last had some thing to distract him for the time being.

Moving with the acting Council Leader, Khan kept his eyes firmly locked on every curve and movement of Lavinias. He wanted to drink in this moment, knowing full well it would be a cold day in hell the next time she wore something to very form fitting. When the other man stuttered Khan just smirked, thinking in the very forward of his mind, very much hoping that Lavinias was still listening to his thought. 'You look like the pinnacle of your species. You should dress like that more often.' He knew that were he anyone else, he would likely have gotten punched for that statement, but being who he was, he suspected she would just glower at him. He didn't fear her wrath, in fact, it kind of excited him.


"We both played a part in the selection of tonight's adornment." Khan told her with the confidence that Farshus seemed to lack tonight. When her thoughts entered his mind, he merely stared back at her, keeping his words equally inward, 'You look good no matter your attire.' He had initially wanted to say 'so would you', but he had pushed the thought away quickly, hoping she had not caught it before he had the chance to hide it. When she snapped away from their inward conversation, so did he, hoping her reason was not the earlier fear of her finding his darker thought.


As the larger man approached with the younger Councilman, Khan directed his eyes toward the man. He didn't even flinch at the size of the man, in fact, his eyes met with his with a confidence that would scare any lesser man. So this was Lavinias' father? He was a brute of a man. It impressed him, although such sentiment wasn't revealed on Khan's features. It was more of a reason to earn Lavinias' loyalty. If this man was anything like a father should be, he would want to remain close to any man who earned his daughter's trust. While at first it may be out of a distrust and desire to protect her, Khan was certain he could earn this man's trust as well.


His eyes jolted toward Lavinias when the man inquired about him, only to find the woman...blushing. Inwardly Khan smirked, what a wonderful discovery. He let the acting Councilman to introduce him and at his direction, played the part of an obedient soldier and reached out to take Lavinias' hand and threading it through his arm to escort her to the Champion's table. He helped her to her seat, before taking a spot beside her.


With a much more rough landing, the large Klingon champion moved into his seat across from them, a full goblet of blood-wine firmly in his hands. He looked at Lavinias and let out a roar of greeting before glancing at Khan with a look as unimpressed as Lavinias' father. Hungrily, the champion took a hearty swig of his wine before realizing that Khan was still looking at him with his usual solid and soul-boring expression. "What do you want?"


Khan just smirked, speaking incredibly fluent Klingon, "Only to honor you with another glass of blood-wine." Pulling a mug from the side of the barrel of blood wine near him, Khan dipped in into the barrel and brought the full mug over to refill the champions glass before doing the same for Lavinias. Equally, he poured himself a glass. As much as Khan enjoyed a good glass of wine, if this night came down to a drinking contest, which Khan planned it to, Khan's metabolism was so quick, that it would be impossible for the superior human to get drunk. "To our guests, may their honor be seen across the galaxy." Khan said with a knowing twinkle in his eyes. The two men slammed their drinks against one another and began what would surely be a most interesting evening.


Several hours later, the barrel of blood wine was half empty and Khan was sitting beside Lavinias with his usual solid expression as the champion slurred his speech while speaking to Farshus. "Yer people been prctisin drinking, yer not passed out like pujwI'." He gave a hearty roar and patted the councilman roughly.


Khan smirked, glancing over at Lavinias who was just as lovely as ever. 'How very easy it is to get a Klingon drunk,' he thought to her, hoping her mind was following his. 'They're such brutal beasts. Simple minded and pathetic.'


It was the sad truth of Klingons, already there had been a least a dozen drunken brawls resulting in broken bones and furniture. The decibel level of the room had raised by at least forty points from the rousing conversations of the drunk and disorderly. Klingons were certainly not polite guests. They were violent, animalistic, and loved a good barrel of blood-wine. Khan stood then, with the intention of asking Lavinias to retreat to a more quiet venue but the loud crash of a mug against the table and the booming voice of the Klingon champion interrupted him.


"Wait!" The Klingon shouted, "Yer no leaving, til one'f us is passed out! SIT! DRINK!" Not wanting to cause an early war, Khan returned to his seat, his eyes flashing to Lavinias. 'Perhaps we can end this quickly.' He thought to her, reaching over to refill the drinks on the table.

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

pujwI' = (n) weakling

I likely won't get Kara's post out until later tonight, but I shall do my best.

[Saiytanya]

Kara found a brief moment of amusement when she realized that Loki, himself was dressed up. Considering he didn't need to be since no one else could see him, she found it rather odd. Was he dressed up for her? Then there was...wait...what had he just said? Her cheeks flushed deeply as she realized the compliment. A giddy flutter filled her as she tried her best to keep herself at least outwardly calm. Luckily, only those who were close enough to see would notice and they would likely assume it nerves due to the ceremony. As he began his speech, Kara calmly kept her eyes locked on Loki. Allowing herself to quietly admire him in his regal attire while he was distracted, she tried to hold back a persistent smile. He looked pretty good in full gear. It suited him.


As he directed her to follow him up the stairs, Kara followed obediently. At the top of the stairs, she turned to face those who would someday be her subjects, letting out a slow and subtle breath as Loki began the moment of truth. At the mention of her mother's name she suddenly became very aware of her desire to see her, her eyes darted among the crowd searching for her mother as she began to answer her king, "I accept." Her voice was not a shout, but still formal and loud enough to reach across the hall for all to hear. She felt the circlet lower onto her head, and in a strange sensation felt the weight of her new privilege and burden.


It was then that her eyes found her mother. She realized immediately why she hadn't noticed her before. The woman was in full Valkyrie armor, spear and helmet included. Kara hadn't seen her mother dressed like that for many centuries. The older woman had tears in her eyes and a smile painted across her face as she saw her daughter named the official heir of Asgard. Kara offered a faint smile back to her mother before looking out across the hall and the multitude of people who now depended on her to become the leader they deserved. The crowd burst into cheers then as Kara stood there beside Odin. She only hoped she could do justice to her new position.


Several moments later, the great hall began shifting from a ceremony to a party. Food was brought out in droves and more tables where brought out. As they prepared a table for Kara and Odin at the forefront of the hall, people began approaching her to greet their new heir. Even Sif, though it seemed against her will, approached with the Warriors Three to bow before their new heir. Then came her mother and Kara felt her heart catch in her throat as the armor-clad Valkyrie pulled her daughter into a warm and slightly painful hug.


"My dearest," Her mother smiled, "I was worried about you. But good King Odin explained everything to me. I am happy to see you well." The Valkyrie offered a bow to Odin as well, a look only a fellow parent would normally understand on her face, quietly thanking him for keeping her daughter safe. She turned back to her daughter then, "Kara, I am so proud of you. I give you my word, I will keep you safe forever more, not only as your mother, but as a Valkyrie at your service." Her mother bowed to her and Kara suddenly felt very awkward, but mother or no, Kara was now technically a higher rank than the woman who raised her.


Kara spotted Thor behind her mother and motioned the large man over, "Thor, meet my mother, the Valkyrie Rhia, Daughter of Hildr."


Her mother briefly looked shocked that her daughter remembered her grandmother's name but quickly offered a bow to the Prince, "Thor Odinson, it is a great honor. I have not laid eyes upon you since you where a boy in these halls. I regret I have missed much on Asgard."


Kara smiled softly as her mother spoke to Thor. She was quickly distracted from the conversation as more people came to greet her. Eventually, the table was set and Kara was able to go sit in a chair beside Odin and the feast began. From there, for several hours, in fact, Kara became swept up in an almost dream like experience filled with good food, and lots of laughter. She hardly had a moment to herself as people approached to meet her, most seemed happy with Odin's choice. The rare few, Sif included, seemed upset. But those tended to keep her distance from her and so she hardly noticed them.


As the night progressed, Kara became caught up in the crowd, being pulled this way and that by people wanting to meet her and introduce her to other people. They had even opened a dance area where she had been pulled into several bouts of dancing by many different men. She had wanted to dance with Loki, but dancing with the Allfather would have looked odd, so she had let herself be dragged into the swirling madness of the party by men she was certain were only interested in her status.


As those around her became more drunk and therefore more boisterous Kara found herself looking for an out. She looked around the crowd, trying to find a path leading out of the hall, but with every step she was approached by someone knew. She had removed the cloak some time ago and was left in the dress and chest-piece, otherwise she may have been tripped by people stepping on it. Desperate she searched the crowd for Loki, only half paying attention to the slurring drunken Fandral whom she was certain was attempting to flirt with her. She looked worried and a touch panicked at not being able to escape with ease. She was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the exuberance of it all. Where was Loki in this conglomeration of drunkenness?






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


Ok, so maybe I will get it done sooner, my boys decided to pass out on the couch with their movie, so...tada!

[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.

Lavinias did her very best to ignore Khan’s thoughts, clearly not in a mood to appreciate his mockery of her situation. Obviously that was what he was doing: rubbing her own discomfort in her face because she had for some stupid reason, decided to go along and let the two men have some form of control over her life. Mentally she could keep from rolling her eyes. He was so purposefully overly formal too—the absolute pinnacle of her species—hah! This was one of the many reasons struggling against both of them was worth it—she would be sure not to forget this anytime in the near future.

Lavinias was happy to be lead away, although specifically by Khan, perhaps not. She really wasn’t good with social gatherings, especially when she was uncomfortable as it was being dressed up—her suggestion that Khan make an appearance was to help her with what she would regrettably admit was a weakness, but it had backfired pretty quickly. Despite her earlier irritable attitude, she was at least feeling a little less hostile after seeing her father. What she had seen in his eyes was more than enough to make her feel forgiven. He was proud of her. Not proud of her in the way, perhaps, she thought she would have made him feel proud, but it was a start nonetheless. Maybe one day soon she could explain to him her intentions of protection behind the years of isolation and troublemaking, but she didn’t think it really mattered to him at this point. It occurred to her suddenly that perhaps Farshus had already convinced him. She glanced over her shoulder to see what was left of the group saying parting words before breaking up and heading respectively towards where they were to sit. Lavinias imagined her whole family was there, somewhere.

Her eyes didn’t have time to search for them, though, because Khan was helping her into her seat. A second later, he was in his seat beside her, both of them seated across from the Klingon champion. His name was Memeth, and he was large. Thick muscled and just as ferocious as she expected the champion she would be facing to be. Lavinias wasn’t particularly torn one way or another about Memeth—just another Klingon among the many that she’d seen before. It felt odd to think that she’d be fighting to the death with him, and she didn’t feel threatened. Was she that confident in her abilities? No, she didn’t think so. She was sure she would panic soon enough. But for some reason, whenever she was around Khan, she felt calmer, more confident, and dare she say safe. ‘Ugh.’ She really needed to get him out of her head.


"What do you want?" Lavinias directed her attention to the Klingon, then glanced towards Khan, who was staring expressionless back at Memeth. She felt her holding her breath, hoping that the two weren’t going to start anything. Khan, of course, wasn’t that stupid, and she released the breath when he spoke calmly—respectfully, even—to the champion. She wasn’t stupid enough to think that his every move wasn’t calculated, though, and she watched with a close eye as she accepted her full glass.

‘You’re more useful than you look,’ she thought, taking a sip of the liquid. ‘Now what will it take for you to drop that sarcasm?’

As Lavinias expected, there was method behind Khan’s actions. The more the night progressed, the more the intoxicated the Klingon became. But it wasn’t just the Klingon—the entire room was filled with happy drunken people. Blood-wine was especially high in alcohol content, and few were taking that into account, Klingons included. It was clear Memeth had had a few drinks too many as he slurred his speech at Farshus. Luckily, it wasn’t something he was unused to, but Lavinias was glad she had stopped drinking a few drinks ago, otherwise she would be in the same state. Even now her cheeks had a little more color than normal. But Khan—he had had just as many drinks, so why did he seem so…normal?

Just as this thought passed through her mind, Khan sent her one of his own. He almost seemed amused, but not in a lighthearted way. No, this was something much darker than that, as it was followed by a comment she could just see him sneering at. ‘And what makes you so special?’ she asked, glancing at him sideways. ‘Let me guess, it comes with being a super human. But not being able to get drunk—no wonder you’re so terribly boring,’ she teased, a light smirk gracing her lips her attention directed back in front of her. Dinner had already been finished, leaving only dessert and more drinking to follow. If she were not the champion for her planet, she might’ve been more inclined to join the fun and get wasted, but seeing as Farshus was keeping a close eye on her, any fun to be had here was long gone.

The two, even without their mind connection, seemed to understand each other’s desire to leave the noisy venue, but when Khan stood, Memeth heavily objected. Farshus glanced at Khan worriedly, knowing the man didn’t take well to disrespect, but to the former’s relief, the latter took his seat. He had his suspicions, but was overall unaware of the mind connection between Lavinias and Khan. However when he noticed Khan glance at her, and the woman smiled devilishly, he felt his stomach churn uncomfortably. He was certain it was from realizing something he feared rather than the amount of alcohol in his stomach upsetting it. “Allow me,” Lavinias said suddenly, taking the mugs from Khan’s hands and filling them herself. She returned with them full, and handed one to Khan, and the other to Memeth. Just before she pulled her hand away, though, her fingertips grazed his hand. He was too numb to notice, but the effect was almost immediate. His eyes drooped halfway as he moved to guzzle the drink down. ‘It’s so easy to persuade a drunken male of any species,’ she thought, slightly disgusted as Memeth slammed his glass down on the table. He looked like he was about to ask for another, when instead his eyes closed entirely, and he slumped in his chair. Lavinias hadn’t even had the chance to sit down again. “Such a shame I won’t get to join him. He looks so peaceful,” she said in an airy tone before looking to Farshus. “I need a little fresh air. Do save my seat for me,” she told him with a wink before moving away from the table.


She assumed Khan would leave as well, but whether or not he would choose to pursue her was anyone’s guess. She almost hoped he wouldn't because she was quite aware of the many questions he had about her. Almost. There was a good chance he wouldn't, though. He, like her, seemed to prefer time alone. Or perhaps that was just because her species wasn’t good enough for him—she wasn’t sure. Once she was out of the dining hall the air was cool and refreshing compared to the stuffiness inside. Moving around the building, she stopped only to look up at the moon. It was especially bright tonight, she thought, but it was probably just another effect of having too much blood-wine.




saiytanya

I hope that wasn't too lame xP

[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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Loki’s lips pressed into a firm smile—the kind of smile a man with a plan had when said plan was playing out perfectly—when she accepted the crown. Her tone was firm and confident—probably more confident than she actually felt, but it pleased those of Asgard. He placed the circlet on her head, and then Odin and he smiled genuinely simultaneously. “This is a glorious day, Kara,” Odin said. He then turned to the people in the hall. “Asgard, your future queen: Kara!” There were cheers and whistles, and glasses toasting to her before the party really began. Glancing beside him, he followed Kara’s gaze to her mother. “You should speak with her,” Loki encouraged her. While he had had issues with his parentage, he understood that there was nothing more precious than the love of a mother—birth or not. He wasn’t sure where the next few months would take Kara, but he was sure she would probably be away from her mother longer than she wanted to be. There was not a thing more that he wanted to fix than his relationship with Frigga before her death.

Loki stood back and watched as Kara and her mother rediscovered one another. In it, he found something hard within him soften, and he realized with shock that his eyes were tearing up. “Damn it,” he muttered, looking away and busying himself with other matters. He would have Odin do the rounds while he sat back and observed the hall.

While Loki stood back, Thor made his way towards Kara, eager to meet her mother. Despite his initial reaction to Kara’s privilege of becoming the new air, he couldn’t help but feel happiness now. The whole kingdom was overjoyed, and he usually wasn’t one to make an excuse to miss a party. Besides, even if he wasn’t directly in line for the throne, there were other, more important things that could help him reach Kingship. Such as love. “A thousand pleasures to meet you, Valkyrie Rhia,” Thor said with a grin. His grin softened as he looked to Kara. “It is clear now where you get your beauty from.” Thor felt slightly confused when Rhia mentioned that she had been away from Asgard for so long. He had forgotten that Kara had only just arrived, and that she had been on Midgard for most of her life. He took her hand in his large, warmer ones, and looked into Rhia’s eyes. “Lady Valkyrie, trust me, the pleasure is mine,” he told her sincerely. His eyes moved from his father after they pulled away from one another. He would most definitely bring this back up to him, and find out why the two women had been sent to earth for so long a time. It was not like his father to do such a thing without a proper explanation.

Before he could make any more conversation and perhaps find out from Rhia himself why she had spent so much time on earth, dinner was making its way out to the tables, and they had seats to take. Thor led Kara to sit next to Odin, opposite the side he sat. Dinner was nothing less than exquisite, and before long, the food was consumed and people were ready for the real celebrations to begin.

The subject of such an important gathering, it was eminent that Kara was going to be swept off by a crowd of Asgardians eager to get to know their future queen better. Loki had come to this conclusion before the ceremony even began, and made sure that he was appropriately prepared so as not to feel pestered by the idea of swarms of people, particularly men, crowding her and leaving no room for him to consult with her at all. He wasn’t sure how she would react. She was polite, so he assumed she would enjoy it to some extent. What he didn’t expect was for it to be so obvious that she was overwhelmed by it all, and the drunken fools not taking any notice to the fact that no, she did not want to have another dance. Loki made sure to keep his impatience in check, though. He would have a word with Kara, but it wouldn’t be until the hall was sufficiently drunk not to take notice. If Odin was seen leaving with the most important person at the party, suspicions might arise, and Loki didn’t want that.

Finally, after what was quite literally hours of waiting, Loki found it was time to make his move. An intoxicated Fandral was quite smitten by Kara, but Loki knew he was too far incapacitated to object or become wary if the woman were to be lead away. He would more than likely make his way to the closest female, and continue on his unimpressive compliments from where he left off. Odin made his way towards them from behind Kara, who was only made known to his presence when Loki slipped his arm around her waist, appearing behind her, their bodies meeting lightly. His rendition of Odin, of course, kept a few feet away. “Perhaps you desire a more secluded place to gather yourself? All this can be quite overwhelming I’m sure,” he whispered lowly in her ear as Odin made voiced a concern for Kara and that she needed some air.

That being said, Loki’s hand fell from her svelte waist to his side as he led her out of the hall, sure that nobody took any notice of the Allfather’s or Kara’s new absence. Ironically, he took her to the gardens, where he had once found her with Thor. There the green garden walls would be tall enough to shroud his figure. Once they made it there, he let Odin disappear for once. He felt the need to speak, but for once, his tongue was parched, which was rare for the man who so easily spun silk words like spider’s spun webs. He had an intense yearning for Kara that he had never felt before, but he knew he could not act too impulsively. “I am sorry for not helping you take your leave earlier—I wanted nobody to follow us,” he began, hands clasped behind his back. He looked down, then back to Kara, a sultry look in his eyes. “You are beyond stunning. A gift none of Asgard quite deserves…” he paused, and let out sigh that was mixed with laughter. What was he saying? He took a step closer, and lifted a hand to Kara’s face. “Forgive me for not knowing what to say.” His eyes moved briefly to her lips before finding her gaze once more. “I’m usually better at that sort of thing.”

Very slowly he moved his lips towards hers, all the while his hand moving from her cheek to the back of her neck. When their lips were centimeters apart, he paused, his eyes moving from her lips to look into her beautiful green orbs. “You are far more than I am worthy of,” he whispered, his voice every bit as enticing as the look in his eyes. This was too risky, and he shouldn’t be doing it. It could ruin everything. His plans didn’t allow for this sort of thing. “But never have I been known for resisting that which I long for,” he finished barely before his lips crashed into hers, overpowering for a moment before softening, waiting for Kara’s reaction.





Saiytanya

Sooo I couldn't help this xP if it doesn't feel right to you, I can totally alter the end of my post. It just sort of happened when I wrote it.

[Saiytanya]

As Lavinias questioned his inability to get drunk, her little jab thrown in at the end, Khan returned with a smirk of his own. 'I assure you, there are times when I can be quite interesting.' He was glad she seemed a bit more relaxed now, but perhaps that was due to the alcohol. If she were any other woman, he might have taken advantage of the fact, but Khan respected her too much to do such a thing. No, if he were to have her, it would be only if she gave herself willingly, or else it would not be satisfying enough to his ego.


Seeing that Lavinias understood him by way of the Klingon he happily let her take the mugs from him. She was so very skilled at this. He found himself in awe of this fantastic woman. He hardly batted an eye when the Klingon fell into a deep sleep and she hardly took a beat before taking her leave. He watched her head out and looked to Fashus. "I think, perhaps, I should go with the lady. I am, after all, her escort. It would be rude of me to do otherwise." Khan stood rigidly before turning and heading after Lavinias.


He was close behind her, but quiet as a minx as he moved. When she stopped to look at the moon, he too stopped. But not to look at the moon. Instead his eyes fell on her. For several moment his eyes traced her frame before he finally spoke, alerting her to his presence. "Your moon is brighter than Earth's." He spoke aloud to her. A few short steps were taken and he was standing behind her, his hand clasped militaristicly behind his back. He looked down at her sideways. "It is not often I get the opportunity to enjoy a view." He spoke softly as his neck craned back to look at the moon. "I spend far too much time watching my own back." There was a deep angry sadness in his voice that he had not shown to Lavinias before, "But there have not been any who have proven trustworthy here."


He fell silent then, his mind turning to his crew, his family. They were out there, one Earth most likely, still frozen. completely unaware of his need for them. Seventy-two people whom had proven thier love for him over and over again. Seventy-two people who needed him to free them, to provide them a new home beside their lord and friend. 'I completed the scanners and calibrated them to be able run metaphasic sweeps. Do you wan to see what's up there? In the darkness of your planets shadow?' Khan didn't even wait for her to answer, he merely took her hand and lead her away and back to the lab he had spent the last few days on and off.


His lab was entirely empty at this time of night. It helped that most everyone was off at the boisterous party. Khan let go of her hand once they were inside and moved to one of the consoles. He didn't bother turning the light on, they didn't really need it either. A few taps of the controls and it began beeping lightly, "How many Klingon war-birds were approved to come to the festival?" He asked almost rhetorically. Looking up at her he directed her gaze toward the screen, "There are five battle cruisers and and twenty six war-birds up there." He smirked slightly, "At least they see you as a viable threat. You should feel honored."


He stood then and left her to look at the screen as she please, having completely forgotten about the dent in the desk beside her. Slowly he moved among the debris, his hands listlessly touching a few. "The torpedoes were empty." He said aloud softly, "You saw my past. The Vulcan. He emptied the torpedoes. My crew..." Though Khan fought it, his eyes were beginning to tear up. His already vibrant blue-green eyes becoming even more vibrant. "They're still alive...and they need me." He looked back at Lavinias, his eyes reflecting what little light was in the room. "I need them, Lavinias. I cannot spend my life wondering who I can trust. I need someone who will defend me loyally. I wish you could be that person, Lavinias, but you hate me more than your council." He harrumphed lightly and turned back toward the wreckage.


"I don't like being deceived." His eyes popped up, looking at nothing in particular. That Vulcan...he wanted him dead, more than that, he wanted to watch him suffer. He wanted to torture him, to force him to watch Khan torture and kill every member of the Enterprise until even his Vulcan facade of calm was broken and he was reduced to a weeping child on the floor.

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

It's not too long, I tried to make it longer, but I felt I reached a point where he really needed a reaction to continue.

[Saiytanya]

Kara let out a quick gasp when she suddenly had an arm sliding about her waist, her eyes growing wide with shock. Something about feeling his body against hers, albeit just barely, made her blood pulse faster as she turned her head to look behind her. Her shocked expression softened only slightly when she realized it was him, but only slightly. His voice flowed into her ear like silk and she felt her breath catching in her chest. Was he drunk? Had he, perhaps had a bit too much wine? It was all she could think, really, except that she really didn't want him to let go. But then he did, moving away and through the crowd. Almost subconsciously, Kara grabbed onto his hand, not wanting to get lost among the madness. She knew he could easily extend his illusion to cover the fact that she was holding onto him.


Before she knew it they were away and out in the cool night air. When had it become night? She must have been in the blur of the party much longer than she had thought. But it was nice out here. When they had finally broken free from the crowd, Kara had let her hand drop from Loki's and instead slipped her arm into his, a faint blush in her cheeks well hidden by the dark night. They walked then, just walked, in the calmness of the star filled sky. Kara barely noticed when he let the Odin guise drop, she was so used to just looking past it. But when he finally spoke, her attention was drawn towards it. Wasn't he afraid of someone seeing him? But he answered her question before she could even voice it.


The way he looked at her, Kara could hardly handle it. At his compliment Kara found herself looking down with a nervous laugh, "I have to say you look very fine yourself. That outfit suits you." She told him, trying to cover her nerves the best she could. As he began moving closer Kara felt as if her heart might stop. What? What was this? Then his hand moved to her face and Kara could no longer question what he had in mind. He was so close. She could feel his breath on her lips. She wanted to run, to hide away, she wasn't ready for this, but her body wasn't listening. She couldn't get it to move, to flee. Without her even realizing, all around them, the plants had begun growing, a reflection of her nerves no doubt.


And then it happened. His lips pressed wantonly into her hers and she found herself briefly overtaken by the feeling of it. Her hands slipped up to his chest as she found herself kissing him back, much against her better judgement. Kara felt as if the whole of the world melted away. The plants around them were growing out of control, as if years were passing in a matter of seconds. But that was how Kara felt, lost in a kiss that spanned centuries. As the kiss waned and their lips slowly moved away from each other, Kara slowly opened her eyes, looking up at Loki with a mixture of confusion and infatuation. In a sudden burst of realization, she found her strength, pushing hard against his chest. Just as quickly a hand shot out and across his face. Kara looked at him with wide eyes reflecting her shock and fear. "You..."


"Loki?" Thor's voice cause Kara to stop, and turn her head swiftly. Thor had noticed Kara was missing and upon asking Fandral had been told she had been lead away by Odin. He had hoped this would be a chance for him to speak with Kara and his father privately. It had taken him some time to find his own way out of the hall and more time, still, to find them in the gardens. It was the unusual over growth that had lead him here and what did he find? His thought dead brother kissing the woman he desired for himself. Thor's expression held a tyriad of emotion; shock, heart-break, happiness, anger, fury.







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



Wow, I'm just doing short ones today, I'm sorry. o.o

[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.

Lavinias glanced behind her, spotting Khan briefly before looking back up to the moon, bright and hypnotizing. She let out a sigh. It was neither bright nor hypnotizing enough to distract her from the problems her nation was facing. The amount of pressure she felt weighed down the light feeling of the alcohol and the nostalgic feeling of looking at the moon. “I know the feeling,” she admitted, turning and looking at him. She felt a sudden pang of guilt then. Despite their rather short and volatile history, Lavinias felt safer with Khan around—she had even used him at the party, so that she wouldn’t have to fully participate in the things she dreaded. ‘You owe him nothing,’ she tried to convince herself, but she knew it wasn’t true. Just like everyone else in her life, she was using him, and here he was before her, unguarded and unhappy. “Can you blame them—us?” She didn’t expect him to answer. He knew as well as any that trust was earned slowly, especially among a planet that saw few outside visitors. It had taken centuries of war with the Klingons to create a peace agreement with them.

There was a long silence then, and Lavinias could only imagine what was running through his mind. He had lost a lot, and for a man who was so strong externally she knew deep inside he was lonely, longing for a home and a family. She turned to glance at the moon once more when his voice entered her mind. Her eyes snapped back to his frame. He had done the scans—he knew whether or not the Klingons were planning to attack, and if they were what their numbers were…Lavinias didn’t need to respond, and for once she didn’t pull back when he firmly gripped her hand and led her to his labs.

They made it there in no time, and she followed him to one of the consoles. She waited with a nervous tension for the screen to light up with figures. She shrugged at his question, knowing full well he knew it wasn’t many. “Only a few at best,” she muttered, mostly to herself, as she looked at him. There was worry in them, something she rarely showed anyone. Following his gaze to the screen, she felt her heart dropping. Any hope of peace was ripped from her insides and mocking her from the screen. War was upon them. “Honored,” she said the world incredulously, as if she was surprised he would suggest such a thing, but her eyes didn’t move from the screen. She counted them all. Her hands reached forward to the desk, supporting her shaking body on the cold metal. Her fingers grazed a dent in the desk, and taken aback, she looked down to see a large dimple in the metal. She balled her hand into a fist, and placed it in the cavity. No doubt, this was the work of a fist, but not hers.

As if answering the questions that arose in her mind, Khan began speaking. He relayed the information he had received only a few hours earlier, and Lavinias reached out to his mind, and she was suddenly overwhelmed by him—his anger in that moment, realizing that the Vulcan had tricked him. She pulled her mind back, not wanting to get caught up in his raw emotions. Straightening, she turned to look at him. His eyes glistened with wetness, and Lavinias felt her expression soften despite knowing he was just as dangerous now as he was any other—perhaps even more so. She took in a slow breath as he mentioned his desire for her to just give up her fight, pointless as it was.

If she protested to his statement, she would be lying—or half lying, at least. Part of her hated him so much, because he was the embodiment of everything that had ever made her feel weak, useless, and out of control. But the other part of her…

“None of us do. You have so much anger and hatred,” she said finally. She folded her arms across her chest. “You want to kill others, and you can do so easily, without a second thought. You are a perfect soldier.” She paused, looking at him. “I’m not like that. I have never been like that.” Even when she was pretending she didn’t care. “And if I am a genetic anomaly, it’s only because I am—was, abnormally, substantially weak for my lineage. I learned at a young age what it was like to be on the bottom. But I kept trying. I always thought I wanted to be the best, and if I kept working hard at it, I would make it there one day. I was pathetically stupid.” She sent him images of the past, of her smaller, younger self—no older than eight—constantly bruised, always hopeful, resistant to the harsh words and annoyed looks others cast at her. “I started to realize that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be good enough. I couldn’t catch up.” She sent him snippets of her, now a little older, designing things that could help her. Guns were perfect, they required only hand eye coordination. No close style combat. A chance to win without so much as touching an opponent.

But there was another part to her story, the part he so desired to know. “For centuries, we had a stone that held great power. It was held in reverence by my people. Mystics dedicated themselves to worshiping it, and growing close to it. One day, the mystics went to the council, claiming that the stone desired a vessel—that it could be more useful to us when combined with our best and brightest.” She was eleven then.

“Are they sure it has to be him?” Lavinias asked, worried. Zellain, the warrior they apprenticed, had just told his students that he had been chosen by the council.

There was a glimmer in Zellain’s eyes. “There is no better at his age, surely you realize that, Lavinias,” he said, causing the girl’s cheeks to redden as her eyes fell to the floor. The best student was always paired with the worst in the hope that they would improve to at least the skill level of the rest of the group. “Not only that, but he was stronger than even I was at his age. The younger the candidate, the more easily he will learn control by the time he is older.” Zellain smiled at Farshus, who gave a nervous grin back.

“Don’t worry, Lavinias, I’m ready,” Farshus said.

She skipped the memory along, to the day of the ceremony.

There was only a small crowd allowed to view the conjoining of the sentient stone and the boy. Lavinias slipped through the crowd, until she was at the front. They formed a circle around a low stage, where Farshus stood. All around him the mystics stood, chanting something as one brought forth a stone, blacker than anything Lavinias had ever seen before. She held her breath as the chanting grew louder, and the stone seemingly channeled its energy into a large, black tendril, and shot into the fearful mouth of Farshus. There was a wind so strong Lavinias had to brace herself against it in order to stay on her feet. Her hands moved up to her face to protect her eyes, but when they lowered the sight before her was horrifying. The mystics were scrambling about, looking at one another for answers. ‘I wanted the best and brightest!’ an angry sounding voice boomed from the center of the room. On the stage, Farshus’ body was twitching uncontrollably as he lay on the stage, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

“It’s killing him!” Without thinking, the Lavinias rushed onto the stage, dodging past any hands that grabbed at her until she was holding Farshus’ head steady. Tears were in her eyes. “Farshus, please don’t—” her voice was cut off when the same dark tendril that had forced its way into Farshus shot out of his mouth, and into hers.


What happened between then and now, she chose not to disclose. “It was an accident,” she said once the memory faded. “I—I gained the ability to see into others minds—to learn from them. But that didn’t make it any easier.” She cast her eyes downward. “Once you’re at the bottom, you know what it feels like. And suddenly being at the top isn’t what you thought it would be.” Her eyes shot up to him. “Klingons, Earthlings, Lacertaens—we are not as different as you think. We all have things that we care about. With one touch, I can know everything. I thought that I wanted power, that I wanted to be the best, but once I had surpassed my peers, I learned at what cost. Killing is something I am not strong enough to do—not without something like a gun to do it for me.” She closed the distance between them, leaving only a foot or so of space between them. “I am strong enough for your genetic enhancement now, but there are many who aren’t. My brother is one of them." He was just like she had been—somehow extraordinarily weak despite the great genes their parents had had to offer. “I can’t imagine what seventy-two of you would do—oh wait, I can. You, or any of your crew could not care less if he were to die. And you want me to help you?” Angry tears ran down her face without her even realizing it. This man was so infuriating, and yet she understood him to his very core.




saiytanya

This was way longer than I expected it to be. And way angstier.

[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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In the short few moments that Kara leaned into him, accepting his notion and returning the kiss, Loki felt energy burst through him. Her lips were plushy, soft and warm, every bit as enticing as they looked, and Loki had to hold back with every bit of his self control not to bite at her playfully. Greedy as his nature was, he wanted more, but he wanted to give her a chance to show him what she wanted—he had known for a while, in the back his mind, what he wanted—she was the missing piece now. Their lips parted slightly, and Loki was confident that every bit of her had liked what he had done, when she shockingly pushed him away, her fingers serving her a stinging slap across his cheek. Loki stared at the ground for a few moments, trying to comprehend what was going on. She had just slapped him—but every moment before that had seemed perfect—what had he done wrong? Loki looked up, slightly confused, meeting the alarmed and defensive look in Kara’s eyes. He couldn’t help but let out a small pant as he smirked. “Well then, that was not quite the response I was hoping for...but close,” he supposed he should have been more hurt, but the smirk on his lips made it quite obvious that he was aware that a part of her, even if it was a part of her she was not willing to acknowledge just yet, was quite pleased with the meeting of their lips. Even the flowers in the garden had grown in the presence of their intimate meeting—he assumed that could only be the doing of Kara.

“You...”

Loki put up his hand defensively, and was about to encourage her to calm down, when another voice entered the conversation, causing Loki to pause all together. He was beginning to reflect that while their kiss could have gone worse, the situation was not getting any better. “Oh dear,” he said, sighing, and turning to look towards Thor. His emotions were as harmonious as a blind, drunk man trying to play the piano, and they were written in his brow, his eyes—every feature of his face. He supposed he should feel something more than annoyance, perhaps a little guilt, but alas, he felt none.

"Loki?"

Loki turned to Thor. His hands folded in front of him despite his impatience with the prince. “You have impeccable timing,” he said, sarcasm thick in his tone.

Confusion filled his features, before anger. “You live? Brother, is this truly you?”

Sighing, Loki rolled his eyes. “You aren’t going to make this easy, are you. Yes, I live. Not brother. How many a time must we go over our different lineage?” he said , forgetting that Kara was there, and that she didn’t know of his true lineage. “I was preoccupied, if you don’t mind—”

“I saw you die, Loki. Not like the first time, when we only thought the worst had happened. Your body was brought back to Asgard! Father proclaimed you—” he seemed to be catching on now, and Loki smirked devilishly. “What happened to father?” Thor boomed, suddenly rushing towards Loki with anger. He gripped a seemingly unfazed Loki’s collar, lifting him to his tiptoes as he pulled their faces close with his intense strength. “Where is he?”

“Why, he’s right over there,” Loki said, tilting his head towards an Odin he created. Thor was drunk, but he was not that stupid, responding only by shaking Loki slightly.

“Where is he?” He roared.

Loki’s eyes harden. “Your father is burning in Hel, for all I care, Thor Odinson.”

Pain registered in his gaze before one of his fists slammed into Loki’s face—or rather, it would have had it not been an illusion. The delusion disappeared and Loki reappeared a few feet behind the grand warrior, not impressed by the man’s attempt at crushing his face. “Our fight with Malekith—mother—did none of it mean anything to you? Must you always ruin sentiment with your schemes?”

Loki sighed, infuriating Thor only more. “If I told you it did, would you believe me? I think not. Nor would you believe that I only want what is best for Asgard, despite your people’s constant loathing of me. I have done nothing wrong in my rule as Odin, and yet if I were to reveal myself as who I truly am, Hel would reek havoc upon us all.”

“Done nothing wrong? You have lied to the people you so pathetically want to rule over—how is not that wrong? Not to mention you’ve denied me my birthright, while entrusting the throne to someone who had naught but been on Asgard for a week!”

“And yet both of us serve as better rulers than you,” Loki said with ferociousness.

There were no more words between the two as Thor attacked, swinging at his brother drunkenly. Normally, Thor would always have the upper hand in a fight such as this, but with his heavy intoxication, Loki was certain he could not fail. Not to mention, he had a weapon, where as for the time being, Thor was hammerless. “So much has changed, has it not? I remember when you refused to fight me. What has changed now that you are so eager to resort to violence?” Thor swung a few more times, missing, ignoring his brother’s jeering comment. Loki, growing rather bored, decided to end things quickly, pulling out his dagger deftly and sinking it into his drunken brother’s side. Thor gasped as suddenly, as he collapsed upon his brother, Loki holding him up. “Worry not, brother,” Loki whispered into Thor’s ear to ensure that he heard his voice through his own desperate gasping. “I have a special gift that will help protect Asgard.” There was a spark in his eye that Thor recognized.

“I will not…let you…use her...”

“It is unlike you to be so long winded—” Loki’s comment was cut off by the unmistakable sound of a hammer crashing into both of them, sending the two in to the nearest garden wall. “Damn it!” Loki cursed, fighting his way through the vines to get up. Thor, somehow, was managing quicker, though, and finally one of his punches landed in Loki’s gut, sending him skidding backwards towards Kara. This would not end with one punch, though. Staggering, Loki moved swiftly to his feet, ready for Thor’s next attack. Kara, while not forgotten in mind, was all but forgotten in presence, the two brothers fighting explosively with one another as they had been as of recently without shame.




Saiytanya

I hope this was well executed. I wanted it to be more about the words and what was being revealed about Loki, and then about the fight.

[Saiytanya]

Khan listened to her patiently speak. He found her tale of woe like so many others, but she was opening up to him. This was a good thing. It was a start. So many people had sad stories, some sadder than others. It was in the nature of sentient beings to want to share them, to stop feeling alone. In the end, though, everyone was alone, in the darkness of space. Then she began showing him her memories. Farshus was chosen for this stone? He was a strong man, well built, but he was not 'strong enough'. Of coarse, his mind. This stone dealt with the mind and if there was anything Lavinias was without doubt, it was brilliant and strong of mind. It was no wonder it chose her instead.


As her memories faded from his mind and she began speaking again he turned to face her just as she stepped closer. Still he listened to her. At her last question he leaned down, his nose a mere inch from hers as his voice issued out sharp and strong. "Yes." His blue-green eyes stared into hers, cold, solid. "Do you know why you're going to help me?" His lips drew up into a faint smile. "Because you want to protect your people."


He stood straight then, his hands clasped behind his back as he slowly began moving around the room. "Because you have something that I do not, an ability to tell who is strong enough. With your help, no one need die from failed experiments. With your help, your people will live." He stopped, turning to look at her, trying to gage her thoughts, her reaction to his words before he continued walking. "I am not a fool, Lavinias. I know that empires are not built of only soldiers. There are...teirs; musicians and artists to keep the people happy, to keep culture; workers, to gather resources, to feed the people and build the cities; Doctors; scientiests," He paused and turned pointedly at her, "weapons designers." He smirked faintly, a playful darkness in his eyes as he looked at her.


"You are everything I am not, Lavinias. You have a strength not only of mind, but of heart." He moved toward her again, slowly backing her up against the nearest table. "I am just a soldier, a general, a leader of armies, but you, you are the soul I lost decades ago." Leaning forward he place his hands on either side of the table, effectively pinning her loosely against the table. For several long moments he merely stared at her. He wanted to grab hold of her and ravish her where she stood, to prove with every inch of his body who was in charge here. He wanted to send her into a state of delerious joy, but Khan was far too tactical to lose himself like that. Instead he stared at her, solid, strong, serious. "Be my conscience, Lavinias. Be my heart, and I swear your people will become the leaders of the greatest empire since the Klingons."


He waited then, staring silently, waiting for her response. He wasn't sure if she would agree. He hoped she would. He needed her, but not just for her ability or her strength. He needed her for something else, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something he wouldn't admit even if it were staring him in the face. There was a savage, animalistic desire to keep her; covetous, protective. He not only wanted her as his conscience, he wanted her as his co-ruler, his queen as well such a woman should be. As well she deserved to be.

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

[Saiytanya]

Kara's own emotions were all over the place tonight. They had gone from excitement to panic to happy excitement to shock and now confusion. She watched the exchange between the brothers with confused interest. Wait...'different lineage?' Kara found herself intently interested in what was being said now. Her ability to see through Loki's illusions enabled her to see him move, replacing himself with an illusion that Thor grabbed onto, lifting him up from the ground with ease. What...what was going on? Loki condemned Odin to Hel, and the way he said Thor's lineage name, with such contempt.


Malekith, the Queen, Frigga? Kara was so very confused. There was so much Loki had not said. What was Loki to the Kingdom? That ceremony she just went through, was it all a charade? Was it even legal? Kara listened to the exchange, her anger growing the more they spoke. Then Thor, such anger about her being named heir. She was just a pawn. A piece of a chess set, expendable to save the king. What was Loki whispering? She couldn't hear him. Her blood boiled with every passing moment, as they continued to fight as if she were just a garden fixture to be overlooked. The next thing she knew Loki was thrown across the yard toward her. She watched him get up, he was losing...


That was it. Kara had had it! With deft speed she moved to stand between the two men. One hand clasped onto to Loki's coat as the other, with an unnatural strength that was not hers stopped Thor dead in his tracks hammer in hand and aiming for Loki. Her body glowed the vibrant blue of the Infinity Stone, the substance visibly pulsing though her veins. Her eyes had changed into swirling starry orbs as if new galaxies turned in her mind.


"Enough!" Her voice was louder than it should have been, booming across the garden. Her teeth clenched, anger pulsed through her with a fury she had never felt before. The world around them began to shatter, falling apart into nothingness. Eventually even the ground beneath them crumbled away and they fell.


It seemed like they fell for miles and miles in the inky blackness of space. Finally, they landed roughly on a lawn of plush grass tumbling as they went. The glow had faded only slightly as Kara stood, completely unscathed by their landing. With dark eyes she marched over to Loki, pulling him up from the ground and dragging him toward Thor. With the strength of the gem she pulled Thor to a stand just before the light finally faded but not her rage.


She looked to Loki, one finger up scolding, "You, shut up and stay." She turned to Thor, her expression softening only slightly. "You, explain! What did he mean about your lineage? What happened to Frigga and who the hell is Malekith? Why are you two fighting like age old enemies? You're brother's for God's sake! What madness has driven you to this?"


She looked back at Loki, "I'm done with listening to your lies Loki. It's time I know the truth." Her head snapped back at Thor. "Well?" She waited then, for Thor to explain to the best of his ability what had transpired between them. Frost Giant? Loki was a Frost Giant? She found herself caught up on that for a few moments, Loki wasn't big, or blue for that matter. It made no sense whatsoever. But then the man continued; the killing of Laufey; Earth, the events in New York. Then the events in London. Those had been the events that had sparked her memories. The memories that had cause her mother to go looking for help outside of Midgar. But she had only known what had happened on Earth, nothing more; not Loki's faked death, nor the death of the Queen.


Satisfied that Thor had told her everything he knew she turned again to Loki. "So where does that put me? A pawn? A tool to secure the throne? And that kiss? Another way to manipulate me? To snuggle me up against you til you might have use of me?" She took a few steps back, hurt in her eyes as she continued, "You're as bad as Odin. But at least he had the decency to save me from the pain of what had been done to me. But you...you manipulate, make me think you care, about me, about Asgard." Tears were streaming down her cheeks now as she spoke. "If redemption is what you seek, Loki, this is not the way to do it."


The roar of a chopper broke Kara's gaze on Loki as she turned to look at it. She saw as a figure dropped down without so much as a parachute. A man in a disturbingly spangly outfit moved towards them, a shield the same alarming color on his arm. The man looked between the three of them as he reached them, before his gaze settled on Thor, "Thor." He acknowledged calmly, "You wanna tell me why you're on the White House lawn?"


Kara narrowed her brows in confusion, turning to look at the large building that was looming a mere thirty feet away. "Well, I always wanted to see the White House." Kara said with surprising calm and a light shrug. Her cathartic last few minutes left her with blood-shot burning eyes as she stared at the building before turning to Loki. "I think I need some time away from you." She told him flatly, before looking at Thor, then at Captain America, "Can I ride in the chopper?"








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


This post completely got away from me. I just started writing and my fingers took over. I swear I rarely type that fast.