I GOT A CHAPTER DONE IM SO PROUD OF ME

This year is gonna be really unsocial for me, I have 3 APs, ya it's rough. 

Oh well. 

~Songs~

Too tired to find some

~Edit~

lokidottir

Chapter Thirty-Four

~Thea's POV~

I wake up to someone shaking me, and none too gently.

"Mmmmph," I groan, swatting the arm blindly, "Go away."

He shakes me harder, "Get up."

"No."

He kicks me, and I say sleepily, "I'm tired. Go away Loki!"

"...Thea." His voice is getting dangerously low.

"Go. Aw-EEE! LOKI!"

I squeal as Loki takes things into his own hands. Literally, he scoops me up and throws me over his shoulder so that I'm swinging mercilessly as his hand wraps around my ankle, holding me.

The tent flap opens, and Thor straightens as he enters- he has several blankets tossed over his shoulder, and is (of course) carrying Mjlonir in his right hand.

He raises his eyebrows as he takes in the sight of me hanging off of Loki's shoulder, "Brother, I recommend you release Thea before she hurts herself while trying to kill you."

I can practically see Loki rolling his eyes as he says, "How kind of you, Thor, to worry about my safety for this scrawny little girl."

"Hey," I say, still upside down and trying without much success to claw at Loki to get him to let go, "I am not scrawny and I am not-"

Loki snorts as his fingers tighten around my ankle, hoisting me up higher and ignoring my frustrated noises, "Not scrawny? Thea, you're a twig."

"I am not-"

Thor speaks over me, "In any case, the twig needs to prepare herself. We shall be leaving soon."

As I glare at Thor for taking his brother's side (Thor winks at me), Loki says smoothly, "Well brother, I suppose you have a point."

"ARGH LO-, ow!"

Loki has let go of my foot so that I go tumbling to the ground, amidst pillows and slightly dirtied blankets.

With a last laugh, Thor shoulders some more sleeping bags and walks out of the tent.

"You're annoying," I say, climbing unsteadily- I'm still tired- to my feet, "You're very very very very very very very very annoying," I swat him at each 'very'.

He looks down at me impassively, "Stop acting like a fly."

I swat him again, "Very."

"Thea."

"Ver- LOKI."

Loki has grabbed my wrist before I can swat him again. Bending down so that we're eye to eye, he smiles in fake patience.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you would keep your hands to yourself. Do you think you can manage that, darling?" His hand tightens as I try to twist my wrist from his vise-like grip.

I hear Max yelling for me out in the campground, but I pretend not to notice. I look up into Loki's mischievous green eyes, determined not to let him win (again).

"No," I say with a goofy grin, pushing him with my other hand so that he stumbles back about six inches. Loki's grip on me loosens slightly, and I wrench my wrist from his fingers, then race out of the tent, laughing merrily. I hear him shouting my name behind me, but I gleefully ignore it.

"Thea, there you are," says Max, pulling me by my arm towards the remains of the tent he had shared with Tony and Bruce, "I want you and Jack to go down to the creek about a hundred feet down this embankment and fill our water jugs." When I look hesitant, he assures me, "You'll be safe. Archer and Steve are standing watch around this place. I wouldn't tell you to do something that would be dangerous, right?"

"Good point," I grin as Max smiles, ruffles my hair, tosses me a few water jugs, and walks off towards Nat and Jane, who are standing around the dried-out fire.

I meet Jack at the edge of camp with several more water jugs. Even though the sun has barely started to rise, he's perfectly cheerful, trying to make me laugh by attempting to balance an inhuman number of water jugs in his arms.

The creek, as Max had told me, is about a hundred feet down an embankment on the south side of camp. The slope is muddy, which makes my hiking boots even more dirty. If I get back home alive, I'll have to use Max and Kyle's hose to wash them off.

I kneel down at the edge of the creek, plunging my hands inside the cool water and splashing it over my face. It's refreshing, and I shake my head to free the water from my hair. Beside me, Jack, still chattering a mile a minute, begins dumping the water jugs into the babbling creek, filling them.

"So we get to meet some mermaids today," comments Jack as if this were something perfectly ordinary, "Should be interesting, right?"

"Assuming we don't get eaten alive," I gripe, dipping another water jug inside the creek. After that, I slip my boots and socks off and stick my toes in the water. It's chilly, but feels good on my blistered, scratched feet and toes.

"Well you're certainly cheerful," Jack says sarcastically.

"I'm sticking to the facts," I point out.

"Well actually, you shouldn't be worried- you said they only like eating guys. I think you'll be just fine."

"Oh yeah," I say, leaning back on the grass, still letting my feet sink into the water, "Unless I piss them off. But I seem to be good at doing that."

After we finish filling up the water canisters, Jack and I lounge around the pond, not eager to go back to the seriousness and bustle of the camp. Jack amuses me by trying to catch what appear to be eels with long gills, but even with his experienced hands, they still slip through his fingers like silver silk.

"Good job," I say sarcastically, wiggling my toes in the water as one of the eel-like creatures shimmers by me, reflected in the rising sun that is beginning to reflect through the canopy of trees above us, "You're an expert fisherman."

He gives me a look, "Don't give me that sass, Thea."

"I believe I can actually give you as much sass as I want," I say, much more cheerful now as I flick some water up into Jack's face.

As he shakes his now-dripping hair, Jack says, "No you can't."

I roll my eyes, "You can't even catch a proper eel. Therefore, I can sass you as much as I want."

"Cannot."

"Can so."

"Cannot."

"Can so."

"You know, if Loki were to push you into the water right now, I think I would just laugh."

Again, I roll my eyes, "Yeah, that's rand-WHAT THE-"

I don't get to finish my sentence because I find myself pitched forward into the creek. It's not deep at all, only around four feet, but I still get properly soaked. As I surface, sputtering, I hear the maniacal laughter that only Jack and Loki could produce.

Still coughing from the suddenness and the utmost chill of the water, I practically scream, "LOKI YOU BASTARD!"

Loki, who, along with Jack, is basically bent over with laughter, says, "I'm so sorry kitten, but I couldn't bear to pass up the opportunity."

"And you!" I turn to glare at Jack, "I thought you were on my side!"

"I'm...sorry..." he snickers, "I...just...I couldn't...it was...you're...I'm sorry Thea!"

"You're not sorry." I'm still glaring at the both of them, still in the water.

"You're right," Jack wipes tears of laughter from his eyes, "I'm not."

Loki, in the meanwhile, kneels down next to the trickling creek. His eyes are dancing with mirth, and he is evidently trying to be stern as he says, "Thea, get out of the water now."

I slowly wade over to the edge of the creek, "I hate you," I gripe, beginning to climb out of the water.

"Oh yes," smirks Loki, "I kn-"

But then, before Loki can react, I have adjusted my course and instead of clambering onto the shore, I jump up and, with some effort, drag Loki into the water.

Jack and I begin cracking up as Loki surfaces, rubbing the water from his face and his hair, which is now plastered down.

He glares daggers at me, "Oh Thea, now you've done it."

I begin to climb up the bank of the creek (this time for real), "Oh c'mon Loki, it wasn't that bad, no Loki don't, Jack help, NO!"

I shriek as Loki lunges, reaching out and grabbing my ankle. I dig my nails into the ground, but it's perfectly useless: Loki yanks me back down and I find myself once again underwater.

When I surface, gasping, Loki is laughing, as well as Jack. I smack the top of the water in frustration, "Seriously!?"

"Don't play games with me, little one," advises Loki, flicking some water in my eyes, "Have I not already informed you that you will always lose?"

I cross my arms against my soaking wet shirt, "You're not very fun."

"On the contrary," says Loki, climbing out of the water and shaking the water from his hair, "I find myself to be positively amusing."

"Well you're a downright liar," I pout, trying to climb out of the water too. But then with a casual kick of his foot, Loki sends me back into the water. "DAMN IT LOKI, STOP IT!"

Ignoring a now absolutely gleeful Jack, Loki crouches down at the banks of the creek. "Say you're sorry," he says with a quiet mischief about him.

I find myself flush with anger, trapped in the water, "Ha ha Loki, you must think you're hilarious. No wait, your term for that is amusing. So the answer is no."

He raises his eyebrows as he peers down at me, "Very well, then it looks as though you'll be here for quite some time, kitten."

Pushing hard off the ground, I try to swing up on the shore, but even with my speed, Loki is too quick for me. His arms wrap around my torso and for a fleeting moment, I think he's actually helping me onto the shore.

But then he simply tosses me back in the water.

"JACK, HELP. ME. RIGHT. NOW!" I exclaim as I surface for the umpteenth time.

Jack may or may not have helped me, I'm not sure, but at this moment, Kyle appears from the underbrush from the general vicinity of the camp, "I heard shouts," he says as he saunters over, "What's going-" He stops and raises his eyebrow dangerously high when he takes in the sight of me trapped in a babbling creek with Loki and Jack still laughing, "On?"

"Loki won't let me out of the water!" I wail, knowing perfectly well that I sound like I'm two, but not even caring. "And he started it too!"

Kyle folds his arms akimbo and looks down at me, "Is that so?"

"You're the one who always tells me to defend myself?"

Kyle rolls his eyes dramatically.

"Tell him to let me out, will you?" I demand, "Pretty please, I'm getting cold!"

Glancing at Loki, he and Kyle seem to reach some sort of silent, smug agreement. Then, Kyle says cheerfully, "Sorry. A little swimming will do you some good. Helps the muscles."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" I scream as Kyle, with a jaunty wave in my direction, heads off back into the camp. Jack, offering me a very apologetic (and somewhat happy) look, follows his cousin.

I turn to give Loki a horrid look, "I hate you."

He doesn't reply. His smirk just gets more and more smug.

*

Predictably, it is Steve that saves me. He manages to convince (more like orders) Loki to let me go. "Besides," he says, "We don't want her to get sick again, do we?"

Loki gives me a look that plainly says that he doesn't cares whether or not I get sick again, He does, however, reluctantly let me out of the water, dripping wet. For some reason, he is miraculously dry and looks at me shrewdly as I shiver, "It seems that you've gotten quite soaked."

"Y-yes," I chatter as I stomp towards the camp, carrying a load of water jugs, "That t-tends to hap-ppen when I-I get nearly d-d-rowned by y-you."

He rolls his eyes, not appreciating my slight exaggeration.

At the camp, Jack tries to redeem himself by giving me a warm blanket, wrapping it around me tightly and trying to squeeze the water from my dripping hair. I squint my eyes at him when he smiles broadly at me.

An hour or so later, we head back out. We're not quite as much in a hurry today (which is good for me, considering my legs are now feeling like they're going to fall off after I walk for too long), and the mood is much more casual, although Archer still looks apprehensive.

"Are you worried about Vi-about your brother?" I can't quite bring myself to say his name.

Archer, who looks startled at the question, says in a low voice, "Of course I am. I've betrayed him, and he is an excellent hunter. I only hope that we can regain the pearl before he realizes what has happened."

I glance at Miryen, who is calmly plodding along behind Archer like a giant Labrador, "Well he doesn't look too upset right now."

Archer shakes his head, "Even Miryen's warning may not save us from Videl."

"Don't be so negative," says Jack, who is walking on Archer's other side. He has either gotten suddenly used to Archer's presence, or he's just trying to get in my good books (I predict the latter), "There's, like, ten times more of us than him."

"You haven't met him," I say before I realize what it is exactly I'm saying.

Jack looks at me sullenly, "Not you too."

Archer and I don't reply. We're the only ones in the entire group that knows exactly what Videl is capable of.

*

When the sun is three-quarters away around the horizon, arrive at what Tony (and Archer) informs us will be our campsite for the night. Unlike our previous foresty camp, this one is a bit more spacious, with plenty of room for the tents and fire pit instead of it being so squished. Kyle and Tony roast fish over the (low) fire, and soon, delicious smells are emanating from the flames. I eat quickly, not very hungry even though we've walked quite a way down the mountain, which is getting less and less steep as we get closer to the lake.

While Max and Steve go to refill our water canisters with the pure water of a trickling mountain stream (Steve doesn't trust Jack or me to go get the water anymore), Jack and I have our own little mock fights. The first time, he beats me ("Oh that was bloody amazing," he crows), but then the second time, after I feel myself growing more powerful, I turn the tables. Less than fifteen seconds later, Jack is on the ground and at the mercy of the chokehold Steve had so perfected in me.

The sun sets, and while Archer, Kyle, and Sam go take first watch, and while Thor, Steve, Bruce, and Nat sit by the fire going over strategy for the next day ("you're not invited because you're too nosy", Bruce tells Jack me after the two of us look at the four of them with hopeful eyes), I head into the tent, sit down in a corner, and take out my sketchbook. I've gotten in a weird habit of drawing on this trip: it sort of calms me down and allows me to really think about my existence.

Loki walks inside about an hour later. As he settles down with an exhausted sigh a few feet from me, I notice that within his armored pouch he has taken from his belt along with his sword and dagger, the little bottle Myrinea had given him is sparkling in the dim lantern light.

"What's that?"

"What's what?" He asks gruffly. Apparently, his eyes are closed and he's trying to go to sleep.

I sort of crab-walk over to him and pick up the bottle. In an instance, he has sprung up, startling me, and snatched the vial from my fingers, "Don't touch that, Thea!"

"Geez," I say, trying not to look affronted, "Sorry." As Loki puts the bottle back in the pouch, I say, "So what's in it?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with," he says, tossing the small bag behind him, effectively barring it with his body so that I have no chance of getting it now.

"Is it dangerous?" I ask, thinking back to what Myrinea had said, Take this to protect your conscience. "But that doesn't make any sense."

"I said to not concern yourself with it!" Loki snaps, rolling over so that his back is to me. There's a pause. "And don't make a face at me, young lady."

I'm so surprised that I bite my tongue (which I had stuck out at Loki), "Um," I stammer, "Fine then, be stubborn."

"Go to sleep."

"No."

"Thea, go to sleep." He sounds exasperated.

"No, I'm not tired, and you're not the boss."

He shifts, turning so that he's facing me, "Then turn off that damned light, because some of us are trying to sleep."

"If you want it off," I say with a vindictive pleasure, "Then turn it off yourself."

He gives me a rather incensed look, "In that case, go to sleep."

"Nope!" I say cheerfully, making a very determined line in my sketchbook just to prove my point.

"Theodora, I am not going to say this again," his voice has gotten dangerous, "Go to sleep. Right. Now."

I pout at him, but he has reached the point where (admittedly), there is no room for disobedience, "Fiiiiine if you want to be like that."

When I click the light off, he says, "Thank you. Now go to sleep."

"I don't want to go to sleep," I say in a muffled voice in the dark.

I hear him shift slightly, and he says, his voice slightly more gentle now, "I know. But you need to try. You're not any good to us if you're falling asleep on your feet."

"What if I dream about Videl again?" I ask a tiny, childish voice.

Pause.

"Then I will be here," he says quietly.

Another pause.

"Okay," I whisper, then cover myself with the blanket, trying to warm up soon. I'm asleep in two minutes.

That night, I don't dream about Videl.

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On that note, I BEG AND IMPLORE that you vote for Blue Moon in the Watty Awards. Link is in my profile, and it's in the Avengers category. PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE. Sorry. Thank you. 

Love you all!

Sierra