ᛚᛟᚲᛁ has a silver tongue. (the_trickster) wrote in avengers_logs, @ 2019-12-10 20:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | -complete, loki laufeyson, sif |
Who: Sif & Loki
What: a mission to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civil-...actually, they're gathering some Bifrost components.
Where: Worlds away!
When: Early December after texting Thor.
Loki was notoriously secretive by nature. He did not enjoy having his secrets being laid bare and felt compelled to bolt after waking from Stark's game. It was embarrassing for any Asgardian to be viewed as somehow weak. More so when it was viewed by Thor - everyone's favorite, the golden hero of every hour - who witnessed him at the lowest point in his existence.
Despite that, Loki didn't immediately run that day. He didn't exactly offer to help, either. Instead, he freeloaded in Stark's tower until the matter was resolved as much as it could be. Then he pathed back to New Asgard on his own, avoiding any awkwardness and planning his next steps in solitude.
Rebuilding the Bifrost was a perfect diversion. Having Sif accompany him to obtain Bifrost components meant a higher chance of success. And putting more distance between himself and a planet of such bad memories? All the better.
On the day of their departure, Loki left a letter for his wife and left to fetch their only illegally obtained spaceship from its hiding spot. He landed the small craft down on the fringes of the village, close to Sif's house.
It was a mishmash of red metal, very much in the designs that the Ravagers favored during battles in deep space. Fast and maneuverable, with ample firepower, jump capability, and room enough for a small crew. A good thing. A jaunt of this magnitude would require several jump points. Magically opening Ygdrassil's paths on foot would be taxing...not to mention profoundly dangerous when trying to pathwalk with another person.
He exited and quickly crossed the narrow lane separating a windswept field from Sif's home, rapping his knuckles lightly upon the door. As he waited, he attempted to look nonchalant. This was failing miserably. His expression was a little too wooden and both arms were folded protectively over his chest. The sooner they took their leave of this place, he thought to himself, the better.
Sif was waiting for Loki, armed and ready, her bags packed with gear for any number of situations. At the sound of his knock, she opened the door and gestured him in. "I have most of what we should need for wandering, and I've made all my arrangements. The guard regiment is in hand, and I've sent word to the Avengers that I'll be away for a time on Asgard's business. Is there aught else we must do, or are we ready to go?"
A smile cut through his wooden expression as he entered, taking in the gear she had chosen and the interior of her home. He was glad that Sif was as eager for an excursion as he was, and wasted no time in touching each bag with his fingertips. They disappeared as though by sleight of hand, tucked into the pocket space with the rest of his belongings and priceless treasures.
"It seems we are ready," he told her, and felt an old spark of trouble and adventure begin to burn. "Thank you for being so thorough, while I looked over the Bifrost plans. I have made our vessel ready in the field yonder, good lady. After you."
He bowed somewhat theatrically, one arm gesturing toward the door for her to leave before him. His mother instilled good manners in her sons, and of those, he knew that a lady should always go first. Where Loki was concerned, this was especially true if the lady was armed with a sword and any sort of battle was before them.
Sif locked the door behind them and headed across to the field, where the ship awaited them. "I like New Asgard, but I must admit, I'm ready to test myself in the field against something more exciting than a mortal with a low-tech weather control weapon. Or mind-controlled mortals that I must be careful of lest I break them." She couldn't quite be said to be bounding, but there was a spring in her step. "Where do we go first?"
Loki wasted no time in closing the hatch and making his way to the captain's chair, sitting down in the captain's chair before he replied, "A far flung moon, where rare crystals grow like grass. There are several places we must go, and some are not friendly...."
It was going to take a few months to fetch every single item they needed. Far longer than they were allotted on this jaunt. He started the ship's engines and began searching jump points on a holo screen, glancing up at her while the computer plotted the course.
"Surely you realize, some tasks might be handled less than honorably," he said, before gesturing to the co-pilot's chair for her to sit down and buckle in. "You are with me after all? But certain worlds would welcome the chance to take revenge on Asgard for conquests in the past. I will try to be diplomatic, but that may fail. We will not always be able to play nice in order to see this finished."
It might require tricks and subterfuge, as well as Sif's strong arm and eye for battle to get them out of trouble. He almost looked worried about what Sif would say in response....except for a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth.
Sif settled into the chair and began to strap in. "As you know, I prefer honorable war. But war isn't always pretty or honorable. We'll do what's needed." Sif thought Loki was looking for a reproof, so she denied it to him. It was a small trick as these things went, putting her in a position to either complain about honor or agree to dishonor.
This was, of course, why Loki had called on her instead of Thor. That and the fact that Jane still needed Thor's presence, and he was King and should be left with the people at New Asgard and, and, and. There were good reasons for all of it. Sif would just take whatever annoyance the situation (and Loki) provoked out on whoever got in the way of them finding the ingredients they needed to remake the Bifrost.
"We'll just hope it won't be too onerous," Sif added, resigned. "Let's go."
That no nonsense response was exactly what he expected. They would simply deal with whatever happened as it happened, and she could belittle his methods after if she wished to. It was what he expected, after all.
Instead of poking the topic with a proverbial stick, Loki nodded once in agreement. He set to work getting the ship launched and they were soon on their way.
The jumps didn't take long. The ship emerged at their destination, a large icy moon, orbiting farthest from a large sky blue gas giant. The ship's landing was heralded by the sound of breaking glass, as crystals shattered beneath the landing gears. It didn't seem to bother Loki, who pressed the button to open the hatch so they could disembark.
Outside the ship, the light from the nearest star was just bright enough to cast everything in shades of twilight. A blessing as the effect of full sun would have been blinding. Everything seemed to be cut into faceted glass, every crystalized limb of a 'tree' or razor sharp blade of grass. Even the creatures were made of the same stuff. What looked like a rabbit was nervously hovering nearby. It was entirely see-through, except for its perfectly round, opalescent eyes.
"Right then," Loki said, surveying the area. "You may wish to have sword and shield at the ready. We're about to break things."
"What are you looking for?" Sif asked as she strapped her shield on. She thought she might end up using it more as a bashing weapon than as something to protect herself for injury. "So I won't accidentally break the wrong thing. And also," she added, looking at the rabbit-glass, "will it be safe to bring a souvenir or three back to New Asgard?"
"I can not see why not?" Loki replied, ignoring the rabbit as he stepped foot on the moon's surface. "Whatever you want, we can fetch after this task is complete."
He suddenly clenched his fists and a pent up burst of anger magic blasted apart in a wide circle around him. The sound of it was as though a hundred wine glasses were shattered against a stone floor, all at the same time.
The rabbit, now thoroughly spooked, bolted away like it was made of quicksilver. This only added to the cacophony as it carved a path through for better cover. In the tinkling aftermath, the air shimmering with pale due dust motes, Loki let out a long slow breath. He composed himself and looked back at Sif, as though everything was perfectly fine.
"We need to make as much noise as possible as we move," he explained. "We shall head away from the ship. This will lure a crystal dragon. Then, I will need you to relieve it of its head. Then we can chip away and retrieve it's heart. Need you anything from your packs?"
Sif drew her cloak around her and stepped down, sniffing the air. It wasn't cold enough that she was worried about freezing. "Only the bandages and poultices for when we're done. Does the dragon breathe fire, or something else, or just spit glass?" She was clearly pondering what the dragon could do to her; Loki could almost see the wheels turning in her head, behind her eyes.
"I'm afraid the books were not overly descriptive." A brief sheepish expression was covered up with princely conviction. He was glad she was on already guard and thinking of such things. "I don't think it breathes fire. I see no signs of soot. Perhaps some other means of protecting itself..."
As they moved, Loki quietly grew frustrated. There were no dragon signs that he could find, and reaching out with his magic only came up with a faint residue. If they died out long ago, all of this would be for naught.
He kicked his boots at the 'grass' while walking at Sif's side. These crystals were rare. He researched through many books and star charts pulled from his pocket dimension to find this place. If he was wrong, he was going to look a fool in front of Thor's oldest friend. Thor would hear about this and the teasing would ensue....
Growing upset, Loki abruptly took his frustration out by kicking a large round crystal. It curved up through the air and down into a nearby crystal 'tree' grove. It was a loud racket, the sound of breaking glass riling up the smaller creatures and sending them scampering, causing an even louder racket. Loki's anger instantly evaporated. He held his breath as it chaos literally crashed down all around them.
Over it all was a high pitched screech that stood up the hair on the nape of his neck. He looked at Sif as the sound grew closer. It was far and faint at first, but the volume was swiftly rising. Soon enough, the very ground beneath their boots was vibrating.
"....oops?" Loki said. Rather succinctly.
Sif just grinned and circled away from Loki, drawing her blade as she moved surprisingly quietly across the glassy grass, not that anything she did would be audible over the dragon's approach. Loki could defend himself with his spells; Sif planned to leap on the thing and lop its head off, as Loki had suggested. Ideally it would go for Loki first and she could approach from the side. Since she had no idea whether the thing would be winged, scaly, covered in thick hide, or just made of glass like everything else in this place, Sif was ready to play the rest of it by ear.
Loki blinked in surprise, relieved that Sif wasn't irritated. He offered her a wide, mischievous smile in return. They had been on enough adventures and - even if he complained when younger - he was well-versed in pretending to be bait for a trap. He actually had hundreds of years of experience in that, thanks in part to Thor lunging at him and finding only thin air.
He split off from a double of himself, leaving it behind as though rooted in terror, and cloaked himself with a silent spell while moving in the opposite direction. Once this ruse was discovered, he could throw up a shielding spell or further illusions to keep it focused on him.
The drake could be seen by now, cutting through the air with wings so crystal clear that they didn't seem physical part of itself. A fact that was disproved when one wing cut through some branches as it came in low, and there was fleeting shimmer like jagged glass as they tucked in tight against the sides of its body.
The beast landed so hard that the ground seemed to leap beneath them and let out an ear-piercing screech. It was as beautiful as it was frightening to behold, milky scales shining in the dusky light, covering a body that was thinner than the dragons of other elements. Without wasting another precious second, cruel jaws opened in expectation of a meal, snapping at Loki's illusion.
Which was when Sif leapt at the dragon, once it was committed to its attack on what Sif assumed was an illusion and no longer the man himself. Her sword was out, but she wasn't striking at it so much as trying to scramble onto the thing and get in position to strike its head off. It was a beautiful creature, Sif thought, and she was sad to have to kill it. But in the heat of the moment, she was too busy getting on board to be anything but delightedly excited. What a tale she would have for Thor and Val when they got back to New Asgard!
The dragon's head tried to swing around, trying to snap at the warrior scrambling on its back, unable to reach. Crystal scales weren't pliable, and there was only so much it could bend. This was a predator at the top of a food chain consisting of defenseless, easy-to-snap up prey.
Before it could shake her off or roll it's body over, a ball of bright green foxfire hit the side of the dragon's face. It dissolves into wisps of glowing mist, temporarily blinding the creature and drawing its attention away from Sif.
Knowing he needed to give her time for a killing blow, Loki looked gleeful. He lightly stepped out of the way of a clawed foot, avoiding a blow that would have impaled or smashed him. Several copies of himself instantly sprung out of his body, running around in different directions and disappearing whenever claws or teeth hit one of them.
As she climbed toward the head, Sif realized the palms of her hands were being shredded by the sharp crystal scales. She ignored the pain and kept moving; it was more important to finish the job than to protect her hands. She'd still be able to use her blade even if she had to change the hilt wrappings later.
Sif found an admittedly painful purchase astride the dragon's neck at its shoulders and raised her blade, holding it two-handed for all the power she could put behind the stroke to come. The dragon reared, all the better to leap at one of the Lokis before it. And as it rose, Sif's blade came down, crashing into the side of the dragon's neck, cleaving its scales and driving into what would have, in another creature, been the meat of it.
The creature let out a clipped cry, cut short by the sound of cracking as scales and skin shattered. What blood was within spouted like spring water around Sif's blade. The entire neck shattered apart, the head and body landing in two seperate pieces.
As the rest of his illusions dissipated, Loki exhaled and looked appreciative.
"Well done, Sif. This will be a fine tale to tell in the tavern."
"You have my thanks, Loki. I could not have done it nearly so easily had you not kept the dragon distracted for me," Sif told Loki as she leapt down from the dragon's body. "I'll need to clean up my hands as well as my blade before we get to work taking it apart. I'd advise you to use gloves. Those scales are rough on the hands." She held up one of her own palms to show Loki her injuries. They were minor in the scheme of things, but looked painful. "We'll need to make sure no crystal has gotten into the injuries when we're done. How do we proceed?"
Normally Sif would have wiped her blade on the grass, if nothing else, but that didn't seem like it would work well here.
Loki very nearly preened at such praise. Even though he sometimes clung onto the wistful dream of being a big damn warrior hero like other Asgardians were. Oh, to have such brute force at one's disposal! It must be lovely.
He took in the state of her hands before drawing forth what was in his pocket dimension. Some huge oilskin hunting sacks landed on the ground, used so that the mess of any fallen beasts wouldn't dirty up his pocket space. And then he took out the satchel of healing supplies and bandages, setting it down and opening it. After rummaging through, he found a cloth and a bottle of Eir's cleansing water and set both out to her. The bandages were left sitting on top of the other supplies, so she could wrap her hands if need be.
"I can cleanse the wounds if you wish me to," he offered, "or I can begin chipping away to the heart. If we crack it, this will all be worthless." He paused, looking thoughtful as he reached out and rested a hand against the fallen creature's side. "I should save other parts as well, so nothing goes to waste. We will not see the likes of this again. Not in our lifetimes, at the least."
He took in the state of her hands before drawing forth what was in his pocket dimension. Some huge oilskin hunting sacks landed on the ground, used so that the mess of any fallen beasts wouldn't dirty up his pocket space. And then he took out the satchel of healing supplies and bandages, setting it down and opening it. After rummaging through, he found a cloth and a bottle of Eir's cleansing water and set them out for her. The bandages were left sitting on top of the other supplies to wrap her hands if needed.
"I can cleanse the wounds if you wish me to," he offered, "or I l can begin chipping away to the heart. If we crack it, this will all be worthless." He paused, looking thoughtful as he reached out and rested a hand against the fallen creature's side. "I should save other parts as well, so nothing goes to waste. We will not see the likes of this again. Not in our lifetimes, at the least."
Sif shook her head as she took up a cloth to wipe her blade. A warrior had to see to her weapon first, even before her own flesh. "I can deal with the injuries myself, and take guard, or collect the other parts of the beast and wrap them. I would help with the beast, but I don't know what I'd need to be doing. It will require a delicate and knowledgeable hand to make sure we don't crack the heart." Having finished a pass at the blade, Sif examined it to make sure there were no nicks.
Satisfied with the initial pass, she sheathed it and went to work on the palms of her hands with the healing water. "Which pieces are the most important? Do you want to take the head as-is, and disassemble it in New Asgard?"
There was no further time to be in awe of the beast. There was work to do, and Loki set himself to task after Sif reminded him of practical matters. As he took out knives to carve and tools to chisel away into the chest, he mulled over what parts were most useful. Wrested scales free from the hide, tossing them into a pile. The scales and claws of a drake were always valuable, best for weapons and armor, or used in healer's tinctures. Various internal organs vials of blood should be collected. To any sorcerer, no part of a dragon should be wasted. Everything had a use, the heart most of all.
"The head in one piece," he agreed while he worked, as carefully as possible. "Tis best to keep an eye out? However, if you would kindly bag that which I set aside, we will make work of it. Then be on our way. My first plan is to barter for ore. If I fail to be persuasive, then it's off to a mining outpost."
That's when plan B would be to 'borrow' some ore.