Meetings in the Woods - Part One

Loki had been walking for three days now and his legs were growing weary. He slumped down onto a nearby rock and surveyed his surroundings. The ‘Great’ Ironwood; not nearly as formidable as he’d been led to believe, although there was definitely something here. It hung in the air like a cloying mist and caught at his senses. A heavy magic seeped through the moss and lichen, dripping off every frond like invisible dew. He felt every bit the outsider here. Like the forest itself would suck the very air from his lungs given half the chance. He wiped his face and gave a little laugh. Well, let it try. He wasn’t going anywhere until he was satisfied he’d learned all it had to offer. He’d been in scarier places before.

It was getting dark so he made himself a simple cot with his magic and laid down for the night. On his back he watched the stars passing over above him as nótt herded them like sheep across the night sky. They had to fight to be seen in the gloom from the treetops, the forest grabbing greedily at all available light, trying to keep itself in darkness.

He must have fallen asleep at some point because he was suddenly awoken by the sounds of movement nearby. He lay for a moment, thinking he’d merely imagined it in a dream state. His breathing stilled as his ears strained to hear it again, filtering out the usual sounds of the wilderness. Just as he was about to give it up as his imagination, he heard it again. He turned his head toward the sound and sat up slowly. There was definitely someone moving through the forest nearby and in the distance he could make out the vague flickering of a flame. His curiosity aroused, he slipped off his cot and followed the light. He followed for a good few minutes, hanging back so as not to be spotted as they approached a still pool in a small clearing.

The ‘mystery’ turned out to be a woman with long, dark, wild hair and even darker eyes and he watched her in silence as she spiked her torch into the ground near the pool and let her dress fall to the ground. Her hips and waist where covered in an intricate pattern of vines and leaves, interspersed with runes and symbols. They were beautiful. She stepped down into the water slowly until only her shoulders remained and she stayed there, running her fingers under the surface of the water with her back to him, humming a gentle tune he didn’t recognise.

He wondered where she’d come from; he hadn’t come across any people in his travels here so far. Maybe she too was a traveller and he was still contemplating this possibility when her shoulders hunched suddenly and she began crying into her hands. Not delicate tears of annoyance but great wracking sobs of anguish. He started with the suddenness of it and stepped forwards, forgetting he was supposed to remain a secret observer.

She turned quickly and, seeing him moving against the trees, she scowled and dived up in a surge of water and hurled herself towards him. “HOW DARE YOU?” he growled. He gave a surprised laugh as she grabbed him and hauled him into the light, slamming him against the nearest tree.

“This is private,” she hissed at him, “I should kill you right here for trespassing. What are you doing this far in Járnvidr?”

Something sharp pierced his neck and reaching up, he felt the edge of a sharp stone in her fingers. When had she grabbed that? She pressed harder in response and he released his grip on it and put his hands behind his back in a gesture of goodwill.

“I’m merely a traveller.” He said simply, staring into her blazing eyes. “Is this how you treat all your guests here in the Ironwood?”

“You aren’t a guest of mine, stranger.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. He could turn into something and escape anytime he wanted but something about her intrigued him immensely. She had fire in her eyes.

“Then I should tell you my name and we’ll be strangers no more,” he said with a sweet smile. “Loki Odinson. A pleasure to meet you Lady. I’d take your hand but I rather fear for my neck at the moment.”

She stared at him in silence but he noticed her brow twitch ever so slightly. Maybe she’d heard of him. Most people had, even this far out in the wilderness. Being the son of the Allfather had that effect. “It’s customary to tell the person your name when they tell you theirs,” he pointed out.

“You don’t need my name” she snapped, “We aren’t going to be friends.”

Loki smiled again. “It seems a little backward to have a naked woman pressed against you and not even know her name, don’t you think?”

She looked down at herself briefly and he felt her grip on him relax slightly. She hadn’t bothered to dress before she’d grabbed him. “You say that like it should worry me.” Her eyes came back to his face. “This way I won’t ruin my dress when I slice your throat open.”

“Such harsh words for one who was breaking her heart open only moments before.”

Her face softened immediately and he took the opportunity and continued. “Tell me. What troubles you so much that you would come to a place of solitude to show your grief instead of sharing your burden with your loved ones?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.” She whispered, fighting back her tears and steeling her expression. “It’s nothing to do with you why I was crying.”

“Perhaps I can help-”

“No” she interrupted, pushing back off him and dropping her weapon. She turned and snatched up her dress from the forest floor. Loki remained completely still, leaning against the tree as she pulled it back on.

“I think you underestimate my ability to solve problems ‘Lady of the wood’.” He said in a calming voice.

Angrboda turned to him and snatched up her torch. “I don’t underestimate you at all ‘silver tongue’, not for one single second. I know who you are and I don’t expect to see you here again. This is my pool, not yours,” and with that she turned and disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

He watched the flame get dimmer in the distance before picking up the discarded stone she’d used as a weapon. “Of course not, my lady,” he lied, turning it over in his hands with a smile.

Reviews

[Arutha]

This... is awesome. I love that this chick just straight up slams Loki, god of evil into a friggin' tree and brings a weapon to his throat before he has the wits to wonder what's what. I'm also really intrigued by the general principle you've based this on. I've never read anything with this kind of mash-up of different genres (at least, never anything done this well).

I'm impressed with the story thus far, as well as with your style of writing. It's a very smooth read, though I would challenge you to watch the run-on sentences. They're not to be avoided, in my opinion (in fact, they're essentially at the core of my own style, as well), but the way you go about them is critical. Using "and" more than once in a sentence, for example, is most often a bit risky. It can make the sentence feel long-winded and suck the reader right out of the story. I only say that to be nit-picky because it was so hard to find things to comment on.

“HOW DARE YOU?” he growled.

[thehiddlethings]

Oh wow. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. This is based on mythology, my imagination (and a smidge of Marvel). In case you don't already know, Angrboda became a lover of Loki's and the mother of three of his children - Hel, the ruler of the underworld, Jormungandr the world serpent and Fenrir the King of wolves. He had a wife, Sigyn, which I plan to write about at later date.

Thanks for the advice about run on sentences too. I'm brand new at this writing lark so any advice is greatly appreciated.