It was one of those days that Loki felt like slacking around and he flew down to Midgard for the heck and without a care. Normally, he would ask Odin to come with him but somehow, Loki didn’t felt like doing so. His Mother would probably reprimand him worriedly in her high-pitched tone as she flapped her feathered fan to herself. And Loki laughed. They would have to get used to him some day.
Oh, Midgard.
Loki could see it now and he plunged towards a random village. This was the fun part. Loki could move around without being seen as humans could not see Aesirs or Vanirs unless the Divinities allowed themselves to be seen. Loki moved around, looking at the peasantry houses made of things Loki could not understand. And then he glanced somewhere to the far of the village where it seemed there was a giant man-made palace of strong bricks and gates that commanded respect. It was at this point that he heard the rapping of hooves on the pavement and as Loki looked to his side, men on shining armors mounted on horses passed by. Loki shrugged and whistled. They had men for Valkyries on Midgard and he was not sure if time would come for him to understand this practice.
Some women wore long, bobbed skirts and aprons that ranged from clean white to horribly dirty. Some other females wore trinkets around their bodies – earrings, rings, and necklaces – and those weird colors on their faces. They also wore strange things on their heads. Loki eyed one of the gems on a certain woman’s earring and wondered if they were not heavy enough to tear her ear lobe off. The God of Darkness had to stop himself from tugging the ear trinket. Some women wore lots of adornments while others barely had decent footwear.
Meanwhile, the men were different. Some were hunters whose hunting gear varied on how experienced they were. There were blacksmiths forging all sorts of weapons that interested Loki and made him think of imbuing magic on any of them. There were also vendors of various things from apples to silk cloth. Of course, there were men in the tavern who drank and talked sometimes a little and sometimes too much. Loki was sometimes fond of this place and sometimes he would just walk in innocently, waiting for anything, sometimes letting the humans see him. He would order anything, try anything from the ale to that weird thing that plays music. And when something interesting goes on, he would keep a low profile and turn invisible just to watch. And when nothing happens… well… That would be unacceptable but could be arranged.
Loki dug his pockets and motioned for the tavern when three men came out, one of them red with too much ale. Loki raised an eyebrow, amused at how alcohol could turn humans so. Sure, he had been so drunk the first time he had too much of ale in Asgard but that was a different story. There was a banquet and…
“Pretty, pretty!” Loki heard the drunk one say now, cutting whatever it was he was supposed to think next. And his eyes turned to what the three men were looking at. And he blinked. It was a girl with short blue hair and deep blue eyes wearing a white hunting dress. A knife and a sword were hitched on her hip, wore high-cut boots, donned a bow and arrows.
“Nataku…!” the drunk approached her and she was not moving, “Pretty, pretty Nataku, this must be your lucky day!”
“Why is that?” she muttered in a feminine low voice that was as good as a threat as it was a question.
“Because…” and the drunk hiccuped a bit.
“Vladymir, enough.” one of the men muttered.
“I’ve got my eyes on you and your goods, honey.”
Nataku’s eye twitched and she turned to Vladymir’s companions saying, “I do not want any trouble.” She bowed as if a silent excuse to leave and motioned to go. Vladymir violently started towards her to grab her but she was quick enough to kick a barrel to his face and render him unconscious. Vladymir fell on his back with a loud thump and Nataku made a run for it.
Loki whistled in interest. Something interesting was happening out of the tavern.
The largest of the three men started towards Nataku to somewhat avenge his companion. He managed to corner her towards one of the stalls selling vegetables. The girl grunted and grabbed a radish in one hand and a cucumber in another.
Loki raised an eyebrow. Girl throws vegetables in a man’s face to save her from danger. Well, it was the closest thing to her so it would have to do.
Women.
But the next events made Loki’s back straighten in profound amazement and interest.
She was beating this large man senseless with just a radish and a cucumber!
Loki forced himself not to blink; trying to figure out how in the nine worlds she was doing such a thing. Both vegetables should’ve been crushed or dented or something by now but they seemed like rocks in her grasp and weapons in the manner in which she used them to manhandle the larger opponent. It would not surprise him if the girl used magic but he wasn’t sensing any. It was something he had not seen even the Valkyries do. If there was some sort of art that taught defense by the rule of the veggies, this would be the first time he had seen it.
What surprised Loki even more that she was able to tide the clash in such a way that they barely hit anything or anyone. If the man would fall in one direction to hit something, she would hit him away from it. He had admired her presence of mind and her quick thinking. She had wondrous footwork…
… And wonderful eyes.
Loki shook his head.
Dumb idea. Dumb idea.
By the time he realized it, the larger man had fallen and Nataku was regaining her composure. After making sure that he had fallen, she dusted herself and paid for the two vegetables she had taken and the barrel she had kicked earlier.
“Are you all right?” The last of the three men asked the one Nataku had beaten up.
“What happened?”
You were beaten by a girl, a radish and a cucumber, smarty. And Loki smiled.
“I wonder how she does that…?” one of the men to his right was saying now, “It’s like she could use anything like a weapon in her hands.”
“The gods must have favored her to give her such a gift.” Said another.
“She’s like a Valkyrie.”
Loki blinked, started to look for Nataku and saw her starting off.
It was hard keeping up with her. It was as if she knew he was there. She kept on moving swiftly, running and changing movements until he finally lost her. Loki was disappointed at how a girl had outsmarted him somehow. She was evading him as if she saw him. And he cursed.
Where was she?
It was then that he heard the sound of water. And as he looked to his right, he saw a waterfall. Suddenly becoming thirsty and feeling hot, he started towards it only to find out that someone had beat him to it again – that girl. What did they call her again?
Ah, Nataku.
“Ah!” Loki gasped as she started removing her clothes after looking around. Loki crouched to hide behind the bushes. He covered his eyes yet peeked through his fingers. The hairs on his back were all standing, his stomach was getting mad at him, his knees were depriving him of balance and every bit of his manhood was yelling at him. And Loki looked away as he flushed, a hand flying to his chest that was shamelessly pounding.
Wrong.
Indecent.
Insolent.
He would never do it again!
And then there was a splash.
Loki’s attention and vision immediately turned to where the sound came from, as if totally ignoring what he had just been thinking. There she was. She was so… beautiful. And Loki did not bother to shake the thought off his head as he continued staring. The water on her hair, the silhouette of her body, the sparkle in her eyes… Loki sighed as he felt heat entering his cheeks. If he were blushing, he couldn’t care less. He had not seen any view like this in or from Asgard and he was enjoying every minute of it not that he was being a pervert – okay, so maybe part of it was – but because he was enticed by her charm.
This was no tavern and no village but the sight was more than interesting to feed his thoughts for days.
Odin was looking weirdly at his brother who was walking along the corridors like a hypnotized zombie with a disturbing smile and an absent look in his eye. Loki had been taking trips to Midgard in times more frequent than he usually did. Loki was not a natural slacker. Odin knew that very well so something very interesting was happening down there. And whatever it was turned Loki into this. One time he saw his brother dancing in the hall. Another time, he was kissing his pillow. And there was an instance that he was rolling on the bed and hugging his self. Odin was not aware of any kind of sickness that had symptoms like those but he was willing to try even if it sounded stupid.
“You do realize how you look like, don’t you?” Odin was raising an eyebrow at his twin.
“What?” Loki blinked, looking at Odin as if snapping out of whatever it was that was hypnotizing him, “I look fine.”
“Now you do.”
“Hey, Odin.” Loki popped out the question, ignoring whatever it was Odin was implying, “I haven’t asked you this before and I know it sounds stupid but… Is it possible for an Aesir to beat anyone up with a vegetable without using magic?”
Odin raised an eyebrow again, giving his brother a skeptical look.
“A vegetable?”
“Yeah, a radish and a cucumber.”
“A ra—-“
So that explains his sudden interest in radishes and cucumbers lately.
Loki did not look like he was joking.
“Where did you pick up this idea?”
“Well…” Loki was slowly turning pink, “I kind of saw this human girl beat up using a cucumber and a radish a guy twice her size…”
“Are you sure they were just vegetables?”
“Unless humans sell magical vegetables then yes.” Loki replied, “I saw it with my own eyes… How her dainty slender fingers took the vegetables and beat the crap out of that guy as her blue hair danced over her face with deep blue eyes… and how her footwork made her look like she was waltzing… And…”
Odin was looking even more weirdly at Loki this time. His brother was walking like a hypnotized zombie again as he continued rattling off more words that were lost in sighs while they walked on. Why was he suddenly talking about this girl like this all of a sudden?
“Wait a minute…” Odin stopped walking and said with wide eyes, “That girl is… You are…”
“What?” Loki stopped a few paces after, only his head turning as he looked towards Odin.
“You like that mortal girl, don’t you!” Odin leaned forward in a dare, a threat, an accusation and a tease all at the same time. And that instant, Loki looked like a tomato with hair and a face.
“I… I do not!” Loki shook his head, “I just find her… interesting!”
“Right.” Odin looked with accusing narrow eyes at Loki.
“What!” Loki exclaimed, “I mean, it’s not common that you can find a girl who can use vegetables, barrels, twigs, spoons and virtually anything as a weapon!”
“Really?” Odin made a face, speaking in a girly voice with his eyelids fluttering, his knees together and his hands clasped to the side, “You mean the one with blue hair dancing over her face with deep blue eyes?”
Loki stared with an open mouth and Odin began to laugh and walked away.
“Are you making fun of me?” Loki pouted as he followed Odin.
“No.” Odin replied smiling, “I’m just telling you I’m the God of Knowledge, dingbat.”
“And…?” Loki was still pouting with a pinkish hue on his cheeks.
“And…” Odin’s tone shifted to serious as he stopped at his tracks. Loki stopped behind him, sensing the sudden change in his brother’s ambience. There was a pause from the older brother and slowly, he spoke as his head turned towards Loki and his eyes taking only but a serious glimpse at the younger one.
“… I don’t want you getting carried away with this fling.”
Loki gasped inside.
There had always been a gap between Midgard and Asgard. There had always been a wall between Humans and Divinities. There had always been a standard between higher beings and lower ones.
“Do you understand, Loki?”
And yet, Odin was still being careful. He had always known how unpredictable and unstable his brother could be and how he could result to drastic actions. Surely, Loki sensed that gap, felt that wall and knew those standards.
“Odin…” Loki gave off a faint smile in an attempt to break the sober feeling between them, “I know what I’m doing and if you think…”
“Do you understand?”
There was a stress in Odin’s tone, demanding only one answer and no explanation. Loki drew back the smile and his shoulders dropped, his expression changed and contributed to the quiet atmosphere his brother had began. There was a pause and shifty eyes. There was an uncomfortable silence.
There had always been a gap. There had always been a wall. There had always been a standard. There had always been rules to be followed.
“Loki, do you understand?”
And there were rules that Loki often broke.
“Yes.”