“OW!”
Nataku looked back and just a few paces behind her was Odin who stumbled for how many times she did not count. She could’ve went to him to see if he was all right at least out of courtesy but strangely enough, she didn’t budge. He grunted and dusted himself before straightening and resuming his walk. And she wondered; where had Loki gone?
Loki… Loki… Master Loki…
Worry pinched her heart and she gasped hurrying off as her eyes darted from left to right, scanning the trees as she heard Odin mutter something.
Lithios.
She shook her head. No, she did not know Lithios at all. She did not understand. Why was he so upset about it? If he was going to be upset about it then they shouldn’t have spoken it in the first place! But it wasn’t what she was worried about. She was worried about him and for now, her top priority was to find Loki while keeping Odin by her side and as she turned to see him, she saw a bright beam of light coming from Odin’s forehead and pointing towards the sky.
Right, this was their way of making their location known or letting Loki know they were looking for him.
“He’ll find us.” Odin smiled and winked, “Don’t worry.”
Lithios… She told herself again. Nataku turned away from Odin. In spite of the assurance he gave her, the pinch of worry grew stronger and she felt she needed to find Loki as soon as possible. She probably wouldn’t be this worried if she had been in command, if she could scold him afterwards and send him to subordination training. But if it were like that then this wouldn’t have happened at all. Why didn’t the Queen Mother mention about her full authority over them? She could’ve told her sons to at least subordinate themselves to the Battle Goddess but, no. She had to subordinate herself and now even had to apologize for something she didn’t even think was her fault to begin with. In the middle of these thoughts, she heard voices from a distance and she immediately cut whatever it was she was thinking and tackled Odin to hide behind a large oak tree. And from there she watched intently as three men passed by.
They were around forty years old in assumption. Knives and small bags hung from their belts and each carried a gun. They wore boots and gloves and hunting gear.
Human hunters. Nataku thought, keeping her breathing as low as possible and Odin as obscure as he could be.
“I found him lying on the ground with his head a-bleedin’ and my li’l girl Esmeralda’s a-takin’ care of ‘im…” The first man said, walking slightly ahead of the two. He was fully bearded and had hairy arms. His sleeves were rolled up and he had a large scar on his left arm and a gun hanging on his right shoulder.
“… Poor boy. I’m a-wond’rin’ where he coulda come from.” His second companion said, looking a little younger and bearing a cleaner face than the first. He was slightly smaller but was built finer as the first man was quite stout.
“Glory be, I don’t know…!” the first man said again, stroking his beard “His clothes ain’t familiar… And I don’t reckon seeing no face like that among hunters or the villagers…”
Master Loki…! For some reason, Nataku’s mind voice shouted and her heart leapt. It couldn’t have been him but what if… She had never been this worried in her entire life and she did not even know why.
“But he was a-bleedin’ terribly and I reckon Esmeralda havin’ a hard time nursin’ him.” The bearded man said again, “I’m won’drin’ what struck him.”
“Maybe a beast. The one that made the strange glowin’ light a-spark just a’l a go…”
“I’d say. But there ain’t no one in town who knows no stranger he is.”
“Well maybe he’s one a foreigner…” The third hunter mumbled out the side of his lips while lighting a cigarette sticking out of his mouth.
A beast… Cerberus? A titan? A giant? What?
Nataku wanted to hear no more and she just wanted to plug her ears. She became more and more worried as she thought of a bleeding Loki with broken bones and fractured ribs wrapped in bandages on a bed. She couldn’t possibly argue with or scold or even send back to subordination training someone looking as bad as that! But the men kept talking about the beasts that were said to have lived in the forest and that it attacked viciously and mercilessly.
It was true that humans could not see Aesirs unless the Aesirs allowed themselves to be seen. There were only a select few humans who were born with the ability to see Aesirs and the dead. But other beings were different. And if Loki lost his consciousness to something like Cerberus then there was no choice for him but to be seen by humans. There was a possibility that Loki was picked up by some human. And if so, there was no way they could heal an Aesir’s wounds.
And it is an unsaid fact that Aesirs are capable of dying!
Nataku scanned the area and as soon as the hunters were of a good distance, she instructed Odin to stay down and she scaled the tree effortlessly. And from there, she saw a small village.
“What did you see?” Odin said lowly as Nataku came down.
“A village.” The tone of worry was still in her voice and she was getting a little panicked, “We’re going.”
Nataku breathed deeply and began to chant as she began to dance with her robes flapping gracefully with her movements and her deep blue eyes catching a glistening symbol within.
The battle goddess finished and she struck the ground with a sphere that she took out. And when she did, the ground shone and glyphs formed themselves in a circular motion around the two Aesirs. Then slowly they lifted and in moments, they were hovering in the air. Nataku had just performed a superior level of flight, granting Odin the ability to fly – something only several Aesirs had. Nataku turned her blue eyes to a marveled and blushing Odin and said, “Let’s go.”
Odin nodded and they sped off across the horizon.
Odin landed breathlessly behind Nataku. The alley they were into was hidden enough and no one was there to see them land. Although humans couldn’t really see Aesirs unless allowed to, Odin just wanted to be sure. There were rumors of humans born with special abilities such as seeing the souls of the dead and the Aesirs themselves. Besides, if they were to ask around about Loki, they would be allowing the humans to see them… except the part about them landing from the sky. The Aesir bent and stretched, catching a few breaths. True as it was that they were flying independently from one another, Nataku’s emotions were so strong that he felt like she was dragging him across the sky in an awful hurry.
Was it because of Loki missing? Stupid little brother acting childish and running off from the middle of the forest to “who-knows-where”! Who knows if they would get into a larger mess than this one? Odin scratched his head heavily and straightened before taking a deep breath.
The town was busy and there were soldiers stationed in watchtowers but weirdly enough, they had not seen them come in flying. The Aesirs went out casually into the streets when all of a sudden Nataku stopped walking. Odin stopped in time before he bumped into her and just when he was about to ask her why, she turned to him with her face full of worry and confusion. He blinked and she said, “Master Odin, I do not know where or how to start looking in this large human crowd…”
Odin smiled, patted Nataku on the shoulder and winked, “Like this.”
Nataku blushed but watched intently as Odin came up to one stranger and began talking to her. Nataku trotted towards them to listen.
“Excuse me…” Odin began, “But did you happen to see a young man about my age with pale hair and ash-gray eyes? His clothing is much similar to ours.”
“Hmm…” the fat lady with an oversized apron with pockets thought for a moment. She wiped sweat from her forehead and said, “Ash-gray eyes… I reckon a man with pale hair but I don’t know no ash-gray eyes, though. He was asleeping.”
“Do you know where we could find him?” Nataku chirped in suddenly, feeling a spark of hope as she shove Odin and came between her and the stranger. The fat woman blinked.
“He is my twin brother.” Odin said, taking Nataku by the shoulders and setting her beside him, “Though we may not look alike.”
“Aw, tha’s all fine…” The fat lady then laughed loudly for “who-knows-what” and she sniffled, then said, “Jez follow the stalls an’ keep walkin’ an’ turn right after three corners. Then y’look for the only house with flowers and a swing in the porch. Tha's the house of the hunter’s daughter Esmeralda.”
“Esme…” Nataku began.
“Aw, that Esmeralda’s a fine lass, y’know an’ jez between you an’ me…” the fat woman tugged Nataku towards her and whispered, “She and that young man’s going to look a-fine together, y’know what I mean.” And she laughed vulgarly again, her yellow teeth showing and her saliva sprinkling a bit. Nataku stood, figuring out how she was supposed to feel as she gave off a faint smile. Audacious… If only this woman knew he was talking about the Prince of Asgard being with a mortal then she would have every right in the world to get angry.
“An’ she’s very mature, y’know what I’m sayin’?” the fat lady rubbed her nose with three fingers and snuffled vulgarly.
This woman was ticking her patience bit by. For some reason, Nataku assessed herself if she were mature and told her self she was. What was this woman implying, anyway? Why did she have to say such things when not asked for? Does she not know about answering briefly when asked?
“An’ the way she’s got a looking on tha’ lad, I say there’s somethin’ to it. That is if the lad lives.”
“Lives?” Nataku said lowly, worry seeping back into her heart as she listened.
“Ya, he coulda die y’know.” She continued, wiping her palms on her apron, “I hear he’s not in no good condition. He was torn in all places…” Then the fat lady’s face grew a little serious and said in a whisper, “And t’warn’t a man who did it, y’know… T’warn’t a man…”
Not… a man…
Nataku lingered with the words. Surely, no man could have harmed Loki that easily. He was an Aesir and the son of the Divine Couple at that. “If it wasn’t… a man…” Then her mind voice blasted. Could it have been the titans?
“Y’all right, lassie…” the woman leaned forward and whispered so close that Nataku could smell her breath, “They say it’s the work of the gods.”
“The gods!” Nataku gasped in surprise.
“The gods?” Odin was nowhere close to believing.
“Ya, the goddess of Hell… Persephone.”
“Persephone!” Nataku gasped, turning pale.
“An’ probably with her beast Cerberus.” Then she shook her head, “Poor boy. They’ve a heard a roar from three dogs in the wild when they a-found him. Poor boy, I tell ya… Poor boy…”
“Master Loki!” Nataku said loudly and a strong gush of wind swept the vicinity and the fat lady screamed, snatching her skirts as dirt and dust and the garbage on the pavement flew about. The people were shouting in shock and when the fat lady opened her eyes, Nataku and Odin weren’t there anymore.