Edderkopp - Drider!Loki

Seven

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, looking at him with a saddened frown.

Two days had passed since I had been told the story and I found that it refused to leave me, echoing in the back of my head like an old fairytale I had been told in childhood.

I hadn't managed to get much sleep that night, finding myself tossing and turning as I tried to distract myself from what I'd been told with no success.

After dwelling over it through the duration of breakfast, I decided that I would venture back to the forest and ask him directly about the tale, needing to know if it was true or some elaborate story made up to explain the monster among the trees.

Somehow, the trek back to Loki's from the village at the bottom of the field didn't seem as long, despite the amount of time it had taken me to initially break through the treeline the first time.

I blamed the distraction of my goal for this, a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time.

A sense of purpose.

Loki stared at me, his mouth pressed into a line and his eyes fogged over until he snapped from his reverie and started to shake his head, growing more vigorous as he rose from his perch and started pacing on his many sleek legs.

I remained perched on the flattest rock I could find to sit on, bag by my feet and eyes trailing him.

"No, that's not true, you're lying to me," he said skittishly.

"It's merely a story, Loki, but I need to know if it's true."

"Of course it isn't! I wouldn't do such a thing."

"Well the villagers and travellers seem pretty adamant that you did, that it's true and you caused a curse to be placed upon your family."

"And you believe it?" He snapped, turning to me sharply and rising higher on his imposing legs. "Why? Because I'm a monster? You think I would harm my own family?!"

I cowered away from him trying to tuck myself into the wall behind me as he loomed above, glaring at me with an expression of pure betrayal and disgust.

"No," I answered meekly, "at least not on purpose."

"So you worked on a hunch and came all this way to feed me lies, mere days after I thought we had struck up a friendship."

"We are still friends," I said hastily, leaning forward again, "that's why I came back, I wish to help you."

"Help me?" He grimaced, stepping back to counter my own movement.

"Yes, that naga you've mentioned could be Thor, your brother and no one can locate your father but there is talk of a cyclops who roams the mountains due west who could very well be him."

"And what if they are? They most likely have no memories of this if it were true, as I don't."

"Perhaps not, but maybe we can help you all by finding the truth and settling this matter, reserving whatever magic took place."

Reasoning seemed to be setting in, he stopped moving in agitation and settled in a spot mere feet away from me.

Loki lowered himself when anger seemed to shift to nerves, his spidery pincers skittering as he wrung his hands anxiously, all his eyes flickering around to look towards the entrance to the cave.

"You want me to leave the forest?"

"If that's where this takes us, yes," I nodded.

He turned away from me, swaying on his spot as he continued to stare towards the entrance and started to let out a strange clicking that sent unpleasant shivers down my spine.

As the moment lingered, I was close to sliding off of my rock to approach him and rest a comforting hand on his abdomen, but instead he turned towards me with an expression of pure uncertainty.

"You truly believe this tale?"

"To an extent, though there's always more to it, hm?"

He nodded quickly, taking a deep and shaky breath in before letting it out.

"Okay, but if I say I'm done then I am done and you cannot talk me into pushing further, understood?"

"Absolutely," I smiled with more excitement than I should have exhibited, "that's only fair."

Jumping from my rock, I hastily grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder before practically running to stand by his side.

He had watched my all the while, an unconfident frown etched onto his strangely handsome face as he squeezed his linked fingers together.

I looked up at him with the most reassuring look I could muster, despite my own reservations about the impromptu adventure.

"It'll be okay," I nodded resolutely, shifting on my feet.

"You seem as certain as I feel," Loki whispered, huffing a faint laugh.

"Yes, well..." I returned his laugh, taking a look around the cave he had called home for whoever knows how long.

As my gaze shifted towards the corner he had slept in that night we had shared, something imbedded within thick webbing glinted as the fire in the sconce flickered.

The helmet, his most prized possession for reasons even he couldn't fully decipher.

Thinking back on it, something about the golden horned headgear felt familiar, like a distant and hazy childhood memory that refused to come to light no matter how much it was dwelled upon.

I stared at it for a moment then pulled myself from the reverie, I licked my bottom lip then looked back up at him.

"Bring the helmet."

He scrunched his face up in confusion, almost seeming to flinch at the mere idea.

"Why?"

My mouth flounders as I try to think of a legitimate answer to his question but find myself faltering before shrugging.

"I don't know, I just feel like it's important somehow."

"I suppose I can't argue with that reasoning."

"Besides," I laughed softly as he made his way across the cavern and up the wall towards his web, "would you really be Loki without it?"