Edderkopp - Drider!Loki

Eleven

"You were looking for me?"

Thor looked between us in pleased bewilderment, his eyes widened like an excited but unsure puppy.

I peeled off my cloak, shivering as a cold breeze ran through the cave that acted as Thor's home.

He had helped us both out of the ditch, managing to avoid slipping and sliding too much himself as he hoisted my smaller frame first, with a bit of Loki's help as he refused to sit idly by and watch.

Thor had been more than eager to lead us back to his home, turning away and telling us to follow him without us needing to say anything near enough as soon as our feet hit stable ground.

It surprised me just how big Thor was.

I had heard that nagas could grow to impressive sizes but something about his stature seemed exponential, though he was still about a head shorter than Loki thanks to the drider's ridiculously spindly legs, those thin black needles that never seemed to end.

They had walked in front of me, talking back and forth and giving me glances over their shoulders as the heavy rain drowned their words out.

I didn't mind too much, I was just glad to be getting somewhere that was sheltered and warm, at least warm in comparison to the elements and as long as I could rest my weary legs.

By the time we reached his cave, I was ready to wriggle out of my clothes but Loki had looked at me and given a small shake of his head before scuttling across the cave as if he owned the place.

"We were," I nodded, looking towards where Loki had disappeared to, though the cavern became too dark to see more than a shadowed figure moving around.

"That's great!" He beamed back, his tongue briefly flickering out. "Loki rarely comes to visit me, so it's a pleasant change."

"So you're not quite friends?"

"I'd say we are, but I think we both know how stubborn Loki can be."

I laughed and nodded, beginning to work my arm out of the tight sleeve of my tunic.

"Yes, that and dramatic."

"All the dramatics."

Thor chuckled and slid off his satchel to hang it on a protruding piece of rock.

"Why were you searching for me?" Thor asked, reaching into the satchel to pull out a disturbingly still rodent.

"We'll have a proper sit down," Loki called back, his voice echoing a little, "and discuss it once we're more comfortable."

"If you insist," he shrugged.

He then slithered his way to a part of the cave behind me, settling on some jagged looking rocks that did not look the slightest bit comfortable.

Loki soon joined us as I continued to try and wrestle a single arm from my sleeve, the soaked fabric entangling around itself and clinging desperately to my arm as though it didn't wish to be removed.

A loud clear of the throat comes from Loki, making both myself and Thor turn to him with questioning looks.

He was, in turn, looking at me and then gave a nod to the darkness within the cave that he had been preoccupied with seconds before.

"I made you a changing space, the web should be thick enough to hide you from view," he said matter of factly.

"Oh," I smiled, giving a polite nod, "thank you so much."

Grabbing my bag, which I'd carelessly dropped to the floor when deciding to wrestle with my cloak, I headed towards the back, using the illumination incantation to help light my path and keep me from tripping over any loose rocks or roots.

The cave was smaller than Loki's and had less hidden areas, but the back wall that he had set apart for me was pleasantly snug and the whole area felt comfortable, like a true home to the naga rather than a case of 'it'll have to do'.

Unlike Loki's cave, this one had roots and branches entwining around the rocks, some of which were largely covered in moss that had evidently been led upon and the area felt damper than the drider's, though that could have also been simply from my damp perspective.

He hadn't decorated it as Loki had, perhaps not feeling the need to make it too personable as long as he was comfortable with the ridges he had to slither over.

As I approached the web, which ran from the high top of the cave to the floor and about six feet in width, became an imposing curtain that even the light couldn't penetrate, hiding the wall behind it.

Setting my bag down at the left corner of the web, I stepped around it and immediately lost the chilled breeze that had been whistling through the cave intermittently, it was an instant relief to no longer feel the sting on numbing skin.

I smiled and rested my light a top a nearby flat rock, then worked on untwisting my tunic from around my torso to remove it.

From the opposite side of the cave, I could hear Loki and Thor talking, their voices quiet from my vantage point.

"When did you take a mate?" Thor asked with a hint of laughter.

There was a pause and an exhausted sigh before Loki replied; "I haven't, she merely stumbled across my home, left and then returned."

"I see, and why would she do that?"

"It's what we're here to explain."

"And does that involve the helmet? It's strange to see you wearing it."

"Yes well, I had to find someway of keeping it secure and carrying it became a hassle after a while."

"You could have webbed it to your back."

As Thor guffawed, I smiled and could picture Loki's eyeroll, though he no doubt had the faintest smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

In the short time that I had seen them interact it was easy to put the puzzle pieces together, perhaps I was merely imagining what I wished to see but I could definitely make out a brotherly bond that was lost in the recesses of their minds, the only remnant being something that kept them on friendly terms without knowing why.

Kicking my heavy leggings and underwear to one side and pulling my bag closer with my foot, I crouched down to fish through until I came across a green tunic that wasn't as damp as the other clothes, which would need to be dried near the fire as we spoke.

I slipped on the mostly dry tunic and pulled my hair out of the collar to put up as best as I can, just to stop the wet strands from making the new clothes damp and uncomfortable again.

After gathering up all the other pieces that would need to be dried, I plucked up my illumination to set on the clothes before stepping out to join them again, being weary of my bare feet against anything jagged and sharp.

"All done?" Loki asked, his eyes glancing me over.

I couldn't be sure if the six additional ones did as well, the black pits not as human as the typical two we would have.

"I am, thank you," I smiled, "I just need to get a fire going to dry this lot and then we can get started."

"Perhaps you need a better back," he said with a soft chuckle.

"To avoid more situations like this, yes, it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the first time."

"This happens often then," Thor said, the rodent still dangling from his black clawed fingers.

"Yes, I keep intending to seal it better, or get a new one, but it never happens."

I shrugged and then set about finding a clear spot at the opposite end of the cave to Loki's web, though it wasn't as far back it still acted as an alcove that would keep a fire safe from the outside winds as we talked.

Looking to Thor, I be sure to get permission before setting to work which involved clearing a space, creating a fire and laying out the clothes in a way that would keep them all safe but still at a dryable distance.

Another bout of wind picked up and whistled through the cave, adding another bite to the air.

Not that it mattered now, we could move away from the entrance if it became too much, I was just glad to be somewhere dry.