Perhaps [thor/loki]

Chapter 7

It had been a few weeks since Loki's disappearance. Nora spent many days in the comfort of her new room. She'd take her hours practicing magic, reading, writing, and drinking. Writing helped her process what she felt, and the wake of Loki's absence gave her plenty of feelings to express. Thor, and his group of friends who welcomed her with open arms, did their best to pull her from her room. Nora engaged as much as she could will herself to, she began to feel that she had overstayed her welcome.

Thor had come and he had inquired with Odin what cast Loki astray. Apparently, it was the news that Thor had asked her for her hand, and Odin's dismissal of Loki's hurt feelings. That he should have done something while he had the time to. Nora agreed with Odin, Loki had plenty of time to have made his case and unfortunately waited too long. She was flattered by Thor's honesty, as he didn't press her on his interest in her. She was grateful to have an honest friend.

On other days, Nora found solace on her walks in the forest. She had pushed to explore more, to find new untouched places within Asgard for her to see. She had explored most of it at a distance but was no longer afraid of what might be out there. In the past, she had kept to the edges of town for safety, but her shell had hardened.

Nora walked into a thick set of woods, leaving her trail of wildflowers in her wake. She followed after a large, white elk she had seen. He reared at the sight of her and walked away, where most would scatter when one came too close. She felt that the elk was leading her somewhere.

That somewhere followed along a river that took to a cliff's edge. The elk paused at the edge. It looked down at an enormous waterfall. Nora walked to its side and looked down at the beautiful sight. The waterfall dropped 100 feet down and erupted in a cloud of mist. With her feet tucked into the ground, Nora could sense an unfamiliar presence below.

"Why have you brought me here?" she asked the elk. Not that she thought the elk would speak, but she hoped for some guidance.

The elk turned and walked away, casting a glance and nodding back at Nora to encourage her to travel below.

So Nora did. She fluttered down the rocky surface to the pond at the bottom of the waterfall in search of what it held. The air turned cold and the ground grew icy as she settled on the bottom. It was odd how cold it was, but Nora pressed on.

She slipped around the cave wall and shuffled beyond the waterfall. Beyond it was a cave, illuminated by candlelight. Her breath caught and her emotions got the better of her. She hoped that a certain person was waiting for her here, so she ran forward into the cave to look for who resided within it.

The cave walls grew icy and the cold continued. Nora could hear two voices, ones that she did not recognize, and found two frost giants tucked into the depths of the cave. She peered around a corner and watched them, resting as they looked over a map.

Frost giants? In Asgard? Nora backed away. If there were two, then there had to be more. She tip-toed back to the edge of the cave with the determination to find Thor and the others. They had handled frost giants before and could do it again.

When she reached the edge of the cave, she found four other frost giants outside. Now she began to worry, as she was vastly outnumbered. As the four frost giants approached the cave, Nora pressed herself into a crack in the wall and vanished. The frost giants walked right by her without notice, and as soon as they had passed she slid along the rock wall to escape.

Yet one sharply inhaled and turned in her direction, "Someone's here."

Nora couldn't pause now. She rushed out of the cave, the sound of her feet echoed behind her.

"Asgardian!" one of the others yelled. A crack of thunder boomed outside with the sound of pouring rain. Nora rushed out into it.

Nora reached behind her and channeled the stream of the waterfall into the cave, washing them down into it.