Doll and James

Just me then?

Bucky hit just about every branch on the way from the air to the ground, but knew that in spite of all the bruises that would cause, it was the only reason he survived. He hissed as he landed before groaning in pain, realising that he had definitely hit something with his metal arm, which wasn't just malfunctioning but also hurting the stump of the arm connected to it. He ignored the pain as he jumped up, Tony gracefully landing beside him a second after.

"Oh, you can't fly? Just me then?" he asked as he opened his mask to look at Bucky's scratched and dirty face.

"Shut up," Bucky muttered as he looked around them. Tony remembered why they were there and lowered his helmet. Only a second after, Steve landed surprisingly gracefully, immediately touching his earpiece.

"Banner, any update?" he asked quietly, trying to look around them in the dark.

"Got it. Tony, we need some kind of light," Steve ordered, Tony looking annoyed at him.

"This suit doesn't have any pockets, I don't have a lighter," he claimed.

"Don't tell me you built that and didn't include a flashlight," Bucky scoffed.

"Uh, this is a bit more high tech than a small bulb and two AA batteries," Tony claimed.

"But not high tech enough to have the same abilities. Got it," he replied with an eye roll.

"I don't see anything," Steve pointed out.

"There's nothing here," Tony stated.

"Could we have been wrong?" Steve asked, looking at Tony for his expertise.

"I... I mean, technically. We don't exactly know what we saw," he admitted slowly.

"Stark, tell me you didn't drag us out here for nothing," Bucky said angrily.

"I didn't drag you out here for nothing, that's for sure. You just latched on. Like a leech," Tony pointed out before grimacing; "You're a leech."

"And you're a dick, so far so good," Bucky muttered, still looking around them. "We're not going to be able to find anything in this light."

"Buck's right. We'll check immediate surroundings before retracting to Nat, then we'll check first thing tomorrow," Steve decided, clenching his fists.

***

As Lana woke up, she couldn't help but wish she hadn't let herself fall asleep. She woke to the sound of the forest, to the sound of birds and a slight breeze hitting the trees, but she also woke up incredibly dizzy and thirsty. As she sat up she felt how sore her body was, and immediately leaned her body against a nearby tree. Breathing through her mouth, she tried to swallow her saliva to somewhat lubricate her throat (for optimal yodelling, of course) to ease her breathing, but with no success. She coughed slightly before opening her eyes again.

She'd been with Loki for at least a week, but she honestly did not think clearly enough to come with an estimate. In that week, she had been malnourished, bordering starved and left with only very little water. When had she last had any? She couldn't remember clearly, but it might have been not long ago, she was just so clouded in her head.

She had to keep going.

She took a deep breath before opening her eyes, forcing her weight forward as she stood up against the tree, it carrying most of her weight. As she tried to take a step forward, her leg collapsed beneath her and she fell, something hard hitting her head. She cried out quietly in pain, not daring to touch her leg. She felt her face, recognising the red on her hand as blood. She was so dizzy, but was it bloodloss or a concussion?