Last Legacy

Chapter 13

I woke up cold and scooted closer to Loki, who wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer to his chest. Loki was surprisingly warm for being a frost giant, and it was fine by me. I know I have the ability to generate my own heat, but snuggling up with Loki was my favorite way to stay cozy on cold mornings.

We laid there for a long moment just enjoying each other's company. I thought he went back to sleep, but knew I was mistaken when he suddenly leaned over and kissed my ear.

I felt shivers run down my spine, but it was no longer from being cold. I heard his voice in my ear then, so quiet that I had to strain to hear him. "Morning darling."

I smiled and turned over to face him. I kissed him as a response and moved my hand to caress his cheek.

A few moments passed and he spoke again. "Love, you can't go back to sleep. We have a great deal to do today."

I audibly sighed at his words. "I know." Going back to sleep then became impossible anyway, because as soon as I said something Koda knew I was awake, and huskies never sleep in.

As soon as Koda heard me he clumsily climbed over the two on the floor and put his paws up on the bed to lick my face. I heard his tail repeatedly hit something as he wagged it and when I finally pushed him away I saw it was Bucky's face.

"Ugh. Morning boy." He stopped licking me and gave an exciting whiney sound, as huskies do. I gave a sigh and greeted everyone else in the room since I knew nobody could have possibly slept through that. "Morning everyone."

Only Steve replied with, "Good morning." Bucky only sighed.

Loki and I had a long day today, so we knew we needed to get out of bed and start taking care of business, the first priority being to find food. There were more mouths to feed now than ever before so we'd need everything we could get.

I sat up and swung my feet over the bed, taking mind not to kick the two WWII veterans on the floor. "Okay guys. We need to find food."

"I'm glad you said something. I'm freaking hungry." Bucky said at last.

"I know. We all are." I turned to Loki, trying to decide in my head the best thing to do. It would be best if Loki and I split up, and each took one of the guys with us, as we were the ones who knew how to find food. "Steve, why don't you go with Loki and forage. There should be some berries left and fiddlehead ferns and a good amount of mushrooms. Bucky," he turned to meet my eyes. "We'll take the skiff and try our damnedest for a fish."

Loki nodded and replied. "If that's what you deem best, that's what we'll do." Steve glanced at Loki and I thought I saw a twinge of bitterness in his gaze, but before I could study it any further he turned away. "But first, coffee."

I smiled. "Of course. Let's get the percolator going."

About an hour later we were dressed and on a mission to fill our empty stomachs. Loki had already left with Steve to go foraging. I was skeptical of how well they would get along but ultimately, they were both grown men, and getting along was up to them.

Bucky and I were carrying the skiff out to the water's edge as opposed to dragging it like I had to do for years in the past. Sometimes having the strength of an Aesir came in quite handy.

Well, and having a super soldier to help was an added bonus.

We had already put all the fishing equipment and the crab pots in the skiff so all we had to do was put the boat in the water and shove off. We walked out to the point where the plant covered ground grew quite marshy, and we put the boat down before we sank deeper than our ankles and got our socks wet. "Let me get in the back first, and then you can jump in the front." I said to him.