You Promise(d) Me - Loki Laufeyson

Chapter 10

Loki scrutinized the necklace adorning the shapeshifter's neck, his gaze lingering on the battered jewel. He noticed before, and now that he was close enough to observe it, he could spot a small hole that was cracked right in the middle. "Why do you wear that necklace around your neck?" he inquired.

She moved her head from his shoulder, keeping her hand against his, and glanced down at the pendant, her other hand instinctively tracing its contours. "My mother could create anything she wanted or needed with her eyes closed and enough time. This is one of her creations." She twirled it around, showing the chip embedded behind the dark purple.

"What exactly is it for?" he pressed. They both knew she didn't carry anything that didn't hold any value, whether that be sentimental or useful.

"Control," responded the shapeshifter with resignation. She hated that she had to rely on something beyond her own abilities to handle it, but knew she had no choice. "My own mother doesn't know my father's species, because he left and unfortunately, his abilities are unstable, which I inherited."

Loki considered her words carefully before offering a suggestion. "If you were to remove it, perhaps it could allow all of your abilities to flourish. If it is your body you desire, then surely it will come."

She shook her head firmly. "No. That's too much of a risk," she asserted, her resolve evident in her tone. "This necklace allows me to survive, excluding certain circumstances. Without it..." She trailed off, her head already giving her ideas of the worst possible situations.

"If you let that fear control you, you won't get back what you wish," Loki remarked, his voice tinged with a hint of concern.

"So what, you think fear motivates me?" The shapeshifter scoffed, her tone defiant as she rejected Loki's suggestion.

"You said you had ideas of why your abilities don't appear. I am throwing some of my own for you to consider," Loki persisted, undeterred by her dismissiveness. She squeezed his hand slightly enough.

"And I said to drop the subject. You don't know what you're asking," the shapeshifter retorted, her frustration evident as she resisted Loki's probing.

"What circumstances?" Loki pressed.

"What I thought were life or death situations. Until I found out I literally couldn't die," she conceded. "After finding that out, it's been silent. Besides, my shapeshifting abilities are different. Shapeshifting... " she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, trying to find the exact phrasing that she could best capture it. "requires emotion, but also that feeling of safety of my surroundings."

"And yet you still managed to do it in front of me."

"Well, yeah, but so can you, just in a different way." She went back to the question that brought up this moment. She paused, letting some hazy memories flood her mind. "Besides, she was teaching me how to control my father's abilities despite not truly understanding, but she taught me too late," she continued, her words tinged with regret. "How can I learn to control something of which I don't know the source? I know exactly how to transform but... without this, I'm unstable and I wouldn't be able to sneeze without side effects," she gestured to the necklace, finally finishing her answer.

Loki went back to her relationship with her mother. "How are your feelings about her?" he inquired gently.

She sighed, her expression clouded with conflicting emotions. "I used to follow her ideas because she knew what was best," she confessed, her voice tinged with nostalgia. "But not now."

Loki listened attentively, silently urging her to continue.

"Everyone's capable of mistakes, especially my mother," the shapeshifter continued. "I love her, but I cannot forgive her for... the isolation. I understand why, but I cannot forgive." Her voice was heavy as she leaned her head back onto his shoulder, her eyes slowly dropping.

Loki hummed. "I would like to remove the line."

Her mind snapped to attention, her senses sharpening as she processed his words. Slowly, she lifted her head, her eyes narrowing with incredulity. "What?"

He repeated himself, his gaze unwavering. "You've answered all of my questions I wished to ask," he explained calmly and with calm conviction.

The shapeshifter was skeptical as she regarded him warily. "Bullshit," she retorted, her tone laced with defiance. "I've answered your questions. Are you trying to mess with me?" she challenged a hint of suspicion within her words.

"No, I-" He was cut off by her sarcasm. "That's right, that's a dumb question to ask the god of mischief."

"The whole reason why we drew the line was to keep our spaces, and yet you still lean upon me right now."

"Then I can just not do it anymore." She moved away, her hand slipping from his grasp, but he squeezed it gently, urging her to hear him out.

"I also believe you trust me enough to know that I will not do anything untoward to you. We treat each other with enough respect that we can act civil with or without the foolish line." His words were sincere, his gaze steady into hers.

The shapeshifter locked eyes with Loki, her frustration was palpable in the tense set of her jaw and in her gaze. Caught between lingering distrust and a flicker of doubt, she weighed her options. Regardless of her decision, the one who stood to lose the most wouldn't be her. Loki had clearly been thinking about this before now, so he did decide on the consequences and decided to capitalize now when she was somewhat vulnerable to poor decisions with her lack of sleep. If she refused, she'd merely be delaying the inevitable return of the question, trapped in a tiring cycle she doesn't want to be in.

With a resigned sigh, she finally relented, her voice firm yet laced with caution as she voiced her agreement. "I'll agree to its removal," she conceded, "and you can continue your questions that we both know you have. but you drop out the ones relating to my abilities and my family completely and it also doesn't cause repercussions on our previous deal. I will talk about them if I want to, but not as answers."

Loki's response was swift and agreeable. "I am agreeable to your conditions," he affirmed, his tone devoid of any trace of coercion or manipulation. However, as she stole a glance at his lips, she noticed a subtle twitch that briefly tightened his jaw. She chose to ignore it.

"Alright then. You have a deal." She started to stand, with him following suit.

With a slight misstep and a wave of dizziness from exhaustion, the shapeshifter faltered, her hands instinctively reaching out to steady herself on her knees. But before she could stumble even more, Loki swiftly extended his arm, catching her with a firm grip and steadying her. A small quirk of her lip conveyed her gratitude as she murmured a quick thanks to him before refocusing her attention on the line between them. She lifted her foot and stomped down, swiping it back and erasing it under her heel, disrupting its clean path.

"Well, then. I guess that's it," she declared as she straightened up, feeling lighter and able to stand on her own, slightly pushing herself away from Loki. "Now, I'm going to just draw in silence and not have you interfering. Got it?"

"Understood," Loki replied with a faint smirk, his eyes gleaming with a hint of amusement as he watched her sit right back down. Without missing a beat, he reached for a book he had been reading for some time now and settled down next to her, casually flipping through its pages to find where he left off.

As she gathered the notebook back on her thighs with her knees up high, he subtly reached out and placed his hand on her bare forearm. She paused for a moment, casting a subtle side-eyed glance at him as he remained engrossed in his book with no change in his face. Satisfied, she started her drawing with a small smile, reassured by his presence beside her.

A/N: Am I still unhappy with the writing of this chapter despite too many revisions because I am way too nitpicky about the little tiny details, trying not to reveal too much or too little? Yes. Will I go back on it next time I post? Maybe, but probably not. 

Unfortunately, I will be unable to post any chapters for a little while due to being in my last semester and flooded with work and studying.

The next update is the 16/06/2024