Madness of the Serpent

Encounter

The spirit had not known what to expect from the human place called Germany, but it certainly had not been the enticing lights, the beautiful structures, and the graceful-looking humans.

When it said so, as they traveled in a ground vehicle toward their destination, Loki explained that Germany was the country, and they were entering a city called Stuttgart. According to the Jotun-Asgardian, they were going to be "honored guests" at a celebratory event attended by "the very wealthy to assuage their guilt over accumulating their silver and gold through exploitation and debasement".

A few moments prior, the spirit had been forced to watch as Loki shackled a human's mind at the air terminal. This had been the first time it had actively seen the sceptre wielded on another being, and it observed warily as the azure orb flared to life. Loki pressed the tip of the blade into the human's chest, blue veins traveling up the neck while tendrils of golden energies floated in the air, their ends sticking against the human's temples. His eyes had briefly filled with pure darkness before displaying the crystallized blue that was the signature of Loki's mind-thralls, while the golden threads retracted back into the orb to return to their source: the mind-jewel.

Its expression of pity for the human was concealed rather poorly, as Loki frowned in its direction with his pale eyes narrowed dangerously, obviously displeased from its reaction. But this show of intimidation was not as effective as it had been previously.

The spirit had surmised after its endangerment by the armed humans that it was too valuable to destroy without cause. His obvious concern for its wellbeing, though it came from a twisted origin, was a strong indication that he would not severely harm the spirit.

This conclusion was based on a pattern of behaviors, but if Loki's actions were driven by madness and his mind was truly twisted beyond logical thinking, then the spirit would never be truly safe while in his custody regardless of his intentions.

The most intelligent course would be to remain passive and follow his instructions, but it balked at the idea of being obedient to the Jotun-Asgardian. Of being another of his thralls. It was captive to Loki's whims and impulses, but that did not mean it had to feign approval of the cruelty his actions wrought.

Its thoughts were interrupted once the human returned with a long, sleek, jet-black ground vehicle, which Loki pulled the spirit into with more force than was required. But it bore this in silence, having no other choice unless it wished to agitate him further.

The interior of the vehicle was deceivingly large, and it did not have to sit near Loki due to the open space. Disturbingly, when it took a seat as far away from the Jotun-Asgardian as it could, he simply followed and sat adjacent to the spirit.

It had noticed he did this often, but only to the spirit. Loki rarely stood near his mind-thralls, the few it had glimpsed in its captivity. In fact, he had seemed aloof and distant, even repulsed when it came to the physical space he shared with the species he sometimes referred to as "mortals".

When it came to the spirit, Loki seemed to not care if it wanted a space of its own or not.

The spirit was relieved when their journey came to an end. Staring out of the darkened windows at the glittering city occupied its attention, but not enough to fully distract it from the pale gaze of Loki, whose presence seemed to stifle the very air inside of the transport.

The mind-thrall brought the vehicle to a halt in front of a grand structure with white columns and multicolored lights, illuminating the façade with a rainbow of dazzling lights and elegant banners which immediately entranced the spirit.