Hel (HOAM Spin-Off)

Working

Luk looked up as Hel came to meet him outside. She stopped short, staring at him.

"You cut your hair."

It had hung down to his lower back since she'd met him, something he said his father had done and so he'd adopted it at one point. Now, the snow white locks were cut down to a little past his shoulders. He'd tied it back and had it slung over his shoulder.

He smiled now. "I was tired of it."

"I don't know, I was starting to like it."

He laughed. She'd complained before that his hair was really too long to be normal. He held his hand out. "Ready?"

"Why are we doing the collecting?"

"Nidavellir had another battle. Civil war."

He gave a low whistle and two groups of Kaji emerged. Luk took Hel's hand and stepped forward. She clenched her eyes shut, still not used to the way he could step into another world without using a portal. Somehow, if he wasn't holding her, the transition was much more jarring. He steadied her and then started moving.

The dead lay strewn about the grounds, bodies at odd angles and fallen on each other. Hel never truly got used to the sight. It always saddened her. But Luk had been doing this since he was young. He said he was only a child of five or six when his father taught him. It was only the young soldiers and slaughtered families that ever moved him anymore.

They went their separate ways and got to work, one group of shadows to each of them. Hel paused a moment, watching Luk work. He moved with a kind of grace, smoothly walking through the battlefield and collecting the lives of the fallen. She sighed and moved to join the Kaji when a pair of bright blue eyes caught her attention. She gasped and stepped forward, feeling her heart wrench. Tears streamed forth suddenly and she fell to her knees, a horrified sob escaping her.

A Kaji hissed loudly and Luk ran to her. He pulled her away and pressed her cheek to his chest. "Hush, love. It's alright. You're alright."

She shook her head. "He's just a boy. Just a little kid! Why?! Why would they do that?!"

"Because it's war, love. I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do."

"Bury him. Please, bury him. We can't just leave him here."

"The soldiers return to bring them to their families. We can't."

"We can't leave him there!"

He wiped her tears. "I'm sorry. Here." He bent and closed the child's eyes. He lifted his hand slowly, collecting his life with the others. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He motioned to a Kaji. "Take her home, please. I'll finish."

She tried to quiet her cries but found herself unable. The shadow took her hand gently and stepped into Nilfheim. Amet met her outside the house and took her to her rooms. He lit a fire and patted her back gently.

Luk returned a couple of hours later. He sat beside her on to bed and pulled her to him. "Hel?"

She jumped from her trance and clutched at his shirt. He let her cry, rubbing small circles into her back. It took her time but eventually she fell asleep.

The next few days were quiet. He knew it was a shock to take in, the first time one saw a child on the battlefield. But she seemed to be taking it especially hard. Unsure what to do, he went to see Loki.

"She hasn't been talking?"

"Not much, no. She's sleeping and eating. But she's quieter than usual. I don't know what to do."

"She's always been sensitive. I say we take her somewhere to get her mind off it. Vacation. And I feel like going to the beach. Sound good?"

"I'll talk to her."

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I'm doing that risky thing I tell myself never to do - working on two stories at once. One of them always ends up left behind. But I've got a few chapters of this that have been sitting around so here you go.