Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 7: The Great Escape [2]

Chapter Seven

The Great Escape Part II

Cassiopeia Galaxy

Shedir System

Sector 40

Cold was an understatement. Tony really envied whatever weird alien genes made it possible for Loki to not to feel the cold and simply walk outside here in a thin shirt. It was really not fair, he couldn't feel his toes and fingers. He was glad that he was never really severely injured and also that he never stopped trying to keep his body as fit as possible. The walk was still tiring. The first part of their escape went well, Tony would be suspicious if not for how much of it was pure damn luck. Ever since Loki first mentioned their escape he was kind of annoyed that that the god didn't feel like sharing his little info about the aerodrome sooner. His majesty probably didn't want to lower himself by asking some lowly human to team up with him. Tony also noticed the decrease in guards though, so some tiny part of him was almost glad that they didn't decide to do this sooner. It probably wouldn't have gone this well. Even if they were far from free yet.

He didn't know how long they've been walking only that it was getting darker, not that it was all that light to begin with. The darkness was their friend, sure, but Tony still missed the sun, well any sun, his sun was too damn far away so he would be satisfied with any kind right about now. The fresh air, albeit cold did wonders to his head, he was not thinking this clearly in weeks. It was good to be outside, even if he was getting really tired. He didn't use his muscles this much in who knows how long. Not that he was ready to admit his fatigue, he could go a little further. He survived the last fucking desert, he will survive this one too.

'Let us descend here, we may find some shelter for a few hours.'

'Shouldn't we keep going?' Tony asked.

'I still need you alive, you need rest or you will not make it. I need to heal as well.'

Tony dreaded to be captured again, but a few hours rest sounded like just the thing he needed. He ignored the veiled insult in Loki's words and followed him down on some not too steep hillside, and he was stupidly glad they've never taken his shoes. Frostbite and cuts would be a given. He wasn't even sure whether this place was a desert or just some plain with too little vegetation. Everything was cold and dry. He also suspected that Loki could see in the dark a lot better than he could, because he didn't notice where they were headed only when Loki was looking inside a cave mouth.

'I wonder what lives here,' Tony said, half as a joke, really.

'Nothing that cannot be killed,' Loki replied matter-of-factly and headed inside. 'That would maybe even give us a decent meal.'

'I wouldn't have pegged you for the Bear Grylls type,' Tony observed as he followed him inside.

'What?'

'Adventurer, survival in the wilderness, that sorta thing.'

'You kill it then you eat it. It is hardly a skill worthy of praise. Even the simplest brute is capable of it'

'Sometimes I forget that you're a Space Viking.'

'This should be far enough,' Loki said as he stopped. 'If someone looks inside they will not be able to see us.' And with that he sat down.

Tony looked around so that he wouldn't sit on anything then sat down as well.

'Okay, so while we rest. How's phase two gonna go?'

'You may want to elaborate on that.'

'We get to the aerodrome... which is now that I think about it, the actual phase two, since phase one was-'