Survive The Tide (Love Divides) -A Loki FanFiction-

Chapter One: The Huntress

The wind blows gently, its cool tendrils wrapping around my body and lightly kissing my exposed skin.  I pay it no mind as it plays with the ends of my hair, but instinctively check to be sure it does not carry my scent downwind.  Satisfied that I am, for the moment, safe, I continue soundlessly among the undergrowth.  Adrenaline floods my veins, and I pause to brush my hand against the bark of a tree, rubbing my fingers together gently.  With a soft grin of success, I examine the few strands of coarse, red-brown hair.

“Fascinating!”  A voice whispers in my ear.  “Maybe you should put them in your palm and turn them into a compass!”

I exhale quietly, not bothering to turn.  “Still trying to scare me, to make the huntress flinch first.”  I whisper back with a smirk.  “Keep trying, Trickster.”

Without another word, I bound off, my boots hardly making a sound as they impact the ground underneath them.  Every single one of my senses is trained on the animal of the hunt.  It is still dark, the forest only just coming to light with the rays of dawn.  The dim does not bother my well-trained eyes, and in my left hand I clutch a delicately carved bow tightly.  Dropping to a knee, I am careful not to touch anything so as to ruin my tracking.  My fingers lightly trace the rather large imprint of a hoof recently made in the moist ground.  He is close, that much I confirm.  Keeping my crouched position, I creep along the forest floor, eyes flashing from the tracks to the surrounding area and back again.

This goes on, and my heart is pounding in my ears.  Then, just as the morning star rises and begins to break through the trees, I see him.  The stag has his proud head ducked to nibble on the grass of a small clearing, ears twitching slightly.  His mighty antlers brush the undergrowth, and his powerful hooves strike the ground with intent as he searches for food.  I see the muscles of his strong body ripple, and I know that, if given the fair chance, he may just charge my slight form.

I don’t intend to give him that chance.

Effortlessly, I swing up into a nearby tree, reaching for a better vantage point as I settle on a thick branch.  My weight is evenly distributed on my feet and legs, and I keep my abdomen and back muscles taut.  It would take nothing short of a miracle for me to fall.  I draw an arrow from my quiver, eyes never leaving the stag.

Loki once more appears at my side.  “Look at you!” He taunts.  I can practically hear the smirk in his voice.  It is clear that he is projecting his voice so that only I can hear it, as the nature around me doesn’t react to his presence.  “I may have underestimated you!”

I knock the arrow, keeping the bow in my lap for the moment.  I do not answer the young prince with my voice this time, and instead reach out with my mind.  “Don’t you always?”  My reply is equally as snide.

“Hmm…” Loki says, pressing his lips together and yet still smirking.  “You have yet to slay the poor beast.  Wouldn’t want you to break your concentration…”

“You mean to deter me, surely, because you do not want me to win.”  I shoot back without missing a beat.  I raise the bow and pull back the string, letting my fingers graze my cheek.  The stag straightens, as if sensing his demise.

Suddenly, a branch snaps nearby, and the stag hunches, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger.  I cannot afford to waste a breath of moment, and release my arrow without another thought.  However, it is at that exact moment that the stag leaps to run, and the arrow embeds itself grotesquely in the soft flesh of the stomach area.  The powerful animal lets out a terrible shriek, and my eyes narrow dangerously.

“Oh, dear,” Loki says mockingly.  “How horrendous of me.”

I whirl on him, and his mouth stretches into a mischievous grin.  “Are you about satisfied?”  I demand verbally.