The Raven

Waging Wars - Chapter Ten

There the god lie, sprawled out on the floor, as if he were about to make an angel in the snow.
Of course, he was quick to his feet when he heard her. He approached the glass, looking much more than irritated.
"Silence," He hissed. Edith kept laughing, until she eventually calmed herself.
"Sorry," She managed to mumble, in between her giggles.
"Good Morning," The god said, immediately changing the subject. "I'm absolutely starved."
Edith pulled out her phone.
"You are preparing a meal, aren't you?"
"Can't. My friend Ruby's coming over, and," She looked up at him, her gaze demanding. "You will be nice to her. If you're not, well....You should know what happens," A wicked grin shone on The Raven's pale, stunning face at the simple thought of violence.
Loki rolled his eyes, "Frankly, I could care less who comes and who goes, at the moment. I demand something to eat,"
"Already got it covered. Just texted Ruby. She'll bring something,"
Again, the god rolled his icy blue eyes. Edith just chuckled, "Relax. It won't be all bad, I promise." She told him.
He narrowed his eyes.
Edith was naturally quick to speak before he could, "Don't."There was that cheeky, sinister little grin again.
"Now, move. I'm coming in," She ordered.
Loki hesitated, but still did as he was told. Edith quickly put in the code, and slid into the room.
"By the way, it's clearly past noon. How'd you know I just got up?" She asked, swiftly pulling out a chair, and sat down with her legs crossed. "Because I can do this," Suddenly, the god before her vanished. There he was, now sitting on his bed.
"I can walk outside of this...hideous prison with ease,"
"Can't blame you for the hideous part - You did that earlier, I'm assuming?" Edith gazed at the god as he stood.
"Yes," He pulled out a chair, and sat across from her. "You, evidently, rise incredibly early in the morning. I rose a bit late at eight am,"
Eight's late for him...? Tch. Edith thought.
"And I was curious as to where you were," Loki finished. Needless to say, he was smart enough to not mention the pills.
"I see. Yeah, just don't phase into my bedroom while I'm in there, thank you," She replied.
Loki did his best to surpress a grin.
"If there is anything about me you can trust, it is that I shan't enter your chambers unless necessary,"
Now, Edith grinned.
"I don't trust overgrown imp babies." "Ouch," Now, it was Loki's turn to shine his devilish, charming grin. "She bites."
Edith couldn't help but laugh. She surprised herself with how well she got along with him. Not only did she get along with him, but it seemed they were forming a genuine friendship. "You're damn right I do," She replied, her devious grin widening.
Loki chuckled, returning her gaze.
"So, anyways," The necromancer spoke after a moment, "I've noticed you've got nothing to do, and barely any clothes. Tomorrow, we're going shopping." She flashed a quick half-smile.
"I thought I wasn't allowed outside of this prison...?" Loki questioned, raising a brow.
"Well, I trust you won't run away, because I can easily locate you; And you're not. That's what Fury says, anyway. If you try to run, even if I don't catch you, it's back to Asgard and into less charming prison cell,"
She smirked. "I have a motto, and you should go with it: 'It's not illegal until you get caught.'"
Now, Loki's eyebrows raised in surprise. Again, she surprised him. "Hmm," Loki slid his tongue over his lips, wetting them.
"Be ready at nine," Edith ordered.
He usually hated being ordered to do anything - But when she did it, he felt...soft. There he was, angering himself again. He surely wouldn't show any emotion to this woman. A snort came from the doorway beyond the glass.
"Sorry to interrupt your kinky time, but I brought the goods...and unfortunately, Sid," said Ruby, who was approaching the glass.
"I can hear you!" called a male's voice from downstairs.
"I know you can, dumbass!" Ruby shouted back.
"You know he's not supposed to be here, right?" Edith hissed beneath her breath.
"Well, he already figured you out. The one time the moron decides he wants to watch the news, you're on it with those other super-nerds." replied Ruby.
Edith cradled her head in her hand. "Damn it."
"Not my fault you don't wear a mask, paranoid. Now, let me in before I get cranky,"
Edith rolled her eyes and stood, all while Loki watched. Edith quickly punched in the number, allowing Ruby to slide in. When she did, she finally noticed Loki.
"Oh, hey, goth christmas tree hair shed the ugly haircut. Cool,"
She held her fist up to him as she placed a bag filled with their food boxes on the small table. Loki merely raised a brow, gazing at her fist, then up at her. Edith snorted.
"He's from a different world, slippers. I doubt they fist-bump on Asgard." She said, raising a mocking brow at her best friend.
Ruby was swift to lower her fist. She shrugged, "He can learn,"
"I highly doubt he wants to."
Ruby shrugged her ragged bomber jacket off, and hung it on the back of the chair.
"Eh, whatever," She muttered. "Anyways - Is Sid coming up here?" Edith asked, walking to the table. She pulled a box out the bag and handed one to Loki.
"Here, jackass," Was all she said.
Loki silently took it. He didn't seem fond of their new company. Probably just needs time to warm up to 'em. Edith thought, pulling out a box for herself as he hesitantly opened his. "No, I told him to stay and eat downstairs. He isn't aware that you're playing babysitter to geek-n-freak here," Ruby replied.
Edith merely nodded. Ruby took her own box, and sat on the floor.
"...Why are you sitting on the floor?" Loki finally addressed her as he picked up a fork. Better yet, why wasn't she frightened of him..? Then again, she was friends with Edith...Perhaps they all had a death wish?
"'Cause there's no more chairs, and I like the floor," She said.
He raised his brows then quickly lowered them, hinting he didn't approve.
"This is Chinese, right?" Edith inquired as she began eating.
"Yeah. Orange chicken and fried rice," The necromancer gazed up, noticing Loki was staring at the chicken upon his fork.
"Don't knock it till you try it," She told him, biting the chicken off her fork, then pointing the plastic fork at him. He sighed, before he finally took a bite. Again, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He liked it. Once he swallowed, he gazed at Edith, who was too busy eating to pay attention to him. He mentally shrugged it off. After a moment, she grumbled.
"Right, you," She again pointed her fork at him. "Remind me to buy you a damned stereo and shit to go with it. It's way too quiet in here. It's gonna make me lose the last little bit of sanity I have left." said Edith.
He merely nodded as he chewed.
Naturally, Ruby intervened,
"So, why'd you try to take over this piece of shit planet?"
That explained it.
"Oh my god, Ruby," Edith cut herself off, dropping the utensil into the small box to bury her face in her hands.
"What? I wanna know." Ruby replied.
"It's a bit rude to ask someone flat out why they tried to take over this shitty ass planet, slippers,"
Loki raised an eyebrow at the apparent nickname.
"There's a sentence you'll never hear again. What'd I miss?"
Near the door, stood the spikey haired Sid.
"Oooohhh, holy fuck!" Sid laughed. "Nice, Edith. Hooked up with the bad guy? I mean, I'd rather you hook up with me but this is fine too,"
Loki felt rage boiling up inside him, like a pot sitting above a fire with a lid on it. Those contents were soon to rise, break the lid, and run all over the floor. He kept his eyes on his meal, keeping his mouth shut by continuing to eat. He hadn't a clue why he was feeling this way. Frankly, he wanted to snap Sid in two.
"Sid, do us all a favor, and shut the fuck up before I shove my boot up your ass." Edith growled.
Sid only grinned, loving to annoy her, "Kinky."
Edith rolled her eyes.
"Sid, meet Loki, I guess...Loki, sorry you have to endure his sickening presence," She said, turning her gaze to the god.
He forced a believable chuckle.
"It's alright," Was all he said, in fear he'd wind up 'accidentally' killing Sid; That would lose Edith's trust, and send him back to Asgard. For some reason, the worst bit would be losing her trust.
What's happening to me? He thought, even in his head his voice was shaky. Luckily, he was called the God of Trickery for a reason - He could easily act as if he were fine. Only then, did he realize that she'd finally called him by his name, instead of some insulting 'nickname'.
His heart seemed to flutter, and he wanted to stab himself. He wanted to rip it out of his chest...and offer to Edith. Oh, how he hated himself.
Ruby stood, breaking him free from the cage that was his mind.
"Oh, right, I don't know the code,"
Ruby plopped back down on the floor, and Edith stared at her, her gaze judging.
"You weren't going to let him in, were you?" She inquired.
Ruby's eyebrows furrowed, disgust imprinted in her features.
"God, no. I was gonna stab him with this fork," She raised the plastic fork, as if showing it off.
"Yeah, that wouldn't work unless you were going to-"
Ruby finished Edith's sentence for her,
"Stab him in the eyes," She flashed a proud grin.
Edith returned the grin, and held up her fist.
"I'm still right here, y'know,"
"Shut up, Sid." Ruby fist-bumped Edith while she hissed at Sid.
The drummer grumbled, and marched out of the room. Loki felt relief wash over him.
"Might I ask you something, Edith?" He said, questioningly raising a brow.
"Wowza. Fancy boy used my first name - Also, yes." Edith replied.
"If the both of you despise him so much, why is he in your musical group?" Loki crossed his legs.
"We don't necessarily hate him - Don't tell him that, though. He's just the guy in the group of girls, so we naturally tease the hell out of him." She replied, offering a brief, sinister little half-smile.
"Yeah, he's just a massive, annoying shithead," Ruby chimed in, right before she shoved rice in her mouth.
"Yeah, basically," Edith agreed.
Loki, yet again, merely nodded.
"If I may say so myself, he is a bit rude. On Asgard, no one ever flirts so openly...It seems so disrespectful that he does it so casually,"
At this, Edith snorted, "Maybe that's why you guys' population is so low."
Ruby suddenly laughed. "Ha! That's probably why he wanted to take over this shithole! He wanted some toys!"
Edith narrowed her eyes confusedly at Ruby.
"I-...No...Just no, Ruby. No."
Loki seemed offended, Edith could tell by the secret death glare he sent to Ruby.
"I assure you, it certainly wasn't because I wanted a 'toy'. I may be a 'monster' or whatever it is you mortals decided to call me, but I at least have respect for a woman when she says 'no'." He said, his voice commanding.
Edith raised her eyebrows in surprise. That's....Wow. She shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth to silence herself.
"Immediately moving on, because I have the attention span of a puppy, what's with the killy-stabby eyes at everyone?" Ruby asked Loki, shoving more food into her mouth.
"Pardon?" He merely replied, his eyebrows furrowed to show his confusion, and blatant irritation.
"Translation: 'Why do you want to murder me?'" Edith said, flashing another toothless smile.
Loki's gaze averted to Edith, then darted back to Ruby. He briefly raised his eyebrows in annoyance, sliding his tongue around the inside of his cheek, and shifting in his seat. He continued to eat, not daring speak another word.

Once they'd finished eating, Edith stood and gathered their mess. She tossed it in the bin, then approached the door. Ruby was already waiting. Edith looked back to Loki, and with a nod, she spoke,
"C'mon, killy-stabby," She teased lightly, smirking.
Loki gave her a surprised look, to which she quickly answered his question as if she could read his mind; "Yes, I'm inviting you out the prison. C'mon, before I change my mind," Without hesitation, the god stood to his full, towering height and approached the two. Edith, for the first time, noticed this.
"Uck...Remind me to wear heels more often," She grumbled, as she punched in the code.
Her hand brushed his briefly, and there was that feeling of melting again.
For once, he was thankful his skin was usually cold and pale; This meant no one would ever see him blush. Again, he wanted to torture himself. Oh, how he hated this madness. He wished Frigga were here; As secretive as he usually was, he knew he could trust her. He could talk to her about this ill-fated feeling. He almost smiled, knowing that she likely would have just smiled when he told her, and start to talk about when she met Odin. He would groan, and she'd laugh. He missed her, though he wouldn't dare admit that.
Frigga, after all, was the only one who truly understood him...Until his conscious decided Edith did.
Silently, he was waging a war with himself.