Parting of ways

After several hours, they set on their journey afresh. As soon as they reached ahead, Loki waved his hand to fold the house into its parchment form. It shortly caught up with him on the way and Loki shadily kept it safe by making it disappear. They were again walking down the muddy path.

Nevaeh was wearing a white t-shirt which had the words 'The Empire did nothing wrong' written over it in golden shining in the day light. She wore denim shorts and the same ankle-length black boots as she walked next to Loki. She had tied her long hair in a high ponytail which made the strands of her front hair to flow on her cheeks.

Loki was smiling to himself while pondering on the illusions he had created before to make their journey not-so-pleasant, for no apparent reason. But today, he had modified his illusions and blended them with reality so subtly, that Nevaeh would never notice the whole muddy track they had trekked before was a mere illusion, and a minor trick to hide Asgard's real beauty. Loki felt pretty pleased with himself.

Nevaeh was questioningly looking at him side-ways. 'Loki, why are you smiling to yourself like a villain?'

Loki chuckled, 'Do I look like a villain?'

'Well, not today, you changed your clothes. But yesterday, oof. You had a throbbing villain-y look. By the way, how did you change your clothes?' she asked. She had a bag-pack. He didn't.

'I found it at the house. Fits well, doesn't it? It was convenient, as you might say.' smirked Loki. Nevaeh found it hard to believe that he found new clothes resembling his previous ones, with the same green colour and silver plates mossed in its front, but she didn't pursue the topic any further.

'So, what does that bi-thingy do? How do I get home from there?'

'It is Asgard's path connecting to different worlds. The bi-frost is the only legal way out of here,' Loki said. They kept talking about the bi-frost, all the while moving far away from the bi-frost.

Nevaeh was pleasantly surprised when their path gradually became less muddy and more pretty. She smiled to herself as she watched the peaceful forest, with humongous trees which were shining the brightest colours; some were blue mixed with green, and some were pink blended with golden. Birds were chirping merrily, the branches were swaying along with the subtle wind. She tried to soak in as much beauty through her eyes as she could.

'This path is really growing on me! I was tired of those muddy tracks. Hence, I prefer winter – Nothing beats winter!' Nevaeh said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Loki's fist involuntarily clenched; why those words? He closed his eyes while walking a few steps, and opened them again.

'Look at those trees! They are so pretty! Pink and gold! Imagine how they would look in winter! With snow falling above them and the ground is all frosty, wouldn't it be lovely?' Nevaeh cooed as she roamed through the trees, twisting and turning on the grassy ground.

Loki wanted to disappear. This relentless persistence on "imagining things all frozen" sent a chill down his back. He could feel a blue icicle run through his spine, as sharp as knife, slicing him from the inside. He heard Nevaeh's voice calling out his name in distance. He looked up to watch her halt and pout at him.

'Are you okay?' Nevaeh asked. 'Are you feeling blue?'

Loki felt like screaming. Are you kidding me? Blue? Blue? Am I feeling – blue? I was born blue! Loki felt exasperated by his fate, and the girl's unintentional words that were indeed slicing him apart like they were a blue freaking ice-dagger.

'I am fine.' Loki said quietly, 'Less talk, more walk' he said, increasing his pace.

'Yes, my rhyme lord' she said mockingly.

This pissed Loki off as well. Who was she mocking? He is a Lord! Doesn't he look like a lord? He just knew one thing for certain that if she continues this "Loki's soul-crushing" theme in her non-stop talking, then harm would be incurred, which was the last thing Loki wanted. He decided to maintain his calm, and to avoid relating anything she says to his personal matters. Loki was more than smart enough to have a firm grasp over his emotions.

'Aw! Look! The squirrels are fighting over the nut! That is so funny!' Nevaeh laughed, 'Hey, this is how Thor and Ikol must look during one of their petty squabbles!' she began giggling.

Loki slapped an invisible hand over his head while maintaining the illusion of smiling politely.

Things were going pretty well for several hours, till just after noon.

Loki was getting along fine with the help of his illusions. At one point when she started telling him the tale of a women named Killer Frost, he kicked a rabbit into a bush with frustration, and that surprisingly calmed him down a little, compelling him to wonder how circumstances, and his own stubbornness of maintaining the appearance of a local, has changed his way of expressing anger. The peace and calm he couldn't achieve yesterday by burning a quarter of his planet was now achieved by simply kicking a harmless, defenceless rabbit into a bush. He didn't even had to kill the rabbit, just kick it. He was again pleased with himself.

Till noon.

Nevaeh was going on about a friend of hers named Candice, who was her childhood friend, but was very mean to her. Loki was listening as she told him how Candice used to scratch little Nevaeh with her nails when they were kids and how Nevaeh's dog often protected her from that little brat.

'—yet she was my best friend till I was 16! Can you imagine? I used to cry when she would go away, and loved it when she returned!' she went on.

'Why did you even like her? She sounds like an awful friend! Didn't you have anyone else?' Loki asked with confusion.

'Of course, I did! I was a popular kid!' Nevaeh said, as she lowered her head a little to avoid the branches of a tree, 'But when you are with someone since you are born, even though they are not your blood, you grow attached to them. I love her like my sister, but she betrayed everybody around her! Always trickeries and lies, she was full of them!' fumed Nevaeh. 'Her family loved her, and she betrayed them too. She was adopted, yet her family loved her as if she were their own. She was their own. They cared so much for her, and then she went behind their backs –'she went on and on but Loki had been caught in a trance.

He was sweating, shivering and walking ahead of her. He was walking with his eyes closed, by using nothing but his sense of surroundings in order to shut himself out, but her words kept echoing inside his head in a thundering manner. It felt as though his skull might split in two. Was this really happening? How could she say such things when she knew nothing about his past? Was he really supposed to believe that this was just a coincidence?

'—and when I told her that you can't betray your family, she said, "they are not my family!"' Nevaeh finished in a sickeningly mocking voice, as though she were imitating an unreasonable child.

'ENOUGH!' Loki yelled so loud that several birds took flight from the nearby trees. Nevaeh jumped, clearly startled at his sudden outburst and looked at him with mildly alarmed eyes.

'What do you know?' Loki asked, taking a step towards her. 'What do you know – how it feels? You come here barging – and mocking all the way. What – the – hell – do – you – know – how – it – feels?' hissed Loki, staring at her through angry, yet slightly misty eyes.

Nevaeh was looking at him with a look of confusion mixed with anger, or was it fright? 'I don't. I never said I did.' Nevaeh said in a low voice. 'Thank you for coming with me this far, but I think I am better off alone,' she finished, turning away and marching in the opposite direction.

'Where do you think you are you going? That's not even the right side!' an annoyed Loki yelled after her, only to find a rock plummeting towards him and hitting him right on the head.

'What the –?' Loki looked at her wildly.

Nevaeh glared at him through tearful eyes, 'Do not follow me, Loki! Unless you want a boulder thrown at you next!' She stormed off, disappearing among the trees.

Loki fumingly watched her till she was out of sight. He whipped around to stride towards the direction they were headed. Loki was outraged; her words burning inside his mind like spitting fire. He was almost running now, but he knew that wasn't enough to put out the fire blazing inside of him. Loki took three long strides before wings erupted on his back in a greenish gleam and he took off in the air.

He spread wings like an eagle and flew low, but very fast. He was swooshing through the wild cover of forest like a bird, the thick branches of trees slashing his face, his body, but he didn't care what happened to him. He never cared.