Chapter Text
Falling
She remembered screaming, not exactly stoic or befitting of the daughter of an Air General. Being thrown across the Nine Realms and falling onto scraggly rocks seemed like a worthy enough reason to allow it.
Coughing, Sigyn rolled over onto her side, blood on her lips. She ached in several places, her wrist hurt, possibly sprained, and there was a horrible scrape down her arm where her sleeve was ripped open. Luckly, most of her body took the impact against something softer than stone...
"Loki!" She remember she wasn't alone as her wits came about her, but she could not see him, only hear his ragged breaths.
Creating a ball of light was one of the most basic magic spells she had been taught when she was a young girl of a hundred or so. She was hurt and slightly disorientated, but she was able to pull enough strength to create a small ball of light big enough to illuminate the area. Making sure it was stable, she tossed it up so it would hover above her at about the height of an over-tall man.
"Sigyn," his voice was weak and she looked over her shoulder to see her friend lying on his back amongst the rocks.
"Loki," this time she tried to hide the worry in her voice.
Hours ago they had been in the Royal Library on Asgard. Several children of the royal court were gathered about, waiting to see what the prince would do next. While Sigyn had been taught her magic in the schools, the prince had received much more care in his training which gave him a singular and deft touch that she and the others could only admire.
But as much as Loki's mother had always taught the importance of patience, her son was only patient when it suited him. He was slightly obsessed with not exactly forbidden magic, but magic that likely should have been left well enough alone. This included magic that allowed one to travel between the Nine Realms by finding the soft spots and creating natural fissures that one could simply walk through.
He had been successful and could not wait to show off his abilities, and, in truth, it had been rather impressive to the gathered students. Embolden, Loki kept at it, trying to do more than augment a natural fissure and create his own so that he could literally go from one place to the next without having to find an area 'close enough'.
In this, he failed.
Sigyn crawled over to Loki, his breathing shallow and labored.
Loki had created a fissure as part of his Realm-Walk spell, asking if anyone would like to accompany him to Vanaheim. Since a spell like this had never been known to work, everyone became hesitant, except Sigyn who was entirely too keen to see it work. She had always wanted to travel and thought that this may be her best chance before her life became domestic and dull. It did not escape her eyes that Loki was well pleased that she had chosen to trust him.
But something went wrong and they went crashing through the Nine Realms, falling in what seemed like an endless loop. They had clung to each other for no better reason than fear. Sigyn had no idea what exactly had gone wrong and Loki was seemingly unable to stabilize the rift he had created. When they finally fell from the fissure they were only a few meters above the ground but the force of the rift threw them as if they had been shot from a cannon.
Loki took the brunt of it, Sigyn falling on top of him.
“By Valhalla,” she muttered before pulling herself together and moving closer to check his wounds.
“How does it look?” he bit out while trying to make light, a terrible combination.
“Nothing out of place,” she offered an assurance seeing that no limb looked obviously broken, but there was blood seeping into his clothing, making it shiny and wet all down his left side.
“Small wonders,” Loki’s breathing was still labored, “I think I’m going to rest here a moment.”
He was not inclined to move and she wondered if he had any internal damage from the fall. If he kept still then his body would heal it quickly enough provided there was nothing else to worry about.
Not needing to be asked, Sigyn moved forward and started to give him a more thorough examination. First she looked at his head, running her fingers down the sides and slowly underneath making sure not to move his neck. She only found some blood already drying from a wound above his temple, and there was no bruising starting to appear on his neck. Asgardians were a hardy people, known for having very thick skulls, but one could never be too careful.
Sigyn had been wearing a cape overcoat, so she pulled it off and laid under his head to make him more comfortable. All he gave her in return was a muffled thanks as his breaths continued to be jagged.
A check of his left arm found it to be sprained but not broken. The sleeves of his coat and undershirt had become ripped as he skidded on the ground. It had been just enough to cause some nasty looking scrapes, but nothing that wouldn’t heal in a short amount of time.
When she moved down to his legs, his right one was fine but as she touched his left leg she was shocked by the shear amount of cursing that poured from Loki’s lips at her.
“Why did you do that?!” he shouted as he calmed down.
“I’m checking your wounds!” she shouted back, he hadn’t complained when she was touching his head, torso, and arms moments ago. “I think your broke your leg.”
His glare held for a moment, then his eyes softened as he admitted, “I think you are right, I can’t move it.”
Sigyn thought she saw something she never thought she’d ever see from Loki Odison: fear.
He tried to hide the emotion behind his usual mask of cleverness and disdain, but it was slipping, barely holding. If the Son of Odin, a Prince of Asgard, felt fear in this moment then it was instinct that told her she should too. But she couldn’t let the fear take hold of her, she needed to stay strong just long enough for Hemidall to find them.
“I hope these aren’t your favorite pair,” she tried to joke as she gently grabbed the cuff of his trousers where it was already ripped.
“Be careful,” he breathed as he braced for more pain.
“I’ll be gentle,” she replied softly.
Trying not to do so much as breath on his leg, Sigyn tore his trousers so she could see what kind of damage had been done. Loki winced a few times and mumbled ‘careful’ more often than she appreciated, but she managed to expose his leg from his boot to his knee. There was a large scrape to match the one on of his arm and it had been bleeding through, thankfully it now looked to be already clotting and scabbing.
The leg itself was dirty, covered in bruises, and there was a slight bulge where there shouldn’t be.
“It didn’t break the skin,” she said with relief.
It takes a lot of force to break an Asgardian’s leg bone, and usually finding just the right angle for torque. If Loki had fallen by himself he might have come out reasonably unscathed. Sigyn wanted to feel guilty for his leg as it was likely her addition that caused the physics to be just right, but then she remembered that it was Loki who caused them to fall in the first place.
“I’m going to have to set it,” and that she did feel some regret for as it was going to hurt, horrifically, but it had to be done. "Do you have something to bite down on?"
Loki's hands went to his belt, but he had trouble with the clasp as his left hand was still healing from the horrendous gash.
"Here," she reached forward without thinking, undoing the clasp swiftly. It wasn't until she was slipping the belt off that she felt awkward about it, trying to hide a blush.
"What would Theoric think?" again the man tried to make light as he took the offered leather from her.
"He's a kind and understanding man," she thought of her betrothed as she went back to attending the prince’s leg.
"How good for him," Loki replied drolly, laying the belt over itself.
Ignoring him, she touched his leg gently to find where the break started and where she would need to apply pressure. Loki hissed at her, but he curved his language, there was no way she could do this without causing pain.
"Ready?" she asked once she was sure as she could be with what medical training she had. In truth, she knew only the basics of battle medicine, the kind of stuff all Asgardians where taught. Sigyn was much more interested in magic and politics, she knew from an early age she was not interested in pursuing the healing arts.
Loki bit down on the belt, then nodded, steeling himself with a deep breath. Sigyn braced herself against his good leg, trying to hold him completely still. Gently she gained a firm grasp on his flesh, ignoring his hisses of pain. Closing her eyes so she could feel nothing but his damaged leg, she twisted swiftly and forced the bone back into place.
There was a sickening crack and Loki bucked as his scream was swallowed by his clenched teeth. She held him down as best she could so that he would not undo the setting of the bone, but he was much stronger than her. The knee of his good leg came up and struck her in her chest, causing her to fall backwards, hitting her head on the ground.
It was just a minor blow, nothing her Asgardian body couldn’t handle, but she fell awkwardly on her sprained hand which hadn’t quite healed yet and she let out a small yelp of pain.
“Sigyn?” Loki’s voice was coarse.
“I’m fine.” She rolled to her side and sat up, feeling her breastbone where he connected with her. It would only hurt for a moment.
“It was a natural reaction,” he said by way of apology, it was as close of one she would ever get from him as Loki was not the kind to outright admit to any fault. He hadn’t even offered any apologies for getting them into this mess in the first place.
“You didn’t dislodge your leg, did you?” She moved back over him, careful not to touch the leg until she was sure he wouldn’t knee her again.
“No,” he had calmed down, “it still hurts, but not like before.”
“It’s healing,” she frowned, afraid it might not knit back properly, but I have an idea.”
First she found a rock, a few meters high, and sat it down next to his broken leg. Sigyn then grabbed the catches of her corset, quickly popping them so it came away from her body. She was now left in the slip of her dress and in any other setting it would be highly scandalous.
Loki coughed nervously, “I hope Theoric is as understanding as you say.”
“Shut up,” she rolled her eyes at him, getting back down on her knees next to his left leg, “this will act as a brace.”
“Be careful,” he warned her again as she put her hand under his boot covered ankle, her other hand grabbing the rock which would do as a prop.
“I’ve been trying.” Sigyn was getting frustrated with his constant concerns, it’s not like she enjoyed seeing him in pain.
Lifting his leg slowly, Loki continued to groan and hiss as she positioned the rock under his ankle. His leg now supported, she did her best to wrap the corset tightly without undue pain. She was doomed of course, his leg was much thinner than her torso which meant she had to wrap it around itself and pull it tight.
A string of curses flowed filled the air but she ignored them, he didn’t mean them, it simply help him deal with the pain.
“There,” she backed off, keeping the leg propped up, “it should be healed well enough to walk on in a few hours, then we can find our way out of here.”
The young man looked between the impromptu brace and her disheveled figure. “Thank you,” the clear words seemed foreign on his lips and she couldn’t help her eyes widening at the fact she was there to actually hear him say them.
“You’re welcome,” she replied softly, standing up and dusting off her dress as she tried to put herself into some semblance of properness. Glancing around, she finally noticed the odd color of the stone. It was a bluish black, yet it seemed to absorb light. “Where are we?”
“I believe we’re in the Dark World or similar,” he also looked around, “the caves are made of gleipnir. Help me sit up.”
She went to his side, helping him to move without jerking his leg very much. “Can’t gleipnir be used to hide oneself from Hemidall’s sight? That’s why it’s called the Dark World?”
“In large enough quantities,” Loki made an annoyed tsk, a straight frown pressing against his lips, “which we have here.”
Squatting next to him, Sigyn looked around at the stone walls which was now their prison. Behind them, the cavern continued into shadows that the light from her magic could not reach, “There has to be a way out.”
“If not, mother will find us,” he assured her, turning to look at her only to find himself nearly nose deep against her breasts. Quickly facing forward, he coughed and continued, “she will pick up the trail the spell left behind and dispatch legions to search every corner of these caves for us.”
“But how long will that take?” She frowned, standing up to extract herself from him. Sigyn then pointed to the darker edges of the cave. “I’m going to look around a bit, it’s possible there is an exit just around that bend.”
“Don’t go too far,” there was a hint of worry in his voice, but then he added, “I can’t come running to rescue you if you fall or something.”
“I know, Loki,” she wasn’t sure if she should laugh or be sad, the prince was afraid and doing everything to cover up that fact. Did he not understand it was okay, he didn’t always have to be the strong one, even Thor was honest enough to admit this. Granted, the older prince still tended to run head first into everything anyway, but he did not have the same drive to prove himself that Loki seemed to have.
Sigyn created another ball of light, this time lifting it up into the air to follow beside her and light her path. She barely got a few steps when she saw them, the glowing red eyes.
“Loki,” she tried not to let any panic show, whatever the eyes were attached to hadn’t attacked them yet so there was good reason to believe they were not outwardly aggressive.
“I see it,” he called back to her cautiously, “send the light over to them.”
Nodding, mostly to herself, she willed the ball of light towards the creatures slowly, unsure if they would react negatively to it. They moved, only a little bit, and their slithering bodies became visible.
“Skathi serpents,” she breathed a sigh of a relief.
“Skathi serpents?” Loki questioned that he heard her correctly.
“Yes,” Sigyn took a few steps forward so she could see the specific patterning on their scaly skin. She had seen the design in several of her books, their bodies black except for ivory-colored arrow-head shaped scales that traveled down the length of their bodies. It was said they had a few natural habitats, one of which was the Dark World. “They are friendly towards Asgardians,” she moved even closer and they generally treated her with disinterest, “they will not bother us.”
“You sure?” he did not sound convinced, “I see more over here, they have come from the small crevices in the wall.”
Sigyn looked back and saw them too, they sat riveted at the edge of the main sphere of light, “They are simply curious or else they would have attacked already, no need to fear.”
“Well then,” he sat up a little straighter, “best be finding that exit.”
Trying not to shake her head at him, Sigyn continued back down the open end of the room. It narrowed slightly, but then widened, opening into a much larger cavern, seemingly no exit in sight. Sigyn sent the light up into the center, or as close as she could figure, and increased the intensity of the beam. All she saw was more juts, stalagmites, stalactites, and shadows. Any one of them though could lead to the outside, but now was not the time to explore.
A sent caught her nose, it was cold, fresh, and clean. If she listened carefully, she could hear the trickle which lead her towards where the ground dipped and the wall was shiny.
“Water,” she whispered, then turned back towards the entrance to the smaller cavern, “Loki, I’ve found water.”
Her declaration was met by a piercing howl.
“Loki!” she shouted, running through the cave, her eyes adjusting as quickly as they could as she passed through partial darkness.
It was only a few long strides, but it seemed like leagues as she came upon the sight before her.
Loki was beset by serpents, more than she could count. At least two were already dead that she could see, having been stabbed by his dagger, and he kicked at another that snapped at his good leg.
“Get away!” he shouted, “you horrible creatures!”
More Skathi were coming towards him, so Sigyn didn’t stop. Running straight up to the downed prince, she grabbed the tail of the first snake within reach. With a firm grasp, she snapped the serpent like a whip, slamming its head against the ground. She wasted no time grabbing a second and third, using her Asgardian strength to down the animals that were attacking them, well, attacking Loki.
One of the snakes, this one with darker, more reddish arrow-head scales, marking it as female, hissed at her as she reached for it, spitting its venom at her. Sigyn threw her hand out to guard herself, the liquid feeling like acid when it touched her skin.
With a groan of pain, she grabbed the snake right under its head. Pointing the fangs away from her, she crushed its body which tremored before it went slack.
“Why do you attack us?!” she shouted, holding the dead female high, the other Skathi retreating back into the crevices.
“Sigyn,” she heard Loki say behind her.
“That’s so odd,” she frowned, seeing that the Skathi were gone now and she was afraid they may be regrouping, “they have no quarrel with Asgardians. Now the Kree, or the Jotun, or even the Primeans…”
“Sigyn!” Loki shouted.
Turning around, Loki was positively pale, even worse than before when she set his leg. Around him was the dead bodies of the serpents he had killed, one with its teeth still latched in the thick leather of his coat. They were grouped near his leg, the exposed skin a prime target, and he had done well to defend himself. Unfortunately, one of the snakes bit at his left arm where the fabric was torn.
“Skathi are poisonous,” Loki had the remnants of the sleeve pulled back, two red whelps glaring prominently on the skin, “aren’t they?”
Sigyn didn’t have to tell him yes, the fear in her eyes spoke for her.