Daniel was completely unsure if this would work. He had vanished for a month, caught up in all sorts of monstrous things he wished he hadn’t. The one plus was the friends that he was with were from his hometown, they didn’t attend the university. For all anyone knew he just went to see family or was out sick.
This could work…didn’t mean that it would.
“There you are you bastard!” Daniel’s roommate clamored happily. “What happened to you? You look like hell.”
“Funeral back at home,” Daniel answered, still a little rough from the what he had endured. “I don’t want to talk about it. Hit rather sudden.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” his roommate left it at that giving him a pat on the back. “Well, in case you didn’t know it is Monday. It might be ideal to rest today, email your professors what happened. They should be understanding and able to work with you. If any of them need you to pick something up I can do that for you.”
“Yeah, sounds good, thanks,“ Daniel gave him a smile. “How have your classes been going?”
“Good, good, The dance majors are actually collaborating with us on the exam. As a partner team we have to produce an original song and dance.”
“Damn so you must have had your pick of the litter. Who is the lucky pair of feet that get to collaborate with you?”
“I actually plan to bring her to the apartment tonight to work a little. So you will get to meet her tonight if you are alright with that.”
“Sure,” Daniel smiled, being in some good company sounded like a fitting distraction.
Azalea was in the middle of getting ready for her day when her phone pinged. She felt uneasy for a moment as the sight of Daniel reminded her of what happened last night, but then she saw little Eliza curled up and looking impossibly adorable and felt herself melt, “Awwwww…”
[text: Artie] Omfg, STOP! My heart can’t handle that much cuteness 😭]
A few seconds later a second text came in.
[text:] Since it’s Friday I have a pretty light schedule. I’ll be able to stop by after morning rehearsal.
“So what happened to the Variant?” the mutant asked Mobius. “I heard Ravonna sentenced him to be pruned.”
“Actually he is going to be helping us.”
“What?” She almost dropped a case file in her hands hearing the other agent’s answer.
“You sound so discouraged,” he chuckled, lending a hand before the documents tumbled to the ground. “Come on Josephine, have I ever had a stupid idea before?”
“Stupid? No. I never said this was stupid, This is crazy,” she huffed softly. “What variant is going to help ultimately turn himself in? If he gets a window of opportunity he’s going to exploit it.”
“Which is why I am calling for an all hands on deck, yours included.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at that statement, “Come on now Mobius we just agreed you never had a stupid idea before are you gonna make me take that back?”
“Hey,” Mobius thumped her shoulder, “Don’t short sell yourself bright eyes, you’ve been cooped up in these databases for how long? When was the last time you were out on the field? This could be a great time to use that little talent of yours and stretch your legs. We are gonna need somebody who can sniff out Asgardian metal anyhow. Speaking of, I already got something for you to sink your teeth into,” Mobius carefully handed her one of Loki’s daggers that was confiscated on his arrival.
Josephine glanced at the dagger for a moment, her eyes roaming the details and filigree engraved into it.
“I know that you have a thing for these little artifacts, wouldn’t expect a prince to carry anything but the best. So I expect a full report and for you to use what you learned on our next set out? Good? Great! Excellent!”
“Wait no Mobius I didn’t agree-” the analyst was speaking way too quick for her to disagree and before she could argue or return the dagger he had darted off. “Dammit,” she sighed placing the documents she had in hand into the stacks and then her attention paused once more on the weapon. As she paced through the aisles to try and find Mobius again she was clearly soaking in the little elements of the blade.
“Tickets?” For someone who was fairly tipsy, they were surprisingly quick to think up a way to talk themself out of this situation. Or they at least tried, anyway, “They are back in our cabin. Why would we carry around our tickets at all time? No one told us that when we boarded,” they then reached over, grabbed up their glass, and smiled to the bartender, “Barkeep, another!” They declared, lifting the glass in the air, and then they threw the glass to the floor. Smashing it to pieces.
The Aether was the textbook definition, ever-changing, fluid. With Malekith deceased it was assumed that once the infinity stone was returned to their home it would happily accept the royal bloodline. Be a true cornerstone in guiding the dark elves back to a stronger glory than the centuries before.
However, the infinity stone could not be predicted, and took a tasting for another. There were still portals littered across the Nine and she could feel each of them humming through the black sands. There was one, she felt a incredible might in the land of mortals. Something beyond the flesh that caged it, but they itched for it. As they weaved through the portal to the physical plan they got closer to the human, following her through the silent air waiting for the perfect moment to claim their new hostess.
Azalea nodded and approached the mount, trying her best to not let her nerves creep out and give away just how on edge she felt. It was hard, though, luckily they were outdoors so she could explain away the slight swish of her hair as the wind, “Hey, old girl!” She gently cooed, reaching out to pet the beast on the snout, “Wanna stretch your legs? Yeah?”
The snipe chirped and nuzzled into her hand, causing her to giggle a little, “Yeah? You’re ready to go, hm?”
Gossip spread around the city faster than the plague. One of the park manors had been purchased, and the new residents were moving in today. Everyone was abuzz with curiosity, it was far too grand of a space to be owned by just one individual. Maybe a family?
Large stagecoaches began filing through the streets making their way to the now occupied manor. Seeing some of the instruments and items along the side caused some people to pause. Crates labeled as lion or bear feed, some instruments, costumes, makeup, tent canopys. Their excitement had quickly turned to concern and even disgust. A circus… a damn freak show was now here to stay.
Arriving at the manor the new neighbors had made quick work unloading things from the stagecoaches to the main hall of the estate. Some were making quick work breaking in their new home, establishing one of the grand ballrooms as a training space. A couple of the family members had unfortunately fallen ill during their travels, so the ringleader had to find a medic of some sort. It did not feel wise to let the family simply run around in the city so soon, they already knew there was judgement waiting. Daniel volunteered himself to find some aid, since his mutation was not obvious, he simply covered his brand with a pair of gloves. Majority of large cities mandated that all individuals with beyond human gifts have an identifier, a brand that meant they were mutant.
Of course with Mr. Hayes being a new face in the city there was a blend of curiosity and suspicion.
“Is he one of those monsters? Hes far too handsome right?”
“Its always the pretty ones that steal your coin and leave you bleeding in the gutter.”
Finding a doctor was a headache, keeping his temper in check as those with an establishment shut the door in his face or spat at him, demanding he take off his gloves. He finally found himself on the porch step of an apothecary. He didn’t want to have to resort to theft, but if he heard one more thing about “natural selection” in regards to his kind being ill he will have them chew on concrete.
Stepping into the apothecary he looked exhausted. He had been at this since morning and it was already late afternoon. He went on ahead and took his gloves off, if he was gonna get a no might as well get it quick. His time had been wasted penty. He looked around the space, admiring the collection of wares. “Hello? Is anyone here?”
Loki nodded, glancing down at Jenna hands on their arm. Seeing how excited she was for them made their heart warm. They were not used to other knowing about their leg, let alone having people root for them in their pursuit of a better quality of life. Loki was more accustomed to pain they’ve endured being theirs alone to bare… and yet… having others that cared for them was… also nice.
They looked over at Zephine, face still a bit flushed, but tried to brush it off, “I mean… we both know she is a tease… just was not expecting to be teased about something like that first thing in the morning,” they reasoned and brought their hand up to their face. The skin of their palm was much cooler than their face, “Though, it would seem that American culture is a bit different when it comes to discussions of intimacy. And to think that I considered myself a progress…” they let out a soft chuckle.
Daniel was completely unsure if this would work. He had vanished for a month, caught up in all sorts of monstrous things he wished he hadn’t. The one plus was the friends that he was with were from his hometown, they didn’t attend the university. For all anyone knew he just went to see family or was out sick.
This could work…didn’t mean that it would.
“There you are you bastard!” Daniel’s roommate clamored happily. “What happened to you? You look like hell.”
“Funeral back at home,” Daniel answered, still a little rough from the what he had endured. “I don’t want to talk about it. Hit rather sudden.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” his roommate left it at that giving him a pat on the back. “Well, in case you didn’t know it is Monday. It might be ideal to rest today, email your professors what happened. They should be understanding and able to work with you. If any of them need you to pick something up I can do that for you.”
“Yeah, sounds good, thanks,“ Daniel gave him a smile. “How have your classes been going?”
“Good, good, The dance majors are actually collaborating with us on the exam. As a partner team we have to produce an original song and dance.”
“Damn so you must have had your pick of the litter. Who is the lucky pair of feet that get to collaborate with you?”
“I actually plan to bring her to the apartment tonight to work a little. So you will get to meet her tonight if you are alright with that.”
“Sure,” Daniel smiled, being in some good company sounded like a fitting distraction.
Arthur was somewhat understanding of Azalea as she spoke. The issue was he could not guess anything else that could be the situation. Possession? That almost felt like a theatric theory.
“It was extremely out of character,” he agreed, mentally trying to consider what other options there could be to explain it. “There’s been a lot of bizarre things happening to us this semester.” He noted with a tired sigh, seeing the dormitories up ahead.
“Are you going to be alright tonight?” He asked her, knowing how rattling the evening had been. “If you think it might be a rough night you can crash with us. We have an inflatable mattress that is pretty big, not your typical dorm twin bunk.”
As sweet as the gesture was, Azalea decided to decline, “Oh, I’ll be okay. We’ve already made it to the dorms, plus I’m exhausted and don’t really want to walk all the way back,” not to mention the idea of sleeping just one room away from Daniel was a little bit unnerving at the moment. What if whatever happened early happens again? And he becomes… weird again.
“I’ll text you tomorrow?”
“Okay, of course,” Arthur brought his hands together as if pleading or thanking her when she mentioned shooting her a text the following day. “Please do, I will also keep an eye out on Daniel back home. I think sometime this week our classes are going to meet up just to have more project time together in class. Rest well.” He wished to her, watching her enter the dorm before turning and heading back.
Safe inside her dorm room, Azalea could hear the faint sound of her suite mate watching something on their laptop, “Hey, it’s me!” She hollered before disappearing into her room. There, she took a deep breath and decided to take a shower.
Her stomach felt full and, when she looked at herself in the mirror, she quickly had to look away upon noticing the slight pooch to her stomach that hadn’t been there this morning. She felt full, but she didn’t feel gross like she normally would. The full bowl of pho she had eaten along with all the liquids that Arthur has been giving her had filled her up. She felt… good, but… also a little shameful, “Ugh…” she blinked away tears before quickly getting into the shower.
“So what happened to the Variant?” the mutant asked Mobius. “I heard Ravonna sentenced him to be pruned.”
“Actually he is going to be helping us.”
“What?” She almost dropped a case file in her hands hearing the other agent’s answer.
“You sound so discouraged,” he chuckled, lending a hand before the documents tumbled to the ground. “Come on Josephine, have I ever had a stupid idea before?”
“Stupid? No. I never said this was stupid, This is crazy,” she huffed softly. “What variant is going to help ultimately turn himself in? If he gets a window of opportunity he’s going to exploit it.”
“Which is why I am calling for an all hands on deck, yours included.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at that statement, “Come on now Mobius we just agreed you never had a stupid idea before are you gonna make me take that back?”
“Hey,” Mobius thumped her shoulder, “Don’t short sell yourself bright eyes, you’ve been cooped up in these databases for how long? When was the last time you were out on the field? This could be a great time to use that little talent of yours and stretch your legs. We are gonna need somebody who can sniff out Asgardian metal anyhow. Speaking of, I already got something for you to sink your teeth into,” Mobius carefully handed her one of Loki’s daggers that was confiscated on his arrival.
Josephine glanced at the dagger for a moment, her eyes roaming the details and filigree engraved into it.
“I know that you have a thing for these little artifacts, wouldn’t expect a prince to carry anything but the best. So I expect a full report and for you to use what you learned on our next set out? Good? Great! Excellent!”
“Wait no Mobius I didn’t agree-” the analyst was speaking way too quick for her to disagree and before she could argue or return the dagger he had darted off. “Dammit,” she sighed placing the documents she had in hand into the stacks and then her attention paused once more on the weapon. As she paced through the aisles to try and find Mobius again she was clearly soaking in the little elements of the blade.
Zephine was doing the best she could not to melt under Loki’s gaze, her own eyes darting down as her face flushed. Sylvie gestured to her own clothes as she looked him up and down, trying to signal the two of them discreetly.
“Ohhh shit,” Zephine finally was catching up to the signals Sylvie was giving. “Your disguise… do you think anyone noticed?” She asked Loki softly, her eyes glancing around the room.
“Disguise?” Loki leaned against the bar, noticeably tipsy at this point. They looked down at themselves, not really registering the fact that their clothes had changed.
Someone had noticed, though, a gentleman dressed in expensive-looking garb had discreetly gotten up to go inform a guard of the commotion. The man cast a glare their way before disappearing through the sliding door.
The Aether was the textbook definition, ever-changing, fluid. With Malekith deceased it was assumed that once the infinity stone was returned to their home it would happily accept the royal bloodline. Be a true cornerstone in guiding the dark elves back to a stronger glory than the centuries before.
However, the infinity stone could not be predicted, and took a tasting for another. There were still portals littered across the Nine and she could feel each of them humming through the black sands. There was one, she felt a incredible might in the land of mortals. Something beyond the flesh that caged it, but they itched for it. As they weaved through the portal to the physical plan they got closer to the human, following her through the silent air waiting for the perfect moment to claim their new hostess.
“I convened with them this morning about her, she is well and still under our surveillance. The mages wish to speak to her majesty more in regards to the bifrost situation.” Braum informed her. As much as he wanted to avoid making her feel cornered, his hand was being forced. She would slip away once again if he allowed it. Being up front that he knew may only make the situation worse, her body language was already reading that she was apprehensive.
“Cain and Liam will be joining us shortly. The sandsnipes were a little restless and needed some exercise first. We could meet them there if you like.” He remembered how much fun she had the first time, maybe something like that might make her more open to face what she had been hiding from for so long.
“Well-…” she started to interject, but stopped as the realization hit her of just how pinned down he had her. She didn’t let her expression give off how panicked she felt, but there was a steely look behind her eyes. In a way, it was her own little silent dare, “I guess a visit to the stables could be nice… since I understand how they work now, maybe I could even ride one by myself this time? I got an okay amount of sleep last night, so hopefully that means I’m safe from passing out like last time…”
Gossip spread around the city faster than the plague. One of the park manors had been purchased, and the new residents were moving in today. Everyone was abuzz with curiosity, it was far too grand of a space to be owned by just one individual. Maybe a family?
Large stagecoaches began filing through the streets making their way to the now occupied manor. Seeing some of the instruments and items along the side caused some people to pause. Crates labeled as lion or bear feed, some instruments, costumes, makeup, tent canopys. Their excitement had quickly turned to concern and even disgust. A circus… a damn freak show was now here to stay.
Arriving at the manor the new neighbors had made quick work unloading things from the stagecoaches to the main hall of the estate. Some were making quick work breaking in their new home, establishing one of the grand ballrooms as a training space. A couple of the family members had unfortunately fallen ill during their travels, so the ringleader had to find a medic of some sort. It did not feel wise to let the family simply run around in the city so soon, they already knew there was judgement waiting. Daniel volunteered himself to find some aid, since his mutation was not obvious, he simply covered his brand with a pair of gloves. Majority of large cities mandated that all individuals with beyond human gifts have an identifier, a brand that meant they were mutant.
Of course with Mr. Hayes being a new face in the city there was a blend of curiosity and suspicion.
“Is he one of those monsters? Hes far too handsome right?”
“Its always the pretty ones that steal your coin and leave you bleeding in the gutter.”
Finding a doctor was a headache, keeping his temper in check as those with an establishment shut the door in his face or spat at him, demanding he take off his gloves. He finally found himself on the porch step of an apothecary. He didn’t want to have to resort to theft, but if he heard one more thing about “natural selection” in regards to his kind being ill he will have them chew on concrete.
Stepping into the apothecary he looked exhausted. He had been at this since morning and it was already late afternoon. He went on ahead and took his gloves off, if he was gonna get a no might as well get it quick. His time had been wasted penty. He looked around the space, admiring the collection of wares. “Hello? Is anyone here?”
“Of course,” Jenna heeded Loki’s request, the softest of snickers in her voice as she did so. “Oh, a letter arrived in the mail from Lady Ebony’s friend, the one making your new prosthetic. It said he is almost done and should be on a boat to visit in a week. I’ve seen some of his work before, this is going to be really exciting.”
“A week? That’s mighty quick,” Zephine almost felt relieved with the news and glanced over to the doctor. “Would that be alright? Are you free to visit some time around then?”
Loki’s brows lifted upon this news, and they lowered the napkin to look over at her, “R-Really?” They were really only a week away from less pain? Something they had honestly given up on prior to making connections here at the songbird.
“Whenever he arrives, I will make it work. Will even move my schedule around if I have to!”
“So what happened to the Variant?” the mutant asked Mobius. “I heard Ravonna sentenced him to be pruned.”
“Actually he is going to be helping us.”
“What?” She almost dropped a case file in her hands hearing the other agent’s answer.
“You sound so discouraged,” he chuckled, lending a hand before the documents tumbled to the ground. “Come on Josephine, have I ever had a stupid idea before?”
“Stupid? No. I never said this was stupid, This is crazy,” she huffed softly. “What variant is going to help ultimately turn himself in? If he gets a window of opportunity he’s going to exploit it.”
“Which is why I am calling for an all hands on deck, yours included.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at that statement, “Come on now Mobius we just agreed you never had a stupid idea before are you gonna make me take that back?”
“Hey,” Mobius thumped her shoulder, “Don’t short sell yourself bright eyes, you’ve been cooped up in these databases for how long? When was the last time you were out on the field? This could be a great time to use that little talent of yours and stretch your legs. We are gonna need somebody who can sniff out Asgardian metal anyhow. Speaking of, I already got something for you to sink your teeth into,” Mobius carefully handed her one of Loki’s daggers that was confiscated on his arrival.
Josephine glanced at the dagger for a moment, her eyes roaming the details and filigree engraved into it.
“I know that you have a thing for these little artifacts, wouldn’t expect a prince to carry anything but the best. So I expect a full report and for you to use what you learned on our next set out? Good? Great! Excellent!”
“Wait no Mobius I didn’t agree-” the analyst was speaking way too quick for her to disagree and before she could argue or return the dagger he had darted off. “Dammit,” she sighed placing the documents she had in hand into the stacks and then her attention paused once more on the weapon. As she paced through the aisles to try and find Mobius again she was clearly soaking in the little elements of the blade.
There was a timidness in her behavior as she was guided to the open space by Loki. Still, she heeded their words, following to the best of her inebriated ability. She had let go, their mission, the situation that they were in were no longer at the front of her mind. What had her attention was them, their voice, the melody, the closeness. It was terribly fun just being lost in the present.
She nearly fell back due to her poor balance at the moment, and quickly regained it. Resting her head on their shoulder to better support, laughing at herself for almost falling on her ass. Something was tapping at the back of her mind, like she should be paying attention, that something was off. It took several moments to register her head was resting on a brown jacket with the TVA’s emblem on the shoulder. Wait was that-… wasn’t that supposed to be blue?
Loki chuckled when she wobbled and then slumped into him, “Easy, easy… wouldn’t want you breaking something,” they teased, peering down at Zephine with adoring eyes.
Then there was a noise off to the side, someone clearing their throat. Loki’s eyes pulled toward the source of the noice only to find Sylvie, desperately yet discreetly trying to get their attention. They quirked a brow at her, not sure what she was getting at as he was too buzzed to try to read her lips, “What?”
Daniel was completely unsure if this would work. He had vanished for a month, caught up in all sorts of monstrous things he wished he hadn’t. The one plus was the friends that he was with were from his hometown, they didn’t attend the university. For all anyone knew he just went to see family or was out sick.
This could work…didn’t mean that it would.
“There you are you bastard!” Daniel’s roommate clamored happily. “What happened to you? You look like hell.”
“Funeral back at home,” Daniel answered, still a little rough from the what he had endured. “I don’t want to talk about it. Hit rather sudden.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” his roommate left it at that giving him a pat on the back. “Well, in case you didn’t know it is Monday. It might be ideal to rest today, email your professors what happened. They should be understanding and able to work with you. If any of them need you to pick something up I can do that for you.”
“Yeah, sounds good, thanks,“ Daniel gave him a smile. “How have your classes been going?”
“Good, good, The dance majors are actually collaborating with us on the exam. As a partner team we have to produce an original song and dance.”
“Damn so you must have had your pick of the litter. Who is the lucky pair of feet that get to collaborate with you?”
“I actually plan to bring her to the apartment tonight to work a little. So you will get to meet her tonight if you are alright with that.”
“Sure,” Daniel smiled, being in some good company sounded like a fitting distraction.
Arthur was somewhat understanding of Azalea as she spoke. The issue was he could not guess anything else that could be the situation. Possession? That almost felt like a theatric theory.
“It was extremely out of character,” he agreed, mentally trying to consider what other options there could be to explain it. “There’s been a lot of bizarre things happening to us this semester.” He noted with a tired sigh, seeing the dormitories up ahead.
“Are you going to be alright tonight?” He asked her, knowing how rattling the evening had been. “If you think it might be a rough night you can crash with us. We have an inflatable mattress that is pretty big, not your typical dorm twin bunk.”
As sweet as the gesture was, Azalea decided to decline, “Oh, I’ll be okay. We’ve already made it to the dorms, plus I’m exhausted and don’t really want to walk all the way back,” not to mention the idea of sleeping just one room away from Daniel was a little bit unnerving at the moment. What if whatever happened early happens again? And he becomes… weird again.
