serpents and sons | taekook

Interlude: Yoongi (The Gladiator)

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A liar. A trickster. A mischief-maker.

The man with the silver tongue, sticky fingers and a face set in stone.

He was born Loki - a god by most standards, even amongst his peers, but he was doomed from the start to be unloved and hated. A pariah. Raised by the parents he wasn't born to he was outcast almost by birth, never fitting in - and to not only to his own people but his supposed subjects as well.

He couldn't be trusted they would whisper; he would curse your line with just a look the rumors said. His magics were evil, his spells unnatural.

He only scoffed, hiding the hurt. What was 'unnatural' is the hatred for those who are different and unexpected, Loki thought. And there was only so much beratement a creature of his lifespan could take before crumbling, only so much cruelty one can withstand before they snapped.

And so, he left using the powers he was born with. The powers he was ridiculed and ostracized for. To shapeshift, to confuse and conjure, to mesmerize with the subtle sound of his voice.

He leaves the land of gods and power, the seat of knowledge and privilege, and he goes to Midgard. He goes to the world of mortals, of recurring war. He goes to find the family they said he'd never have.

And he wanders for a while in this unfamiliar land, searching among expansive deserts and uninhabited jungles. There are countless wonders to be seen in a world of death and he finds himself struck by even the simplest of sights, the chirps of birds and the rise and fall of the sun. The fruit born of the land is unlike anything he's had before and he spends countless hours trying everything he can.

He ends up in a country rich with art, culture, and a written language he's fascinated by. Pyramids dot the landscape and there are more soldiers than he expects in a land of sand, as if on edge and preparing for war. Perhaps Midgard is not so different from his home after all, he thinks as he disguises his shape, his voice. It only takes a little magic to quickly master their language, blending in seamlessly.

It is then only a few silver words and he's smiling with the aristocracy, nodding along to plans of grandeur, trading looks with the woman on the proverbial golden throne.

'You've come at a strange time,' they tell him as they laugh over wine and bread. 'There's to be a meeting between their pharaoh and a foreign man.' A general to be feared, they tell him, but he does not fear much. He simply smiles and laughs and buries himself into their camaraderie as servants dart around them.

Of course, he can't help but tag along in the end. Trading stories with a nobleman that tells him about this 'Rome' they're headed to.

It's here he meets the first. The one who gifts him his name, his true name. The one that starts the slow, arduous journey of repairing his fractured heart.

His name is Yoongi, and Loki first lays eyes on him as he is driving a sword through his opponent's chest.

The woman beside him leans over, misinterpreting his sudden interest and points a finger into the ring. 'He is a slave from another country, a bed companion turned warrior,' she tells him. 'When he turned against his master and murdered him in cold blood they shoved him into the coliseum where he still continues to win, time and time again. It's quite the spectacle,' she tells him with a careless laugh.

Loki only needs to take one look at him as he is dragged out of the ring to make his choice, pushing from his seat to find the slave master. The questions from his companions go ignored as he follows the stone steps to the depths of the coliseum, ignoring as well the looks of the fighters preparing for their bout.

It is then he finds Yoongi being tended to by the healer on hand, cringing as a deep gouge across his ribs is rubbed clean.

It is easy enough to drop a few magicked gold pieces into the hands of a greedy man, a few sugared words and false promises. Child's play.

Yoongi's glare is expected as Loki speaks to the slave master, signing his name on the gladiator's contract and becoming his sponsor. Taking control of his fights, his life. However, the look melts into one of confusion when he is led outside and tossed a bag of clean clothes, the chains holding him captive broken with barely a touch of Loki's finger.

'You are free, or you are welcome to tag along,' the god says.

And Yoongi does not hesitate to follow his savior.

It is only when they have been on the road for a while, no destination in mind, that Yoongi finally asks his name. Weeks of relative silence between them broken with a rasp, a gentle tug to Loki's sleeve.

It is clear he is unused to speaking but the god waits patiently as he chokes out the slow words.

'I don't have one,' he says and the gladiator's brow furrows. 'I left it behind.'

Yoongi only gives him a slow nod, and they continue for a while. Weeks, months. Traveling through lands neither of them have seen, taking in sights neither of them have experienced.

It is later that he offers to give him one, a piece of his home country to keep for himself. 'As a thank you for my life,' he says. Loki agrees, something deep in his chest warming, and it is the first time he sees Yoongi smile.

'Taehyung', he chooses. 'My wisdom will be higher than the sky'.

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