Across the Stars (Loki X Reader)

Alone and Found

3 years after escaping

The little village was a beautiful disaster comparatively to the apartments in the proper parts of Azerbaijan. The capital, Baku, is located near the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan also has a large enclave, called Nakhichevan Enclave, which is almost surround by Armenia. While Nakhichevan enclave is complete separated from Azerbaijan proper, the people and area still claim Azerbaijan heritage and laws. Nearly 50% of the land is mountainous, but the lowlands provide great volcanic soil that produces fruits like oranges, lemons, and tea. The main river, Mtkavari has one main tributary called Aras. Most of the environment, however, has had significant issues with oil leaks from oil rigs in the area, which has damaged the fishing and caviar markets. With the main export, crude oil, causing leaks and environmental damage, the country is having an imbalance in the economic market, along with causing birth defects especially in rural and low-income communities that rely on fishing to make a living and to eat. We were here only to meet with the rural community to help them learn how to clean and use food sources that were contaminated from the leaks. It wasn't long before little children and the community took to us. Establishing a local hospital and school of Medicine was the next steps but we were waiting for the official orders from HQ.

Before the student is 6, family members, like grandparents, will teach and inform with the child while their parents are working. This allows the older generations to instill values and lessons that they have learned along with creating a bond between family members. Primary schools in larger cities tend to be bigger due to the amounts of students and often receive more funding than schools in the rural areas. Once the child is through school and graduates Primary and General education, they are no longer obligated to go to school, however they are encouraged to complete secondary education.

This mandatory service provides students a chance to see an option not normally presented in school along with that is different job instead of trade or vocational school. The President of the Azerbaijani Children's Union, Diana Melkov estimated in the year 2017 roughly 25% of children in Azerbaijan were not able to get an education because they did not have their documents such as a birth certification or proof of citizenship. This is due to parents needing to obtain the birth certificate from the government office after the child is a month old. Since the children cannot go to school, they work to help support their families. There are limited labor laws for children in Azerbaijan, which helps lower income families have money, however this also limits the growth and job prospects for the children. The system was still the same system that they had used when the Soviet Union was governing the area. France Education International came into the schools and helped reshape the curriculum to make students more competitive for jobs in the global market. Colleges and universities are located in Baku, which can be very far from mountainous villages who have equally talented students that need to work closer to home. Children often couldn't be spared from the farm work. There are many fields that will feel the effects. Doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, and teachers, all require higher education and graduation from at least a bachelor's degree in order to work in Azerbaijan. There was a need for humanitarian aid, hence why we were here to help them. There are already issues with getting access to a doctor. There are roughly 3.45 doctors for every 1,000 people. Most hospitals are near the capital of Baku, due to the higher population, however, this leaves the rural communities to be left to be untreated and unattended for common diseases. The poor children never had a chance to do anything besides work. Between diseases, lack of education and military service, children weren't allowed to be children.

Between all these hoops and gaining the people's trust on the ground, I was glad to be helping. It helped me not think about Asgard and Frigg. I felt mostly for the children in the community as they suffered the most. They knew what needed to be done but couldn't. I empathized with that. I had magic but I couldn't use it to help. Being with the little ones had its perks even if it my empathy off the charts. It helped me not think about Asgard and Frigg. Frigg still met with me through astro- projects and she sent squirrels or squirrel like creatures to help advise me and to give me more books and scrolls. She sent me everything between medicine, protection, attacking, and seeking magic. It wasn't the same as being in person, but I was glad to have her lessons anyway I could.