One and the Same (Loki Fanfic)

Chapter 12: Solving Riddles

Taylor hadn't been gone more than fifteen minutes when Loki finally found something of importance. He bolted to his feet, all thoughts of food forgotten and went to head her off, hoping she would be with her friends so that he wouldn't have to waste time rounding them all up. As it turned out, just finding Taylor was proving to be difficult, as she wasn't in the banquet hall that even she must have known was just a few corners away.

He used a spell to find her recent footprints and followed them. Strange, they were leading right to the training fields. Why would she go there? Surely she couldn't have been sidetracked so far when she'd been so hungry. He picked up the pace, impatient to tell her his findings. He rounded a corner, following the magically recreated path, just in time to hear someone shriek and see a flash of dark hair before a rather feminine someone collided with him. Loki caught them automatically and stumbled back a step to keep his balance.

"Oh, thank caffeine it's you! Save me, please!" Taylor begged, fingers curling into the fabric of his clothes.

"What? What are you talking about?" he questioned confusedly, viridian eyes scanning her face, "Save you from what?"

There was a slice in her lip and a scrape on her forehead, dirt and dust covered Taylor's face and clothes. Her raven locks had come loose from its plait and fell around her in a dark, wavy tumble. She was panting, blue eyes bright and somewhat frightened. All in all, she looked much worse off than when she'd left the library—like she'd been in a fight, and possibly lost.

"Not what," she gasped, ducking behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders, "who."

His raised his arm slightly, trying to decode her strange panic attack and give her a serious look at the same time. She pressed her forehead between his shoulder blades lightly, breathing heavily, as if she'd just run a great distance. How was he supposed to help her if she kept acting ridiculous? When had helping her even been put on the table, for that matter?

"Who?"

"Sif."

Just as the name left her lips, the warrior herself appeared, a sword clutched in her hand. She looked angry—but then she always looked that way to Loki.

"Where is she?" the Asgardian demanded, brandishing her weapon at him threateningly.

He didn't react except to raise an eyebrow coolly, his mind still working to piece together exactly what had happened in fifteen minutes or so that would lead Sif to try to kill Taylor.

"You'll have to be more specific about who," he stated, smirking when the woman bared her teeth at him.

"Taylor Cadence, of Midgard."

"Friendly fight my prize-winning donkey," the superhero chimed in derisively before he could speak again, safe behind his back.

"Stop hiding and face me," the Asgardian demanded, scowling through the god towards the woman.

Taylor's head popped out just to the side of his shoulder.

"No!" she refused indignantly, "You'll try to stab me again, and I've had enough of you trying to stab me, sister."

Loki put his hands in the air, silently calling for a ceasefire. He had more important things to do than be a buffer between the two women—like telling them the reason for why the fire giants were taking villages. It seemed the problem was Sif. Taylor apparently,for once, wasn't the one goofing off, although she wasn't helping much either.

"What happened?" he inquired.

Sif sighed, dropping her weapon and her aggressive stance ever-so-slightly.