The Blood Of A God || Loki Laufeyson

XX - We Are Never The Same

March 25th, 2016

This is soooooo short and really damn boring and also kinda sad. :( But the next one has fluff in it, so I think you'll like it. :P

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Chapter Twenty

Loki had always been amused by the way people seemed to change when they had their fair share of liquor. He was even more fascinated by those that didn't change at all. Most people drank for fun and to let loose, while others drank in hopes to drown the demons that lurked in their minds and corrupted their thoughts. He had been one of those people at one point, and now, he was sitting right beside one of them.

Augustus had stayed with Gunna for a long while, likely comforting her while she grieved. Then, in the middle of the night, he had left her tent and come over to the still burning campfire to sit by Loki in complete silence. The right shoulder of his tunic was wet with tears, and it make Loki purse his lips slightly when he thought of the way that Gunna had likely cried on his shoulder.

Loki didn't know how to feel about the whole situation. He knew that it wasn't anyone's fault, but he still felt a pang of guilt every now and then. If he had just gone a little faster, if he had just teleported instead of riding with the guards, then maybe he could have helped. Maybe he could have saved Seline from the guilt and the pain from not being able to save her friends.

Augustus drank nearly five bottles of ale and was on his sixth before Loki saw the pile of the bottles at his feet and finally stopped him.

"You have had enough, my friend," Loki said, putting his hand on the bottle. Augustus looked at him with a blank expression before reluctantly letting the bottle go. Loki put it down on the ground by his feet, making sure Augustus couldn't get to it very easily.

Augustus leaned back against the trunk of a tree, and in the light of the fire, Loki could see his eyes glistening with tears.

He no longer said "my prince" or "your highness" or "my lord" like everyone else did, and Loki knew why. He was far past the point of intoxication now. He didn't know what he was saying, and by the time the man was finished, Loki truly didn't know what to say to him.

"When someone that we love is taken from us, a part of us is forever broken. Did you know that, Loki?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. "We are never the same. It affects us like nothing else. Yes, their spirits may walk among us and guide us in times of need, but they are never fully there. They are never with us again after that one simple moment. Isn't it strange how, in one single second, it could all be over? One little wound, one little movement, and death overcomes you."

Augustus wasn't just drinking away his sorrows. He was letting them all out. He was taking down the walls of his mind that allowed him to not shed a tear until that moment.

"You know, there have been more than a few times where Amond and Kayla left and didn't come back for a long while. It worried all of us, but they always came back. But now Amond is gone..." Augustus said, closing his eyes tightly before they flew open again. "And this time, he's never coming back."

Loki watched him, and he saw it in his eyes. Augustus loved Amond. He loved Amond the same way that Odin loved Frigga.

Augustus stood up, walking over to his tent and going inside. He did so angrily, frustration surging through him. Loki could practically feel it radiating from him.

Loki just stayed there, calm but also confused.

It wasn't until he heard a rustling in the darkened woods behind him that he finally saw her. That had been why he was waiting by the fire.

Seline had left only a few moments after they reached the camp, and she hadn't come back before the sun set. He was worried, of course, but he knew that she needed time alone. She needed to take a few moments just to think on her own.

She had blood on her right hand, the liquid now dried on her knuckles. Her hair was disheveled, looking like she had ran all the way there. The way her skin glistened from the light of the fire confirmed that. She was taking deep breaths, and she looked completely unsure of herself. She had her hands curled into fists now as she looked at him.

He wanted to ask her if she was alright, but he knew the answer. A year ago, he may have made some sarcastic remark at her disheveled appearance, but he didn't. He was not that person anymore. Yes, parts of it still lingered, but now, he understood pain. He understood the guilt she felt.

And so he said nothing.

He continued to be silent, even as she walked by him towards her tent.

*

In her 900 years, it had become clear to Seline that people grieved in many different ways. Some became depressed, others searched desperately for some kind of closure, and then there were people that tried their hardest to forget it ever happened.

Seline was one of the latter.

Gunna and Augustus, along with a few other hunters decided to go to the palace, where a funeral would be held. Odin had decided that they would join their ancestors among the stars for their service to the king, and their valiant efforts to protect their friends. Their constellations would be placed side by side.

Seline, however, stayed there at the camp. She hated funerals, and after going to Valneer's she decided she was going to avoid them altogether. Especially if it meant going to send off the friends she felt responsible for killing.

It would take a long time for everyone to move on, but they would. Eventually. Seline, however, may never move on. Being a vampire, every emotion was heightened. So the guilt was almost killing her from the inside out.

Loki decided he would stay in the camp for a while. The guards left, but he did not. Seline didn't know why, and quite frankly, it bothered her to have him around so much. She had a history with him, and she entirely sure if it could be classified as a good or bad one.

The longer he stayed, the more confused Seline became. She wanted to go home, of course, but as the days went by, she felt as if she wouldn't mind staying in Asgard for a little longer.

Perhaps she would stay for a while.