The Valkyrie's Heart

~1~

For the head Valkyrie of Odin, Gunnilla, 'twas another ho-hum day of reaping souls worthy of Valhalla. As she circled the skies of New York, she heard an ear piercing screech from an alleyway below her. Being an experienced flyer, she easily dove closer to the action.

Once there, she saw a boy with sandy blonde hair and captivating blue eyes about he age fighting off two much larger boys, both with snake tattoos around their necks. The boy with the sandy hair would have been kind of cute, if it weren't for the blood caking his hairline, swollen nose and black eye.

"Cade buddy," started the taller red head boy, "looks like the boss was right. This kid doesn't know when to back off." "Well Mikey," replied the shorter, platinum blond boy, "the boss said this little girl has an overprotective brother. He wasn't lying."

Only then was Gunnilla aware of a young girl, about 7 or 8, huddled in the corner of the alley, rocking back and forth. Before Gunnilla could look away from the terrified girl, Cade socked the sandy haired boy in the stomach.

Through groans of pain, he managed to say, "Katie... just go... I'll meet you at the camp." The small girl, Katie, screamed, "Jake, no! I'm not leaving you with these monsters!"

"Oh don't worry kid," Mikey sneered, stomping on the sandy haired boy, Jake's, face. "We'll take good care of you. Well, until the boss takes you, then all bets are off. You'll be oka-OW!" Mikey yelped. He looked down at Jake. But Jake was no longer there.

In his place, was a snarling wolf, snapping at Mikey's foot. "What the..." his face grew pale as it dawned on him that he was standing on the face of an incredibly pissed off wolf. Mikey jumped off the Jake-Wolf before it did any real damage to Mikey's feet. It dawned on Gunnilla that this boy was a son of Loki.

"Cade! Pass me a knife!" Mikey yelped. Nodding furiously, Cade tossed a sheathed dagger. Mikey caught it, and slid off the cover. The blade glinted in the half light of the early morning alleyway.

The Jake-Wolf yapped, and it almost sounded like he said "GO!" If little Katie heard him, she wasn't leaving anytime soon. She was not leaving this alley without her brother, dead or alive. Cade then grabbed a dagger of his own. He and Mikey slowly advanced on the wolf. The boy stood his ground.

Before Cade or Mikey could get close enough to hit him, the Jake-Wolf tackled them, leaving their faces bloody messes. "Gardner you're going to pay for that." Cade growled dangerously. Despite their unassuming builds, the thugs moved swiftly and decisively, quickly recovering from the wolf tackle.

Mikey and Cade jumped on Jake, and let's just say, the guy didn't stand a chance against these thugs. Despite one of his ears being cut off and bleeding profusely, he still snapped at the boys as they continued to stab him.

Katie, realizing that her brother was losing the battle, stood. She was small, and fragile-looking, but nothing could be more terrifying that her face. She had a look of pained determination on her face, staring downed the tattooed thugs. Mikey or Cade didn't think much of her, until vines and grass began to seep through the cracks in pavement and walls around them at an alarming rate.

As the vines grew thicker, Mikey and Cade became entangled. They tried to cut through the plants to no avail. Soon, they were enveloped in green cocoons. As they continued to struggle, a Nerium Oleander shrub burst up right under their noses. As they inhaled, they passed out. The vine-cocoons continued to grow over their heads until they were completely covered.

Little did Katie know, she was causing this to happen. Gunnilla thought she could be a daughter of Frey, and considered bringing her to Odin, but shot down the idea, as she remembered she wasn't allowed to come into contact with living beings while on duty.

As Cade and Mikey went down for a plant nap, Jake started turning back to human. His right ear was still cut off, and he was losing blood fast. He had cuts up and down his arms and legs, and there was a gaping wound in his stomach.

Katie fell to the ground and started bawling. Jake tired to prop himself up on an elbow but fell hard. Katie cried even harder. "I'm s-sorry Jake. If I h-had been able to st-stop them faster, y-you would be okay." she cried into his shoulder. "Hey Kit-Kat, its all good." Jake smiled. "Those turd nuggets didn't deserve the honour of fighting you." He nudged her shoulder. "Even if I-AGH" he groaned, lifting his shirt. "Even if I don't get to the Camp, tell everyone my corny jokes me, ok?" He smiled, but grimaced as he tried to move.

All the way up from the top of a building, Gunnilla started crying. Through all her years of bringing the dead to Valhalla, she had never seen such a terrible and painful separation of two people who cared so much for each other.

As Jake's constant groaning stopped, Katie whispered in his ear, "I love you Jakie. You are the bestest big brother I could have ever asked for. I'll always love you, and I'll never forget you." Still crying, she kissed his forehead, and said, "I'll make sure everyone at that stinking Camp Halfblood knows how brave you are."

And with that, she walked back to her corner, and picked up a small stuffed wolf. She kissed its head, and propped it up in her pocket. As she walked out of the alley, she looked back at her brother's lifeless body. She nodded, and kept walking.

Once Gunnilla was sure she Katie had left, and that she herself had stopped crying, she swooped down. She knelt beside Jake, and took his hand. She pulled his essence into a sitting position, and slung him over her shoulder. She took one more look at his body, blood still seeping from his stomach and ear, and flew to Valhalla.

Hey bros! Sorry if you just bawled. I sure as hell did. But, other than the incessant feels, how'd ya like it? Let me know! Ok, bye potato frends. See y'all later.

Side note, I could totally see Katie singing "Famous Last Words" by MCR as she walks away from the alley. Idk why, but I think that'd happen. K bye bye for realsies now doodes.