The Bridge Between Us - Loki X Reader

11 - "No- I can do this!"

When Y/N had woke up today she had expected many things to happen; the sun rising, Asgard to be functioning, Loki to be insufferable, but running for her life through a forest to escape an angry Bilgesnipe was definitely not one of those things. Her feet pounded against the ground as she spurred herself forward, disregarding the urge to look back at her pursuer. The beast behind her was growling and roaring as it tore through the trees, slashing violently at anything in its path.

Y/N knew that Bilgesnipes were angry and aggressive creatures; several Einherjar had recounted stories of encounters with the animals, all the while being sure to tell all about the intimidating horns and general mass of them with added exaggeration for effect. Personally, she had never seen one up close. The closest she had been to facing one was seeing one way out in the distance at the top of a rise when she was out riding one time. Other than that, her imagination was left to decide what or what not they might be like. One thing was for certain though; they were big, ugly, mean, and fast, and this one was far more aggressive than anything in any story she had heard.

The Tjener couldn't tell if the Bilgesnipe was gaining on her. It was making so much noise that all she could hear was the snapping of branches and tree limbs and the thunderous roar every time it opened its leathery tooth-laden jaws. It seemed to be all around her, but at the same time, she could almost swear she could feel its hot breath against her back. It also didn't help that she was already tired; performing whatever magic it was back there had sapped her strength, even if it really hadn't been that impressive.

A thin branch she hurriedly shoved out of her way whipped back and sliced against her face. She gasped, almost tripping over herself in surprise but catching herself quick enough to keep going. Her cheek stung with the force of the whip, but she didn't stop or take the time to check if it had done any real damage.

Powerful jaws snapped behind her, far too close for any sort of comfort. Every muscle in her body wanted to collapse, but her instincts were probably the only thing keeping her alive at this point. She knew she couldn't outrun the beast forever though; she was tired, weaker, and much, much smaller than the Bilgesnipe. If she gave it the chance, it would tear her apart.

She was quickly approaching a fallen trunk and made a split-second decision, jumping over it and then immediately dropping down to the ground, slamming her back against the log and covering her head protectively with her arms. A strong 'whoosh' passed over her head as the Bilgesnipe soared over the log and landed in front of her, making her teeth chatter from the force. Y/N jumped to her feet and leaped over the log again, this time heading in the opposite direction.

She had heard somewhere that Bilgesnipes were horrible at direction and had a hard time turning once they charged. For her sake, she prayed to Valhalla that it was true. Y/N had been hoping that the sudden change in direction would throw the beast off and give her some time to put some distance between it and her, and it seemed to have worked; she was several tens of feet away from the monster when it managed to right itself. However, what she hadn't expected was for it to recover so quickly. It stood and roared again, and before she knew it, it was already after her again. It was so loud— surely someone had to have heard it? There had to be someone on their way, right?

The girl struggled for breath as she dodged obstacles in the undergrowth, looking desperately for anywhere that she might be able to hide. The trees' branches were low enough to the ground for her to grab at, but the beast would be on top of her before she could even pull herself up onto it. Taking cover behind them was pretty much futile at this point - it was already chasing her and she knew it wouldn't give up now that it had her scent. All Y/N could do was hope that somehow she would be able to outmaneuver the beast or at least hold out long enough for someone to help, but with every passing second, she was starting to think that she would have better luck summoning a wizard.