Loki's Daughter

Chapter 8: Side Effects Include

Loki was beginning to grow bored of sitting in their room. He flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. When he found he could not sit still, he stood and paced back and forth for a while. He walked to the window and looked outside. Loki watched the people bustling about outside. He did not like being stuck in one place. They had been alone here for hours and no one had come to get them. Kuna was sitting on a pillow in the den area, playing pretend with her toys.

"Kuna?" he asked, turning back to her. "Do you want to go out?"

"Where?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Anywhere, really."

"But what about Queen Shakk'uri?"

"She's taking her time with this 'urgent' matter," Loki said, impatiently. "Are you hungry?"

Kuna looked down at her tummy. She was very hungry. It had been several hours since they had returned and they had polished off the food in the room for lunch. She looked back up at Loki and nodded.

"Then, let's go out somewhere. She's taking too long and you're a growing little girl that needs to eat. We'll just join her later and apologize if we're late for something."

Kuna stood up, holding her stuffed animals under each arm. She shrugged, "Okay, then." She followed Loki out of the room. He found one of Shakk'uri's little butler men and told him they were going out.

"Oh, but wait, sir, Mother Shakk'uri would rather you wait here," the little man said, stepping in front of them. Kuna shrank a little, grabbing Loki's hand. She didn't like how tall the man was, even though he was much smaller than Shakk'uri, he was still much bigger than little Kuna.

"Oh, but we would really rather go out and enjoy your beautiful planet," Loki said, stepping around him. "Expect us back later."

Loki walked past him, pulling Kuna gently along beside him. They walked out of the hive and back onto the street. Loki pulled up his hood and cowl.

"Loki?" Kuna asked.

"Mmm?"

"Why did you call yourself Lopt?"

"Oh, I'm just trying to keep my real identity secret. It's just a name."

"But why?"

"Well, there's some dangerous people out there that would really like me dead."

"Dead? Why?" she asked, shocked that anyone would ever want Loki dead.

"Some people don't like me very much," he responded, leading her through the crowds.

"Well, I like you," she said.

He stopped and looked down at her. "Really?"

"Yes, you're the nicest person in the whole universe."

He chuckled a little. "If only you knew," he said.

Loki found a tavern on a street corner and walked Kuna inside. They found a table and he ordered a drink for himself – of the alcoholic variety – and a water for Kuna – of the non-alcoholic variety. Kuna crawled up on the seat next to Loki, but she couldn't reach the table very well. Tenanciians were very tall and built their furniture to match.

Loki picked her up and set her on his lap. A waiter delivered their drinks and Loki paid him. At the table beside them, two feathered female Shi'ar sat whispering to each other. They caught Loki's glance and he winked at them which sent them into a giggling tizzy. Suddenly, he heard Kuna's stomach growl from below him. It was louder than all the noise in the bar.