Chapter Text
It was three o'clock in the morning exactly when Loki woke up with a gasp. Every part of his ancient magic was tingling in reaction to something calling him. Summoning him. He hadn't felt anything like this since the days when human vikings lived on earth.
He stood up, his head swirling with a migraine as he tried to figure out where it was coming from.
The tips of his fingers lit up with green seiðr, showing a trail out the window. Two towns over. Away from New Asgard and further into the southside of Norway. Somewhere in a small town. He sensed it. Saw it.
“Stupid mortals.” Loki growled in annoyance at the disturbance and tried to go back to bed, facing his body away from the window.
But the tingling grew stronger, as did the migraine. He needed to respond. If he didn't, he knew the feeling would persist for hours. Maybe even days!
Loki sat up again, his annoyance growing stronger as the tingling intensified. He used his magic to dress himself quickly and stomped down the stairs, completely uncaring as to whether he woke Thor or not. Which he did end up doing. This was ridiculous. It was three in the morning! While he understood that most rituals were done during odd hours, he had hoped whoever would have called him would have the decency to wait until an acceptable hour. How dare they inconvenience him like this?!
He paced, holding his head in his hands as he debated on whether he should actually go or not. he could walk, but it would take too long. He still secretly had the tesseract, but using it would risk revealing he had it in the first place. A well kept secret of the past two years. He could drive? Maybe? It didn't seem particularly eloquent.
"Brother? What are you doing up?" Inevitably, Thor's voice came from the top of the stairs as he groggily descended. "Has something happened?"
"Do you feel that? In the air?" Loki replied, gesturing around him.
Thor paused, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before shaking his head. "I feel a slight tingle. Why?"
"A SLIGHT tingle?!" Loki sucked air through his teeth in annoyance. "You know what this feels like? It's. . . it's the same feeling I used to get when mortals used to do summoning rituals but would make a mistake."
"Hm." Thor gave a slow nod. "People used to call me to change the weather. That was always fun. The tingle feels almost like a battle prayer, but. . .more desperate? You think you're being called because someone screwed up a ritual? Who does rituals anymore on Earth? All the mortals I have spoken with have little interest in them."
"I'm the god of mischief. It's. . .it's ingrained into me." Loki sighed, crossing his arms as he paced a little quicker.
Thor sighed, grabbing himself a cup of water from the kitchen. "Brother, just because someone is mispronouncing old norse does not mean you are obligated to taunt them for it."
"I have to go see what's happening. It's going to drive me to insanity if I don't!" Loki tapped his foot anxiously as trhe migraine was already getting worse.
"It is likely some drunken college students or. . . something mundane of that sort." Thor yawned, turning to go back up the stairs. "Please. Just ignore it. Go back to bed."
Loki waited until Thor was back in his bedroom before he decided what to do. "To hell with it." he mumbled under his breath before pulling out the tesseract. He was too tired to try and navigate two towns over in the middle of the night. He just hoped no one would notice.
In a bright blue flourish, he was teleported in an instant. He tucked the tesseract away immediately after.
No going back now.
He found himself in the center of a a small park. He stood now in the middle of what was the aftermath of a complete abomination of a ritual if he'd ever seen one. He had always been a sort of fun default. When mortals made a mistake in their summons, he'd be called to instead. A cosmic way to punish them for their foolishness. There was nothing fun about this, though. Not yet, at least.
There were a mixture of different coloured, scented candles. Some were orange and citrusy, some smelled like apple, and there was even a citronella candle. Was it an honest mistake or did they genuinely wish to ward off mosquitoes? The circle he'd been 'summoned' into was etched with runes written in blood. They were crudely drawn and he had a feeling whoever etched them had no idea what they were doing.
Someone in the shadows near the trees close to the circle was whispering something. The words were in old Norse, but they were meaningless. Like someone looked at the language and tried to piece together a sentence with only the barest knowledge of what individual words meant without the context of how to put them together.
Loki took a moment to examined the blood. He looked around for any possible indicator of an animal sacrifice, but found none. Instead, reaching out with his power, he was drawn in by the undeniable force and bonding permanence of human blood. No life was taken. This was the blood of a living person. One looking for a pact.
The figure paused their whispering when they realized they'd actually summoned someone.
"Uh oh." they mumbled nervously, quickly closing the book they'd been holding and using for the ritual.
"'Uh oh' indeed, mortal." Loki clicked his tongue, shaking his head in pity. "Not who you were expecting?" he teased, using the same line he'd used centuries ago for vikings who'd botched their own summonings. "Your complete incompetence in this ritual has called to me. You should be more careful."
From what he could see, it was only one person. Someone now trembling in the shadows they hid within.
"Who or what were you trying to summon?" Loki asked, placing a hand on his hip expectantly.
"I don't know." the summoner replied, sheepishly.
"You don't know?!" Loki's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Just someone to take me away, I guess." the voice sounded young.
"Step forth into the light." Loki commanded, completely dumbfounded that anyone would do a ritual without a proper plan or goal. Being taken away was far too ambiguous.
It all began to make sense as a small, trembling boy came forward. He looked no older than 8 or 9 years old with dark messy brown hair and bright sorrowful eyes. They were green, like Loki's, but a more subtle and muted shade. His arms were cut in multiple spots. Some of them were fresh, some of them older scars. At first Loki thought it merely for the ritual, but the sheer number of cuts suggested something darker.
Loki felt himself clench inwardly in alarm as he looked at the child. He was too young to be out and about at this hour, let alone to be doing dangerous blood rituals like this!
"What is your name, boy?" he asked, trying to mask the deep concern he was feeling.
"Orion." the child replied, clutching the book from earlier closer to his chest. "What's your name?"
"I am Loki." he answered proudly.
Much to his surprise, Orion's eyes lit up as slightly happy sounding gasp escaped him. "Really?!"
"That's not the usual reaction I get." Loki raised a brow at that, unable to hide a subtle smirk.
Orion took another step forward, his body trembling less from fear now and instead from excitement. "I wasn't sure who I was going to get. I was trying to do this one, see?" he opened the book, showing the instructions for an ancient viking ritual. It was immediately apparent this was, in fact, a library book.
Loki let out an amused scoff. "Well, that explains Thor's slight tingle as well. It's a call down for a blessing for battle, you naive child. Are you planning on going to war?"
"Kind of." Orion shrugged, averting his gaze. "There are some bullies at my school...but what I really want is to be taken somewhere far away! I hate this stupid town."
"Do you truly not understand the weight of what is happening right now?" Loki glanced curiously at the book before it was taken back. "You just performed a blood ritual. Incorrectly, I should add. Such an action is usually reserved for a pact. You blended this..." he gestured to the book. "...with something far more serious. Normally if you wished for a battle blessing, you would make some sort of animal sacrifice, not offer your own blood. You have bound yourself to this ritual and doomed your very soul to its consequences."
"Oh." Orion gave a single nod, reacting as a student would when receiving correction. "Okay, so...does that mean we have a pact now? Like a. . .a deal? Do I get a wish?!" his gentle green eyes filled with even more hope than before. "I don't like killing animals. They didn't do anything wrong to deserve it. I used to be a vegetarian, you know! But then Mum said I have to eat meat or else I'd have to live off of tofu and supplements. . . and . .and she said vegans are crazy people!"
Loki laughed at the sheer naivety and audacity of this child, taken off guard by the illogical musings of the boy. "Are your parents aware of the fact you're out in the middle of the night, performing rituals?"
Orion shook his head. "No. Mum's away on a business trip and my dad is. . . uh . . .who knows? I never met him."
"Business trip? Who is looking after you?" Loki scoffed at the casualness of the obvious neglect.
"Me." Orion answered, puffing his chest out a bit. "I can take care of myself just fine!"
"Says the boy looking for a blood pact." Loki shook his head, pitying in his expression. "You should go home before I force you to become my thrall."
It was an empty threat, meant to frighten him.
It had the opposite effect.
"Okay! I'll do it! But . . . what's a thrall?" Orion quickly grabbed a backpack from the base of the tree behind him, slinging it over his shoulder.
Loki let out another scoff, trying not to laugh again. "You cannot be serious."
"It sounds like one of those really fancy Lovecraft words. I haven't read that much of his stuff, but the Color Out of Space was really cool! I liked that one! I didn't understand all of it, but I'm the best reader in the whole school for my age!" Orion was bouncing on his toes, waiting in eager anticipation for whatever was in store for him.
"I am unfamiliar with this 'Lovecraft'." Loki stepped out of the circle now, using his magic to blow out the candles without touching them.
"Cool..." Orion noticed the gesture, but latched onto Loki's words far too quickly. "He was a writer of these really insane cosmic stories! He uses big, fancy, flowery words. I don't KNOW all of them, but it sounds even better than Shakespeare!"
"You read Shakespeare?" Loki looked down at the boy incredulously.
"Uh huh. It's a few grades up than what I'm supposed to read, but I'm really good at pronouncing all the fluffy tragic words! Is a thrall a kind of follower?"
"It is a servant." Loki answered firmly. "A lowest-class worker. One of diminutive status. An insignificant-"
"Sign me up!" Orion insisted, giving a low bow of his head. "It's better than living here and going to school."
Loki slowly face palmed, realizing there was no getting through to this kid. "Orion, I cannot simply whisk you away to serve me. What happens when your mother comes back from her business trip? She will be searching for you."
"She won't." Orion's tone shifted to one more serious, his hand gripping the arm of his backpack tighter. "Besides, what do you care about mortal affairs anyway? Forget her! Just take me with you! Please!" He drew an arm across his chest and took a knee. "I am yours."
Loki resisted the urge to coo at such a sight. It was pathetic, worrying, and teased at his ego all at the same time. No matter how passionate or desperate this boy was, there was no way he could accept such an offer. Maybe a few years back, he would have considered it, but not now.
Even so, he could not simply abandon this child to his own devices. Not at this age. Not at this time of night. Not when Orion was so vulnerable and in desperate need of help from very obvious neglect and self-harm.
"On your feet." he commanded firmly.
Orion rose, looking like he was ready to explode with glee.
"Are you certain you have everything you want to bring? You did not forget something at home?" Loki asked, an idea forming in his mind.
"Yep!" Orion didn't even flinch at the question.
"I see..." Loki let out a long, weary sigh before coming up with another idea. Something that could make sense to the boy. "It took a significant amount of power for me to come here. I will need some time to regenerate. I will permit you to sleep one more night here in this place."
"Okay..." Orion wilted slightly, seeming disappointed but not completely undeterred. He let out a yawn, reminded of the hour. "Come on. I'll show you my house. Maybe we can burn it before we go." Tiredly, he led Loki out of the park and along the sidewalk towards some distant houses and past little shops, diners, and convenience stores.
"Orion..." Loki asked softly as he walked alongside him, but not encroaching on his personal space. "Do you actually know who I am? Your reaction suggests....otherwise."
"Of course I do!" Orion smiled up at him warmly. "You're Loki! The god of mischief. From all the mythology books I read in school."
"You do know a lot of those are inaccurate, right?" Loki couldn't help but smile back at him. He was so earnest.
"Really?" Orion tilted his head, humming curiously. "So you didn't have a horse baby?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Loki scoffed dismissively.
"Aw. I liked that one." Orion grumbled in mild disappointment.
"I have more recent history in this realm, you know." Loki noticed Orion was slowing his pace as they got closer to the houses. "Does New York ring any bells for you?"
Orion shrugged. "Uh. . . maybe? I don't have internet at home and the school computers block almost everything. It sucks. Sometimes I can get Wi-Fi at the public library, but it's so slowwww...." he drew out the last word dramatically.
"So, you don't watch the news?" Loki raised a brow at that.
"What kind of kid watches the news?" Orion countered, giggling. "Sometimes I hear stuff from other kids or teachers, but I never know if it's true or not. People lie a lot in this town. Is that weird? Or does everyone everywhere do that?"
"Do you have a phone?" Loki asked, stopping as the boy did in front of the final house at the end of the street.
"I have a land line." Orion fumbled with his bag, searching around for his keys. "Mom has a cell. She says we can't afford for me to have a cell of my own."
"And yet you can afford a house?" Loki countered, then noticed the immediate smell the second the door opened. It was a mixture of ammonia, rot, and bleach. Also cologne and copper. No.... that had to be blood.
"Not really." Orion gestured to a massive pile of bills on a table next to the door. "I think we have a month left before we have to evacuate."
Loki opened up the windows, the smell making him want to gag. How had Orion been able to live with this? The house wasn't overly messy. There were some dirty dishes in the sink, but they were recent and soaking in soapy water. The floors hadn't been swept or mopped in some time, but there weren't any stains. The counters, on the other hand, had been cleaned off properly.
The was a door leading to the basement with a chair propped up against it. It smelled the worst. it smelled like something ancient and foul. There was an uncomfortable amount of blood all over the door, specifically around the handle, hinges and underneath the bottom.
"Do you want a soda?" Orion offered, opening up the fridge. There wasn't much in there. Just the aforementioned cans of pop, half a loaf of molding bread, and some very spoiled milk.
"I'm fine, thank you." Loki politely refused.
"Okay. . . um . . are you . . still going to be here in the morning?" Orion asked, eyeing the stairs with a mixture of tiredness and unspoken anxiety.
"Yes." Loki reassured, turning as he noticed the phone next to the doorway leading out of the kitchen. There was a single piece of lined paper taped to the wall with a phone number, labelled 'Mom'. There was also a number for a pizza place written underneath in different, more messy handwriting. "What is in the basement?" he dared to ask.
Orion bit his lip, rubbing at him arms uncomfortably on instinct. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" Loki challenged the notion by approaching the door, reaching for the chair. "Then I suppose you would not mind if I-"
"NOOOOO!!!" Orion threw himself in front of the door, shaking his head profusely. "You can't! It's bad! It's cosmically bad! It's monumentally bad! It's the worst kind of bad there is! I-I had to seal it off with blood! You can see that, right?"
Loki smirked, though beneath the bravado, he was deeply concerned. "Alright, little one. I won't look." That was a complete lie. "You go ahead and get some rest. Tomorrow, we will discuss what happens next."
"Sounds good. Best. Day. Ever." Orion let out another yawn mixed with a deep sigh of relief, dropping his bag in the middle of the floor before heading upstairs. "But seriously, it's cursed! Don't look!"
"Goodnight, Orion!" Loki called up to him sternly.
"Your skin will fall off!" Orion added.
"GOODNIGHT!" Loki repeated before he heard the bedroom door upstairs slam shut.