Tag Archives: kingoftheravens

kingoftheravens:

iamthefirechild:

Nothing more happened for long moments, and finally Summer left the candles to burn themselves out and untangled herself. Climbing to her feet, she pulled a light shirt over her head and let the cats into the room, before perching on a footstool to stare at the candles. /Something/ had been meddling in her meditation, but she wasn’t sure what it was.

She frowned and chewed on her lip for a while, before getting up to plop cross-legged in front of the bookshelf and flip through a couple books. She’d always known Loki ruled fire; that was why she credited him with saving her life when her abilities strengthened. How else would she have been able to change the emotional energy to fire? No, that was easy.

But spiders? She finally resorted to the internet, and there was precious little information there, but a few hits mentioned a link between Loki and spiders. She spent a long miinute tapping her fingernails on the desk before Doc reached up and patted her bare thigh with a little dark paw. When she looked down at the calico, Doc flicked an ear, then stalked over to the altar and sat down.

“You have a point,” Summer told the cat. Kneeling in front of the altar again, she closed her eyes to ground and center, and brought up her visualisation of Loki again. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t realise it was you. I was foolish. Please forgive me.” A tiny smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Perhaps some way I can recognise it’s you, this time? No, that’s too much to ask.”

What else could she do to show her contrition? She picked up her blade, turning it in her hands, then cut off a long lock of hair and called flame to it. “Please accept this offering of my self in apology?” she tried.

Loki had retracted that wisp of himself away as soon as the woman had moved away, assuming she was finished and nothing more would come from their meeting, but a few moments after he resumed reading his book, he felt that tug again. Her voice slid within his mind, apologizing, and he felt another, sharper tug when the offering was made.

Sighing softly, that wisp of himself returned and this time it moved to play with two of the candle flames, this time west and east. They flickered and danced about, seeming pleased by the kind offering but also pleased she’d returned to speak to him.

Two flames danced, and Summer couldn’t help smiling. “You hear me. You forgive me?” What was it she’d done differently this time, from all the other times? She’d claimed Loki as her patron god for years and never had any kind of response before.

“Won’t you show yourself?” She racked her brain, trying to think what she had that might entice a god known to be a bit fickle. “I have … ” There was that bottle of whiskey she’d bought to give to her twin. She could always get another one. “I have a bottle of white label Dickel whiskey for you,” she coaxed.

kingoftheravens:

iamthefirechild:

All the candles flared involuntarily when the spider appeared, as she reached out to the fire. When it vanished just as swiftly as it had come, Summer gulped, letting out a hard, sharp breath. “If someone is playing a trick, it’s not funny. Please don’t. Just show me who you are.”

The whole mood was shattered, and she shoved a hand back through her hair, feeling unsettled.

To say he was frustrated was an understatement. Of course he wasn’t going to show himself, certainly not this easily. Loki, and many of the Gods, were known for appearing when an individual astral traveled or in dreams, but nothing more. Loki himself, being a shape changer, used to appear in the form of an animal he signified, such as a fox. He’d appear often near whomever’s attention he was trying to grab until the individual realized it was actually him and not a mere coincidence.

The candles remained still, the spider long gone, and Loki did nothing.

Nothing more happened for long moments, and finally Summer left the candles to burn themselves out and untangled herself. Climbing to her feet, she pulled a light shirt over her head and let the cats into the room, before perching on a footstool to stare at the candles. /Something/ had been meddling in her meditation, but she wasn’t sure what it was.

She frowned and chewed on her lip for a while, before getting up to plop cross-legged in front of the bookshelf and flip through a couple books. She’d always known Loki ruled fire; that was why she credited him with saving her life when her abilities strengthened. How else would she have been able to change the emotional energy to fire? No, that was easy.

But spiders? She finally resorted to the internet, and there was precious little information there, but a few hits mentioned a link between Loki and spiders. She spent a long miinute tapping her fingernails on the desk before Doc reached up and patted her bare thigh with a little dark paw. When she looked down at the calico, Doc flicked an ear, then stalked over to the altar and sat down.

“You have a point,” Summer told the cat. Kneeling in front of the altar again, she closed her eyes to ground and center, and brought up her visualisation of Loki again. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t realise it was you. I was foolish. Please forgive me.” A tiny smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Perhaps some way I can recognise it’s you, this time? No, that’s too much to ask.”

What else could she do to show her contrition? She picked up her blade, turning it in her hands, then cut off a long lock of hair and called flame to it. “Please accept this offering of my self in apology?” she tried.

kingoftheravens:

iamthefirechild:

Summer blinked, surprised out of her meditation and losing her visualisation. Was she doing that? It looked like the north candleflame was /moving/, almost bowing or waving. She cocked her head to the side, frowned a little, and tried to make it still.

The flame kept dancing. That meant whatever was controlling it wasn’t her.

“Um. Hello? Is someone there?”

It never even crossed her mind that it was a response to her prayer. After all, she’d been worshiping Loki for years, and never gotten a true answer. Just the knowledge that there were beings out there, looking over her, was enough, most of the time.

Silly little thing she was, asking if someone was there as if he would reply. Nonetheless, he appreciated the fact she was attempting to speak aloud to him, even if she wasn’t fully aware it was him. While he played with the flame some more, he decided it was time to send in something else.

Spiders were oft associated with him, though no one was quite sure why. It was a UPG trait he went with, deciding to play along with it for sheer fun. So while the the flame flickered and danced, an eight legged common spider suddenly skittered over the altar, pausing in the center of the diamond the candles made only to skitter away again, vanishing over the edge. When it was out of sight, Loki ceased playing with the flame, letting it suddenly stand still.

All the candles flared involuntarily when the spider appeared, as she reached out to the fire. When it vanished just as swiftly as it had come, Summer gulped, letting out a hard, sharp breath. “If someone is playing a trick, it’s not funny. Please don’t. Just show me who you are.”

The whole mood was shattered, and she shoved a hand back through her hair, feeling unsettled.

kingoftheravens:

iamthefirechild:

Summer knelt in front of the low altar, pausing for a second to fish the ends of her hair out of the way. Normally she didn’t work skyclad, but Lammas was particularly important to her, so she put in a little extra effort. Then again, she didn’t celebrate this part with anyone else, normally.

Four candles sat in a perfect diamond, oriented to each cardinal direction. Disdaining a lighter, she touched each one and called it to light, then folded her hands in her lap. Maybe other pagans did things differently, but fire magic was part of her, and this was how she chose to be grateful for her gifts — by using them.

Staring into the flames, she fell into meditation. She shaped the thought of her patron god — dark hair, green eyes, a sly smile: Loki.

It had been years, centuries, since the last time Loki had anyone even vaguely interested in his divine title as a God. These days he was nothing more than a mythic creature, one who had tried to take over Midgard a decade or so ago. Despite even that, though, people were determined to still believe he wasn’t real. Midgardians, such terribly hypocritical individuals.

So when was the last time someone had bothered to worship him? Since the last time someone had bothered to give him offerings, ask for help, or even dedicate a small altar to him?

Centuries. It had been centuries.

As he sat at his kitchen’s island, poring over a book in front of him, he felt a sudden tug within his abdomen. It faintly resembled the feeling he got when teleporting somewhere, only this tug was harder, pulling at his insides as if begging for him to pay attention to something. It was a feeling he knew, one he’d felt before, and yet for a moment he was too stunned to pay much attention.

Someone was calling for him? It seemed strange. Why was someone suddenly interested in him?

Shoving these thoughts aside—after all, he’d been waiting for this for years, now was not the time to suddenly question—he closed the book shut and closed his eyes, willing part of himself to drift away and be tugged by that strange feeling.

What he met was the scene of a woman kneeling before an altar and seeming to be in deep meditation, her unseeing eyes staring at the flickering flames of four candles before her. She was calling for him, that he knew. He could feel it.

The form he’d sent off towards her was an invisible wisp of smoke that encircled the altar for a moment while the God decided the best way to catch her attention and prove that he was indeed listening to her. In most cases, he sent spiders, in other cases he sent crows, and sometimes he played with the flame of a candle.

The latter seemed a suitable solution at the moment. The wisp of himself moved to one of the candles, the North one, and the flame flickered while the others remained still. For a moment it just flickered, but then the flame grew taller despite the shortness of the wick, and suddenly seemed to be dancing, a repetitive bowing movement, like it was waving.

Summer blinked, surprised out of her meditation and losing her visualisation. Was she doing that? It looked like the north candleflame was /moving/, almost bowing or waving. She cocked her head to the side, frowned a little, and tried to make it still.

The flame kept dancing. That meant whatever was controlling it wasn’t her.

“Um. Hello? Is someone there?”

It never even crossed her mind that it was a response to her prayer. After all, she’d been worshiping Loki for years, and never gotten a true answer. Just the knowledge that there were beings out there, looking over her, was enough, most of the time.

Summer knelt in front of the low altar, pausing for a second to fish the ends of her hair out of the way. Normally she didn’t work skyclad, but Lammas was particularly important to her, so she put in a little extra effort. Then again, she didn’t celebrate this part with anyone else, normally.

Four candles sat in a perfect diamond, oriented to each cardinal direction. Disdaining a lighter, she touched each one and called it to light, then folded her hands in her lap. Maybe other pagans did things differently, but fire magic was part of her, and this was how she chose to be grateful for her gifts — by using them.

Staring into the flames, she fell into meditation. She shaped the thought of her patron god — dark hair, green eyes, a sly smile: Loki.