{"id":35969,"date":"2012-07-19T00:23:50","date_gmt":"2012-07-19T00:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/2012\/07\/19\/starfall-44\/"},"modified":"2012-07-19T00:23:50","modified_gmt":"2012-07-19T00:23:50","slug":"starfall-44","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/2012\/07\/19\/starfall-44\/","title":{"rendered":"Starfall"},"content":{"rendered":"

chaosmustbemaintained<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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i-am-the-firechild<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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chaosmustbemaintained<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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i-am-the-firechild<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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chaosmustbemaintained<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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i-am-the-firechild<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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chaosmustbemaintained<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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i-am-the-firechild<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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chaosmustbemaintained<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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i-am-the-firechild<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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chaosmustbemaintained<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Sigyn started awake, from a nightmare of falling, down through space. Stars had streamed past, casting no light and singing no songs, and everything she grasped slid right through her translucent fingers. Residual fear held her heart pounding in her throat until she thrust herself out of her narrow bed.<\/p>\n

She fled the room, grown too close and small for comfort, to walk the silent halls of Asgard\u2019s shining palace, arms clutched close about her chilled body.<\/p>\n

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Loki sighed and walked towards the palace, a grim look on his face. He had been assisting the Asgardian engineers with the redesign of the bi-frost, one of the conditions of his very tenuous release, and it had been a long exhausting day. It was certainly tiring to have to constantly be aware of your words and actions, that everyone is scrutinizing your every move, distrust and sometimes fear hiding poorly behind their eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was fiddling with his cuff, lost in thought as he turned the corner and ran right into someone. They fell back with a soft thud and Loki, being somewhat of a wall, was only snapped out of his preoccupation with the day.<\/p>\n

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Sigyn fumbled a hand to the wall, shoving hair out of her face. \u201cOh, gods, are you alright?\u201d she blurted, before looking up \u2026 and up. Tall, dark, slim \u2026 no one she knew. But she knew so few of the denizens of Asgard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d she continued. \u201cI just \u2026 I\u2019m so sorry. I should have been paying attention.\u201d She put a hand on his sleeve.<\/p>\n

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He was a little startled but regained his composure almost immediately. \u201cOh, no no, my fault entirely, please, it\u2019s fine, oh, here, please, are you okay?\u201d He had to smile at the situation, talking over each other, fussing; he smiled slightly but it disappeared when she looked up at him. She was captivating. Long dark locks, beautiful violet eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Loki didn\u2019t realize he was staring at her until he felt pressure on his arm that snapped him out of his astonishment. He quickly registered that she was apologizing and shook his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I do believe it was my fault, I\u2019ve been most distracted today\u2026 I.. I\u2019m not sure that I\u2019ve had the pleasure of meeting you before, I\u2019m sure I would have remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sigyn pulled her hand back quickly, ducking her head. Her hair slid across her face, obscuring her blush. \u201cI \u2026 haven\u2019t lived in the Realm Eternal for long. I am Sigyn, from Alfheim.\u201d Shyly, she tucked one stand of hair behind a gently pointed ear.<\/p>\n

Who was this man? His green eyes were sharp, and something in the line of his mouth spoke of a temper, yet Sigyn thought he seemed unwontedly solicitous for someone encountering a stranger in the deeps of the night.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Alfheim! Loki\u2019s feelings of curiosity grew. He had met few elves in his time but hadn\u2019t paid much attention to them. None had this Sigyn\u2019s look about her. He was intrigued.<\/p>\n

\u201cSigyn, a beautiful name,\u201d he smiled and took her hand, bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss, \u201cI am Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard.\u201d<\/p>\n

All irritated and worrisome thoughts from the day vanished.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sigyn\u2019s blush deepened as Loki kissed her hand. Here was gallantry in rare form, and an Asgardian prince, at that! \u201cIt is an honor, my lord.\u201d She tried to retrieve her hand, feeling as though her face was scalding.<\/p>\n

Could this be more embarrassing, nearly running over Odin\u2019s handsome son in an echoing hallway, and herself tousled from nightmares and ill-dressed? Sigyn drew in a deep breath, trying to calm her pulse. \u201cPlease forgive my rudeness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He was enthralled by her reaction, the blushing, the nervous movements; he could feel her pulse racing at her wrist and he only slightly tightened his grip on her hand when she tried to pull it away.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nothing to forgive, I assure you.\u201d He smiled and then it wavered and was replaced with a look of concern.<\/p>\n

Her hand was cold. He had not noticed it before since his own\u2026 unique physiology was altered. He quickly placed his other hand around hers briefly and then onto her shoulder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dear, you\u2019re cold.\u201d The furrow in his brow deepened, \u201cI shall escort you back to your quarters.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She expected his hands to be hot against her chilled skin, yet Loki\u2019s touch was merely a pleasant warmth. But nothing about this unexpected encounter had made sense. Sigyn started to protest, then shut her mouth. It would be ill-done of her to argue with him.<\/p>\n

Yet she could not help the feeble flicker of shyness. \u201cI would not wish to take up your time. Surely, waking at this hour, you have some task in hand besides attending to a wandering elf?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou would be mistaken, I am presently unengaged.\u201d He shrugged off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders, and offered her his arm. \u201cTell me, why *are* you wandering the halls at this time of night, Ms. Sigyn?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The blush came back, so hard her ears turned pink. \u201cI had a nightmare,\u201d she whispered. Hesitantly, she tucked her hand in his arm and guided the two of them toward her small chambers. With the other hand, Sigyn clutched the throat of Loki\u2019s jacket closed to keep it from slipping off her narrow shoulders.<\/p>\n

Pure amazement held her pulse high. That this beautiful man should pay even this little attention to her was out of her ken; though few elves were outcaste, she was enough different from even her close kin as to be isolated. True elvish beauty was far different than her dark, dramatic looks, and none of her own had before paid her even the slightest court.<\/p>\n

But then, that was why she had come to Asgard in the first place.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cA nightmare\u2026\u201d He furrowed his brows slightly, tugged back into his own memories of such things. He was able to pull himself back and looked down at her. He placed his hand gently over hers, sighing, and slowed his walking slightly. \u201cDo you need an ear to listen?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was transfixed by her beauty. He had never seen an elf with such colouring before. He wanted to know more about her; why was she in Asgard? What caused her nightmares? What gave her\u2026 pleasure. He couldn\u2019t help the slightly-evil smirk cross his face at that thought, but quickly replaced it with a more chaste, comforting smile and reprimanded himself, though only slightly.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sigyn essayed a slight smile, ducking her head. \u201cSometimes I dream of falling. It\u2019s always dark, but the worst part,\u201d she hesitated, \u201cis the solitude.\u201d She shivered just calling up the memory of that absolute absence. Fear closed its hand around her throat, and involuntarily she gripped Loki\u2019s arm more tightly.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He stopped walking at her words, shocked and ill at ease with his own memories.<\/p>\n

*Loki, this is madness\u2026*<\/p>\n

The frozen emptiness that had swallowed him whole.<\/p>\n

*No, Loki\u2026. no\u2026*<\/p>\n

He clenched her hand and looked at her with sympathy. \u201cThat is\u2026 truly\u2026 terrifying. I don\u2019t\u2026 I know of no other\u2026 ordeal so vile as utter isolation\u2026 \u201c<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sigyn stopped with him, turning to look. His face seemed to freeze, as if her words had called up some private helheim, before life returned to those glorious green eyes. “I d-didn’t me—did … ” Sympathy tangled her words, before she managed to spill them out. “Please tell me you speak as a metaphor.”<\/p>\n

Both her hands grasped at his. She gazed up into his face. “No one should have to endure that.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

chaosmustbemaintained: i-am-the-firechild: chaosmustbemaintained: i-am-the-firechild: chaosmustbemaintained: i-am-the-firechild: chaosmustbemaintained: i-am-the-firechild: chaosmustbemaintained: i-am-the-firechild: chaosmustbemaintained: Sigyn started awake, from a nightmare of falling, down through space. Stars had streamed past, casting no light and singing no songs, and everything she grasped slid right through her translucent fingers. Residual fear held her heart pounding in her throat until she thrust … Continue reading Starfall<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,4232,4497],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35969"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35969\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}