Capítulo 3: Discovery
Loki woke again the next morning knowing only pain. Pain in her muscles, in her healing wounds, but most notably in her back. The lumpy mattress of the bed Sophia gave up to her was little better than sleeping on rocks. For a moment, she feared she was back in the dark place somewhere between life and death, but chatter beyond the door confirmed she was not.
'Right. That woman and her family found me last night,' she reminded herself.
Loki covered her eyes with an arm, content to listen to the mundane conversations and clinking of dishes for a while. The pain in her back got the better of her, and she finally roused as the smells of bread and meats began wafting into the room. She made herself presentable and eased into the common room. Immediately, her eyes sought out Sophia and found her in a deft two-person dance with Tim in the kitchen.
Bit by bit, the dining table filled with plates and cups. As Tim went to gather the girls, Sophia noticed Loki had finally appeared. She smiled kindly.
"Feeling any better?"
Loki nodded. "A bit, yes, thank you."
Sophia's eyes flicked over her form, searching for anything amiss.
"Good. What do you say we find you something more than pajamas? You can join us for breakfast if you like."
Jeans and a t-shirt were all Sophia had to spare. The jeans were a bit long and roomy in the hips, and the shirt bagged around her, but Loki accepted them graciously. Breakfast was a livelier affair than the campfire the night before. Tim and the girls jabbered on inanely, teased, and complained. Loki ignored the prick of nostalgia. All the while, Sophia watched as a silent arbiter, smiling from behind her coffee mug. She did her best to keep the girls from bothering Loki, but the persistence of youth became too much.
"How old are you?"
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"What happened to you?"
"Laila, Annabelle," Sophia scolded.
Loki chuckled sheepishly.
"It's alright," she assured. "I suspect I am near Sophia in age. As for a lover, no, I do not have one."
Laila looked at her aunt.
"How old are you again?"
"Twenty-seven," Sophia sighed.
"Ugh, o---ld!"
Sophia smirked.
"Careful, Laila, you'll be where I am soon enough. You might even need a wheelchair by then."
Laila sniffed at the thought and went back to her breakfast. Tim snickered and finally addressed Loki.
"Do you fish? We're going after breakfast. You can come if you want."
"Perhaps to watch."
It would be better than being alone in the cabin. Loki let Sophia change her bandages before they left, and it was well into the afternoon before they returned. Again, Loki sat to the side to watch them clean and prepare their catches and kept Angel busy. She tried to remember as much as she could about Midgard, but the last time she was here, she hadn't seen much. Just New York. She decided she would lean on Sophia until she found her bearings and decided what to do with herself. Thankfully, Sophia was open to the idea.
"You can come back into town and stay with me for a few days until you figure out what you want to do. I have a spare room you can sleep in, and we can get you some new clothes."
"Thank you again. I don't mean to be such a burden."
"It's no burden at all."
***
Sophia was pleased to see Lani opening up, even willing to lend a hand as they packed up and closed the cabin for the year. She bade farewell to her family, promising, as always, to keep in touch, and was on the road just as the rose morning sky began turning blue.
"It's about a three-and-a-half-hour drive, so feel free to nap. Do you care for any particular kind of music?"
Lani shrugged in the passenger seat.
"Surprise me."
Sophia fretted for a few minutes. Some of her music was eccentric or an acquired taste, so she chose something she felt would be safe: German rock. Lani didn't appear to have an opinion of it one way or the other as the forest raced by and eventually melted into the interstate. The uncomfortable silence slowly dissipated with each new song that rang from the speakers until Sophia felt comfortable speaking.
"Do you know who you're going to contact when we get back into the city?"
Lani shifted in her seat.
"Unfortunately, I have few options available. It may be that none can help."
"Mm. …Are…you…running from something or someone? Is that why you were out by the forest?"
Lani's hand ghosted mindlessly over her throat.
"…I see."
The unease returned. Sophia took the earliest opportunity to break from it and pulled needlessly off to a gas station. She topped off her tank, snagged a snack and a drink for both herself and Lani, and they were back on the road. Thankfully, Lani swiped one of the few free local papers that had managed to stay in circulation, so Sophia didn't feel the need to engage her. It was a good hour before Lani even made a sound.
"I do not understand," she murmured to herself.
"Understand what?"
"This entry. It does not make sense."
"Read it to me?"
Lani arranged the paper, and Sophia split her attention between Lani and the growing traffic jam ahead.
"I am unsure where to begin."
"Give me a minute."
As she suspected it would, traffic came to a stand-still. Her GPS told her there was an accident, and they would be here for a while. Lani handed the paper over at her request, indicating the article that was confusing her.
'Another Year Passes: Seattle Continues to Struggle
Six years after the defeat of the extraterrestrial Thanos, our fair city pauses again for a moment of silence to remember and honor the fallen and departed. Yet it is not enough to fill the great emptiness left behind.'
Sophia skipped over the income and employment statistics and list of other businesses that had shuttered in the last year.
'Our wounds slowly scab over, and gradually we look again to the sky not with fear, but with hope. Stay strong, Seattle, and remember our fallen:'
She scanned over the following obituary consisting of locals, as well as Avengers and their allies. She handed the paper back to Lani.
"Looks pretty standard to me. Have you never seen an article like that before?"
"I've not had the chance to, no."
Sophia found that odd.
"You must be really sheltered… What's confusing about it?"
"This 'Memorial of Heros', why is Loki of Asgard among the names?"
Sophia slowly gripped her steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.
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