The Hybrid

Booskans. The bane of my fucking existence. Hell, everyone's existence. There are two ways they want people: either eat you or kill you. Some want it both ways. My memory flooded with images of those dozen I slaughtered with Hela on my way to Asgard. It made her so happy to see me succeed. Yet they took a lot from me. However, I managed to handle it well. They were a total ballache to fight, my dagger kept getting caught up in the long hair. And they smell. Still, it was nothing I couldn't handle. Besides, maybe this will be more proof of my lineage and Thor will finally get it through his thick skull that I have never lied to him. If my mother were still alive, I could see her beating him with a rolling pin for denying who I was. I would honestly pay to watch that happen and would happily munch a bucket full of fruit. Maybe placed a bet.

For now, I had some heads to rip from Booskans's shoulders. If that's what we can call them. Stupid furballs. I hate these things. Thor, Sif, and I ran outside and prepared our attack. Though we weren't banking on them attacking from behind. Immediately, one went for me. Probably thought that I was an easy target since I am a lot smaller than most. Big mistake. Because I went for its throat. Not with my knife might I add. That would have been far too convenient.

Using my long fingernails, I sliced my hand right through its throat and tossed away whatever I tore off it. I wasn't wasting my knife on its rough skin. I wonder if I can skin one of these and make a cloak for Loki.

Left and right, the three of us tore the intestines out of the Booskans that decided to attack this town. If they're in pieces, then no black magic can bring them back. As the battle continued, I got more and more brutal with one of the Booskans, always making sure to go for the throat. And then, their entrails. I hung many Booskans off lampposts with the intestines of their fallen comrade. As their heads rolled across the floor, I would kick them into different parts of the woods. And when I say different parts, I mean the head would scatter like a firework. It was glorious.

Together, We protected the town of Tonsberg. By the time the last Booskan fell, I sat on the ground, surrounded by blood and gore.
"Aurora?" Thor checked me over, "Are you alright?"
"Stop flapping, I'm fine," I finally caught my breath, "It's been a while since I got to go all out like that." I wiped my knife on the fur of a headless Booskan.
"I didn't know that was what a Hybrid's power could look like," Thor helped me back onto my feet. I chuckled lightly at him.
"I didn't use my Hybrid power," I told him. Thor tilted his head at me "That was as my Asgardian side" Sif limped up to us. Blood dripped down her leg.
"You were incredible!" Sif gushed, fist-bumping my shoulder. I glanced down at the unfamiliar gesture "Albeit a bit more morbid than you needed to be."
"Word of advice," I cracked my neck "Whenever you're fighting Booskans, be sure to show no mercy and destroy them quickly. If they are not in one piece, a user of Black Magic can't bring them back to life to beat the shit out of us another day."
"You know, Aurora, you might actually be who you say you are." Thor gave me a look. I stumbled a couple of steps, exhausted.
"You saw me fight, Thor. And that was without any of my Frost Giant genes to help. Well, maybe a little with the speed, but my fighting was all me." Sif tilted her head at me. She asked what was Thor on about. I rolled my eyes and turned to her "Thor doesn't believe that I'm his friend's daughter." I shot him a glare, "He thinks that I am just a Hybrid, but as far as I know, I came out of his female best friend and I just fought fucking Booskans like it was second nature. If that doesn't convince him, I don't know what would."
"You're Layla's daughter?" she squeaked, getting much more excited over that news than Thor did.
"Sif, You knew my mother?" I asked, curiously.
"We all did. Deadly with a spear and could make a fantastic steamed fish" Sif smiled.
"That sounds like my mother" I smiled, crossing my arms. It had been a while since I had her cooking as for the past few years, we have had to live off what the land could provide and with the winter months becoming apparent, Jotunheim was becoming more and more frozen. The river had begun to freeze up. Soon, the only things to live off would have been tree sap and frozen berries.

We went back to the bar where the barman offered us a free drink each and we talked about my mother's adventures with Sif and Thor. It turned out that Volstagg also knew my mother around the same time these guys did. and that was a wonderful father to my siblings. It makes me wonder if he knew about me.
"We were going to start travelling this realm if you care to join us," Sif offered as we walked out of the bar. Some people were already cleaning up the many pieces of Booskans. I did feel slightly bad about it but at the end of the day, I kicked some ass.
"I can't" God, that pained me to say. I had a couple of reasons for going back to Asgard. One just happened to be in the dungeons "The sun is rising. I need to go. Could I come to visit you guys tomorrow?"
"We could be miles away from here by tomorrow," Thor pointed out, "How are you going to know where we'll be?"
"With this," I pulled out my way home. Slightly surprised that it didn't break in the battle "I'm assuming you know what this is"
"A portable Bifrost" Sif picked up on it, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"If I throw it on the ground," I gave it a toss, waving my hand over it. My piece shattered into several floating pieces, showing my bedroom in Hela's palace.
"I think that was Hela's childhood bedroom. But there were over a thousand rooms in the palace"
"This weird ass thing shows me where I need to go. That's how I keep turning up, Thor. Because this mirror will take me to where my heart desires. For the longest time, I wanted to find my father and tear him to fucking shreds. However, since I know he's dead now and that he isn't the biggest dickward in the world, that desire in my heart changed. My mother told me that if anything happened to her, I needed to find you because you would be able to protect me. Even if you don't believe you I am" Thor stared off into the distance, away from me.
"It's been so long since I last saw Asgard," Thor mumbled. Sif hugged Thor, wrapping her arms around his large arm. She leaned her chin on his shoulder.
"It's where I've been staying for the last week"
"I can't do this" Thor sighed heavily. It seems that the last ten years have taken its toll on the man.
"Thor, listen to me..." Sif begged, "Aurora is someone who is connected to your past and comes waltzing into your life, not only claiming, but also more than proving she's who she says she is and you're going to turn her away?"
"I never said I was going to turn her away. I am sick of losing people" Thor assured, smiling at Sif. He then turned to me "Turn up tomorrow. We going to be at Fandral's house before we set off into the world"
"I will be there" I gave him a nod. And an even more grateful one to Sif. I have a feeling those two have been dating for a while. And by the looks of things, he can't say no to her. Or he wouldn't dare "So what's Fandral like?"
"Playboy. Used to sleep with anyone that had a skirt" Sif explained.
"That's a hell of an understatement," Thor stepped in, "He can be flamboyant. He is as graceful in fighting as he is in dancing. And I swear at one point, he and Loki had a thing"
"You thought at one point Loki and I had a thing because how else would he cut my hair off" Sif rolled her eyes.
"How did that happen?" I smiled.
"I got drunk with your father of all people. The worst idea to date"
"Other than marrying me" Thor added. Sif playfully slapped Thor's arm.
"Not helping. Anyway, it took 4 days of drinking and Loki helped me to my room and when I woke up, my hair had been cut off. Loki sat in the corner with his dagger. He said he did it because I had a spider in my hair and he tried to make it neat but he wasn't a hairdresser" Sif leaned against a table.
"Oh my days" I chuckled. Okay, I like Loki a little more now.
"All I will say about Fandral is be prepared. If you thought I was a delight, just wait."
"You are not as bad as Fandral" Sif settled him, "See you tomorrow, Aurora."
"Laters!" I stepped back through the distance mirror while Thor and Sif walked off into the distance. In all honesty, I am fucking exhausted. The thought of a long, hot bath and some well-deserved rest almost made me climax. I could only imagine what was going to happen when I actually followed through on it. Nevertheless, I crawled back into bed and stared aimlessly at the ceiling, too tired for much else.

So that was Thor. He certainly lives up to the hype. My mother always said he was a strange one. But by the looks of things, I have someone on my side. She said that Thor could be difficult, but she never accounted for someone like Sif. Granted, I think she wanted me gone when I first showed up. I think she saw me as a threat but after that fight, I kicked ass.

And now, I just wanted to sleep. Obviously, I had no intention of staying out so late, but I'm kind of glad I did. My fight cravings are out of me and my muscles could relax. And to make things even better, I would be meeting Fandral. Butterflies rustled around in my stomach at the thought.

"Aurora?" a gentle voice broke the silence in the room, "Are you still awake, darling?" Shit! I didn't think Hela would be back already.
"Barely. I'm just waking up."
"That's good," Hela came over to me "The sun has been in the sky for three-quarters of the day"
"And what do want me to do? Photosynthesis" I spoke with sarcasm.
"Enough sass. Missy" Hela brushed my hair out of my face and gasped loudly.
"What?" I jumped out of my skin at her sudden excitement.
"You're all scratched and bruised up!" she put her hands on my face, her eyes full of worry and
concern, "What happened?"
"Oh," I guess I didn't realize how banged up I got in that fight. Well, there's no sense in lying to her, "I went for a drink last night."
"This wasn't just a bar fight, was it?" Hela hoped. I shook my head.
"I got into a scrap with a Booskan"
"We need to clean those cuts up," she got up from my bed and got some warm washcloths from the bathroom. I winced as I sat up. Okay, maybe I got hit and forgot about it. Bloody adrenaline "Do you have the Frost Giant's accelerated healing?"
"But it doesn't work as you think. It's faster than most, but it'll be slower than yours." Hela came back with bandages and anything she could use to take care of the evidence of last night's fighting.
"I don't want you out fighting, Aurora."
"They started it," I complained. I couldn't believe that came out of my mouth. It's something a twelve-year-old would say. Maybe I should learn to be around people.
"Please tell me you finished it" She continued cleaning and dressing my wounds. A small smirk on her face.
"Your lack of faith disturbs me" I took a little pride in my work, "You've seen me fight, Hela. You know damn well what I'm capable of."
"I know. Doesn't mean I won't worry any less"

It took a few minutes of wrapping my ribs and hand. Hela finished up and threw her supplies to the side. Then, she pulled me into her arms.
"You had me worried, Aurora. And that was before I knew you'd come back like this. We'll talk more about this later. For now, you're going to get some more rest. Your wounds need to heal."
"Ok," I'm still pretty tired as hell and if I could sleep the rest of the day away, that would be fantastic. Hela left me alone to likely go to bed herself and I shut my eyes.

When I woke back up again, I opened up the curtains. The sun was barely setting, and a warm glow lit up my room. Despite half of me being a Frost Giant and living in darkness except for one day every year, I loved nothing more than the feeling of the warm sun on my skin. Granted, I burned a lot easier than most but I didn't care. In the end, it was completely worth it.

On the plus side, I did get to sleep the day away like I wanted to. I had a wonderful bath. And yes, I nearly fell asleep. It was that good. Once I was dried, My stomach then let out a loud rumble.
"Someone's hungry?" I wrapped myself up in my cloak and walked down to the kitchen.

To no surprise, I was the only one here. To be honest, I would've thought Hela would be the type to keep the occasional group of humans running the little things in her palace.

After a good rummage, I found some loaves of bread, some cheese, and a bottle of wine. If that doesn't sound like a good breakfast, then I don't know what does. I took a sizable chunk of bread, a few pieces of cheese and no, I didn't drink the wine. That would be silly. It is unfortunate that I had to have breakfast alone. Smiling to myself, I pack the food up in a wicker basket. I think I'll take breakfast down in the dungeons this afternoon.

The guard had already gone to sleep. How convenient.
"Lazy shit. Anyone could just walk in" As I approach Loki's cell, I notice that he was in the same position that I found him in last time. When will Hela allow the man to have a little dignity? I don't care how badly he fucked up. I'm sure it wasn't something so bad that it warranted being in the dungeon, naked, battered and alone. Even Frost Giants had more class than this.

Making sure the guard was out cold, I approached him slowly.
"Please. please. Not again" Loki whispered.
"Hello, Loki" I kept my voice down, doing my best not to startle him.
"Aurora?" He knew my voice. I wish I could let him out.
"Evening" I got the key off the sleeping guard and walked into his cell, joining him on the floor. Closing the door quietly behind me "I would ask you how you were doing, but I could only imagine."
"I'm managing." Loki shuddered.
"You don't need to mask it. I can see the pain in your eyes" I took off my cloak let and wrapped it around his shoulders.
"Aurora," Loki reached his hand to my cheek, gently rubbing his thumb over my bandage, "You're hurt"
"I'm fine," I assured him.
"Did she do this to you?" he pulled away.
"I went out for a drink and they attacked." I clarified. Loki still looked me over "I told you, Loki, I'm fine. I heal faster than most"
"Still won't stop me worrying" Loki pulled my cloak tighter over him, "Those look awfully painful."
"I hardly felt a thing," I shrugged. It was true. I had no idea that I was hurt until Hela noticed "But never mind that. I brought you something."
"Other than your cloak?" he wondered, "Are you sure that this isn't some sort of trick, is it?"
"I told you," I reminded him. Did Odin raise stupid children? "As I told you, I'm not Hela. I come to you as nothing more than a friend." I cut off a piece of bread for him Loki looked it over with great scepticism, smelling it a little.
"This isn't poisoned?"
"No," I promised, cutting a piece for myself and eating it, making sure he was watching, "Hats off to whoever does the baking here. You wouldn't maybe want a little wine, too, would you?" I held up the bottle and two glasses.
"It wouldn't be asking too much?" he hoped.
"I did bring two glasses" I poured one glass for him, then for myself. Slowly, I watched as Loki put his bread in his mouth.
"Oh my god" Loki moaned, "I forgot how good non-rotting food tasted. This is incredible"
"You're welcome," I gave him his glass, "And nothing's poisoned. That I can promise you"
"Thank you, Aurora," his eyes sparkled a bit, "Really. Words can't even express how grateful I am to you."
"Please. No need for that," I let it go, "But you're welcome. I hope you're alright with sharing my breakfast with me."
"Breakfast?" Loki wondered, "I thought you weren't nocturnal."
"I stayed out a little too late last night and only woke up as the sun was setting" I explained. I bit the inside of my cheek, "Loki, You said I could trust you, right?"
"That's right," he swore, "Why? Is there something wrong? Is it your injuries?"
"No," I shook my head, "Those were definitely from the Booskans and boy were there a lot of them"
"Booskans were never ones to travel in small numbers"
"But that's the thing, I need to talk to you about" I hid a little smile, "I wasn't fighting alone. I was with someone and they helped me"
"Don't let Hela know that," Loki warned with a hint of bitter sarcasm, "I'm sure she would take them out in a heartbeat."
"I have no doubt," I agreed. I couldn't put Thor in danger. He might be the closest thing I have to a family "But I don't think he would have a problem with her."
"He?" he perked up, "Is there a special man in your life, Aurora? I never thought you were much of the courting type"
"Eww. No..." I rolled my eyes. Thor is not my type "As if I have the time for shit like that. And it'd be too weird. He's considerably older than I am."
"Well..." Loki gave me a nudge, "Who is this mysterious man? Are you going to keep me in suspense?"
"Last night," I grinned, "I met your brother."