LegendOfMischief

“Don’t touch her!” A rough voice snarled out and rewrapped the blanket around her. Voices grew loud then soften, masked by the rumble of the aircraft. Darkness consumed her again.

The rough gait of the person carrying her jarred her to waking again. The strong scent she would come to know as tobacco and sweat, that would become a comfort to her as it belonged to her savior. Harsh lights overhead were quickly replaced by wood paneling, whispers hit her ears. More voices.

“My God. So young.”

“Charles be careful, she’s like Rogue and Bobby combined into a single mutant.”

An even voice in her head, reassurance that she was safe and all was well.

She relaxed into her exhaustion. Darkness came again.

“Ma chère, don’ be afraid,” A tall man in a brown trench coat knelt down and offered her a pair of white leather gloves. His voice like rich, warm chocolate. “Gambit will be takin’ care of ya now.”

She slowly reached out, taking the gloves and slipping them on quickly. Her green eyes met his and she gave him a small smile. The man stood, offering her a hand which she took.

The wood hallway of the X Mansion spun wildly, colors darkening.

Giggles left her lips as she jumped in the puddles left from a thunderstorm that had come overnight. Gloves long abandoned on the porch, soaked with water and darkened with dirt. Young as she was, with no one in sight she thought it safe to do so. To free herself in a way. The dog had come out of nowhere, bounding up to her with a wagging tail and welcoming expression made complete by the lolling tongue. The blonde girl dodged, ran, and they chased each other. Happiness and excitement in the moment caused her to forget, who she was and what she was capable of. Arms wide open to greet her new friend, bare skin touched fur and the ice spread fast. A yelp followed by a splash as they both fell, corpse on top of the little girl. Horror, sorrow, and fear shown in green eyes as she screamed. The bang of a screen door slamming open followed by heavy footsteps rushing towards her flooded her ears.

“Winter!” The worried voice came closer.

The weight of the dog disappeared and the sight of the sky was replaced with the sight of red eyes she was now familiar with. They scanned her, flitted to the dead dog then back again. Her lip quivered.

“Daddy I’m sorry.” Tears spilled from her eyes and fell down her cheeks.

“Hush Ma chère, it’s not your fault,” Remy pulled her into a tight hug, safe from her power as he’d taken to keeping himself covered around her. “I know ya didn’ mean to. You’re too sweet a thing.”

Winter woke to a feeling of stiffness in her entire body, the lingering feeling of dried tears that she didn’t remember crying on her cheeks, and the feeling of a large cold body pressed against her back. She shivered at the sensation of a hand running over her skin, her Jotun lines raised at the attention and it felt good. Almost too good, she turned to face the giant that lay next to her as his embrace kept her only inches away from him. Again he had that perplexed look that made her feel like a puzzle. She shivered when he traced a finger over her inner wrist while his eyes lowered to the rest of her form. That was when she noticed her skin was blue with similar lines to those the people of this planet held.

“What did you do to me?” She whispered with horror before she pushed him away with a strength he didn’t know she’d possessed.

Winter stood from the bed, nearly tripping from the size difference compared to what she was used to on Earth and unbothered by her nudity. She examined her hand and arm followed by the rest of her body, tracing the patterns which caused her to jolt at the sensitivity. Movement caught her eye as Helblindi approached with furrowed brows.

“I fixed you, Winter. You are now as you should’ve been all along.” The giant answered in a much softer voice than she’d expected but no less commanding.

“You..you can--then why didn’t you speak to me in my language before!” She yelled at him, both shocked and angry that he deliberately chose not to communicate with her clearly.

Helblindi merely tilted his head as he circled her while his eyes inspected her, “I had no need.”

“Can you send me home? To Earth.”

“Midgard you mean. No, I do not have that power,” He stood in front of her, running a hand over the exposed Jotun lines of her shoulder. “...yet.”

Winter followed his movements with her eyes, the last word catching her attention as did his intent gaze on the markings of her body.

“Yet?”

A knock disrupted the conversation, causing both to look at the door and watching it open to reveal Varrvinr. He spoke to Helblindi in the native tongue, the latter nodded as he moved to pick up a bundle of leather. He returned to stand before Winter then handed it to her. Taking it with a look of mild confusion, she found that it was clothes. Much the same as what had been previously provided, a leather tube top and skirt with animal fur as well as beads that provided a primitive sort of decor. She dressed quickly despite not being bothered about her nudity, she’d never had any shame in regards to her body or the level of dress.

“You will spend your days with Varrvinr, he will teach you enough so that you will survive and blend in better.”

Winter looked between them, deciding it was best not to argue she turned to Varrvinr.

“What are you going to be teaching me?” She asked, frowning when he looked from her to Helblindi, “Why doesn’t he understand me?” Winter asked as her gaze was also directed towards the King.

“Varrvinr does not know Allspeak,” Helblindi cupped her cheek and delighted in her slight intake of breath as he ran his thumb over the lines of her cheek. “I am the only one who has the gift. My brother, Byleistr refused it.”

“How-,” Her question was silenced as his finger moved from her cheek to over her lips.

“You will learn our language,” Helblindi smirked, “Or remain in the dark.”

Winter felt a little more at ease now that she knew at least one of the beings on this planet could understand her. Something about that made the planet feel just a bit less hostile and hopeless. She watched Helblindi leave before turning her gaze to Varrvinr though he merely narrowed his eyes at her before stalking towards the door.

Leather creaked, rocks crunched, and legs were crouched with a hand digging into the ground as Winter came to a stop after being thrown back when she attempted a head-on attack. Listening to her instincts this time she dodged to the side as a sharpened piece of ice sunk into where she had been standing and she ducked behind a large icy rock. Her breath came in heavy pants as she tried to gather her thoughts. While she had no way to keep track of time, she was sure it’d been a few hours since Varrvinr had started what they called ‘combat training’ but she wasn’t sure if he was just trying to outright kill her. The creeping fog wasn’t helping either. Winter dodged a sharpened ice dagger that just barely missed her face, but she didn’t react in time to avoid the whip that wrapped around her neck. Sharp rock cut at her exposed skin as the owner of the whip began to pull her in like a caught fish.

The fog was so thick she couldn’t see anything, not even the teammates that she knew still stood a foot or so away. Winter heard a teammate to her right go down with a yell followed by the footsteps of the one to her left fleeing out of fear. Closing her eyes, she flexed her fingers then created an ice dagger and focused on the barely there footsteps approaching. The scent of tobacco hit her nose. Of course, they’d pair him with her, he was the only one she couldn’t kill on accident. He approached at an angle in an effort to take advantage of her blindspot. She moved to the side slightly to avoid the punch to her shoulder, causing his fist to miss by an inch which gave her the opportunity to grab his wrist with her left hand. Ice ran up his arm as her right hand that held the dagger plunged it into his thigh. Grabbing onto the wrist her left hand already held with both hands now, she flipped him then immediately subdued him further by using ice to adhere him to the ground. A growl, groan, then sigh were given as he lay defeated while Winter knelt next to him with a smirk.

“Ya know kid, I don’t know why they bother. You’re good, almost too good.” Logan spoke with a mix of a smile and grimace. “Storm! She beat me. Scott mind helping me out of this?”

That was it. She needed to stop retreating. Just because it was a different planet and a different species, she still should stand her ground. Winter managed to turn herself towards where she was being pulled. She wrapped both arms around the whip and braced her feet on the first rock she spotted. With a deep breath, she gripped the whip and gave a pull with a large portion of her strength. Once it slacked she ripped it from her neck before immediately throwing a dagger in the direction where the whip led to. Upon hearing a pained shout she dashed forward, breaking through the fog to be met with a sight that caused her to smirk. The giant who had wielded the whip had her dagger sunk into his thigh, blue blood dripping to the ground while he let loose what sounded like choice words in his language. Varrvinr stood a few feet in front of her with his arms crossed and an expression that was hard to read. She’d almost say he looked grumpy but proud of her. He gave her a nod to follow him before turning and beginning to walk back to the palace.

Winter looked around the large room. It featured pillars which surrounded a large rectangular pool of water, steam billowed slowly from its surface. Varrvinr had left her here without a word but the armed guard outside the door spoke clear enough that she was to stay here until collected again by someone. She was exploring the room and had just identified what she suspected to be towels when a giant that was bound with the same bangles she had entered. Peeking out from behind one of the many pillars she watched as the giant, which she suspected to be female, placed a large tray of food near the edge of the pool before leaving again. Winter surmised that she was expected to eat and bathe. As she approached, she noted that the food looked like something that one might find at a Renaissance festival on Earth. A chunk of meat that reminded her of grilled pork, a few weird looking plants that she didn’t know if they were more fruit or vegetable, and a light orange liquid that smelled like sweet red wine. Sighing she sat next to it and ate her fill while taking in the details of the room again. It was built of stone and looked like it could only house a small number of giants despite having plenty of room for many people of human size. A beautiful place to die if the food poisoned her. She chuckled at her thoughts, then stood and removed her clothes. Stepping carefully into the water she noted it was neither warm nor cold despite the steam rising from it, but she dismissed further study of it as it felt good on her slightly achy body. Winter washed to the best of her ability, quickly discovering that she needed to be more gentle now that she had her Jotun lines visible and present. After finishing she chose to float on her back with her eyes closed, reflecting on all that happened since Tony had called her requesting help. Looking over the details in her memory to try to find something she might be able to use in an effort to get back home. Lost to her musings she didn’t hear the entry of another into the water. The gentle touch from sternum to belly caused her to elicit a gasp as she righted herself as quickly as she could. Panic eased as she took in the tall man before her. He was tall, likely around six foot seven inches. Her eyes drifted from his dirty blonde hair downward, his blue skin and markings giving away he was a frost giant. The lines along his collarbone were like filigree, swirling and twisting elegantly. The back of his hands held markings similar to those on his collarbone while the rest of his Jotun lines merely followed his muscle structure. As if to compliment how he was built naturally. She recognized the lines, this was Helblindi.

During her study of him, she had unknowingly relaxed.

“You like this form better, interesting.” He spoke as he moved closer to her, admiring her body in return.

She was curious about how he could shift into a more human appearance. Winter blushed at his gaze and when he took one of her hands in his. Helblindi traced the lines on the back of her hand before moving to those on her inner wrist. She bit her lip and swallowed as the touch caused a warm feeling in lower regions as well as her lines to raise slightly. Similar to goosebumps but also different.

“You’re so sensitive, even your flesh that is not marked.” He said with a head tilt and confusion in his tone.

“I can’t touch people,” Winter rethought what she said and frowned slightly, “I can’t touch humans. You are one of the first that I can touch without killing or causing harm.”

She took a step back at the sudden excitement that his expression switched to and she noted his eyes linger at her breasts, the movement of water running down them having caught his attention.

Shouts from the hall beyond the door drew their attention.

“Play along,” Helblindi said before pulling her close, kissing her and slipping his tongue into her mouth when her lips parted with a gasp.

The door hit the wall with a bang followed by a slurred shout and sloshing of water. Helblindi broke the kiss and even though she saw his mouth moving, whatever he said she missed. His kiss had stolen her breath and started a warmth between her legs. Winter’s eyes never left him. When he looked back at her she pulled him into an eager kiss. Hands threaded in his hair while her teeth nipped at his lower lip, she didn’t have long to wait before his tongue met hers again.

Helblindi was pleased by her eagerness. He lifted her up, wading to the nearest edge of the pool and laid her before him on the stone. Winter gave a whine when he broke the kiss to lay next to her but quieted when he pulled her partially atop him to return his lips to hers. Her actions born purely out of instinct, she began to grind against his upper thigh and he broke the kiss to throw his head back with a hiss when her leg brushed against his cock. Helblindi sat up, his lips descending on a breast with a hand moving to hold her against him while his other snuck down to stroke himself. Winter’s nails found his shoulders and dug in while her whimpers fell against his neck. Her hips moved quicker as she chased the high. It took little time before she came, vision blackening for moments and she sank her teeth into the junction of his shoulder and neck. Only vaguely aware of a low growl and cold sticky substance splattering her thigh as she panted heavily, coming down slowly from her orgasm.

Again the door to the bath opened, though this time Varrvinr discreetly entered. He wrinkled his nose and outright scowled at Helblindi, saying something that caused the latter to laugh albeit slightly breathlessly. Winter peeked up sleepily to look at the other giant.

“What did he say?”

“He thinks I indulge you too much,” Helblindi replied as he gently tucked a curl of her hair behind her ear and very carefully avoided touching the lines on her cheek. “And he says you should be grateful he found clothes in your size.”

Varrvinr grabbed a towel on his way over to them. He sat next to Helblindi, tugging Winter into his lap then proceeded to clean, dry, and dress her almost like one would a child. If she had been more energetic, less tired she might have fought him on it. Once dressed and still seated in his lap as Helblindi took care of himself, she admired what she could only call a nightgown. It was made of a fabric that seemed a cross between lace and chiffon in a lovely shade of moss green. Winter barely heard the two giants converse lowly, followed by chuckles, and a bit of jostling as she let herself fall asleep in Varrvinr’s arms.