Moss' Domain

“Have any of you seen Loki? It's really late.”

Viviana, the Green Witch and also the head of this small coven of witches of Greenwich has been pacing around the living room anxiously. Her fingers intertwining and tapping her knuckles, a feeling of worry starts pooling in her gut. She looks towards her other coven friends—Nia Gulliver, a protection witch, and Charlotte Kale, a potions witch—with furrowed brows.

“Nothing? None of you were told, see him or even hear him heading out at all?”

“Viv, the guy was a Norse God of Mischief. He has Asgardian magic—or what's left of it—that is clearly still above our own. If he wants to go out undetected he could easily do so.” Charlotte states, her tone clearly not wanting to take the blame for Loki’s disappearance.

“Charlie’s right, Viv. Besides, he's an adult. Hell, older than the three of our ages combined,” Nia chimed in, though her tone is far softer and more understanding as she understands that Viviana is one to worry about every coven member’s safety under her watch.

Looking at Nia with beady, pleading eyes, it is obvious that Viviana looks as if she’s at the brink of crying. But then her shoulder slumps along with a defeated sigh.

“You're right. He's a former god and an adult..”

“And a magnet for trouble,” Charlotte snaps.

“Charlie..”

“What? I’m right. I never understood why you want the guy around. He's not even a god anymore.”

Viviana rubs the bridge of her nose in annoyance. It's not new to the coven that Charlie has always been against Loki’s involvement in their coven. She means well, and rightfully suspicious of him, too—which Vivi and Nia understand greatly—but sometimes Viviana just wishes that they could all just get along.

“Not this conversation again…” Viviana sighs,

Charlotte only replied with a shrug. It is clear that she's holding herself back from saying more that might offend her friend and leader, so she swallows her word out of respect, “Look. You picked up a stray, and if the stray doesn't know gratitude and doesn't want to stay, then it's not your problem anymore, Viv. If he knows what's good then he’ll be back.”

Viviana only stares at Charlotte with a concerned look on her face. Charlotte does make a good point. Vivi knows that she can’t just force someone to stay in their coven. She was just lucky that both Nia and Charlotte needed a place of their own, so they both stays. But Loki? That is a whole different reason entirely. He's here because he ‘got a premonition to stay’ and clearly he is capable of operating individually… So why am I so worried?

Viviana awkwardly folds her hands, rubbing her arms trying to calm herself down and nods to the rest of the girls.

“Right. Right. He’ll be back if he needs to,” Viviana muttered, assuring herself that Loki would be alright.

“He will, Viv. If anything happened to him I’m sure he’ll come running back up to us?” Nia slightly joked on the situation, which prompted a synchronized scoff from both Viviana and Charlotte.

“Yeah. I suppose he would.”

“Then you don't have to worry!” Charlotte clamps her hands together as a sign to conclude their discussion, “now, some of us need our beauty sleep, so I'll be going now. Nighty-night, girls!”

Charlotte waves and turns her heels to walk away from the rest of the coven girls, heading upstairs to her own room with little care. Nia soon bids Vivi good night too, squeezing her shoulder as a sign to not worry and soon she leaves for her own room too. Leaving Viviana alone in the living room.

Upon the two of them leaving, Viviana sighs once again. Throwing herself on the sofa, letting herself sink into its plush comforts like the heavy weight of her worries made physical. She fidgets on her fingers, grabbing her phone occasionally to check whether Loki has left a word—or anything, really—about his current whereabouts.

Then as if the universe is listening to her quiet pleas, her phone rings with a notification.

LOKI: help. Alley behind cafe w/ good muffs.

In a jolt, Vivi stood up and frantically grabbed her coat. Typing in a hurry as she immediately makes her way outside.

VIVI: Sunday Cafe? LOKI: yes. idk. Just b fast. Might pass out LOKI: Icb im bleeding out.

Vivi's heart races as she reads the word ‘bleeding out’. Her hunch was right all along. Loki was indeed in trouble. A serious one this time, by the sound of it. Getting into her car, Viviana rushes to drive to the location Loki shared.

-----

With the streets being empty at the dead of the night, Viviana reaches where Loki is supposed to be in no time. She runs to the alley without any regards to her own safety, her heart racing and her mind filled with worry about what had happened to her… friend.

“Loki!?” Viviana shouts, her voice echoes the empty alleys until she hears a sush, followed with a cough.

“Sush. I'm over here—” Loki's voice sounded hoarse, hurt, and interrupted by the sounds of him coughing.

Viviana turns to the source of the voice, finding an empty corner that soon flickers with a green glow as Loki removes himself from invisibility.

The sight of him covered in blood and bruises along his skin. The teary, green eyes of his struggling to see where Viviana is standing. His hands, one clutching to his bleeding chest and his bloodied phone on the other. Viviana's eyes widened in shock and terror, quickly running towards and kneeling next to Loki to quickly assess his wounds.

“Loki! Gods.. What- what happened!?” Her voice cracks, a combination of disbelief and fear mixed into one.

“L…Long story. I was… Too confident- ugh.” Loki flinches at Viviana's touch as it grazes close to his chest, “I forgot how frail a mortal’s body is…”

Noticing his flinch Viviana quickly peels off his coat to check his wounds. A bullet wound… His blood just oozed to the cloth hastily tied around his shoulders, a crude attempt of stopping his bleeding. Then her attention shifts the bruises around Loki's arms. The bruises, akin to a grapple—a very strong one. As if he was grabbed by a metal grapple and yanked with force. Then her eyes went back to the bullet wound, quickly checking Loki's back to see if it went through, and whether it be fortunate or not, the bullet didn't go through. Which means it is still lodged inside him.

“Goodness….” Viviana exclaims, trying to steel herself away from panicking in order to be able to help Loki.

“That bad?” Loki scoffed, attempting to downplay his own dire condition.

“Stop. Talking.”

Viviana then carefully, gently yet as fast as she could, lifts Loki's arms and drapes them around her shoulders. With a count she heaves him up, and props Loki back up on his feet, dragging the bloodied man through the alley and towards her car.

Opening the door of her car with a click, she helped him get into the back seat and lean him against the chair.

“Hold on, I'll drive you to a hospital—”

Her words stopped as Loki forcibly grabbed her by her arm, stopping her before she could run back to the driver seat.

“No. Too open. Too risky,” Loki coughed,

“not the coven either. I won't—” he winces, struggling to even take a breath, “—I won't risk your home.”

Viviana's eyes squint at his words. Analyzing whether he's being serious or is just paranoid. Something is definitely amiss, that he has to stay hidden and is all bloodied like this. Regardless, Viviana tries to reassure him,

“Our home. Nia had our place protected with sigils. Anyone who has the intention to harm any of us will not find us there, I promise.”

The Look on Loki's face expresses doubt and worries to Viviana's words. But alas, he is far too tired and has lost too much blood to argue, so he lets her go and hop onto the driver seat to take themselves back home.

-----

Upon arriving, Viviana quickly rushes Loki who's getting in and out of consciousness to the living room, laying him on the coven's shared sofa and begins to undress him for treatment. The gunshot wound on his chest was proven quite fatal. Inches away from his heart, thankfully landed somewhere between his shoulder bones instead of his vital point. She could watch as his skin around his wound fading to a hue of blueish purple—a sign unique to Loki that he's showing his jotun skin whenever he's running out of power—his magic, in this case. Whoever took the shot knows how to kill, and almost one with a good aim, too. Almost.

In quick hand movements, Viviana summoned healing kits and ingredients from around the house, items, bottles, wooden bowls swiftly flung onto her side, readily standing-by for its caster to use at all times.

Rolling her sleeves, Viviana then gently cups Loki's face with her hands to reassure him as gently as she could,

“I'll have to remove the bullet first. It will hurt, but please, stay with me, alright?”

“Oh please.. As if mundane midgardian arms could kill me—ARGH!”

Loki hisses at the overwhelming feeling of hurt as the flesh around his wound starts to stir around, as if it's moving, trying to spit the bullet out. Viviana's hands glows an intense dark green, her eyes went full smokey, faded white as she concentrates on contorting his wound to take the bullet out.

The sounds of Loki's cries could have filled the entire house. But with steeled resilience, he took a cloth and bites on it instead, dampening the painful screams and groans from the treatment. His toes curl, hands clawing against the plush sofa leaving marks on it and his heart beating faster, almost to the point it deafened his own eardrums. His flesh moves against his will as Viviana constantly moves the bullet out of him while also mending him at the same time.

The same intensity goes for Viviana, too. Her fingers curl in a way so tense one could swore it bends against its intended direction. Her fingers twitching, carefully tugging the invisible strings of her magic, one who'd carefully extracted the wound while the other mends Loki's wounds to make him feel less of pain.

“Almost there. Almost there, love, hold on.”

Then with one final gentle tug of her finger, fwing! The bullet finally lands on Viviana's hands.

Loki, finally gasps for air as he feels the wave of relief as he looks towards the bullet now in-between Vivi's finger, weakly. His breath still heavy, chest heaving up and down gradually slows down as the feeling of pain dissipates.

“That… That was awful,” his words stumbled between his own exhausted breathing.

“Shh. I'm not done with you yet.”

Vivi dropped the bullet on a small plate, letting it clink on the porcelain surface. Her hands return to hover above Loki's open wound, and with the same dark-green glow Viviana mutters chants in Latin. Loki then feels a surge of calming, soothing sensation washing over his body. The tension finally loosens up, letting himself sink into the sofa with a relieved sigh as he watches Viviana's spells start to mend his flesh back.

Soon Loki's wounds disappear, almost to the point of perfection with barely any scars despite how fatal the wound was. His breathing now relaxed, his heart now beating at a normal pace. The pain had completely washed over thanks to Viviana's aid, and with a feeling of relief he flashes his usual, he shifts himself on the sofa to sit up, then his usual, confident smile beamed at the witch.

“So. That's one of the few powers of the Green Witch. How fascinating.”

Viviana, who is also catching her breath from the sheer amount of panic and effort she took to keep Loki alive, only shot him a glare.

“Seriously? No thanks, no nothing?”

Loki smiles, now placing his hand on hers, pulling them close to his heart and squeezing them gently, then looks at Viviana with an earnest, “Thank you, Viv. That's twice you saved my life, and I will be forever grateful,”

Viviana didn't respond for a few seconds. Though, the flush of relief and the earnest look on his face adds to the feeling of gratitude. She wasn't sure if Loki is just bullshitting at this moment or not, but still, she's all-well relieved that he is okay now. Then a smile took over her, followed with a relieved sigh, “You're welcome.”

“Although…” Loki added, his tone immediately shifted from an earnest gratitude to a teasing one, “Did I catch you calling me ‘love’ while you were treating me?”

Viviana's smile immediately drops and her face goes red as Loki catches her in her vulnerable moment.

“Were you really that concerned? For me?” Loki asked again, though his tone is certainly still teasing.

“I… O-Of course I am! You're a member of my coven, of course I'd be concerned!”

“Of course, of course you would.”

Loki chuckles, completely seeing through Viviana's flushing embarrassment right now. Viviana then stands up, wiping her brows away from sweat that has been pooling there.

“Ugh. Right. I would love to interrogate you on what actually happened, but you need the rest. So I'll let you rest.”

“Stay.”

Viviana pauses, raising an eyebrow at the request.

“Stay here. I'm far too tired to move, and that was only the bullet wound. I'm still feeling absolutely sore everywhere else and you clearly don't have the energy to fully heal me yet,” Loki then reaches out to Viviana's arms, preventing her from walking away, “so stay. Just in case I needed emergency treatment again.”

Viviana glances over Loki's body. True, his bruises everywhere else are still there. Not to mention some other small cuts here and there. She could just let them heal by themselves in time, but as a healer it would feel wrong to just leave a patient not fully recovered like this.

So she sighs, removing Loki's hands from hers for a moment to move away all her medical kit. Grabbing a couple of blankets, she then returns to sit at the other end of the sofa, handing Loki a blanket before leaning to its arms rest and tries to get comfortable.

“Fine. Just go to sleep. I'll be monitoring you here."

With a delighted smile, Loki then tucked himself in, attempting to sleep for his recovery. Viviana soon follows through, her eyes getting heavy, she finds herself gently falling into a deep, restful sleep.

Though within her deeply unconscious state, she could faintly feel an arm wrapping around her, pulling her to lay down on a comfortable embrace. As she is too tired to complain nor to move, she eventually finds comfort in that embrace, falling deeper into her sleep as the sounds of Loki's heartbeat lulls her deeper into her slumber.