#sigyn thht

@helathorloki Tumblr keeps giving me error messages when I try to post your ask so here you go:

Casimir Mraz was only one drink in and already obsessed with the wraith-like figure at the bar.

Of course, a vampire's tolerance for alcohol was already staggeringly low, and Caz had been supplementing his pork-blood-and-vodka cocktail with nips from his flask. Which may have explained why he found this stranger — from the out-of-place jewelry glimmering off delicate wrists and earlobes to the eager downing of shot after shot of whisky — so enthralling.

"Ya know, I tend to favor gals who could kick my ass and fellas who I could break in half," Caz said, sidling up to this stranger. "What's so interestin' about you is I'm getting both sorts of feelings from you."

It was an incredibly rude thing to say, but Casimir Mraz was incredibly buzzed by this point. At the very least. And the stranger didn't seem to mind.

"I think you just about nailed down how I'm feeling tonight."

A smirk flickered on a set of oddly-scarred lips, and then -

"You can call me, ah, let's say Lee. They/them," they said.

Caz got the feeling the stranger was not actually called Lee, but he didn't care.

"Casimir," he said. "I'm a he. I mean, a man. I mean -"

He was most certainly not a man, but he wasn't used to these additional formalities. Not that he hadn't come across his fair share of Lee-types over the centuries.

The stranger laughed like a hissing snake and placed a hand on Caz's arm. They had a sharp, impish face suited for laughing. Caz wondered how they had gotten into The Merrow's Toe, with all its magical barriers. They looked only slightly older than he did, appearance-wise, but something felt much more ancient about them.

The stranger wound a flame-red lock of hair around their finger. Caz would have loved to dig his fingers through that mane of theirs, but he could be patient.

"What's your poison?" he instead asked.

Lee placed a finger to their mouth in serious thought.

"Suppose they don't have mead here, do they?" they said. "At least, not the kind I like. What's Fireball taste like?"

"Like too much cinnamon and too much sweetness," Caz said, even though he only knew what Jade had told him about it. Vampire guts tolerated vodka well enough, but not flavored whisky.

"I love sweets," Lee said, and Caz found them even more endearing.

They turned around and gestured to a table behind them. A woman nearly as tall as Caz was leaning her massive frame toward a willowy, freckled woman. They were making moon eyes at each other, and Caz had to admit he found himself jealous of both of them.

"Those are my wives," Lee said. "We have an open marriage, the three of us. If you're alright with that."

Caz nodded and ordered a shot of Fireball.

"Think they might wanna join us later?" he asked.

A burning grin spread rapidly across Lee's face.

"Let's just wait and see, darling."

It didn't take long or even that many drinks for Lee to follow Caz to the bathroom. They were surprisingly small, and Caz found himself lifting them up to press them against the wall.

"Hold on, hold on," Lee said, pulling away from his mouth. "Let's try something. Turn around."

Caz spun on his heel until he was the one pressed against the cool tile. His pretty stranger grinned, their legs wrapped tight around his waist to stay upright.

"Much better," they said. "Now -"

Caz gagged as an invisible bond pressed against his throat, forcing him back against the wall. Another tightened around his arms. Still another got his legs.

Lee dropped to the floor, their eyes pinched and curious as they ran a hand along his jaw.

"What are you?" they asked. "A draugr, maybe? You're most definitely undead, but seem a bit smarter than that."

Caz huffed and growled. Maybe it was a bit too feral, but he did not like getting humiliated on his dates.

The tying up would have been otherwise welcome.

"Unlucky for you, I had such a light dinner," he said. "Because when I get out of here I'm gonna drain you dry, you freaky little witch."

The freaky little witch smirked at him.

"Oh, my Jotunn blood wouldn't taste so good," they said. "Certainly not as appetizing as a tasty, human heart. And I'm much more than a witch, darling."

They paced around the bathroom, running a hand along their chin.

"You could be a prank by my daughter, but she's supposed to be at home with the sitter," they said. "Unless -"

They stared at Caz, eyes suddenly wild with fear. Then they pulled a knife on him.

"You're one of Odin's einherjar, aren't you?" they asked. "Come to spy on me? Well it's not going to end so well for you, is it? And you're certainly not taking my children!"

"I'm not — what the fuck would I do with your kids?" Caz cried. "Fucking Bram Stoker! He ruined vampires' reputations!"

Lee stepped back in confusion. They looked like they were about to ask what the fuck Caz was going off about, when the door burst open.

Jade-fucking-Shaw had arrived to save his ass.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" were the first words out of her mouth. Caz had never been so glad to hear them.

"Why would you even try to pick a fight with a Norse trickster god?" was the next thing she said. Which left Caz very confused and Lee very smug-looking.

"So you know who I am, witch?" they asked.

"I wasn't picking a fight, I was trying to fuck them," Caz said at the same time.

Jade gripped a hunk of dark hair. She was in a black dress accented by several pieces of spiked jewelry, which only made her more terrifying.

"That's even worse," she said. "And yes, I know who you are. Not only could I sense something very weird was going to happen here tonight, but your wives also told me."

The two women were now standing in the doorway, looking nearly as aggravated as Jade.

"He's not an einjerhi, Loki," said the willowy, freckled one.

"Trust me, I would know, having fought enough of them," said the other woman. She stared admiringly at Jade. "Did you know they also have witches in this time and place?"

"Every time and place has witches, Bodie," not-Lee said with an eye-roll. "You just have to look hard enough."

They turned back to Caz and snapped their fingers. He fell toward the bathroom floor before catching himself.

"Think the night's over," said the muscled woman. Jade nodded in agreement.

"Aw, but Bodie -"

"But Jade!"

"It's nearly closing time, anyway," Jade said, and the four of them all trudged out the doors of the Merrow's Toe.

"Jade," Caz asked, craning his neck. "What the fuck is that?"

Or who the fuck, maybe. A red-haired man in breeches and a waistcoat knelt above them. He was about 40 feet tall. Caz could just make out a petite, dark-haired woman letting loose a steady stream of curses on his shoulder.

"Fucking shit, Logi!" she said. "I think we're late!"

Day 14 of Nano

WIP: Those Horrid, Horrid Things

Status: Draft 2 revisions

NaNo profile: afoolandathief

NaNoWriMo 2022 Goal: Edit a chapter a day (not really working out so far, brah)

Progress today: Finished Chapter 14 revisions last night

Total progress: 14 chapters revised finally!

That's it that's the post lmao

Excerpt and weekly taglist below ↓

Draft 1:

They were spreading peanut butter and sticky, red jelly onto slices of bread when Sigyn came downstairs. They whirled to face her, splattering jelly across the table.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” they said. “And Angrboda. Everyone.”

She stared at them as if they were very far away.

“Loki,” she said. “Ratatoskr didn’t come yesterday. He stops here every week to look at my phone.

Draft 2:

They were spreading peanut butter and sticky, red jelly onto slices of bread when they heard footsteps behind them. They whirled around with their knife aloft, splattering jelly across the table.

“Sigyn.”

She was filling a glass of water at the sink. She wouldn’t look at them.

“Sigyn,” they went on. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. And Angrboda. Everyone.”

“It was when we were in Asgard wasn’t it?”

She took a sip of water, her eyes still fixed on the floor.

“That’s how you found out about Baldr’s weakness,” she said. “In disguise as me.”

“I — I never intended to,” they said. “It just happened that I -”

“How many times, Loki?” she said. “How many times have you claimed my face, my body, to use for your own?”

“Sigyn,” they tried to swallow back the heat and failed. “You really want to do this now? Now, when I’m completely fucked?”

Her eyes finally met their own. She looked like she hadn’t slept either.

“Go fuck yourself, Loki Laufeyjarson.”

She shoved past them out of the kitchen. Then she stopped, her hand on her head.

Loki licked the end of the knife.

“What now?” they asked.

She turned to them, holding her phone flat in her hand. She stared at them as if they were very far away.