nineteen
"embrace all that is you"

Lusine was barely around the corner when the sound of paws hitting the floor, rushing towards her sent her heart into flight with the joy that overcame her.

There they were: Lieve and Lai.

The direwolves scampered towards her, knocked over the guards and civilians in their way as they were, at last, reunited with their mother. No part of her felt annoyance as they bowled her over. Her back thudded against the stone floor; laughed like the bubbling teenager she'd been an eternity ago as they slobbered all over her, pinning her to the floor as they nuzzled against her.

Lusine reluctantly pushed them off her and said between laughter, "That's enough, that's enough!" she clambered to her feet, running a hand over each of their silky white coats. "We're making a scene, but my! Haven't both of you grown?" 

"Oh, of course you own literal direwolves." Casia's voice came from behind and although her tone sounded irritable, her face was filled with bewilderment and even disbelief. "Thought these were just Game of Thrones things, y'know?"

"Game of Thrones?" Lusine frowned, not understanding the reference.

"It's a Midgard thing," The other woman replied, folding her arms as she kept a careful eye locked on the wolves that watched her right back, not missing a single movement she made.

To her, Lusine had never looked godly. She had been the wrath in the dawn, the streak of darkness in the dusk, but never divinity breaching through in a golden wash of light. But now?

Now she looked like the goddess she'd always claimed to be.

Every inch of her screamed other worldly and, while she would bleed and die as the rest would, Lusine would not go down without bringing the whole world with her. A respectable feat, no doubt.

"I expected as such," Lusine said, absently stroking the wolves at her command.

Those wolves would tear throats for her and yet there was something so loving about the way they regarded her. Beyond loyalty, closer to an unexplainable bond that could only be broken by the icy scythe of death.

"I intend to leave this place as soon as we are able to. For a while, I suppose we should remain just to be grateful of their hospitality, but beyond that... We leave for Remulan within the month," Lusine said, distaste burning her tongue as she spoke of remaining in a place that wore her own blood like warpaint.

"Great." Casia shook a hand through her dark curls of hair. "And what will we do while we're here?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to clear out their entire wine collection," She jested, striding forward and passing Casia by. "I also have some things that I wish to... take care of before we depart and begin your training. So, I suggest you make the most of your freedom and ability to walk painlessly."

As the wolf stalked past, it met her eyes with a low growl.

Casia took a step backwards, but knew there was not much she could do if those jaws desired her throat.

"But I don't know where anything is!" Agent Radcliffe called after Lusine as she strode away, giving a nod of gratitude to the guard who had waited to escort her to her temporary chambers.

"I am utterly positive that Thor would very much enjoy giving you the grand tour," Lusine replied, flashing a grin of pearly white teeth over her shoulder.

Casia watched the wolves slink around the corner after her and she was left alone upon the face of a world she had no idea where to even start attempting to understand.

But not beginning at all would be a great tragedy to have commit in the beautiful place that these godly people called home. She'd heard stories of co-workers imagining what it would be like after Thor came to Earth the first time, but none of them had done it justice. Didn't even came close, in fact.

As she walked through its halls, many of the Asgardians stared at her Midgardian clothing and the gun at her hip. Turned to one another in hushed whispers and snide glances. Not that she could blame them.

She was an outsider and did not look the part in the slightest with her tight jeans, leather jacket and heeled boots. She looked down at herself, wondering just how she'd managed to stand out when all she'd ever done back on Earth was blend in with the crowd. Mould into it like she was always meant to be there. A woman who flew under the radar of most.

Forgotten until her presence was convenient.

God, she stuck out like a sore thumb and grew more and more conscious of it with every second that ticked by.

"Would it be an insult if I offered you one of my dresses?" A warm voice asked with a friendliness that could not be denied, even by a bitter soul forged from mother darkness herself. 

When Casia whirled, she found a petite woman stood a short distance away. A stone's throw. Beside her stood another woman. Much taller, broad shouldered, thundering expression and hair pulled back from her face in a tight plait.

Casia eased herself into a collected smile. "Not at all," She replied, "It would be great, actually. I didn't wanna draw attention to myself, but I seem to be the only one who loves a good ol' leather jacket in this place."

"We leave leather to those who can pull it off around here," The woman replied, a tinge of a smile brightening her face. She stepped forwards and extended a slender hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Casia. Since your arrival, talk has spread quickly."

"I've been here for like five minutes." Casia could not keep the heat from her cheeks and her eyes flickered away for a moment, mind rushed with what could possibly be said about the girl born of Midgard.

"A lot can happen in five minutes," She said without elaboration. Were all Asgardians ominous? "I'm Olea Kella," still, she shook her hand with enthusiasm, "and this is my sister, Kyrie."

The broad woman nodded her head in acknowledgement. Intimidation at its finest. That Kyrie was a born and bred warrior. Destined to live and die upon the battle field amongst worthy soldiers and the blood of her enemies. There was something offset in that stare that made Casia turn herself back to the infinitely more friendly Olea.

"Nice to meet you both," Casia said, unsure of how she'd managed to end up in this social situation and already plotting her escape from the two complete strangers.

"And Lusine left you all alone?" Olea questioned, her hand retracting and slipping to her neck to fiddle with the wooden emblem on her necklace. Unidentifiable without making it obvious she was looking, Casia decided not to pry.

"I recall her saying she was going to drink Asgard dry," The agent paraphrased, stuffing her hands away into her pockets, grin reaching her mouth as she eased a little, knowing this woman was not a threat and definitely not out to spill blood.

"Oh, well, I suppose we should leave you to your sight seeing. We've got duties to tend to, sadly, but we shall see you at the feast tonight." Olea's entire face lit up as she clapped her hands together. "It'll be wonderful! Like nothing you've ever experienced before, I assure you."

"Then I will definitely be there," Casia replied, not wanting to disappoint such an immediately lovable soul.

The day darkness spread across that face would be the day the universe was truly coming to its end. Ultimately, chaotically.

A sight to behold as finality came rushing in at last, relief for the universe.

-

-

The room Lusine had been given was smaller than her old chambers here, but she did not care as long as there was a bathtub, a bed and wine. 

With a thank you to the guard, who's eyes widened at her manners, Lusine closed the door with a soft click. The tales they must have heard about her were vast. From a murderer to a seducer, Lusine had heard every one of them and confirmed most of them to be true. 

The few that were false were malicious and vile, spread by those with a heart of solitary hatred. She would let them live in hate and in spite for they would soon learn of her change of heart. They would soon learn of the good that still lived within her and they would change their minds, choose not to believe the cruel lies sculpted from ice by the sharpest tool. 

Let them live in fear of her wrath while she bore the drapes of a changing woman.

While the wolves basked in the afternoon sun of Asgard upon the balcony, Lusine slipped from the ragged dress and into the bath she'd taken it upon herself to run, flooding it with salts and oils, the scent of lavender lifting the stone room into that of utter relaxation. 

And she definitely needed and deserved it. 

The amount of raw power she had expended still had not replenished. While it still lingered within her, it slumbered. Dormant, yet ready for its call to action. 

Lusine tucked it away as she sunk into the bath, submerging herself beneath the near-boiling water. Hot enough to burn the grime and sin from her flesh. With shut eyes, she let the purifying water wave over her, hold her there, sink into her pores. Flushed out the lives she had taken, the lives she could not save. Soothed her into the healing process, leaving behind a sense of loneliness with a void that could only be filled by one person. 

One person that was not close enough to hold.

Although it would not be The Captain who fused her broken pieces back together as if she were a battle-scared version of Iron Man's suit, sometimes it was okay to not want to walk alone. 

While her father had tried to be there for her, even he had not understood the extent of the power that was threatening her life. With every lesson he taught, the power only grew. 

Broke its way into every cavern and crevice of her heart. 

Infiltrated through the cracks and scars left after years of heartbreak and torment. 

Maybe she could have stopped it in its tracks, but she had not possessed the energy to do so after years of being beaten into the dust. The will was not there for self-preservation as she fought for a love that was doomed from the outset.

Luisne broke the surface, pushing her hair back over her head and leaning back. But, just as she began to close her eyes once agian, a knock came at the door to the little bathroom. 

"Lusine? Are you in there?" A familiar voice called from the other side, fragranced with sweetness and with the herbs she surrounded herself with day in, day out. 

Lusine's mouth parted and she scrambled from the bath, pulling on the white silk robe and composing herself before she unlocked the door and yanked it open, wondering if this was another one of her damned hallucinations that had not graced her with their presence in so long. 

"Olea?" Lusine stared in disbelief at her cousin stood before her. Little Olea with her healing hands and blissful presence. With every breath from her pink lips, she soothed. 

Olea smiled widely, eyes burning with tears of joy as she flung herself forwards and into Lusine's arms. To her delight, Lusine received her well, even hugged her back just as tightly. Years since their last embrace, this was a treat indeed.

"We thought you were dead. They said Loki killed you," Olea breathed, throat tightening as if a snake were constricting her for its next meal, "They said you let him kill you, but then when Kyrie and I heard word that you had returned... I could not wait another minute to seek you out."

Lusine laughed quietly, rocking back and forth with her little cousin. The cousin who had always been good to her, but who she had disassociated herself with when it was discovered that Regina could not be healed by her hands. The hands that had healed all until then. 

Until the first failure.

"I am a lot harder to kill than you might expect," Lusine replied, retracting from the embrace to hold Olea at an arms length. "You look the same as you always did."

Olea smiled sadly. "Is that a compliment?"

"An answered prayer." Lusine's eyes darted across her every feature for scars, inside and out, but found none. "And your sister, is she here too or is she tending to duties?"

"Kyrie is waiting outside," The smaller woman replied, glancing away. "She does not trust you still."

"Do you trust me?" As her eyes glinted with an obvious sentiment for the kind heart that beat before her, thumping in her chest as her cousin bore down on her with such power, such wrath. 

Holy Gods, Olea could feel the sheer power radiating from her, bubbling against her shoulders where she was held comfortingly, and yet firmly. Intimidation not intended, but inevitable when the tales depicted the wrath of a thousand suns compacted into one heart to be wielded by a Volkov known for her unpredictable anger. 

The troubled expression upon Olea's button face said all Lusine needed to hear.

"I suppose I would not trust me either," Lusine said, stepping past her cousin and into the room. Those glistening eyes watched her cautiously as she poured herself a glass of wine. To the deer, she asked, "You did not want some, did you?"

"No, thank you," The deer replied, standing incredibly still.

"Not only do you not trust me, you fear me as a mouse fears a feline." Lusine chuckled quietly to herself as she took a seat, crossing one leg over the other as she gazed upon her meek cousin. "Do you still bow to my mother?"

Olea's dainty nose crinkled in confusion. "Well, of course we do. She is the Queen," She replied simply, not giving much thought to her answer.

Lusine took a sip of the red wine, letting it trickle down her throat, taking the time to let her cousin dwell in her answer. To think on it. Let the seed bury itself into her mind to await the rays of the sun and the sprinkle of water to its bed. 

"And do you do this in loyalty?" She ran a fingertip around the rim of the glass, felt it vibrate beneath her touch. When she lifted her eyes to meet those of Olea, an honest question lay behind them. "Or do you do this in fear?"

"She is family. I would not fear my own family," Olea protested, her hands lifting to the necklace once more, her face paled. 

Lusine's mouth moulded into a sly smile, lathered in bad blood and a sadness that may never be healed, not even by the hands of one of the greatest healers to grace the universe. 

"Liar," She said shortly, reading every body movement of Olea to oppose her statement of loyalty to her family, her own blood. And yet, she quivered in her dress as she stood before Lusine. "I think perhaps it would be best for you to leave for now. I shall see you at dinner tonight, I suppose?"

"Yes, of course," Olea responded quietly. 

Lusine rose to her feet and strode across the room, forcing her face to remain steady as she pulled the door open. Just outside stood Kyrie who eyed her cousin suspiciously, a simmering relief crossing her expression when Olea emerged unharmed. 

"Enjoy your afternoon, cousins," Lusine said and started to close the door, but Olea had other ideas.

She caught the door firmly. Lusine's brows flicked up as she awaited whatever she had to say.

"I do not fear you Lusine, I fear your rage," Olea said softly, not a drop of accusatory nature in her tone. 

Lusine let out a breathy laugh and did not flinch as Kyrie stiffened beside her, hand hovering over the handle of her notorious blade. 

"Are we not one and the same?" She questioned, taking the chance to slam the door shut and turn the lock.

As she listened to their footsteps retreat, she pushed her hands over her face and rubbed her tired eyes. 

Back pressed against the wooden door, it dug into her skin through the thin robe. When she dropped her hands from her eyes, they landed on the little bag she'd brought from Earth that lay upon her bed as a little reminder of what she'd left behind and for what awaited her.

A tinge of a smile brushed her mouth as she crossed the room towards it and opened the bag. From within, she pulled the button up shirt she'd borrowed from Steve only yesterday. Though yesterday felt like a lifetime ago, even the robe slipped from her shoulders and the shirt was buttoned up her front.

With wine in one hand and the faint lingering scent of Captain Rogers, Lusine Volkov crawled into bed to drown her sorrows.

-

2941 words
8.6.18

fuq lusine is hook, line and sinker'd for cap tbh