twenty two
"strive for survival"
-

Casia's entire body ached as she took a seat beside Thor at dinner that evening. Thankful for the plate filled to the brim with vegetables and meats and swimming in gravy, she tucked in without hesitation.

"Hungry?" Thor asked jokingly. He watched with nothing short of amusement as she stuffed a whole roasted potato into her mouth just as he asked his question.

She turned to him as a drip of gravy ran down her chin. Quickly, she wiped it away and swallowed her food, regretful about not savouring the taste.

"Oh, God yeah," She replied, already stabbing more carrots onto her fork than should fit. "Lusine finally started to teach me and everything hurts." She waved the fork around as she spoke, the carrots coming far too close to flying off than preferable. "Muscles I didn't even know I had are hurting like I've just run a marathon."

"I sense this will be a reoccurring theme for the next few months then?" Thor questioned, knowing it would not be a quick fix to Casia regaining control over her body in light of her power's manifestation.

Casia shook her head and tucked fly-aways of dark brown hair behind her ear. "Lusine wants to leave soon, I think," She said, still trying to tuck those annoying hairs away.

Without thinking, Thor reached across and pushed them back from her face. His large hands brushed the smooth skin of her face, delicate despite his unparalleled strength. He withdrew and busied himself with pouring more wine, oblivious to the impact he'd just had on Casia who now sat with an open mouth and gravy stained lips.

"How soon?" He continued the conversation with ease, ignoring the sudden shift between them.

Casia set down her cutlery, craving for food suddenly replaced by something very different.

"Within the month, but probably sooner rather than later," She replied, watching him through clear eyes swimming with molten to rival a volcano. Like the eruption of Pompeii, it had the potential to destroy and destroy it would as he made eye contact to see the flames within. They smiled back at him, greeting his own electricity.

"And you have to go with her?" Thor was suddenly interested in his ale, rubbing his thumb over the handle repeatedly. Not in rhythm, but in pattern.

"If I want her to carry on teaching me, I do," She said, though she shared his disappointment at the prospect.

While they had only known one another for a short amount of time, it was important to the both of them and not a friendship that either wanted to come to an end. Not that it would, but the distance would mean they could not have these murky evening talks, let alone see one another in passing as they often did on Midgard whilst working against Loki and as they did in Asgard.

And she had to admit that she would miss that.

She would miss seeing his joyful smile and his greetings that never failed to make her own smile shine brighter than the fires of the sun. Not that she understood what any of that meant to her, but all that she did know was that she liked being in his company far more than she had ever imagined she would when she'd been told a god had come to Earth.

While her experience with the goddess had been unfortunately eventful, her experience with Thor had been notably more enjoyable.

"Right," Thor said, "but I'm sure someone here could teach you. Remulan is not a welcoming place and I am sure that Lusine believes she can protect you from becoming the prey of those who dwell there, but she does not hold the same political power that she once did."

"I don't understand," Casia said, resting her head on her hand and looking at him through her dark lashes.

"Well, they believe her a traitor to the throne for the murder of her brother, but she may also have the upper hand because they still believe her dead, as long as no messages of her presence have arrived in their courts," Thor explained.

She didn't know whether this came from his own calculative thought or from someone else's, but either way she was impressed to hear political talk coming from him.

"I'll ask her about it tomorrow," Casia replied, suddenly unsettled by the thought that Lusine could be taking her into a place where she could be shoved into her grave face first.

"She is a smart woman," Thor said, attempting to reassure her where he knew he'd cracked doubt, and placed a sturdy hand on her shoulder, "Lusine knows what she's doing."

"And I should trust her?" Casia questioned, her chin jutting outwards.

"Trust her wrath," He responded, an understanding in his gaze that she did not share in her own, and wasn't sure that she wanted to share for within those beautiful blue eyes a shadow coiled. A shadow that she wanted to avoid, but knew from the way it whispered that their meeting was inevitable.

Inevitable and predestined by a divine force far greater.

-

-

Captain Steve Rogers entered his apartment after a hard day's work only to breath the scent of Lavenders right into the bottom of his lungs, filling them with the fragrance as opposed to the smoke of crime and duty.

Following his nose, he happened across the envelope, unopened, that lay on the coffee table. He didn't need to open it to know who the sender was. The slick handwriting upon the front was telling enough as well as the print of lipstick he knew full-well she'd taken delight in kissing onto the front beneath his name.

While he knew he was covered in grime, he took a seat and opened the thoughtfully-crafted letter.

Captain,

I wrote this letter over hundreds of times because I couldn't quite get the right words on the paper and I know you can't reply, but I wanted you to know that I'm safe, eating well and drinking more than my fair share of Asgardian wine.

I thought you would be pleased to know that Odin pardoned me of my crimes and has allowed me to begin once more with a clean slate. I am yet to return home, but Casia has begun her training. I fear that it will take longer than expected, though I wish it wouldn't.

I will write to you again soon,
-Volkov x

Steve must have read the letter over ten times before he put it down and Lusine remained in his thoughts for the rest of the evening, unable to stop wondering when she would return to continue whatever had begun between them.

All he hoped was that it wasn't long, though her letter told it would be, and he would continue to wait, no matter how insistent Natasha was that he start dating. Maybe she was doing it to get him to admit to his interests being in Lusine, but he would not crack until he knew exactly what had been forged between them, no matter how tenuous it was.

Tenuous was still enough to hold onto and hold on he would.

-

-

Casia regretted her decision when the impatient knock rapped on her door early the next morning.

When she rolled out of bed, at least three joints cracked under the movement and every muscle in her body was still exhausted. It seemed wine and good food didn't fix everything.

Casia opened the door and Lusine immediately barged in, banging the door against the wall as she forced her way in.

"Woah, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Casia grumbled, rubbing her eyes sleepily, turning to watch Lusine pulling a pair of trousers and a loose fitted shirt from the wardrobe, to match her own.

"Put these on," Lusine commanded, telling her with such force there was no time to protest. "We're going for a run."

"Wait, wait, hold on," The agent now protested, but let Lusine shove the clothes into her arms all the same. "Running? I came here to learn how to control my magic, not run laps of Asgard."

"I guarantee you've never been on a run like this," She told her, browsing through the stack of books absently. She choked when she picked up the one on the top. "Asgardian erotica? Really, Radcliffe?"

"Yes, really," Casia responded with a hiss, snatching the book and thumping it back down on top of the pile, "and I hate running. I'd honestly rather face whatever demonic bird is inside of me than go running." The cloth was soft to the touch as she wound her fingers into the fabric, clenching it tight as Lusine took a seat at the window, looking as relaxed as she ever had done.

"If you can't fight the phoenix off, what's the use in even trying?" She said, tracing a finger down the stone wall, over each bump and crevice. "You're setting yourself up to fail and no one loves a failure, not even kind-hearted Asgardians."

"I'm not going to fail," Casia said, sick to the back teeth with determination.

"Yes, you are if you attack it in that state. You may be an agent, but you're no warrior. A spy is no fighter so I'm going to turn you into as much of a warrior as our time constraint allows us," Lusine replied, putting her foot down. "If you think otherwise, be my guest to walk this thin line alone."

"Fine, running it is," She grumbled in defeat, unable to deny the truth in Lusine's words.

Moments later, she was dressed in the clothes formerly bundled in her arms and keeping pace with Lusine as she stalked through the Palace. Guards nodded to her as she passed, which she occasionally returned, but didn't seem to hold the same respect for Casia.

Maybe it was respect, or maybe fear. Whichever it was, Lusine didn't seem to care.

"So," Lusine said, whirling to face her, the wind fierce and whipping at her hair, tugging the wild strands in all directions, skittering across her pale face in mockery of the veins that overcame her during battle, "Radcliffe, I suggest you stretch your muscles before this because otherwise you'll injure yourself."

"Right, okay," Casia replied, sceptical about the lightness to Lusine's tone which she was definite bordered on anticipation.

The excitement might as well have been written on her forehead in Comic Sans, exclamation point and all. Casia watched her through narrow eyes as she warmed her muscles up too, lunging forwards. There was something bright in her eyes, something mischievous, something quite positively devilish.

If this was Casia's day to die, she hoped it was worth it for the light entertainment of a god.

When they began to jog, it was easy. Nothing she hadn't done before. She was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for goodness sake; this was stuff they got new recruits to do, not highly trained agents like her. Child's play.

If Clint could see her now taking a light jog with a princess, he would laugh until he ran out of air, or until Casia punched him square in the nose.

She was about to complain in typical fashion when Lusine picked up the pace, moving from a jog to a run.

At first, when Lusine lifted her fingers to her mouth and let out a loud whistle, Casia was confused and almost made a comment about warning her next time.

But then she heard the thunder of paws hitting the dirt behind them, closer and closer. In a fatal mistake, she peered over her shoulder and was struck with immediate fear as her nightmares were confirmed. Roaring up behind them were two ghostly direwolves, dark eyes locked right onto their targets, tongues lolling out of their mouths.

With no deal of happiness did Casia realise that this was fun for them, and probably for Lusine too.

"Don't worry," Lusine told her with a laugh like the devil, "they won't bite!"

Casia spluttered out a laugh: absolutely lost for words at the new direction their training had taken. Not a right direction, for one, and for another, she wasn't sure if this was a genuine training technique or just one of Lusine's pass times.

It wasn't long before Lusine out paced her, athletic legs powering her ahead with little effort, but Casia had surprised herself already with how long she'd managed to keep her run going. Though she had the adrenaline to thank for that, it was still no small feat.

Still, adrenaline wasn't enough to keep the distance between her and the howling wolves as big as she'd like it to be. Now they were close enough for her to hear their breath passing in and out of their lungs, shooting past their bone-crushing jaws and down their windpipes.

She saw Lusine glance over her shoulder and raise her brows in pleasant surprise. Part of Casia wanted to lurch forward and smash that glowing face of hers into the dirt they sprinted on, but she knew she would never get close enough.

Besides, those wolves would rip her apart like a wild rabbit before she could even lay a finger on her. Only bones left behind to crunch between killer jaws.

Sweat poured from her forehead, beads of it brimming with fatigue and with terror for the beasts that hunted her for sport. Her muscles burned with every step she took, pushing herself forwards to keep going and going until she could finally stop and breathe again.

Her throat clamped tight as she realised they were running towards a dead end. Before them, a sharp incline rose from the ground, climaxing at a rocky hill with an old, forgotten brick tower surveying the land from its tip.

Casia watched in begrudgingly undeniable awe as Lusine, without missing a step, leapt and scaled the almost vertical incline. In moments, she was atop the hill, staring down at Casia with her hands on her hips as she approached the same incline.

"Don't think, just do!" Lusine called down to her, seeing the hesitation in the very rise and fall of her shoulders, the way her boots hit the ground. She could have smelt her fear from a mile away. She knew for a fine fact that her wolves were lapping up every second of it, breathing it in like a man breathes in the sickly sweet rose of his woman.

The chase was their game and they played it without a hitch.

Casia heard those words, registered them and chose to ignore them as she quickly came upon the incline.

She knew it was now or never as she drew in a breath, feeding her blood with oxygen as she mimicked Lusine's startling jump and latched onto the side of the hill. Scrambled as her grip failed, but hauled herself up through preference of ripping her hands to shreds on rocks than letting herself fall into the jaws of monsters.

And then, she was there atop the hill with what many would consider another monster, just as deadly as the two who swarmed at the base of the hill, howling and scuffing at the floor.

She'd done it. With a breathless laugh of disbelief, she clambered to her feet and prepared to run again. Lusine made no move to do the same. Instead, she clamped a hand on her wrist to prevent her from moving on.

"That was good," Lusine said, barely out of breath, much to Casia's annoyance as her body heaved for air.

"Good?" Casia managed between inhales, bracing her hands on her quivering thighs. "Just good?"

"If we do that a few more times, you'll get faster," Lusine replied, having the audacity to check her nails while Casia's entire body felt as if it was shutting down. "If you're feeling a little worse for wear, you should visit Olea. She probably has some disgusting potion for that."

"Potion? What is this? Dungeons and Dragons?" Casia questioned, straightening up even when her legs threatened to give out.

"What?" Lusine's face delved into confusion, her mind trying to figure out the reference. She may be smart upon the battle field, but Midgardian culture was another matter entirely.

"It's a game," Casia explained in short-hand, not caring enough to even try to explain the concept to her. There were better ways to use the little energy in her body left over after their 'run'.

"Well, if it's a game then it sounds like fun," Lusine said, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her trousers.

"About as much fun as this bloody experience was," She grumbled in response, finally regaining some breath and having to turn away as she noticed the wolves pacing at the bottom of the hill. "Can we leave? I could really do with a relaxing bath after this ordeal."

Lusine laughed loudly, a sound that surprised Casia, and said, "I'll have some fine wine sent to your room too, if that'll make up for the shock of my wolves coming for your blood."

"I thought you said they wouldn't bite?"

-

-

Temptaion greeted her like an old friend as she sat down before the desk, still in the clothes she'd run in, to write yet another letter.

Captain,

I didn't think I would write to you again so soon and I know this isn't ideal. Believe me, I'd much rather be lounging on your couch in the shirt I stole from you than teaching Casia how to fight. Alas, here we are, worlds apart.

I feel as though I should warn you that you will probably receive quite a few of these short, incoherent letters with too many words crossed out and sentences restarted. You are just one of those people I can't find the right words for, it seems, but I can't stop wanting to write to you.

This would be significantly easier if I could just speak to you in person. Perhaps when I know that I do not need to savour my magic for protection, I will do just that.

In terms of training, Casia is fine. Fine, but not amazing. I am racking my brain for ideas, but something is holding her back. Whatever that something is, it's got to go before she can regain complete control of herself. Otherwise, there's no point in continuing with the training I'm spending my time doing instead of exploring Midgard with you.

I wish you could write back to me,
-Volkov x

-

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13.6.18