Chapter 4
~Soul Forge~
 
 

Azure lay upon the flat white table in the medical bay.  The room was dark, bur the table below her provided a pale light.  Azure was laying on her back with a towel below her, the blood and puss draining out onto the cloth. 

      As Azure lay there a nurse lifted her hands in the air and sand like tendrils sprung to life around Azure.  She flinched at the first sight of the foreign substance, but became greatly intrigued when the golden tendrils began to form a replica of her body.

      The nurse furrowed her brow as she widened the spectrum and drew her focus on Azure’s bones.  “They seem to be twice as thick as any normal set of bones.”  The nurse observed and Frigga leaned over to see.  It was true, the skeleton of Azure was vastly different than any they had seen before. 

      “What is that?”  Frigga asked, momentarily taking over and zooming in on the area in Azure’s back that required attention.  They could see blood build up, and inflammation around the wound, but there was also a small device of sorts drilled into her spine. 

      “That will have to be taken out.”  The nurse spoke, narrowing her eyes as she examined the image from all angles.  The device wasn’t large, only the size of a fingernail, and nearly a centimeter thick. 

      A nurse approached Azure with a syringe full of narcotic that would enable Azure to go into an unconscious state so they would be able to work on her.  But no sooner than Azure had laid eyes on the needle that she narrowed her eyes and bore her fangs.  The image above her reacted identically but the bones in her body shifted in an out of place, her chest area expanding ad she breathed heavily. 

      Frigga, noticing her distress, knelt beside her and placed a hand on her forearm.  “Breathe.”  She said, pressing her hand to her chest.  Azure’s pupils dilated and her body began to slowly relax.  The nurse continued her approach but Azure held up her hand. 

      “Tēm.” (no) She said and unzipped the first two inches of her high collared body armor, and pointed to the side of her neck with two clawed fingers.  “Dõrpõ.”  She spoke and Frigga slowly nodded (here).  The nurse looked hesitant but leaned over Azure and wiped her neck with a disinfectant. 

      Azure’s legs quivered with anxiety and she screwed her eyes shut as the nurse began to stick the needle into her skin.  Frigga winced as the prong went all the way through her skin and stuck itself into a vein before the nurse began the injection.  Azure’s eyes rolled around beneath her lids and she lifted her hands, using her arms like the hands of a clock. 

      “We’ll have to hurry.”  The nurse said and pulled the needle from her neck, going to full up another syringe.  “Her body is already trying to fight the narcotic.”  

      The team of nurses gathered around the table and began to undress Azure.  They removed her body armor and turned her over, covering her with a towel as they prepared a tray of medical tools. 

      From what Frigga could see, Azure was strong, pale scars marking up her forearms and shins along with her left side, back and abdomen.  Most of the scars were old, and from what they could see the large wound was the only fresh cut.  The wound itself had been tied back together with wire, but it had come loose from her collision with Asgard's trees in the north facing woodlands. 

      A nurse cut the wire and proceeded to trim off the dead flesh before drying up the wound and pulling the muscle apart to find the device on her spine.  From what they could see, the tissue and flesh was puffy and inflamed, possibly infected.  Frigga couldn’t look for the majority of the time when they delved further into her flesh until finding her spine under knotted flesh. 

      The heart image above Azure’s body began to beat a little faster but the nurse injected her with a second dose, avoiding disaster. 
 
     “I’ve got it.”  The head nurse said and took a small flat headed blade, turning it in the screw until it began to loosen.  And once the screw was out of the way, the nurse lifted the device and placed it on a small platter before sighing and stepping back. 

      The whole procedure took a little over an hour, not including the time it took to drain and fill the gap in her bone and stitch up the wound after cleaning the area.

      It had been two hours since Azure had gone under and she began to wake when they transferred her to a soft portable stretcher where she lay with a large bandage across her back.  Frigga thought it unwise to leave Azure’s side, seeing as no one else would be able to communicate with the strange girl the way she could. 

      Thor peered in at his mother, brow furrowed.  She sat next to the recovery bed, her hand hovering a couple inches over Azure’s head, eyes closed as she searched the girl's mind. 

      As Thor watched observantly, he was obvious to the footsteps behind him.  A hand was laid upon his shoulder and he turned, meeting the eyes of his brother Loki. 

      “Father said mother was here.  Is she alright?”  Loki asked stepping around Thor and entering the room, stopping when he saw his mother sitting beside a stranger. 

      Thor placed his hand on Loki's shoulder and pulled him back a step.  Loki's brow furrowed as he read the room, taking note of Thor’s uneasiness. 

      “Who is she?”  Loki whispered, gesturing to Azure who lay sleeping, brows knit with worry even as she slept.  “What is wrong with her?” He asked, unsure of why his mother was so intently wandering through the mind of the unconscious girl.

      “We don’t know.”  Thor mumbled quietly, as Loki turned to face him.  Loki and Thor were polar opposites, with Thor being blond, blue eyes and muscular while Loki was raven haired with green eyes and a more slender figure.  He was quick and cunning, relying on intelligence and with over brute strength. 

      Azure’s ears flicked and her clawed fingers twitched at her side.  Frigga removed her hand and opened her eyes as Azure’s eyelids began to flutter open.  Thor shifted further into the room, eyes narrowed as Azure breathed in sharply. 

      Frigga gripped Azure’s hand and turned to see Loki and Thor standing in the doorway.  “Be careful, she’s only just coming out of it.”  Frigga warned the two cautiously.  Azure was awakening much quicker than she should have, but every part of her body was screaming for her to become more alert. 

      “Breathe.”  Frigga whispered and placed a hand on Azure’s chest as her rolled her head around the pillow, slowly taking in the room. 

      “lõnēp.”  Azure mumbled hoarsely and grunted, using her arms to prop herself up.  (Breathe).

       Frigga rose to her feet shaking her head.  “No, you need to lay down.”  Frigga said and Rose her arm vertically before laying horizontally, trying to convey that she needed to remain on her back.

      Azure understood what the woman was saying, but she was in no mood to follow any kind of direction.  Azure held a clawed hand out towards Frigga, motioning for her to stop as she breathed hard, back straight and taught. 

      Loki and Thor made too sharp of movements as they approached and Azure whipped her head in their direction.  She held out a hands towards them too as she slowly stepped down from the bed.  Frigga could see the urgency in her eyes as she walked slowly across the floor to the small table that had the small device atop it in a tray.  Frigga had planned to ask her about it, but this did not seem to be.

      As soon as Azure reached the table she picked up the small device in her fist and turned, showing it to Frigga.  “Lõfõ.” Azure said, eyes looking at the small device as if it were poisonous.  (Bad).

      Frigga shook her head.  “I don’t under-.”  Before Frigga could finish Azure took the device and screamed as she three it across the room.  It slammed into the wall, shattering into a dozen miniscule pieces.  Azure stepped back breathing hard and pressing her back against the wall.  Frigga turned back to look at her as she sunk down against the wall, her eyes staring at nothing in particular. 

      Frigga quickly knelt down beside her, but Thor spoke up.  “Don’t.”  he spoke to his mother.  “She’s not safe.”  Frigga looked from her beloved eldest son to Azure, a stranger who was unpredictable and feral.

      Azure looked up at Frigga as she slowly stood and shook her head, eyes turning red as she slowly took Frigga’s hands and placed them on either side of her head.

      Loki watched inquisitively as Frigga knelt down before Azure feeling the strong pulse of energy coming off of the two of them.  He could tell his mother was using magic, and he too wondered what it was like inside the head of this stranger, one who was so compulsive and frightened.

      Frigga didn’t have to wonder any more, for when she closed her eyes she saw a blinding light.  Frigga’s brow furrowed as Azure tried to show her the reasoning behind her upset and animalistic behavior. 

      There was a man standing there, but she could barely see him through the blurred vision and blinding light.  A large hand grabbed a place just below her line of sight and before she knew it, Frigga felt the sense of vertigo that Azure had felt at the time.  She saw the world turn as Azure was slammed back onto whatever surface she lay upon the man above her talking instinctively, but she could hardly hear a thing with the garbled languages that swirled in Azure’s head. 

      There was a glint in the distance and Frigga briefly saw the outline of a scalpel, and Azure’s body began to squirm before she was rolled over onto her stomach where she writhed and howled, voices echoing around her. 

      Frigga let go of Azure and stepped back, eyes wide as she stared at the girl who was shaking with terror where she stood, eyes gazing off into the distance as her body seized. 

      “Mother?”  Loki whispered, placing a hand on his mother’s shoulder, never taking his eyes off Azure.  “What did you see?”  He asked as she placed a hand to her mouth as she pondered over the image.

      “What have you shown her?”  Thor asked bitterly, stepping closer to Azure.  At his tone she looked up at him with eyes alight with fire.  She really hated how loud he was, and due to her sensitive hearing, he may as well have been screaming in her ears.  As Thor took a step forward Azure slowly got to her feet, ears flicking back as her lips curled up.

      “Thor.”  Frigga spoke, halting him in his tracks.  Thor turned back to look at his mother who shook her head.  “I don’t think she knew she was coming here…” she whispered and hesitated a moment.  “She was trying to escape.” 

      Thor relaxed his grip on his hammer and looked from his mother to Azure.  “Escape from what?” He asked.

      “I don’t know.”  Frigga whispered as Azure met her eyes… “Only she can tell us.”