Blue Moon| Book 1 | An Avengers fan fiction series| *under editing*

54- Never Smile at a Crocodile (*)

Enjoy!

Chapter Fifty-Four 

~Thea's POV~

I tear myself away from Loki, determined to wipe my eyes and move on. I can't be bothered by these things if I want to live. 

As Thor wipes the blood off his face and hands, I turn my gaze away from the fallen tigress and towards the straight path in front of us. Without looking back, I begin to walk forward. I hear movement behind me, and know that it's Steve. 

"Hey, I'm really-"

"Stop saying sorry!" I exclaim, whirling around. "People need to just stop. saying. sorry. Life sucks, okay? I'm over it." 

Steve looks at me , then says calmly, "I was going to say I'm glad you're okay." 

This shuts me up. "Sorry." I mutter. 

"Stop saying sorry," he grins, refastening his shield onto his back, then begins to radio back to everyone that we are fine. My ears are practically blowing up from the tigress's fatal roar, the sound of my screams, and the approximately ten people yelling in my ear. 

Thor and Steve stay with us on the path for about two hundred yards, and then the paths branch off again. Loki and I are silent, and I lead the way, walking so quickly that Loki has to walk much faster than normal to keep up with me. 

I see more scattered bones around me, but I ignore them, kicking them up with my sneakers and sending them clattering out of my path. Loki doesn't say a word. 

That is, until I nearly fall again, thanks to a tight turn. He doesn't catch me, because I balance myself quickly enough, but Loki doesn't let this opportunity pass him up, "So graceful." 

I am half a second away from smacking him and leaving him here to rot for eternity, or perhaps knocking him off the side of the path and forging an accident, but the crackling of the radio saves Loki's life. 

"Looks like we're going to be moving up," says Steve. "Thor and I have a wall. If you have rope, then use it, but there should be enough holdings to get yourself pulled up." 

"Or some of us can just fly up." points out Tony. 

"Whatever makes you happy, Stark." says Steve. "Anyway, I'm not sure if the wall is going to be for everyone, but that's my general guess." 

Turns out, Steve's right. Loki and I come up to a wall. It looks exactly like a climbing wall in a gym, except for the holders are made of either stone, rocks, or shattered bits of...bone?

"I do not like this." I say, because the wall is nearly straight up- I can see the plateau at the top where the path continues- , about forty feet hight, and very insecure. "I do not like this at all."

"Apologies, kitten, but you do not get a complete say in what we have to do."

"I never get any say." I muter. 

"I do not have any rope. You don't happen to-?" 

"Of course not, who do you think I am, Mary Poppins?"

"Mary-?"

"Oh shut up." My nerves are going full speed, mostly because climbing is not exactly my forte. "You're going first."

"I'm very aware of it." says Loki.

"So you're actually agreeing with me?" 

"Thea, if you do not stop talking, I may have to gag you again." 

"I wouldn't let you." 

Loki laughs shortly. "Thea, your supposed pluck is very amusing."

"What do you mean supposed? I'm brilliant, we all know tha-"