Stranded [Loki Laufeyson]

Chapter IV

"I don't need to kill you, therefore I won't. If you stand in my way for whatever reason, however," her tone became low and threatening, showing her seriousness of the topic, "I will not hesitate to drive my sword through your skull." She hissed, picking up a small metal box from the table and flipping open the lid. Wires and glowing lights were fastened to the inner sides, two buttons on the floor of the box.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked, the sound of rustling following the question. She turned around, surprised to see him slowly walking over to her, using the wall for support before slowly sitting down beside her. Thankfully, he had put the shirt and hoodie on.

"Don't patronize me." The girl growled, turning back to the box as she pushed the leftmost button. A slot opened up in the left outer side of the box, the shape matching that of the circuit board she had been working on.

"I'm not. I'm well aware that the Nallians used to practically own the advanced technology industry. I've never actually seen one work in person." He rested his chin on his palms and his elbows on his knees, staring at everything on the table with mild interest. She bristled slightly as her hands stopped moving. She was told from the day she could talk that she wasn't to let anyone see her work - something that Queen Lyra had just barely accepted. Her fingers twitched as she set the box down, going for the circuit board and soldering iron. With a wave of her hand, the tool was plugged in and heating up. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad to let him watch. It's not like he'd ever try to recreate her work - one, it's not possible and two, he's royalty, he would never get his hands dirty.

Setting aside thoughts of hesitation, she carefully pushed the circuit board into the slot, tilting the box on its side so she had a better angle. Griffin began to melt solder onto the end of a glowing gold wire and melted it onto one of the ports. This time, she didn't accidentally burn herself. Anyway, when she finished binding three more wires to the circuit board, she pushed the button again and watched as a slot of metal moved to cover the small compartment.

"What is this for?" Loki asked, reaching out to pick it up. Her fingers twitched as he took the box in his hands and looked inside, letting him have a few seconds before taking it back and placing it down.

"This is for my ship." She said simply, closing the lid and watching as elegant, glowing blue lines slowly stretched out around the box's sides, meaning it was activated. Griffin slid her finger along the line in the middle of the top side, the light turning silver before all of them went out. Now, the device simple looked like a dark, dark blue cube.

"Ship? You mean like a spaceship?"

"Yeah. I crashed here three years ago. I've been repairing it all this time. I'm almost done, too." She explained, dropping the box into her backpack.

"This ship...can it make it to Asgard?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"It can go anywhere...Wait, you're thinking of going back there? I thought they imprisoned you?"

"I just need to do something."

"You're not still gunning for Asgard's throne, are you? Because I am most certainly not helping you get there." She stood up, rolling her eyes as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself some coffee leftover from, like, three days ago, after she had quite unashamedly asked the barista at the cafe to give her four large cups filled with espresso with a severe hangover and several bruises around her eye and cheek from where she may or may not have fallen down the stairs that morning. It was stone cold and definitely tasted disgusting, but she chugged the whole pot without hesitation or even a flinch.

"I was never implying that I needed your help. And I am most certainly not going for the throne." She turned around, raising an eyebrow before looking him up and down.