3 | 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐃 ▹ LOKI LAUFEYSON

i. the norns

A quiet sigh escaped Urd as she set her work down. She looked up at Amora for a moment before offering a forced smile.

"Yes, each string is a living being."

"How do you..." Amora waved a hand towards the strings. "Choose when to tie them."

Urd took a few strands in her hand. "With the strings I bind fates. People whose lives and fates are closely connected are tied together."

Amora smiled, wondering whose fates she was tied to. She imagined her strand and Loki's tied together, binding them for centuries. If only it were still so.

Her eyes fell down on the loose string on the ground, having not yet been tied together. They wound through the foliage as though coming from the base of the Yggdrasil tree.

Amora frowned. Some of the ordinarily white strands were beginning to turn black.

"What does it mean," she asked, "when the strings darken?"

"It means it's time to cut them," Urd said simply.

The breath seemed to leave Amora's chest. Imagines of Loki's string turning dark and being cut short flashed through her mind.

Amora shook the thought away. She was not here to dwell on the past; she was here to learn of the future.

Urd watched her silently before returning to her weaving. An awkward silence fell as nothing more was said.

Amora shifted. She was used to being around people of power. She had lived with them. But this was different.

She glanced over to Skuld.

The dark-haired witch's runes shone darkly in the sunlight. While most were foreign to Amora, she recognized a few of them.

Home. Family. Growth. Death. Rebirth.

But many were still foreign to her.

Perhaps Skuld can teach me about them, Amora thought.

Skuld looked up from her carving, and Amora froze under her hard gaze. The witch snapped her eyes back to her work, only pausing to tug one of her black sleeves down further.

Amora turned back to Urd as the Norn continued to weave in silence.

"Thank you for...tolerating me." Amora cringed at herself, ducking her head to look down at her hands. She felt like a child around these women.

Urd stopped in her weaving and looked up at her. "I'm glad that you are here, Amora."

Amora's head snapped up. "Really?"

"Really." Urd's lip turned up slightly. "You belong here."

"How did you come to be here?"

Urd shook her head, her eyes grew distant. "It's been so long that it is sometimes hard to remember."

She set her tapestry down once more, leaning forward and propping her arms on her knees.

"The Celestials chose my sisters and I. Before, the universe had been in chaos with no reason or balance. We provide those, not guided by anything other than duty."

Urd glanced up at the Yggdrasil tree. "But there is still some imbalance, something that we must fix."

Amora leaned in closer. "Is that why I'm here?"

Urd pursed her lips and regarded the sorceress for a moment.

"Now is not the time for revelations," she said, picking up the strings, "Now is the time for learning."

She held one out to Amora.

Hesitantly, Amora reached out and took it. As soon as her fingers wrapped around the strand, images danced across her vision.

A girl—a Skrull girl—fleeing with her parents. The memory was drenched with fear.

Just as quickly as it had come, the fear dissipated, replaced with peace.

The Skrull girl—now, a woman—shifted to hide her green appearance.

She saw a bright city, people in uniforms, a raven.

Amora gasped as she was jolted back to reality; the string fell from her grasp.

"What was that?"

Urd smiled; it was the first genuine smile that Amora had seen from her. "That was a life, one of the many that we deal with here. And we decide what happens to her."

Amora carefully picked the string up. There was no onslaught of memories this time, only a familiar knowledge. Like she knew this woman.

Urd held out another string.

"Shall we begin?"

* * *

Alright! Amora is in Yggdrasil!!
I am so very excited to introduce the Norns!

As you all know by now, I am extremely open to thoughts and feedback, so please let me know what you have thought of this first chapter.

Since I have officially started my summer, I'll be able to update much more often.

And don't worry! There'll be more of Loki in the next chapter!

Don't forget to vote and comment!