The Scientist (Loki x OC)

Pt. 12: The First of Halloween

Once he was seated, she slipped her headphones back on and continued her activity. Loki continued to look over from time to time. Luna set her gaze off the edge of the page for a bit. The frequency with which she moved her hand grew less and less. She observed the culmination of her efforts and was happy with it.

"Hey Loki, what day is it today?" Luna said, signing the bottom.

"First of October," he replied, not taking his eyes off of his book. Luna gasped excitedly and wrote the date down before standing up.

"Really?! Loki, it's the first day of Halloween!" That got his attention.

"You must be mistaken. Your All Hallows Eve has always been at the end of the month."

"No, no. In this house, Halloween is celebrated all month long. Oh, are you ever in for a spooky time." She left for a brief moment to put her things back in her room. Once back in the room, she shooed her hands to get him to move so she could sit beside him on the couch. "I have to ask, though: you're not a guy that scares easily, are you?"

"I have looked death in the face more than once and come back from it every time. Very little frightens me." Luna clapped her hands together once and smiled widely.

"Good." She got up and crouched down to search through her movies.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because, for every night of October, I watch one scary movie. And since you're staying here, you get to be my first viewing partner." Luna spoke, not bothering to look away from her task.

"Lucky me," Loki mumbled to himself. However, Luna heard him clearly enough.

"You got that right," she said back in a deadpan manner. "So, what was Halloween like on Asgard, if you had anything like that at all?"

"We had our own celebration of sorts, yes. We called it Winter Nights."

"'Winter Nights'?" She scooched over and sat near him on the floor. "A little pretty for a time to think about the dead."

"It was never intended to be grim. For the Norse folk, death was never far away. For humans, the time was used to honor the gods as well as their ancestors. The weakest animals were slain to mark the end of the harvest and offerings were left to appease the spirits."

"Sounds a little like the Mexican holiday Dia de Los Muertos."

"Yes. Not as colorful, but yes."

"And what did you do, you know, as the gods in this story?"

"I personally didn't take part in the festivities. My father would take what was left out for him, and the dearly departed and bring them back to Asgard for our own feast for the spirits."

"What did you do, personally?" Loki raised his eyebrows.

"What do you think I did?"

"Oh, I don't know, something mischievous?" Luna shrugged her shoulders in an exaggerated manner.

"Wherever would you get that idea?" Loki said, his voice filled with sarcasm.

"I honestly have no clue." Luna mimicked him, the two of them laughing a little.

"I tended to visit the villages celebrating Samhain and trick those that wouldn't produce anything."

"And what would you do if you did get something?"

"I would take my spoils back with me and hide them in my room. Depending on where I went, I would get so much that I wouldn't have to go to the dining hall for an entire week."