Dragonscales

Chapter 11|Comfortable Conversations

I drew small, sharp thorns underneath the petals of my thistle. I often wondered why my parents decided to name me after the flower when there were far prettier or deadlier plants. "Is that a thistle?" Loki looked over at my drawing. I nodded and moved on to shading. "It's very beautiful. Like you." He commented. My face burned at the compliment. I hoped I wasn't blushing. 

My eyes flicked over to Loki, whose attention was on his book, a slight smirk on his lips and light pink dusting his pale face. "Do you... really mean it?" I asked softly. "Yes, darling, don't let anyone tell you any different." He answered. Darling? Where had that come from?  I decided not to question it. "I think you're beautiful too." I grinned. "Thank you." His smile grew from the compliment. 

Tourmaline bounded into the living room and jumped onto my lap, covering my sketchbook. She was currently the size of a large cat. "Wasn't Tourmaline bigger?" Loki asked curiously. "I cast a spell"-I pointed to her choker-"that would allow her to shrink on command," I explained. Tourmaline rammed her head into my arm. I scratched her behind her ears. "So you enchanted the necklace to allow the user to change their size at will?" Loki studied the moonstone. "It's a wonderfully crafted enchantment." I felt my face burn under the praise. Tourmaline hopped onto my shoulder and curled herself around my neck. She made a purr-like sound as I scratched the spot between her horns. 

Loki and I slipped into a comfortable conversation about whatever. We talked about magic, told each other stories from our childhoods, and other things. I was careful not to divulge too much information. Why was I being so careful? 

"...And that's when Thor and I escaped the bilgesnipe." Loki finished telling the story of a camping trip gone wrong. "One time one of my cousins got too close to an unusually large sundew and got trapped. I managed to save him and afterward my aunt lectured us about playing in that particular greenhouse." I said, giggling a little. "What's a sundew?" Loki inquired. "It's a carnivorous plant that traps its prey using sticky hair protruding from its leaves. A very nasty way to die, slowly being digested by carnivorous plant acid." I explained. "I'm glad we don't have carnivorous plants on Asgard, they sound horrible," Loki commented. 

We continued talking until the team got back from their mission. After dinner, I went up to the roof to keep working on my garden. 

*****

Sorry, this update is so late. I've been battling writer's block and busyness. I don't think I'll be able to do weekly updates anymore, but I will keep writing this story. 

~Le Author