The Crime of Protection

by Gloria Martin

  “What do you like to eat, Loki?” she asked.

  “Roasted boar has long since been my favorite,” the Asgardian said, with a slight smile at the prospect of food.

  “Pork it is then. We’ll have teriyaki stir fry.” Alexis got into her freezer and pulled out a pack of pork chops. “I can’t cook like a Viking, so try not to be picky.”

  “I am hardly a picky eater,” Loki said. “I am simply accustomed to higher standards. I dine at the high table, alongside the All-Father and his kin.”

  “And I dine at a coffee table with my cat, Coconut,” Alexis said. “Different standards, I get it, but you will just have to learn to get over it.”

  She went into her kitchen to begin cooking. It was half an hour later that she returned to find Loki lounging on the couch. She set a plate on the coffee table.

  “Sit up you ungrateful bitch,” she said, shoving her over. Loki wrinkled her nose and looked angry.

  “How dare you speak to me in such a tone, Midgardian! I should have your head!” she screeched.

  “But you have no powers so good luck with that, now eat your food,” Alexis said, rather peeved with her guest. Loki tucked her long red hair behind her ears and looked down at her plate.

  “What is that?” Loki asked. It was like no food she had ever seen before and she couldn’t help but be rather disgusted by it.

  “Teriyaki stir fry with rice,” Alexis said. “Try it, it’s good. Tomorrow I’ll see about a roast. I can’t just magically roast something. It takes like all day. Be grateful I feed you at all.”

  Loki stared blankly down at the plate. The small white grains looked like maggots and made her sick to her stomach.

  “Don’t be a baby. Just eat it,” Alexis said. She spooned some pork into a small dish on the floor. A puffy white cat seemed to come out of nowhere and began to devour the pork in the bowl. Loki looked at the puff ball of an animal in surprise.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “This is my cat, Coconut,” Alexis said, petting the feline’s soft white fur. “She’s pretty friendly if you want to pet her.”

  Loki looked at the creature. She was unsure. It ate with such ferocity. In a way, although she knew this creature was feline, the way it ate reminded her of her son Fenrir. Poor, sweet Fenrir. Tears came to her eyes as she thought of him.

  “Hey... what’s wrong?” Alexis asked. “The food can’t be that bad.”

  “Your cat made me think of my son, Fenrir,” she said softly. “You seem very knowledgeable of the old tales... so I don’t need to explain to you.”

  Alexis did know about Fenrir. She had never thought about it from Loki’s perspective. Fenrir had always seemed like the bad guy. He was a giant wolf that everyone was afraid of. She never stopped to think that to Loki, that was his son. Loki wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She truly seemed upset.

  “If Coconut bothers you I can put her in the other room.” she said.

  “That’s not necessary. It’s just... when Fenrir was born he was about that size. He was just a little pup, but he grew so fast. He didn’t do anything wrong. Everyone feared his size and for that he was chained and left. He trusted Tyr, and he was betrayed. My sweet little puppy.”

  Loki began to cry. She covered her face to hide it, but her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Awkwardly Alexis brought an arm around Loki. She pulled her into a gentle embrace.

  “I can’t imagine what that must have been like,” she said softly. “I knew the story... but I never realized how upsetting that must have been to you.”

  “He was my first born. I loved him so dearly and they put him in chains. Then they banished my younger two children... Jormungand... I could visit him. He’s in this realm. Could we? Could we go to the ocean and see my son?”

  “Will he... recognize you, in this form?” Alexis asked.

  “He will know me,” Loki insisted, now rather excited.

  “Well you can’t just summon a giant serpent out of the ocean in broad daylight. It will cause mass panic!” Alexis said. She couldn’t believe that she was actually starting to believe him. She felt like a fool. Perhaps this was some sort of elaborate prank and a fake snake would come out of the water to scare her.

  “We could do it tonight; I must bring a present for him... Perhaps some veal…” Loki said, her eyes shining.

  “Look, things here on ‘Midgard’ cost money. It costs money to travel, and it costs money to buy veal... would just regular beef do? It’s cheaper. And I swear to god, if I buy you a chuck roast and you toss it in the ocean for no reason I will kill you.” She looked exasperated. “I... I’m kind of starting to believe you. I want to believe you I think... It’s sort of exciting.”

  “I do not understand why it is so hard for you to believe me. You have horseless carriages, a magic box that shows illusions, and can cook with no use of fire that I can see. Is it so hard for you to believe that the old gods may be real as well?” said Loki.

  “I... I want to believe it,” Alexis said, tucking her dark hair behind her ear. “I love the stories, and you seem so sincere. I just... my better judgment doesn’t want to let me believe it. I guess I’ll find the truth out if we travel to the beach huh? You still haven’t touched your food.”

  Loki looked back down at her plate. “I am... Unused to this sort of food,” she admitted. “I will make you a deal. If I eat this, you will take me to see my son, and acquire this... Roast for him” she said.

  Alexis sighed. “Technically it’s no skin off my nose if you don’t eat, you’ll just go hungry,” she said. “However... I’ll do it. I want to know once and for all what is true.”

  Loki smiled and nodded, looking once more down at her plate she took a breath before having a spoonful of the stir-fry. Alexis watched her carefully, wondering what she thought of the food. Coconut jumped up into her lap, demanding to be petted. Alexis did so, as she watched Loki.

  “Hey... if we’re traveling to the beach tonight... I’m going to take a little nap,” she said.

  Loki was busy stuffing her mouth with the food. It was much better then she had expected. She just nodded, mouth to full to speak

  “There’s more food in the kitchen,” Alexis told her, yawning lightly. “Help yourself.”

  Alexis scooped up Coconut and walked sleepily to her room. Loki nodded to her, wiping her mouth of the teriyaki sauce.

  “My thanks,” she said. Alexis stripped off her clothes down to her panties and bra and crawled into her bed with her cat. She yawned. It had been a long day and it was going to be a long night too.

  When Loki finished eating she looked around for a second bed. Unfortunately Alexis was, as she had said, not wealthy. Her apartment only had one bedroom. Loki shrugged. It was not odd for women to sleep together so she crept into the bedroom. Alexis was snoring softly into her pillow with Coconut, the cat on her back as she slept. Loki crawled into the bed beside her. Her body was warm and felt so good. Loki curled up close to her, her arm draping over her bare waist. Her skin was so smooth.

  “Mmmm....” Alexis mumbled, snuggling back into the warm embrace. Loki blushed slightly. The short-haired woman was actually rather attractive when she slept. She looked far more feminine like this; her features were softer and more beautiful. Loki leaned over her and leaned down softly to kiss her. Alexis’ eyes opened and widened as she felt lips against hers. She pushed the red-haired woman away.

  “What are you doing?!” she gasped, holding her pillow to her.

  “I… I desired to kiss you, because of your beauty,” Loki said. “Why are you so upset?”

  Loki looked like a wounded puppy as she stared at Alexis with her green eyes.

  “I... I’m sorry, I over-reacted a bit... but we just... we don’t just kiss people here,” she said, trembling a little bit. “And what are you doing in my bed?”

  “I was tired...” Loki said. “But... you are far prettier than I first thought. Your face is so soft, and feminine”

  Loki reached over to
touch her face lightly, caressing the cheek and going down to her neck. Alexis closed her eyes, her head tilting to one side. It had been a long time since she had been with anyone, and she had never been with a woman before.

  “You’re not... using magic on me... are you?” Alexis felt like she had been drugged.

  “I have no magic to use,” Loki told her. She leaned in and kissed her again.

  “I shouldn’t...” Alexis mumbled against Loki’s lips.

  “Are you a man’s wife?” Loki asked, looking around a bit nervously.

  “No, I am not,” Alexis said. “But...”

  “But what? What’s wrong?” Loki pouted again. “I desire to pleasure you. It’s true you have been very kind to me, and I appreciate what you have done.”

  “Is this how you often repay favors?” Alexis asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Only if the favor is especially great,” Loki said with a smile. “And yours has been especially great, Alexis. You are also very beautiful.”

  Loki watched as Alexis’ cheeks glowed with blush. She smiled and moved closer, scooting along the bed. She kissed her lips, then her ear, then down along her neck.

  “Your neck is smooth and slender,” she whispered as she moved further down. She frowned when she reached the bra.

  “How does this thing come off?” Loki asked, a slightly frustrated with the garment. Alexis was panting softly, but laughed when Loki was unable to get her bra off. She unhooked it, uncovering her small but shapely breasts. Loki smirked.

  “You don’t have much do you?” she asked as she slid out of her own dress, showing herself off. Alexis stared at Loki’s ample breasts and beautiful curves.

  “Odin has a funny sense of humor,” she said.

  “This is how I usually appear as a woman,” Loki said. “Can I help it that I make a prettier woman than you?”

  “Very funny,” Alexis pouted but it was quickly kissed away. The mortal woman shivered a little as firm hands moved down over her body.

  “I’ve never been with a woman...” she mumbled sheepishly. Loki smiled.

  “If I had my magic I’d show you a really fine time, but don’t fret, I can still make you feel good without it,” Loki whispered, snatching one of Alexis’ nipples between her teeth. She sucked and licked at the pert nub of flesh causing Alexis to let out a little cry of both pleasure and pain.

  “L-Loki!” she gasped out, gripping handfuls of long red hair. Loki smirked and began to place kisses further down her body. When she reached her hips she nipped lightly before she pulled down her underwear.

  “What is the purpose of these garments?” she asked. “You have to undress twice. It makes little sense to me.”

  Alexis chuckled a little. She supposed Loki had a point, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it as a hot tongue suddenly violated her most intimate of places.

  “Loki!” she squeaked in surprise. The god pushed her legs apart gently and dug her tongue in deeper. His tongue was quick, and dug in deep. Soon Alexis found herself moaning and panting, gripping at her bed sheets desperately. Her hips ground upward, whimpering cutely. She seemed to recall Loki being called ‘Silvertongue’. She had always assumed it just meant he was persuasive, which Loki was, but this brought a new meaning. She couldn’t last long. It only took a matter of minutes for her orgasm. Loki smirked with satisfaction, but then pouted. Her own body was still hot and needy now. Alexis sat up.

  “Let me show you some magic from our world,” she said. She reached into her bedside drawer and pulled out a blue vibrator. She pressed Loki back onto the bed none too gently and turned the vibrator on, rubbing it against her pussy which was already wet and near dripping. Loki’s eyes widened.

  “Wh-What magic is this?” she whimpered, her hips jutting upward to get more of the tingly feeling.

  “Midgard magic,” she said with a smirk, rubbing the vibrator over the sensitive area. Loki had never felt this way before. She had never had any magic used on her before, but the tingling sensations were very similar to a magic spell. It was too much. She bit her bottom lip.

  “Nnngh!” she whined. “A-Alexis... so good... what... what are you doing to me??”

  Alexis gently pushed the vibrator all the way inside and Loki whimpered. It hurt a little but also felt good as the Midgardian woman fucked her with the toy. Alexis had never done this before, but the sight of Loki panting and whimpering was turning her on all over again. She rubbed herself as she fucked her.

  “Almost there, Loki?” she asked.

  “Ah! Ah... y-yes... Ah... I... I can’t hold on...” Loki whined.

  “Let it go,” Alexis told her. Loki cried out as she orgasmed. Alexis also orgasmed with a little sigh. It felt so good. She laid herself beside Loki, her head on top of Loki’s ample bosom.

  They lay that way for a while, until around 8:00pm. Alexis gently shook Loki.

  “Wake up,” she said. “It’s time to go.”

  “Already?” Loki whined. She wanted to keep sleeping. She was tired after the sex.

  “Come on, lazy bones,” Alexis said, getting up and redressing.

  Loki sighed and slipped into her green dress.

  “Odin always said green was my color. It matches my eyes,” Loki said. “Everyone thinks I am handsome up in Asgard.”

  “You sure that’s not just your ego?” Alexis asked. “We have to stop at Walmart for the chuck roast.”

  “What is a Walmart?” Loki asked curiously.

  “It’s a place to buy things you need,” Alexis tried to explain.

  “Like a market place?” Loki asked. “It has been long since I’ve been to a market.”

  “Well... sort of... I don’t think it’ll quite be how you expect,” Alexis said. “Come on, we need to take the car.”

  Loki didn’t like the car, but she consented. The driving made Loki feel a little bit sick. By the time they got to Walmart, Loki was looking a little green. Alexis frowned.

  “Maybe I should get you something for the motion sickness too,” she said with a frown.

  “Where is the market?” Loki looked around.

  “It’s inside that building,” said Alexis, pointing to the large building. She took Loki by the hand and led her inside. She got a shopping cart and led her through the store. Loki was confused. All the merchants were in the front of the building and nowhere near their merchandise. How did they prevent stealing?

  “This is an odd market place,” Loki said.

  “I told you it would be different,” Alexis told her. “Markets have sort of evolved since the old days.”

  “But how can you be sure no one is stealing the goods?” Loki asked, hands on her hips.

  “The goods have a special code on them. If someone walks out without paying for them, an alarm will sound.” Alexis told her.

  “Well how do the merchants know what is theirs to sell?” Loki asked. “This place is enormous!”

  “It just doesn’t work that way anymore,” Alexis said as she pushed the cart. “Meat is this way. It’s kind of like this. There’s a big important merchant who owns everything. He pays these merchants to sell his things for him because he doesn’t have time. They get paid for selling the items and he gets paid for the items.”

  “That seems like a lot of hassle. He should just sell his things himself,” Loki said. Alexis smiled softly.

  “Yes, he should, but he doesn’t,” she said. She led him over to the meat department.

  “You can pick out one,” she said. Loki began to carefully inspect these plastic-wrapped cuts of meat. Not many of them looked as fresh as what she was used to.

  “Where do they butcher the animals? In the back?” she asked, looking around. She didn’t hear any sounds of animals.

  “They don’t butcher them here. That’s too expensive. They wrap them up tight to keep them fresh and we buy these packages.” Alexis explained. This was becoming tedious. Loki carefully inspected every piece of meat before deciding on a roast. It was over twenty dollars but
if they really summoned a giant serpent it would be worth it.

  She took Loki to the snack department next. She bought trail mix, snack cakes and potato chips before finally stopping by the medicine to pick up something for Loki’s motion sickness since the car disagreed with her so. Loki peered at the medicines. Most of them came in tiny little pills and capsules. This was very strange indeed. She had never seen medicine like this before.

  “Oops! I forgot to pick up some bottled water.” Alexis said. She turned the cart around and went back near the snacks and over to the drinks where there were 12-packs of water.

  “Why do you buy your water in these flasks? Why not get it from a river for free?” Loki asked.

  “River water around here is too dirty to drink,” Alexis said. “Come on, I have to pay for this and then we can go.”

  Loki smiled. She was very excited to see Jormungand. She hadn’t seen him in so long it felt like an eternity. She hoped that he would recognize her. She felt almost certain he would, but what Alexis said did concern her. And what if he didn’t come at all? It would nearly break her heart.

  Alexis paid for the goods. Loki found the paper money very silly. Gold and silver was what they should be paying with, but she kept her comment to herself.

  They went back to the car. Alexis gave Loki one of the tiny motion-sickness pills and bottle of water.

  “Don’t chew it,” she told her. “Swallow it with some water.”

  Loki obeyed. The taste of the medicine was very bitter on her tongue. She made a face.

  “Yeah, you’re supposed to swallow it quickly so you don’t get much of that taste,” Alexis said as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the ocean.

  “It tastes terrible!” Loki said. Alexis couldn’t help but laugh. She gave her one of the snack cakes to help get rid of the taste. Loki looked at the plastic-wrapped cake.

  “It’s so pretty,” she said. “Who makes them?”

  “Machines make them. Zebra cakes are my favorite. Pull apart the plastic. You can’t eat that clear stuff around it.” Loki looked confounded by the plastic wrap. “You just... you just pull it apart at the seam. Ugh! Give it to me.”