Misfits

Taryn woke up incredibly angry. Her mind had been too occupied the past few days to really think things over, but the thought she woke up with was infuriating. She didn't want to see Ahrima when he knocked on her bedroom door that morning, but she held her tongue as they began her lesson. All of her attempts had been stronger than she intended them to be throughout the practice. At one point, she stopped what she was doing and spun toward Ahrima.
"You could have visited," she blurted finally, unable to contain it anymore. "While I was growing up. You could have used your Bifrost thing to visit. To watch me grow up. To let me know my dad cared enough to see me. You could have visited instead of just having your gate keeper watch me for you," she said, voice growing angrier.
"Taryn, you have to understand," Ahrima sighed. "If I had traveled to Midgard to see you, your life would have been too complicated. You would have wondered why I never stayed," he tried explaining.
"No, you have to understand. I would have rather known you existed and have a complicated family life than to feel like I did. You have no idea what it was like to feel as abandoned as I did," she said, growing more frustrated with every passing second.
"Your mother and I did not know what we were doing, Taryn. We did what we thought was best for you," he said, eyeing the small fire that was steadily acting up with Taryn's rage. "You are in no condition to be practicing at the moment. Your lesson is over. I will leave you to your thoughts," he added, not wanting things to get even worse. He dismissed himself, and Taryn remained, fuming where she stood. She didn't know what to do with herself, she was so angry. She let out a frustrated groan and dropped to the floor, leaning against a pillar. She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms tightly around them, and concentrated on trying to relax. Someone clearing their throat quietly brought her back to reality. She looked up from the ground to see Loki standing a short distance away.
"You look troubled," he noted, approaching her slowly.
"It's nothing," she mumbled, turning her gaze away from him.
"It does not look like nothing. If it were nothing, you would not be crying," he countered. Taryn wiped at her cheeks, surprised to find they were wet. She didn't even notice she was crying.
"I'm not sad, if that's what you mean. I'm mad," she said. She was too embarrassed to look up at him, so settled for looking at his boots instead.
"May I ask what it was that angered you enough to shed tears?" he wondered.
"It's nothing," she repeated, tightening her arms around her knees even more.
"It is not nothing, Taryn. Nothing does not make one cry," he said quietly, squatting down in front of her, bright green eyes curious.
"Will you stop pointing out the fact that I was crying?" she snapped, glaring up at him. "It makes me feel pathetic," she added, once again dropping her gaze.
"I apologize, I meant no disrespect. I am simply curious," he said. Taryn sighed.
"Well. You're right, it's not nothing. But I don't want to talk about it with someone I hardly even know," she mumbled.
"That is understandable," Loki said softly. "Walk with me, it may distract you from your thoughts," he then offered, rising to his feet and holding his hand out to Taryn. She let him pull her up and the two began to walk aimlessly around the grounds.

"What was it like in there? If you don't mind my asking," Taryn asked after a short while.
"To put it simply, there were occasions where I would have rather died than be put through reliving my actions again and again. It was awful," Loki replied, his green eyed gaze growing distant at the thought.
"Did you learn your lesson?"
"I believe my lesson has been learned for eternity," he said. She looked at him.
"I'd like to believe that. But eternity's a long time. People would forget the consequences of their actions if they had eternity, and then they'd just go right back around and make the same mistakes all over again," she said. "So don't make a promise you can't keep unless you're positive you can," she added. Loki rested his green eyes on her. She was very intriguing to him. She had a strange way of thinking, it was almost frustrating. He couldn't read her as well as he would have liked. She was a mystery. She held power she didn't even know she possessed, he could see it in the dark green of her eyes. He knew if the right thing happened at the right moment, all hell would break loose. She was a time bomb, and he found himself torn between protecting her from her own capabilities, and seeing what happened when she finally exploded. He was brought out of his thoughts by a small, bitter laugh.
"Do you know what it's like to feel unwanted?" she wondered, her voice light and quiet, as if her mind was in a different land. "Like, there's just that empty, cold pit inside you and it's always there. It's a constant reminder of how worthless you feel. Do you know that?" she said, beginning to pace.
"I know the feeling very well," he said slowly, watching her curiously. She had a weak, pained look on her face as she paced, wringing her hands together.
"I just don't understand what was so hard about it. I don't know why he never took some time to come visit every once in a while. I want to know why I had to suffer my whole life, convincing myself that it was my fault he was gone. I mean, no one ever told me anything. My mom would just avoid the subject if I asked, I wasn't getting any real answers," she said, voice growing more panicky. "I mean, what's so god damn hard about telling a little girl where her father was her whole life? It's not like it was some spectacular event, not in the world I came from where super soldiers can be made and some guy that should have died from gamma radiation just turns into some giant, green maniac. Things aren't that hard to accept in a world like that. That empty pit has followed me my whole life, and my mom never even seemed to care. My dad doesn't seem to think anything of it. Neither one of them seem to think how I feel matters. What did I do to deserve this-"
"Taryn," Loki cut her off. Her pacing had grown more frantic, her voice had risen in volume and intensity, and tears were spilling freely down her face now. She spun toward him when he spoke, looking up at him with wide eyes, looking terrified and hurt and a mix of many other emotions all at the same time. She looked lost. "You cannot blame yourself for the absence of your father. The fault belongs to your parents, and no one else. I know exactly how betrayal feels, you are not alone," he said, voice low, and eyes locked on to hers. She was quiet for a moment longer before lifting a hand over her mouth and breaking down in quiet sobs. Loki was quick to close the space between them. He pulled her against his chest, and her arms were immediately around his waist, holding on tightly. He lifted a hand to her head, running his fingers through her hair comfortingly while the other was wrapped securely around the shaking girl.