This chapter took me WAY longer than I thought. I'm now dangerously behind in homework.

:)

Darn.

Enjoy!

~Music~

Between the Raindrops (Lifehouse)

~Edit~

Me! :)

Chapter Twenty-Four

~Nobody's POV~

Thea wakes up the next day in the afternoon, around one-thirty. Her head is hurting, but her Asgardian blood is already working, and her stomach is not quite in so much pain, and her toes are not quite as sore. She does have a splitting headache, but she associates this with having thrown up her food the night before.

As she gets up, she smacks her head against Videl's hand, which is apparently still hanging over the bed. She hears him grunt, and then mutter something, probably a curse. Ignoring him, she stands groggily and walks over to the backpack that is still throw, open, on the floor.

She finds a slightly squashed cereal bar, and she devours it in seconds. She feels a little better after that, or at least her stomach doesn't feel quite as hollow.

She checks her stomach; the claw marks are still inflamed, but are already beginning to heal.

She can see the faint, white marks on her skin, scars from the uru knife that Videl had used on her long ago. She has scars on her stomach, on her wrist from her own pain, up and down her arms from practicing with Rani and Fandral, and of course, the circular, ridged scar from the Imeldi a year ago. These scars are marks of her struggles, and something tells her, very vaguely, that there will be more to come.

There is a kitchenette in the corner of the room, and although Thea rummages through the cabinets (Videl groans from the bed that he is going to break her neck if she keeps up that racket), there is no food.

Videl drags himself out of bed about fifteen minutes later, when Thea is eating an apple from the backpack on the floor, leaning against the kitchen cabinet. He greets her with a glare, and then walks into the bathroom. She hears him squawk, and then lament out loud, "My hair, oh God, my hair."

Thea calmly continues eating her apple.

When he re-emerges about half an hour later, Videl is still dressed in the same bloodstained clothes, but his hair is still slightly wet from the shower, throwing drops of water as he shakes his head. Although Thea seems to be healing relatively quickly, Videl looks almost regular again, the only indication of his encounter with the bear his slight limp and the torn shirt.

Thea sniffs, "Did you use shampoo?"

"No," says Videl, "Don't be stupid."

"You smell like lavender. There is lavender shampoo in that bathroom, I know because I threw up."

Videl wrinkles his nose at her imperiously, "That explains the smell."

"You used the shampoo," says Thea, biting into her apple, "You smell like a girl now."

"I smell better than you," says Videl, "You smell like death."

"I've been too sick," she retorts, "By the way, you're the worst patient ever."

"It's not like you're any better," snaps Videl, "You're the one who was calling after your precious daddy over and over."

Thea turns red, and looks away. Their bickering had taken a sudden turn.

"I'm going out," continues Videl, hoisting up the larger backpack, "If you step out of this room, I'll kill you. Fair warning."

He slams the door behind him. Thea slouches in her seat and wills herself not to cry.

After she finishes her apple, she throws the core in the trashcan under the sink. She wants to lie down, but she doesn't want to lie down on the bed- the sheets have some blood stains still, and she's not in the mood to stay in the same place Videl had slept. Instead, she curls up at the baseboard of the bed and grabs the remote control from the nightstand.

When she turns on the television, she flips through the channels haphazardly, not really paying attention, but instead finding relief in the ability to do something, even if it is just as simple as changing channels.

*

Videl walks through the streets of Vancouver. It's freezing, only around ten degrees Fahrenheit, but he doesn't feel the cold. He feels the wind around him, blowing his curls around and whispering in his ears, pointing him in the direction of his prey.

He usually prefers the blood of mammals, which can sustain him, but he can't even find a stray cat from which to feed. He is forced to lie in wait in an alleyway, perched on a closed trash bin like a cat, and then pounce on an unsuspecting pigeon. He repeats this several times, or at least until his muscles feel supple again instead of sore and weak.

Wiping his lips, and then his fingers and rings free from blood, Videl walks out of the alleyway, onto the sidewalk. The city of Vancouver is a beautiful place, with high, snow-capped mountains soaring over the skyscrapers, casting the skyline into a lovely collection of silver, bright blue, and white. The air may be freezing, but to Videl, it is crisp and refreshing. The smells of thousands of people, hundreds of restaurants, and hundreds of cars, filters through his acute nose. As he huddles his jacket over him so that he can hide his face, Videl can feel the body heat from the people around him, the humans.

Videl has always found humanity odd. Velah do not live much longer than the typical human, only lasting a few more decades or so, but he can find no beauty or no interest in their mortal, fragile bodies that can take in so little of the world around him. Every bit of Videl's environment is heightened: he has the eyes of a hawk, the nose of a bloodhound, and the hearing of a fox. He can make out the movement of a grasshopper on a strand of grass, smell the blood from a paper cut, and hear the laughter of a woman a block and a half away. The world through Videl is so vivid and wild and beautiful, he can't see the interest so many of his kind have in humans, plain, useless humans.

Thea, he finds intriguing, if not often annoying. She is a stubborn one, with fight in her blood. When he had found out that she is Loki's daughter, and therefore at least half-Infinity, he had decided that this is why he found her at least tolerable. Humans, he often thinks, have a reason for being at the bottom of the food chain.

He had felt this way until he encountered Leah. Leah is the disruption in his nearly twenty-four years of thought and disdain for humans. The day he ended her life had been the mark of the beginning of something else. As he had looked into the pained eyes of Thea, he had felt humanity for the first time. Humanity, at the very bottom of the hourglass that he was about to tip over and start again.

Leah, however, is the only exception to his rule; he usually abhors the softness in his heart when he thinks about the ghost of the little girl. Usually, like now, as he walks down the street, he feels disdain for the silly humans milling around him, the way they scurry to-and-fro like mice in a maze.

Videl stalks down the street, the rhythmic thumping of his feet something of a comfort to him. His heart and his brain are almost washed out with the pain of the past couple of days. Every time he closes his eyes, the only thing he can see is the splattered blood of his innocent young brother, crimson on the stark white sheets.

Suddenly, his memories flash before his eyes. He is a nine-year-old little boy, all golden curls and a round face and smiles. He is running around the palace courtyard, flying into the wind and through the grass...

"Videl, wait!"

Videl turns around and sees Archer, five years old and toddling around clumsily, running towards him. His face is alit with determination to catch up to his big brother.

Growling, Videl pounces at his brother, and the two go rolling in the soft, sweet grass still wet from the morning dew. Archer is no match for his brother, and Videl pins him down easily.

"You cheated!" shouts Archer, but both children are gasping with laughter.

Videl hears movement from behind him, hears a high-pitched squeal, and then tiny arms are thrown around his leg. He climbs off of Archer, stumbling, and looks up just in time to see a little girl, only two years old, with long, flaxen hair, throw herself on him.

"Umph, Rini!" exclaims Videl as Rini grabs his cheeks with her pudgy fingers. "Get off me!"

Laughter rings across the courtyard. Looking up- and playfully pushing Rini onto the grass- Videl sees two figures walking along the stone path towards them. One of them, dressed in a golden gown, is a beautiful woman with curly, light hair that falls to her waist, blowing softly in the wind. She has bright red eyes, like her youngest children, full lips, and a round face. She holds herself regally. In her arm is a tall man, with stick-straight blond hair that falls down his back, and has narrowed amber eyes, like his eldest son. Agrafina and Mansar, the royal couple of Ardhigiza.

"Father!" Videl immediately stands up and runs to Mansar. The Velah emperor smiles, exposing his fangs, and puts his hand on the top of his son's hair, the curls from which he received from his mother. Videl is the only child with curly hair.

The other children follow their eldest brother, although Rini and Archer run to Agrafina. She bends down to take them in her arms, smiling.

Videl reaches up and fingers the golden cross around Mansar's neck, one of three. Mansar smiles again, "One of these shall be yours, my son. One for both of my sons, and one for my daughter."

"Will I be king one day?" asks Videl bluntly. Even as a child, Videl does not mince words.

"Of course you shall," says Mansar, "This land will belong to you one day, my little prince."

Nine-year-old Videl loses interest in the conversation quickly. Instead, he runs back to Archer and Rini. Rini giggles and wraps both of her arms around his legs, already beginning to grow long and muscular from exercise and training. Videl picks up Rani, stumbling back slightly, and spins her around. Rani squeals again, gabbling in baby talk and trying to grab Videl's curls.

Agrafina and Mansar move to sit at one of the stone benches, Mansar wrapping his arms around Agrafina's shoulders lovingly. The devotion he shows at least to his love is something that his eldest son will inherit, as well as his tendency for passion, temper, and temptation.

Peals of laughter ring across the courtyard as Videl, Archer, and Rini continue to run around and play in the courtyard, weaving in between stone statues, Imeldi servants, courtiers, shrubs, and trees, in a beautiful conglomeration of nature, family, and peace, peace that can only be ephemeral...

Videl shakes his head, curls slapping against his face, and braces himself against the wind as he continues to walk through Vancouver. His shoulders are slumping a little more, and his forehead is creased, now creased in pain instead of bitterness. A single tear runs down his face, freezing against his skin.

Every individual in that happy, golden memory is now dead, except for him. He is the last one, alone and frighteningly so. His beautiful mama, killed by the rebellious nature of a monster. His sister, his innocent little sister that was ruined by lust and fear, killed by her own grief. His father, twisted but strong, killed with the blade of a sword by the sister of one he had indirectly killed himself. His younger brother, his steady, peaceful younger brother, killed by anger and revenge.

And then there is he, Videl, left alone to walk the city of Vancouver, little more than a boy, now the guard of a fourteen year old girl who has been thrust into chaos just as much as he has. The fourteen year old girl who has lost everyone too: her mother, her sister, her brother. And her father, while still alive, has left her.

Videl shoves his hands in his pockets and pushes through a crowd of people, and crosses a street, ignoring the honking of a taxi cab. Unlike Archer, Videl knows his way around cities, and how to behave, even when he is silently grieving.

It is nearly seven o'clock, after hours of ceaseless wandering before Videl's consciousness returns to the reality that is Thea. He doesn't even know if she is still in the hotel room; she could have been found out by hotel staff, by police, by Loki, or, just decided to walk away out of spite. Videl turns around.

Night is coming, casting a beautiful glow around the city, all orange, red, and pink, mixed in with the shadow of the mountain range and the bright lights of the city. Looking up into the sun, Videl closes his eyes and feels a certain feeling of powerful tranquility, even in the middle of a crowded city sidewalk.

On his way to the hotel, Videl's amber eyes look around and settle on a sandwich shop, a Subway. A quick image runs through his brain: of him stalking down another street not quite a year ago, and spotting his current prey, a thirteen year old girl with dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes. How she had cowered away from a window just like this one as he had peered back at her, smiling wickedly, bent on revenge and fury.

Videl shakes his head and then walks into the restaurant. There is a long line, but Videl ignores it and walks right to the front, only stopping to speak to a few customers. A few seconds of looking into his shimmering amber eyes, and they step aside without a word.

"Can I help you?" asks the woman at the counter. She's young and pretty, with olive skin and deep-set forest green eyes. She looks up at him very interestedly; even though he is wind-blown, Videl is still wildly beautiful. Ordinarily, Videl would perhaps have been at least slightly interested in her curvy figure and full lips, human as she is, but he only glances at her as he says, "I'm trying to find something for a girl. To eat."

The young woman immediately looks disappointed, "Lucky girl," she says in a show of coyness.

"She's fourteen," says Videl crossly.

She brightens slightly, "Okay. What does she want?"

"I don't know." Videl silently curses himself for not thinking things through.

"How about..." The girl drums her long, black-polished fingernails on the counter, "I pick something random?"

"All right, fine," says Videl, glancing around him and running his fingers through his hair, a habit he has gotten into as of late.

"Chicken Parmesan Sub sound good?" she asks, typing into the computer.

Videl doesn't have the slightest idea what a Parmesan is, or a Sub, but he replies, "Fine."

"How about a drink?"

"I don't need one."

"How about a cookie? Only sixty-five cents!"

"Yeah, fine, sure." Videl knows he is being rude, but he doesn't care.

The girl rings up the order and names a price, but then, Videl leans forward and looks her right in the eyes.

"You're giving me this for free. Use the tip jar, or take money from the register, I don't care, just do it."

She blinks slowly.

"Your order will be ready in about twenty minutes!" she says cheerfully, the register dinging as she removes some Canadian dollars.

"Good to hear," says Videl snarkily, and then walks out of the restaurant and into the tourist store next door.

*

An hour later, at eight, when the sun has already set, Videl walks back into the hotel room. The claw marks on his chest are beginning to ache again.

It's dark inside the room, the only light coming from the television. Thea is lying against the footboard of the bed, elevating her head with a pillow, curled up, her eyes glued to the screen.

"What are you doing?" asks Videl, putting the plastic Subway bag on the nightstand, which is already crammed with medical supplies, and the tourist bag on the floor next to Thea's makeshift mattress.

"Watching television," says Thea shortly.

Videl rolls his eyes, ignoring the fact that Thea is probably being snippy because she is still hurt from his earlier comment. Videl, however, is not one to apologize, and says instead, "I am now asking you as politely as possible to take a shower. You smell like a wet dog. And I can also still smell blood on you, and I'd rather not wake up to my subconscious fangs on your neck."

"Don't tell me what to do."

He snatches the remote control from her and presses about ten buttons before he manages to turn the screen black.

"Hey!"

Videl grabs the tourist shop bag and takes out a pair of jeans, a plain black shirt, shorts, and a long UBC (University of British Columbia) t-shirt. "And put these on too."

As she protests, he hauls her to her feet and pushes her towards the bathroom, "Clean yourself, idiot. Maybe it'll put you in a better mood."

"I don't want to smell like you," says Thea, clinging to the door frame with determined, thin fingers, "You smell girly."

"For the last time, I did not use that shampoo," says Videl, who would rather have died than admit that he had, in fact, used the shampoo and loved the scent. "Shower. Now."

"No. Don't boss me around." Thea is still clutching the door frame, curling her cracked lips at him. She reminds him of a cat not wanting to take a bath.

She yelps as he pushes her and the clothes fully into the bathroom, shutting the door after her.

"And make sure you wash behind your ears!" he calls, and smirks when she curses at him through the door.

*

When Thea emerges from the bathroom twenty minutes later, she finds Videl lounging on the bed, in the process of wiping his bloodied spear with a paper towel from the kitchenette. He is wearing a white tank top that exposes his muscular arms, and thin pants that hang loose around his narrow hips. She notices that the bedsheets have been turned over, as have a few of the pillowcases and the comforter. There are no replacements, but at least the blood stains aren't visible.

Thea is wearing the UBC shirt, which is so long, it looks as though she is wearing a short dress. It also exposes the two or three still-inflamed slashes right above her knee. Her short blonde hair, still wet, is plastered around her face. She smells distinctly of lavender.

Ignoring Videl, Thea walks over to the Subway bag. She unwraps the sandwich and sniffs it. "I hate red sauce," she informs him, not the least bit interested in telling him that chicken parmesan is one of her favorite meals.

Videl looks up from his spear and raises his eyebrows at her.

"A rabid dog would probably care more about a hapless squirrel then I would care about if you like the sandwich or not. Just eat it so I don't have to put up with your whining."

"Good analogy," says Thea, biting into the sandwich, "You're a rabid dog."

"Ah, ah, ah, don't chew with your mouth closed."

Thea flips him off. Videl pretends not to notice and serenely goes back to wiping the blood from his spear.

"We need to go to New York," says Thea a couple minutes later.

She is deliberately chewing with her mouth open as she talks, but Videl apparently chooses to let this slide, "Why?"

"I need to let people know I'm okay before Max has the entire country looking for me."

"We're not in the United States. In case you haven't noticed, we're in Canada, idiot."

"Canada then too," says Thea stubbornly, "I just need to let them know."

"Oh perfect," says Videl, "We'll just suddenly appear at your house-"

"Apartment."

He ignores the interruption, "And then just inform that lot of stupid humans politely, 'I'm sorry for worrying you, but my lunatic of a father is chasing after me, and I really need to go, just wanted to let you know that I'm okay and that I put you all in danger by telling you, hope you have a great day dying!"

She gives him a sour look, "I was going to write a note and put it in my room for someone to find. Or Stark Tower. That would be better, someone will probably find it."

Videl snaps his spear back so that it's now a dagger again. "Let me think about it for a couple minutes...no."

"Videl!"

"I'm sorry, is 'no' a foreign word to you?"

She crosses her thin arms over her chest. "No."

"Finally. Some signs of intelligence."

"I'm serious!"

"So am I."

"You're being an ass!"

"And you're being an idiot! Again!"

Thea humphs, and takes deep breaths, knowing that she will never get her way if she gets Videl riled up. Slightly calmer, she says, pushing a wet strand of hair from her eyes, "It will be for less than five minutes. In and out. And this way, the government won't be chasing after us, it will just be my fa- it will just be Loki," she finishes lamely.

"Loki will have government agents working for him soon, you mark my words," warns Videl.

"So? It's better than having a whole army of people after us! I bet they'll find us within days! They're professionals. I've seen them track people before. They're good."

"You do realize it takes an ample amount of energy for me to Jaunt across giant, continental landmasses, right?"

"It'll just be quick!"

Videl raises his eyes to the ceiling and groans. Thea's heart leaps.

"Fine," he snaps, "You'll have two minutes. Two minutes. And no, you don't get to talk to anyone or see anyone. The less they know, the better. Loki is smart, and will have ears everywhere."

Thea holds in a sigh of relief, "Okay. When will we go?"

"I'll sleep tonight, and if I'm rested, then we'll go tomorrow. We've been here long enough."

"Where are we anyway?"

"I thought you knew we were in Canada."

"Where in Canada, you idiot?"

"Don't call me idiot," he says, "That name is only reserved for me to use on actual idiots, like you."

She glares at him, very deliberately taking a bite of chocolate chip cookie and very deliberately chewing with her mouth open.

"We're in Vancouver, Canada. British Columbia, if you can read your shirt."

"Fine," says Thea, grabbing the remote control and lying down on the bed backwards, so that she is resting on her elbows facing the television and her feet sticking in Videl's face. Videl swats her feet away.

She turns on the television and flips through the channels before settling on one, one playing Tangled.

"What are you watching?" asks Videl, "And why is that lizard squeaking?"

"I'm watching Tangled," says Thea, "And that's a chameleon, and his name is Pascal, you uncultured swine. And he is squeaking because he is trying to break up an argument between Flynn and Maximus."

"Well it's annoying me," says Videl, "Turn it off."

"Go sit and have a spa day in the shower if you want to complain," says Thea, "I'm watching a movie, and you're being loud, so also shut up. I'm not in a good mood."

"You're never in a good mood."

"You're one to talk. Now shut up."

"I'm sorry," says Videl, talking loudly, "Are you in charge of me?"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!?" Thea exclaims in an enraged, seriously annoyed voice.

He regards her through narrowed amber eyes. She looks furious.

"Girls," he comments, rolling over on the bed, "I will never understand them."

*

Thea is asleep before Flynn and Rapunzel ride in the boat during the lantern festival. However, Videl, who is not asleep, watches the the shaggy-haired young man and the long-haired young woman sing in the boat as the golden lanterns float around them beautifully. He sighs, mostly in annoyance at the perfection at the scene, and then takes the remote from Thea's hand and presses ten more buttons before the television goes off (the red square button).

He glances at Thea. Then, he pushes her to the right side of the bed, and throws the comforter over her body. There is space on the bed next to her small frame, but Videl climbs down onto the makeshift mattress and lies down there instead.

He falls asleep with his dagger still clutched tightly in his hands.

Please VOTE and COMMENT!

:)