fic: the salt skin 3/10 [thor, r]
It was when she was helping Darcy with the data read-outs that Jane had asked for her assistant to compile, that Sif heard it. Puente Antiguo was a small town and she already knew the sounds of it, the rhythm of it. What she heard now was unfamiliar. It was an echo of a sound that warned her a large convoy was heading towards them.
Leaving Darcy, she went to peer out the windows.
Large dark vehicles kicked up dust and sand as they headed up the street towards them. Sif looked to where her sword, glaive, and armour stood propped up by the wall. The throwing knives in her boots pressed against the material of her jeans.
Not looking away from the approaching cars, she called out. "Jane, I believe you have company."
"What?" She heard Jane hurry to stand by her side and when the other woman saw the convoy, she sighed heavily. "Darcy, Agent Coulson and SHIELD are finally here," Sif heard Darcy squeak something that sound like --pod, "Can you please stick the dirty dishes in the sink?"
"On it, boss!"
Sif gave a sideways glance to Jane. "She called you boss."
Jane shrugged. "It's a nervous tick."
But Sif could see it was more than that. "You two do not seem to like this Coulson and SHIELD much."
"It's not that; not specifically. They’re just very much a government agency and operate like one too. Me and Darcy would barely be a second thought to them if Thor hadn't come along." She reached up and pulled her pony tail out. "Even Erik has higher clearance than we do."
"I see." She didn't, but felt she understood well enough. It was hard being a woman in a world seemingly run by men. Sif understood about that too well.
Jane grinned up at her and smoothed her hair as the first of the dark vehicles stopped outside. "I hate politics." Then she went to the door to greet the short, stern looking man that approached.
As do I, Jane Foster, Sif thought to herself. She had been raised at her mother's knee in the Aesir high court, even if she ignored most of the lesson. Stepping forward she reminded herself of that and plastered a thin smile on her face.
-
“It’s nice to see you again, uh,” Agent Coulson looked to Jane and Darcy and the latter piped up with a helpful, “Lady Sif!” And a wink to Sif.
Sif schooled her face at Coulson’s reaction, merely nodding in greeting. “Sif is fine.”
He nodded. “Okay, Ms. Sif. Welcome to Earth; again.” He let the last word hang heavily around them hinting at the situation they were in.
“It’s been illuminating to say the least.” She gave a tight response like a solider would give an army commander. Coulson seemed to appreciate that.
“I can imagine.” He moved around the room, looking through Jane’s notes and the papers stuck on the boards bored, like he had seen them before; what Sif saw was a man taking in information and filing it away. Maybe she had dismissed this Agent Coulson too quickly. “So have Ms. Foster and Ms. Lewis been good hosts to you?”
Next to her Darcy made a rude face and would have probably said something had Sif not stopped her, a gentle hand on the shorter woman’s shoulder. “They have.”
He turned, his face carefully smooth, “That’s good. So you would say you’re comfortable here?”
“I would,” Sif said. She eyed the men that stood by the door with their weapons tucked into their jackets.
“And if they were to move?”
At this Jane stepped forward, her eyes flashing at Coulson’s words. “What do you mean move? My work here is very important and very sensitive. You just can’t move me-us!” She waved a hand towards Darcy when the younger woman cleared her throat pointedly.
Coulson’s face stayed controlled but there was a kindness he let shine through. “Dr. Foster, the project is still yours but from your new developments people have become concerned. Your work is very sensitive and you’re very far from any proper SHIELD facilities should anything happen to you here.”
The words without protection were left unsaid but Sif heard them loud and clear.
Apparently Jane had too.
“So you think that because I don’t have fifty SHIELD agents fumbling through my lab every day I’m ill-equipped to handle what happens here. I didn’t have agents when that metal monster came and we were just fine.”
“Dr. Foster,” Coulson said gently, his lips curling slightly to the side. “You had Thor.”
Jane took one half-step back as if struck by an unexpected blow but recovered in an instant. “And now I have Sif here. She can handle things. Can’t you!?”
Having Jane’s temper turned on her surprised Sif for a beat but she met Jane and then Coulson’s eyes. She smirked. “Of course. Some even say I’m better than Thor.”
Darcy’s quiet ’burn’ did not go unheard by anyone. Coulson did not address her though, or Sif. He addressed Jane.
“I can see you and Ms. Lewis are well protected Dr. Foster, but the liabilities are too great. And while we were lucky a friend of yours came, Ms. Sif’s arrival isn’t the only concern SHIELD has in regards to you. She has merely moved up a time table. The project remains yours, but SHIELD will be sending personnel to move you and your team to a secure facility tomorrow.” He already had started to fiddle with his slim black phone, pressing a series of buttons then holding it to his ear.
Jane bristled. “Where?”
Coulson didn’t look away from her as he signalled his team to move out. “Tomorrow morning, 1100, they’ll be here, Dr. Foster. We’ll see you in Colvis tomorrow afternoon.”
His parting words came as shock to the three women in the room.
Jane blinked once, twice, three times and then rushed out after him. Darcy was on her heels but Sif held her back. “Let her speak to him, Darcy.”
“He,” Darcy pointed angrily to the man on the other side of the window. “Just kicked us out!” She exclaimed, arms crossing tightly across her chest.
While Sif understood Darcy’s anger, she had to admit the shock had already worn off and she saw the situation as a warrior not just as guest, “No, he relocated us. We are too exposed here, Darcy.”
“Too exposed! It’s the middle of the desert-” The last word trailed off quietly.
Sif arched her eyebrow at the realization flickering through Darcy’s face. “Yes, exactly. You are quiet literally in the middle of nowhere.”
“They didn’t seem to care before.” Darcy pointed out.
“I believe it’s because they had no cause to worry before.”
It took a second but Darcy got it. “They think you’re cause to worry.”
Sif did not know what this Agent Coulson and his people thought but she knew what she would think if it were her. “First, I would be insulted if they didn’t.” She winked which had Darcy rolling her eyes at her, “I do not mind; it’s a sound strategy. Keeps us all close. And no, I don’t think I am the only cause of worry.”
Darcy pouted, leaning against one of the tables. “Fine. Maybe Colvis has a Starbucks.”
-
When Jane came back in she looked tired and disgruntled. Darcy didn’t miss a beat as she herded her friend off to the couch Sif called a bed, sat her down, and started talking to her. Sif stayed where she was, watching Coulson and his men leave. She was no good at comfort; and trusted Darcy to take care of Jane and say just what the other woman needed to hear in order to help her focus on her task once more.
As the last dust cloud of the agents’ cars disappeared from the streets of Puente Antiguo Sif let her shoulders drop and headed back to her friends-Friends? Hmm, did she call them that now? Yes, she did, she decided. They were unlike Thor and the Warriors Three but they had become no less important to Sif.
She laughed with them, ate with them, and thanks to today she knew that had Coulson truly threatened Jane and her work, she would have made him reconsider his decision, despite whatever merit she saw in final decision. Darcy and Jane were too exposed here by themselves. The other day when they opened the Bifrost, they had been lucky it was her they pulled through, when it could have been any manner of other creatures or dwellers from the other realms.
They were clever and quick, but they did not know the dangers of the realms like she did. And it made her sick to think what could have happened had someone else, something else, come through.
This was smart choice, strategically.
But Sif knew strategy wasn’t all.
As she approached the couch Darcy turned and grinned at her, hair flipping over her shoulder. “Being it’s our last night in Nowhere’s Ville, New Mexico, I’ve convinced Jane to have a little packing party tonight. Wine and pizza and more wine. What say you, Sif?”
Because she understood what Darcy was playing at she grinned widely and clasped her hands over each woman’s shoulders.
“Excellent idea, Darcy.”
-
Jane was back at work forty minutes later, not willing to lose the whole day thanks to Agent Coulson’s visit, and had Darcy remind her to tell her when it got to be seven so they could begin packing up the lab. Darcy saluted, and whispered to Sif that it was best if they let Jane deal with things for a couple hours before they started packing the equipment.
Darcy took the time to do some of her own work that did not relate to Jane’s and so that left Sif alone for the rest of the afternoon.
While Midgard’s sun did not affect her, it was too high in the sky and she preferred her evening runs. Glancing to where her amour and weapons were being kept she headed over to them without a second thought and picked up her glaive. They had shown her the roof on her second day. It would do.
Training always cleared her mind.
-
”You’ve always been quick on your feet when it comes to thinking, but are you when it counts?”
His smile reached his eyes, and then his stance shifted so quickly she barely caught it. The jab would have gotten her right in the ribs if she hadn’t moved and caught his wrist to block it just in time.
“How do I measure, Lady?” The look in his eyes was as smug as his smirk. She hated when he called her that; it always sounded like he was mocking her but she did not know how.
She lashed out, lifting her leg to connect with his side. He merely side-stepped it and dropped to sweep.
“We shall see, Odinson.”
It was difficult to properly spar without an opponent, but Sif’s memory had always been strong. She still knew how to feint and counter Loki when he wasn’t even there.
He measured up.
-
That night as she ran she stopped and stared up into the sky again. The stars were still unfamiliar. The formations were all wrong and she yet still looked for Jaxsara out of habit.
“Heimdall,” she called, knowing that while she would get no response his eyes would turn towards her. She waited a beat. And another just to be sure.
“Heimdall, I do not know if you’ve been watching me often, but I am fine. Truly. Tell my mother so, should she ask.” Licking her lips, she looked back to the town, then up again. “Tell Thor she is well. That she does not give up and it’s very possible he does not deserve her.” She made sure to inflect extra teasing in her voice for Heimdall was not known for his humour.
A desert wind whipped around her and she closed her eyes, inhaled.
She was still so unused to Midgard’s smells.
“I miss how Asgard smells, looks, but I fear it will be some time before I shall set my eyes upon it again.”
Opening her eyes, Sif looked away from the stars and let the wind rush around her as made her way back to the town. Wondering exactly what a packing party entailed of. She learned:
A lot of wine.
-
Closing and packing the rest of the lab took most of the morning and as Jane flipped the lock on the doors Darcy saluted the building.
“Ye old auto dealership we knew you well! I’m sorry for the time I threw up on the roof, but Erik should never make margaritas again.”
Sif laughed. Jane rolled her eyes but a fond look graced her face. “It was a good place. Maybe we’ll come back.”
It was clear neither woman really believed it but they wrapped their arms around each other and started towards Jane’s van. Sif helped load some of Jane’s more sensitive equipment and her armour into Jane’s van and then sat next to Jane in the front as Darcy stretched out in the back.
“Good-bye, Puente Antiguo. You were great. Sorry about the metal monster!” were Darcy’s parting words as they left the town.
As they drove away, the SHIELD trucks leading the way with Jane’s van in the middle pulling the mobile habitat Jane slept in, and a smaller black truck behind them, Sif watched the desert as they drove. Music filtered quietly through the device called ‘a radio’.
Nobody felt required to fill the comfortable silence.
She did not know what this Colvis would look like but she knew she would miss the desert. Funny how used to it she became in the few days she had been on Midgard.
They drove for hours and when the SHIELD trucks finally led them into what looked like a very well protected fort Sif knew they had arrived to Jane and Darcy's new home. As they were waved through the gates, Sif took note of the armed men and how they patrolled the perimeter. She grinned to herself when she saw at least four weak points in their formation. Well, they were only mortals.
When Jane finally stopped the van, Sif half-turned and shook Darcy gently awake from her nap. The young woman blinked and yawned reminding Sif of a small cub. "We there yet?"
Sif nodded. "We have arrived."
"Up and at'em, Darce!" Jane hopped out of the van and made her way to direct the SHIELD agents as they unpacked the trucks.
By the time Sif and Darcy had joined Jane outside, she was in a deep conversation with a SHIELD agent no taller than Sif, who looked at Jane like he did not know what to do with her. Darcy bounded over and Sif's eyes narrowed at how the agent’s eyes trailed over Darcy, but he looked less nervous than before.
"Those are sensitive materials!” Jane was exclaiming as Sif got within hearing range.
"Look, just tell your goons to treat everything in those trucks like they're your mother's prized heirlooms or you will not like the consequences." Darcy spoke, smiling gently, which Sif had learned was a very dangerous smile.
The agent grinned, "My mother's or their mother’s?”
"Whichever one will scare them the most." Darcy said and then added ominously, "Or else."
"I'm going to need something to back up that 'or else'." The agent said, his dimples flashing, and as Sif could see that Darcy was battling for a proper threat. Sif stepped forward at once.
"They'll deal with me." Sif walked up and stood at her full height. The agent moved step back a little. A solider assessing another solider.
His response was cut off by another voice.
"Dr. Foster, I see you've arrived with no trouble." Coulson's voice came from the left and they all turned to him as he approached. The agent nodded, "Sir."
"Agent Barton, I see you've met our new arrivals."
This Barton's smile was quick and his nod quicker. "I have, sir. I didn't know they were travelling with a personal guard though." He cocked his head towards Sif. She quirked an eyebrow in response.
Coulson did not miss a beat. "Yes, Ms. Sif is a new addition to Dr. Foster's team." He turned to Jane, "I take it all is in order."
Jane crossed her arms, "It most certainly is not! Look at how your agents are treating my equipment! These are not toys, Agent Coulson."
Coulson looked behind him and then motioned Barton forward. Barton nodded and headed over to the trucks.
"That should do it," Coulson said. "Your lab is this way. I'll escort you."
Jane did not stop glaring at the man, but it wasn't as deadly as before. "Fine, thank you." As Coulson started to lead them away Jane gave one last glance at her equipment.
Next to Sif, Darcy breathed. "Wow. Coulson is ice cold."
Sif had to agree.
-
Sif found that the fort was less a fort and more like a labyrinth made of silver metal. If they had thought the gleaming surfaces would remind Sif of Asgard they could not have been more wrong. Asgard was warm with its deep bronzes and gold curved structures; this place was cold and sharp. Built like a blade, Sif thought as Coulson handed them thin pieces of malleable papers covered in a sheen. He called them ID badges though they seemed more for access than identification, Sif thought. He swiped them across the small black devices that seemed to be at every door to get through. Sif, Jane and Darcy followed him.
It was two levels and three complicated turns later that Coulson stopped at a set of wide glass doors. He swiped his badge across the black box and the doors slide open.
They walked in and found they were not alone.
A man was waiting for them at the other end of the room. The man was older, looked even older than Coulson, and he stood wearing a brown jacket, hands in his pocket. When he looked up, his eyes filled with warmth as they looked over Jane and Darcy, but something else passed over his features as he regarded Sif.
Sif tensed. The air in the room seemed to change.
"Erik!" Both women exclaimed and rushed over to the man, enveloping him in hugs.
He embraced them back. "Hey, see they finally let you move out here."
"Yeah," Jane laughed, "Is this where they've been keeping you?"
This Erik looked away from Jane, but his face remained soft. "More or less."
Darcy pouted and hugged his arm, "We've missed you. You make the best pancakes."
Erik laughed and for a second Sif could forget the uneasy feeling that had passed over her when he had looked at her before. Jane and Darcy clearly thought the world of this man and it was obvious he had affection for them as well. It must have just been the instinctive protection tendencies that had clashed in both of them, Sif reasoned.
"Well it seems you weren't alone for long," he said, nodding towards Sif.
Sif fought the urge to cross her arms.
Jane grinned and waved her hand in the air like it explained everything, "It happened a few days ago. You know how it is. Lots of hard work, one breakthrough, a little luck, and the right place at the right time. Next thing we knew, Sif was hitting the ground."
Erik only nodded and extracted himself from Darcy's side. His eyes were wide. "The Lady Sif," he murmured and blinked. "Loki cut off your hair."
Sif frowned. "That made it into your tales?"
Erik cleared his throat and nodded, seemingly uncomfortable, "It seems so. You are also the goddess of fertility and earth."
At this Sif laughed, full bellied and deep. Mortals.
He blinked, but his lips curled in a manner that made her uncomfortable, "They’re wrong?”
Taking control of her laughter she forced herself to soften towards this man that Jane and Darcy seemed to trust, but whose presence had her on edge, that Jane and Darcy seemed to trust. “Very much so. I believe your tales have confused me with my mother.”
“Ah.”
“Yes.”
“It’s nice-an honour to meet you at any rate.” He extended his hand. “Erik Selvig.”
Sif eyed it and the man, but she could not see any reason to distrust him, though something inside her ate at her as she looked upon him. Something she could almost place. She took his hand and shook it. “As well.”
From behind them Coulson spoke for the first time since they had entered the room. “Well now that we’ve all made our introductions I’ll be leaving. If you have any questions, Dr. Foster, let Dr. Selvig know. He’s aware of how the base functions. I’ll speak to both of you later.”
The doors slid shut behind Coulson and Jane immediately peppered Erik with questions. Darcy hopped to claim herself an area to call her own and Sif stood, taking in the room.
It had a cold nature like the rest of the base. Glass windows, smooth, thick grey walls, metal tables, and no sense of warmth whatsoever. She narrowed her eyes at the man, Selvig. He didn’t feel like a threat but there was… something. Sif made herself walk around the room, taking in its shape, its smell, getting familiar. She set the things she had been carrying since leaving Jane’s van, heavy with her armour, on one of the metal tables.
It would do.
Then feeling a pair of eyes on her, she spun around, searching in the direction where she felt the gaze.
Erik and Jane were in deep conversation over at one corner; neither looked at her.
Darcy was setting up her own little area.
There was no one else in the room beside them.
Yet…
There was an undercurrent of something in the room. A shiver went through her and she felt as if a whisper of fingers had suddenly trailed down her neck. Her hand flew up to clamp over the spot where her skin still tingled. Her eyes darted around, but there was nothing there.
All of the muscles in Sif’s body tightened.
She did not like this place.
-
The remainder of the day was spent unpacking, making sure things were to Jane’s specification, getting familiar with the base, frowning over the lack of Pop-Tarts and Lucky Charms - Darcy and Sif, respectively - in the cafeteria and getting settled. Jane managed, of course to get some work in. It was nice to have a bed again, Sif had to admit, but the quarters that SHIELD gave them didn’t have the oversized windows that would let the sun filter through in the mornings. There was no way she could run in the desert anymore, the wind was shut out from the base.
It was closed off and secure, but part of Sif thought: cage.
That night shadows fell heavily over the room as soon as she shut of the lights and Sif slept fitfully with dreams that had her tossing and turning all night.
-
”What are you doing here, Sif?”
“Loki?”
“Why are you here? Why did you come?”
Eyes snapping open with a jolt, Sif woke with his name stuck in her throat.
The room was dark and cold. She fingered her sheets and sighed. Dreams of Loki weren’t unfamiliar for her, especially since his fall, but tonight the dream had felt different. Almost as if she could have reached out and touched him while in it.
Awake now, she could not relax her body enough to return to sleep and so she stayed were she was, staring at the dark ceiling on her thin bed, counting the steps of the guards that patrolled the halls, until the small digital clock shaped like a frog that Darcy had given her croaked signaling it was time to start the day.
Loki, why can I not stop thinking of you, Sif sighed as she flung the sheets from her body and strode to the bathroom.
[ part four]