A month after the Earth-wide spread of tsunami events, the world was still recovering from the disasters that the rather unexpected phenomena caused. The theories around why such an oddity happened ranged from underwater bomb experiments to the alignment of planets or even the end of the world as we know it.

 

However, while everyone seemed preoccupied by the recent happenings, one certain individual was not bothered in the slightest about it all, probably because he was the sole cause of the tsunami. Ah, and there was also the fact that he was really focused on searching for something, or rather someone.

 

Despite the eyes of many passersby being buried in their phones, marvelling at the various theories circling the wide web, a great bunch of those walking down the street along the unknowingly disaster-bringer turned their heads to stare at the one in cause.

 

He was a curious presence that seemed to have the ability to taint the curiosity with ease by simply being there. However, this seemed to be none of a bother for the fiery-haired silhouette that gracefully danced his way through the busy street.

 

His body was long and lean, draped in dark tones of grey clothing; his neck, almost abnormally elongated, peeked over most of the people around, while the eyes, a light shade of pink, searched thoroughly. He was none other than Jörmungandr, one of Loki’s, the God of Mischief, children; the middle one, to be more precise.

 

“She must be somewhere close. I can feel it,” Jörmungandr mused to himself while someone gasped at his side. He took a left on the closest street and followed the presence he was after.

 

It was to his disappointment when, out of all places, he had to find himself on a university campus. It was buzzing with students and teachers, equally mesmerised by his distinguishable silhouette, worth of a gracious floating shadow down the alleyway.

 

“This doesn’t make it any easier,” Jörmungandr thought to himself, and with the most silent excuse, he broke free from a group of people. He was not aware what the person he looked for was exactly like, but a gut feeling told him that once he’d set eyes on her, there’d be no trace of uncertainty.

 

“A-ha!” Jörmungandr exclaimed, causing a couple walking ahead of them to jump in surprise.

 

The fiery-haired one slithered through the busy alley and made his way to a bench, where two students were seated; one of them was browsing her phone with furrowed eyebrows, probably deeply tangled in one of the theories making rounds online, while the other just stared blankly ahead of herself.

 

Jörmungandr stopped before the sulky one, whose eyes peeked up, somewhat annoyed that she had been interrupted from her daydreaming.

 

“Hel!” he said with the broadest grin as he opened his arms, partly expecting for the girl to either jump straight into his embrace or at least react at the sight of him. All Jörmungandr got in exchange was only an arched eyebrow and the curiosity of her friend.

 

“Hell is where I will send you if you don’t move out of my way. I was having a moment,” she protested in a monotone voice.

 

“No, I meant—Hel! As in… You!” Jörmungandr took a step back, pointing both of his hands towards the seated girl, who was visibly neither amused nor excited.

 

“Ehm… Excuse me? Maybe you’re looking for someone else?” the other girl lowered her phone, partly worried and partly curious about the person before their bench, who was already attracting more looks than either of them would’ve liked.

 

“Excuse me, I don’t remember asking you anything,” Jörmungandr snapped, shooting the girl the shortest but sharpest glance.

 

“Nobody asked you anything either, and here you are, still annoying us,” the so-called Hel girl added as she stood up. She wasn’t much shorter than Jörmungandr; she had straight, light-toned hair draping the sides of her face like heavy curtains, framing her sickly pale features and partly hiding the vitiligo covering half of her face.

 

“Hel, my beloved sister, you’re causing me pain,” he gasped in a false attempt of playing hurt.

 

“I didn’t know you have a brother,” the other girl joined the pair. She was greeted by both of their glaring eyes; even without knowing from the start that they were related, now she could clearly tell that the two shared at least some personality traits.

 

“Hel actually has two brothers, and now we should get going and find the missing one,” he snatched his sister’s wrist and without a farewell strode away, dragging the girl after him. It was only for a few steps, however; once his sibling brought herself to a halt, it felt as if a massive gravity pull abruptly put a stop on his confident walk.

 

“But our day is not finished! We still have three courses to go, Eloise,” she called for her freshly stolen classmate. Much to her relief, she watched her friend return while the still nameless sibling lingered in place, staring at them. “You can’t just come and take her away like that.”

 

“And who are you to plan Hel’s schedule?” Jörmungandr approached once again, having one of his eyebrows twitch up.

 

The girl squirmed for a moment, then took a breath and spoke. She was not going to be intimidated. “I’m Maddie, and she’s not-”

 

“Not your business, yes,” Jörmungandr cut Maddie off, while his eyes drifted to his sister once again. “Hel, I’ve been looking for you for eons. You can’t just turn your back to me for some silly course.”

 

“Could you be at least respectful to her and stop calling her that? Her name is Eloise.”

 

“Elo-who now?” Jörmungandr blinked in confusion, immediately thinking that there may have been an error. “But it couldn’t be a mistake,” he frowned thoughtfully. Maybe she just succumbed to another identity while having both her mind and status stripped off herself ever since she had been cast down to Midgard, or Earth, as humans called it.

 

“Let’s go,” Eloise said to her friend after throwing one last glance to the one that called himself her brother.

 

“We cannot lay down hidden anymore, Hel. Not while they’re all having it their way back home. Not while our father is trapped somewhere far from us and everything else he ever loved.”

 

“Look, we’re in the middle of the...”

 

“No. You’re in the middle,” Jörmungandr argued with Maddie, pointing a finger at her; the girl seemed to be keen on standing by her friend’s side. “She must be under a binding spell of some sort,” he thought.

 

“Good afternoon,” a fourth voice, belonging to an older person, joined the conversation. “Is everything all right?”

 

“Yes, professor. We were just getting ready to leave for a course,” Maddie jumped in right away, grateful to the unexpected save. She watched the man offer Eloise’s brother a suspicious look before he departed with a soft nod of his head, wishing them a good day.

 

“I’ll see you later, Hel,” Jörmungandr held his position while the two girls walked away. He received no reply, but a single glance over the shoulder from Maddie, who seemed to be set on believing anything else but what he had to say about his sister.