Hunting for more

Under the vast skies that stretched themselves above the Whole of Asgard, the winds whipped through the tall pines that swayed like an emerald sea, and in a clearing, the Goddess of Death walked with purpose towards an immense black shape. It was akin to a mass of rocks: one that breathed.

Hela's hand sunk into the hirsute fur of the giant black wolf that had been her companion through countless battles, pulling a bit in her frustration to the point that she earned a low growl of irritation from the massive beast.

She stared back into the burning green of his eyes and smiled almost impishly, the nervous energy that thrummed through her since meeting Frigga waning a little now that an idea came to mind: "So, with this peace, we'll get bored pretty soon, won't we?"

Understanding what she was getting at, Fenris shook himself awake and rose to his feet, his shoulders rising to a height that was twice that of the woman, only to stare at her expectantly, his tail whipping erratically behind him with a power that was enough to move the blades of grass: as always, he was ready.

"Let's make this a memorable hunt, shall we? Who knows..." Hela didn't finish the period, she didn't wish to poison the moment with thoughts about how her duties would change with this peace business that had Odin so enthralled. She simply jumped on the wolf's back, and the forest immediately blurred around her: the crisp air flushed her cheeks, and she smelled deeply the depths of the forest, all of her senses peeled as if she was in competition with her companion.

Fenris chuffed disdainfully from time to time, refusing to waste his effort on an unworthy challenge, and Hela didn't really oppose his choice, as she shared his need for something that made her blood boil.

Eventually, they left behind the deep forest and traversed the wild plains: but what challenge could even the mightiest bear offer to the great Hela and the formidable Fenris? No track on the ground, scent on the winds, or faint noise made them find anything noteworthy, and besides the occasional fright that sent the potential prey stampeding in the distance, nothing truly caught their interest.

Nothing, until Hela caught something in the way the world felt around her: something ethereal and beyond the senses of any less powerful than her, something that made Fenris sniff the air curiously as he came to a stop amidst a rocky outcropping: the plains continued endlessly, and yet, she pulled on her companion's fur. "Do you feel this?"

She closed her eyes while Fenris stilled under her, and she rocked gently from side to side, as if the entire Realm was oscillating under her: "This is the swaying of Yggdrasil, we're close to one of the secret paths... I wonder."

With intelligence that was beyond anything an animal could hope to have, the black wolf seemed to follow her lead, and tilting his head, he descended from the rocks, hesitating from time to time only to be guided by Hela's knees towards the next step: and with a transition too smooth to be properly understood, it as if the world tilted, and the ground became made of wood with vast, deep grooves.

The bark of Yggdrasyl was a dangerous terrain to traverse, but the powerful paws of Fenris managed to find a way forward, until the sky revealed itself in all of its impossible beauty. The branch they were upon stretched itself like a winding road as large as a sea, until it met, far in the distance, like mountains that never ended, the trunk itself of the living, cosmic nimbus that was the World Tree.

Over the edge of the branch, there was an endless, distorted ocean of pitch darkness, with stars gleaming through only to disappear, as if small fishes dragged by currents too powerful to be contained. Far in the distance, emerging from the ocean-shaped universe that churned with mesmerizing, unpredictable patterns against the stability of the World Tree, there was a branch that surely led to the secret paths to another Realm. She couldn't tell which just yet, but by the Norns, if that wasn't an invitation, she didn't know what was.

"Well," she tightened the hold of her knees on the sides of the giant wolf, "what are we waiting for?"

With unbounded energy, Fenris rocketed forward once more, his claws finding a sure hold on the treacherous terrain, and Hela could only laugh, Mjolnir held tightly in her hand, and the wind that went from the top of the World Tree to its roots carrying with it an otherwordly, ethereal quality. Time lost meaning as they raced on the great tree, the winds carrying too many scents to allow them to distinguish each one, but both were enjoying the simple actions that held the promise of future bloodshed.

Fenris was the first to notice the tracks: on the uneven bark of the branch they were on, they suddenly identified scorched remains of what had been some sort of animal, and deep grooves etched into the terrain by great claws: the ashen smell that lingered despite the air currents was enough to point out that whoever had been, it had come from Muspelheim.

The tracks came and went, but Fenris followed them with the single-minded dedication of the hunter, and Hela understood, just as they reached the end of a long uphill stretch, where their prey had gone: "That's Midgard."

Still impossibly far in the distance, she distinguished the banal solar system of a world populated only by mortals that had barely managed to tame fire. With a blink, her perspective changed, and she realized that what she had thought was a branch was instead the trunk of the World Tree: in a sense, they had been running down the main body of Yggdrasil, but what hold could gravity hope to have upon such a space-time anomaly? The cosmic, living nimbus that was the world tree spanned an infinite distance, and even if Hela should have felt the void of deep space all around her, there was only the magically twisted presence of the solar winds coming from far away stars, the faint and constant thrumming of spinning pulsars and the even fainter hum of black holes.

For a moment, the magnificent practicality and extreme usefulness of the World Tree as a way to easily conquer and dominate the Nine faltered in Hela's mind, and with her murky green eyes scanning the impossibly far distance, with Fenris alive and merry under her chasing the tracks upon a world she had never had any reason to visit before, a primal sense of wonder briefly stirred in the depths of her soul.

Shaking her head, the firstborn of Odin returned her attention to the world where the tracks led: it was nestled into the wood of Yggdrasil's trunk in a mind-breaking madness of multidimensional complexity: from her perspective and distance, it looked like a mostly blue sphere held like a pearl by the wood of the living cosmic nimbus that hosted the Nine.

Once on that world, she knew, she'd have to find another secret passage to move unseen back to the Eternally Golden Realm, or rely on the Gatekeeper, thusly notifying Odin of her little escapade. She grimaced at the thought: she'd have her hands full dealing with his last political madness even without him being enraged for her little hunt, and even if the orders of her king only prevented her from leaving the celebrations of the wedding by the Bifrost, she was hardly cowardly enough to hide her little rebellious hunt behind a technicality.

She was Hela, and she did not hide.

Still saddling Fenris, she briefly turned, and straining her eyes, she could make out the distant golden presence of Asgard atop the World Tree: it was like a faint light held underwater, if the water was made of a black liquid and twinkling, shifting stars. The trunk of the tree was like a dark bark hewn by forces beyond understanding, and even if there were undoubtedly countless ways to any of the Nine, the only one she could perceive now was Midgard in front of her and Fenris' path.

The spectacle alone was almost worth the rage of her father, but a rumbling, eager growl by the giant wolf under her brought her mind back to the task: "You're right!" Hela chortled with a slightly savage, almost unhinged, smile. "Let us hunt!"

Fenris moved once more down the trunk of the World Tree, gravity and the nuances of distance a frail, distant thing where they were. Soon enough, they reached what was undoubtedly Midgard, and just like when she had spotted one of the temporary secret paths on the World Tree, her perspective shrunk and tilted oddily: at once it was a gradual and stark transition, as the two hunters went from running on treacherous bark older than what she could quantify, to a deep jungle.

Once more there was a normal sky above her, one that hosted a lone yellow sun that cheerfully tore through the few clouds, and dirt under Fenris paws: plants of any kind littered the ground, and a cacophony of animals assaulted her ears with their noise, only to quiet down as they registered the presence of a rpedator that surely outclassed any other on that backwater world.

The giant wolf chuffed in irritation at having his nose submerged in so many useless smells, but after a second spent sniffing carefully, he found once more the ashen trail of a Muspelheim creature that promised to be incredibly challenging to face: maybe it was one of the great serpents that lived in the depths of Jotunheim, which had dragged itslef through fire and brimstone only to meander back on Midgard, or something else still. In any case, Hela was enjoying every second away from the meaningless platitudes of Asgard's court.

From the way in which Fenris devoured the distance between one set of tracks and the next, she knew that her friend felt the same excitement.

The deep jungle left soon space for open plains, and with a clear path made of uprooted trees and deep divots in the ground, and she lowered herself on the back of his friend as he sped up, the world blurring past them as they kept the sun that was just beginning its descent through the sky on their right.

And almost as soon as Fenris had begun to truly run across the vast distance that separated them from their unknown quarry, he had to stop, because someone, no, something, barred their path.

In the guise of a tall, muscular man with dark skin, clad in sturdy leather that kept a hint of fur around the pauldrons, knee, and elbow guards, the being stood with a spear made of metal resting easily by its side, and blazing amethysts flames in place of eyes.

The first instinct of Hela, like always when it came to meeting any kind of obstacle, was to urge Fenris forward, or to jump ahead herself and crush the opposition. But in the open plains, with the jungle not far from them, and the mountains in the distance, the human-like figure felt anything but. And when it spoke, the daughter of Odin clenched her hand on Mjolnir, ready to fight as her lips peeled back, imitating Fenris's standard growl.

"Who are you, who dare to stand in my way?" a faint frown appeared on the face of Hela, even as she felt her heart begin to beat with the song of battle. Perhaps the hunt she had planned would turn out to be something much more interesting: she had been bored to death on Asgard, and now a surprise fight plopped down during her most worthy hunt.

"This vessel is merely my Champion of his generation." the voice that answered rang distorted, as if spoken through vocal cords made of striding crystal, and yet, it was all the more harmonious for it. The man's lips moved oddly in synch with the words that were being spoken, and for a moment, a vaster image superimposed itself on the human: not as a great shadow, but as a vast and sleek, gleaming black mass of fur in the shape of a panther with shining purple eyes.

"I am Bast," one more, the sounds wavered and echoed off each other in a hauntingly beautiful manner, "and your hunt crosses much of my realm, Odinsdottir."

That took Hela back: "You know of my father?"

The image of the black panther wavered and disappeared like mist under the sun, and the man that barred her path smiled sardonically as he idly twirled the short spear he held in his right hand: "The line of Buri isn't one that is easily dismissed, young princess."

"I'm surprised that on this backwater planet there are those capable of actually talking, never mind that you're aware of what happens beyond this speck of dirt." Hela's reply came instinctively, but even so her murky green eyes found themselves glued to the spear that had just gleamed under the sunlight: with her exceptional senses, she had heard the fainted buzzing sound, but it wasn't something that an object moving that slowly could make.

Fenris chose that moment to chuff irritably, bored by the two-legged people talking while his hunt was on hold, but that didn't stop the surprisingly interesting avatar of the goddess from grinning pityingly at the firstborn of Odin: "Yes, ignorance makes one easily surprised."

Mjolnir was ready to be thrown, but Hela found herself oddly enjoying this little banter that the extraneous goddess seemed willing to put up: her enemies only always died in the same, pitiful manner, there was something to be said about an opponent that showed some spine. Before the godess of death could unleash her uru weapon, however, the avatar in front of her shook his head minutely: "Even empowered as he is, my Champion would make for little entertainment, ignorant godling: a mortal's flesh and bones can only channel so much..."

Hela let out a disbelieving laugh: "First you bar my path, now you seek your survival betting on my boredom? Am I truly so easy to predict?" she let Mjolnir's handle slip from her fingers only to grasp the leather that bound it to her wrist, a simple, practiced twist of her forearm sent the weapon made of Uru spinning madly, soo kicking up dust from the dry ground. "You will find that boredom doesn't prevent me from crushing the insects on my path."

"Ah, but in the small moments that you'll spend destroying this vessel of mine your quarry will disappear, and you'll no longer be able to find the creature."

That made Fenris let out a low, almost betrayed snarl: the creature in front of them was surely a predator too, a hunter living and breathing, how could it choose to stop another with no actual challenge from engaging a prey? The immense wolf made to jump forward, but the pressure on his ribs from Hela's knees stilled his instinct.

"I can hunt something else on another day." Hela almost pouted as Mjolnir stilled, her shoulders slumping back slightly before she glanced at the far-off jungle that ran up to the mountains: "I can chase off my boredom by murdering your country, if you're unable to provide a challenge worthy of my time."

"The nature of your power betrays your purpose, Odinsdottir." Bast's avatar replied with a knowing tilt of his head, "And your station, young princess, prevents you from outright beginning hostilities, no matter how short-lived, with my people, who have an understanding with Not-so-young One-Eye."

"I'm hardly young, Bast." even as she spoke, however, Hela felt the excitement for an actual fight or a simple massacring campaign to bleed out and die: the avatar in front of her couldn't lie about something as important as an agreement with Asgard, and while she goddess of death was more than willing to face her own father after her little escapade, hunting something was entirely different from engaging an unknown god. The fact that the god in question couldn't provide an entertaining fight was merely an afterthought, of course.

"What would be the point of conquering or destroying a small, meaningless country on a Realm that already is an Asgardian's protectorate?" the daughter of Odin sighed in disappointment, and Fenris actually rasped at the ground, his unforgiving claws opening it up like it was made of water as his growl grew in intensity.

The amethyst suns that were Bast's eyes turned briefly towards Hela's companion, and a more fierce grin appeared on her avatar's face as his muscles tensed and it turned south: "I understand the call for the hunt, come, I will hunt with you in my Avatar, and there will be peace among us in joined purpose."

Before Hela could reply, the goddess wearing the flesh of the mortal had jumped ahead, almost mockingly leaving her and Fenris to eat the dust.

The giant wolf needed no push to jump forward then, and the hunt had begun once more.

The goddess wearing the flesh of her chosen one burned through the life of her champion in order to keep the flesh from falling apart around its bones, and the process that would undoubtedly cost him his life was enough to make the man run at unthinkable speeds, the amethyst eyes of his patron deity knowing exactly where to look in order to find the tracks that finally led the improvised hunting party towards their quarry.

The spear entirely made of vibranium hummed in the hand of Bast's avatar, the impact of the man's feet on the ground at those intolerable speeds traveling across the body only held together by divine intervention only to infuse the weapon, which soon grew to be a truly formidable thing. It would never be enough to truly strike down Hela, or her monstrous wolf, but a hit from that spear... even she daughter of Odin would feel it.

That consideration and more ran through the mind of the current king of Wakanda as his body moved, puppeteered by his goddess, but even his thoughts, calm and accepting as they were in the certainty given him by faith, stilled when he was made to jump over a short outcropping of trees.

In front of him, endless spires of molten rock led to a humongous serpentine head that bared fangs made of obsidian as lava dripped from its maw, and a scorching heat came forth in a wave, soon to be followed by actual flames that burned white.

In front of the Black Panther stood a wyrm of Muspelheim.

AN

Wow, big ass absence from this one, and I'm somewhat sorry for the very slow updating schedule across all my stories, but real life is what it is, so, we'll all have to suck it up and carry on.

This chapter is more meant to introduce another character than anything else, but I have just begun to make Hela something different than a murder-machine, so I kind of used the situation to force an absence of classical conflict for the time being. In the next chapter, we will explore a bit more and I'll begin to put up the first pebble that will later divert the whole storyline from what the MCU made.

Let me know as always people, both what you think and what you like of this fic!