Befitting   von Juju-Chan
================================================================================
                                  Kapitel 7: 
                                  -----------


 Loki had always particularly enjoyed the calm of the gardens a little  farther
from the residence. As child, he had been forbidden to go  there, let alone go
there without the company of at least Thor and  his friends. Well, nobody
believed a man walking a sorcerer's path to  be capable of fending for himself,
at least in Asgard. Not only was  magic itself perceived as the weaker choice
for those too powerless  to use their own strength, a man choosing to become a
sorcerer was  considered effete. Even though the queen had been more
compromising  than most, she still seemed to have the same thoughts as she was
the  one sending Thor along with him whenever he wanted to take a simple  walk
outside. He crossed the invisible boundaries that separated the  interior part
of the residence. It tingled inside his very bones when  he touched and
ultimately passed the floating energy – it was weak  enough to not hurt but he
knew that should the need arise, this  feeble energy could be turned into a
deadly weapon of defense.  Obviously he wasn't banned from leaving the residence
as nothing  happened.

Outside the warmth of Asgard's residence the true climate of this  realm showed.
It was not nearly as cold as Joutunheim but it was far  from the mild,
ever-lasting springtime that ensured the Aesir's  comfort and gave them
limitless harvests at any time. He suspected  this kind of magic to be the
king's doing yet nobody ever said  anything about it. Maybe because it would be
shameful to admit to  their king being a sorcerer as well or maybe because they
never  thought about it, simply accepting this convenience. Loki relished to 
feel this change, the chill that suddenly caressed his bare skin. He  did not
dare to look down, fearing his magic might be too weak to  stop his body from
visibly adjusting once more. How he loathed this  constant fear, ever since he
had discovered his shameful descend. It  had taken but one touch of one of those
monstrosities to shatter the  seal Odin had given him. One simple touch had
bared the dark secret  that had been hidden right underneath his skin, hidden
even from  himself. If only they had never gone to Joutunheim that dreadful day.
 If only the cold breeze stopped to whisper into his heart, not with  the
kindness it had always done when he had been a child but with the  fierce
loathing he suspected to be a reflection of what he was trying  to keep inside.

Following the narrow path that had been treaded into the ground, he  reached a
small and meager forest. He could not recall having ever  gone further than
that. His companions, well, Thor's companions had  never allowed it, claiming it
to be too boring to even bother their  feet walking there. Truth be told, he
never had any intention to do  so, either. The accounts he had read had been
rather clear: Outside  of Asgard's interior parts, this realm had not much to
offer. Enough  wild game for the huntings to entertain the bored warriors
between  wars and to sustain their beloved feasts where there were barrels of 
wine and mead and enough food for anyone to overeat. Loki smirked.  Seeing it
like that Asgard sometimes was a place fit for the dull and  simple ones. He
sighed and sat down to rest on a tree stump. It would  be so easy to leave this
all behind if only he would be able to get  these thoughts from his mind into
his heart. A movement not too far  from him caught his attention: A stag was
racing by and by the sounds  that followed it Loki could only guess what it was
running from.  Wolves, a whole pack. He stifled himself and used whatever magic
he  could grasp in order to remain unseen. They were no actual threat as  they
already had chosen their kill. It was still wiser to not make  them change their
mind, both his diminished magic and the small  dagger he carried being unlikely
to help him defending himself from a  whole pack of wolves. And then they flew
by, six magnificent white  wolves led by an old grey one. Within seconds they
reached their  prey, digging their teeth deep into its side and biting through
its  throat. The fight was short and Loki caught himself watching it with 
tension as the stag's cries became quieter until they died away. And  the
hunters did not wait for the stag to perish, they began ripping  out its flesh
right away, turning it into a quivering bloody mess.  Their furs were no longer
white and it would probably take some time  before they were again. That's how
it goes, little stag.

In the meantime Thor was still trying to figure out the whereabouts  of his
brother, having searched all the places he could have thought  of already and in
vain. There were only few possibilities left and he  chose the most obvious one.
“Be greeted, good Heimdall.” The man did not turn around.
“I have waited for you, Thor Odinsson. You are looking for the lost  one.”
It was a simple statement, not a question.
“I'm looking for my brother. He is nowhere to be found.”
“You are looking in the wrong places, future king of Asgard. The  one you seek
has chosen to transgress.”
“He did what?”
“You will find him outside. Not far from the boundaries around us  is a small
forest. I think you know the one.” Thor thought for a  moment before he
understood.
“Thank you, gatekeeper.” He turned to leave but Heimdall's voice  stopped
him.
“He is veiled from your eyes, though. The king's gift might be of  aid.”
“I see. Thank you again.”

Thor did know the wood, how could he forget it? It had been there  they had
started their adventures when they were barely old enough to  leave without
escort. His first sparring with Sif had been there, she  almost defeated him and
thus gained his approval as a warrior maiden.  Just a little further  was the
glade where Loki had tried to teach  him a little magic. He had laughed, a
warrior needed no sorcery, even  though he did admit the fire Loki made was
agreeable and helped a lot  to roast the hare they had hunted down. When they
had been older and  more versed in the art of fighting or, in Loki's case, the
art of  defending himself, they had used this area for training either  fighting
each other or looking for animals fit to be decent  adversaries. How could he
not have thought of this place? Well...  once they had focused more and more on
the fighting and got used even  more to the warrior's path, they had ceased to
take Loki along since  Loki had chosen to increase his sorcery instead of trying
to at least  become a half-decent warrior, too. But when they asked him, he
rarely  declined, saying he preferred being out there anyway.

It took Thor some time to get to said forest and when he arrived the  first
thing he saw were the wolves with their bloodstained coats,  still engaged in
dismembering the already torn body of their prey. He  automatically clasped
Mjollnir's handle, ready to strike if  necessary.
“You should rather stay where you are, Son of Odin.” Loki slowly  rose from
his seat and withdrew the magic veil he had used to hide  himself.
“Brother, I've been looking for you. You were nowhere to be found  so...”
“You went to Heimdall and asked him to spy on me.” With small,  gracious
steps Loki walked towards Thor, avoiding any sudden  movement.
“The gatekeeper surely is a convenient... man.” Loki looked back  over his
shoulder and found that the wolves did not care for either  of them.
“Loki...”
“I'm here, Thor. So what is it you thought important enough to  waste your
time looking for me?”
“This bitterness does not suit you well, brother.”
“I though I had made it clear already? I'm not what we thought I  was, am
I?”
“Can you not even find your peace for the last day you will spend  here at
least? ...just forget it, Loki.” Thor did not want to hear  any more of Loki's
childish spite.
“Mother sent me to give you something from her.” He held out the  amulet
Frigga had given him. Loki eyed it before he accepted it.
“Such a powerful amulet the queen is willing to give to a mere  prisoner?”
His fingers tightened around it.
“She will probably never get it back.”
“Loki, you will return. You will come back here.” Loki shook his  head.
“You've always been an imbecile.”
“You will come back to our mother....”
“YOUR mother.”
“...to Odin, our father....”
“YOUR father.”
“And to me, your brother, as prince of Asgard once more.”
“You are not my brother. Can you not let this go, Thor? I've had  enough with
it – Why do you insist on forcing your delusions on me?  You know what? I'm so
glad I will finally be able to leave here  without any reason to ever come back.
I will never have to see you or  your lying kin again and I am so grateful for
this. I probably should  have done what I did earlier to spare me some aeons of
wasted time  here in this hypocritical pretense of an existence.” He glared at
 Thor, his teeth clenched, trembling. But Thor said nothing, Loki's  sudden
wrath had caught him off guard. He did nothing to stop him  from leaving and
only when Loki had left the range of his vision he  himself moved again to
return to the residence. His father's gift  felt heavier than before and he
could hear clearly the wolves  devouring what little was left of the stag.

Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)