Loki sat alone in his room at his desk in early spring. There was a plank piece of parchment in front of him, and a quill. He was thinking, planning. His favorite day of the year was coming up. April 1st, April Fools day. A say dedicated to him.
A couple decades ago, Loki pulled the biggest prank ever on Thor. Unfortunately, Odin kinda got on the receiving end. Allfather got so angered at Loki; he outlawed all his major pranks. He was allowed the harmless things, but no more big ones.
Except for one day a year, a day Loki could chose. He had to have an outlet for his magic somewhere. He chose the first of April; it just had a good ring to it.
Still to this day, the law continues, Asguard as well as Midguard. The trickster god wanted to do a great one this year. It was Thor's coming of age ceremony a couple months back, so Loki wanted to celebrate.
"Loki!" A voice boomed. Loki knocked over the ink in surprise. He never got surprised very often. "Sorry, brother. I didn't mean to startle you. I was wondering where you have gotten to this time, I think you must have lost track of time." Lost tack of time indeed, it was nearly evening. Thor handed Loki a bowl of stew. He thanked him, set it aside, and began to clean the ink.
He muttered ancient words and waved his hand above the desk, and the blue-black ink picked itself off of the parchment and the surrounding desk, back into the little bottle. "I will never get tired of seeing you do magic, it is extraordinary." Thor confessed with a deep sigh. "What have you been doing in your room this whole day?" "Well," Loki came up with a lie, another one of his specialties, because he couldn't tell Thor the truth, it would ruin the surprise. "You know me, studying my magi-OOH! Watch this!" Loki cried. He grabbed the thick, old spell book, and began flipping through the pages.
Loki found the right page, held the heavy book in his arms, stood up, grabbed the quill, and turned to Thor. The thunder god couldn't catch the words, but the effect was instantaneous.
The quill shot up, as a bird. Its joyous song filled the dark room. The jet black bird swooped and soared then landed on the trickster's shoulder. It sang softly in his ear. A proud smile graced Loki's lips. "How was that?" He asked as he opened up his window to let the bird fly free. "Very good, brother. But what about your quill?" Loki chuckled softly. He opened one of his desk drawers. It was full of quills. Hundreds even. He didn't know why he needed so many, or what to do with them all. Loki grabbed one, showed Thor, closed the drawer, and set it one the parchment.
Thor left him in peace. Loki tipped the stew out the window. He wasn't hungry, he never seemed to be. That's probably why he was so thin. He never exercised. Not physically at least, he loved brainteasers. For his birthday once, Heimdal traveled to Midguard and got him an adult sized-challenge-sudoku booklet. Loki completed the book with 101 puzzles in about three months.
Loki loves anything that makes him think. His favorite pleasure books are mystery adventures. Especially ones about Midguardian pirates. Like Tom Sawyer, he begged his father to get it for him when it first came out. The grammar in the story sometimes gave him a headache, though. He loved the way that their novels had advanced over the centuries. He loved their magic stories. The human's versions of magic were humorous to the magic. Kids with sticks, which made no sense whatever. Maybe Loki should write a book someday.
Speaking of writing, he should get back to planning. He stared at the empty sheet. He sighed with what Midguard calls, a writer call a writers block. So Loki blew out the candle on his desk, and climbed into bed.
Loki had a magnificent dream that night. He was atop the tallest mountain, on the tallest peak, breathing the freshest air in the worlds. With the wind blowing on his face and through his hair, he closed his eyes to the surreal sights. Birds circling him, going higher than he could ever go.
He wanted to go with them, to fly, to be free. But he couldn't. Being a prince, you can't even go into the villages without a guard. But that never stopped him. Loki just lied through defenses, casting spells on those dumb enough to try to stop him.
Loki often wandered the cobblestone streets at night, so as not to be seen. Once, a child with fighting parents would sit on the curb, to avoid being in the crossfire. Seeing the prince, the boy would run up to him, tug on his overcoat, and explain his predicament. Loki, with a whoosh of his coat, herded the boy into the dwelling. The couple, yelling loud enough to wake the neighbors, looked up, seeing the monarch, would hush, and bow. "Arise." Loki commanded. They rose. "Why are you fighting?" he asked. The two mumbled to themselves. "Asguard is a land of peace, and this is unacceptable behavior." "I'm sorry, m'lord." They replied, flustered. Loki turned to leave. He knelt down to the small boy and they clasped hands. "Everything will be fine now." He assured, stood up, gazed upon the family once more, and swept out of the household.
Loki woke up with that memory. He strolled down that very street multiple times, and everything was now peaceful. He rose and got dressed for the day.
The day consisted of nothing more than his studies and planning for the big day. He stared at the piece of parchment, his normal creativity run dry. Loki blew out the candle and decided to take a walk in the forest.
The spring air was crisp and full of new life. Mother animals and their young wandered around on this wonderful day. A baby deer approached the prince. Loki knelt down to greet it. He held out a hand to her, she came up to him, and nuzzled his outstretched fingers. Loki laughed to himself. He ran his hand down her velvety flank; she seemed to smile at him. "Where is your mother?" Loki asked and peered into the bushes. Their eyes met, now she appeared sad. "Oh, you don't have one. You poor thing, all alone. Follow me my dear, I have an idea."
He got up, and the deer came to. "Hmm…you need a name. I shall see to that. But now, you must trust me." He led her through the woods back towards the castle. He looked into her eyes, the color of fine Midguardian chocolate, full of sadness. "Of course, you don't want to be a pet." She seemed to agree. "Kaila, I shall call you Kaila." Kaila leapt with joy for her new name. "Goodbye Kaila, I will visit again soon."
Loki returned to his room, Thor was sitting on his bed, waiting. "Oh, hello, Thor. Is there anything I can do for you?" "Yes, brother. Could you assist me with my fighting?" This startled the young god. Thor never asked anyone for help. "Um…sure. Lets get started." "Great! Meet you on the training field!" Thor dashed away before Loki could change his mind.
The brothers met up where they agreed to. Thor grabbed his weapon of choice, Mjolner, and then Loki grabbed his, his staff. About five feet tall, golden, sharp, thin, but strong, and he loved it for fighting with his brother. They moved towards the center and began. Thor was the first to attack, like usual. He swung down and Loki blocked with hands on each end of the staff, Mjolner in the middle, pushing down. Thor on top, Loki on bottom. It was a battle of strength, and Loki could feel himself giving. He rolled to the side, Mjolner sliding off and slamming into the ground, getting embedded, and stuck. Thor pulled it up with a swift motion. Thor was strong and fast, while Loki was nimble and quick. Perfect sparring partners, and everyone agreed.
Loki jumped back up and out of the way, facing his brother. He swung his staff sideways at Thor, who wasn't ready, in the side. He dropped Mjolner with a grunt, and fell on his back. Loki stepped closer to him and put the point of the staff to his neck. "You win, brother." Loki let Thor sit up. "Why did you want me to fight?" Loki demanded. "I appear to be losing my nerve." "I've noticed." Loki commented. "So what do you want me to do about it?" "Train with me?" Thor pleaded. "Ugh, Thor. I'm terribly busy nowadays. Ask Sif, she would love to bea-help you." He replied with his devil-smile. "Humph, thanks."
"Well, I better get back to work. Thanks for the exhilarating experience." Loki left Thor still sitting there. That was…fun. He thought to himself as he headed back to his room. He sat down at his desk and his knee banged into a slightly opened drawer He cursed under his breath and shut it. It was the one full of quills that he didn't know what to do with. Loki titled the parchment: April Fools Day. He stared at the page. Nothing. He started to doodle in the top corner. He didn't know what he was drawing; he just let the mischief take over.
When he finished, Loki looked at it, and gasped. Perfect! Why haven't I thought of this before? He began to write the details of the prank feverishly. This was going to be great.
~o0o~
It was now March 31, one day away. Loki was almost completely ready for tomorrow. Everything was in place for the morning, Midguardian microphones, cameras, and speakers to capture every moment. He rubbed his hands together. Excellent.
Whenever Loki roamed the halls this close to time, everyone cast sideways glances, not knowing if the trickster would turn anyone in to a frog, or something. Loki laughed at the thought. It was very hard to turn somebody else into something, much easier to do it to yourself. And I don't want to be a frog, he shuttered. Nasty creatures. So dirty. Loki always kept his possessions neat and orderly.
He decided to go to the forest to visit Kaila. There she stood on the outskirts of the brush, knowing he would come. "Tomorrow is the bid day, Kaila! There will be quite a ruckus, if you know what I mean." Kaila nudged his hand, as if to agree. Loki reached into his pocket. He pulled out a stick of celery. "For you, dear." She gingerly plucked from it his grasp, and began to munch. A smile tugged on his lips, she was simply adorable. He sat himself down on a nearby tree stump. Kaila followed eagerly. She lie down by his feet and put her head in his lap. Loki stroked her soft ears as Kaila laid to rest.
Loki woke with a start. He must have fallen asleep! Kaila gazed upon him with sleep-filled eyes; she must have just woken up, too. He looked up at the darkened shy, and jumped up. "I'm sorry, my dear, I must leave. Farewell!" He sprinted towards the castle.
"Loki! Where have you been?" Thor demanded as Loki entered the castle, out of breath. "I have *wheeze* been out for a walk, *wheeze* and lost track of time." "Humph, okay, brother. Come inside, its getting cold."
The two made their way back together. Thor accompanied Loki back to his room. "Goodnight, Thor." Loki said with a smile and proceeded to enter his quarters. "Wait." Thor touched Loki's shoulder. "About tomorrow." "Go on." "What are you going to do?" Thor asked tentatively. Loki chuckled. "Ah, I can't tell you that now can I?" That would ruin the fun. Sorry brother, you must wait." Loki grinned his iconic evil grin, and disappeared into the shadows of his room.
Thor sighed, he tried to find out, and he was now seriously scared. He knew that this was going to be a big one. Loki had been rushing through the castle throughout the days, with things bundled in his arms. It really made him nervous. His brother's acts ace always been shrouded in secrecy, and this was no exception.
~o0o~
Today's the day. It finally is. Loki had set up a sort of 'base camp' in his room. All the screens with live footage from all the cameras. He spotted his dear brother walking down one of the halls, casting nervous glances every which-way. Like he could avoid what was going to happen. Loki pulled the microphone closer to him and switched it on. He began muttering the spell. As soon as he started, Thor nearly jumped out of his skin, whipping his head around, trying to find his brother.
When Loki had finished, out of all the nooks and crannies of the walls, shot out all of the quill-birds. Thro yelped in surprise, covered his head, and ran. Loki switched to the Throne Room camera. Odin sat in his throne, a stern glare on his face. The entire throne, along with him, was completely covered with resting birds. Loki laughed with joy. This is the best year yet. So much mischief. So much chaos. So much fun.
He scrolled through the different cameras with pure glee. His family, the servants, everyone in utter confusion of the sudden flock.
Eventually, people figured out to open the windows, and they all flew off into the wilderness. Loki sighed, that was fun, he thought to himself and laughed a little more, wiping tears from his eyes. He began to clear his desk off. He put the machines into a box and put them in the back corner of his closet, he'll get the cameras tomorrow.
Thor burst into Loki's room. His usual slightly scraggly hair was a complete mess. Loki looked at his brother's state, and howled with laughter. "This is not funny, brother!" He yelled. "Oh, your right, its hilarious!" Loki continued cracking up. Along with Thor's hair being a bird's nest, (bad pun) his cape was all torn up as well. "You're a right mess, brother. Whatever happened?" Loki couldn't stop smiling. Thor stormed over, eyes burning with a deep rage, fists clenched. He grabbed Loki by the collar and pulled him to his feet. "Thor! It's just a joke! I meant no harm!" Thor continued to glare, but loosened his grip. Loki plucked Thor's hand from his clothes and set it at his brother's side. "Can you forgive me brother? I didn't know that this would make you so seething mad." Thor gritted his teeth at Loki's vocabulary. "I'm sorry for being so mad. It was your day after all. Can't wait for next year." Thor ended optimistically and left the room.
Yes. Next year.