Hello! I've been writing this fanfic a while now, but I was a bit weary about sharing it (cause I wasnt too sure if it was any good) but in the end I figured I should put it up on here to see what people make of it! I've had a bit of a chapter shuffle; I realised that my first two chapters were like 3 times the size of all the chapters following! D: but now I'm a bit more used to the website itself, I know there isnt a chapter limit or what have you so I've broken the chapters up a bit to fix this :)
I have also been reading other stories and noticed that disclaimer notes were being used so I've gotta say; I dont own Marvel or their characters!
Thankyou to you all who've been reading and reviewing, and the little bit of maintenence is over now so ze story can be read as normal! Hope you like!
The beautiful skies of Asgard were dark and swirling on the night its princes found themselves lost among the wild and untamable trees of the outer forest. Only a day prior, they had been readying themselves for the hunting feat that would mark their ascension into the royal standard of adolescence. Thor and Loki, the sons of the King and Allfather Odin, had much to prove in their quest to please their father and endear themselves, as royalty, to the kingdom. At the tender ages of twelve and ten respectively, they bore the greatest responsibility conceivable for ones so young to bear, the burden of princehood heavy upon their small shoulders.
This weight was particularly immanent for Thor, for as the firstborn, the throne fell first to his inheritance. Although he was the paraded and most crowd pleasing of the two princes, it was no secret that Thor's confidence and bravado would falter were it not for the reassuring presence of his younger brother by his side. Where he had physical talents and a budding warriors skill, his brother possessed a profound intellect and a growing aptness for the mystical arts. Different though they were both physically and mentally; Thor being blue-eyed, blond and sturdy with an attack-first, think-later attitude while the dark and slender Loki possessed a methodical and analytical thought process to any situation behind his emerald eyes, the bond between the brothers was undeniable.
When, on the rare occasions they saw fit to apply their shared skills together, the two boys had proved that united, they truly became an unstoppable force. Although they often bickered and fought over their varying opinions and actions in life, when all was said and done, they relied on each other as waves rely on the moon. They were two sides of the same coin. The affection and support they shared was an ever present vein that lay just beneath the skin of their tumultuous lives, and though it never saw the occasion to bring itself to light in the mundane daily routine of royal life, this newest venture of which they were about to embark threatened an opportunity for this connection between them to make itself known.
"Loki! Loki! Have you packed your satchel yet? The night almost falls and Father wishes us to get a full nights rest before we leave at dawn tomorrow!" Thor called as he reached the door of the chambers he shared with his brother, pushing the heavy door open and plodding inside. As he entered, the first thing he noticed was that, although his brothers belongings were packed and present on his bed, Loki was not. Thor sighed and shoved his hands on his hips petulantly. "Loki, no tricks tonight, we really must be ready. When we enter that forest it is going to be just you and I, no servants or guards to protect us. It will be our responsibility to bring home that which Father expects of us." He called impatiently, his eyes darting across the room from Loki's side to his own, where he desperately wanted to drop down and sleep.
His statement was met with silence, as Thor began pacing the length of the room, drawing back the great crimson curtains hoping to reveal his brother concealed within. When this attempt proved to be fruitless, Thor returned to his side of the chamber and succumbed, throwing himself on his bed and climbing under the covers exasperatedly. "Fine. Keep up your trickery. If you wish to be weary when we arise and meet with Father tomorrow, then on your head be it." The short silence that followed seemed so extensive that Thor began to wonder if perhaps his brother was not still in their room after all, the thought of which aggravated him further as he had no desire to embark upon another one of his Loki searches of the palace in the dark hours of the night. He would have believed that such an act was beginning to be imminently required if the silence had not suddenly been broken by a disembodied voice that originated from the bed opposite him.
"Truly brother, you allow me to have no fun! Although I am satisfied that you were beginning to think I was not in your presence after all". Thor crumpled his youthful face in annoyance as the grinning form of his younger sibling materialized out of thin air on the bed next to him. "I knew you were here Loki. I always know when you are close at hand. I can feel it in the air and in my gut, although I may see fit to disbelieve it. There's no escape for me from you. It is nice to see that you are gaining an enhanced grip on your magic however. Less chance of a repeat of the 'out of control multiplying' problem you had during bathing time when we were younger. Father recalls it was not a pleasant situation for me, being compressed in the barrel with eight of you" Thor teased wickedly, before defecting the blow of the pillow Loki had sent catapulting in his direction with a quick thrust of his forearm. "That was when we were infants Thor, I have a MUCH greater control of it now. So mind what you say or I may see fit to vaporise you!" Loki replied huffily, clamouring under the thick, warm quilts of his own bed and staring up at the ceiling in annoyance.
"You could never do that" Thor retaliated in a quieter tone, conscious of the hour and of their parents chambers close by as he shifted onto his side, facing his brothers bedstead. "You don't have THAT sort of power, not yet anyway" he chuckled softly. "Plus, whatever would you do without me? You would be lost! A destitute soul, I dread to think of you staying up sleepless nights missing me and thinking 'oh how I wish I hadn't vaporised my dear brother, he and I used to have jolly good laughs at this hour and now I have no one to keep me company and shall die with boredom!'" Thor laughed heartily, burrowing himself deeper into the cocoon of his quilts. Trying to maintain a dismissive fixture, Loki turned his head to the side to glance at Thor, where he could just make out the round face of his brother in the dark, eyeing him amusedly from across the small space between them. Feeling his tough guy act falling around him once again, as it often did when Thor caught him out, he could only surmass a frustrated and sleepy "shut up" before he yanked his covers around him and tossed over to face the opposite direction. Thor proceeded to do the same, smiling at his victory, before he was finally enveloped and carried away by the dreamy wave of a deep sleep.
The dawn that broke the next again morning was one of the most unnerving that either boy had ever experienced. Both Thor and Loki had risen, rested and prepared for the quest they were about to face, and were both equally reluctant to disembark, although their typical sibling rivalry forebode them from revealing this fact to the other. Thor, specifically, had his self-assured game face on, chattering insistently about the noble nature of their duty and the rewards they would reap upon their return. Loki was used to this over-zealous candour that his brother always adapted before any royal duties that would put him in the public eye, and although he bore it with a grudgingly passive attitude as he always did, today it seemed almost reassuring in its ferventness.
After double checking they had acquired all the belongings and equipment they would need, both boys made their way to the door of their chambers in an almost too formal fashion for two young children, stopping before it and waiting to be called in relative silence. The atmosphere surrounding them was so rife with anxiousness that it was threatening to become unbearably awkward, before Thor broke it by sparing a sideways look at his brother, who had mirrored his action simultaneously. Catching each others eye, the boys could only manage to exchange two fleeting, but supportive, smiles at one another before the royal guards sounded the horn and opened the doors to escort the princes to the throne room. His nerves swelling into a ball in his chest, Thor held back and allowed his younger brother to exit in front of him, before catching up behind, having noticed that the back of Loki's tunic was hanging loose over his belt. After endearingly tucking it in before they reached the presence of the court, he proceeded to fall into his brothers step as they approached the entrance to the throne room.
Reaching the doors, they heard the booming voice of their father, King Odin, announcing their arrival. "Subjects of the Royal Asgardian Court, I now present to you, on the date of this glorious ritual of our kingdom, where manhood and worth is put to the test, the sons of Odin, your King and Allfather; Thor and Loki: the Princes of Asgard." The hall was enraptured by the respectful applause of all those present as the twosome graciously filed into the room, acknowledging their reception in their usual fashion; Thor winking and waving exuberantly at their audience while Loki bowed his head dutifully, flashing them all a small, guarded smile, before the boys came to a halt before their father. As was expected, both descended onto one knee, their right arms crossed across their chests in the royal salute as they awaited their fathers command.
"Thor Odinson, Loki Odinson" Odin began, descending the stairs that separated his throne from where his sons awaited. "On this glorious day you will embark upon your first imperial quest. It is a day of great honour. And of great risk." He paused before the two boys, who both looked up at him with identical expressions of veiled concern behind their young eyes. Registering this, he retreated back a few paces, before raising his staff, Guignir, a few inches off the ground and bringing it down three times upon the marble floor. "Guards, members of the court. With my apologies, I have decided that I wish to speak with my sons in privacy on this occasion. Please leave us."
Obediently, the room slowly began to dissipate in the wake of Odin's words, until only he and his sons remained. Thor and Loki rose to their feet. "My sons" Odin acknowledged in a considerably softer tone, replacing Guignir in its hold next to the throne before turning and moving closer. "I understand how intimidating this venture may seem for you. But know that I have no reason to doubt your abilities, and so neither should you. I have every faith that you will succeed." Stopping before them, he extended his arms gracefully, placing his firm right hand on Thor's shoulder, and his left upon Loki's. "Know that although the objection of the quest may be to hunt the eagle of the west and bring it home, that may not be the only goal you achieve." Odin allowed a flicker of a smile to ghost upon his lips as his two children glanced up at him, bewildered by his expression.
"My only advice to you, as your father, is to know that you are at your strongest when you are together." He continued seriously. "It is only by combining your talents that you will discover the power and potential to gain your objective. Do not make the mistake, as so many have, of believing that relying upon another is a sign of weakness. For rather, it can be your greatest strength. I have seen the bond between you, my boys. Everything you are, everything you have learned, will be put to the test. It is up to you both to apply your assets advantageously." Thor and Loki exchanged a swift flick of the eye as they absorbed their fathers words, before Odin drew back ceremoniously, preparing to allow them to leave. The boys readied themselves as calmly as they could, bowing to their father in acknowledgement and turning to depart through the throne room doors to the court members and horses awaiting outside. Odin called out to them once more, his final words of guidance just leaving his lips before his sons disappeared from view. "Look after each other."
Several hours after the accompanying party had left him and his brother on the edge of the forest, Thor had begun to find that his nerves were gradually calming. He and Loki both had worked out a rough path through the section of the wood on which to track the whereabouts of the eagle they were to claim as their prize. Still, they had come across no inclination of such a creature being anywhere nearby. Although Thor knew it was far too early on into the quest to be expecting otherwise, he was still apprehensive when he noted the night beginning to fall over the vast expanse of the treetops. The sky had begun to meld and darken into a violet blue, and he could make out the constellations beginning to visualise. He became suddenly aware of the darkness snaking down eerily upon the thick undergrowth, like an unwanted veil of menacing intent. He hadn't thought of it being dark.
It is fine. He thought to himself vehemently. I am the future thunder god. Odin's son. Darkness does not scare me. I am stronger than that.His young mind repeated this statement over and over, as if convincing himself that this foolish and childish emotion he was starting to feel was simply an apparition; a test put upon him to see if he would buckle and cry at the first sign of danger. He gripped his sword firmly and sniffed deeply, attempting to level out the disruption his mind was causing him. It was only when he approached a promising possibility of a catch, which turned out to be simply an average species of bird that dwelled within the forest, that he realised that Loki was not at his side. Straightening up, he automatically scanned the area around him, which was becoming darker and darker, only Loki was nowhere close to his eye's gaze.
As he registered the coming darkness and the dangers that lay within the woods, a pang of fear like no other he had ever felt in his life throbbed into his chest, almost crippling him with its intensity. He had lost his brother. His little brother was out there somewhere, lost in this mass tangle of blackened trees, all alone. Anything could happen to him Thor thought, his whole body going almost numb with insufferable waves of worry and guilt. He spent a small while, maintaining as calm a posture as a boy his age could manage, looking around and calling for his brother nearby, before he could keep his composure no longer. Verging on hysteria, he began to charge his way through the undergrowth, hacking away at the vines and obstacles that blocked his path with an urgency and determination that had never before been so prominent in his nature.
"Loki! LOKI!" Thor bellowed wildly, feeling the sting of tears piercing the back of his eyelids as he finally came crashing to a halt, seeing only black and distorted shapes all around him. He was terrified himself. The shapes looked like monsters, creatures awaiting to torture and devour him. But somehow, this fear held no candle to the scale of terror he felt at the thought of something horrific happening to his little brother. He had never felt so protective and agonizingly desparegent of someone else as long as he had lived. He sank to his knees, exhausted, as the well of tears he had held back for what seemed like a lifetime spilled over and trickled down his cheeks. He knew that in this situation, he would be expected to return to the guards that awaited outside the forest. He would be expected to leave the finding of his brother to them, and accept his powerlessness. But he could not accept it. They were too far away, and he did not know how far his brother had gone. By the time they reached him, if they even did at all, it could be too late. He could not give up on finding Loki himself and making sure he was safe. By this point, he had been searching for hours in the cold and perilous darkness and had still found no sign of him. He had forgotten why they had even come to this dreaded place to begin with. Whatever it was, it was certainly not worth experiencing this pain, this harrowing dread that he had lost his brother for good. He couldn't begin to comprehend how torturous an existence that would be. He didn't know how he would function.
When thoughts of such a situation inevitably pushed themselves into his mind as the hours of the night melted away, he would close his eyes and force them out, refusing to acknowledge their presence. His brother was not gone. His brother was lost. And if his brother was lost, he was going to find him. No matter how long it took, no matter what agony he endured, Thor would never give up until he found his little brother and brought him back. He promised himself this, over and over as he struggled to clear his mind from all the pessimistic thoughts that were attempting to infect it, cell by cell. Each hour that passed seemed like a day, and although it was only halfway through the night, Thor felt as if he had been searching the wildness for millennia, his battling thoughts stretching out before him with each second, strand by strand, like a raw nerve. Sometimes he would convince himself that he hadn't lost Loki at all, that he was still close by, shrouded in his invisibility once more, playing one of his typical, if uncalled for pranks. And when this thought entered his mind, his hand would reach out instinctively for his brother as he closed his eyes and willed himself to feel his presence. But he never could. He knew well that this pitiful hope was only that, and nothing more.