"Are you ready today brother?" Asked Thor as his footsteps echoed along the corridor.

Walking up to Loki he gave him a pat on the back, his armor softly clinking, his breath already fast with anticipation to the adventure which laid ahead.

Grimacing, Loki glared at his brother and answered half irritated "Yes, as ever Thor. I bet it's going to be another situation of me hauling your half dead body out of some other unknown planet because you have a tendency to jump right into a fight without thinking."

Loki raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but slip some ice into his words "Am I wrong?"

Thor laughed and slipped his arm around Loki's shoulder.

"Isn't that why I always have you as my back-up little brother?"

Loki flushed angrily and elbowed Thor in the stomach. Without even glancing back he stalked towards the Bifrost.

Thor grinned and slipped his hand through his tangled blond hair. Checking that Mjölnir was secured inside his belt he set of after his stubborn little brother.

There was little wind and it snowed thick and heavy. Loki smiled as a few snowflakes landed on his hands and jacket. Instead of melting as they did on Thor, the snow seemed to settle on him and he shook his cloak, trying to get rid of the cold that enveloped him.

Thor noticed Loki trying to shake of the snow and gave a little laugh. He was by nature a warm person, so when snow landed on him it immediately melted and rolled of his armour in small little water droplets.

They had walked for roughly 15 minutes and had not yet encountered anything or anyone. And besides, the land was a strange type of quiet. There was no sound as the brothers shoes stepped into the snow and neither was there the sound of snow falling. Everything seemed to be caught in soundless action.

Loki couldn't help but frown and shake his head.

"Thor, where is everyone, or for the matter, anything? I thought the Glaces was a place filled with monsters and demons..." He flinched as he spoke, his voice seemingly loud in the isolated place.

Thor glanced at Loki when he spoke and shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't be such a child Loki. I'm sure the creatures just went hiding once they saw us coming"

He grinned and loosened his hammer from his belt. Loki saw the movement but said nothing. Besides, it wasn't like he had a sword, staff or anything like that. His mind has always been his greatest weapon. Nevertheless he slipped his left hand into his coat pocket and withdrew a few slim daggers. The handles sitting snugly in between his fingers.

Loki snapped his fingers and gave Thor a grin.

"Shall we?"

"Gladly." Thor gave a laugh. Gripping Mjölnir tightly in his hand he smashed it into the ice, sending a tremendous wave of energy into the ground and shattering anything within a 5km radius.

Thor barely got in a second blow when the first wave of demons came. They had the shapes of hounds, but their hind legs were considerably shorter than the front, and instead of eyes they had slits, black slits filled with a dark red fire. Their skin was a dark blue and hairless, tightly stretched across muscle and bone. The tail had bones protruding like spikes and the claws on each foot could be seen as talons.

It wasn't an entire pack attacking, but it might as well have been. There was in short, hundreds of them. Running across the ice as if though they were flying.

The shock must have done some damage to a few members of the group. Some of the creatures at the sides were limping, and others seemed to have been burnt a dark black yet it did not seem to hinder their speed.

Thor grinned and started swinging his hammer, summing some rain and thunder to help him in his battle. As adrenaline started pouring through his veins he threw the hammer into the hoard, watching as hounds were scattered and knocked around like bowling pins.

Loki on the other hand sat and watched as Thor was crushing the creatures like ants. He grinned to himself and couldn't help but think on how much he loved his brother. True, he was a moron, and stubborn... And perhaps a bit of a pushover, but he was a gentle and caring brother nevertheless.

He smirked and flicked a few daggers, teleporting himself within a few meters of a nearby creature, killing it quickly and then reappearing behind or next to another one. He rarely did anything when Thor had fun, he either made sure to get him back alive to Asgard or just keep count of how many they killed. And if the creatures would focus on him, he'd simply have to cloak himself in magic, making himself invisible.

It was, in all honesty quite boring. Loki snapped the fingers on his right hand and watched as the snow became a swirling vortex in the palm of his hand. Spinning faster and faster. He smiled and closed his hand into a fist, the snow scattered around him, materialised into daggers of ice and impaled any of the demons who came to close to comfort. A smirk graced his lips and before he knew it, he started concocting some tricks he could pull on Thor's recent friends, settling down on a nearby glacier and playing with his magic, green little wisps rolling across his hands.

With a sickening thud the last creature fell onto the ice. Thor glanced at down at his armour to see it covered in blood. 'Shit, Loki is going to kill me. These stains are going to be impossible to remove.' Looking around for something to get most of the blood removed he grabbed a handful of snow and ice, rubbing it over his arm, hoping it would remove most of the stains. Most of the blood got soaked into the ice, seeming to disappear from his armour and satisfied with his handiwork he turned to search for Loki.

Loki was so deep in thought he didn't notice when Thor plopped down next to him, looking at him curiously. He was sitting slouched on a rock, his hair short and black, curling near the tips and almost touching his shoulders. His folded hands were under his chin, his green magic working like shadows across his arms (perhaps unconsciously), and his elbows on his knees. The dark green coat of his was flecked with snow, and the same went for his hair.

'He almost looks like a dark elf from a fairy tale.' Though if Thor spoke his mind, he'd receive an elbow in the stomach and a solid kick behind the knees.

Thor gave Loki a soft pat on the shoulder, waking him from his daydream. Loki gave a little jump and then noticed Thor. His face turned into a scowl and he got up, shaking the snow from his clothing. He glanced at Thor and noticed the dark blue smears on his arms.

"Blood on your armor again Thor? Seriously, do you have any idea what a pain it's going to be to remove those?" Loki asked his brother, his voice lined with irritation and annoyance, yet there was no mistaking the concerned eye that ran down Thor's figure, checking for wounds or bruises.

Thor got up from the rock and gave Loki a grin. "Just use your magic to clean it up... Little brother".

Without waiting for comment from Loki, he set of towards the Bifrost pick-up.

Loki watched as his brother walked away. 'Stupid Thor, always expecting me to look after him and his clothes...' He gave a fond sigh and turned to look at the massacre his brother had left behind. The blood of the creatures, a dark sticky blue, was splattered all over the ice, and was already starting to freeze. The snow had started to cover the bodies. Thor felt no discomfort in killing monsters, he only hesitated when he fought other beings.

'Especially when they looked similar to asgardians.' Loki had no such troubles. He was a trickster, not a warrior. And if he was told to kill he would do so, if given a reasonable explanation of course. Though, if anything, he preferred talking his way out of trouble, rather than taking the brutish way of fighting.

Loki shook his head and set of after his brother. Thor was waiting at the circle, it was were they were always picked up. The area where the circle was large and open. Apart from the few massive rocks and boulders scattered about. The circle itself, had a diameter of about 10m and was centered in the middle of an opening. Old script and runes were drawn inside the circle itself, which in turn would connect to the power of the Bifrost.

Loki hated being out in the open, it made him vulnerable to attack and very easy targets. But Odin had refused to set up a barrier around the area, stating that since it was not their planet they had no right to change the area.

Thor watched as Loki came walking over. He gave a irritated grumble and shuffled his feet, he hated having to wait in the cold. It was fine when he fought, for his blood would boil and give him warmth. Thinking about battle he felt himself warm up, he could already image the next fight...

Loki glanced up and saw Thor swinging around his hammer, 'probably fighting off invisible enemies' he thought. Something flickered in his vision and he felt himself tense up.

He snapped the fingers on his right hand and teleported closer to Thor. Cloaking himself in invisibility he started sneaking up to were he saw the flicker. He reached a giant rock, easily 5 times his own height and poked his head around the side. He saw the claw marks on the rock and the blue blood on the snow. Loki felt his blood run cold and realised what was going to happen.

He spun around just in time to see a giant Ice hound streak towards Thor. It was the purest of white, easily the size of Sleipnir.

'It was the Alpha.'

It made no sound at it's talons hit the ground and was practically invisible. 'Which means Thor won't see it.

Before he knew why, Loki was shooting across the ice shouting his brothers name at the top of his lungs. But he knew Thor wouldn't hear him in time, he knew that his brother was slow and easily taken by surprise. So he clicked his fingers and teleported right before the creature could hit.

Thor had heard Loki's shout and glanced up to late, seeing an ice hound coming right at him, it gave a leap with its talons aimed for his heart. He felt as if his actions were slowing down and the hounds speeding up.

Yet before he could even raise his hammer Loki appeared in front of him, his cloak whipping around him and a few daggers seated in his hand.

Thor gave a howl as the hounds talons tore into his brother. The impact smashed Loki backwards in Thor while the hound was sent sprawling to the side, two daggers stuck into its heart.

Thor felt his blood run cold as Loki crumpled against him. Blood gushed from his chest through the torn armour, turning the snow and ice a dark red. Thor grabbed Loki by the shoulders and tried to prop him in an upward position.

"Loki! Dammit... Dammit... Dammit!" Thor tore of his cloak off and tried to stop the bleeding in Loki's chest. His hands fumbled clumsily and he tried to stem the blood flow.

"Thor... Thor please..." Loki's voice was weak, and he sounded pained. He leaned against Thor and his arms started growing limp.

Thor stared at his brother in horror. Hugging him close he started crying, hot tears rolling down his cheeks and dripping onto Loki.

"Loki... Please not you..." Thor buried his head into Loki's hair and hugged his brother close.

"You're my stupid little brother, you're supposed to give me something on my birthday not take something away!" His voice broke and Thor clenched his jaw, trying to stop his shoulders from shaking.

"Thor. Sorry... Sorry" Loki tried speaking, but he felt as if though he was drowning, his words were heavy and he couldn't see anything through his blurred vision.

Loki gave small smile and tried to look at his brothers face. He felt something drip onto his cheeks and tried not to cry. He hated when Thor broke down, he was the big brother, he wasn't supposed to break down. He tried to focus on his brothers face, but instead his eyes closed.

His body turned cold and along with it, Thor's heart...

I'm sorry Thor... I love you...

(Cover image by - doubleleaf ( art/Loki-256269238)