The Trickster Prince, as he was known, grew bored with Asgard and longed for other realms. He stayed up in his study for hours on end which grew into days, weeks, years. His brother Thor grew from a boy into a mighty man, popular, well-loved, and respected. Loki, on the other hand, remained small of frame, lithe, pale, and even a bit sickly looking. He wore his jet black hair slicked back away from his wide forehead. He holed up practicing his magic in solitude, his small green eyes often squinted in concentration as he taught himself yet another new spell or magic trick. He was becoming quite proficient and was certain that in a few short years he would be a Master of Magic. He smiled at himself at the thought, filling with a dark sense of pride.

He decided he would sneak out for the weekend and visit Midgard, a realm Thor seemed to fancy. He was curious what the fuss was all about. The All- Father would be pre-occupied with Kingly affairs and Thor was always too busy chasing skirts to take much notice of his little brother anymore these days. Loki sighed to himself and thought of how nice it would be to meet like-minded souls who also knew the ways of magic. Could he possibly ever have friends, like the way Thor had friends? He was always drinking and sparring with The Warrior Three, his buddies since youth. Loki used to watch them enviously wishing he could be in on the fun but mainly he was only made fun of, much to his chagrin.

Loki knew other ways to travel and did not need to make use of the Rainbow Bridge so would be able to slip out unnoticed. He liked it that way, liked being one with shadows and with magic.

He went about his chambers packing a small satchel of items he may need to have with him, a book on magic theory, a small crystal, a change of clothing, and his favorite silk underwear, just in case he met somebody special. With that he waved his hands and teleported to Midgard, otherwise known as Earth.

He seemed to appear out of no-where. Dax was sitting on the sidewalk watching the people go by when a slender dark figure just appeared. She could swear he wasn't there before and he seemed lost. She watched as he turned about seeming bewildered. He wore a long black cloak, black turtle-neck sweater, black leather pants and sturdy looking black boots. Everything on him was black including his jet black hair which was in a severe hair-do, slicked back away from his sizeable forehead. He had small features, kind of elfish really. She decided she found him attractive if a bit odd.

She walked up to the strange tiny man and offered her hand in introduction. "Hello there. I'm Dax. You seem lost."

"I'm not from around here.", replied Loki. "Where am I?"

"You're in Raliegh, North Carolina.", replied our girl.

"Is this Midgard?", asked Loki.

"I don't think so. Are you looking for your LARPing group or something?"

"What is LARPing?"

"Nevermind. I'll show you around." With that Dax grabbed him by the hand and led the way saying, " I hope you like to drink because they have great specials where we're going!"

"Where are we going?!", exclaimed Loki sounding bewildered and a little afraid.

" To Flexx, of course!", she replied as though that were explanation enough.

They walked about downtown until they got to a small purple building with a sign that said "Flexx" on it.

" Do you have ID?" asked Dax.

" What is ID?" asked Loki.

" Man you are unbelievable!" exclaimed our heroine. She pulled out her ID to show him.

" AH, I see.", he said and with a wave of his hand he made appear a similar card with his falsified information upon it.

" That's a neat trick.", said Dax and with that they sauntered into the dank club. A guy at the window checked their ID cards and let them in. There was no cover, which is good, as Loki did not have any Midgard money to pay cover with. He slipped off to the bathroom and laid a stack of coins on the floor. He waved his hands over them chanting, " Turn this gold into Midgard monies! Turn this gold into Midgard monies! So I can buy mead!" With that his stack of golden coins transformed into a stack of paper Benjamins. Feeling self-satisfied Loki grinned smugly to himself and strutted back to the bar where he plopped down on a barstool like he owned the place.

" What can I do you for?", asked the hunky bear of a bartender.

" I'll have a serving of mead.", said Loki. The bartender looked at him incredulously. " This isn't RenFair kid! Now be serious,what can I do you for?"

" A tavern without any mead?! Who's even heard of such a thing?!", Loki said his voice rising and becoming visibly upset. Dax gently guided him back to his seat and whispered," Calm down. It's okay."

The bartender, who's name is Chad, offered with a shrug,"We have Jello shots." Loki was intrigued.

" I will have one of these…Jello shots."

Several Jello shots later and it's time for karaoke. First up is Dustin doing "Ava Adore" by The Smashing Pumpkins, a once popular 1990's Midgard band. A six-four Billy Corgan look-a-like saunters up to the stage wearing a vest and too-tight pants and begins to sway his hips and sing.

Loki wanted to be on that stage but he didn't know any of these Earth songs. It wasn't fair. Once again he would be denied the glory he so desired and craved. He decided to get more Jello shots to numb the pain inside that was knawing at his soul.

"Next up is Dax Morgan singing Anarchy in the UK!" His newfound associate then went to the stage and began to sing a raucious little ditty about the virtues of Anarchy. Loki liked the message of these Sex Pistols as they called themselves. He wondered if he could recruit them to his cause of general mayhem and mischief.

Loki sat watching his friend and all the following performers, legs crossed, chin in his hand, pensive expression upon his face. Eventually it was time to make leave. Dax and Loki stumbled down pavement sidewalks back to her place which was a messy albeit adorable single room apartment up three flights of stairs. Papers and art supplies were scattered everywhere, notebooks and music CDs, books and magazines. He even caught glimpse of a small magazine that had a cartoonised version of his brother Thor on the cover. Curiouser and curiouser.

Loki, in his drunken state, gazed upon the various artworks scattered about the room and they gave him a glimpse into his companions mind. He had to admit he liked what he saw there.

" Get comfortable.", she said. " You're crashing here for the night."

" Yes, milady",Loki replied, smiling to himself. He took off his heavy boots first, then his cloak, then everything else. He slipped into the bathroom and pulled out his silk underwear and slipped them up over his white, scrawny body. He hadn't much experience with women but hoped she liked what she saw.

When he came out wearing nothing but the black silk man-panties Dax looked at him astonished and laughed aloud. He grimaced, not liking being laughed at. He hadn't run away from home so he could be laughed at. He was embarrassed so pulled a long black skirt out of his satchel to cover himself with. It fit quite flatteringly. She raised her eyebrows in approval.

She had lit some candles and the place looked nice basking in a soft warm glow. They sat cross-legged on the floor across from each other. Dax pulled out a spell book and smiled. She looked him dead in the eye and said," I know you're not from around here."

"No, I'm not.", Loki replied.

" Neither am I, originally.", she said, and he could see the astral horns start to appear and glow of their own light. He saw her wingspan extend from behind her back and her eyes went all white. Then, just like that, it was all gone and she was back in her human form.

" What are you?", breathed Loki in awe of her power.

" I am a child of two opposing forces, both mythical beings in this realm but wholly real on the other worlds."

" I am the Son of Odin", replied Loki.

" I'm glad we met.", said Dax. She blew out the candles and they felt their way toward the small twin mattress in the corner. " I hope you don't mind us sleeping in close quarters.", said Dax.

" Not in the least.", replied Loki, smiling in the dark. They crawled into the bed together, her first and him following behind. She fell asleep quickly exhausted from the walk home and all the booze at the club. He watched her, able to make out her form in the darkness of the room. So he had found himself and Angel, well, part angel. He smirked to himself, thinking of all the myriad possibilities.

Part 3

Loki returned to Asgard via the Bifrost. He sauntered down the rainbow bridge toward home certain that no-one would have even noticed he was missing. Much to his surprise he ran into Thor who exclaimed," Brother! Where have you been? We have not seen you at the dinner table these last two nights." Oh, right, he thought to himself, they were sure to notice that.

"I've been in my study, practicing magic.", replied Loki.

"Why of course, but a young man such as yourself still needs sustenance to retain his concentration in such tasks. Surely you still eat? You're thin as a rail!", chided Thor good-naturedly. Loki smiled wanly.

"I expect to see you tonight in the Banquet hall!", shouted Thor as he walked off on his way to who-knows-what.

Loki went into the royal kitchen and grabbed himself a royal biscuit and some ham to take with him into his study. Once inside he stripped himself of his cloak and lit some candles for ambiance. He rifled through his personal library looking for a book that might have information on spells requiring Angel Blood. He wanted to know what new feats he may be capable of now that he had his own angel to make use of. He grinned at his reflection in the mirror and ran a slender white hand through his thick black hair.

He came upon various spells, one for beauty which he already possessed, another for immortality, ditto with being a God and all. He frowned, not having much luck until he saw a spell that promised to give the caster the strength of a mighty god. "Interesting", he thought to himself. Combined with his cunning and trickery if he also possessed strength to rivals Thor's, well, he'd be unstoppable! His mind started to reel with the possibilities and he laughed maniacally. He tired of being trapped in such a puny and weak frame, having to rely solely on his magic in battle. Yes, he thought, he was going to do this!

That evening his sat by his father's side at the banquet table, in rather high spirits. People commented on the change in his demeanor. " Why, Loki!", said one damsel. " It's so good to see you actually smiling for once!"

" There's no reason not to smile.", said Loki. " It's a good day to be alive." He actually joined in the conversation instead of merely sulking and was lively and witty. For the first time in ages women took notice of him and considered what it would be like to bed Loki instead of Thor.

That night Loki returns to his chambers and strips himself naked, happy to be in solitude and away from the throngs of people. Although he had been in rare form tonight, too much socializing did not suit him. He drew himself a hot bath with fragrant bubbles and slowly lowered himself into the water, the warm water covering his long, lithe body and splashing against his cool, pale skin. His skin was often cold to the touch, him being born of Frost Giants and all. He liked being near fire or in scalding hot water in order to warm himself. He sighed, sinking deeper into the tub, letting the hot water come up to his jawline and he thought of her, the girl with the angel wings back in Raliegh, North Carolina. His Midgard girl.