Author's note: A drake is a male dragon.

Chapter 2: Hunting

Loki leaned against a tree and slid down to its base, gritting his teeth to keep from hissing. It was the first of Thor's hunting trips that Loki had gone on without their father, and it was already going badly. He examined his upper right arm. The wound wasn't bad, only a series of gashes and some raw skin. He sneered at his own weakness; of course it wasn't bad, the blood was already clotting. Even so, Loki did not dare move. He took a deep breath of forest air and listened.

Thor had not been wounded. Loki had not seen him for some time, but he was sure of it regardless. They had been hunting a young drake, a scrap of a thing, and Loki had been given the simplest job: to draw it out of hiding. When it had not taken the bait of a magical double (far from perfected, but one that did imitate his appearance almost accurately), he had gone closer to bait it himself – and it had taken the bait. He had been too slow to defend himself, and it had raked his arm as it had tried to find enough space to spread its wings. Loki had disappeared through the undergrowth an instant later when he had heard Thor leading the attack. Thor and his companions' fighting cries had since faded to calls of victory and distant voices. Loki pulled his knees tightly to his chest. If they saw that he had been hurt, they would tease him for days and he would forever be labeled as weak and useless.

"Brother?" The call was distant, but all of Loki's senses sharpened immediately. "Brother, where have you gone?" Loki tried to even his breathing. He had hoped that he had left too little a trace for Thor to track him, but his brother's voice was closer than he would have liked. It was a bay tree Loki sheltered under, he noted absently. He could smell the pungent leaves that were crushed beneath him. It was a pity that his brother did not track by scent, or Loki would have been well-hidden.

"Loki, this is no time for games."

Loki ignored the pain in his arm and drew upon a tendril of power. His brother was nothing if not stubborn, but if Loki could give him something that looked very much like Loki did . . . He closed his eyes and concentrated. He could see his own image in his mind. He very carefully tugged on his power, told it, Do that, make something that looks like that . . . He opened his eyes and squinted at where something was shimmering in the air.

"Brother, there you are."

Loki started and the shimmer disappeared. He scrambled to his feet and peered around the tree, keeping his right side carefully hidden. Thor was striding toward him, a relieved smile on his face. "I had feared you hurt," Thor said brightly. He stopped a few steps away from Loki. "We have captured the drake without more than a scratch among all of us!"

"I'm glad for it," Loki said tightly.

"Aren't you coming back with us? Surely there are better places to rest than beneath a tree." Thor laughed and it made Loki feel nettled. Perhaps he had been hiding behind the tree for other reasons, but he was fond of the forest and disliked Thor's dismissive nature.

"At least it was quiet," Loki snapped. Thor looked slightly hurt. Loki felt a little guilty. "But . . . yes, I shall come back with you." Neither of them moved.

Thor blinked. "Well, the horses are gathered over there." He nodded to the direction he had come from.

"I will follow at a distance, if you don't mind." Loki's sharp tone was back.

Thor frowned. "Brother, why do you stand behind the tree like that?" He took a step forward and Loki automatically took one back. Thor paused and gave him a knowing look. "Let me see."

"There's nothing to see."

Thor walked forward anyway. Loki knew he couldn't escape now, so he kept his ground. Thor took Loki's right hand and extended his unresisting arm. When he saw the gashes, he hissed in a breath. "You are wounded."

Loki glowered at him and tugged his hand away. "It is nothing."

"With some salve and bandages, perhaps, but not as it is." Thor smiled. "You need medical attention at home." When Loki said nothing, Thor tried a different approach. "I know where we keep them, back at home. I can bind it for you, and father will be none the wiser." Still Loki said nothing. Thor put a hand on his shoulder. "Do not worry about what the others think," he said in a quiet voice. "It is a war wound, is it not? Look–" Thor reached a hand to his shoulder as though to unfasten his cloak, but it was warm out and he wore none. Thor bit his lip and looked around as though he would find something on the ground. Loki almost smiled; his brother was too kind, sometimes. "Here," Thor finally said, and undid the cloth sash that secured his tunic. "Wrap it in this."

Loki took the fabric and wrapped the wound quickly. Blood stained the fabric immediately, but there was no help for it. Loki raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"Good," said Thor. "Do not worry. I will take our horses and tell the rest that we decided to go on ahead." Thor smiled. "Come. A feast awaits."

Loki snorted but relaxed. "This is hardly a great victory, brother."

"But warriors always get feasts, in the songs," Thor pointed out, and stepped away, heedless of the branches and leaves crushed noisily beneath his feet. Loki fell into stop automatically, though he was more careful and made hardly any sound.

"And you are not a warrior."

"I caught a drake!" Thor said indignantly. "How am I not?"

Loki smiled. "Not on your own."

"So? Warriors work together. Even father is not foolish enough to fight alone. Usually." The horses were now visible through the trees, and Loki let the conversation drop as he fell back behind a tree. Thor continued forward with confidence in his stride. "My friends!" he called.

"Thor!" responded Volstagg joyfully. "We thought you had become lost!" While the rest of the group were still growing awkwardly into their teenage bodies, Volstagg was nearly an adult. However, he rarely acted like Odin's other warriors, and he joked more than all of Thor's friends combined.

"No, I was not lost," Thor replied, and took his horse and Loki's by their bridles. "I found Loki, and we have decided to go on ahead."

"Ahead?" scoffed Fandral. "We are all eager to be home, Thor."

"Indeed," said Sif. "Do you think to claim our prize as your own?"

"Sif, you can carry the drake yourself if you like," Thor replied, and began to lead the horses away. "I will meet you at the castle."

"Very well, but we will not wait for you," said Fandral, and the group moved out.

Thor led the horses over to Loki and offered a hand to help him mount, but Loki ignored him and pulled himself up into the saddle one-handed. He cradled his arm against his chest and gritted his teeth as the wound protested. Thor swung up into his own saddle, and they set out at a walk. "At this rate we'll get there long after your friends," Loki pointed out.

Thor shrugged. "It does not matter," he said, but Loki knew that Thor must be disappointed to be held back by his brother.

"It is my arm that is hurt, not my legs," Loki told him. "I will race you to the castle gates."

"What?" asked Thor, startled, but Loki had already urged his horse into a gallop. A moment later Thor's horse leaped after him, and Loki grinned. Loki's horsemanship had always been better than his brother's, and he did not plan to lose a race to him now.

Loki won by a good three horse's lengths, and he laughed with joy as he slowed his horse to a walk inside the courtyard. Thor looked disgruntled and displeased that he had lost. "You had a head start," he complained.

"Not one that large," Loki replied, grinning. "You started barely a step behind me."

They dismounted and left their horses to the servants. Thor was still frowning in annoyance, but when he saw how much blood had soaked through Loki's makeshift bandage, the frown disappeared. "Oh, Loki." Loki shot him a look, but Thor did not hide his concern. "The bandages are over here."

Thor had Loki sit down on a bench while tended to the wound. Thor did not have the deftest hands, but his touch was surprisingly gentle. Loki carefully kept his face blank and his arm still while Thor washed away the blood and cleaned the wound with a damp cloth. Thor carefully spread some salve across the cuts and wrapped it in clean linen. Loki watched Thor's face as he worked. Thor's face looked serious in the way it did whenever he was concentrating particularly hard on something. He was too young to grow a beard yet, but his face had lost some of his roundness and he was beginning to look like a man.

When Thor was done, he stepped back with a smile. "See? As good as new. Now come, and we will feast." Loki carefully arranged what was left of his sleeve over the bandage, and then let Thor pull him to his feet. Thor did not release Loki's hand. Loki let Thor lead him to the palace in that way, until they passed through its great doors and Thor let Loki's hand drop. Loki swallowed his disappointment. When they were alone, all of Thor's attention was on Loki, but he knew that the moment they entered the great hall, Loki would take second place to all the others at the feast. Thor gave Loki one last touch on the shoulder, and then they walked through the doorway and all his attention was gone.