" So we are going to have to cross the mountains in order to reach Hvergelmir?" Thor's brows knitted together at the map.

"Yes, but I have found a safe trail to cross safely. But…" Loki didn't want to give them false hope of a safe passage but he knew that he had to tell them everything so that won't be caught by surprise.

"But?"

"There is this area here," Loki pointed at the intersection between to mountains, "that is the most dangerous. The ground is unstable and if an avalanche happens, we wouldn't have a way out. Also, this is where the griffins nest."

There were a few groans as they heard that they had to come into contact with more of those beasts.

"Then we must go, we will fight our way out." Thor said, trying to encourage everyone.

"Wait," Elyra's sudden comment caught Loki by surprise.

"How long is the intersection?" She pointed at a path through the mountains just a little west to the path Loki suggested.

"About one and a half miles long, from the beginning of the nesting area to the end of the nesting area. Why?"

"Since we have two sorcerers, can we teleport from one place to another?"

Loki thought for a minute. "Teleporting myself across wouldn't strain my magic, but teleporting this many people…"

"Then why don't we go one by one? Since there are four people that we have to teleport, I can make two trips and you can make two trips."

"That would work, but we can also have to take breaks every one round trip."

"True. But are you sure that the griffins will leave us alone if we are away from their camp."

"Not hundred percent sure, but if we be careful, they should not be able to detect us. We should also teleport half a mile away from the nest just to be sure."

The rest of the team looked at the two back and forth, it seemed as if they formed a natural team by themselves, planning everything out smoothly.

Sif was surprised; this was the first time that her sister talked to another boy without having an urgency to do so.

"Let's set out then."

Loki's sudden comment snapped everyone out of their trance.

"Alright. Let us go." Thor's finality brought no objections to the plan.


Trudging through the path was way harder than what everyone had thought. The cold, chilly weather with the three foot deep snow didn't help the fact that they were hauling armor and weapons on uneven ground. Not to mention the crevices and cracks in the ground.

As the hours went by, the team closer and closer to the nesting area. But as they got closer, they also had to stay even more careful, if one made too much noise, the griffins would be able to hear it and most likely attack.

"Stop here, this is where we will start teleporting" Loki abrupt stop surprised everyone. "Elyra, get ready, do you want to go first, or me?"

"I don't really care. The choice is yours, you are our leader."Her soft voice rang out clearly.

"I'll go first, I'm the one with the map and therefore, I could set the person down in an appropriate place and you could follow."

"Ok." Her voice was steady and soft.

"Thor, come brother, you and I will go first."

Thor strode up confidently, trusting his brother to make the right decisions. Loki grabbed his hand with one hand and Thor's other arm with his other hand. Loki muttered a spell under his breath and teleported away.

Teleporting was harder than usual as he had to carry one other person with him. Half a mile away from the nesting area, half a mile away from the nesting area, half a mile…. He repeatedly thought that in his head so that his magic would drop them where he wanted to. Even through teleporting, he still could feel his brother's hand gripping his.

Suddenly, Loki's feet hit the ground, hard. He braced himself and was able to land gracefully, to some extent.

Thor on the other hand, wasn't used to teleporting and ended up face-planting in the snow.

"Oww. Brother, why couldn't you have warned me?" Thor groaned as he started to get up, snow clinging to his hair and fur.

Loki ignored him, rather to study for any sudden movements that signaled attack. There were none. He let out a breath of air that immediately turned into ice particles. It was that cold.

He then turned to his brother.

"Will you manage alone?"

Thor looked around, determination written on his face. "Yes, go get the others, I will be fine."

Loki nodded and teleported away.

This time, he was ready for impact and landed much more gracefully. Fandral was ready for him.

"Lady Elyra has taken Lady Sif with her to Thor."

"Ok, but be ready, teleporting isn't exactly smooth when there are two people together."

Fandral nodded, but then added, "My hair isn't going to get ruined… right?"

He inwardly groaned. "No Fandral, unless you face plant like Thor."

Fandral's face paled. "Very well then, let us depart."

As Loki got Fandral to the other side, he couldn't help but have a clenching feeling in his stomach.

Nothing could be wrong, right?

As soon as he thought that, a grumbling sound was heard next to the group.

"My sister! The sound is coming from that direction!" Sif was really worried now, the sound was getting closer and still no sign from Hogun and Elyra.

"Thor, Fandral, Sif, you guys stay here and hold your ground. Do not go anywhere or else I wouldn't be able to find you. I will go and find Elyra and Hogun.

Thor suddenly grasped his shoulder, worry written on his Face. "Are you sure, you are very tired. Do want me to go and see instead? You need to rest!"

"What he says is true Loki, you have worn yourself out from spending too much magic!" Frandral was also pretty skittish and worried.

That was true. Loki was indeed tired from the use of magic.

"No, I have to go with magic. There is at least a mile in between us and them, if they haven't moved, and going on foot would be too slow. Wait here!"

With that, Loki departed with a smell of pines left behind.

Everyone was shocked. They had never thought that Loki would be so selfless.

"We have to set out. Loki might need reinforcements and we have to be there for him, no matter what he said." Thor was determined to not let Loki be alone facing whatever there was.

Everyone nodded.


I am SOOO sorry for not updating in a while! School has been harsh with the tests as well. This isn't much but I hope that you will enjoy it. Please review!