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Chapter two

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It was darker than usual when the child awakened, moaning in pain even as he heard the gentle whisper for the first time. He frowned, unable to place the voice, if in fact it was a voice at all. There was nothing he had ever heard like it, and he frowned, listening before his eyes blinked open and he looked around for the source of the sound.

What he saw fascinated him, and he looked around in wonder even as he pulled himself laboriously to a sitting position. It was dark, but not as dark as it ought to be, from how far he had fallen when Helbindi dropped him, and there was a green shimmer in the air itself, bright and smelling of something he had never even known could exist. The scent was sharp, and sweet at the same time, not mineral at all. He heard the whisper again, and with a grunt he pulled himself to his feet, following the sound towards where the light was brighter. It seemed at first that he was in some kind of cave, but the more he traveled, the less it looked like a cave, and when he reached the opening where the light was, he looked out in wonder and awe.

He had never seen anything like this before, there was green and brown and light everywhere, and the whispers were coming from the green. Moving toward the source of the most whispering, Loki focused, almost making out words in the rustling and whispering. Closing his green eyes, the jotun child focused, listening hard as he waited to see what would happen.

"Closer… come closer… listen listen listen…" His eyes flew open as he heard the words, and the soft voice in the whispers, almost expecting to see someone by his ear from how all surrounding it had been before he realized that it was the bright greenery talking to him. Nervously, he went forward, following the trail cautiously until he came to something of a clearing.

"H.. hello?" He called, and the whispers seemed to giggle and chuckle at him all at once making the child flush with uncertainty. "Where… where am I? How did I get here?"

"In my boughs…" The whisper was clearer this time and the boy started, still not seeing anyone when he looked around. "I bought you here… Here is in your mind…"

"My mind? I don't understand…" The whispers chuckled again, and a warm breeze blew over the jotun child, and he closed his eyes at how good it felt. "Who.. who are you?"

"Mimameidr… Short lives call me Mimameidr… My favored one…" The voices whispered back, and the boy frowned, having heard that term before, when Borka had spoken it a few times, though he didn't understand why the elder warrior had spoken with reverence when referring to it.

"You… you're… the world?" He asked, confused only to hear the voices laugh again, more mirthfully this time.

"I am all worlds… I hold each seed of life within…" The child frowned again, not understanding it but feeling that it would be explained in time.

"What did you mean when you said we were in my mind?" He asked, looking around again, quite certain that there never would have been anything like this place in his mind since he had never seen anything like it before.

"Too small… too young to come to me… so I come to you… I protect… mine." The whispers took a fierce edge to them, but it was comforting to the youth anyways, and he relaxed, taking a seat on the hard brown ground. "Deep sleep… the deepest alive… allows me to reach you… to teach you…"

"So… this is a dream then?" The child asked, before frowning and shaking his head. "No… this is too real for a dream. Something else then.. Magic?"

"Yes yes yes yes yes…" The whispers all around him crowed the word, whispered it and merged it excitedly in a long, exalted stream of joy. "Mine to teach… my magic… my fire."

"Fire? But fire is evil!" The child cried out, startled and feeling almost betrayed, especially when the voice laughed again.

"No… Fire is life… ice is life… Fire born from ice… mine…" Mimameidr whispered, amused and happy, and the boy was so confused. "Your mark… the symbol of fire… your rune of power… So frail… such a small… spark… Feeding tinder to the spark… gives it strength…"

"You're confusing me…" The boy stated, quite clearly before laying back, so very comfortable where he was.

"Yes…" The whispers chuckled again, and another warm breeze wrapped around the boy, caressing his cool blue skin gently. "But you will learn… mine… my champion… my most favored." He shuddered as the warmth caressed him again, and his eyes closed as his breathing shuddered. It felt so good, and he felt wanted and this Mimameidr accepted him. "Listen… learn… this is how you come back…"

The boy listened… and he learned… and though it wasn't long until he awoke, there was so much more in his mind now.

XXX

The child winced as he stood up, his body covered in scrapes and bruises and his head throbbing, and not just because of all the knowledge Mimameidr had given him. His head had hit the wall as he tumbled, and he had no horns to guard himself. The voices had said that was why he had fallen into a deep enough sleep for her to talk to him for the first time. She had always been there, and now that he knew her voice, the child could think back to all the times he had listened to it to find food, to find shelter and to cause mischief.

He grinned as he found a narrow ledge that led upwards and out of the chasm Helbindi had dropped him into. It was simple work to climb his way up, though painful for all of his scrapes. Still, he could feel himself healing already if he focused on it, the movement of energy beneath his skin where Mimameidr had shown him such wondrous things.

As he pulled himself up over the edge finally, he flopped down on his back, looking up and laughing as he saw the bright stars where the clouds and general storm had cleared away. The bright stars seemed to curl around the sky, wrapping from one horizon to the other in what she had said were her roots and now he could see the patterns of them. He laughed again, his eyes glued to the beautiful sky even as he waited for himself to heal. It didn't matter how long it would take, because he had nowhere to be.

Finally he fell asleep, his legs still dangling over the cliff face and his emerald eyes watching the sky.

XXX

"Wake up… wake up runt." The boy groaned, his emerald eyes fluttering open to look at Bylestr's face as the taller giant knelt over him. "About time… I was worried that Hel had killed you." The larger jotun said, leaning back on his heels as he watched his older brother.

"No… not yet at least…" The runt said, and Byle chuckled, shaking his head.

"He won't. Borka was most displeased with him, and father tanned his rear when he said that you were useless.

"Why would King Laufey do that?" The runt asked, and Byle rolled his crimson eyes at the others question. "No, really. He hates me, even I can tell."

"Because you're useful, even now. He said that you were leverage against the Aesir or something…" Byle said brightly, before standing up. "Since your other parent was one of them."

"All the more reason he hates me…" The runt muttered, turning over and staring listlessly into the distance. "Helbindi told me earlier that I'm a halfbreed… but she said that wasn't so bad."

"She? Who are you talking about?" Byle asked curiously, not understanding the half jotun boy very well at all. "Did you have death dreams when Hel dropped you on your head?"

"Yes… but that's alright." The runt grinned at him, and Byle watched curiously. It was strange to see the smaller boy happy, he was usually skulking and hiding away, trying to do whatever it was that a Vitki was supposed to do according to Borka. "Watch…"

Byle's eyes widened as the runt focused on his hands, a small ball of light forming between them, and he scrambled back. "Sorcery…" His blue skin darkened in alarm even as the runt laughed.

"Yes… Vitki remember? This is what Borka wanted me to learn…" the light dissipated as the runt shook his head and lay back again. "I'm not strong.. not yet, but soon he'll be proud of me… soon King Laufey will be proud of me."

Byle stood and thought as he looked at the older child, before a slow grin crossed his features, seeing an opportunity that Helbindi would never take. "I'm proud of you... brother." One day the runt would be the more cunning and skilled of all of them, and it would be a good idea to get on his good side now, instead of continuing to ignore him, and that was why the young frost giant had shown his approval. That, and the look of joy on the runts face was a truly amazing thing to behold.

XXX

The runt grinned as he ran through the canyons to his place, far from the remains of the jotun capital Utgard. It was a cave, deep in the hills and hidden by curtains of ice. He hadn't put any illusions up yet to hide it, because if he did he could hide the entrance from sight, but anyone sensitive to magic at all would find it even easier. Mimameidr had taught him that much, and his strength was growing steadily though not quickly.

Scrambling into his cave, the runt looked around at the things he had gathered for while he was learning, the bowls of powdered minerals, the bits and twigs of wood for experimenting with fire, and the sheafs of what she had called paper with strange markings that he was trying to learn to decipher. He looked at the runes of the paper, before taking one of his fire twigs and concentrating hard on it. When he felt his magic responding, he murmured the spell to set it aflame, and grinned as the tiny lick of fire went up. He cradled it for a moment, enjoying the warmth and heat it excluded, so very different from the cold and ice of Jotunheim.

Then sighing he put the flames out and while the charred stick was still hot used it to draw markings on his skin. He had practiced each mark a hundred times, and commited their meanings deep into his memory, or at least what he hoped were the correct meanings. Mimameidr hadn't been able to tell him the meanings of each rune, laughing when he begged her to teach him. But knowledge not earned was wasted was all that she had said, and that in order to understand them he would have to discover for himself the meanings.

Grinning brightly as he finished the last rune on his chest, the runt looked down on himself. Since it looked like everything was in order, he sighed, biting his lip before impulsively tracing one more mark onto his arm, something he had seen when last he visited Mimameidr in his mind. Hopefully this would let him focus on actually visiting her, instead of just feeling her mind and hearing her whisper. Closing his eyes, the runt gathered all the power he could to him, before looking around one more time. If he messed this up, he wouldn't ever be able to return, and the other races would destroy him for being away from this world if he couldn't escape them.

Setting aside thoughts of failure from his mind, the runt breathed, words for each rune escaping him before he stepped forward, thinking of the green, warm place that had been his refuge when speaking to his teacher, the great tree where he could hear her voice. When he opened his eyes though, all he saw was darkness and stars.

Nearly panicking, the young half jotun looked around, realizing that though he couldn't see it, there was a path beneath his feet, and when he looked behind him, he could see the dark blue star that was his world. If he listened hard, he could hear Mimameidr's laughter, and he grinned, laughing himself as he took her challenge and stepped forward on the invisible pathway. He followed only his own feet and the sound of her mirth, and it felt like he was climbing to the top of the highest cliff he had ever seen.

Soon sweat was dripping from his head, and his breathing was harsh and labored, but if he stopped now, he knew he would fall off the invisible path and be worse than dead. Her mirth was still there though, and he almost heard her whisper encouraging him, urging him to go just a little further, so he did, closing his eyes and taking the last step.

Only to find himself falling, although when he opened his eyes he realized that he was falling onto the ground, or at least a ground. There was something soft and green, like her leaves, beneath him instead of her branches, and when he looked around he saw taller, growing green things in the distance that looked like she did. "M… mimameidr?" He called out, panic in his heart as he wondered if he had messed up so badly that he would be lost forever. The panic was stilled though as he heard her warm chuckle, and felt the breeze against his cool skin, warming it. Laughing at his own panic, he lay back and looked up at the incredibly bright sky, wondering if the huge ball of light above him was what she had once called the sun.

"You'll have to show me where to find you…" He said out loud, laughing as he heard her whispers, before frowning. "Mimameidr?" The whispers took on a new urgency, and he looked up again, his emerald eyes scanning the sky for the danger the whispers said was there. Nibbling his lip, he looked around, before standing and striding to where the tall trees stood on the horizon, knowing that it would be better to take shelter there than it would be to stay sleeping in the open.

He was so exhausted right now that he couldn't even run if he needed to, let alone repeat the spell that had finally carried him from his home. He was just in time as he got to the shad under the trees, looking up as a huge shadow passed over him, and his eyes widened as he saw the huge thing flying in the skies. It looked like one of the ravens he sometimes saw during his time with Mimameidr, but much larger, with golden and white plumage instead of shining black, and wickedly hooked talons and beak. It was large enough to hold a dozen Jotun warriors along its back, never mind a puny Jotun runt, and the boy shivered as he looked up at it, before sliding down in his hiding spot as his strength bled out.

He was somewhere new, with whole new things that would certainly be trying to kill him as everything on Jotunheim had always tried to kill him, but he was strong and clever and would certainly not be silly enough not to heed the warnings of everything around him. He listened, wondering what all he could do here, now that he was so far away from all that he had known before, and the more he listened, and looked around, the more he wanted to look at everything and poke at anything to take it apart and see what it was.

Careful to stick to the shade under the trees, he began to look around, taking in the new smells and textures and feelings of this place, so very different from the world he had been born in. It felt nicer, better than ever home could have been, and when he looked up and saw brightly colored little ravens, he laughed in delight, watching them flit from tree to tree. Putting his climbing skills to good use, he scaled up the side of one of the trees to look at something some of the birds found very interesting indeed, and he looked into the little nest that he found there, fascinated by the tiny birds until their parents started flapping in his face to chase him away.

When he fell off the branch while trying to avoid their mad dive bombing, he landed laughing instead of crying, and he looked up to where they perched by their nest, scolding him. "I didn't mean to make you angry… I just want to see." He said placating, and the birds stopped their chirping and looked at him for a few moments before chirping once more and turning back to what they had been doing.

Laughing and recognizing a dismissal when he heard one, the runt got up, dusting himself off and looking around for something else to explore. Listening and following his nose, he set out, determined to make the best of his time away from his home.

XXX

Eventually, the runt ran out of energy, and lay back under the shade of a great tree, far bigger than the others, to rest himself. He was hungry, but he didn't know what was food and what was not food here, and he didn't want to hunt the local animals when they didn't seem to be trying to kill him. It was so different than Jotunheim, where everything would try to kill everything else, and whatever was strongest ate the best.

He had thought he w as drowsing when he heard it first, but when he opened his eyes and saw two golden faces not far from his own, he panicked, pulling away and darting behind the huge tree despite their startled cries. "Wait.. we mean you no harm…" One of them called, larger than the runt but not nearly as large as a jotun child. "Come back and play with us." There was a bright smile on the boys face, so different from the cruel grin that would all to often grace Helbindi's features, though not far off from the indulgent look that Bylestr often wore.

"P… play?" He asked, looking between the two boys, taking in their appearance as he wondered what was going on. One was larger than him, with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes, while the other was the same size he was, with silver hair and laughing blue eyes. They had the same look about them, with warm golden skin and a similar build. "Wh.. what are you?"

"What do you mean? My name is Baldur, and this is my older brother Thor. We're the Aesir princes, sons of Odin." The slightly smaller silver haired one said happily, and the runt jerked back, hiding behind the tree again, wondering why the boys hadn't simply killed him when he slept for his blue skin. But his skin wasn't blue at the moment, and he frowned looking down at himself and wondering when his skin had adopted this pale tone, not quite the golden of the two aesir boys, but definitely not Jotun blue. Also, his markings were gone, as if washed away by the bright sunlight. "Do… do you not want to play with us?"

The runt nearly jumped out of his altered skin as he looked up at the silver haired boy now hovering over his shoulder. "It… its not that… but… why would you want to… play with me?" He asked, his eyes taking note of the very strange clothes the silver haired boy and his golden haired brother wore. They looked much nicer and more well put together than anything he had ever seen on Jotunheim, let alone the ragged loin cloth that he wore. There were also discolorations on his skin, and though he was the same height as the Aesir boys, he was much, much thinner, and paler now that the silver haired one was closer to him.

"We like making friends… besides… you… you look like you could use it." The silver haired boy smiled brightly, before the other one, Thor, came around the tree, also grinning brightly.

"Indeed, you look most distraught." The older boy said, and the runt tilted his head, watching both golden boys for a moment before Thor spoke again. "We have given our names, it would be polite for you to give your name as well."

The runt laughed, and watched a thundercloud roll through Thor's face though he didn't mean offense, and he calmed his laughter, still staring at the older boy. "I don't mean to offend. As a prince, you are used to people being polite, yes? But I can't be… my father hasn't named me yet."

"But… why not? That is a monumentally unheard of thing to do." Thor said, and both he and Baldur looked aghast at the news that the runt had no name. "Who is your father? I'm certain that our father will speak to him post haste about remedying this."

"No… He can't." The runt said, shadows dancing through his eyes. "Because I do not know who my father is… all I know is that he was Aesir."

"Then our father will certainly know." Baldur stated, his elder brother nodding at his words. "Our father is Odin Allfather, and he knows all Aesir by sight and would certainly know who you look after."

"Look after?" the runt asked, confused as he looked between the two boys.

"Yes. Whoever your father is, you look like him. All children look like their fathers and mothers." Baldur was smiling brightly, although even Thor looked a little confused at his words at the moment. However, his words only made the runt frown more, and his eyes furrowed in confusion at the last word.

"What… what does mothers mean?" He asked earnestly, much to the shock of both boys.

"Your mother is the one who gave birth to you." Thor stated, frowning himself at the honest questions the strange, pale dark haired boy had.

"Oh… I've never heard that word, but I know who you're talking about." The runt said, brightening. "So… your father would know who my father is? And he would be able to make him name me?"

"Of course! Come on, this way." Baldur said brightly, grabbing the dark haired boy's hand and dragging at him to come along, and laughing and caught up in excitement, he did.

Of course, when they got to where the boys's father was waiting, the runt shied back, biting his lip as he looked up at the impressively statured one eyed man. He was tall… not quite as tall as a Jotun, but not much shorter either. Over one side of his face, a golden eye patch hid where he had lost his other eye at some point, and the clothes he wore were much similar to what the boys wore, just as fine and well made.

"What brings you back so quickly my sons, and who is your friend. He doesn't look elfin nor dwarven, which is odd for someone of Alfheim." The large man said, and the runt froze, the voice stirring an old memory, of before Borka took him in, and before he had scavenged for food in the wastes. This man had been there when Laufey left him in the temple… The memory was fuzzy, barely there at all, but it was there, and he wondered briefly, was this his father that Laufey had tried to give him to? This man didn't want him.

"His father is Aesir, Father, and never gave him a name." Thor blurted out, obviously upset by the injustice of such a thing.

"Please Father, can you help him find out who his father is so that he can have a name as well?" Baldur asked, looking up at Odin with bright blue eyes, to which the old man laughed and the runt shrank back even more.

"Hmm… very well, let me take a look at you child." Odin said, rising and striding forward to where the runt hid behind Baldur, who still held his thin wrists. The one eyed man frowned down at the child, taking hold of the boy and turning him in the light, looking a little displeased about something as he looked the youth over. He looked at the boys frame and downturned face for several moments before tilting the boy's chin forward to see his eyes more clearly. "Tell me boy, who is your mother? Who gave birth to you?"

The runt shook his head, drawing back. "I… I'm… I don't want… please don't kill me.." he said, trembling but knowing that it was too late to run away. He was frightened, and scared, and didn't know what to make of the others examination, and he knew there were unshed tears in his bright green eyes.

"Why would I do such a thing? No child, you are definitely of our people, but unless I know the name of the one who birthed you, I cannot know who your father is. Speak honestly, and no harm will come to you."

The runt winced, before looking down. "L… Laufey…" He said, his voice barely more than breath between his lips, the sound carrying nowhere at all, though Odin clearly heard it from the way the man jerked back in surprise. "All… all give birth, and all father children… but a child has no place and no strength until their father names them… that's what she told me… but my father would not name me, and… I was left to Mimameidr's mercy…" His words were still quiet as he waited for Odin to strike him, to hurt him and hate him for being Laufey's child, and a vitki as well.

"I see." Odin finally said, and the runt didn't look up, afraid of what he would see in the Aesir's face. "How did you get here then."

The child shifted nervously, wondering what all it would be safe to tell this man about his teacher, before closing his eyes and listening to the whispers. "She told me how to leave… I was supposed to visit her, but I got tired, and had to stop here to rest."

"Visit who?" Odin said with a frown, and the runt grinned as he heard the rustle of laughter in the breeze through the leaves.

"Mimameidr." The runt said simply, laughing as the wind tickled through his hair. "She said that she holds the seeds of all worlds in her arms and her trunk and her roots."

"Mimameidr… Mimi's tree… The world tree." Odin said thoughtfully looking at the boy, something strange in the old mans features. "What else does she tell you?"

"That I… I'm fire and light, and that I will bring the warmth back." He said softly, before looking away at the sky, the white clouds among the bright blue sky.

"Light and warmth… Good things to hold close. Very well then… for each of my children I asked my wife to read their weave with her Seidr and find their name, but it sounds like Yggdrasil has already read your weave, so your name will be Loki… Loki Odinson." The man said, and the runt gasped, looking back at Odin as he felt something inside of him fall into place, like when he figured out puzzles or how to work with the things that Mimameidr taught him.

"Loki…" The boy laughed, jumping up and hugging the startled Odin with a bright grin. "Thank you, father." He said quietly before letting go of the other and falling back in the grass, laughing despite the one eyed mans startled look, or perhaps even because of it. But then Odin's features softened, and he smiled at the small half Aesir, before looking over to where his sons had withdrawn while he was talking to Loki.

"Thor, Baldur… come meet your brother, Loki." Odin called, and both boys looked startled, but pleased at Odin's words, even as Loki watched them carefully, warily. He hadn't had good experiences with brothers yet… but maybe the Aesir children would be different than the jotun ones.

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Notes: Good lord… o.o Seriously, I need to start having more ideas for Falling and Fiery Spirit than I do for this… but its so much fun to fuck with young Loki. As you can see, it wasn't Borka who kept Loki alive, also, it wasn't entirely Mimameidr but that's a bit for another chapter. Also, about Helbindi and Bylestr… what can I say. Helbindi isn't too bright, but Bylestr is quite intelligent and willing to do what it takes to stay on everyone's good sides. The warriors all quite like him too because he listens and actually plans, quite the same way Borka plans for the future, but with different ends in mind.

By the way, there are going to be twelve chapter in this, chronicling Loki growing up in both Jotunheim and Asgard with all of his brothers, and then through the events of Thor, though there will be quite a few obvious differences (Baldur for one :3)

Anyways, after that I'm already planning the sequel, tentatively titled Wildfire thats going to be through the events of the Avengers movie, so please try to hang in there with me :3 And don't forget to tell me what you think, reviews give me fuel to write more.