Sleigh Ride

They were so busy most of the time that they sometimes found it difficult to create quality moments together. However, "Sleigh Karaoke" was always fun. And because in space no one can hear your Meatloaf records playing, then you can blast it out as loud as your ear drums can take it.

"Like a bat out of hell I'll gone, gone, gone!" Sigyn sang at the top of her lungs. Meatloaf would have been proud. "Take it, Loki!"

Loki leapt up onto his seat, standing with his hands outstretched.

"Then I'm dying at the bottom of the pit in the blazing sun!" he howled. "Torn and twisted at the foot of the burning bike!"

"Yes! Best song ever!" Sigyn crowed. "What's next?"

"Paradise by the Dashboard Light?"

"Go on, then."

Loki dropped back into his seat as he lent forward to skip the record onto it's next track. As he did so his sleeve brushed against the Tesseract, which was nestled in the very centre of the dashboard and casting its electric blue glow over the sleigh and its occupants. No reader needs to possess the Mind Palace of Sherlock Holmes in order to recall that the Tesseract is in actual fact the container for the Space Infinity Stone; nor does the reader need to possess the intelligence of Sherlock Holmes to be able to work out that owning such an item would be a marvellously convenient tool to assist the one who, for example, needs to zip about the Nine Realms on a regular basis, such as the Jolnir family.

And how did the Jolnirs come by such a cursed and revered thing? Now that it is a question. The answer probably lies with Odin, as most unanswered questions do. However, a long time ago, way back in 965 AD, Odin the One-Eye, defeated the Frost Giants in an epic battle and took three somethings from Jotunheim as spoils of war. And that's when all the trouble began.

Firstly, he wrestled the Casket of Ancient Winters out of Laufey's icy clutches, the source of the Frost Giants power.

Secondly, he took their newborn prince as hostage. (The taking of child hostages was a formalised practice back in Odin's heyday). It was a weak looking thing, small and crying feebly, but a prince all the same.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, he snatched the Tesseract from them.

By taking these three things for himself Odin successfully deprived the Jotuns of power, Royalty, and the ability to travel. He had well and truly squashed the enemy under his boot with no hope of forgiveness or restoration. Jotunheim had been plunged into a literal dark age, one that would last for thousands of years.

If Odin had been a little more chatty with his rival and godly neighbour, Zeus, then maybe he might have been reminded of the common truth: children who are deprived of their birthright always grow up with an insatiable hunger to take back what rightfully belongs to them.

And that Loki is not always the culprit.

However, all of this historical chatter and speculation is pure distraction from the story at hand. It just so happens that Sigyn glanced to her left and spotted something which we mere mortals might consider unusual, but is perfectly ordinary to the Aesir.

"Oh, look," she said. "There's goes Thor in his chariot. Pulled by his two giant goats."

Trust the author: it's a Norse thing. And it's not the strangest image in mythology. Not by a long shot.

Loki grinned. "Ah, yes. Toothgrinder and Toothgnasher. Shall we give them a race?"

"I think so. Fire up the Tesseract and hold onto your seat. This is going to be fun."


AN: Thanks for reading! I'm not feeling too well and my laptop died last weekend, so I've lost work and not sure I'll catch up easily.

Author Shoutout Time!

MOLLY: Hey, Loki, what's Sigyn reading on her tablet? She's seem enraptured.

LOKI: Some fanfic. She's been obsessed with it for days. Unless it's about me then I'm not interested.

SIGYN: Hmmm...Ahhh...Oooo...Oh, my. Oh, my!

SHERLOCK: It's probably about me.

LOKI: What makes you say that?

SHERLOCK: It's usually about me.

SIGYN: Sniff, GoodShipSherlollipop's work is so beautiful and romantic. I think I ship the Sherlolly now.

LOKI: The what?! Let me see that...what exactly are you reading...

SHERLOCK: Told you it was about me.

MOLLY: Us.

SHERLOCK: Of course.

LOKI: Hmm, interesting and unique premise. Not seen a Christian Sherlock before...some nice theological discussion and romantic build up to a very sweet wedding...then a Honeymoon fic...OH!

MOLLY: What?

LOKI: Heh, heh. Heh.

SHERLOCK: You're giggling and your face is all red. What did you just read?

LOKI: Oh, I won't give away spoilers. You'll just have to read it for yourself.

AN: Thank you, GoodShip, for all the fun fics, Pms, and reviews for my own fics.