Chapter 10:

The Parting of the Ways

Back into 'Midgard' or whatever, I was woken up by a monster. Obviously I screamed.

"What are you screaming for, you idiot?" Said the monster, which I noted was Natasha. Her hair was such a mess I thought she was a ginger beast.

"Oh it's just you." I said, catching my breath. A thunder raged outside. "Yeah, okay, got it, no jokes about Thor or his kids." I said, rolling my eyes. Natasha looked at me angrily.

"Just get up already. It's breakfast time."

"I saw your dad by the way." She stared, in shock.

"Really? Why? How?"

"He told me we need to find Sleipnir. Odin's horse or something. I'm sure Edward knows all about it." She looked sad.

"Why did he talk to you and not to me?" I shrugged.

"Maybe he feels uncomfortable talking to you, since you're his daughter. Chill out, I'm sure it's no big deal." She still looked a bit sad, but nodded. "Anyway, let's get some breakfast."

We went downstairs and everyone was already there eating, except for Fenris. Lazy ass.

"Good morning, girls!" Loki said, smirking. Damn, even with his hair all messy he still looked hot. "All I have is milk and bread, I hope you don't mind."

"That's fine. I'm so hungry I could eat the plate." Natasha said, making us laugh. I noticed Nico seemed a bit more comfortable now. And a bit prettier too. Hmm. A good night of sleep can really change a person, eh?

"How you doing, Death Boy?" He gave me one of his half smiles.

"I'm okay. Strangely, I had a dream about my father and he told me to stay with you guys for a while." I frowned. Now that's ironic. Me frowning to Death Boy.

"Why would he do that?" He shifted slightly.

"Actually, he wants me to find out more about what the Norse gods are up to." I laughed.

"You dad sure is a charismatic guy." He nodded, smiling a bit more.

I sat straighter and coughed, calling everyone's attention.

"Guys, I have news." Loki began staring at me interestedly. Kinda disturbing. "I talked to Thor." He laughed.

"How is Thunderhead doing?" Natasha frowned, probably not amused, but didn't say anything.

"Well, apparently, he lost Sleipnir and now we need to find him." I came closer to his ear. "And by the way, if you could stop fucking animals I'd be much happier." He snickered but didn't say a thing.

"He lost Sleipnir?!" Edward exclaimed. It was impressive how most of his sentences were of the same kind. Nerd ones. "Odin must be furious!"

"I'm not sure if he told Odin…" Loki began. "I'm not the only liar back in Asgard, despite what you might think. I'm just the best one." Natasha seemed even more disturbed.

"Could you not taint my father's name, if you please? Thanks." She said, staring at him murderously. He shrugged.

"I was trying to be sincere, but okay."

"Anyway, as I was saying, he thinks he lost him somewhere around Canada." Loki raised his brows.

"Not much of a surprise. The Aesir seem to have a particular love for that place." Nico frowned.

"Why is that?"

"Well, for one, it's cold. And it was one of the last places to be discovered by the Vikings. We actually care about our lil fans, you know?" He gave Nico a smirk that could turn anyone gay. Nico just kept frowning at him. Damn.

"In anyway, how are we going to get there?" I asked. To one person in that table it was pretty obvious. To the rest, not so. Loki seemed to be deep in thought, though. Nico sighed.

"I suppose I could do that." I smiled gingerly at him.

"Death Boy to the rescue!" They all stared at him, even Loki.

"How is that?" He asked simply. Nico seemed uncomfortable again, but raised his hand.

"I can shadow travel." They all seemed surprised, except of course for Mr. Trickster, that just seemed pleased. "I don't know how many I can take, though. I was really tired yesterday with only two people." Edward seemed to think.

"What about this, then? We could separate into two groups."

"And where exactly does the second group go, Mr. Wikipedia?" I asked.

"To see Jörmungand." Loki almost spit his coffee.

"Why in Hel's name do you want to see him?"

"Fenrir said he's not doing so well. I think we should try figuring out why." Natasha nodded, swallowing a large chunk of bread.

"That seems reasonable."

"So, who goes where?" Loki asked. Nico stared at me with worry. He seemed extremely uncomfortable and I soon knew why.

"Well where can we find Jörmugand, to start off with?" I asked, staring at Loki. He pondered it for a few minutes. "

I suppose anywhere near the ocean will do." Suddenly we heard quick footsteps down the stairs and soon enough Fenrir stared at us with a pretty maniac grin. Talk about brotherly love.

"I can take you to him."

"And how will you do that?" Natasha asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I'm a huge black wolf, remember? I think I can take two kids on my back." I nodded, trying to look serious.

"Okay then. I go with Nico, and you two go with Fenrir to meet Jörmugand." They both stared at me confusedly.

"Why aren't you coming? He's your brother."

"Yeah, but you got all that Wikipedia stuff which will probably be useful if we want to figure out who or what's making him stir." Edward still stared.

"Let's say I believe that. What about Natasha?" Loki gave me a strange look and then looked back at Edward.

"Natasha is a lot stronger than Amber, and plus a lot more experienced. She'll be more useful with you. I don't see how finding an eight-legged horse will be hard." I think I don't have to say what our reaction-minus Edward- was.

"WHAT?!" Me, Nico and Natasha spit out together. Loki smirked again.

"Thor forgot to tell you that, eh?" I just nodded, too horrified.

"How is that even possible?!" He just shrugged.

"We're talking about Norse gods, giant wolves and world-devouring serpents. What's the big deal with an eight-legged horse? At least he's normal sized and doesn't speak. That, would be weird." He had a point, but still. I shook the thought away.

"Whatever. When are we leaving?" Loki looked at the window, where it just started to snow.

"As soon as possible, I'd say."

"Who is the god of snow and why is he fucking with us?" I asked, opening the door and seeing the village already covered in snow. Loki shrugged.

"Used to be Höd, but he's dead. Not sure who's in charge of it now. Maybe the Jötuns, although I think that would be a terrible idea." Nico frowned. Apparently the cold didn't trouble him as much as it did me.

"It's strange to hear of a dead god. Feels wrong." Edward nodded.

"That's because you're not used to it. Your gods can't die. Not many of ours have died, though." He eyed Loki a bit suspiciously, which made me a bit suspicious too. Loki didn't seem to see, or ignored him.

"Can't you like, snap your fingers and give us warm clothes?" He laughed.

"Once. Nowadays, I can barely buy coffee without getting tired. Being human sucks when you were a god." We all stared at him with a look of obviousness.

"It sucks whatever the case." I told him. He smirked and patted my shoulder.

"Yes yes. Whatever. Let's not start being depressive. You all should get going. Who knows, I might even have a cake for you when you come back." We stared at him again. Even Fenris, who still was a bit sluggish from sleep eyed him.

"Father, I sure hope you do not attempt to bake a cake. The odds are not in your favor." We all laughed and said goodbye to the trickster god. It was merrier than I expected meeting my father would have been.

We walked a bit further to the center of the village and stood there, waiting for nothing I suppose. Fenrir cracked his neck.

"Wolfy time." He mumbled, seeming a bit uncomfortable. The next thing I knew, Sabrina's transformation-in larger scale- was occurring once again right before my eyes.

He was a good tad bigger than her, about the size of a horse, and his fur was much darker. His eyes were the same stunningly pale blue as they were in his human form, but now they seemed to fit in better. He waved his enormous tail around, snow flying all over the place.

"Wow!" I exclaimed simply. Everyone else was gasping too. Well, not everyone. Edward just frowned. Even he should have been impressed, right?

"I thought you'd be bigger." Fenrir snickered, which was weird coming from a big wolf.

"I can control my size. A super huge wolf walking around England would be a bit harder to disguise, don't you think?"

"About that," Nico started. "How does it work for you Norse? I mean, for us, the Mist keeps human from seeing anything weird. But what about you?" Fenrir sat and turned his head, which was super-duper cute.

"I'm not sure. I think it's Frey's job." Edward facepalmed himself. Natasha just watched quietly. Except for Edward, everyone around me is cute. It's impressive.

"Yes, it is Frey's job. How can you not know that?" Fenrir attempted to shrug, but that didn't work very well. "Frey is the god of many things, such as fertility, time, prosperity, and many other important things. He is basically the one charged with keeping the mortals happy. Seeing monsters walking among them doesn't make them very happy, so he uses some sort of magical liquid that he spreads on Midgard to make mortals think that whatever it is they're seeing is something else, something from their world."

"Don't you think it's funny how he talks of mortals as if he's not one?" I whispered in Nico's ear. He nodded, smiling slightly. Edward really hates me by the look he sent my way. I ignored him.

"So, now that Wikipedia has already done his good deed of the day, can we go?" Everyone else nodded. Even Fenrir. Felt like petting him.

Edward and Natasha mounted on Fenrir, looking extremely uncomfortable to be in a big wolf's lap. Natasha unwillingly hugged Edward's waist, giving me a look of disgust. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hi- o, Fenrir!" I said, laughing. Fenrir howled, imitating a horse, and ran in full speed. All I could hear was Natasha's and Edward's scream. Nico and I laughed.

"Our turn, Death Boy." He sighed.

"Thanks for coming with me. It would've been weird to take them." I shrugged.

"That's alright. Although seeing Edward hugging your waist would've been reeeeeally funny.

"Ha-hah," He faked, giving me what I thought was a variation of a smirk. Someone's loosing up a bit, hmm? "Anyway, let's get this over with already." I hugged his waist, preparing myself for another rollercoaster of doom. At least this time I knew what would happen.

And that's when shit happened.