Hey, I am so very sorry that it has been so long since l last up-dated. I had a few problems with my computer, then just a few days after it was fixed, it broke again. The second time it broke I had just written over two thousand words for this chapter. So I have had to start all over again. Anyway I hope that you all had a great festive season and a happy new year. I promise that as long as my computer doesn't have any more problems in the near future I will go back to up-dating every two weeks at least from now on.

Dalonega Noquisi. Thank you so much, I hope that you had a good festive season. I'm sure that they will make up soon. I wanted to add things like that argument because I am trying very hard to not make Eir a Mary sue, thought I thing as a oc and me not being very good at writing I'm sure it will happen if it has not already. I didn't want her to always be on his side, but not be a reason for him to be better, when things do get bad. If Thor can't do that then she should not be able to.


The last two weeks for Eir had fallen into a routine, a very unpleasant routine. It was not a punishment that fact was made very clear by her Father. It was training, preparing for her future, or worse he would refer to it as spending time with family. Only on Asgard would a sparring session, where she was sure her opponent was truly trying to kill her at times, be referred to as family time. Sif had always fiercely fought to prove herself as a warrior despite being a female. That unfortunately for Eir meant that even against her, who without the use of her magic was no real threat to her Cousin, she still went all out to win. If she cared at all about wining, then Eir would leave each sparring match disappointed and dejected. Luckily she did not care in the slightest.

What did make her current situation, unpleasant, maybe even a little miserable, was that she had not spoken to Loki since this routine began. She was not trying to avoid him, she wasn't even angry with him anymore. She never really was, she was just frustrated with the situation. He of all people should know that she was not helpless or weak. He should know that she could take care of herself. He did know this, he just cared. They were friends and neither of them got on very well with her Cousin. After a few days of silence she began to wonder if maybe he was avoiding her. It was a very real possibility. He could hold a grudge better than most people she knew. He didn't really have a reason to hold a grudge, so she dismissed that idea. He was a Prince, there were any number of reason that could have kept him from being able to speak to her for the last two weeks. While this was a comforting thought in regards to their friendship, simply that they still had one, it was a very uncomforting thought in just about every other way. Something had to be wrong.

All of the thoughts that had led her to this concussion had to be pushed from her head as she ducked out of the way of Sif's blade. She was not using both of the swords blades, and Eir was not using her blade at the top of her staff. There did not seem to be any point for either of them. Sif didn't feel that she had to use her weapon to it full power and Eir honestly wanted to get this over with as soon as she could. That did not mean that she was just going to through the match. She was more like her Cousin than she wanted to admit. Her pride would not let her go down without putting up some kind of fight.

After ducking down about an inch, just avoiding getting the top of her head cut off, Eir gripped her staff a little more tightly. It was a futile attack, she knew that, but she had to do something. Swinging the staff in a circular movement in-front of her she aimed for Sif's legs. As she knew that she would, Sif blocked the attack. This gave Eir the time that she needed to pull herself up to her full height. She barely had a change to correct her balance before Sif attacked again. The large hilt of her sword hit against the much thinner metal staff in Eir's hands with such force that the staff was clean knocked out of her hands.

The loud echoing sound of the heavy staff hitting the stone ground was quickly joined by a loud clap. Turing towards the sound they saw Loki walking towards them. After only a few steps he disappeared for a second, then quickly appeared much closer to them, just next to were Eir's staff had fallen. The hint of a smile was beginning to spread across his face.

"Congratulations Sif."

He gave her a quick nod of his head. Sif could not help the slightest nod of her head in return and the tiniest smile on her face. Turning from the winner of the spare to Eir he bent down and picked up her staff. He took a second to hold the weapon in his hands, feeling its balance. It was a very well built weapon. A captain in the Asgardian army would not gift his only Daughter anything less.

"My condolences Eir."

For a second he did offer her a sympathetic smile, but when she slightly grinned back at him he smiled a real smile back. He held the staff out to her with both hands, but he did not take a step towards her. Eir sighed slightly under her breath as she moved towards him to retrieve her weapon. Once it was back in her hands she gave him once again a small nod. Springing the blade out, she shortened the staff to a hilt, turning her staff back into a short sword, the form she was able to carry it in. Once returned to its smallest size she put it back in the holster.

"I thought I was promised blood…"

"I said that you seemed disappointed not to see blood. Not that either of us would truly draw blood." Sif held her head high as she took a step towards them.

Loki seemed to chew on those words as he seemed to nod and shack his head at the same time. "That is true."

"Funny…..you know the meaning of the truth." Sif sneered a little. Enjoying being able to think of a quick comeback for Loki's smart mouth.

For a second a slight second Loki gave her a look of almost respect. It was a look that not many had been give form the trickster Prince. It went away as soon as it had come. Replaced by a blank look as he directly met her eyes. Eir saw this change, could feel the danger of his almost sudden change. Taking a small step to her right she tried without it being too obvious to get in-between them.

Loki remains still. Eyes on Sif. "And you Sif, do you know the meaning of truth."

The young women scoffed. "Of course." She clearly did not like having her integrity being questioned, especially not by Loki. The Prince of lies.

He grinned as he nodded to her. His eyes darting quickly from her to Eir. "You must have missed me."

"What makes you say that." She relaxed a little now, crossing her arms over her chest.

Holding his arms out to his sides he gestured to the training ground around them. "Being here."

Eir just held back a smile and shook her head, Sif was the one to reply. "Some of us want to improve our self's in skills that we lack."

"Again, I can't argue with the truth…..you may want to take some of that advice yourself though."

Sif clenched her hand as she took a step forward, Eir herself took another step in-between them. Loki did not seem to be even slight interested in the angry female warrior he had just greatly annoyed.

"He does have a point."

Eir said as she tried to fight back a small laugh at the sight of the frustrated look on Sif's face. It surprised her that Sif's face was not turning bright red. Feeling a little embarrassed now Sif stopped in her tracks and took in a few deep breath. They were all silent for a few seconds as Sif controlled her anger and Eir tried to control her strong urge to laugh. Loki did not laugh, but he did smile. Knowing that once someone spoke again, most likely Sif or Loki, it would start the argument all over again. If she did not know them better she would be starting to think that they enjoyed trying to get under the others skin. Eir was the first to speak, hoping to change the conversation in a more pleasant direction.

"I take it you must have missed me to…..since you are here yourself."

"Oh Eir, you know me. I would not be here if I did not have to be."

"Why are you."

"I wanted to speak with you."

There was something in his tone, how flat it sounded that let her know that there was something going on that he did not want to say, not now at least. While he spoke to her, he kept one eye on Sif. It seemed that she was not the only person that he was here to talk to. An unpleasant feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. Locking eyes with him, she gave him a questioning looking. Asking him for answers. He kept an eye on both of them for a second them for a brief second looked only at Eir, letting her know that she was about to get the answers she was looking for, if she just waited a while.

"About what."

"What you have been doing the last few weeks."

"Nothing that interesting…..you." He shrugged a little. "How is Sleipnir."

Loki smiled a real smile. "He is doing very well."

That was no exaggeration, the young eight legged horse was doing very well. He did not engage much with the other foals in the stables, but he was getting better at that. He also did not allow anyone to get close to him, to touch him, anyone except Loki and Frigga. He only came up to around their knees, but he would butt his head against Thor and Odin when they tried to get near him. This did not mean that he did not like or want to get their or any ones attention. He just wanted it on his terms. This was just another way that the All-Mother saw a similarity between her second Son and the unique creature that he had played a part in creating. Loki had been to see him almost every day. He had to stop himself from measuring Sleipnir every day. Once he was tall enough, strong enough to be ridden then he would be allowed out of the stables and the paddocked. Loki could not wait for that day, he hated to see a creature being confined. Even if they were treated well, he just could never be comfortably with the idea of confine a living creature. This was the reason that he allowed Fenrir to run free. Despite the many objection that he faced on the matter. Luckily Fenrir was too fast to be caught.

A wide smile crossed Eir's face. So many times she had wanted to go and see Sleipnir. Something always seemed to get in her way her training, or her pride, so she had not had a chance. Now she hoped that when this was done she and Loki could go and see him. He must he getting big by now. Almost big enough to ride. The image in her mind of Loki riding him was so clear. As were the comments that this sight would create from others.

"I'm glad to hear it."

Loki gave her a smile in return. It only lasted for a second then his face became a blank again. "Speaking of unique creatures…..you haven't seen Fenrir in the last few days have you."

Her heart almost few to the ground. That was what was wrong. Fenrir was missing, had been for days and she had not known, noticed. Loki had not even told her to till now. She was angey at herseld and him. That was a pointless emotion right now so she pushed it away, but they would have words later. If Loki was unable to find him then she doubted that anyone would be able to. Not easily anyway. She was not sure, but she thought that Loki's care for Fenrir on Midgard would be referred to as a Boy and his dog. Anytime she had come across this concept in their literature, it never ended well. It seemed she was about to see that first hand. Her silence was all the answer that he needed. He turned from her to Sif.

"Loki…" She began in a soft voice.

"What about you Sif. You would not have happened to see the unnatural creature would you."

Taking in a breath Sif straightened herself up. "No."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not." She bit back.

"Come now, you can't lie to me."

"I am not lying." Her voice grew louder with each word.

"Do not keep trying to lie to the God of lies." His voice rather than getting louder as hers did, became colder with each word.

He was a God, all of them where but this title was not one that he had officially been given. It was what some called him behind his back, but he heard them anyway. Like he heard all the others as well. He now seemed to be taking that, what could be called an insult and owning it. Making it his own. Taking the power of their insult from them, taking it for his own.

Sif stood tall, did not back down, but she turned away from Loki's stare. It was not entirely clear, but Eir thought she saw a glimmer of regret in her eyes. Whatever she had done, and she was sure that she had done something, she regretted it. At the very least she regretted getting on the wrong side of Loki. Eir did not blame her for that. While she trusted Loki she did fear what would happen if he was pushed too far. This was not going to be the case now. He was deadly in control, but the potential was always there.

"Sif." Eir breathed quietly. "What did you do."

Surprisingly Sif looked a little hurt that he Cousin did not believe her, but she could not lie, not anymore. "I saw him four days ago, I simply did not stop him from running off further into the woods…."

"How far into the woods." Loki pressed, calmly.

She sighed, clearly wanting to get way from there as quickly as he could. "He went beyond the stream."

It was only for a second, but Loki's whole body tensed up. The stream was the unofficial boarded that they, as young god were not allowed to cross. Beyond the stream where the other parts of the realm eternal that their parents believed to be too dangerous for them to travel to on their own, least of all on foot. Fenrir was a hel-wolf, he could fend for himself. He did so most of the time. He was young though and due to the unusual way that he had been raised, he was most likely not able to survived in the wild on his own for very long.

He didn't fully realise that his eyes had clenched shut when his whole body tensed up. In the brief second he tensed up, Eir moved quickly to stand by his side. Her light hold on his wrist was what cased his body to relax and his eyes to open. With a deep breath he turned to look at her. His eyes met those of the only other person that was as effected by Fenrir's disappearance as he was. She was there when he was found, she helped to take care of him as he grew. The anger and pain in her eyes he knew where mirrored almost exactly in his own.

"Loki." He turned quickly from her towards Sif. "We will find him."

He only half heard her as his eyes bore into Sif. "How far up the stream did you see him."

Sif had been still while Loki and Eir took in what she had told them. Clearly she wanted them to forget that she was even there so she could slip away at the earliest opportunity. She had begun this by taking a step back from Loki as Eir took a step forward. Now that he spoke to her she stopped.

"About two, maybe three miles upstream."

She tried to sound unaffected, but she was clearly worried that Loki was going to let out the anger he clearly felt and unleash it at her. Loki did not say a word, he just gave the smallest nod. Taking this as her opportunity she moved quickly to leave. At first Loki seemed to let her go, but then his anger took over. He moved forward, her name on the tip on his tongue. Eir's softly saying his name and once again taking hold of his wrist, this time tighter stopped him and forced him to turn to look at her once again.

"We will find him." she repeated, with greater conviction than before.

She was not sure at first if she had been able to reach him. He still looked angry and he still clearly had much that he wanted to say to Sif. None of it pleasant she was sure. Finally he let out a deep breath and turned to her. The look in his eyes was clearly questioning. Asking her just how they were going to do that. Fenrir was only found when he wanted to be, even by them. Eir had no rely to that. All she had to offer was hope. The shear mawkishness of that almost made her want to laugh. They had magic, they were smart and hope was really all that they had, that and luck. It almost made her feel human.

"You don't know that, unless you have been give the power of prophecy at last."

There was a bitter tone to his voice, but while he spoke he twisted his hand a like. So that for a brief second he was holding her hand. Giving it a gentle squeeze he then let it go and turned to face her fully. He tried to offer her a smile, but she could see it was fake. It did not reach his eyes. They remained blank, almost dead.

"I don't need the power of prophecy to know that when you are concerned what may go wrong, will do so."

At her gentle teasing he offered her another smile. This time it was not fake. At least not fully, it still did not reason his eyes though. Once the smile left his face he took on a determined look. With a deliberate nod he held out his hand to her. It was clear what he was asking of her without words. Not waiting a second she reached out and took his hand. The second that her hand touched his cold one she felt the familiar feeling of the air rushing around her but not being able to hear it. It was like being in a vacuum, all sound was drowned out. When she could hear again she heard the distinct sound of the stream rushing by to her right.

"Where are we going to start."

She had tried not to, but the hint of her real despondency at the seemingly hopeless situation came through in her voice. Loki in answer tilted his head to the direction of the stream. With that tilt of his head he reached out his hand and a bridge of magic, cast in a blue glow appeared across the stream. He followed his tilt and began to walk across. Eir for a second hesitated to follow Loki. It was a hesitation that she could kick herself for. It was so childish. Based solely on the rules that had been imprinted on her since she was a child by her Father and other adults. Do not go into the wood without knowing your way back, do not go beyond the stream and so on. With a slight shack of her head she got these thoughts from her head and followed Loki across the bridge.

Once across they followed the stream a little ways further up. When they had a clear path to follow they turned left and ventured into the woods. This was most likely the path that Fenrir would have taken, given that it was the easiest to traverse. Eir made a few attempts to start a conversation, but none of them went anywhere. He was not interested in small talk, never really had been, nor was she. She was just trying to lighten the mood, he appreciated that, but he did not need it. So he said only a few words in response to her. She gave up, but was about to try again after ten minutes of silence when she spotted something on the ground that caught her attention. Something that made her blood run cold.

The blood on the rock was dry, had been in the long time. There were a million different reasons for the blood being there, but there was only one that came to her mind. There was only one reason that she could not shack, that stuck, would not go away. Almost sensing her sudden hesitation Loki stopped and turned to face her. A quick glance to where she was looking and he had the same thought stuck in his head. Slowly they bent down to get a better look.

"I would say it been here for at least three days." Loki's said in a matter of fact voice.

Eir reached out and touched the blood that cracked and broke as she did. "I would say two."

He did not argue with her. When it came to healing the body she knew more than him. Now when it came to causing harm and injuring people be was the master. Neither said it, but if she was right, if either of them were right then Fenrir had been hurt for at least two days and been out here on his own. The fact that there was only a few drops of blood was a little comforting, but they both knew that even a small deep would if left to bleed for too long there was a chance it could be fatal. With a quick glance around Loki noticed some disturbance to the fallen twigs and grass a little way ahead. Not wanting to waste anymore time he pulled himself up and walked towards it. Eir quickly followed, hoping to find further clues that would led them to Fenrir.

As they followed this new path, they noticed some other small drops of blood. Letting that led them they walked further into the woods, still not saying a word really to each other. After about a quarter of a mile the blood drops became more frequent. They stopped when they found themselves facing a small cave. Loki could not help but feel a little proud. Fenrir, if it was him they had been tracking, had made it a far way while injured. He had kept going till he had found shelter. Very smart, for a creature form Hel. Once inside the cave, Loki lifted his right hand into the air. In the palm of his hand a bright blue light was created, lighting the cave for them. Looking to the ground they saw move drops of blood. This time thought they were larger and seemed to be newer.

"I hope that it Fenrir we have tracked…I don't think Odin is going to let me take in another wild creature."

Eir could not help but smile a little at Loki attempt at lightening the mood. He was better at it than she was. "I'm sure you could talk him into it…..or at least keep it hidden till he could not say no to you."

As they spoke they walked further into the cave. "That is normally how it works." His tone and once again become flat as they drew closer to whatever it was they had tracked.

The blue glow from Loki's magic light source cast long shadows over the cave. Making the jagged rocks appear that much larger and imposing then they actually where. The whole place was silent, except for the occasional dripping of small drops of water onto the ground. To the far right, only slightly viable in the half-light was a rock, that seemed to be very slowly rising about half an inch then sinking one again. Moving quickly Loki made his way to the object, knowing already what it was. Once he reached it he bent down and with a pained sigh he reached out to place his free hand on the back of Fenrir's head. Stocking him gentle the way that he liked. They way that he did to try and came the Hel-wolf down when he became over exited or wanted attention when Loki could not give him any.

Eir had moved as quickly as Loki and kneeled down next to him. While Loki offered some comfort and reassurance to the wounded creature, she looked over his wound. He had been attacked by a larger animal that was clear, she did not know which kind, not that that really made a difference now. His body, mainly his upper body was covered in small cuts. In the faint light she could see that they had already began to heal, looking still red and tender, but not anger and infected luckily. They would be gone almost fully in about a week if left to heal on their own. It was his back right leg that worried her. This she was sure was were most if not all of the blood they had found had come from.

His back leg was cut almost down to the bone. Loki's blur glow of light almost shining of the white bone that was exposed. This sight made her hesitated but only for a second. She knew what she had to do and that she had to act fast if she wanted to save Fenrir's leg. The wound was deep, very deep and had been left untreated in this damp dirty place for at least two days. If she did not find any signing of infection she would be greatly surprised. She looked to Loki, but he did not look to her. He was doing what she needed him to anyway. Keeping Fenrir calm and a little distracted while did what she had to.

Taking in a deep breath she placed her hands over the wound. As she let the breath out she felt her magic flowing from her hands into Fenrir. First searching out any sign of infection. Which she did find as she expected, but to a less degree than she had feared. Once the wound was fully cleaned, her magic focused on knitting together the muscles and skin once again. It was the deepest wound she had healed, it took longer than she was used to, but she did not feel like she was pushing herself. It felt essay as easily as the basic magic she had learned years ago, it all just flowed naturally.

When the wound was healed, leaving only the faintest of scares she slowly moved her right hand onto Fenrir's back where she gave him a quick pat. "Well done, good boy."

All of a sudden a wave of tiredness washed over her. Blinking her eyes a few times to keep them open she didn't notice Loki placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well done."

She offered a small nod as once again all around her became silent. This time when she could hear again she could not hear anything right away that would give away where she was now. A quick glance around her didn't tell her specifically as she had never been there before, but she had a very good idea where Loki had brought them. He had brought them back to his chambers.

It was not hard for her to tell. The bed against the right wall let her know that it was somebodies chambers. The bookshelf that almost filled the whole of the left wall made it very clear that it was Loki's chambers they were in. If he had this many books at his own disposal they why did he spend so much time in the library. They had appeared in the centre of the room facing the opposite wall from the door. In-front of them was Loki's desk and chair. Behind that was a set of sliding doors that led out onto a small balcony. It was this view that let her know that they were in the palace. The final piece of evidence that she needed to know to come to her conclusion. She was in the chambers of Prince Loki.

The Prince in question moved quickly towards a wardrobe against the same wall as his bed. Opening it up he pulled out a spare blanket and as he returned to Eir and Fenrir sitting on the rug in the centre of his room he picked up a pillow from his bed. Dropping the pillow on to the floor in-front of Eir he bent down to join it. Picking Fenrir up gentle he placed him back down on the pillow. Before he placed the blanket over him he took a second to look over his wounds. There were more smaller cuts than they had first thought, but none looked too bad. The wound to his back leg was visible but looked much better than it had before.

"Thank you."

Eir lifted her eyes from the now tucked in Fenrir to Loki. Giving a shrug she gave a small smile that said what else was she going to do. Of course she was going to help him and Fenrir. She was going to speak, but her words caught in her throat. Loki had seen her room before but he had only ever sat on her windowsill. She had never even seen let alone entered his chambers. It suddenly made her feel very awkward around him, she did not know what to say. The room was large, about the same size as the largest in her own house.

"It is only a room…..everyone has one." He said sensing her awkwardness.

"Yes, but not all are this grand."

Loki looked away from her, now feeling a little uncomfortable himself. Holding out one hand in-front of himself he created a bowl of water. Sliding it across the floor he moved it so it was close enough for Fenrir to drink from. The Hel-wolf lifted and twisted his head a little so he could get the water. Once he drank enough he lowered his head again and seemed to rest again.

"I thought it was only fair." Loki said as he patted Fenrir's head. "I have seen your room." He clarified. "I didn't think we need to try and hide him this time."

She nodded. "No there isn't."

"You look tired, you should get back…."

"No, I want to stay…..make sure he is okay first."

After her healing magic he would be fine with some rest, they both knew that. If she wanted to stay and watch over him for a while then who was Loki to argue. About ten minutes later Eir moved so that she was laying down on the rug, facing Fenrir's head. It seemed she was more tired than she wanted to admit. Loki had also moved to slouch a little more. Five minutes later he was sure that she was asleep. Quickly he stood up and retried another blanket. Once he placed it over her he lay down on his back on the rug next to the bowl of water. Looking up at his celling and hearing the gentle breathing of Eir and Fenrir he too feel asleep.


Thank you for reading, I hope that you liked it. I really hope that I have not made Sid in to a village or an unlikeable character. If you know the mythology then I think you can guess where I am going with this. So I wanted to make that whole matter less black and white and more grey. I just hope that I have not ruined a character to do that. I also know that I have used Eir's magic more than Loki's this chapter. I did this to try and show how she ends up being the Goddess of healing. I hope that it did not feel like shilling the character or anything.

As always I would love to hear from you. What you think of the story any ideas that you may have. Feedback is the only way that I am going to get better at writing. On that note, I would still love to hear if you have any ideas for nicknames for Eir and Loki for each other. I love the one I have been given for Tony to Eir, but I still would love one for Loki. So any ideas are greatly received. Thank you.