After a while it started to snow. Light snowflakes floated down and melted on their faces. The snow piled up everywhere, on the rocks and even softly on their clothes. Behind the white mist of falling snowflakes they could see the mountains in the distance.

The snow stopped slowly when they crossed a small stream. Big ice crystals grew thick on the snow covered banks, turning what could have been a river into a trickle.

They still saw some conifers, some grew atop of rocks with old, gnarled roots wrapping around them and into cracks of the stone, dusted with snow. The enormous clusters of icy crystals became rarer, the landscape was now dominated by trees, rocks, hills, ice and snow and the mountains came clearer into view.

When they made a rest to eat, Loki caught a movement in the corner of his eye. He searched their surroundings until he saw the light track of feet in the snow. He followed them with his eyes and then made a gesture to Thor and Tony who inconspicuously traced his nod in the direction of the footprints. There was a dark form hiding behind a rock. He was almost invisible and definitely watching them.

Whispering they decided what to do. Thor suggested: "I'll go around the back of this stones and trees while you two distract him." He grabbed Mjölnir. Loki shook his head but he was outvoted and in the end it wouldn't matter who would catch their observer, they just had to get him. So they distracted their follower with a loud discussion while Thor caught him successfully. He had no chance to flee.

It turned out to be a young Jotun. He had a bag made out of leather thrown over his shoulder. Would he be human Tony would have guessed him to be not older than twelve, perhaps even younger, but it was hard to estimate because of his physical appearance. His face looked like a young child's but he was distinctly too tall and despite being thin he was muscular like a human adult. His skin was grey-blue like a river in twilight, some scars scattered over his bare chest. Dark blue lines that looked like they were etched into his skin covered parts of his face, his shoulders and arms. Three big turquoise elevated ridges, two of them starting above each of his eyes and the third one in the middle over his forehead, went in a curve around his bald head. His face was dominated by a sharp-edged nose and pointed chin. He glared at them with dusky red eyes. Apart from something like a kilt made out of brown leather and fur he didn't wear clothes, nevertheless he didn't seem to mind the cold.

He screamed and kicked. Thor hold him, one gloved hand firmly closed around the wrist and tried to calm him down. "We will not hurt you."
"Liar!" The boy tried to get free and struggled, looking as terrified as fuming while he screamed. "I know you! You are from Asgard. All of Asgard are liars and traitors. I hate you! You want us dead."
With that he twisted and bit Thor in his arm. The teeth didn't make it through the clothing but it surprised Thor enough to let him go while Loki who watched attentive couldn't help himself but started to laugh. Tony grabbed the kid's arms before he could escape. He was astonished by the force that fought against him, he needed both of his gloved hands and all his strength to hold him. "I'm not from Asgard and I won't hurt you, I swear! Please listen, will you?"
"Why should I? You are with them. Whoever you are, you won't be better. He, the one with the hammer and ridiculous golden hair," he glanced at Thor, "He wanted to bring back the war, my mother told me. And his insane brother destroyed even more of our realm just a little later. Asgard always causes death and they enjoy it."

"So Asgard tells its children, that the Jotun are cruel monsters and Jotunheim teaches their kids that Asgardians are merciless monsters, too. Brilliant." Tony muttered under his breathe.

A look of concentration and determination appeared on the young face. The Jotun's arm changed. It was a rather slow process, perhaps because of a lack of practice or because he was agitated. However it was slow enough for Tony to let go of the arms he hold because he remembered Loki's warnings very well.

Ice grew in large crystals until his right forearm and hand was encased in ice formed into a large spike. He turned rapidly and aimed at Tony in a fast movement but Loki was faster. He lunged at the boy and knocked him down. The ice capping the bare blue arm broke at the impact. Ice was ice after all. Where he touched the ground ice spread slowly from him like small waves topping the floor around him. When the kid lay on the ground he grabbed Loki's arm and dragged him down. He managed to thrust aside the sleeves that covered the god's left arm and he closed his blue fingers around the exposed skin with all force he could muster, expecting his opponent to let him go screaming in pain when he would burn his skin with frostbite. But it didn't happen. The visible part of Loki's arm changed gradually from white to a light blue. He stifled a cry of horror when he saw it. Not again. The same arm. As shocking as it was he nevertheless managed to hide it behind his livid expression. Green eyes just glared down while he pressed the child down with his other hand and one knee on his body, his other knee on the ice covered ground beside him. The boy fidgeted for a moment, but then he lay still, his chest heaving at the effort of gasping for air. He let go of Loki's arm. "How did you?" The boy stopped and then started again: "Who – What are you?"

Loki answered in the angriest and most threatening voice both Thor and Tony had ever heard from him. "A monster." It made Tony flinch. Loki took a deep breath before he continued. "A monster you better fear, tiny little thing."

The youth already looked like he already did exactly that.

"Why did you follow us? Who is with you and who sent you?"

The child pressed his lips together and kept silent. Thor held his hammer a little bit tighter and bent down to pick up and inspect the bag of their visitor. "No weapon. Just some personal things."

From where it was hidden under his clothing Loki pulled out one of his daggers that Thor had brought him to earth. He hold it in his right hand and said quietly: "You better answer, then I'll end this and you fast. Believe me, you don't want the alternative."

"You're not going to kill that kid." Tony stated with a stern voice as he moved closer to Loki.

Thor disagreed. "Why? He could be dangerous. It would be safer to get rid of him."

"I thought I made myself clear when I told you both that we're not going around killing! He's not my enemy. He's just a child."

"A sweet child that tried to kill you! Could you stop trying to make these creatures better than they are? Stop hoping that they are anything apart from monsters, they are no saints!" Loki brought the dagger nearer to the Jotun's throat.

"I didn't say they are. They are living beings. Look at humankind or Asgard, the majority of them are dumb or assholes or both, but they also have the potential to be good and some use it. It's not fucking black and white, it's an individual choice. If he's a fucking asshole, than he is because he decided to be one, not because he is a Jotun."

The boy stared at them in disbelief.

Loki looked at Tony with thinly disguised anger and then back at the child. "So be it." He raised his voice. "Who sent you?"

"Nobody. I'm alone. I was hunting when I heard voices, I followed them and then I found you and I wanted to eavesdrop on you. Find out what you plan. Why you are here."

"This area should be uninhabited."

"It is. I was hunting elgr the last three days."

"Without a bow or any other weapon?"

Instead of answering the Jotun just raised his arm a little bit over the ground and nodded in this direction.

"Right, ice magic. You were hunting alone, Frostgiant?"

"Yes. We're no cowards like Asgardians are!"

Thor looked offended but refrained from barging in. Loki laughed before he answered. "I'm inclined to believe you."

"I'm telling the truth." He didn't dare to move but his eyes flared with anger.

"You owe this man your life." He briefly pointed in Tony's direction with the hand holding the dagger, still pressing the boy to the ground with the other. "You now have two options. Either you'll go home, keep your mouth shut and forget that we were ever here. We will be gone soon and you will never see us again. Or you can go and alarm the rest of your worthless kin and come for us. But if one of us comes to harm, so will you. I will make you suffer like you never did before and in the end I'll kill you. Do I make myself clear or do you want me to give you an example of what I could do to you?"

The child was quiet but shook his head.

Loki's voice remained threatening. "What do you chose?"

"I won't tell anyone. Please, let me go."

"Look at me." He waited until the boy looked him in the eyes. "Will you tell anyone?"

"I won't. I swear. I won't tell."

"Good boy." Loki let go of the kid and got up from the ground in a swift motion.

The Jotun got up slowly, the whole time looking like he expected to be slayed no matter what they might have said. He was obviously not believing in their mercy. Then he grabbed his bag from Thor and ran for his life without looking back. Loki stood still for a moment until he disappeared from sight.

"Wow. That was..." Tony couldn't finish the sentence.

Loki disrupted him with a hissed "Don't. Don't even start."

"Ok. Then let me just say thank you."

"For what?"

"Listening."

He just shrugged his shoulders. "Get your things. We must get to the base of Dróttinn before night falls. We do not want to be out in the open when it gets colder in the night and especially not if there is even a slight chance of Jotun running around hunting somewhere. They avoid the mountain."

"Fine, let's go! Fire and supper sounds wonderful."

They still had a few hours to walk that day. During the last hour they had to trudge through knee deep snow. Icy crystals sparkled everywhere in the snow, making it harder to get through it. Wind gusts blew fresh fallen snow over the surface, glistening in the crisp air. Dark branches of the conifers waved slowly when the wind blew down the snow. It was exhausting and cold but it made the relief when they arrived at their intermediate goal even better.

Covered in white snow an enormous rugged mountain towered over the hills and plains below. The great volcano raised into the sky with no other mountains of significant size nearby. The soft winter light already grew dim so they searched for another cave to spend the night in. Tomorrow they would search for the entrance into the mountain and into the city it once protected.