Chapter One: The Brothers Arrive

Word Count: 2,656

"She's what?"

"She's dying."

"But she's magic! One of the most powerful beings in all of Asgard, and quite possibly the rest of the nine realms! She - she can't be dying!" Loki sputtered.

"She was poisoned," replied Odin gravely. "Not with the most powerful potion, but with one that worked swiftly. She's weak now and the only thing she could use her magic for was to find what the cure is."

"And it is…?" Loki prompted. Odin, like Thor, had a flair for the suspenseful and dramatic – Mother didn't have time for them to waste on theatrics! While Loki considered himself a great actor, he didn't waste his talent on wasting time.

"A plant that does not grow on Asgardian soil. It is found in only one realm – Midgard."

"You still haven't told us what the plant is," Thor pointed out.

Odin looked dramatically into the distance, and Loki couldn't help but roll his eyes. Only his father. "The plant is called Amanita Muscaria." Odin even spoke dramatically, enunciating every vowel and consonant, sounding truly like a king.

"And you want us to get it. You can't use your magic or send someone else or anything." Loki recounted dryly.

"That is correct. I must be a good king to my people – I would never leave the throne at a time when my queen's life is in danger." The Allfather paused and took this time to look the brothers in the eyes. "It is you, my sons, whom I trust the most. I know you won't let me down, and someday, it will be one of you upon this very throne."

Loki knew that by one of you, Odin meant Thor, but there was no point in commenting on this. Thor, while cocky, rash, and occasionally rather slow, would make a good king. He was charismatic and handsome, and the people already loved him. Besides, there was no time for wry remarks; they had a realm to get to.

Odin leaned back, and Loki knew this conversation was over. They were going, and that was that. Odin waved his hand, and two guards came to escort them to the Bifrost.

Loki figured he and Thor would stand out against the Midgardians, but when they arrived in the realm, it was even more painfully obvious than he'd expected.

Amongst the humans, they were practically glowing, and their clothes were much more regal. The streets were impossibly dull, especially in comparison to the shining roads of Asgard. The air was lacking in most everything aside from, perhaps, oxygen itself. This was not going to work if they didn't do something now.

"Come on, Thor, we need to - " Loki began, but when he turned to grab Thor's arm, his brother was already off charming a young woman further ahead.

Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes far into the back of his head and instead marched over. When he approached the woman, he plastered on a phony and forced smile and snatched Thor's arm. "Good afternoon! I hope you enjoyed your little chat, but my brother Th…eodore…and I are very late to an important meeting and I must borrow him for the remainder of the day."

"My name isn't - "

"Anything other than Theodore, yes, you're right, brother. Forgive him, he's a bit slow sometimes. Have a nice day, ma'am!" He said this all so quickly it sounded more like one word than multiple sentences.

Loki pushed Thor into the alley nearby when they were out of sight of the woman. "What were you thinking?" he hissed. "We already stand out so much, and then there you go flirting with the first person you see on the street."

Thor shrugged. "It wasn't flirting. And she didn't seem to notice anything besides."

"It doesn't matter – someone else might! Look, you can flirt with the common folk when you look like one of them, but for now, we need to blend in and find a library."

Thor sighed. "Okay, well, how do we 'blend in', to use your verbiage?"

"We…" Actually, Loki hadn't quite thought that bit through. His half-baked plan involved them procuring Midgardian garments at some point, but the matters of where and how, he'd barely considered. He could always try to glamour them, but that usually didn't work the way he wanted it to, and it would be temporary anyhow. Mother was teaching him magic, but his grip on that particular area was a tenuous one.

Mother. She was the reason they were doing all this anyway. For Mother, he reminded himself. "Okay, Thor, listen up. This is what's going to happen."

The plan was as follows: Loki would attempt to glamour an outfit for the both of them, one that would probably only last for an hour and a half at most. In that ninety minutes, they were going to purchase some clothes that would last them for a day or two. Then, they'd look for a library (since Odin and Heimdall had failed to give them any real information on where to find this plant thing) to find out more about Amanita Muscaria. They'd find the plant, gather it, and leave this puny, magic-less realm. It was a simple plan, right?

Loki concentrated on glamouring them – he focused on the shoddy outfits Midgardians seemed to wear, and felt the magic surging through his fingertips. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Thor looked like any other human – with ten times better skin, of course. He did the same thing for himself, and had to smile at his handiwork. For someone who had just gotten to Midgard, the outfits he conjured up didn't look half bad.

They walked out of the alley trying to look like they knew what they were doing or where they were going. They would have likely walked aimlessly for blocks if it weren't for the Midgardian who bumped into them from behind, his nose in a book.

"Oh! Pardon me, sirs," he said awkwardly.

"It's quite alright," said Thor. "But I don't suppose you could help us with something?"

"Of course, sir," said the young man. "What is it you need?" He inserted a bookmark into his book to keep his place, then closed it and looked up at them.

"My brother…"

Loki tried to think of a name on the spot. "Lucius…"

"What's the matter, aren't you sure?" The man laughed softly.

"Well, we are not of this realm and we need to know where your nearest clothing store is."

"'Of this realm?'" the man repeated, pushing his dark-rimmed glasses up his nose.

"This realm of the world, my brother means," Loki clarified, giving Thor a not-entirely-subtle jab in the side with his elbow.

Thor winced slightly. "Indeed. That is what I meant."

"I could tell," said the man. "Are the two of you English or something?" He held out his hand for them to shake. "My name is James, by the way."

"Yes," Loki replied tersely. "Now about the clothing store." Niceties, he figured, were the best way to be convincing, but they didn't have time for that – their disguise would wear off before long.

"Ah, right! So sorry to keep you, sirs. I'm actually going to visit the nearest shop, so I can take you right there, if you'd like."

Loki looked James up and down. He had dark umber hair that fell in soft waves behind his glasses and over his deep brown eyes. He had skin the color of Yggdrasil's bark – a light, warm brown. He was young in Midgardian years and practically infantile in Asgardian years, about Loki's height, and rather thin and gawky. He looked like the sort who knew trivial facts about everything, and always had a book on hand.

He was fairly attractive, at least by Midgardian standards, and he looked innocent and harmless. But then, you never knew if you could trust Midgardians.

Loki turned to Thor. "What say you, brother?"

Thor, in turn, looked at James. "You might as well."

James smiled. "Right then. Follow me," he said, already starting off.

They arrived at the store and when they walked in, a small bell jingled overhead, alerting the clerk of their presence. When they entered, a round woman with jet black hair and bright blue eyes exclaimed in delight. "Well, if it isn't Mr. James Smith! What can I do you for?" Her accent was markedly different from James'.

"Good morning, Miss Kelly. I'm here to buy a new hat, but these two, Lucius and his brother…"

"Theodore."

" – Theodore, are staying in New York for a while and they're looking to buy some clothes."

"Well, any friends of James' are friends of mine. Take what you like – the changing rooms are back there." The woman apparently known as Miss Kelly nodded to the back at two doors labeled "men" and "women."

Loki could feel the magic wearing off, so he ignored the urge to correct Miss Kelly (he and James weren't "friends") and grabbed a random armful of clothes. He retreated to the men's dressing room and nodded for Thor to do the same.

Once inside, the spell wore off completely. He sighed, at least relieved that it hadn't done so a second sooner. He started to change into the clothes he had picked up.

Thor coughed rather uncomfortably. "Ahem. Are…are you just going to change here?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Relax, I'm not stripping naked. If it really bothers you that much, turn the other way." He tossed a bundle of clothes to his brother. "Speaking of – you might want to put these on. Can't have you walking around looking like royalty in this cursed realm."

"I actually don't think it's as bad as you make it out to be, brother." There was the sound of rustling clothing, which meant Thor must have been dressing, too.

Loki snorted. "Please. This place is so desperate, so pathetic, so dull…well, I fear I've run out of respectful adjectives."

"Those are the respectful ones?" Thor scoffed and pulled on his boots. "Honestly, Loki. The humans seem nice enough, and you can still perform your magic here. The Midgardians are people, just like us. They may not have powers, but they more than make up for it in intellect and wit, and curiosity."

Loki shook his head. "We've spent maybe an hour here and you're already getting attached. That's just like you, Thor." He turned around to face his brother. "You really mustn't be so naïve, brother, especially being the eldest." And he walked out of the dressing room, grabbing a hat from the stand and placing it on his head.

When he came out, James, who was now also wearing a hat, gave him a slightly appraising look, then smiled. "I like it," he said. "The looks suits you."

Perhaps by Midgardian standards, Loki thought dryly. Thor came out of the room a moment later, and stood next to his younger brother. "How are we going to purchase these garments?" he whispered. "We don't have any Midgardian currency – we've not even seen it."

"Leave that to me." He and Thor got in the line and waited until James got behind them. Then Loki made a show of patting himself down and reaching in all his pockets. "Oh, dear. I fear I've misplaced my money. Please, James, step in front of me."

"Oh, I'll pay for it," James responded kindly, not even looking up from his book.

"No, no, I insist." The plan was to see what Midgardian currency looked like, at least in this part of the realm, and then try to summon some or replicate it so they could be on their way. The plan was not for James to be nice to them.

"What are you doing?" whispered Thor. "Just let him pay for us."

"We're no charity case! At least, I'm not. I have the dignity to fend for myself, and James won't provide for us the whole time we're here – which won't be long, of course."

"Who's to say? It's faster, I'm sure, than whatever it is that you're doing, and you won't waste energy with magic. Besides," Thor added, a small smirk tugging on his lips, "we've been here maybe an hour and you're already refusing the first real offer of help you get. That's just like you, Loki."

Loki cast a glare at his brother. Thor was only smart when he wanted to be. He turned back to James. "Fine. So long as it's not too much of a financial burden…"

"It's absolutely fine," said James, waving a dismissive hand. He leaned in, as if he was sharing some grand secret. "As a matter of fact, I've recently come into possession of more money than I'm quite sure I know what to do with. I don't really have much family, so…I'm happy to help out wherever I can."

Gods, how hopeless.

James paid for his hat and Thor and Loki's suits, then turned to them. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No."

"Oh. Well then. Have a great day," James said, seemingly not thrown off by Loki's terse response.

"Actually - " Thor cut in just as James was walking out the door. James turned around.

Loki turned on Thor, a cross between fury and annoyance blazing in his eyes. "And what is it that we need now, Theodore?"

"Well, Lucius and I are searching for something here in – where are we?"

James laughed. "Manhattan, New York, circa 1899."

" – Manhattan, and we figure we'll need somewhere to stay. If you could direct us to the nearest inn, and also the nearest library, we would greatly appreciate it." Thor flashed that winning smile that everyone in Asgard seemed to love and Loki despised.

"No, Theodore, we already rented a room in an inn, if you recall," Loki said through clenched teeth.

"Well, Lucius, maybe it will be worth it to give a new inn a chance. Just because it's less glamorous doesn't mean it's worse quality."

"Actually, it's dirty, and there are these bothersome little creatures that seem to follow me everywhere, that for some reason you seem to like."

"That reason happens to be that you've judged them, hardly even knowing what they are!"

Loki opened his mouth to say something sharp and biting in response, but James cut him off. "Oookay, well, obviously, this - " he gestured at Thor and Loki, " – is about more that just hotels. I don't want to intrude on your...personal affairs, so I'll be on my way now, sirs, but my home is always open to anyone, should you need it."

Loki turned to his older brother and cocked an eyebrow as if to ask, Are you sure you know what you're getting into?

Thor nodded determinedly and grinned at James. "Please."

Loki shrugged. "Very well. We'd like to stay."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Midgardian Magic! I love the Thor saga in the MCU, but I'm not sure I'm the best at writing Thor fanfiction, so I'm giving it another try. Updates will probably be sporadic, but I'll try to get a new chapter out ever ten or so days. If you liked this chapter, please leave a review! They're very helpful to me as a writer, and I very much appreciate them.

-mouse :)