"Their neighbours bestow them with sweets for simply wearing costumes?" Volstagg looked as incredulous as he could with his left cheek bulging with the buttered oatcake he snacked upon. Thor nodded as sagely as his teenage self could.

"Oh yes, and the costumes are whatever they please so long as they are frightening!"

Loki was in his familiar cognitive limbo in which he noted the surrounding conversation while drinking in the book open in his hands. He found he entered this state often during Thor's conversations with his other friends.

"Isn't that right, Brother?" Thor was saying.

"Mm-hm…" Loki hummed absently.

"He not even listens, Thor," Sif was remarking. "He could think you speak of an entirely different human festivity."

"They do select their own guises, though." Loki's head did not rise as he flipped the page.

Volstagg was already sounding impatient. "Well, what are we waiting for? All we need now is to dress as something intimidating and we're off to Midgard!"

"Let's each disguise ourselves as bilgesnipe," Fandral suggested.

"Bilgesnipe are massive compared to any of us," Hogun scoffed. "Even Volstagg."

"Then we shall blanket ourselves all together in dark cloth to dress as one bilgesnipe!"

Even without hearing the voice, Loki would not have doubted that as Thor's idea. Though funnily enough, Thor would likely claim the same thing if Loki had suggested it.**

Thor was continuing, "I'm sure we can source such fabric from one of our tailors."

Sif's voice: "You realise the people of Midgard won't know what a bilgesnipe is."

"They can simply interpret our costume as a fearsome fictional beast," Thor replied cheerfully.

"Well, as much as I'd enjoy staggering around under some curtain or blanket with the four of you on Earth, I'm afraid I'll have to withdraw from these tricks and treats in favour of some errands I've not finished for my father yet."

"But we will need at least five people to make an adequately impressive bilgesnipe," Thor protested, as if he had extensive experience on the matter.

Volstagg answered, "Surely we can find a fifth member willing to do this for free sweets."

There was a contemplative silence. Loki hurriedly began working an invisibility spell.

"Brother?" Thor's voice tapped against him like rain on windows.

He looked up, reluctantly. Thor was grinning expectantly all over his boyish face.

Loki let out a slow breath. "…Oh…"


Someone – probably Thor – crushed the toe of Loki's right shoe.

"You know I adore our quality time together, Thor, but I'm not sure how highly I'd rate the quality of this right now – "

"Just keep pace with my footsteps, Brother!"

" – and I don't even want free sweets."

"Ridiculous, Loki." Volstagg's voice was muffled by layers of the thick cloth.

"Ow." Hogun's utterance could have passed as a bilgesnipe-like growl.

"I think this costume would appear considerably spookier if the bilgsnipe was missing a leg…"

"Not a chance, Silvertongue. You're sticking with us," Volstagg asserted.

The blanket stifled Loki's sigh.


"Hunting for eggs?"

Skepticism was apparently one of Sif's favourite tones of voice. It made the otherwise calm air of the library itch, and always seemed to carry her young, high voice unnecessarily far. Clutching his stack of time-fragrant books, Loki wove between the tall shelves.

"It's a celebratory tradition for many children on Midgard," Thor was trying to describe to her. "On their day of Easter, they search for hidden eggs together, like a game."

"Or a contest," Thor tacked on provokingly, evidently to appeal to Sif's competitive nature. "It will be no fun for me if I arrange and undertake an Easter egg hunt on my own."

"It should be no fun for you anyway, if you're the one who also hides them…?" Loki raised an eyebrow from beside his brother's shoulder. "Also, no chatting above a whisper in the library." Thor turned to shake Loki's own shoulder with an affectionate hand.

"You know what I mean."

"You and your fixation on experiencing all things Midgardian."

"How can I possibly rule the Nine Realms in the future without a full insight into their cultures?"

"Funny, you've not seemed particularly keen on trying any iconic traditions of, say, Jotunheim or Muspelheim."

"Ah, well…" Thor wrinkled his nose. "I don't like carving ice… or sacrificing beloved friends and family to sacred fires…"

"On behalf of your beloved friends and family, I thank you," Loki said. "But admit to us – seeing as we're your friends and family – that you just like excuses to dally with your actual responsibilities."

"Nonsense, Brother," Thor insisted halfheartedly. "However, I would be grateful for your partaking in this glorious hunt with me."

"You make scrabbling for inanimate objects sound so exciting."

"Just join me! It will be fun. What else were you planning on doing today? Surely you've completed all your daily jobs assigned by Father and Mother three times over already?"

"Only twice…" Loki shrugged. "I was planning on practicing my cloaking spell."

Thor grimaced at him. For the second time, Loki raised an eyebrow at him. Thor just continued his mope intently.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Fine."

The grimace flipped into a grin.

"I refuse to believe you're nearing adulthood," Loki murmured.


"Found another!" Thor's voice resounded exuberantly across the grounds. Loki gave him a deadpan thumbs-up with the hand not cradling several painted poultry eggs.

"What are you two up to?" Looking up at their mother's expression, Loki realised why he himself was so good at raising eyebrows at things that struck him as nonsensical.

"…Hunting for eggs."

Frigga evidently decided to just look amused. "Of all prey to stalk, why would you hunt eggs?"

"Well, Thor would. I'm humouring him. Like a good brother." Loki beamed.

Frigga just patted his cheek indulgently before striding away.


"A day in honour of a Saint named Valentine?" Fandral asked interestedly. "What was so honourable about him?"

Loki turned around slowly from the midst of twisting the chamber door handle to exit, and watched the Warriors and Sif watch the predictable idea unfold on Thor's face like a sunrise.

"But we do not even know what this holiday is about," Hogun said steadily.

Thor was already turning to Loki animatedly. "Well, Loki and I will – "

"Definitely not this time." Loki shook his head before shutting the door behind him.


Prompt: "Holiday". Decided to roll Halloween, Easter and Valentine's Day into one.

**Because as I reread the drabble, I remembered the whole cross-dressing Jotun-wedding myth…

P.S. My latest posts and updates have been pretty much just the lighthearted fics and prompt challenges that I'd begun way earlier in the year and hadn't had time to complete until now, but hopefully I'll get to start some more Ragnarok-inspired things soon. As always, thanks for staying tuned and for the support you've been giving me *sends cookies*