The Origin Of Sleipnir

~ Strange Trickeries ~

. . .

As the sons of Odin wished, so should it be. By Thor's orders, a feast was arranged as so many other nights before, only this time there was twice- maybe three times as much food cluttered on the long, golden table in the gracious dining hall. In the dim light of the braziers, the Asgardians were eating and drinking with nothing but eager and pleasure, their chatting and laugher jumping off the walls of the hall.

Until now, the mighty God Of Thunder had been too absorbed in Volstagg's lively retelling of the day's events, to even think about looking for his younger brother. So, when his eyes finally fell on him by the edge of the room, he found it nothing but suiting to go join him by the column he so neatly had placed himself against.

"Do you care to join your own party, or would you rather just be but a spectator?" The elder Odinson teased a little when he approached his brother, well aware that Loki would rather enjoy such events from the sideline than in the center like himself.

"I have arrived haven't I?" Loki teased back, giving his brother a small smirk before taking a sip from the golden wineglass in his slender hands.

"Yes, you have and your presence is pleasing," Thor admitted and leaned back against the broad column to watch his fellow Asgardians enjoy themselves in the crowd, hoping to grasp a little bit of understanding of why Loki would rather watch than participate.

After a little while of silence, Loki was the first one to speak up. "Did you have to kill that Giant so brutally? Now I will have that image stuck in my brain for days," he said disgusted and silently thanked the servants for serving white wine as well, since any red seemed to make him feel ill at the moment.

Thor, however, just laughed a little. "You shouldn't waste such a nice feast on thinking about that. Wouldn't you care to join us at the table instead? I promise, the goats have never tasted better!" he assured with a smile, but Loki just placed his filled glass on a tray when a servant passed by, suddenly not feeling like consuming anything at all.

"Eating the same goats for every feast might work for you, Thor, but I certainly prefer at least some kind of variation."

"Then taste some of the other dishes, or at least get another glass," Thor tried with a nearly pleading smile, wanting so badly for his brother to join the table as he had been able to when they were kids.

Loki couldn't help but smile a little as he shook his head at his brother's stubbornness. "Thor, granted we are brothers, but you must come to realize we are not the same," he said, but was brought to stop his sentence when he was met by a pathetic look from his elder brother. The otherwise so tough-looking Asgardian now pouted like a puppy, in a last try to get his little brother to surrender.

"What are you doing? Thor. That is not going to work this time," Loki assured, but instead of obeying his brother, Thor just started whining like a dog to add to the puppy eyes.

Realizing it was not one of those nights were he would eventually give up, Loki sighted and finally gave in. "Okay, I yield. I'll join you at the table, if you stop acting so pathetic," he assured, making Thor stand up straight in triumph.

"Puppy eyes; Works every time~," the elder Odinson smirked, making the God Of Mischief roll his eyes.

"I suppose. Just know that I won't be staying all night and that I certainly won't be eating any-"

"Goat?" a servant interrupted as she presented a tray of neatly cut slices of goat meat, the grease and spices almost decorating the gold-platted tray.

And suddenly, Loki felt the nausea get caught in his throat, making the Odinson reach for his mouth and stomach by reflex.

Thor could only frown in confusion at his brother's actions, finding himself question if this was nothing but a trick or if something else was up. But then again, Loki's trickeries were usually more advanced than that.

"Loki? Are you feeling well?" Thor questioned as he watched his brother closely when he once again stood up straight, although still resting a hand on his stomach.

"I'm fine, thank you," Loki claimed, the other hand now falling to his throat as he swallowed hard.

"Are you sure your Majesty? You seemed a little uncomfortable," the servant stated. Loki just nodded his head and gave her a smile, trying his best not to focus on what for him was a strong and uncomfortable smell of burned flesh.

"It's all good, yes. Nothing to worry about-," he assured once more, but as soon as the words had roll over his tongue, so did the nausea and he hunched over in discomfort. "Excuse me for a second," the God Of Mischief managed to get out before he rushed passed his brother to get to the door, a hand firmly cupped over his mouth as he paced out the room.

Thor watched his brother leave in suspicion, sharing the same confused frown as the servant at this point.

"Is this supposed to be considered as one of his tricks?" The servant asked without moving her eyes from the closed gate, but Thor just shook his head.

"If so, it's a rather strange one for sure," the Asgardian said, not sure if he should follow his brother or stay behind.

The decision was soon made for him when Loki returned with a reassuring smile, as if nothing had happened before he left. "My apology, there was an urgent matter in the hallways that I needed to attend to," he said with an apologizing smile, but then paused his walking, his expression once again morphing into one of discomfort. "Pardon me once more." He quickly said and rushed back out of the room again, turning around the corner as the heavy doors slammed shut behind him.

"A very… Very strange one indeed," Thor repeated himself after his brother had vanished once more, receiving an agreeable nod from the servant.

. . .

"Come on now - Just strike already!" Fandral demanded and gave his own shield a nudge with his staff. The sound of the clattering metal traveled through the training arena.

"A true worrier will know when to strike," Hogun said, only receiving an impatient sigh in return. "And that is now," the worrier then announced and swung his staff around in one hand before slamming it into the ground as dust and sand jumped from its edge.

The two worriers both let out a playful roar by approach before slamming their staffs together on the middle of the training field.

Loki couldn't help but let a small smile pull in the corner of his mouth while he watched the two grown men go at each other as had they been children. Their actions reminded him of how he once used to have similar play-fights with his brother. And loosing.

"There you are."

The familiar voice ripped Loki out of his thoughts and he glanced back at his brother when he stepped up beside him. "Here I am,"

"Where were you at? I didn't see you at the breakfast table," Thor said, trying to catch his brother's eyes, but Loki just turned his gaze back towards the battlefield.

"I was not hungry so I figured I might as well go for a walk instead," the God Of Mischief said, his hands held by his back as he stood up tall, still missing a few inches before reaching his brother's height.

"So this is where you've been every morning for the past two weeks?" Thor questioned and directed his attention towards the two fighting worriers, crossing his broad arms over his chest in the process.

"Sometimes. I like to variate my strides," Loki said, just thoughtfully watching the two men's tactics, picking up a few flaws here and there in silence.

Thor tried to focus on the fight before him, but other thoughts kept nagging in the back of his head so much that he couldn't keep ignoring them. Looking back down at his brother, who's eyes were still locked on the playful battle on the field, Thor thought for a bit before speaking. "Will you be honest with me?" he then questioned, actually not quite sure of what answer he should expect. Through the years, Thor of all people had learned that Loki did not usually let anyone in on his thoughts and plans. He somewhat feared this was one of those times too.

"Be more specific," Loki demanded without moving his gaze an inch.

"If you were practicing some sort of trickery or magic spell that were to course you change of behavior, would you let me in on it?" Thor rephrased, this time a little harsher to catch his brother's full attention, not having the patience for Loki trying to cut corners.

"If this is about my absence at the breakfast table, I can assure you I am in perfectly good health," Loki claimed sternly, looking his brother straight in the eye when he said so, although he deliberately just avoided answering the question.

"You're fine?" Thor asked, not even trying to cover up the doubt towards his brother's words.

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

Nodding his head a little when noticing the irritation in his brother's voice, Thor returned his gaze towards the battlefield. "Fine," he repeated and thought for a short moment before eventually raising his hand to get the battling worriers' attention. "Alright guys, time's up! Hogun, Fandral - take a break, we'll have the battlefield for a moment," The Asgardian called out and jumped over the fence to the battlefield with ease.

"I beg your pardon?" Loki asked in confusion, only to be met by his brother's smirk.

"You said you were fine," The God Of Thunder stated.

"That doesn't mean I want you to pick up a literal fight with me," Loki huffed, but Thor had no intention on yielding.

"No. But I want to," the elder Asgardian said with a smug smirk and grabbed a staff from one of the buckets to throw it towards his brother, making it land in the sand just on the other side of the fence.

The God Of Mischief stared down at the staff, then back at his brother who now casually supported himself against his own staff, patiently waiting for his brother to join him. "You're kidding me?" Loki asked a little annoyed. However, when realizing Thor wasn't gonna yield on the matter, he let out a sigh and bend under the fence to pick up the staff on his way. "Alright then. If it's a play-fight you want then it's a play-fight you'll get," Loki promised and walked a few steps ahead of his brother before turning towards him. "But I warn you; I have been practice-ING!"

The sudden impact with Thor's staff came so unexpected that Loki didn't even reach to cover up the hit. This caused him to spin and fall flat on his chest, only just reaching to take off with his hands.

"Ow, that was a good one," Fandral chuckled from behind the fence. The fact that the two warriors now were spectators to his own fight did not make it any better for Loki.

"What? You said you had practiced~," Thor teased, having a distant laugher follow from the two worriers.

Growling to himself, Loki frowned determinately before quickly getting up from the sand and swinging his staff at his brother, nearly hiding him on the side of his head if it hadn't been for him dodging. In a matter of seconds, Loki swung the staff back into Thor's thigh, the sound of the flick making the worriers cringe, but Thor was not affected more than he was still able to cover up the next attack with his own staff.

"Now I see the practice!~" He acknowledged when the two were briefly keeping each other's attacks on hold, Thor's comment actually managing to make a slight smirk pull in the corner of Loki's mouth, before they both swung their staffs again.

"I'm betting five gold coins on Loki," Fandral said and leaned in over the rail while he watched the two brother's go at each other.

"I'm in," Hogun accepted and gave his fellow worrier a firm handshake as prove of their friendly gamble.

As the play-fight continued, Loki was surprised to actually find himself pushing his brother further and further back on the field, his practicing paying off more than first assumed. "What's the matter brother? Are you getting tired?~," Loki teased friskily, but the smirk that was to follow on his brother's face brought him to remember why he had stopped play-fighting his brother in the first place; He always lost.

"Not even close~," Thor assured and quickly twisted Loki's staff out of his hands before kicking him firmly in the abdomen, so he was forced backwards with a powerful strength.

Only stopped by the wall at the end of the field, Loki let out a gasp from the impact before falling to his knees, the nausea that was to follow so sudden and overwhelming that he could do nothing but hunch over and clutch his stomach.

"Damn it!" Fandral groaned when realizing he had lost yet another bet, the smug smirk on Hogun's face not helping either.

Thor, himself, couldn't help but laugh triumphing for a moment, but when realizing his brother wasn't firing a sarcastic comment back at him as he used to when he was defeated in a play-fight, the smile faded a little. Quickly throwing the staff on the ground, the eldest Odinson walked to his brother's side. When Loki wasn't making any sign of getting up by himself, he knelt down in the sand to help him back on his feet.

"Loki? I'm sorry brother, was that too harsh?" Thor questioned with a brief chuckle of concern, although he seemed to recall times where his brother had been able to take hits much worse and still cope just fine.

"A tad perhaps," Loki wheezed and broke free of his brother's hold as soon as he was back on his feet. "I asume I just… Needed to warm up a bit," he then said and dusted himself off, swallowing hard in a try to get the nausea out of his throat. However, the young Asgardian quickly realized his mistake and covered his mouth just after, his small twists of discomfort bringing a suspicious frown to his brother's forehead.

Fighting against the urge of letting go, Loki had to give in at last and stumbled to the nearest bucked of weapons, only to bend in over it just in time for him to throw up.

Although the action only brought Thor to make an uncomfortable grimace, it only made Hogun burst into laugher and give his fellow worrier a hard slap on the back. "So there's the prove that the silver tongue can spit out more than just clever comments!~," he teased.

Loki only send a furious glare in his way when he continued laughing. "I'll show you clever comments you disrespectful-" Loki began, only to once again bend in over the bucket and have his words cut off by the unwanted stomach cramps.

"For the sake of Asgard - I just polished those weapons!" Fandral exclaimed, only making Hogun laugh even more.

Actually feeling a little out of place, Thor returned his gaze back towards his brother. "At least that proves you ate today," He said with a strained smile, only getting a hollow groan from the bucket as a response.

. . .