The Origin Of Sleipnir

~ An Unusual Announcement ~

. . .

The blade of the knife easily sliced through the aiming target across the field. The throw was close to perfect as the knife got stuck just by the edge of the red ring in the center.

Sif could not help but smirk triumphantly at her own toss.

"Not bad," Volstagg admitted with a nod, as his long, red beard bobbed against his broad chest.

He then reached back to grab his axe and adjusted the handle in his hand until the weight was perfectly divided in his hold. With one eye squeezed shot, the large man raised the heavy tool above his head before he slung it towards the target. The wide blade slashed into the target and got stuck there by the force. It had only hit about an inch closer to the center than the blade Sif had thrown, but it was still enough for Volstagg to take the lead.

Sif scowled some when she realized she had lost, although her throw was pretty impressive as well. "Shouldn't using another tool be counted as cheating?" she huffed and folded her arms across her chest plate.

Thor laughed lightly as he gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Not if it wasn't approved beforehand, dear lady Sif," he teased her a little.

"I suppose you believe you can do even better?" Sif asked when she looked back at the tall man, who now had stepped up beside her and Volstagg to join their little game. Despite her slight irritation, she couldn't help but smile at the prince.

Thor just shrugged at her request. "I guess there's no harm in giving it a fair try," he said unconcerned and hooked his fingers in the leather string of his hammer. Once Sif and Volstagg had taken a step away, the strong Asgardian slung the heavy hammer around by his side in a vertical circle, until its physical form morphed into a blur. With a surprisingly light toss, he then let go of the mighty weapon and let it fly across the field.

Sif had a taunting smile spread across her face when the hammer passed just above the target without hitting it. Granted she had still lost, her throw at least wouldn't be the worst. "I think you missed by a few inches there," she teased, but Thor just lifted his hand at her.

"Give it time," he said confidently. Coming as called, the hammer returned with a massive force and thundered straight through the center of the target. The strength of the weapon was so mighty that the target splintered and overturned, leaving only the tilted frame of it on the ground.

Thor caught his trusted weapon firmly when it returned to his hand like a powerful magnet.

"Now that is a powerful throw," Volstagg approved impressed.

Thor had a victorious grin on his face when he looked back at Sif once again. "There you go; Right in the center," he announced proudly.

Sif was not at all pleased with his showing off. "Right in? You burst straight through it!" she corrected him with an upset gesture towards the now broken target.

"Eh I'll say it counts anyways," Thor shrugged and twisted Mjolnir in his hand just for the fun of it.

Sif just rolled her eyes and shook her head in denial. "Remind me to put up some ground rules before we start next time," she muttered, although she was sure the guys would find a loophole somehow anyways.

While Sif went out on the field to replace the broken target, and Volstagg fetched his axe, Thor turned his attention towards Loki. The young Asgardian had until now remained silent to the point where it almost felt like he wasn't even there. Judged by his distant eyes and lag of attention towards the game, his mental presence probably was none-existent.

It made Thor question what was going on inside his mind. After all, Loki liked this particular game the most of all the training sessions. It was the only game he could claim himself the best, and although his gloating was often underacted, he nevertheless didn't let the chance to show off pass him by. So not standing eagerly in line for his turn was highly unusual. But then again, so much had been the past few months.

"Loki. Hey, Loki! You're next!" Thor's cheerful voice made the pale Odinson snap out of his mind. Even when he got eye contact with his brother, he still seemed distant.

"What are you for? It's your turn. Come over here; We're setting up a new target," Thor called and waved at him to make him step up closer.

"My turn?" Loki's question was oddly sincere, as if he had no idea of what had been going on the past few minutes. He then glanced out at the field and caught sight of the target Sif had readied. Realization painted across his face. "Ow. Right, the game," he said when he finally understood.

Thor watched his brother with slight skepticism when he stepped up in front of him, to stand face to face with the target.

With a light motion of his hands, Loki made a slender knife appear out of thin air, as he always did whenever he needed a handy device. Instead of grabbing the knife by its handle, he instead pinched the blade between his thumb and forefinger. Once he had a nice hold of it, he raised his hand back across his shoulder and stretched his other hand ahead of him to aim at the target. But he didn't throw.

For Loki, this was a big deal. Usually, his aims didn't need more than a couple of seconds, before they were taken into action. Heck, he would sometimes walk along the field and throw one knife after the other into the center of each target on his way, just to make it worse for the rest of the group. But now, it seemed as if he couldn't even concentrate on the aim.

"What's the matter Loki? You seem a little off today," Volstagg stated with a small chuckle, thinking Loki was only hesitating to turn it into a joke later on.

"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't challenge your perfect record and sit this one over," Sif continued with a small smirk when she stepped up beside her fellow worrier. Thor remained silent. He just watched his brother with a suspicious frown, waiting for it all to twist into some kind of trick. At least, that was what he caught himself hoping for.

However, when Loki finally took the chance and tossed the knife across the field, the aim was so bad that the blade didn't even hit the target. Instead, it dogged into the grass a few feet before it so far to the side, that it would only have hit the farthest ring, if it had been thrown with more force.

Nobody said a word. Not even Volstagg or Sif dared to speak up. Honestly, they hadn't doubted a second that Loki would put them at their place with an excellent throw.

But he hadn't. He had missed, perhaps for the first time in years. And he didn't even react on it. He just distantly watched the knife dive into the grass without as much as a frown. "You missed?" Volstagg said flabbergasted.

"Missed who?" Loki asked absently while he fiddled with his own empty hands.

"The target," Sif answered for him with a suspicious frown.

"I did?" Loki questioned and looked back at the knife in the grass as if he saw it for the first time. "Ow. Looks like I did. Well, you can't get it right all the time," he then said as if it was no big deal and turned on his heal to walk away from the field. "I'll just take a walk while you throw. You can summon me when my next turn arrives," he said while he walked off towards the broad halls to get some more space to think.

Now Thor couldn't suppress his concern any longer. "Here, hold this," he said and reached his hammer for Volstagg without losing Loki out of sight. As soon as he let go of the hammer, Volstagg was forced down with it immediately with a heavy thot that made Sif snicker. Thor, however, was too occupied with his brother, to notice anything else.

. . .

Loki was still nervously fiddling with his hands when Thor reached him. He had adapted that coping mechanism from his mother, and he tended to do it whenever there was something heavy on his mind. Thor didn't always notice. He rarely felt the need to keep an eye out for his brother that way, but this time, it was simply unavoidable.

"Loki?" Thor silently insisted on getting eye contact with his brother when he sat down beside him. Loki did not return his need.

"What is the matter with you? You never miss a target like that - Especially not without making a big deal out of it," Thor said suspiciously, the frown on his face making deep wrinkles on his forehead.

"Not all throws are perfect, Thor," Loki snapped at him, but Thor refused to give in to his lies.

"No that's the thing: You never make an imperfect throw!" He stated firmly through his teeth. His frustration with his brother's behavior was beginning to be too much for him, coursing him to come off more hostile than intended. "I don't know what is going on, but whatever it is, it is getting out of hand and you have to stop it now!" he hissed and slammed his fist into the stone bench to get rid of some of his anger.

Loki stared back at his brother almost apologetically before cracking a fake smirk. "I can't quite do that," he said with a shake of his head, but flinched when Thor grabbed hold of his collar and pulled him up standing with a harsh motion.

"Yes you can! Stop feeding me your lies!" The elder Asgardian demanded and gave his brother a tough shake, hoping that would knock some sense into him.

"I'm not lying," Loki hissed back with clenched teeth, his eyes glowing of mutual frustration.

"Then, why are you avoiding telling me the truth?" Thor snarled, still having a tight grip on Loki's collar to keep him in place.

"Because you would not believe me - That's why!" Loki responded angrily and tried to free himself from Thor's tight grip, but it was for no use.

Thor's hold only tightened by the resistance. "You take me for a fool?" he asked, almost offended by his brother's statement. "Thinking I haven't faced enough unbelievable things throughout the realms to have faith in whatever you may face, as well?"

Loki was silent. He just stared into Thor's piercing eyes while he took in his words with a serious expression plastered on his pale face. He was well aware what Thor had seen. He had been present at some of the travels, himself. They had both been proven wrong regarding what was possible and what was not, countless times. Yet, somehow, this was different. This he found hard to believe, himself. So why would Thor?

Loki's train of thoughts was stopped when Thor spoke up again, his voice a little less harsh this time. "Listen well, brother; If you tell me the truth… If you will be complete and utterly sincere with me about whatever may be taking place… I will believe you doubtlessly." Thor promised and cupped his warm hand around the back of Loki's neck, to assure him he meant what he said.

"Now, that's something I find hard to believe," Loki said coolly, but Thor insisted on proving him wrong.

"You have my word, brother," He assured genuinely and gave the back of Loki's neck a light squeeze.

Loki frowned skeptically at his brother. Although the thought of letting someone in on his worries was a great deal breaker for him, he couldn't deny that he was dying to get some of the weight off his shoulders. If Thor was the right person to carry that weight, he wasn't quite sure. Heck, he hadn't even dared telling his mother, and she probably knew him better than anyone else in Asgard!

But then again, Thor was his brother after all. If not him, then who?

"You must swear not to tell a soul!" Loki demanded strictly. "If anyone finds out because of you, I assure you, I'll make you regret it for eternity," he promised threateningly, letting his brother know he was dead serious.

Thor nodded without hesitation. "I swear," he assured and let Loki push his hands away as he could move more freely.

The elder Odinson waited patiently for his brother to speak up, although he was eager to find out what was actually going on.

"If you must know…" Loki began and directed on his attire before clearing his throat when he felt like it was tightening up. "The reason I have been acting a little-… Strangely lately is not due to any spells or likewise," he continued and took in a deep breath to ready himself for whatever would happen next. "I have been changing behavior because-… I am with child."

Thor's expression morphed into a mixed mass of unsettling emotions. Of all the things he had prepared himself to hear, this was probably the absolute last!

In fact, he found it so ridiculously unconvincing that he soon burst into laughter.

His unexpected reaction made Loki's frown reappear on his face. "Why are you laughing? Stop laughing - It's not at all amusing!" he demanded in offence. If it wasn't for Thor speaking up by himself, Loki would have been close to stab him, out of pour frustration. It had happened before.

"Oh I'm sorry, brother, but sometimes you are just so twisted it becomes hilarious!" Thor chuckled tauntingly and wiped an invisible tear away from the corner of his eye. Although he was laughing, the annoyance was clear in his voice. "I mean, even when you are genuinely offered my complete trust, you still choose to lie yourself out of it?"

"I am not lying; this is the truth! I am with child!" Loki claimed in frustration. He could feel the blood boiling in his veins now.

"That is madness, Loki! Even you must be able to see how ridiculous that sounds," Thor snapped back at him now. He simply refused to let himself fool by another one of Loki's countless lies. He had jumped in without hesitation too often, and each time, Loki had been the one laughing at last. Now it was simply enough.

"You know, I always thought of you as a talented liar, but this is a whole new level of mockery," Thor continued in frustration, although Loki was no longer listening. "You may have succeeded in tricking me many times, but if you think for one second I will fall into your spell one more time-"

Thor nearly chocked on his own words when Loki suddenly made a quick move. With a simple push of his hands, the trickster practically shoved a copy of himself out of his body and in between himself and his brother.

Unlike his usual copies, this one consisted of golden dust floating in the air, and was more like a visual scan of his body, than an actual duplication.

Thor took a step back at the sight of it. With questioning eyes, he studied the formation before catching his brother's eyes through the silhouette. "Brother, what is this?" he asked skeptically, but Loki answered him dead seriously.

"It's a soul forge. The same kind the most advanced medics use around here," he explained with a concentrated frown. Although he tried his best to keep it down, it was clear that the spell was difficult for him to managed, and his hands shook slightly from the effort. "Loki, I swear if this is another trick," Thor began, but Loki cut him of quickly.

"It's not a trick. It is a very advanced form of spell that transfers molecular energy from one place to another. It cannot be imitated nor can it be interfered with. It shows only reality as it is this instant," the younger Odinson made clear, leaving no space to question the truthfulness of what he said.

Thor stared at his brother for a moment before letting his eyes take in the sight of the soul forge once more. Know when Loki had explained it, he found himself recognizing the spell more and more. After all, he hadn't traveled through the nine realms without paying the medics a visit once in a while, sometimes with some pretty severe damage.

There was no doubt. Loki spoke the truth.

The eldest Odinson felt his stomach sink at the realization that hit him soon after. With his heart jumping to his throat, Thor lowered his eyes towards the center of the soul forge. Although the copy of Loki's body wasn't in complete detail, (perhaps because he wasn't practiced enough in the spell), what it revealed was clear enough to leave no uncertainty.

Inside the stomach of the soul forge, a silhouette was curled up and moving just enough to prove itself alive. While there was a visualized heart beating in the chest of the soul forge, so was there a heart beating in the small creature.

Thor stared back at his brother in complete and otter astonishment and shock.

Loki, however, kept the serious frown on his face when he returned his look. "Do you believe me now?" he asked as he had the soul forge dissolve in the air.

. . .