I love horses, in case you haven't noticed so far, so PLEASE PLEASE tell me when I'm getting side-tracked and spending too much time writing about horses and not Loki-goodness, I tend to do this.
(yes, I was thinking of Katy Perry's Dark Horse when I wrote this even though I absolutely hate both the artist and song)
"I sure hope you're not planning on sitting on your sorry ass all day." Nala grumbled, yanking on her muddy paddock boots and tucking the ripped hems of her jeans into the rubber. Loki wrinkled his nose at the crusted mud and eyed the matching set beside them.
"What does not sitting ential?" he asked, not having plans on spending all his time on Midgard sitting on a couch and getting fat.
Nala smiled as she laced up the boots. "You'll see." she reached behind her and tossed the less muddy, larger boots in Loki's general direction. "If you're gonna stay here, you might as well work for it."
"I am a price, you pathetic Midgardian, not a stable boy." he snarled, nudging the boot with his toe as if afraid it would come alive and swallow his foot.
"Think of it this way." Nala said, standing and brushing the dried mud off her hands. Her golden eyes had acquired a hard glint that tipped Loki off that he was in for a lecture and actually regretted not accepting the proffered foot apparel. "If you don't at least try to work for me, there's always a certain agent I can call who would happily struggle to cut the duct tape I have gagged you with in the middle of the night. So hop to Snow White." She smiled sarcastically, her hands on her hips, weight cocked to the right, striking a pose which could only be described as sassy. Loki scowled but gingerly removed his own shoes, exchanging them for the dull green paddock boots.
The barn was situated behind a bluff and overlooked the sprawling valley. The walls were dark from rain on one side and bleached by the sun on the other side. Peeling red paint chipped off the sides and a few loose shingles scattered the ground, but it was solid and not in need of major repairs. The large barn doors opened to a row of four stalls, two on each side, a feed room on one side, and a tack room on the other. A wide center aisle separated the two sides. A discrete ladder in the corner led to the hayloft above. Three horses poked their heads out of their loose boxes, whinnying a greeting. Nala smiled and went to the closest horse; a fleabitten gray gelding.
"This is Saint Simon, but we call him Simon for short." Nala explained, scratching the inside of the gelding's ears with the heel of her hand. Simon's eyes closed in bliss and he leaned his heavy head towards her, his upper lip trembling like jell-o. Fishing in her pocket, she held out a peppermint, which disappeared in seconds. "He used to be a racehorse, but he was too lazy and didn't do well." Loki apprehensively approached the big gray horse. He had never really seen horses as more than means of transportation and the idea of lavishing affection and treating it as anything more seemed akin to a human keeping a motorcycle as a pet. Simon seemed to appraise the newcomer and stuck his head further out of his stall, his lips reaching for a treat. Nala grinned and gave Loki a peppermint.
"What is this?" Loki asked, eying the hard, disk-shaped red and white-striped candy.
"It's for the horse, dumbass." Nala chucked. "Keep your palm flat and don't be afraid. They smell fear." she added, her eyes widening to enhance the effect. Loki rolled his eyes but did as she told. Simon's lips tickled his pale palm as he searched for the treat he knew was there. Whiskers tickled and the candy was gone.
"This one is Louise." Nala said, affectionately grabbing the bay mare's forelock that had somehow nosed her way in between despite her being in the next stall. She was lighter than Simon, with a delicate head and long, arched neck. "She was also a racehorse. That's mainly what I do here." she said, scratching beneath the forelock. Louise tossed her head in high spirits, almost catching Loki under the chin.
Nala crossed the aisle to the other set of stalls. One was empty and swept bare, the other contained a horse. He was black all over, handsome and tall, with two white socks on his front feet and a large white blaze on his face which extended between his ears. The underside of his forelock was white, like a skunk tail. "And this is Loki." Loki raised an eyebrow and glared at the horse critically. Why would anyone name a dumb beast after the god of mischief and lies? Especially one so powerful as himself.
The horse's eyes rolled as he saw the stranger, pawing the ground nervously and backing further into his stall. He certainly didn't have Simon's bovine-like temperament or Louise's playful nature. Nala smiled sadly.
"He doesn't like people much. They haven't treated him very kindly. They just don't understand him is all." The symbolism was not lost on Loki and he felt a bit of an attachment to the nervous black horse.
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