A/N: Sorry I'm so slow to update this one, guys. Life's a bit hectic. On a good note, there's a bit more action in this chapter!

Part Four.

"This is better than the snake."

Loki had to catch himself before he fell head-long into the nest in response to the insanity of the statement. He turned his shocked eyes on his elder brother who returned the expression with a very innocent one of his own, as if he didn't understand what all the fuss was about. The young god that they called Silvertongue sputtered for a moment before he gathered himself and spoke in very hushed tones, hands moving wildly and jabbing a finger towards the sleeping beasts below. "Have you gone mad? One bilgesnipe is a bit of fun, two is good sport, but there are at least ten down there and… Oh yes. Only two of us!"

"So?" Thor asked, genuinely confused at Loki's irritation.

"So this is what I was talking about! All I wanted was a bit of the water from the spring for my spell, but if we rush down there for your game of 'get eaten by bilgenipe,' then it will end just so, as every one of my celebration days has."

Thor rolled his eyes. "We have never been eaten by a bilgesnipe, brother. That's ridiculous." He let out a surprised yelp as the younger prince swung out at him, open palm connecting with the back of his head. He frowned and gave a look that bordered on a pout. "We've been on many adventures, Loki. I don't understand your hesitation."

"Because one day out of one hundred years I'd like to know that neither of us will end up injured and in the healing rooms!"

Both brothers' eyes widened at the sound of the beasts stirring below as Loki's voice bounced off of the cavern walls. When they had settled back down into their slumber, Thor reached forward and clasped his younger brother on the back of the neck, pulling him close so that their foreheads nearly touched. "Peace," he murmured, voice low so that it would not carry as it often did, "you'll have your way on this day, as I promised, little brother."

"Really?" Loki asked tentatively, as if he didn't truly believe him.

"Really."

The trickster pulled a deep breath in and let it out through his nose before reaching up to grasp hold of his brother's thick wrist and hold onto it, their brows bumping together in an affectionate gesture. "Thank you," he whispered with a smile.

The god of thunder grinned brilliantly. "See, I am capable of selfless acts."

"And modesty."

"Obviously."

Loki chuckled and turned his attention back to the cave. There was a thin path around the pit, and it looked just large enough for them to use it to get around the opening. It was very narrow in some spots, from what he could see with his dimmed light, and he would have to snuff it completely when they were standing over the sleeping nest so as not to wake them. There was one section that grew particularly dark, and the second prince thought that it might have crumbled away entirely.

"That will be no problem. We climbed out of your bedroom window once and managed to get to the ground without harm," Thor said.

"Yes, but that was by some light without raging beasts that would feel entirely threatened if they caught just one whiff of us."

"Father was close to a raging beast when he found out we'd done it," the elder brother countered thoughtfully, grimacing at the memory. "They can't be worse."

"Says the one that put the blame on me when we were caught. How was it again, brother? 'It was Loki's idea to use the window and Loki's magic that shielded us from view!'"

"Father was still angry at us both."

Loki shot him an irritated look as he doused the light, starting for the path. "You're missing the point, my dear brother."

Thor reached out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him before he could fully put his weight on the protruding bit of rock. When Loki looked back, expecting to find an irritated rebuttal, he found a worried expression over his brother's features instead. "You really think I'd sell you out for my own gain?"

"Isn't that what you did?"

The elder prince looked embarrassed suddenly, ducking his head and Loki thought he might have even seen a bit of red flushing across the bridge of his nose. "I didn't mean it as such," he whispered desperately.

Thin lips stretched into an affectionate smile. "I know," he admitted softly and it was true. Thor never meant to do harm, but his brash and honest nature often dealt heavier blows to his quieter and more reserved younger brother. As if to solidify the understanding, Loki reached a hand out. "Let's get on with this."

"I can't see anything," Thor complained, taking the offered hand anyway.

"I've a bit better vision in the dark than you, I'd say, but it's mostly my magic's doing. Now quiet, or we'll wake them."

Thor followed behind his younger brother, following each step as carefully as he could. Leather boots made little noise as they stepped, one foot after the other along the path. He felt Loki shift more than saw it, and followed his lead by flattening his back against the rocks and inching along a narrower portion.

It was difficult for him to follow, much less to follow blindly behind someone else, but if he was forced to do it he was pleased that it was Loki that was leading. He felt the younger prince squeeze his fingers and he realized almost too late that it was a warning. His toe caught a loose rock, sending it clattering below and they both froze, eyes wide in the dark.

The rock seemed to fall forever, it's path marked by every other rock it hit on its way down and it echoed throughout the underground. Finally it was silenced and the brothers stood very still, backs pressed against the wall of the cave and barely breathing for fear of being heard.

Shifting sounds came from below and a low, irritable growl. Loki couldn't see as far as the bottom of the pit, even with magic enhancing his sight. He was lucky, he supposed, that he could see the path in front of them.

It seemed like hours before the sounds quieted below and the princes of Asgard, almost in unison, let a quiet breath out that they had not known they were holding. Loki gripped Thor's hand a little tighter, warning him that he was going to try to move forward again. They did so cautiously, worried for any further stray stones that might remind the beasts below that there might be something worth waking for above. Slowly but surely they inched around and Loki had just spotted the piece of missing path when a low growling sound reached their ears.

So much for a silent retreat.

One large bilgesnipe leapt upward at them, slamming into the wall a few yards in front of them, sharp teeth gnashing together and a howl sounding out to wake its brothers. Loki couldn't stop a small gasp that left his lips and he tossed out a spell to illuminate the whole cavern.

It had the desired effect on the cave-dwellers as they cried out against the light. Bilgesnipe took only moments to adjust to bright lights after time in the dark, but they were still moments that allowed the boys time to sprint forward. With a brief glance behind him to reassure himself that Thor was there, Loki took off as quickly as he could around the thin path, eyes fixated on the little road.

"Loki!" Thor yelled and the trickster saw why almost too late. He slammed to a stop just as one of the beasts clawed its way up the side of the wall, crimson eyes turning towards him as it bared its fangs and growled.

It couldn't hold on, far too large for the place that the princes stood, but it took part of their path with it as it fell back down towards the rest of the nest.

"Go!" Thor roared and Loki nodded and took off. He jumped the missing piece and landed safely on the other side. The thunderer followed, seeing another beast take to the wall and begin its ascent towards them. Its claw slammed into the side just behind where the blond prince landed, cracking the rock. Blue eyes met green, both wide with understanding as it crumbled underneath him.

"Thor!" Loki cried, throwing himself forward and barely catching his brother's larger hand. A quickly spoken spell was the only thing that saved them both from going down and they hung there, suspended for a few moments, with the younger prince struggling not to go over the side of the path and into the pit below. The now ragged edge of the rocks ripped at his tunic and he could feel them bight at the skin beneath as he slipped forward, the spell not as strong as it needed to be.

"Let go! I won't take you down with me!"

"Of all the stupid things to say," Loki growled, tightening his grip. He could feel the pathway continue to crumble beneath him with their combined weight and he grit his teeth. "I don't think it'll hold me."

Thor knew better than to tell his younger brother to let go again, but he could see what was happening. "We're both going to fall. Can you cushion the landing?"

"I think so." A couple more pieces of the path fell away, nearly hitting Thor on the way down and Loki gave a short cry of pain as he scraped against the edge.

"You must catch us, do you hear me?" the thunderer demanded. "If you can do that, I'll make sure to protect you."

The younger prince grimaced as he his brother slipped in his grasp. "I don't… Thor, I'm not sure…"

"I am," Thor answered steadily, blue eyes full of certainty. "You catch us, and I'll make sure we have an escape."

Loki did not look entirely convinced, but what was left beneath him shifted again and both brothers tumbled downward.

TBC