Sif awoke in horror. She felt Fandral clinging to her naked form like a needy cat. If he or anyone from this camping party ever utters a word, she'll get his balls.
"Loki! Oh no!" Sif tried to sit up, but Fandral's weight kept her pinned. She shoved him off her, waking him.
"Good morning love."
"Oh shut up! Where are my clothes?"
"Why the rush to get dressed? I'd rather hoped you and I could continue on from last night."
"I'm already another notch on your bedpost. Are you not satisfied with my humiliation?" Sif asked. She was mortified, agitated, embarrassed, and ashamed. She tried to attack Loki, a friend, and the King's Omega. Had her friends not stopped her last night she would have committed a terrible crime. Sadness overwhelmed her. She really wants a baby. She's lied to herself for years. She has tried to make herself believe that she loves being a warrior too much to be saddled with an infant. Lately it is all she can think about.
"Sif, darling look at me. I know last night was nothing you wanted, but it meant far more to me than an empty rut. I would woo you fair maiden, if I weren't afraid of you scoffing at flowers and sonnets."
"I wouldn't scoff at flowers. I'm not rude."
"No, but you fear feminine gestures, as though they are an insult to your warrior status."
"I do not." Sif said with a lilt to her voice. Even she did not believe the lie. Fandral just looked at her.
"You cannot expect me to believe you are sincere." Sif changed tactics. "And besides, you know we would never have any children."
"You don't know that. Look, I know the odds are stacked against us, but that doesn't mean we should not have hope or throw away our love." Fandral said. Sif looked him in the eye then.
"Love?"
"Sif, I love you. I have for a long time now."
"But all those whores you've been with?"
"Oh come now, half of those boasts were just lies to goad you. The other half, I had hoped to make you jealous. I suppose that was the wrong strategy." Fandral said sounding morose.
"It worked. I was jealous, but also disgusted. You better not have given me any diseases." Sif said seriously, but Fandral just chuckled.
"I haven't. Will you please give me a chance? I could make you so happy." Fandral begged.
"You won't touch anyone else?"
"I swear it." Fandral patted the spot next to him and Sif sat back down. He pulled her in for kiss, brief and sweet.
"Oh poor Loki. I need to apologize to him. He must have been so terrified."
"Let's do it right now. Hey Loki! Sif and I are very sorry." Fandral yelled, not that he needed to. It's not like their canvas tent did anything to muffle their voices. "Look, if it helps with the morning after awkwardness, Sif and I will stay behind today while you three go hunting. We'll see you when everyone gets back!"
"Uh…Okay!" Loki yelled.
"Finally. They've talked." Volstagg said. "Come lads. Let us remove ourselves from this love nest lest we be subjected to further audio assault. I think today we will try for an Elk, high up the mountainside. We certainly won't catch anything in this area."
"I agree." Loki said. Volstagg, Loki, and Hogun started their trek up the hillside in search of game. He delighted at seeing new plants and animals that did not live in the woods near the farm where he grew up. Here the flora and fauna was much more diverse.
"Ooh, what a beautiful flower." Loki reached out to a violet rose like flower growing in the middle of a large thorny bush. He tried to pluck it, only to have a firm hand snatch at it like a child trying to steal a cookie. It was Volstagg.
"Do not touch that flower lad. That is a purple widow. The edges of the petals have a poison that will paralyze you. In fact, the army cultivates these to make poisoned tipped darts. If you ever find yourself alone in the wood with the enemy trailing, find one of these. Even if your aim is poor, if you manage to hit your target anywhere with a poisoned arrow, they will die a quick painful death."
"Thank you. That is twice now I am in your debt."
"Tis nothing but the training of a warrior."
"I am not a warrior." Loki said.
"You underestimate yourself, but then many do. My Hilda is a dainty thing. You'd think she was made of the finest porcelain. I myself feared I'd crush her the first time we made love, but she is tougher than she looks. There have been a few times some foolish Alpha thought to taste what was mine. They're all dead now."
"You killed them?"
"No. She did."
"I could learn a thing or two from her."
"Who do you think taught her?"
"Then I am in the best hands possible." Loki said. He looked back at Hogun. The man says so little he'd almost forgotten that he was with them.
"We will need to whisper from here on out. We do not want to spook the animals and give away our position." Volstagg said. They carried on in silence. Loki had his bow and arrow set slung over his shoulder and a large wicked dagger strapped to his hip. The trudge up the mountain was time consuming and arduous. The morning fog lingered due to the altitude and Loki did not see how anyone could see any animal clearly through all the brush and cover. They reached a plateau and Hogun gestured for the group to stop. Before them was a clearing with a small collection of fruit bushes in the center. They appeared to be blueberries. This spot was perfect.
They hunkered down and waited. And they waited. And they waited. A bird came and flew down near them, singing a happy song before flitting off. Again they waited. A fox scampered across the field at one point. It appeared to be chasing some sort of muskrat. Loki could feel his hunger setting in as lunchtime had come and gone without a meal. Missing meals used to be such a common thing for him. Now that he was used to regular meals, his body noticed the absence, and was complaining quite voraciously.
"That was a rather loud growl lad." Volstagg said.
"That wasn't my stomach." Loki said. The noise had come from their left. They all turned their eyes to the direction of the sound. They'd been ambushed!
A great brown bear came and towered over them, startling them all. While they were busy hunting elk, the bear had been hunting them. They all scrambled to aim their weapons. Loki flung his dagger and hit the bear squarely in the eye as Hogun unsheathed his sword. As the bear roared in pain from Loki's hit, Hogun plunged his sword into the bear's gut. The bear tried to swat its great razor sharp paw at the man, but Volstagg severed the limb in one mighty strike. Loki let loose a series of arrows aimed directly at the bear's neck, causing it to choke and bleed. The creature slammed to the ground, causing a local earthquake. Hogun stabbed the animal in the heart and all movement stopped.
All three men panted with relief and shock. Volstagg began a rolling chuckle that morphed into a victory cry. Even Hogun cheered, for he was very glad to still be living. Loki laughed as the relief and excitement washed over him. It was his first kill, group effort though it was.
"Victory! The mighty beast thought it could hunt the hunters eh! What a great story this will be to tell our friends back at camp and back in the palace!" Volstagg smiled. They were all smiles.
"How in all the nine are we going to drag this thing back to camp?"
"We will have to dress it here, and try to lighten the weight as much as possible. Each of us will have to shoulder at least 150lbs a piece."
"While traveling downhill no less." Loki said.
"We can leave the entrails and bones behind, but that is still roughly 500lbs of meat we are looking at."
"Plus the head and fur." Hogun said.
"We'll eat well tonight!" Volstagg said. They got down to business skinning and gutting the animal. Loki had never seen so much blood, and he'd done his fair share of butchering wild animals in his life. Usually rabbits or the occasional chicken. Hogun started a small fire and put the bear's heart and liver on a stick to quickly cook. The organs were large enough to feed all three men a decent meal and fuel them for the long trek back to camp. All told, Loki and Hogun both shouldered 150 lbs. of meat while Volstagg carried 200lbs.
It was dark when they arrived. They found Sif and Fandral sitting by the fire, cuddled up together and looking relaxed. Loki even dared to think, affectionate. Everyone's faces blushed a bit when their eyes met, but the excitement of the day, and the exhaustion of the walk had sucked up much of the weirdness.
"Oh whoa now, what is this?" Fandral asked.
"Is that a bear?" Sif asked.
"Aye. The great beast snuck up on us, wanting to make a meal of us. We three fell the creature handedly. It never stood a chance." The bearded man boasted.
"It was exhilarating. One of the most thrilling moments of my life. I'll never forget it." Loki grinned.
"I am glad to see that you are well and that you had a marvelous time. Are you angry with me? I wouldn't blame you after last night. I betrayed your trust and I am sorry." Sif said. Loki's face fell, being reminded of the events from last night.
"It is alright Sif. I'm not angry, although I might use the incident for blackmail at some point." Loki's naughty smile allowed her a sigh of relief.
"I thank you my friend."