A/N: A bit of a delay: I've suffered a wee accident cleaning a fish tank...and ended up in A&E for stitches and typing is a pain. Really...

Special thanks to Ghost Rider of the Aragon for her support by her motivating reviews.

Chapter 5: A Happy Birthday

Magni Lokason was stifling a yawn as he took a seat at the breakfast table, next morning, and started to butter his toast when a waitress materialised at his elbow.

"Coffee or tea?"

He looked up at the waitress.

"Coffee would be nice, thank you."

As soon as she was done pouring him some, he thanked her again and brought the cup to his lips, closing his eyes as he took in the wafts of aroma before taking his first sip.

"Did you sleep well?" Peter asked him.

"Not particularly, no." Magni replied, opening his eyes to look at his friend over the rim of his cup.

"Why not?"

"It doesn't matter, Peter."

"Well, to me it seems like it mattered enough for being unable to sleep."

"It's nothing. Really."

Peter snorted.

"I just haven't adapted to the difference in time zone. Is all." Magni muttered.

Unconvinced, Peter rolled his eyes. "Bollocks. At least you could put some more effort in coming up with a more convincing lie than that...Loki," Peter teased his friend.

Magni gave the other boy a look. "Have a care now." One Peter understood well enough to swiftly change the subject.

"So, how was the aurora borealis? Did you get to see something more than some green coloration of a smog and light polluted sky?"

"I agree it wasn't as spectacular as the ones I've seen in the north," Magni sighed, setting his cup down and picking up his toast. "Of course I hadn't really expected much of a show at this latitude."

"Oh come on, Magni. Surely that was no aurora borealis you saw. Not in New York! Now you're just making that up." Robert said between two bites of his apple.

"Are you accusing me of lying, Robert? Ned, pass me the muesli when you're done... Thanks."

"Well... I really can't say I believe you. You just can't see the northern lights as far down south as New York. Maybe you saw something, but I doubt it was the northern lights."

"And yet, you're wrong. It actually has happened before. I take it you've never heard about the Carrington Event which occurred in 1859? Oh, I admit it's a rare phenomenon, and last night's was a rather weak one in comparison but I think I have a pretty good idea what an aurora borealis looks like."

Now, Magni had the undivided attention of the others.

"Tell us about that event. Was it the same as this year's? Not that I actually ever had the luck to see the northern lights, but the news was full of that big solar flame and the promises or hopes we'd get a major aurora borealis event..." Peter said, not a little disappointed at the recollection of seeing his hopes dashed at the time.

The other choristers nodded in agreement.

"No. I didn't get to see it, either. It was too cloudy. And, no, the 1859 event happened to be the largest recorded geomagnetic storm. Actually, these particular auroras could even be seen in the Caribbean and the north of Africa! Can you imagine?"

"No way. Sorry, Lokason, but now you're exaggerating."

"Would I lie about this, Robert? What would I gain with lying over this? Really!" Magni scoffed and took a bite of his toast.

"Come on. The Caribbean for Christ's sake!"

"It's the truth. I mean, there have been countless eye witness accounts of the phenomenon. Besides, it's been scientifically proved. This super flare was mega, I tell you! It did cause quite some disruption worldwide. Google for it, if you don't believe me. I'm not making this up. Uhm... Is there any more coffee?" He asked, looking around for the waitress. "Oy! Jeremy! Pass me some butter, if you please. Thanks. Oh, and while you're at it; toss me an apple, too, will you?"

As soon as he'd caught the apple, he spirited it away for later.

"So, what are the plans for today? No more dreary museums, let us hope?" And no creepy strangers sneaking up on him to abduct him...

"If it were a library, you wouldn't mind."

"It's the drifting at a snail's pace from one object on to the next and stand there gawping for an interminable time which bores me. At least in a library I can find me some interesting literature and…"

"…lose yourself reading. I know, I know." Peter laughed.

"Books are comforting and a font of knowledge and wisdom," Magni condescendingly replied as he pushed his chair back to fetch some fruit juice.

He didn't notice the conspiring looks his friends exchanged. However, he knew they were up to something when he returned to the table. He could hardly miss the last of the whispered messages which had been passing between the other boys. He frowned when catching the youngest sniggering excitedly and when one boy circumspectly left the table – as if he wouldn't notice! - the furrows of his brow deepened.

"Wait a minute... Today's plans were about visiting that school just outside the city, wasn't it?" Magni remembered.

"Indeed, Lokason. We're going to spend the day at the River Valley School where we'll have a general rehearsal with the resident choir. The coach will..." the choir master checked his watch, "leave at 11:30 sharp. So you still have some time to enjoy the city but, remember...be back in time because we leave on the dot!"

As soon as the master, with a curt nod to the boys, had left, the room erupted with excited chatter.

Magni's eyes opened wide when the boy who had left earlier, had returned to stand beside him, concealing something behind his back.

All the boys went quiet as Peter rose to his feet, a wide grin lighting up his face.

"We were going to give this to you last night, but...as you prematurely left dinner...we had decided to try again tonight. However," he hastened to go on when Magni was about to interrupt, "now would seem as good a moment as any as I'm sure there would be some, here," he held up his hand at the sound of excited sniggers, "who'd be hard put to keep the secret for much longer..."

Peter nudged the lad, the youngest boy treble on their team, who blushed and passed a parcel to Magni.

Magni, holding the gift in his hands, darted questioning glances around the table seeing nothing but smiles full of anticipation and he couldn't help but suddenly feel self-conscious.

"Stop dawdling and open the damned thing, Loki!" One of the boys yelled through cupped hands from the adjacent table.

"Yeah! Yeah!" The other boys chimed in.

His thin fingers undid the lint and then fiddled with the adhesive tape. He unwrapped the parcel and just stood there, gaping at what was obviously a gift.

"A belated birthday present, Magni. We happened upon these comic books in one of the bookshops and...well... We thought...uhm...couldn't resist..." Peter shrugged.

Magni's glacier eyes snapped up from the comic book to stare at his friends and then, giving them all a look, held it up for all to see. "KID Loki? KID? Loki?"

"It's actually good, you know? We thought you might like this one. There were also...very different comics that aren't exactly flattering. That is...in which Loki is rather...well...a thorough bastard. A villain and a stark raving madman. But these Kid Loki books are actually quite nice. Besides, you like books, don't you? I've caught you reading comics before..."

"Well, yesss...but..." Magni sucked at his lower lip as he turned the book in his hands, then flipped it open. Sitting down, he leafed through it. His eyes, first lacking conviction, eventually started to glint with curiosity. When he'd attained a certain passage, he actually smiled which made his face light up.

"Magni, it would be..." Peter started, but Magni cut him off, holding up the book allowing his choir mates to see the cover.

"Lovely! Guys! I...I... Thank you!" He let out in a whoosh, glancing around at the smiling and expectant young faces.

As he was skimming through the comic book, his thoughts were about his friends finding him a gift; his friends remembering his birthday. They cared enough about him to lay out some coins to buy him a present.

He gulped and let his gaze drift back down to the book.

"Thank you, guys..." he softly repeated and chewed his lower lip again and willing his misting eyes to clear. He still needed to work on curbing his emotions.

Nobody noticed the tall man with the flowing hair the color of wheat standing near the entrance, casually leaning against the door frame whilst fixing his steel blue gaze on the young dark haired youth.

"Hope you'll like it, Magni," the young treble who had presented him his gift whispered shyly. "The drawings are really nice..." And then, the boy scampered back to his seat amongst his friends at the other table.

Magni's eyes followed the boy, wondering and then looked down at the book again. "The drawings are really nice..."

Really nice.

Those words weren't exactly the qualities one would associate with the God of Chaos. The villain destined to bring down the world or worlds... A shapeshifting giant full of evil.

What presentations he'd ever seen of Loki, they could hardly be described as...nice. The Norse deity Loki was invariably portrayed with an ugly and malicious sneer.

Magni's eyes had latched onto one picture of a boy clad in black and green wearing a small crown, a magpie perched on his shoulder.

He hated it when they called him Loki. Loki was like the devil and who wanted to be compared with the devil, anyway? And yet, he was called Lokason. Son of Loki.

Suddenly, his mind went back to an incident that happened years ago when he was about six or seven.

"...and thus..." Aunt Elvira lowered her voice making it husky and threatening.

The two young children sat huddled together. Ase, tried to find comfort by sucking her thumb, her other hand clutching the soft wooll

en blanket her brother wore around him like a cloak. Magni had wrapped his arms around his trembling body. The children's eyes were wide with the horror of the scenes they conjured up at their aunt's words.

"...and thus..." she repeated for good measure, leaning closer to the children making them recoil with fright, "the great and awful fight begins, sealing the fate of the gods of Asgard when the eeeeeeevil Trickster Loki... "

"Enough, Elvira!" Fulla's angry voice broke off the tale of doom and death. "What possesses you? You're frightening them!"

She was furious and with reason. She'd been working late at the Embassy and, instead of coming home to her laughing children, happy to see their mummy, she was instead greeted by the unpleasant sight of her two little darlings huddled together, greatly distressed.

Little Magni, his heart still beating wildly, felt a surge of relief at seeing his mother and leapt up to greet her. His sister had also scrambled to her feet and, brushing past him without preamble, ran to hide behind Fulla.

Suffice to say aunt Elvira was told in no uncertain terms to go home and their mother making a mental note of never asking her sister to babysit ever again.

That night, she'd had her hands full with two terrified children.

To make matters worse, her darling Magni, waking up from a nightmare – the first of many – had asked her if he was also a monster like Loki. After all, wasn't he Loki's son? And, was it true what aunt Elvira had told him? Was he really born in Jötunheim where all the horrible Frost Giants lived? That made him one of them, too, didn't it?

"Oh, Elvira!" Fulla silently fumed at her sister's irresponsible act. Would she ever learn?

That night, Ase and Magni had pattered to their parents' room and crept in the big bed, snuggling under the blankets to be close to their mother who spent a long time shushing them, wiping at their teary little faces, comforting them, reassuring them both that, no, Magni was not a monster.

Her heart was hurting, too, but how could she tell Magni about his true father at his tender age?

Sven and Fulla had decided from the very moment they had accepted the care of the little boy that they would explain all about that night the tall and dark stranger had appeared on their doorstep with little Magni.

Now, however, she felt a shiver run the length of her back as she thought more profoundly about the myths she'd grown up with; about the ancient god Loki responsible for Ragnarök and the man Loki who, one midwinter, had come down the Hurrungane slopes in Jotunheimen Nasjonalpark. True, the whole situation had been most confusing at the time. There was a thin line between fact and...myth, the young couple had found, and they had never stopped wondering if the mysterious man who'd left his infant boy - for they firmly believed he really was the father - with them was truly the Trickster God or nothing more but a simple human being...

When Magni was finally told the true story of his joining the Solveig family, Sven and Fulla hadn't left a single thing out; not even the unease which plagued them still at times.

"Magni? Hey! Wakey-wakey!"

Magni started upright hearing his name and finding a hand waving in front of his face...and a little too close for comfort. He closed his eyes for the briefest of moments; the only outward sign of his irritation. He hated it when someone unexpectedly invaded his personal space.

However, he recovered himself fairly quickly and, giving a slight shake of his head and squeezing the bridge of his nose, he replied: "I'm sorry. I think I..."

"Oh yes indeed: you definitely weren't all there for a while." Peter laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Well, uhm..." Magni lifted the book from the table and pushed back his chair. "I'd better take it upstairs to our room. I'll be back in a jiffy, okay?"

"Oy Lokason! Game for some ping-pong when you get back down?" Richard Pemberton, another of the young tenors called after Magni.

"Sure! I'm looking forward to beating you into submission, Pemberton!" Magni replied over his shoulder in good humour.

"We'll see about that," the other boy chuckled.

No Loki in this chapter, but the next is only about him. :))))