The Truth About Liars

Seven Years Later

It was as beautiful day as any in Asgard. The light from their sun was bright and the breeze carried the faint scent of all things new in its current. Loki sat on the lip of a boulder upon a hill overlooking the city while he fiddled with a piece of Midgardian technology called a tablet produced by Stark Industries. Loki had taken it off a traveler a few years past and he was obsessed with it. Something about the name Stark tugged at something in his non-existent memory. But Loki had learned to relatively ignore those tugs. It wasn't like he was ever going to fully remember anything from his past life anyway. He just liked to play the games and read the stories about the Midgardian world the tablet provided. All matter of the realm of Midgard fascinated him ever since he'd learned of it.

Tucked in Loki's green tunic was a whittling tool and a small figurine he had been working on while he waited for Sigyn, who was a servant to Frigga like her mother. But he had gotten distracted and started to play a game on the tablet. He wasn't far from Idun's orchard of precious golden apples. It was actually just through the line of trees that stood behind where he sat. So he shouldn't have been surprised when Bragi, Idun's husband came barreling through the brush and headed straight in Loki's direction. Loki didn't even have to look at him to see that his beard was practically bristling with anger.

"What are you doing here?" Bragi demanded. Loki sighed and mourned the loss of his high score on Temple Run.

"Know this, Bragi," Loki began offhandedly while he exited out of his game, "that I answer your polite inquiry not out of any obligation to you, but out of the kindness of my heart. I'm waiting for someone," he explained, glancing lazily over his shoulder before returning to his tablet.

"Liar!" Bragi hissed. "You're up to something. You're always up to something!"

"Why do people always assume that I'm lying?" Loki mumbled under his breath.

A sharp slap whipped across the back of his head, ruffling his long black hair as he fell forward flat on his face.

"You know why!" Bragi accused, pointing down at Loki. "Because you are a helspawned trickster that nearly raised Asgard to the ground and in doing so sent many good souls so the pits and…" Bragi paused his tirade to eye the tablet Loki reached for on the ground where he had dropped it. "What hellish device is that-"

"It's a device beyond you and your kin's simple understanding," Loki growled, wiping the dirt off it as he picked himself up off the ground. "Though I suspect much is beyond you kin."

Bragi's face darkened and he took a threatening step towards Loki. "I'm going to break you!"

"Is there a problem here?" a voice suddenly asked from behind Bragi. Bragi turned to see Thor emerging on foot over the hill and walking towards them. Loki got to his feet and wiped the dirt off his face with a black gloved hand.

"He was being disrespectful, Lord Thor," Bragi informed him scowling.

"Oh, very," Loki admitted while rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. "And for that I apologize most ardently. My mood must have been disagreeable due to the physical pain. The least I can do is regret my words."

Thor eyed Loki questionably, but said to Bragi, "Do you accept this?" Bragi, knowing that Loki was much favored by Thor chose to accept Loki's vindictive apology.

"Good," Thor nodded. "Then I think it best you take your leave."

"Yes, Lord Thor." Bragi's scowl did not improve as he returned to his wife's orchards.

"What was that about?" Thor wanted to know when Bragi was well out of sight.

Loki shrugged and tucked his tablet away into his tunic. "A difference of opinion I suppose." Loki squinted up at his older brother. "What brings you here?" he asked turning Thor's attention away from the incident.

Thor gathered himself for the conversation he was about to have with Loki. Loki saw the physical change in his brother and steeled himself as well.

"I heard what you did to the kitchens this morning," Thor informed his younger brother, his tone stern.

"Oh, they deserved it," Loki reasoned with a scoff that scrunched his face.

"Are they still putting sand in your food?" Thor asked, a scowl appearing on his face.

"Oh no, don't be ridiculous." Loki said waving his hand around as if to dispel the air. "They've upgraded to dirt now. Cooks easier and is much harder to detect until you've already swallowed."

Thor sighed, exasperated. He thought he had put a stop to that bullying weeks ago. "Loki, you have to tell me when they do these things!"

"No, Thor!" Loki snapped, irritated himself. "I can't have you fighting all my battles for me all the time! They'll never respect me that way!"

"They'll never respect you if you play tricks on them, Loki!" Thor reasoned, his voice rising. "You're thirteen now, nearly a man! You need to put away childish pranks and start solving problems instead of making them worse!"

Loki clenched his jaw and lowered his head. "I'm sorry I disappointed you, brother," Loki said quietly. Thor let out a breath and stepped closer to his little brother. He placed his hands on his shoulders, causing Loki to look at him.

"You didn't disappoint me, Loki. I sometimes forget that you are still a child," he admitted. "But next time tell me when they do things like this. I'm your brother and it is my duty to look after you. Promise me," Thor said, squeezing Loki's shoulders.

"Alright, I promise," Loki swore.

"Good," Thor smiled. Loki smiled back, though he wasn't very happy. He had been enduring bullying at the hands of the Asgardians ever since he was brought back. It wasn't the first time he had decided to give them a taste of their own medicine. "No more tricks," Thor warned not unkindly.

"No more tricks," Loki repeated in a way of a promise.

Thor released him, satisfied. He glanced around, a small frown on his lips.

"What are you doing up here anyway?"

"I'm waiting for Sigyn to be done catering to Frigga's every whim," Loki informed him sarcastically as he plopped himself back down into his previous spot and took out his wooden figurine and whittler. Thor shook his head at his brother's hunched shoulders and watched him as she began furiously chipping away at the wood. It wasn't a secret that Frigga and Loki didn't get along. In fact, it wasn't a secret that Loki didn't get along with most of the gods in Asgard. Thor knew that Sigyn and Loki had been friends for years now. Thor was actually glad Loki had a friend like her.

"Well it looks like you won't have to wait much longer," Thor informed Loki when he glanced up and saw her coming over the crest of the hill. Sigyn had her long brown hair pulled back in a braid that hung over her shoulder. The wind whipped the loose strands around her head and in her face. She pulled the hem of her dress above her feet as she ascended the hill.

Loki didn't look up as he mumbled something unintelligible while Thor turned to leave. He passed Sigyn on his way down the hill where she paused to bow.

"Lord Thor," she smiled as she bowed her head respectfully and spread her skirts.

"Sigyn," Thor nodded back in kind without stopping. She waited for him to walk by before making her way up the hill and the rest of the way to Loki. Settling herself next to him, she leaned in and peered over his shoulder.

"I saw what you did to the kitchens this morning," Sigyn told him. "You owe me a meal, by the way." Loki didn't respond. Sigyn frowned and sensed that he wasn't in his usual mood to joke, which was rare. "They put something worse in your food than sand this time, didn't they?" she guessed quietly, looking carefully at his face.

"It was dirt," Loki said finally, still chipping away at the now ruined wooden figurine of a Valkyrie he'd been making. Sigyn's expression saddened. She knew Loki was bullied often by various people within the palace, servants and gods alike. Sometimes servants bullied him on the behest of a god, sometimes because they took it upon themselves to make him miserable.

Sigyn moved closer to Loki and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her cheek upon his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "They deserved it."

Loki chuckled and briefly touched his cheek to the top of her head. "You bet they did." Loki slowed his hacking and began carving again. Out of all the people in the Nine Realms, it was Sigyn who could always make him feel better without fail. Sure Thor made him feel better too, but sometimes he could be a thickhead. Sigyn always knew what to say to turn his mood around.

Sigyn smiled and turned her head to prop her chin upon his shoulder. "Is that for me?" she asked.

Loki lifted the small chunk of wood into the light and appraised it. Though the bottom half was hacked to pieces, the Valkyrie's face was a perfect likeness of Sigyn.

"Of course," Loki assured her as he lowered it back onto his lap to begin working on it again. "Who else would it be for?"

You're my only friend in the world, Sigyn…