Slítas felt comfortable in the snow, and he could feel himself relaxing the longer he spent on his homeworld of Jötunnheim. Although it was much colder then -100F, the cold did not bother him. He made himself warm-blooded to deal with the chill and slithered through the dirty, ash gray snow.

Loki had set him down remarkably close to the Jötunn's capital city of Útgarðr, so Slítas did not have far to slither to reach shelter. Although his scales were black, the twilight dark light and gray color of the snow camouflaged his presence. With this he was able to move through the city unseen by its crestfallen inhabitants.

The palace was not well guarded and Slítas was not surprised by that either. He remembered Jötunnheim as being one of the more peaceful realms, and so did not believe that there was a need for tight security. It was easy for the small serpent to gain entry to Laufey's palace.

Once he entered the palace though he found himself a little confused, for all the hallways looked the same. Compared to the deafening sound of life on Asgard, Slítas found the silence of Útgarðr disturbing. He clicked quietly as he tried to figure out which way to go and that quiet click echoed as loud as an avalanche, making the snake puff up his hood defensively.

He retracted his hood slowly and reached out for something familiar with his unique brand of magic. Many animals had magic. Cats had the ability to see through glamours and illusions with their eyes. Prey creatures could often use a limited version of senselines to detect when they were being hunted. Slítas used his magic, and managed to sense something he recognized.

It almost felt like his Jötunn friend back on Asgard, and Slítas assumed that he had found some of his Jötunn family. Hopefully they would be as nice as Loki. Without clicking again, Slítas lowered his head to the ice and traced the magic to its source.

Within the throne room of the palace, Laufey was lounging on his throne. He wasn't often on his throne. Normally he preferred to be on ground level instead of high above his own people as if he were a god compared to them. The only times he was on his throne was for an important event or if he wanted to be left alone.

This time it was the second one.

Laufey had received news from Heimdall of the Tesseract and its disappearance, along with orders from the great Odin to return it if they found it. If they didn't, Asgard would read it as treason and start a war. Asgard was always looking for an excuse to start a war.

When Asgard's younger prince had thrown it into the Void to protect it from Nira, it had vanished with a flash of power and so it was now up for grabs. Despite Heimdall's warning, he was still curious about what would happen if we found Jötunnheim found it. With that much power at his disposal then who knew what would happen.

No, if Laufey found it then Asgard would keep their treat and tear it from Laufey, staining the snow as they threatened. Asgard called Jötunnheim monsters, and yet they were the ones who made the snow run red with blood as thick as a river. Unlike Jötunnheim, Asgard was not very specific about killing only warriors.

Laufey was troubled by this situation. Even if Jötunnheim found it, even with the power of an Infinity Stone, they would still be in another war. Yet to give up such power… With the Tesseract, Laufey might be able to duplicate the Casket's effect and use it to sustain the lifeforce of his planet. What would he do if he managed to gain the Tesseract? What was the best thing for his shattered planet and broken people?

Slítas slithered into the throne room and raised his head off of the floor and up to the Jötunn on the throne. This was the kin to his friend that he had sensed. He clicked hello, and the noise echoed off the walls as loud as a gunshot.

Laufey jumped, and almost fell off of his throne from surprise. He materialized a blade of ice around his fingers as he scrambled to his feet and searched for the source of the sound. A patch of the shadows moved and a small black ribbon materialized, and slithered over the base of the throne. It looked up at him curiously, and clicked hello again.

Laufey watched the snake with blank eyes. Was that a snake on Jötunnheim? The snake seemed to be expecting him to come down. Unsure, Laufey cautiously walked down the steps to ground level.

With another click Slítas raised his head and nuzzled Laufey's hand. This Jötunn's soul was similar to Loki's, and so Slítas suspected his first guess was correct. The two of them must be family. Judging by the age difference between Loki and this Jötunn, this was likely Loki's father.

There were footsteps down the hallway as someone approached, and the steps resolved themselves into General Mimir Fanzelson, an old friend of Laufey's and his second in command. Mimir looked surprised when he saw Laufey was no longer on his throne, and relieved. If Laufey was willing to come down from his throne then that meant he had managed to organize his thoughts and was willing to interact with his people again. What was his verdict on the Tesseract?

Mimir decided to tease Laufey a little before he got to the point, and so he called out as he entered. "Ah, you are finally going to come down from your throne and speak to us mortals?"

Laufey sighed at Mimir's barb. It was expected, and after the startling announcement about the Tesseract he realized he was glad that something at least was still the same. As Laufey made a move to stand, the black snake looped itself around his arm so when Laufey stood it was on him.

Mimir's next jibe fizzled out when he saw the snake wrapped around his arm. "Where did you…?"

Laufey shrugged helplessly as he faced Mimir, and the serpent bobbed its head in greeting at Mimir. "It just showed up. I think it likes me."

"Obviously," Mimir muttered in amusement at just how obvious the comment was.

He held out a hand to the cobra, but it puffed its hood at him defensively. It opened its mouth to expose his teeth. Mimir quickly jerked his hand back before he got bit. Curious, he took a closer look at the snake. The crystals by its eyes that turned an irritated pink color when it flexed its hood and at the intelligence in its emerald cat eyes.

"Laufey," Mimir whispered in awe when he suddenly realized what type of snake it was. "Do you know what this is? It's a Deus Praesidio!"

Laufey gave his friend a blank look, and slowly lowered his eye to the snake draped around his arm. "Deus Praesidio? Aren't they a myth?"

"They are rare enough that they might as well be," Mimir shook his head. "I believe Asgardians call their species Whipsnapper Cobras. According to our legends, they served as Ymir's guardians. Their name translates roughly to God's Protector."

"This little thing was a guardian to the god Ymir?" Laufey whistled. "It's little, but it must pack a punch."

"According to the stories, they're strong enough to fight Elder Gods. I don't know if they could actually beat an Elder God, but they could stall them long enough for Ymir to come and kill them. Having one on your side is very good," Mimir smiled.

"It's tame," Laufey mused at how comfortable the snake was to him. "I wonder what happened to its old master."

Slítas tilted its head up at Laufey and hissed at him. He was not Loki's pet, just a friend.

Mimir chuckled as he looked at the cobra, "I don't think it liked your comment. If I were to guess, I'd say he simply became attached to someone who isn't here anymore."

"Why would it become attached to me?" Laufey asked.

Mimir shrugged. "Maybe you're magic is similar to its last ah, friend."

Slítas bobbed his head yes, but he wasn't sure how much he was understood. Honestly, some of these Realmers were so dense. They knew what he was at least. Loki thought he was just a normal snake.

"What about the Tesseract?" Mimir asked without looking away from the snake. "Have you made a decision about what we would do if we found it?"

Laufey knew that he would have to make a decision before he actually found the Tesseract. If they did find the Tesseract then Asgard would move fast, so Laufey had to already have a plan in place beforehand. He wouldn't have time to think once he had the Tesseract. Would Laufey keep the Tesseract and risk another war in exchange for its power that could be used to stimulate Jötunnheim's lifeforce, or turn it over without complaint to avoid bloodshed?

"I haven't made a decision yet," Laufey admitted. "This Deus Praesidio interrupted me when he appeared."

Slítas let the Jötunn kin his master Ymir had created talk back and forth about the Tesseract. He was thinking about his friend he had been forced to leave behind, but he wasn't worried about Loki. Being a guardian of Ymir, Slítas had many unique abilities he could use in order to protect him.

One of those things came to life now, and Slítas knew without a doubt he would be seeing Loki again very soon. He knew before it happened that Jötunnheim would soon invade Asgard and start a war. In the chaos of war, it would be simple for him to slip back to Loki. The fighting would start within a matter of days, and Slítas was content to stay with Loki's father until the war began.

THE END

To Be Continued In…

The Prince of Mischief, Lies, and Blood:

The Loki you know and love is beginning to appear as the prince learns. It is one month after Nightmares and Loki is earning his title as Godling of Mischief. Mischief on Asgard though translates to open war on Jötunnheim where Laufey fights for control against a band of outlaws. Loki's going to need all of his new skills when the Jötunn's war comes to Asgard.

This is a shorter chapter, but it sets the next story up quite well. As said, there is going to be another war between Asgard and Jotunnheim, and it's about to start.