The test was far from easy, but Thor managed to make it look effortless. He'd chucked a motorcycle clear across the testing room, and it was now lodged into the wall.

"Woooow," Darcy commented. "Are you guys gonna give him a car now? I wanna see how he does against that. Asgardian vs. the Automobile, Round Two."

"Darcy," Jane chided.

"Well, she's not wrong," Coulson replied. "If he can chuck a car around, we'll give him his hammer back. Provided that he sign a treaty on behalf of his people not to harm us." SHIELD agents rushed in to remove the motorcycle. After a visible struggle, the agents left it there and someone drove a car in. As the agent left and the room was deserted but for Thor, Agent Coulson put himself on speaker. "Alright, Thor, this is the last test. Lift the car and we'll get you out of here." Thor nodded.

His biggest problem was figuring out how to grab the car. He tried lifting it up by a side mirror, but it broke off. He decided to pick it up from the bottom by a tire, and threw it over by the far wall. It didn't smack into the motorcycle, but it was pretty close to it. Darcy whistled.

"Dude, he could've totaled the trailer if he'd wanted to."

...

"Belrisi, you're in charge while I'm gone. Keep the bifrost guarded, and don't let anyone into the palace who doesn't normally reside here. No complaints will be heard while I'm gone unless it's dire."

"Understood."

"Um, my lord?" Ulriff piped up.

"Yes, Ulriff?"

"Err, I thought the peace meeting wasn't until tomorrow." Loki grinned, white teeth offsetting blue skin.

"It isn't."

"Do you want any company, or is this another seidr-quest?" Seryf asked dryly. The last time Loki had gone on a seidr-quest, he had returned with a staff that acted as a conductor for his magic.

"...It is a seidr-quest, and so much more. I should be back by lunch."

"Come back safely. Don't be late," Ulriff warned.

"Of course."

"And don't even think about leaving us here while you have all the fun taking out the Asgardians at the peace meeting," Seryf added.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Loki left the palace for one of the ice caverns nearby. Not many knew that this place was where one could walk the branches of Yggdrassil, and no one had the ability to actually use it besides Loki.

Once, this place had been beautiful. Weak sunlight would filter in and reflect off a thousand surfaces. It had been a large ice diamond in essence, and the Jotun people would marvel at the wonder, hold their festival dances here. Now, no more.

It had long been barren, and cold. The place was dark and bathed in shadow. Rarely did one enter here, for there were many places an enemy could sneak up on your back and strike.

Loki found his way through and started his walk. Walking along Yggdrassil was very different from a normal stroll. Each footstep was cautious; the way to other realms was weak. One wrong step and it would shatter like glass.

Here he could see the sickness infecting his realm. It spread from poisoned branches of Yggdrassil, branches that he did not trust to hold him. He didn't know how it came to Jotunheim, nor did he know how far it would spread. He'd tried to find the cause of it before, many times, but always came away frustrated and empty-handed. Now, he was resigned to the fate.

He reached the end of his trail without incidence. He cautiously peered into the corridor, and finding it empty, entered.

The halls of the palace of Asgard were high and golden, just as he remembered them. Swirling columns lined this particular corridor, a reference point for Loki to move off of. He slunk around the corner, and blended into the shadows as he passed the guards.

Loki had done it. He had infiltrated the weapons vault of Odin Allfather. Not a feat achieved by many. He slid over to the treasure he sought, the Casket of Ancient Winters. He gripped the side of it. The blue inside swirled in response to his touch, a remarkable color with smoky tendrils.

"Put it down." Loki jerked out of his reverie. It was Frigga who had spoken. She stood from her seat across the room. Her hair hung in tight coils, golden in color like the halls he'd just traveled, and her eyes a bright brown. She wore a plainer dress for an Asgardian, one that had no holes for magical artifacts or daggers to hide in. How had she been able to mask her presence? Was her seidr that powerful?

"It's quite an honor to meet you, Allmother," he replied, grip tight on the Casket.

"How did you slip past our guards?"

"That's a secret, my lady."

"What's your name, frost giant?" Perhaps there was a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. Time to test it.

"Blysfurr of Jotunheim," he breathed. Her eyes hardened a shade.

"Drop the Casket, Jotun." So, maybe she'd only had a sliver of suspicion. She knew that he was supposed to be small for a frost giant. She wouldn't connect him to this form.

"Or you'll what?"

"I'll see you imprisoned, thief, or banished from all the Nine Realms."

"You won't be able to find me. Nor do you have power over my realm."

"Are you following King Laufeyson's orders?" Loki grinned.

"I do what I want." She lashed out at him, striking him with her magic. Loki sidestepped the blow, feeling the power that radiated from it. Queen Frigga did not brag idly about her skill in wielding seidr. He couldn't afford to let himself get hit by that.

The time for fun was over. He rushed to the front of the room, dodging another strike, and burst through the doors. The guards startled into action, but Loki unleashed the power of the Casket upon them and froze them where they stood. Still, others had heard the commotion, and were on their way. Loki sprinted around the corner, and charged onto Yggdrassil's branch, closing the pathway behind him.

He realized as soon as he stepped onto the branch that he'd been moving too quickly. He hadn't had time for caution. The branch broke underneath him, and Loki was left to fall into the abyss between realms.

His mouth opened in a soundless scream. Terror wracked his body. He was going to vanish here, without even a body to be buried. As he panicked, his grip tightened on the Casket.

The Casket responded to his seidr-powered touch, and in the next moment, Loki slammed against- something. His body throbbed violently at the sudden impact, and his ears were ringing. Slowly, he sat up. The Casket had forged a new, well, flooring, so to speak. The pathway was clear and see-through- much different from Yggdrassil's branches, but stable as it held his weight.

He summoned the energy to pick himself up off the floor. As he walked forward, the Casket-made flooring provided stairs to climb up. When he turned to look up at the Yggdrassil branches far overhead, he sighed. It was going to be a long climb.

He was slower than he would've liked, but after having his body slammed like that it was a wonder that he was up and moving at all. His head was buzzing with a migraine, and his limbs ached. He would've alleviated the symptoms with his magic, but was afraid to expend the energy for fear that the Casket-made stairs would break.

When Loki reached the cavern, he collapsed to the ground. He was completely exhausted from his day. He rested there for a half hour more before gathering his strength for the walk home.

Loki stumbled into the dining hall, weary from the day's trials. "Loki!" Seryf and Ulriff chorused as he sank into his seat.

"Get me food," he ordered, and Ulriff took off to fulfill his demand. Loki closed his eyes. The ordeal had been much more demanding than he had previously thought it would be. Slip in, grab the Casket, slip out. It should have been easy.

Right, nothing was ever easy for him. He feasted on the food Ulriff brought before him, ignoring the looks his two companions were giving him. Only when he finished did they dare speak.

"Where have you been?" Ulriff asked.

"Out."

"Did you succeed?" Seryf questioned.

"Yes."

"Were you hurt?" Ulriff inquired. Loki fixated his eyes on Ulriff.

"Such a sentimental question is cowardly, Ulriff." Ulriff's eyes hardened, but there was pain behind them.

"You're our king, and you are late. And I was worried." If Ulriff was any smaller a Jotun, and not famous for his killer brawling style, he would have guaranteed himself insults and torments for the next millennium. As it was, Loki could not let the remark stand.

"I'm no child, Ulriff. Take care what you say, people might think you were born Aesir instead of Jotun." Ulriff leaned closer to Loki, and replied in an unusually soft voice.

"I know you are stronger than all of us. No other Jotun will ever claim my respect as you do. Still, when you leave unguarded, something inside me clenches up, and will not relax until you return. You're my kin, my brother-in-arms. It is no weakness for me to care for you." Loki scoffed at his words.

"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" Ulriff flashed an unrepentant grin, and Loki rolled his eyes. He'd let it slide, again. Such remarks were typical of Ulriff- when he wasn't being loud and brash, anyways.

The rest of dinner was the usual affair, and Loki bid his two friends an early farewell. He needed rest in preparation for the day to come. Thor and his warriors would regret all that they had wrought upon his realm, he would make sure of it.

Apologies, everyone! I'm sorry this update is so late; my time was consumed by much. I had a very substantial role in a play that ended only recently, and just finished writing and revising an original story I've been working on for over a year now. I haven't abandoned this story, I promise.

Review if you liked it! Or if you didn't; that's okay too.