Chapter Text
"Are you sure that's Loki?"
Thor soothingly patted the black and gold snake that was looped around his neck and shoulders as it raised its head to hiss half-heartedly at Sif.
"Of course I am," he replied. The snake drooped again, head hanging over Thor's shoulder, green eyes blinking slowly, too tired even to glare in Sif's direction.
"How can you be sure?" persisted Sif. "When will he turn back?"
"When he is ready," said Thor, staring fixedly ahead, hoping Sif would take the hint and stop provoking Loki. He knew that Sif was simply teasing Loki for not being able to shift back to his usual form, but he was also aware that Loki was feeling even more sensitive than usual after the minor humiliations he had endured in the last half hour. Thor did not wish to be caught in the middle of a war of attrition between his love and his closest friend tonight or tomorrow or whenever Loki's seidr renewed itself enough for him to change back.
It had been a difficult and unexpected fight. Thor and his companions had intended nothing more than a few days of hunting in the forests of Asgard, more for the challenge of getting near enough their prey for the kill than the actual kill. Fandral was boasting that he was so silent and swift when hunting on foot that he could get close enough to touch a mother doe before she took fright and fled. Thor looked forward to seeing this, and if Fandral got a swift kick in the face from an angry deer into the bargain, all the better.
Instead, they had unexpectedly found themselves battling an enormous troll-like beast that had crashed through the trees in front of them, striking at them while they were still trying to understand what manner of a creature it was. It had caught Volstagg, its many heads roaring, throwing him off his horse with a stray blow from one of its several limbs.
Loki had been the first to strike back, Sif behind him by a hair's breadth. It became clear that where sword and crossbow made some little impact, Loki's sorcery affected the creature not at all. Infuriated and exhausted from the increasing efforts he had made, Loki fell back on the use of his daggers, hacking at the creature's leathery limbs with a very personal anger that bordered on recklessness.
As his friends had chosen to attack the creature at such close quarters, Thor was unable to call lightning on it for fear of harming them, but found himself revelling in the sheer physical challenge of fighting the beast with Mjolnir alone. A particularly well-aimed throw caused the beast to stagger and wail almost plaintively. Thor called on his companions to halt their attacks to give the creature a chance to surrender. Instead it had taken a moment to recover itself, and then knocked Loki's feet out from under him with a clumsy swipe.
Loki swore loudly and, to Thor's surprise, brought his daggers to his mouth, an unexpected flame of arousal rising in Thor as Loki licked each of them hilt to tip, a faint green glow following Loki’s tongue up the blade. He drove the glowing daggers into the monster simultaneously and it roared in pain. Thor heard Loki shout, "So you are not immune to seidr-crafted poison, are you, monster!"
The troll managing to knock Loki's daggers out of his hands was what finally drove Loki over the edge. To have belittled his seidr, to have caused him to look inelegant in front of his friends, and then to have disarmed him without any evidence of skill or finesse; Loki was out to wreak havoc and painful revenge. They all gasped as Loki took a running jump and pulled himself up the monster's body, dodging flailing limbs and bites as he did so. He seemingly vanished just as he launched himself at the troll's heads but Thor quickly realised he had transformed himself into a venomous snake as black and gold scales caught the sunlight. The snake writhed as it flew towards the cleverest-looking face of the troll, drew back its wedge-shaped head, and spat poison straight into a madly rolling eye.
All five of the monstrous heads screamed in different registers, some of which Thor felt in his spine and his stomach. To his horror, he realised the troll had caught Loki-snake in one hand and as he watched, powerless to intervene, Loki was flung off into trees and bushes a long way away. The troll's eye was red rimmed and weeping, the creature clearly unhappy as it stumbled away back into the forest, roaring in pain and annoyance.
Thor did not have time to worry about where it had gone. Swinging Mjolnir, he was aloft almost the moment the danger had passed, flying in the direction he thought that Loki had been thrown. It only took a few moments of flying over the canopy of trees for Thor to spot a green-eyed black and gold venomous sea serpent folded helplessly over a high branch, hanging from its middle, its head and tail both pointing towards the ground. Thor landed gently on the branch and cautiously picked Loki-snake up with both hands. The serpent hissed -Thor had no idea what it might be trying to communicate so took it for either gratitude or scolding, most likely the latter- and, not sure what else to do, carefully placed the snake around his shoulders.
To his relief, the snake coiled itself gently around him, its warm head resting against his neck. It seemed happy enough, so Thor flung Mjolnir towards the sky again and returned to their companions. No-one had been badly hurt, not even the troll really, Thor suspected, and Sif had recovered Loki's daggers. Hogun took the bridle of Loki's horse to lead her back to camp. Sif enquired with an amused glint in her eye as to the location of Loki, and then demanded proof that the obviously Loki-snake was, in fact, he, despite Thor's unnecessary reassurances. Everyone agreed that there would be no more hunting that particular day.
After a dip in the river to cleanse themselves of their battle sweat, which also involved the disconcerting sight of Loki-snake swimming atop the water, they settled down to their evening meal, sadly unsupplemented by food foraged or successfully hunted. It was adequate enough fare all the same, consisting of the sandwiches they had brought, and Volstagg made up for eating Loki’s share by offering him breakfast eggs instead. Loki took two eggs into his mouth and slithered off behind a tree to eat in private and sulk. Thor sighed and joined him, sitting cross legged under the tree as Loki curled onto his lap and swallowed his dinner.
Afterwards, as Loki-snake blinked sleepily and digested, Thor carried him back to the tents and laid him carefully on his bedroll. He wasn’t sure if he should tuck in a snake, but as Loki was unable to do so for himself, he brought the blankets up as far as he thought a snake’s ears might be and carefully smoothed them into place. He resisted the urge to bestow a good night kiss on the black and gold-flecked head, and lay himself down as well, careful not to crush his slender sleeping companion.
He shouldn’t have been too surprised when, a short time later, Sif announced herself and stepped into Thor’s tent, Loki-snake’s mouth clamped fiercely onto her hand as he dangled from her outstretched arm. Thor hadn’t noticed Loki even stir from under the blankets. He obviously had not tucked him in tightly enough.
“I found him making for my things, Thor. If I had found him there, or worse, if he had leapt out of my bags to scare me, I would have pinned him down by the neck and spanked him, snake or not. Control your pet, your Majesty!”
Thor growled, “You had better not have drawn blood, Loki!” He took Loki in both hands and fortunately Loki relinquished his grip on Sif.
“I’m fine,” said Sif, shaking out her sore hand. “He did not penetrate the skin, which is just as well for him. Goodnight. I’d better not see you til morning Loki, whether you crawl as a snake or walk as an Aes.”
Loki waited until she had left the tent and only then hissed at her departing figure. Nudging his way inside Thor's sleep tunic for warmth, he curled himself into a nest-shape and settled on Thor’s bare stomach. Thor guessed that Loki was also making sure that he would be lying atop Thor if he managed to shift back during the night. He often complained about what a poor mattress the forest floor made, for all that their bedrolls were well made and comfortable.
Thor reached inside his tunic with a large finger, felt a warm, soft head butting against it, scratched Loki-snake gently between the eyes and settled back to sleep.