A Legend of Mischief (Loki Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

I took a bit more time with this chapter, since it is one of my favorites and I wanted to make sure it was as good as I could get it. Thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoy it!

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A yawn echoed through the room as Nyneve stretched. Her back ached from being hunched in the same position for so long in her chair. She'd reached a wall in her manuscript and had found herself pouring through other books and records to try and find a spark again. It was only the beginning of the second month since she had returned from that chaos in New York. Getting stuck now was just not nice to her motivation. Linking her fingers together, Nyneve stretched her arms out over her head, arching her back forward to release some of the tension.

With a groan, she decided to just get up. A trip to the kitchen would give her both a snack and some much-needed movement. As she left the library, dust from the books started tickling her nose, despite how clean she tried to keep the place. Nyneve fought back the need to sneeze. Especially when she saw Loki coming her way. He strode past her, likely heading for the library she had just vacated.

Nyneve didn't think much of it. Until what she had seen computed. Spinning on her heel, she stared after him, trying to figure out if she had seen correctly.

She had.

Loki had walked past her, casually regal as could be, with Lady draped contentedly over his broad shoulders. Nyneve blinked a few times, even after Loki and Lady had disappeared into the library. As she slowly turned back around and finished walking to the kitchen, Nyneve found herself trying to remember just how many times in the last almost five weeks Lady had hung out with her for any period of time.

Nyneve soon came to the sad realization that her cat was spending more time with the new member of the household than with her. Pulling a bottle of chocolate milk out of the fridge, Nyneve chugged about a third of it. She let out a heavy sigh after lowering the bottle, frowning in determination.

I think it's about time we added to the household. Again, she amended as an afterthought. Glancing out the kitchen window, she spotted Hannah arriving in her Jeep. Behind her friend, the sun shone happily, filtering down through the tree leaves of the large oaks that circled the house and outbuildings. It was a lovely day.

A perfect day for a ride. Mystic needs some exercise, I need to make a call, and Hannah is here for a session with Loki. It will be the perfect way to give them some privacy. Her plans set in her mind, Nyneve deposited the bottle of chocolate milk back on its shelf and headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room.

It was time to go riding.

Throwing on a dark blue sweatshirt and zipping a black vest over it, Nyneve grabbed her lace-up paddock boots, the well-worn brown leather still retaining a bit of gleam. Trotting back downstairs as quietly as she could, she saw the front door beginning to creak open. Skipping the last few stairs and vaulting over the railing to land in the hallway instead, Nyneve made a beeline for the back door. An outstretched hand and mental call brought Caliburn to her side. Once she passed the dining room, she paused for a moment to pull her boots on before walking through the mudroom, as she called it due to the fact that it was where she kept her coats and mud boots for wet winter weather, and out the back door.

With her phone tucked snuggly in her vest pocket, Nyneve secured her escape. A whistle brought Mystic to her once she reached the barn. The skill of many years saw her tacked up swiftly, the conditioned leather of the Australian stock saddle Nyneve preferred making no noise as she swung up into the seat. Caliburn's scabbard was soon belted to the front of the saddle so it hung down next to Mystic's left shoulder, the hilt in perfect reach of Nyneve.