A Legend of Mischief (Loki Fanfiction)

Chapter 12

Nyneve crouched down, reaching out to brush her fingertips along the edges of the prints in the soft dirt. They were left by boots, simple in design and without tread, much like she would have expected of medieval boots. Nyneve frowned as she glanced around. There were no marks of anyone coming or going, simply the few tracks here. Someone had come and gone, but not by normal means. It was as if they had disappeared into thin air. Too similar to her own teleporting for Nyneve's comfort.

Straightening, Nyneve scanned the area beyond her property. Her shield had not been disrupted and there were no signs of anyone having tried to enter. Had it not been for the tracks and faint trace of a strange magic, Nyneve doubted she would have ever known anyone had been there. The wind spirits danced through, letting her know that nothing was amiss in the surrounding area. Everything was as it should be.

But as the breeze played with the strands of her hair that had escaped her braid, Nyneve had the feeling something was off. Caliburn thrummed at her side, her hand drifting down to rest on the hilt. What concerned her the most was whether this boded for well or ill.

She turned and walked back through her shield to where Mystic stood within the ring of oaks. Swinging up into the saddle and adjusting her grip on the reins, Nyneve knew she would have to be more vigilant. It wasn't just herself that she was looking out for anymore.

As she rode home, Nyneve pondered who the prints could have been left by. It couldn't have been any of the so-called Avengers. None of them had magic. The only one who could fly would not have been wearing simple leather boots. Tony Stark had far too large an ego for that. Were the Bifrost fixed, Nyneve would have felt the energy flux of it being activated so close to her home. She knew of no others with power like hers offhand, though she doubted the rest of her family would have let her know if another had shown capability in teleporting.

The warmth of the August weather surrounded her as Nyneve and Mystic leisurely made their way through the forest. Mystic knew the trail homeward, leaving her rider with ample opportunity to puzzle over the afternoon's latest mystery.

"Oh, well. We'll just have to wait and see, huh, girl?" Nyneve said, patting her mare's neck lovingly. The Morab mare snorted and tossed her head, bringing a smile to Nyneve's face.

When the two finally arrived home, it was to be greeted by the sight of a very lethargic Loki making his way from the barn back to the house. Nyneve bit her lower lip to keep her amusement to herself.

Poor guy. This end-of-summer heat is definitely not agreeing with him.

Once she and Mystic were in the barn, Nyneve dismounted. She untacked the mare, giving her a quick brushing as a reward before turning her back out in her pasture. After checking that she and Nocturne had plenty of cool water, Nyneve headed into the house. Going upstairs, she could hear Loki moving around in his bedroom. She went into her own, closing the door behind her.

Stripping out of her riding clothes, Nyneve took a quick lukewarm shower before dressing in soft jeans and a light blue t-shirt. Now feeling relaxed and refreshed, she made her way back downstairs, braiding her hair as she went. Nyneve stretched when she reached the bottom of the stairs, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to relax those muscles. Stepping into the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of grape juice, pouring a glass to take with her to the library. Settling down at her desk, Nyneve opened her laptop, booting it up while she searched through her notebooks for the one she wanted. She began mapping out notes for her next novel, writing down ideas and random thoughts. Whether or not they were used later, it all played a part in her brainstorming.

Nyneve was a good thirty minutes into her work before Loki showed up, walking into the library. Going by his half-lidded eyes, he'd likely failed at falling asleep. Seeing how lethargic he had been moving, Nyneve wasn't really surprised that he was exhausted.