Story of Seasons: Fire and Ice

Celebration

The first day of winter marked the start of the festivities. The Yuletide feast was finally upon them. Gods of Asgard gathered everywhere from the streets of the town to the halls of the palace to celebrate. A portion of the log from Balder's tree stood as the center hearth and surrounding the room were meats, vegetables, and mead as far as the eye could see. It was a smorgasbord of varying items, with Thor's wild boar as the centerpiece. At the far end of the hall sat Odin, supreme ruler of Asgard, looking over the celebration. Beside him stood Thor, eyes watching over the others with a passive stare.

Gliding gracefully around the center of the room was Balder. The god of light wore a blinding smile as he swept across the hall with a nameless goddess on his arm, a common sight during such events. If he wasn't chatting with attendees and partygoers, he could often be found spinning across the dance floor. In between, he made rotations around the room, hoping to get a word in with Loki. An endeavor that was, as usual, proving to be rather difficult.

Standing off to the side was the god of fire and mischief. His back leaned against a pillar, eyes rolling as he saw yet another goddess requesting Balder's hand. It was always like this ever since the two of them were children. All living creatures flocked to the god of light like moths to a flame, and this was particularly troublesome during celebrations and gatherings. Growing bored of Balder's activities, Loki swept his eyes across the room, watching others enjoy themselves.

As expected, many of the other gods were bothered by his presence. Some avoided his gaze while others looked upon him with contempt. Most ignored him entirely. He had long grown accustomed to their treatment, and it didn't upset him as it once did in the past. Of course, being resistant to their cruelty didn't make him immune to discomfort. A frown pulled at his lips, feeling a sudden urge to cause trouble. He considered for a moment whether or not he should seek out an unsuspecting god to prank, or simply leave the party altogether. His absence would go unnoticed either way.

As Balder spun across the ballroom floor with yet another goddess, their eyes met. While no words were spoken, he could tell what his expression meant. I'm sorry. Please try to have some fun. Loki would love nothing more than to enjoy himself on this joyous evening. The question was, doing what? No one wished to socialize with the likes of him and Thor was currently preoccupied, discussing something quietly with Odin. Balder practically had a line of goddesses trailing after him, all vying for his attention.

What exactly was he to do, mingle? With whom? No one would even acknowledge him, let alone join him for a drink or some light conversation. A dance was out of the question entirely. Even if he were to fancy the idea, he had no interest in setting himself up for inevitable rejection. When Balder passed by him yet again, he subtly tilted his head in the direction of one of the windows. It was deliberate and pointed. The other god was trying to tell him something.

Loki followed the direction of Balder's gesture, and in doing so, quickly found himself confused. He saw various people of Asgard chatting and laughing merrily. Not far from the mead barrel were a pair of gods, squaring up for a drinking contest. He saw decorations and other adornments in the hall, but nothing out of the ordinary. He noticed a group of goddesses giggling amongst themselves, stopping abruptly when they made eye contact. As suspected, they whispered to one another and quickly shuffled away, presumably before he could attempt to approach them. Perplexed, Loki twirled a braid around his finger, trying to figure out what exactly Balder wanted him to see. All he found was the same as he always did. Avoidance, disdain, disgust... no one would look at him. No one ever looked at him.

As he lifted himself from his resting place, a flash of white caught his attention. Turning his head, he noticed a solitary goddess standing by a far window. She seemed a little lost and perhaps a bit out of place, certainly not one involved in the festivities. Stranger still, she was looking in his direction.