Excelsior: Loki

Chapter 1

The snapping of twigs and branches in the Asgardian wood could be heard but not seen. Although it was nearing noon, the forest's dense canopy prevented any rays of sunlight from hitting the ground. But that was just the way she liked it. The psithurism around her made Katja feel at home, for she was never as free as when she was in between the trees.

She ran apace through the forest, taking care as to not damage any more sticks. When she heard a rustling, she skidded to a stop, the force behind her feet causing her to make indents in the ground. Katja peered towards the source of the sound, only to discover a quite bosky buck.

His coat was quite beautiful, and although some might consider it sooty and dusty, that is what she admired most. He also had a white crescent shape on the tip of his muzzle. The deer's eyes shrunk with terror, and he kicked quite furiously at his restraint: think vines that he seemed to have gotten intertwined with. Enormous and almost gangrenous bite marks could easily be seen upon his neck, and the smell was pungent.

Katja knelt down to his level, gently caressing the buck's wet nose. He closed his doe eyes and snorted. The buck had taken a liking to her. Powerless as he was, the buck whimpered, signalling his ever-shortening life. With great disdain, Katja stood, shrugged off her bow from her shoulder, notched it, and fired at the soft spot a little past the ribcage. With a final mournful cri de coeur, the buck was no more.

Normally, Katja would skin and harvest what she could of a deer's corpse, for venison is hard to come by and could feed her family for days, yet it felt wrong to eat such a beautiful thing, especially when she had stayed with it during its final moments, as sorrowful as they were.

Hastily, she buried him with the fallen leaves around her, half tempted to give him an Aesir send-off, complete with the arrow on fire.

Katja continued on her way through the forest, the task of finding dinner still unfinished.

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More than a few hours later, Katja reemerged from the green, a new quail's feather braided through her white hair, and a new quail clutched in her pale hands. A trail of its blood followed the two, as it was hanging upside down, Katja holding it by its sharp feet, causing scratches on her hand with each small shift of the bird.

"Ingenbjorn!" Katja called, expecting her little sister to appear from their hut. Soon enough, snow white twin braided pigtails appeared from the doorway.

"Coming Katja!" Ingenbjorn bounded up towards her elder sister, her braids bouncing with her. Katja handed over the quail, what happened to it from then is no longer her business. Ingenbjorn skipped back to the house, making Katja smile, only she was able to see Ingenbjorn's childlike glee; normally, the younger was a bundle of nerves.

Katja entered their quaint cottage, her heavy hunting boots creating cacophonous clicks along the wooden floor. Something dazzling caught her eye.

"Ingenbjorn, what's this?" Katja gestured to the shining note on the table. The contrast between them wasn't funny. She set her bow, quiver, daggers, and her gauntlet by the door. The note looked to be of pure gold; while their table was in shambles, food stains from when their father drank too much and threw up, indents from where his broken bottle would bang against the table, often nearly missing Katja.

"It came from the palace. An invitation for you and father! Isn't it exciting? The palace!" She squealed with delight. None in the Orvars had ever been to the castle. Katja picked it up, only to almost drop it. The letter was so soft, its texture drawing her back to the buck from earlier. It was also quite transparent, the table still visible from underneath.

Katja Orvardottr and Orvar Jargorfson,

You have been cordially invited to attend the annual Einmanudur masquerade ball in the royal palace. A carriage will arrive at your location in order to arrive at the palace by 6 at night. Please be ready beforehand for if you miss the carriage, you miss the ball. The carriage that you took will also return you to your home by midnight.