----------------------------------------

"Brother, must we do this?" Loki asked.

"Of course! Just think of it as… Cultural enrichment. Yes, that sounds believable," Thor said.

"Who are you trying to convince, myself, or Father?" Loki huffed, and looked around the street, eyeing up the oddly dressed humans. "Besides, this is Midgard, what possible culture do they have to enjoy?"

"You musn't judge them so poorly. Afterall, you were bested by them."

"…Shut up," Loki grumbled.

Thor's booming laughter drew looks from all around, yet no one seemed frightened. If anything, they were being appraised and given nods of approval. A few people glanced at Loki, and made a conflicted expression, as if unsure whether they should yell at him or not.

"Remind me why we are wearing our armour. Isn't the idea to blend in?" Loki asked. He glanced down and brushed off his chest, making sure he was perfect. "Will I not terrify the mortals?"

"Oh, not at all. I mean, other than the usual children you terrify, that is." Thor laughed at the side-eye Loki gave him. "Jane told me about this festival humans have called All Hallow's Eve, or something along those lines. It's similar to our own Samhain."

"Another piece of Asgardian culture stolen and corrupted, colour me surprised," Loki scoffed. "So, what, instead of paying respect to the dead and making sure faeries and monstrous beings don't crawl into this plane, they… dress up?"

"Exactly!"

"And…" Loki looked around. "They send children out into the darkness with others in disguise?"

"So I've been told."

"To what end?"

"To collect sweets, and to terrify others," Thor explained. "It is quite popular around the world. You should see some of the terrifying creatures that humans have created. Quite the creative lot, these Midgardians."

"Oh, please," Loki scoffed. "I'm sure that anything these people can come up with has been stolen. Anything original in their minds cannot be the least bit frightening."

"We shall see, brother," Thor hummed.

The duo walked down the streets, passing by throngs of people in bright plastic outfits. Some people were rather scantily clad, while others were so well dressed that it was impossible to tell if there was a human inside of it.

Loki turned his attention to the occasional creature he was quite certain were actual monsters lurking around children. But not a single one of them attacked or devoured the tiny humans like he expected them to.

One of the most notable examples was a tall, antlered being standing in the shadows of a tree. Its antlers meshed with the tree branches high overhead, and its thin black form looked to be wreathed in shadows. Loki had only spotted it by the glimmering of its white eyes.

"Thor, I think that child is about to be that things dinner," Loki commented, nudging his brother in the ribs.

Moderately concerned (though Loki would never admit it) the pair altered their course toward the tall being wreathed in darkness, who had a hand outstretched, beckoning toward a child. They could hear it speaking, with many voices, yet all in a hushed whisper almost impossible to hear.

The child it was talking to wandered right up to the creature, and looked up at it, staring. Then, the creature started to reach downward, its large clawed hand aiming for the child.

Thor gripped his hammer, and Loki summoned a knife into his palm.

The child was motionless as the tall creature planted its hand on the child's head… and patted her. The monstrous being gently patted the child several times over, and then reached into its cloak. With an unnaturally flexible motion, it pulled its arm back out of the darkness and presented the young one with a small wooden toy, similar to that of a horse.

"Oh, wow! Thank you, Mister," the child said. "I like your costume!"

Another series of many-voiced whispers rolled from the creature's tongue, and it raised an arm, pointing.

"Okay! Goodbye! Happy Halloween!"

Just like that, the child ran off, racing toward the group that had been waiting, as if oblivious to the entire thing. The parents seemed unconcerned, and the other children merely crowded around, wondering what the other child received.

Loki blinked, and looked back to where the creature had been.

It was gone.

"…Brother, tell me you saw that thing," Thor said.

"I did," Loki replied.

"I've never seen that before. Do you know what that creature was?"

"No idea. And I'm not sticking around to find out." Loki whirled away and began marching off in the direction Thor had been guiding him before, and his brother quickly fell into line beside him. "Now I know why they aren't afraid of me."

Despite walking away from the area where the creature had been, Loki couldn't shake the unease that crept down his spine. He could almost feel those long, spindly fingers gripping his shoulders. He could hear the whispers in the back of his mind—all those voices combined and muttering the same tongue.

Loki glanced back.

Two glowing eyes stared him down, baring into his soul.

He jumped, and blinked, whirling around to face the creature.

But it was gone. The only thing that remained was a lingering thought in his head, one that he knew he didn't put there.

Behave. Or. Perish.

"…Thor, if I end up possessed or something infinitely worse, please take me to see Mother instead of caving my skull in with your hammer. That's one of the few things you cannot fix by hitting it hard."

Thor merely clapped a hand on Loki's shoulder and remained silent.

Through the continued walk, Loki started to take notice of more and more of these odd, non-human creatures. He never saw that antlered being again, but that didn't make the sight of these new monsters any more welcoming.

"Humanity has some possessive defenders," Loki commented. He looked at Thor. "And I'm not talking about you and your friends."

"Cultural enrichment," Thor replied, a grin on his face. His eyes, however, looked uneasy.

Maybe it was a good thing Loki didn't manage to take over Earth after all. He'd hate having to deal with these nightmarish creations that lurked in the dark, watching over the people.

Their people.

Thor and Loki continued on, and eventually, they reached their destination. It looked like a public park of some sort, with trees sparsely littering the area, and a fire in the middle of this small clearing that Thor had led them into.

Loki glanced around the darkness and swore he was being watched. Still, he faced forward and observed who Thor was dragging him to meet.

"Jane, I told you I would make it!" Thor exclaimed, his arms wide as he approached the woman on the other side. With a laugh, he scooped up Jane, and spun around, holding her close. "Could Darcy and Selvig not make it?" He set her down and took a step back.

"No, Darcy decided to go out and terrorize the neighbourhood, and Selvig had a… Well, he…" Jane seemed distracted. "He's busy. Hey, Thor? Is that Loki? You know, the 'kneel to me, mwahaha' guy." Jane looked at Loki, who gave her a wide, closed-mouth smile, and then she looked back to the beaming Thor.

"I did! I wanted you to meet him. He's changed since the whole world invasion thing," Thor replied. "Loki is a much better person."

"Oh, really?" Jane turned to face the trickster, her voice laced with disbelief. "And how have you changed? After trying to kill Thor multiple times, and invading the fricken Earth."

"Well, for starters, I haven't tried to kill Thor," Loki replied. "And-"

"Well…" Thor interrupted.

"You shoved me down a stairwell while drunk. You deserved the stabbing." Loki huffed, annoyed. "You're still alive, get over it." He then turned back to Jane. "And I have not stabbed anyone in the back-"

"Well…" Thor interrupted again, in a higher-pitched voice.

"Anyone who did not deserve it, Brother." Loki rolled his eyes. "Are you telling me that stabbing that clearly evil wizard in the spine counts as 'back-stabbing' someone?"

"I mean…" Thor shrugged in a helpless sort of motion. "You did stab him in the back. I believe that is backstabbing."

"That's not the same thing!" Loki protested.

"If you think about it, it kind of is."

"Oh, for- it's not even close."

"It's in the name!"

"It's not literal!"

"But you took the knife, and-"

"Brother, I swear-"

"Boys, can you just-"

A thunderous explosion of sound startled everyone into silence. The deep, powerful bark echoed off buildings and caused the fire to flicker dangerously, threatening to go out. In the silence that followed, the three listened to the noise echo for several long seconds, each turning their attention to the source.

A large white wolf, standing at the edge of the visible clearing. The area around her glowed white from her fur, the light illuminating the grass and trees. She stepped forward, eyed the three around the fire, and spoke a single command…

"Boof."

"Yes, Ma'am." Both Thor and Loki said at the same time. They immediately sat down on the logs around the fire, and looked at the ground, unable to meet the wolf's gaze.

"Oh, you did make it." Jane smiled. "I wasn't sure what to make of your email. Did you use the computer to transcribe your words or something? All it said was-"

"Bark!" Amaterasu interrupted.

"Yes, that," Jane deadpanned. "How does that even happen?"

The wolf dipped her head in a shrug and padded forward, coming to sit at the only unoccupied side of the campfire.

Much to Loki's dissatisfaction, that side happened to be next to his own. He glanced over to the wolf and found those blazing golden eyes staring straight at him. Straight through him.

After several uncomfortably long seconds, Ammy huffed, and nodded, turning her gaze away from Loki. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"The only other responses were generic 'I'm busy' statements from your friends," Jane turned to tell Thor. "That, and Stark said he was 'planning to be sick that day,' so he's not coming."

"How does one plan to be sick?" Thor asked. "That sounds like a most unpleasant- Oh! I see now."

"Idiot," Loki huffed.

"Well, more fun for the four of us!" Thor grinned, and spread his arms, gesturing to everyone present.

Loki stewed in his thoughts while Jane passed around long metal rods with wooden handles, and materials for some food she called "smoars", whatever those were. He stuck the metal end of the rod into the coals, and watched it slowly start to glow orange.

An intrusive thought wriggled its way to the front of his mind, and he briefly wondered if he could kill Amaterasu with the glowing hot metal. Just a quick poke through the eye and into the brain.

Loki banished the thought just as fast, and turned the stick around, watching Thor's actions, while Thor was instructed by Jane. He then glanced at Amaterasu, and froze.

She was just holding the stick in her mouth, while a miniature sun floated in front of her, instantly heating up the metal to the point it started to droop. Amaterasu panicked, and pulled the metal out, causing it to curve and curl around. Then, without warning, ice erupted in front of her and coated the metal mid-swing, causing it to freeze in its position.

She blinked, and crossed her eyes, looking at the now sharply curved rod. Her eyes flicked up to meet Loki's, and then back down to the stick.

To Loki, then to the metal rod.

Back to Loki…

Then to the stick…

"No, you keep that one. That's your fault," Loki said. He grinned at the sad whine that rolled from the wolf.

No, attacking her would be a horrendous idea. He liked his organs inside his body, thank you very much. This wasn't at all the same wolf that he had fought and stabbed aboard the Helicarrier all that time ago.

This was a much more terrifying creature.

"-another tradition is to tell scary stories around the fire." Jane's voice interrupted Loki's musing. "I can't remember too many from when I was a child. There was this one my grandfather told me though. About how on clear nights like this, without a cloud in the sky, you would be followed.

"He'd tell me to look up and watch the stars carefully. You wouldn't be followed on the ground, because there was nothing around you to see. No, you had to be careful of the open sky above. He told me to keep my eye out for moving stars and follow their path. He told me that if those stars ever stopped moving… Run.

"He never told me what it was, only that whatever it was had snatched up his friend when he was a child, and he'd never seen him since. All because they didn't keep an eye on the universe above."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

…

"…Is that it?" Loki asked.

"What do you mean?" Jane said.

"What I mean is that it isn't scary in the slightest. Space isn't terrifying at all." Loki then paused, and narrowed his eyes. "Well, falling through wormholes into the clutches of alien warlords tends to be a jarring experience."

"You know, I forget you two are from another planet. Another realm. You just seem and act so… Human." Jane gestured to the two, and huffed. Then, she turned to Amaterasu. "At least you're from here, right? Us Earth creatures have to stick together."

"Arf!" Amaterasu said.

"She says she's from the Celestial Plain, and that she had a friend from the Moon in another life," Thor translated.

Jane blinked, and sighed, much to Loki's amusement.

"Alright, fine. You go then. Tell us your scary stories," Jane huffed.

"I'm certain many of our creatures in the Nine Realms would be terrifying to a human," Thor laughed. He immediately backtracked from the glare Jane shot him. "I-I mean that many of them have gruesome abilities that couldn't live on a planet like Earth. For example, there's this one stripey creature that stalks its prey for days, unrelenting. And finally, when it gets close enough, and its prey has collapsed from exhaustion… It unhinges its jaw from its face and launches out to grab its victim with razor-sharp teeth."

"Oh, hey, Humans used to do that," Jane said.

Thor reeled back, and even Loki raised an eyebrow, eying Jane. Thor reached forward hesitantly and poked at Jane's cheek. Then again, lower, at her jaw.

"What are you- oh!" Jane laughed. "No, not the jaw thing, that's a Goblin Shark. I mean the stalking things until they collapse. Humans used to do that, and then kill the animal. That was probably tens of thousands of years ago though."

"I see." Thor hummed in thought. "Well then, what about this? I've once encountered a creature with incredible abilities. It can change the colour of its skin at will and is incredibly intelligent. It'll ripple the colours on its body to hypnotize you, so you don't even notice it coming closer, and closer, and then-"

"Cuttlefish," Jane interrupted. "We've got one of those too. It's underwater. It has tentacles and can change its skin texture. Darcy thinks they're kind of cute."

"It has tentacles?" Thor asked. "…Perhaps Earth is more dangerous than I once thought."

"Oh, that's not even the worst of them," Jane continued. "Honestly, the big scary things you deal with will kill you, sure. But the worst things are the ones you can't see."

Loki leaned in, intrigued. He was very much experienced in the 'being invisible and killing things' department. Now how would pitiful Midgard compare?

"I guess I'll start with a boring one. There's a species of jellyfish called the Box Jellyfish. It's difficult to see in the water, and if you get stung, the venom goes after your heart and nervous system. You can die in minutes with enough venom," Jane explained. "Or a few hours afterward."

"Arf!" Ammy commented.

"Oh yes, go ahead and eat one. I'm certain that won't end horrifically for you," Loki snarked.

"That one's not so bad. The brain worms some animals have here are pretty creepy-"

"Brain worms!?" Thor exclaimed.

"But they don't really bother humans at all," Jane finished. "That's for the brain-eating amoeba. It lives in warm water and gets to your brain through your nose. Pretty deadly."

"I'm starting to notice a trend with your world and deadly water creatures… And parasites," Loki commented. Thor was just sitting still, watching Jane with horror.

"Oh yeah and rabies! Rabies is especially terrifying. It's spread through bites, and you might not even know you have it for years. As soon as you show symptoms, you're guaranteed to die a slow, agonizing death. You start foaming at the mouth, get aggressive and bite other people, and you get scared of water. Only one person has ever survived. It's a whole thing."

…

Well… that was gruesome. And further confirmed Loki's thoughts on how filthy and disgusting Earth truly was. Honestly, he would have been doing it a favour if he had taken over. He'd even have gotten rid of those parasites and diseases for them with time.

"Oh, right, I forgot. Most cases of it are spread by… dogs."

Thor and Loki slowly turned to face the large white wolf who had been sitting around the fire. Emphasis on had. Loki hadn't even noticed her leave. He glanced around, then realized exactly what was going on.

"Oh, yes, very funny. Go on then, pretend you are a disease-ridden mutt and startle us. I'm waiting," Loki spoke to the darkness.

But… There was nothing. It was silent.

The sound of the children laughing or small screams of surprise from around the city had fallen silent too. It was as if everything had vanished.

As if the world around them had fallen silent, hiding from a predator.

A gust of wind swept through the park, carrying with it leaves and dust, and the scent of sickeningly sweet. That was quickly overwhelmed by the scent of something rotting. No, not something.

Someone.

Something moved to the left, but looking toward it revealed nothing but a little flash of red. Had it even been there at all?

A footstep to the right. Multiple steps, dragging through the grass; scraping along the stone. Stalking.

Despite knowing this was likely just a trick, Loki couldn't help but grab a knife. Thor's grip slid down to hold his hammer, electricity crackling over the surface. The feeling of being watched came back ten-fold, and Loki swore he could see glowing white eyes far in the darkness.

"Help!" A woman's voice shrieked through the darkness. "Someone! Help me plea-" She was cut off with a sickening wet crunch. Whatever was left of her seemed to gurgle and gasp through the remnants of her throat.

They still couldn't see anything.

Then, a growl. Long, low, and utterly predatory. A weight settled onto them, a presence turning to face the three around the fire.

A pair of blood-red eyes blinked into existence, peering through the darkness. Then another.

And another.

Red eyes and footsteps surrounded them. Drawing closer. Closer. Just out of sight.

The fire behind them erupted in a glorious fireball, casting a bright light outward and showing off the creatures that had been stalking them.

Loki wished he'd never seen them.

Horrific-looking canines surrounded them. Some limped forward on all fours, while others prowled like predators, eyes unblinking. Their skin sloughed off of them in patches, and blood oozed from their dehydrated bodies.

Loki could hear their gasping, and the sight of rotting teeth flashed with each breath. Foam rolled from their jaws and pattered to the grass below, hanging from their jaws in disgusting strings.

Then, the ground rattled. Not from a heavy step, but from a deep, thunderous growl. A wolf stepped forward out of the darkness, its fur melding with the shadows so well that it was impossible to tell how large it was.

Its eyes leered at them, pure white. It moved forward in powerful strides, lording above the living corpses of the canines that surrounded them. It walked closer, and closer, baring down on Loki.

He threw another knife forward, straight at the creature's eye. It made contact.

The knife shattered.

Lightning crackled beside him, and Thor shot a thunderbolt straight at the approaching beast. It hit it head on, and-

The electricity rolled off of it, and shot straight into the air, fizzling away harmlessly.

The creature lunged, blitzing toward them at an impossible pace. Loki barely had the time to raise his arms in defence, a scream tearing itself from his throat. A final act of defiance as Death came for him.

He heard a sickening crunch.

The world went dark.

…

Then the world was white. And smelled sweet. And was incredibly disgusting to touch. And foamy and sticky.

Loki opened his eyes, and looked down at himself. He was covered in this foam of sorts. He looked over at Thor, who was much the same, caught between disgust at the resulting mess, and horrified at what they'd all witnessed.

All at once the darkness around them lit up, and that heavy presence surrounding them gathered into a single point, and then vanished without a trace.

Right to Amaterasu.

Who was holding a broken can in her mouth, and absolutely covered in this white foamy substance. She shook her head and tossed the can forward, and Loki managed to see the words "whipped cream" on the side.

Jane laughed and stepped away from Thor, holding her own can of punctured whipped cream. Her laughter grew harder and louder, much to Loki's ire.

"Odin's beard, what was that?" Thor asked.

Loki took a breath in an attempt to calm himself, and sat down on the log once again, silent. He wiped at his face, and brushed his clothing off with shaky hands, doing his best to clean himself off.

Then, Amaterasu barked once, and the mess of whipped cream seemed to melt away as if it had never existed in the first place.

"I think we got them," Jane laughed. She walked toward the wolf, who was currently trying to lick her forehead free of whipped cream, but only resulted in her tongue snaking around wildly, missing everything. "Bluetooth speakers and meat left out in the sun for a few days helped too, of course."

"You… You planned this!?" Thor exclaimed.

"Mhm. I figured since you were both from some magic, super clean and healthy space-faring world, you weren't used to the disease and illness that we see here," Jane explained. She reached down and wiped off Amaterasu's forehead, and allowed the wolf to lick her palm clean. "So, I had Ammy help me scheme something up to scare you."

"I… Well. I hated every second of that," Loki finally said to the wolf. "I despise your very being, and I hope you can never find comfort when you sleep." He turned to face Jane, and narrowed his eyes, before shifting his gaze to Thor and thinking better of it.

Amaterasu looked far too smug for what she had accomplished, and Loki briefly entertained the thought of driving that metal rod through the wolf again. Not lethally, of course. Just a little… pokey.

Then, he recalled the absolute monstrosity that wolf was. Her control of the elements, defying physics, and being a general nuisance to all things that made sense.

No, he'd better not.

He glared at the wolf, who grinned back at him, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth.

"Well, Loki, do you have any stories you'd like to share?" Jane asked. She flinched when he glared at her through the fire.

"Oh, yes, let me tell you the story of how I invaded a planet and tried to conquer the natives. It's quite the thrilling tale," Loki huffed.

"Brother," Thor sighed.

Loki glanced at Thor, and then toward Amaterasu.

She thought she could just scare the two of them without consequence? Well, maybe no consequences with Thor, he would likely be laughing it off in minutes.

But if they wanted something scary, he was going to deliver. Something specific, targeted, and very on topic for one particular member of the group.

"Actually… I do have a tale to tell. It's not a story so much as a prophecy, however. One about a wolf."

At that, Amaterasu's ears perked up. Loki managed to hide his smirk behind a hand, and tried to pass it off as if he was thinking of something.

"Oh, no, never mind. It is far too terrifying for mortals. It's cursed, and speaking of it may summon the beast." Loki waited, hoping that he had her hooked.

"Awoof!" Amaterasu said.

Got her.

"Well, if you are certain. This one might involve you, after all," Loki turned to face Amaterasu now, and leaned forward. "This is the story of Fenrir."

"Loki…" Thor's voice was low.

Loki ignored him.

"Fenrir is said to be a powerful wolf, born of the gods. He was strong, terribly so. So powerful that the gods decided to raise the wolf themselves in order to keep it under their control. But it kept growing."

Loki glanced over at Thor, who looked on in disapproval, and Jane, who seemed bored, as if she'd heard this one before.

Amaterasu was enthralled. Perfect.

"The wolf continued to rise in power and size. More… And more… To the point that the very gods who raised him became worried. And it grew more powerful still, so, they betrayed the beast, and tried to bind it so that it may never become a threat to the gods.

"Of course, this hurt Fenrir. Betrayed by the very people he viewed as family, and raised him as their own. He grew cold, bitter, and dangerous," Loki said. He conjured up some of his magic, to show a wolf tied to a rock. "Despite the gods best efforts, he broke free. So, they tried again."

The illusion he conjured up showed the wolf shattering the chains, only to be thrown back against the rock and bound by larger, tighter chains. It thrashed and struggled, and… Broke free once more.

"The gods, terrified of his wrath and power, lied to the wolf. They said it was merely a game. A test of strength for one as mighty as himself. Fenrir knew otherwise. But, his fondness for those that raised him stayed his jaws."

Illusionary figures stood at the feet of the towering wolf, who seemed to grow larger with every passing second. They gathered in a small group, and left the wolf to the side, unable to hear what was said.

"Finally, in desperation, the gods turned to the greatest metalworkers the universe knows: the dwarves. They fashioned the gods a chain so firm that it could restrain both magic and physical might. Again, they approached him, and challenged his strength with a chain that looked far too soft to work against him. He knew it was a trick. So, he offered them a deal."

The massive wolf lowered its head and opened its great jaws. One of the figures reached forward and allowed the wolf to hold his hand in its great maw, dragging the figure close to the stone they intended to bind him.

"It was meant to be a bluff. Surely, they wouldn't risk physical harm to one of their own if they lied to him. Yet, lie they did. The magic chains sprang to life, and coiled around the wolf, locking it against the boulder. Betrayed, he bit down, and severed the hand off the god."

The figure wailed in agony, and pulled back, clutching at the bleeding stump while the wolf fought against its binds. Then, it grew wise, and curled around, biting at the chains with its powerful jaws.

"The gods, eager to prevent its escape, and to prevent the creature from swaying mortals into freeing it, pried its jaws open. It fought, and strained, but through numbers and sheer might, they opened the great wolf's jaws. They couldn't bring themselves to kill the beast, so they took a sword, and jammed it in the creature's mouth. The point wedged up against the roof of its mouth, and the pommel against his lower jaws. The wolf could never try to bite at its chains again, for fear of death."

The illusionary wolf struggled against the bindings, its muscles quaking from the force it put into the struggle. However, it remained subdued, and kept its head on the ground, not willing to risk death to free itself. The gods walked away from it, leaving it alone.

"Trapped, and unable to escape, the great wolf still lies in wait. Chained to the stone, and unable to exact its revenge upon the gods." Loki smirked, and lowered his voice, causing everyone to lean in closer.

"It is said that one day the wolf will escape. It will be freed from its bindings, and hunt down all who wronged him. With its jaws wide from the sword in its maw, it will grow further ; stronger; faster. Years of growth and power once restrained, now unleashed."

The wolf broke free from its chains, horrendously disfigured. Upon an impossibly tall body the wolf towered high into the sky. It's lower jaw hung loose and dragged on the ground, stretched and broken from years trapped with the sword in its mouth. It walked forward, horrific in its movement, eyes blazing with hate. Its mouth reached high into the sky, and one-by-one, stars started to go out.

"With his jaw dragging on the ground, and its mouth reaching into the sky, the wolf will devour anything and anyone in its path. And with its enormous jaws, it shall bring about the end of the world…"

The illusionary wolf stalked forward, jaws parted, toward the sun. The great fiery orb was flared and illuminated the darkness within the wolf for several seconds. Then the sun shifted to the form of a wolf. The wolf, white with red markings, fought back the darkness around her.

Until, the wolf snapped its jaws shut, and the light from the sun, Amaterasu, was extinguished.

"By consuming the sun."

Loki pulled back, a wide grin splitting his face, as he looked upon the Goddess of the Sun. Amaterasu sat there, eyes wide, her fur on end. Her paws were tensed hard enough that her claws sank into the log beneath her. Those bright golden eyes flicked around, scanning the darkness, as if waiting for this great beast to appear.

"Loki, you know that tales of Ragnarök shouldn't be spoken lightly," Thor said. He looked at the spooked Amaterasu, and narrowed his eyes. "Though… I suppose this one was warranted."

"You know, I can't tell if these stories are ever accurate or not. I mean, in that one, the wolf is supposed to be your son. And in another, you transformed into a mare and-"

"Ah ah ah! Silence!" Loki interrupted Jane with a horrendous glare. Then, he turned his gaze to the side, and fixed Thor with an icy gaze. "My Brother told many tales when he visited Midgard throughout the years. He was just mad I was courting the woman he desired, and she preferred me."

"Oh, no, no, they're all very true. Saw them with my own eyes," Thor grinned.

"You- No. No stabbing. I got you back for that hundreds of years ago." Loki huffed, and brushed a hand through his hair, trying to remain calm and collected.

Trying to find something to change the subject, he looked at Amaterasu once more. She was still on edge, her fur standing upright, and her eyes scanned the darkness, searching for threats.

Loki grinned.

Well, he is the god of mischief and trickery.

Loki pulled upon his magic and his mother's teachings, and began to shift the world to his will. Darkness began to creep overhead, the moon disappearing, followed quickly by the stars. One by one, they flickered out as a massive shadow moved in front of them.

The fire in the center of the camp flickered, and died, vanishing with a whisper.

Heavy footsteps and deep breathing seemed to come from all around them. Every step caused the ground to shake, and every breath caused the wind to stagger them all.

Then, a low, rolling growl. It was like thunder, all encompassing, and entirely too close and loud.

Thor held Jane close, watching with a bemused smirk. Amaterasu stood on her log, body glowing a brilliant white, lighting up the clearing. She was crouched, braced, expecting something to attack.

But nothing did. It kept stalking. Circling. Consuming.

The trees at the edges of the clearing vanished with a single movement. Amaterasu whipped around to face it, eyes wide, a growl of her own sounding out to challenge the creature.

And then it stopped.

The silence was entirely too loud. Too filling. The nothingness around them took up far too much space. It was crushing. Suffocating.

Then, a scraping noise was heard. Something shifted out of the darkness. Amaterasu looked higher and higher, her eyes following the impossibly tall form of the creature. Its jaws oozed blood, and its maw led to only darkness and death.

Fenrir stood tall, its jaws parted wide, scraping along the earth and reaching high into the sky. Its body towered over them all, blazing green eyes illuminating the beasts scarred and spiteful face.

Then, it lunged!

Amaterasu jumped in surprise, and let out a loud yelp of terror.

KA-BOOM!

A bolt of lightning screamed out of the sky and crashed down upon the illusion with entirely too much energy. The ground exploded where it hit, and energy was unleashed in all directions, catching Loki in the spread.

Loki cursed and tumbled backward, his body numb and twitching from the electricity coursing through him. He growled, and got to his feet, staggering as his legs jolted about on their own.

"Thor! You ruined-"

"I did no such thing, Brother," Thor said. He nodded his head to the side.

Loki whirled around to find Amaterasu standing at the edge of a crater, the ground sizzling from the lightning strike. Her fur stood on end, bristling with electricity, causing her to resemble a sheep.

Amaterasu turned around, and faced away from the pit, using her hind legs to kick dirt into the crater, as if covering up the last of the remnants of the thing that had startled her.

Apparently, Amaterasu could summon lightning bolts when surprised.

Joy.

"You know, I thought hitting you with lightning all that time ago did nothing to help," Thor said. "I'm glad the thirty-seventh time seems to have worked."

Loki looked between Thor and Amaterasu, blinking.

No, he was done. He'd had enough for the day. Screw these human traditions and customs.

Loki whirled around with a huff, cape billowing around him, and left.

Amaterasu and Humanity were both horrendous cheaters, and he refused to entertain them any longer. No, maybe he'd go back to terrifying the Asgardian children instead. That was far less lethal.

"Loki?" Thor called out to him. "Brother, where are you going?"

"Away," Loki replied. "I don't care where I end up, just meet me there when you're done. I've had enough of Earth for one day, thank you."

Loki resisted the urge to look down when he felt the presence of Amaterasu fall into step behind him, following him. Apparently, Thor elected to stay with his favourite human.

Gods damn it all.

"Awoof?" Amaterasu asked.

"Nope. Silence. I cannot stop you, but I refuse to entertain your presence with conversation. Go chase your tail or something equally demeaning. Gods and poor imitations of deities should not mingle."

"Bwoof."

"Wha- I was referring to you!"