Bonds

Crisp snow crunched under his feet as he ran, stopping abruptly when he realized he'd made it through the portal with no one following him. Puffs of white mist filled the air as he laughed and panted. He leaned his back up against a tree, one of many in barren moonlit forest. As he rested and caught his breath, he couldn't help but grin.

'Now that was fun!' Loki thought to himself.

Granted it hadn't been the exact kind of fun he'd been going for, and as a result he'd have to stay well clear of Asgard for a while. All he'd been going for was a reality warping spell, to mix up some of the rooms in the palace. He'd looked forward to seeing the servants, his brother's friends, and perhaps even Thor himself, getting mixed up in the halls. Their confusion, and Thor's frustrated rage, was his goal. Unfortunately, he'd gotten a little more than that.

He still didn't see why Father was so upset. He'd reversed the spell and set everything right again before he left. It wasn't like he had meant to send part of the palace into a parallel dimension! These things happened when you were practicing complex magic. It was one of the reasons everyone on Asgard had learned to leave him alone while he practiced. But, of course, Odin had been furious at the God of Mischief, which was why he had slipped past the distracted Heimdall and fled Asgard. It would be better to face his father after he had cooled down a bit. Loki hadn't really paid attention to where he was going, he just went to the first world the bifrost offered him. On that subject, where exactly was he?

Loki pushed himself away from the tree and had a look around. With the cold he'd at first thought he'd ended up in Jotunheim, which would have been disastrous. But no, despite the cold this place felt much more like Midgard. He took another look around the forest.

“Well, this place is boring.” He said to himself. If he had to temporarily banish himself from Asgard he might as well have some fun while he was here. He cocked his head to the side when he heard sounds drift through the quiet forest, music.
The god of mischief grinned. Music meant people, and people were always fun to mess with. He'd try there first.

Loki extended his senses, enhanced by his magic, to feel the presence of the group of people. He teleported himself a short ways away, ending up on the shores of a small frozen lake. The music was louder now, and he could just see the glow of firelight through the trees. He moved stealthily toward the settlement, pausing on the outskirts of town.

It was a shabby place compared to what he was used to; houses built of wood, streets made with packed dirt or dull stone, fires providing most of the light. With his magic it would be all too easy to play tricks on these people. He'd have to get creative he wanted to stay entertained.
He morphed his clothes to look like those of the other men of the village, and strolled into the town. The cold had never really bothered him, so wasn't that he needed the thick trousers and heavy coats the others wore, but he didn't want to stick out.

'Now, where to start?' Loki thought as he observed the villagers, various trouble making plots flashing through his mind. His thoughts were interrupted when the unmistakable presence of magic pulled at his senses; magic that was being used right in the village. Curious, Loki made his way toward the source a few streets over.
The street was empty, save for two human boys. A tall burly boy with light brown hair laughed as a smaller darker haired boy jumped up and down. The larger boy was holding a hat high out of the other boy's reach, and kept jerking it higher up whenever the small boy leapt for it.

“No fair! Give it back!” the little boy pleaded. The bigger boy laughed.

“You want this? Then take it.” The little boy jumped again, and missed. “Too slow!” The large boy said with a laugh and ran off with the hat, with the other boy just barely able to keep up on his smaller legs.

Suddenly, Loki felt the magic once again. A moment later the large boy slipped on a frozen part of the street. The boy shrieked as he flew out of control. The ice took him to the nearest house, and he smacked face first into the side. He fell back onto his rear, just in time for a pile of snow to fall off the roof. The boy gave a startled cry when he was engulfed. The little boy laughed at the bully's fate and grabbed his hat before running away. A moment later the large boy sprang from the pile, cursing the cold and the snow that had gotten under this clothes. Loki chuckled, but he wasn't the only one.

The Asgardian looked up. There. That was the source of the strange magic. Standing at the edge of the roof was a young boy. His hair and skin were pure white, and reflected the moonlight just like snow. Frost clung to animal hide cloak, and bare feet poked out from brown pants that were a bit short for him. A simple wooden staff was clutched in his hands. The boy laughed again as bully ran off back home to get warm clothes.

“Nicely done.” Loki called up to the boy with a smirk as he walked closer. “Though you should have waited longer before reveling like that. I'm surprised the boy didn't hear you.”
The reaction was not what Loki expected. The boy whirled around to face him, looking shocked. The movement caused him to lose his balance, and he slipped off the edge of the roof, falling into the pile of snow his victim had just crawled out of.
“See what happens when you're not careful?” the Asgardian chided, smirk growing even bigger.
The white haired boy just stared up at him, mouth agape.
“You can see me?” He asked. Loki raised an eyebrow.
“Of course, you're not exactly discreet.” Probably more discreet than Thor, but that wasn't saying much.
“But...no one sees me, or hears me. Except for other spirits.” The boy's eyes widened. “Are you a spirit too?”

Loki frowned. Alright, so the boy wasn't exactly like him then. He'd heard about beings like this, and met a few on other worlds. Creatures that could only be seen by certain people, like most Asgardians, or under special circumstances.

“No, I'm not a spirit. Some on this planet call me a god. Very flattering really, but I'm technically an alien.” Loki explained, sounding almost condescending. Jack frowned, since the last word was unfamiliar to him, and decided to focus on something else.
“So you're a 'god' huh?” The spirit finally got up out of the snow bank. “In that case, I'd like to see you pull of a better prank. Since you obviously don't approve of my methods.” He folded his arms challengingly, Shepard's crook tucked in his elbow. Loki grinned.
“Perhaps I should have mentioned, I am known as the God of Mischief.”

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One hour later.
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Loki and his new companion roared in laughter at the site before them. Jack had picked out the target, a man who enjoyed whipping the rest of the town into a frenzy with old stories of monsters and evil ghosts so he could sell useless items that would 'protect' them from such things. Now that man was walking down the street with four pointed icicles sticking out from his hair, his face and body covered in mud and nettles, and sticks jutting out of the mud at odd places. Half the villages started at him in confusion while the other half ran away from the 'monster' screaming their heads off.

“Okay, I'll admit it. That was pretty good.” The white haired boy wiped a frozen tear out of the corner of his eye. Loki smiled at the praise, and held out his hand. The younger boy returned the smile, and took his hand.
“Loki Odinson.”
“Jack Frost.”