Slepnir
Since his first kill many things have changed for the trickster.
He's grown in skill, in magic, and in reputation. Although neither of the two princes were allowed to leave Asgard just yet that did not mean that Loki obeyed that edict. He learned a long time ago how to conceal himself from the Gate Keeper and with his skills from Alice's mass reserves of knowledge, he learned how to conceal himself from everyone else.
Loki learned to hide his magic.
A skill thought impossible and yet, he did so. He became invisible. He ceased to exist. Loki became a dagger, hidden but sharp.
This reputation was not looked upon with favor. The mistrust that would have lead to the people of Asgard scorning Loki was only belayed by the fact they still believed that Alice was a Norn. This falsehood is his only saving grace. It is his only defense against those who would physically seek to harm or threaten him.
Loki cannot let that happen. Its not just his life in the balance. It is theirs. His and Alice.
And she's started to worry him. She has not turned against him. No. He is certain she will never do that. But there are days where she is almost catatonic. She is unresponsive and within their mindscape, he sees her flicker in and out of existence. When she comes to she has no memory of her lapse.
Loki calls to her relentlessly each time it happens and each morning when he wakes he calls to her. Even if all he gets is a noncommittal reply, it is enough for him to know she's still there. It leads him to a short jaunt in the healing halls to learn under the healers. His studies were vast and diverse to keep his interest unassuming. After several years, he's come to the understanding that Alice's initial guess was right.
She was meant to be him or at the very least a part of him. Whatever is keeping them separated must be wearing off or having a diminished impact.
Its only a matter of time until she becomes apart of him.
But Loki is selfish and afraid. He doesn't want her to leave. He doesn't want to be alone. So he fight it every time it happens which is thankfully not a common occurrence. Thus far it has only happened twice since his first kill several hundred years ago. That gives him some time. To do what, he doesn't know, but she is his.
He needed her and he has no intention of letting her go.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the rest of Asgard. Everyone has worked to progressively hit his last nerves especially Thor and his followers. The blonde prince meet three boys and a girl some time after his first kill. He spent the week with them while Loki was still in the wilds feasting and glorifying himself. The boys turned out to be Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg. The girl was the daughter of a noble family named Sif.
Loki hated them all.
He hated Sif most of all.
Alice had started to share many more things she knew from myths and hearsay from her world. One of which was that Loki had pulled some prank on her hair. Which he can see why. She was vain and arrogant. Her bright Blonde hair, not unlike his horse, was seen as her best and distinguished feature. Sif used it relentlessly to get her way. If her aim were not to be seen as an equal to other warriors than she would not be out of place among the other fluttering noble daughters at court.
Originally, he cut off her hair and had been forced to get her another head of locks. Loki has no intention of having to do such work.
Loki asks some of the servants, who actually don't mind his company, for assistance. A fact, Loki attributes entirely to Alice, and her insistence that he knows how to care for himself. This lead to a comical year spent learning to do what the servants do such as cooking and cleaning. He learned how to cook his own food and clean his own cloths. Loki drew the line at sewing which Alice didn't push.
But her reasoning was sound.
When he leaves there will be no one to do those things for him. There will be no servants to change his sheets or cook his favorite meals. Surviving off of tavern food would be both unbecoming and ill advised.
Still, that year certainly endeared him to the servants and they are the only ones not adding to his stress and resentment.
In a surprising twist, on occasion they'll aid him in playing a prank here and there. Loki has had no problem taking full blame for any consequences or helpfully get a few servants out of trouble by making up some story or causing some mischief to distraction.
The servants give him dye. Loki recognizes the dye as the kind used for clothes and knows it won't be permanent. With a quick use of stealth and some slight of hand, the dye is in place. Strangely, no one sees her for several weeks. According to the servants, her parents snuck her out of Asgard under the cover of dark and for the past several weeks rumors started to crop up that the girl consorted with demons in the dark forests.
It baffled the trickster. It truly did.
Seeing his obvious confusion, the servants whispered it must be a ruse to gain sympathy from the court and the House of Odin. Maybe even a marriage to Prince Thor. But they did wonder why she was hidden. Her family could not believe that the All-Father would fall for such a play.
When next anyone sees Sif, in Odin's throne room no less, the girl still has a head full of dark hair.
Both of her parents were also present and were glancing at him. To make a long story short, the brat child and her family went to a hedge mage to fix her hair. Which is the stupidest thing he's ever heard of. He makes their foolishness known.
"The dye used is fabric dye. Easily procured and easily removed with pig fat."
Seeing the mother's complexion turn pale, Loki went for the kill.
"Unless mixed with magic which I refused to do. It would have given me away, you see."
Had they put their pride and arrogance to the side, it would have been simple for a servant or even a healer to remove the dye. The humiliation endured with Sif's dark hair for years after the fact. Her family's standing is damaged due their seeking out a hedge mage and Sif's standing suffered in the eyes of the other court ladies. Of which, he knew many can be incredibly vicious.
Sif has not forgiven him and Loki has never trusted her.
On the plus side, her determination to prove she makes a better warrior propelled her forward. On the down side, she constantly challenges him to a duel and he's forced to put her on her back. He dislikes showing so much skill to potential enemies. A shinobi's greatest weapon is his secrets and how he can use those secrets against his enemies. Loki has to make sure each take down is done as swiftly as possible.
Its presses the notion to Loki that Sif is someone more trouble than she's worth.
He never did find out if the marriage bit was true. Shame. If it was he would have had to find some way out of Asgard sooner rather than latter.
Loki decides he needs to get out of Asgard.
No, he needs to have done so, Yesterday.
A builder, a Light Elf, came to Asgard proposing a trade. He would build fortifications to keep out invaders in exchange for Freyja as his bride, the Sun and the Moon. It is a familiar tale to Loki. One which ends in his rape by the stallion Svadilfari and the birth of Slepnir. As negotiations continue, Loki keeps his peace, and remains quiet.
In another surprising twist, many of Odin's council ask his advise. It irritates him because he has no wish to be involved in these talks.
"What will be done will be done."
He pulls the Norn card and regrets nothing. It makes him seem mysterious but it also makes many of the Aesir stop asking him. Its considered taboo to force a seer to share what the Norns have shown against their will. Its actually considered a precursor to ruin to do so and Loki abuses such assumptions without mercy.
Loki's silence does not help negotiations.
He understands their concerns. Freyja, a hostage from Vanir with incredible influence, holds the allegiance of several Valkyries, with the rest of the female warriors mysteriously gone or a glimpse here or there on the out skirts of society. Losing her to a foreign entity would be a large blow to Asgard's standing among the Nine Realms and the loss would be felt if she took all of her influence with her.
For Alfheim, it would be a massive boon in power, economy, and influence.
The Sun and the Moon, are likewise powerful artifacts. Separately, they have power comparable to half that of a single infinity stone. Together? They could jumpstart any of the Nine Realms into equal or as close to equal as that of Asgard. To have such power in the hands of an unknown as well as one of the most powerful woman of Vanir would put Asgard's position at the top of the Nine Realms into jeopardy.
Loki has no care for that.
That is not his primary concern right now. Right now, he wants to run far, far away. Odin and his Council have come to an agreement with the builder. The builder shall work alone, for three seasons, and is allowed only the use of his horse.
Just like the damn story.
No.
Nope.
Nuh-huh.
Loki will not be blamed for this cluster fuck. He pointedly does not throw himself off of the Bifrost. Although it is a close thing. Very. Inches. Centimeters. The impulse to stab Odin in his other eyes is incredibly high though.
The damned All-Father keeps him close, sending him loaded glances which Loki pointedly ignores. Can Loki shapeshift? Yes, of course. He learned from the best. Freyja is a lovely woman once you get past the bitterness and quiet fury. Will he shapeshift? Absolutely not. Loki will not willingly offer himself up as a sacrifice for Asgard. Toward the end of the third season, the Aesir become nervous.
The builder and his horse are nearly complete.
A powerful and elaborate dome shield can now be erected around the palace. The physical walls around Asgard are bright and seamless crafted. It shines as beautiful as anything else in Asgard. The builder will accomplish his task. Loki does not relax. He cannot.
Loki makes a plan.
When the anxiety of Odin's court becomes too much he tells his mother where he will be and that he's taking Gullfaxi with him. With his horse, he sets out to the forest away on the far side from the builder and Svadilfari. There can be no accidental meetings with the pair with him so far away. Alas, his plan has one major flaw.
Thor.
"Come now, brother, I've apologized countless time." Thor grumbles to Loki. "It was for the good of Asgard as well. You should be proud. Your mare is the most magnificent in all of Asgard. Nay, in all the realms!"
"Tell me," Loki tugs gently, on her reigns, "does this look magnificent to you?"
His fury is palatable. His magic crackling visibly in the very air. Loki had managed just fine until Thor and his friends came looking for him. He didn't know for what or why. But any mention of Asgard or the builder he cut off quickly. Once, he even mounted Gullfaxi barebacked, putting all of his supplies into his dimensional pocket, and rode off.
Now, she stands before Loki neck, ears, and flank covered in scratches and bite marks, some still bleeding. Her rump and hind legs were also a mess of sweat and horse seed.
Apparently, Odin had came up with a solution that involved distracting Svadilfari with a mare. An idea sparked when Frigga told the All-Father that Loki had gone off with Gullfaxi. Thor ever eager to keep his father's approval agreed to retrieve Gullfaxi from his brother. After Loki had gone off and lost the others, Thor became desperate or just stupid.
Sif and the Warriors Three ambushed Loki.
It is instinctive for him to fight back and he didn't hold back. He was on high alert. Loki's vigilance and paranoia made it so that his fight with the others was absolutely brutal.
He held nothing back. Loki went to hurt, to kill. He assumed they were there to kill him or for him to copulate with the horse. He would fight and die before he let that happen. Loki more than proved himself a match against them. He moved like a shadow against the Aesir warriors. Loki aimed for ligaments and other weak spots.
Loki sought only to cause as much harm as possible.
Hogun almost lost an arm, the limb barely hanging on by the thinnest of flesh. Fandral's elbow was smashed. The ligaments within Volstagg's legs were cut, causing the big warrior to crash to the ground. He was lucky Loki didn't aim for the major arteries. Even an Aesir can bleed out.
Sif was the most skilled of the others but even she goes down eventually. The only reason she was not the first is because she was somewhat familiar with his fighting style. Loki breaks both of her wrists and leaves a dagger in her gut.
It is then that Loki realizes Thor is nowhere to be seen. The brute herded Loki's horse and familiar into Svadilfari's path. It does not take much of Loki's imagination to know what happens next. There were also enough witnesses who speak of the event. Svadilfari is taken with Gullfaxi enough to break his tack and "seduce" her.
"Ahh..." The blonde grimaces at the sight of the mare. "I am sorry brother. Truly, I am but father..."
Loki tunes out Thor's excuses and platitudes. All he can see is Gullfaxi's battered and exhausted body. His seidr can already feel the new life forming within her belly. Loki knows this life will be Slepnir, the eight legged horse. He does not despise the foal, the new life for its creation. The only consolation, if it can be considered that, is twofold. Gullfaxi was receptive to Svadilfari's "courtship" and the actual mating didn't take more than a few days.
The builder and his horse still managed to complete their task.
Loki will take great pleasure in seeing their reaction to discovering the builder is in fact not an elf.