"Sister!"

the twins

Their father's footsteps. Both turned, too late to hide, and found the darker man steadying his weight upon a shoulder against the stairwell's archway.

 "...should I say anything?" He looked as if he were amused then serious.

Narvi sucked in a breath.

"Must," they said in unison.

 Loki nodded. "Must?"

"Yes, there's must in the books," Narvi explained, "And a dead rat in the cup..," Vali exonerated, jerking her head at the old desk, situated in the middle of the room, far too piled with books and parchment and old, undistinguished trinkets. It swayed in the middle, closer to the floor then ceiling. Anyone but them would've called it a pile rubbish, rotting wood and parchment, infested with spider webbings and dust and roaches, only it was better then a heaping treasure to them.

  Finding the old study and hermitage of their father hadn't been as hard as expected. It was a dare, really, and they'd taken it, only to have something to do with their free time. Lady mother had told them of it a thousand times, of how he used to hide when she'd come and visit.

  Loki nodded again. Then chuckled. "I gave you both too little credited ability to find this old place. By Valhalla, how did you get the door to open? Your grandfather, Odin, had it built up years ago, when I -your mother..."

"Shut you inside?" offered Vali, a bit too smugly, for they'd both promised not to mention it. Narvi nudged her shoulder in the attempt to silence her, but he'd already heard.

Her father raised an eyebrow.

"Well then, it seems I have no secrets, from you or my wife...," sauntering across the old stone floor and fingering the open pages of a book he'd long forgotten, "Right then, suppose the books can be burnt, hmm?" slamming the heavy volume shut, dust foaming into the air. He looked expectantly at them. Oh, but they both could see the spark in his eyes that had been laughing ever since Vali's comment.

"NO!"

He finally grinned.

"No, I suppose not..."

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

... this was longer then I thought it would be, YAY!

Just some fun. I need to write more of this stuff ... *sighs*

the archer

"Rashness and folly travel in his wake, and you think he is unlike his father? But a better man I do not know."

the archer

the warrior

the healer

Vali came forwards and laid a hand across his face, less affectionately then she ever had.

"You dare to come back to me..."

He looked at her as he had when she tossed a serpent into his bathing water, so long ago.

 "...smelling like that."

Stunned relief swept over his features.

"It's been seven days since I washed."

Vali's mouth dropped open.

"Mother would kill you."

"If you speak of this to father I will kill you."

The firstborn of the two whirled upon her brother, sending him toppling to the stable floor and placed her blade against his chest, a leather clad foot containing him there.

Narvi gave her smirked return from his uncomfortable position.

"I don't think you would, sister..."

"Oh, do try me."