Chapter Text
Skuffelse means disappointment in Norwegian, according to Google translate.
Before reading this story, please read Svartalfheim.
Saved.
Loki was looking at his body, pondering what his next step should be. He had never died before, be near death, yes, but not death…death. A green light caught his eyes, and he was surprised to see his Sedir around his body when suddenly he felt sucked back into his body. The first thing he did was scream, and then he opened his eyes.
Byleistr was hiding at his cave as he usually did; he spent most of his time at Svartalfheim since he had escaped from Utgard. He felt safe in that realm, but he was very lonely. There were a few small animals that he could hunt and edible mushrooms. Water was not a problem, and he was fortunate enough to have a little spring outside of his cave. There were enough fallen trees and other dried vegetation he could use to start a fire for cooking.
Byleistr looked at his meager food supply and decided to go out and hunt. He walked carrying his arrows that really were no more than sharpened sticks. While he was following a large rodent's tracks, he heard a scream and immediately knew it belonged to a Jotun. He cautiously made his way in the direction of the noise. He saw a fallen figure dressed in strange garb. Once he was sure there was no one else, he approached the fallen person.
Byleistr stood looking at Loki, not quite believing his eyes. For good measure, he rubbed his eyes vigorously with his hands. He kneeled beside Loki and looked at his face. He traced the heritage lines with his finger and finally had to admit that it seemed this man was his brother. He had heard rumors from the older slaves saying his parents' firstborn son had been a Skuffelse; they thought King Laufey had killed the child. But it seemed that had not been the case. Byleistr considered what to do next.
Bylsteir carried Loki back to his dueling after using his Sedir and ice magic to slow the bleeding as much as possible. Upon arriving at his home, he laid Loki on the furs he used as bedding. Then proceeded to undress Loki. He was able to save the coat. But had to cut the shirt off in order not to aggravate the injury. He boiled water and used it to clean the wound. He realized Loki had been impaled and thought the only reason his brother was alive was his brother's Sedir as he could see it working on the injury. He was now sure that Loki was his brother after examining more of his markings.
After dressing Loki's wound, he decided to take Loki's shoes and pants off, leaving him in his underwear. He then covered him with more furs. Byleistr thought it would be a good idea to get his brother to drink some water. He submerged a clean rag in water and put it on Loki's lips, who immediately started sucking on it. He repeated the process a few more times and stopped when he thought that Loki had enough.
Byleistr decided he would use what food he had left to make soup; he thought it should keep him and his brother fed for at least a couple of days, and then he would have no choice but to go out to collect food. Byleistr started a fire and filled a pot with water, dried mushroom, and dried meat. He wished he had some salt or other spices but obtaining them was not worth the risk of being caught by Helblindi.
After eating a bowl of soup, Byleistr checked on Loki and found he was covered in sweat. He took the furs off Loki and taking a wet rag; he worked on cooling Loki's body by spreading a thin layer of ice on him as it was clear he was running a fever. Before he knew it, night came, and Byleistr sat some furs from himself near Loki. After making himself comfortable, he went to sleep.
Loki woke up screaming. He was disoriented and in pain. He tried to sit up but found it aggravated his problem. The noise woke Byleistr up. He sat up and saw his brother was hyperventilating and appeared scared. He was not new to nightmares as many of the slaves he had lived with would wake up screaming. He suffered from regular nightmares. He knew it was best to be gentle in his approach. He kneeled in front of Loki and started speaking in a suiting tone.
Byleistr said, "Hi there, I am Byleistr, and you are at my home." Loki looked at him with glassy distrustful eyes and pleaded, "Please don't hurt me…please" He was trembling as his fevered mind had taken him back to Sanctuary. Byleistr showed him his hands in a universal sign of peace and said, "I am not planning to hurt you. I found you injured and brought you to my place to help you."
Loki took two deep breaths and studied his surroundings, then tried to remember and realized the last thing he remembered was being stabbed by Kurse. He thought he was in some type of cave lying on something soft. He looked at the person in front of him and could not detect any malice. Also, he could not hear any lies in what he had told him. He finally asked, "Why are you helping me?"
Byleistr smiled and responded, "I am helping you because I found you injured, and I believe there is no one else to assist you in this realm." Loki said, "Is there any other reason?" Byleistr sighed and said, "Well, it does not hurt that you provide company. I have been alone for a long while. Also, both of us are Skuffelse. If we do not help each other, then who will? I …I also believe we are brothers by blood." Loki flinched, a Jotun was helping him! and what was a Skuffelse? He asked, "Why do you say we are brothers?" Byleistr said, "While I was treating you, I studied your heritage lines, and they clearly mark you as my brother. Now, why don't you tell me your name." Loki realized Byleistr believed all he told him to be true. He was too tired to think about the implications; instead, he said, " I am Loki Od… just Loki."
Byleistr smiled at Loki and said, "Are you hungry? If you want, I can get you a bowl of soup." Loki was not very hungry but thought it would be a good idea to eat if he wanted to recover his strength. He also felt more relaxed now that he was sure he was not in Sanctuary. He said, "I would appreciate a bowl of soup, Byleistr." Byleistr went and filled a bowl with warm soup and handed it to Loki. Loki took it, started drinking the broth, and then managed to get the pieces of meat and mushroom with his fingers. When he was finished, he laid the bowl on the ground and said, "Thank you." Byleistr took the bowl and said, "You are welcome, Loki. Would you like some water?" Loki nodded, and Byleistr gave him a different bowl filled with ice-cold water. Once Loki emptied the bowl, Byleistr helped him to lay back down, and slowly both went back to sleep.
Loki woke up a few hours later and saw Byleistr was working on sharpening what appeared to be primitive arrows. As Byleistr had not noticed that he was awake, Loki took his time observing the man. He saw his coloring was royal blue and had raised heritage lines. He was surprised to see he had black hair tied in a messy ponytail. He seemed young, but he could no be sure as he was not used to guessing a Jotnar age. He thought he had to be younger than himself; as Byleistr mentioned, he believed Loki to be his older brother. As much as Loki would have liked to deny it, he thought it was highly likely. Loki saw that Byleistr had his same body build and the facial features were similar; for what he could recall from the few times he had seen his Jotun face, the lines of their faces and hands were alike. Loki took a moment to look at his hands and arms, comparing them to what he could see of Bylesitr; he had to admit that most likely, they were brothers by blood.
Byleistr noticed Loki was awake and smiled at him. He approached him and said. "Morning, how are you feeling?" Loki looked at Bylesitr, wondering why he seemed so happy as far as he could see the boy live in abject poverty and was dressed in only a simple loincloth. Since the boy was helping him, he decided to be civil to him and answered, "Good morning, I feel better than yesterday, but I am afraid that I am not fully recovered. I hate to impose on you." Byleistr gave him a puzzled looked and said, "But you are not imposing. I choose to help you and bring you to my home. Besides, you are my brother… and well, I have always wanted family, and with me being a Skuffelse…well, I never thought I would be lucky enough to have a brother that is like me."
Loki looked at Byleistr and saw he was sincerely happy to have Loki with him and hopeful that they could be family. Loki thought about it. He was not sure, but what could it hurt to talk to the boy and learn more about him? It is not like he was planning to get attached to Byleistr, and any knowledge he could gain from him could be helpful in the future. After all, he realized he did not know much about the Jotnar and Jotunheim. He was distracted from his thoughts when he saw Byleistr offering him a bowl of soup.
Loki took the bowl of soup from Byleistr and realized he was actually hungry. He took it, and after thanking the boy, he said, "Byleistr, I do not know much about Jotuheim, I was not raised there, but you tell me you believe we are brothers. How can you tell that by our markings?" Byleistr said, "I figured you were not raised in Jotunheim by the clothes you were wearing when I found you. Our skin markings are hereditary; the half circles we have on our foreheads are the Ymir's crown. We got that from our sire and marked us as descendants from the noble line of Ymir. The marking on our cheeks we got from our mother. The arms and legs come from our mother too. Our back and front come from our father. The neck is unique to each person."
Loki said, "I see. Tell my Byleistr, who was our Sire?" "He was King Laufey." Loki asked, "Does that not make you a Prince of Jotunheim? Why are you here?" Byleistr looked sad and answered, "No, I am no prince. I am a Skuffelse, which means disappointment, a slave. I escaped Jotunheim after King Laufey died as King Helblindi was planning to kill me. He was afraid that somehow I would try to overthrow him… I do not know why he would think that, as If I would have any way of overthrowing a King or any knowledge of how to be a King."
For some reason that Loki could not understand, seeing Byleistr sad made his chest ache. However, he could not help his natural curiosity, so he asked, "Byleistr, why don't you tell me your age and about yourself." That brought a smile to Bylesitr's face, and Loki felt glad about it.
Byleistr considered what to say to Loki and decided that since Loki was his family, he would tell him as much as possible about himself. He did not believe for a minute that Loki would not want him as family, as both of them were Skuffelse; if they did not help each other, then who would? He started his tale after getting a bowl of water for both Loki and himself. He said, " I am 700 years old. I was born to King Laufey and Queen Farbauti after Helblindi, who is 1000 years old. Things were not too bad for me while Queen Farbauti was alive. While I was not treated as part of the family, she chose to keep me alive despite my small size and gave me too one of the skuffelse slaves to race. Once I was old enough to be useful, she treated me as a favored servant. One of the older skuffelse slaves taught me how to use my Sedir and ice-magic. After Queen Farbauti died, things were more problematic, but King Laufey showed me enough favor to be kept as a kitchen slave despite everything. Helblindi was not as generous, and I am lucky I was able to escape. I do not know how I managed, but I found a path to get here. I do not even know what the name of this realm is, but I am safe. Now that you are here, I am not longer alone, and I am thrilled to have you. It has been hard to be alone. "