Chapter Text
He was only a child when he first met him. Eight, to be exact. His family had rented out a cabin to stay for their week-long winter vacation, and he, like any child, had gotten quickly bored as well as fed up with staying inside. So he ventured outside, exploring the woods around the cabin. Unfortunately, though, he had, like any other child, foolishly lost himself quite quickly in the woods. Honestly, he hadn’t wondered too far from the main road, but his younger self didn’t know that, not back then.
He’s never cried so hard since that day, heaving as if he was having some kind of diaphragmatic attack and sniveling what seemed so incessantly, tears rolling down his face in what he deemed the cold cruelty of the English winter. Alone and lost in the woods and a million thoughts racing through his head.
Oh, no, he was lost. Oh no. No, no, no, no. Oh no. He was lost. And no one would find him. He’d be here forever. And Mum, Dad, and Sarah... His whole family would wonder where he was.
And they wouldn’t find him.
His anxiety and worry built on itself, only furthering his panic and causing his reaction to escalate to such a horrendous degree, his whimpering having long turned into downright sobbing.
“Child, what is wrong?”
His crying lessened to mere sniffling for a moment as he looked up at the kneeling stranger in front of him. Raven black hair, neatly combed back - a striking contrast to the stranger’s white skin and the white snow landscape around them - allowed a clear look at the curious man’s face. Skin so smooth, expression concerned, yet patient, and a voice he would never forget. It was soft as well as immensely soothing. And it had worked like a charm, quickly calming him down.
But nothing caught his attention better than the two emerald eyes that stared back into his. They were so naturally brightly lit, that he swore that even in pitch black darkness he could see them, as if they could glow in the dark.
With a loud sniff, he replied in a high pitch voice, as he yet was to reach puberty, “I’m lost. And- And Mum and Dad and Sarah-” Seeing that he was beginning to go into hysterics again, the stranger quickly shushed and soothed him once more. On the strange man’s face was a swift look of panic. The man looked over his shoulders and glanced around them. It was rather strange, but he easily swept the thought aside when the man spoke again.
“Come. Let’s find your parents,” the man told him as he rose, a small smile on his face. He gaped and marveled as the stranger rose to his full height. W-o-w, he thought, he’s as tall as a giant. “And...” The man continued, oblivious to the his goggling. He quickly stopped staring open-mouthed, remembering how his mother always chastised him for doing so. The stranger, though, seemed slightly frustrated, as if he were trying to remember something. “Your sister,” the man finally said. The light bulb went on in his head and he quickly said, “Sarah!”
“Yes,” the stranger said, a smile on his face once more. Though, he hardly thought it was genuine. Nonetheless, the man held out his hand and, hesitantly, he took it. And that’s how they walked, him only reaching up the man’s stomach. It didn’t take long for the stranger to help him find the main road, after all they weren’t that far from it.
“The cabin!” he exclaimed when he saw it. The man chuckled but said nothing for a moment. But then it was time. The stranger smiled once more and said, “Go. I am sure your family misses you dearly.” At that, he frowned. He didn’t really know why, but he suddenly became sad. Not sad like having lost a toy or someone had died. Just sad. Like miss-someone sad.
He gave a small smile to the man and said in return, “Okay. Be safe...” He shifted on his feet, realizing he didn’t know the man’s name. Again the man softly chuckled, replying with “Loki”. A huge, wide smile spread across his face. “Thanks, Loki.”
Loki gave a small bow of his head, replying with, “It was no trouble at all. Goodbye...” “Tom,” he quickly said. And then Loki finally gave him the most genuine smile of their little encounter. “May the Norns bless you with a long and jovial life, Thomas.”