“Backpack,” she said succinctly. Summer knelt and began to fold up the blankets, rolling them up into neat bundles and strapping ties around them. She had to stand up to handle the last one, shaking it hard to get the leaf litter and bark bits off, and dragged an enormous canvas backpack from under a bush, shoving the blankets in. In another minute, she was struggling into the straps, wriggling her shoulders to settle the weight.
“I do appreciate the thought, though,” she said, belatedly. She handed him the electric lantern. “Lead, yes?”
Loki was vaguely insulted that this woman was carrying their supplies while he simply held the lantern, but he supposed that was Summer’s way. Shaking his head, he started off deeper into the wilderness.
He had always had a fondness for the variety of flora in his home forests. The swaying vines and shimmering dew covered leaves brought him a sense of peace that little else could offer. They disturbed a flock of birds as they pushed through the undergrowth, and they darted shrieking into the sky. Loki looked back at Summer, framed by the disappearing birds.
Summer barely paid attention to where her feet were going, too absorbed in looking around at all the differences between Asgardian forests and the forests at home. Superficially, everything seemed the same — tall trees, green leaves, small animals and insects. But the greens were different, sometimes, and the leaves were shaped strangely, tree bark rougher or smoother, seeds or flowers more vibrant. She stopped for a moment to put her hand on the bole of a narrow sapling with pale bark, similar to a birch but somehow more silvery, with a soft smile.
He watched her for a moment too long perhaps, then continued. As he turned, a particularly thorny branch snapped him in the face.
“And to think, not long ago I was a king,” he muttered dramatically.
Catching his remark, Summer spluttered and snorted. “You were in a glass box, you said. That doesn’t sound like king of much. Are you counting on some kind of restoration, here? I don’t think that’s going to go over well. And, uh, I’m not going to back you on that one.”