Bored can be dangerous

There were very few trees on the knoll entombing their barrow and Skadi was familiar with each and every one. She was as happy in a tree as she was on the ground and out of all the places she liked pouncing from, the trees were by far her favorite. But - and this was very important - Skadi wasn't in a tree anymore. Sure she'd started out in one, but the moment she spied her brother prowling nearby it hadn't been good enough to pounce from because he was likely wise to her tricks by this point. She'd leaned over to her owl buddy - a boy from her Pabbi's companions - and whispered a fun little scheme into his feathery ear. The youthful owl lacked the sense to object and now Skadi was flying.

It took all of her willpower not to shriek with laughter as the flying duo glided after Tyrfing. Their strange, blobby shadow cruised across the ground in front of them. Any second now and it would pass over her brother's head. Hopefully he wouldn't notice so she'd get the max amount of surprise, but even if he did, if the shadow was the only clue he got that something was amiss it would be too late.

3...the owl dropped lower...2...Skadi stretched out her front paws superman-style...1...and she was falling!

The ground rushed up too fast for her liking and her heart leaped up into her throat, but there was no taking it back. She was weightless and dropping fast. Some things slowed way down, the sky and the trees seeming to freeze all around her, while others like the ground seemed to speed up. Tyrfing was right there and that was enough for Skadi to toss her fear aside. He was going to be so surprised! She was hoping to land squarely on his slightly bigger back. No thought had been given to safety - or the lack thereof. All Skadi could think about was making Tyrfing wet himself.