It was 2am when the alarm went off, as it always did. Baldr hated that thing, so he picked it up from the nightstand and violently threw it against the wall, smiling as little pieces of plastic flew through the room. Alas, it mattered not, as sure as the sun would rise in a few hours, it was time to get up, and time to stir Vali from his slumber as well, always a treat. Baldr shifted to the edge of the bed, sitting up and stretching before opening the top drawer of his nightstand and grabbing another identical alarm clock, placing it precisely where the old one had existed for all of a day.

He finally rose from his bed, making his way to the closet, where he grabbed a simple white tee, and pair of jeans. This was no formal arrangement; therefore, his finery wouldn’t be necessary. With that accomplished, he grabbed a comb, threw some water on it and grabbed some gel to make his hair do that thing he likes. Satisfied with his appearance, he made the trek a few doors down to where Vali lay. He clinched the door knob and made a satisfying grin when he noticed it was unlocked, this was going to be good. You’d think after all these years Vali would have learned. Baldr opened the door silently, not wanting to awaken his brother too early, and walked to the foot of his bed, he didn’t immediately see a lady with him, so he assumed his plan was safe. He grabbed the foot of the bed and lifted it as high as he could, plopping Vali violently to the floor, though Baldr couldn’t see over the bed, he hoped Vali landed on his head. Hearing the satisfying scream of “What the fuck Baldr, I thought we talked about this!” He knew his job was accomplished.

Ah but brother, we both know if I didn’t wake you up you would lie here for hours dreaming of chickens or some shit. This is prime time for our workout. I’ll meet you in the car in 10 minutes, it’s still quite the drive to San Gabriel.

Vali groaned and stomped a bit as he stood up, looking like he was moments away from throwing a hissy fit. He must have changed his mind though, sure to have the satisfying thought of one-upping his older brother in another contest prominently in his mind, because he grabbed a shirt from his closet before turning back to Baldr. “Fine. But I can wake myself up you know. I don’t need you doing it for me.”

Baldr laughed as he made his way out the door. “If that were true, you wouldn’t have landed on your head!” And with that, he disappeared down to the car, before Vali had a chance to respond.

It was about 15 minutes later, definitely more than 10, when Vali finally made his way to the car. Baldr turned to him. “About damn time, if we miss the guard shift, I’m taking it out on you.” Vali simply rolled his eyes, as Baldr drove to the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles National Forest. Of course they were closed, everything within supposed to be protected and preserved, and as such there were gates and guards blocking progress in the car. As a result, Baldr parked about a mile away and motioned to Vali to follow him, his finger pressed to his lips in the classic “be quiet” motion.

About 30 minutes later, Baldr and Vali made their way to the spot, a few gates jumped, and deep in the middle of the forest, where the guards would never look. Baldr smiled ear to ear as he looked over to Vali, “Are you ready for some destruction?”