Adventures of Xena & James
Based on a true story
It was early March when James and Xena met the Norse God Loki… They were not prepared for the massive floods that consumed Canada that fateful day.
The world around them was changing. The forecast claimed they would finally have perfect temperatures outside, and both James and Xena believed it with happy hearts and light feet. Unbeknownst to the travelers, Loki had played a trick on the magical groundhog of Earth, scaring it away before it could truly take control of the weather like it normally did.
They began their walk, taking the same winding pathways they always went. It’d been months since the two had seen anything other than white snow, and suddenly they could see they dirt below their feet. They rejoiced, not realizing the lack of green, and hurried along their path in merriment.
Only three hours into their walk, they came across Eikþyrnir. James, got all misty-eyed and excited to brag to his friends, so he attempted to take a photo of the deer. Xena tried to stop him, but the damage had been done. Eikþyrnir was furious; such disrespect. You can’t just take paparazzi pictures of mystical stags from Valhalla!
It turned out, after Loki had chased the groundhog away, he also tricked Eikþyrnir, telling him that the leaves in Canada were way better than the branches of the Læraðr tree. When the stag arrived, he found there were no leaves to be had! Being lost in Canada and fooled by Loki was bad enough. The addition of what he assumed was some scrawny Frost Giant with a camera made the stag unable to see reason. Well, everyone knows that Eikþyrnir’s antlers control the rivers. At least, that’s what Xena told James—he’s always forgetting history and mythology.
It wasn’t long before the water was out of control! It was sweeping away hulking trees like they were nothing more than paper boats. With a misstep, even poor James found himself in the rushing river. If not for the might of Xena the Terrier Princess, he, too, would have been lost to the wrath of Eikþyrnir.
The pair of wanderers realized quickly that they needed to find higher ground, so they trekked over winding paths and across a magical bridge. But James was dripping wet and they weren’t moving fast enough. It was as though the rising waters were following them. That’s when Loki arrived. He saw the flood from halfway across the country, then figured he better teleport over there to save James and Xena from his earlier pranks.
Realizing that Xena was royalty, Loki quickly shape-shifted into the form of a dog to better communicate with her. He was a tall pup with dark fur and pale yellow eyes—he got the idea from his son. It wasn’t surprising to anyone that the two were instantly smitten with Loki when they saw him. James even agreed to be his servant for a time and Loki pretended to tie him up with Gleipnir, a thin lead that was strong enough to hold Fenrir, with a chuckle.
Loki made the two wait out the flood on a mountain top. It felt like days before they saw any signs of relief. Xena begged for cheese and hot dogs. They had long since run out of the snacks that James always carried in his pockets. Loki knew he needed to get the two of them back. Just because he was the original prankster didn't mean he didn't have a heart.
On the third day, they were able to look out over the wetlands of Canada and see cars and houses once more. Starved and weary, they were eager to get back. Loki transformed into a giant bird and flew the two down to safety, then turned back into a dog after they landed. James and Xena both questioned why he didn't do that and take them to get burgers somewhere, but Loki brushed them off.
After they were settled, and everyone had a pound of bacon each, Loki told James to call a phone number for him because he had a new prank to play. He wanted some nonbelievers to drive three hours out of their way for their lost dog only to pop up and go, “Surprise! It’s just me, Loki!”
James was thankful to Loki for saving them both, so he made the call for the trickster god, then hid in the bushes and watched as they all had a laugh at the expense of others. Then it was dinner time. James and Xena headed back to the dinner table. They had movie streams to plan and artists to ignore.
They would never forget their time with Loki.