Hermod watched Loki interact with Sleipnir. He obviously had affection for the animal, which Hermod was very happy to see. To him it just showed that Sleipnir had always had a loving home. He had never thought that Loki had abused the animal, it was just nice to see that he cared for him. Hermod almost felt guilty for keeping Sleipnir here instead of letting Loki take him back.
Almost. Hermod loved the horse too much to let him go.
“He’s really quite amazing,” he said, stoking Sleipnir’s neck. “Smartest horse I ever met. Fastest, too. I’ve raced against him a few times. It was always a pretty close finish.” The racing was not only good exercise for both of them; it was also a lot fun. He was pretty sure that some of the other Asgardians watched them run. The dwarves probably even made bets on who would win.
Hermod started brushing Sleipnir’s flanks, putting a little extra pressure on it like he knew the horse liked. It hadn’t taken long for the messenger to learn what Sleipnir liked. He was a patient horse and Hermod had been eager to make him happy. He remembered the day they met. They became friends right on the spot and had been ever since.
“There are some carrots in that bucket if you would like to feed him some of those,” he told Loki, pointing at the bucket. “If he tries to con you out of a sugar cube, he only gets two. He’s very good at looking sad, but don’t fall for it. Fat horses don’t run as fast.”