2

Welcome Feast

Good food shared with family is the hallmark of harmony~ Loki

Loki looked at his reflection in the gold framed mirror as he adjusted the green cape with gold lining on his shoulders and smiled He knew he had to wear his horned helmet to the dinner, but the helmet was too heavy and he could hardly hear anything. He sighed when the door opened and Frigga entered the room after knocking.

"Hello, Mother," Loki said with a small bow.

"Hello," she said, walking closer and had something in her hands. He saw the golden helmet in her hands as he frowned and tilted his head to one side. The golden headband had two curved horns and two metal pieces looked like it would outline his face. He admired the craftsmanship as he smiled and she held her hands out. "Your father had this commissioned several months ago and hopes you will wear it to dinner."

Loki looked at the headband while fighting back some tears and blinked. He placed the headband on as he looked in the mirror and made a few adjustments. Frigga stood next to him as she placed her hand on his upper arm and she smiled.

"Perfect," she whispered and he nodded.

Loki held his hand out as Frigga took his hand and they headed for the door.

"Do you think the children are ready?" she asked and Loki made a soft laugh. "I will take that as a no."

"Shall we go check on them?" he asked and she nodded.

Max knew he was supposed to be getting dressed for dinner. Instead, he had left the room he was sharing with Aleta and decided to go exploring. He looked at the gold framed portraits on the walls as he tried to figure out who they were. He touched the leaves of the long leaf plant in ivory planters. He ducked into the small alcove when someone walked down the hallway. Then, suddenly, he realized he was lost.

"Oh no," he whispered as he tried to figure out which way led back to his room and tried hard not to cry. He knew Loki would be angry with him for wandering off, but he wanted his papa.

"Oh!" the woman who had walked around the corner said as he looked at her and she seemed a little startled. Her white hair was pulled into a tight bun and her face was round with just a few wrinkles. She was slightly chubby and was as tall as Frigga. Her blue gown had a golden belt around her waist and she wore black leather sandals.

"Hello," Max said with a small bow and she smiled.

"Greetings," she said.

"I'm Max. Who are you?"

"I am Halgran."

"Can you help me? I was supposed to be in the nursery with Aleta, but I wanted to look around the palace."

"Did you get yourself lost?"

"Yeah," Max said and lowered his head. Halgran knelt down as she held out her arms and he ran to her. She held him for a few seconds then moved back and Max smiled at her.

"Well, I guess we should get you back to the nursery before your parents get worried."

"I don't have parents. Just my daddy and my brothers and sisters."

"Who is your daddy?"

"He's Loki," Max said and Halgran's eyes slightly widened.

"Oh! You are one of Prince Loki's sons!"

"Yeah."

"Well, I was his nanny when he was your age."

"Wow!" Max said and she picked him up and they headed down the hallway.

"You look just like your daddy when he was little," Halgran smiled. "So very like."

"Lots of people say that," Max said.

"What do you mean you can't find him?!" Sam asked while Hunter sighed and leaned his back against the door.

"When Aleta came to my room and she couldn't find Max, I thought they were playing Hide and Seek. I went into the nursery and checked every place he could hide. I even went onto the balcony. He's not there," Hunter said.

"Dad is going to have a cow!" Sam said when she saw Loki and Frigga walking down the hallway and sighed. Loki wondered why they looked so stressed when he let go of Frigga's hand and walked quickly down the hallway.

"What's the matter?" Loki asked.

"It wasn't our fault!" Hunter said with his hands up in surrender.

"What isn't your fault?"

"Daddy!" Aleta said while running toward him and she wrapped her arms around his right leg. "Max is missing!"

"Max is what?!" he asked as he looked at his oldest children.

"Max is missing," Sam said while Frigga walked closer and her eyes widened.

"I will alert the Einherjar," Frigga said, but Loki placed his hand on her upper arm and shook his head.

"Hold on," Loki said as he lifted Aleta off the floor and held her in his arm. "Now, spark, are you sure he's missing and not just hiding?"

"Yeah! I can't find him anywhere!" Aleta said and he saw tears in her eyes. He held her as he looked at Sam and Hunter and Sam sighed.

"Dad, I checked the nursery. He's gone," Hunter said.

"Someone took him!" Aleta wailed and Loki hushed her.

"My word. What is all this ruckus about?!" Halgran asked as she walked closer and Max had his cheek against her shoulder.

"Halgran?!" Loki asked with a surprised look and she smiled.

"Hello, Slippy," she said and Loki felt a blush move over his whole body.

"Slippy?!" Max asked, lifting his head.

"I used to call him that due his slipping away from me the moment my back was turned," she said and the kids and Frigga laughed.

"Yes, well...," Loki said as he took Max from her and held him in his arms. "It is good to see you again."

"Who is she, Dad?" Hunter asked.

"She is or was his nanny," Frigga said with a smile.

"Were you Uncle Thor's nanny, too?" Aleta asked.

"Oh yes!" Halgran said with a laugh. "If you think he was a handful, Stormy..."

"Stormy?!" Sam said with a laugh.

"I called him that because he would erupt like a thunderstorm when he was in a bad mood or didn't want to do something."

"Oh, we got to call him that!" Hunter said.

"Don't you dare," Loki said with a stern voice then looked at Max. "Mind tell us where you ran off to?"

"Oh, don't be so stern with him. He just wanted to have a look around and got lost," Halgran said and Max nodded.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Max said unhappily and sniffed giving Loki puppydog eyes.

"Well, being sorry doesn't make up for all the worry you just caused," Loki scolded and Max nodded. "But I forgive you."

"Yeah! I thought someone took you, Booger Head!" Aleta said and Loki glared at her.

"No name calling, Aleta," he reminded, his tone soft.

"Now that that has been settled. How about going to get dressed? Dinner is almost ready," Halgran said with a warm smile.

"And you need to meet the rest of my brothers and sister," Max said. Loki placed Max down while Max took Halgran's hand and he watched them walking down the hallway.

"I'm amazed she is still here," Loki said while Frigga walked closer and took his hand.

"She had been living in a small cottage just outside the palace walls. When she heard you were going to be here with your children, she insisted on returning to help you keep them under control," Frigga said.

"She will be a great help, Mother. Assuming my children do not drive her crazy."

"Considering how you and Thor drove her crazy, I am sure she is up to the challenge."

"Thor drove her crazier," Loki argued.

"Really?! Who was it who put itching powder in her hair just so he could go riding?!" Frigga asked, arching her eyebrow.

"I was six and... And she made me stand in the corner for fifteen minutes afterwards."

Laughing, Frigga hugged her youngest son as they went down the hallway and she wrapped their fingers together.

Jormungandr's room:

Jormungandr stood in front of the gold framed mirror as he looked at his reflection and brushed some bleached blonde hair from his eyes. His eyes were a sharp yellow with slit pupils and he tilted his head to one side. Being able to shift into a serpent did have its advantages, but being born with snake eyes was annoying. Many Asgardians tended to ignore his eyes, but there were a few who stared and would make harsh whispers behind his back. He wasn't sure how his father's adopted children would react to his eyes as he closed them for a few seconds then opened them. Bright emerald eyes looked back at him when he smiled, nodded his head and went to get dressed.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Halgran asked while watching Nate reach for the tan tunic on the bed and he shook his head.

"No, I'm good," he said. Halgran admitted she was impressed with how well Nate moved around in his wheelchair then her attention was drawn to Vince, who has gone out onto the balcony and was standing on the top of the balcony railing. "Master Vince, just what do you think you are doing?!"

"I'm just looking around." Vince said then yelped after she had appeared behind him and gently lifted him into the air. "Hey!"

"You will get off of there right now!" she growled and carried him back into the room. Vince wasn't sure if she was going to hit him as he backed up after she put him down and she saw the fear in his eyes. "What is the matter?"

"Don't hurt me," Vince said and she heard a whimper in his voice.

"Oh, My Little One, I would never do that," she said as she walked closer and held her arms out. He felt a sense of trust coming from her when he ran to her and she hugged him.

"He's always doing stuff like that." Nate said. "Dad says he's going to make his hair white. He likes to climb things, and he hates small spaces. The orphanage manager used to lock him in a closet. I was lucky. Grimes just called me a useless cripple."

"Bless the Norns, what horrible things to say!" she said and looked at Vince. "I am sorry if I frightened you."

"It's ok," Vince said and she ruffled the top of his head.

"Just promise to be more careful. Your father would be devastated if anything happened to you."

"He says that all the time," Vince said then moved back.

"As for you," she said, walking to the wheelchair and looked at Nate. "You are not useless."

"I know," Nate said with a grin. "Want to see what my wheelchair can do?"

"Yes," she said and Nate smiled.

"I call my chair the Magic Bullet. Because Uncle Tony made it so it can go fast, like a race car . . ."

"A race car?"

"It's a really fast Misgard vehicle," Loki said while walking in the room and looked at Vince and Nate.

"I see," Halgran said and Loki felt like something was wrong.

"Is there a problem?"

"I was out on the balcony and she caught me walking a little too close to the edge of the railing," Vince said.

"I brought him back inside and he thought I was going to hurt him." Halgran said and Loki nodded.

"I guess I should have told you my children have had rough times growing up and have been victims of abuse," Loki said.

"How horrible."

"Yeah, but then Dad found us and adopted us," Vince said and she smiled.

"Anyway, Uncle Tony put some really cool gadgets in my chair," Nate said and showed her the robotic arm he uses to get things down off shelves. Loki watched his son showing off his wheelchair then went to help Vince get dressed and smiled.

Another part of the castle:

Jormungandr walked down the hallway when he saw Fenris and walked closer.

"What's up, Bro?" Jormungandr asked and Fenris arched an eyebrow.

"I hate it when you talk like that. It makes you sound so...mortal," Fenris said.

"What's wrong with that? Our adopted brothers and sisters are mortal."

"Yes," he said with an almost growl.

"Oh, I get it. You're in one of your moods," he said and Fenris scrunched up his nose.

"I'm not in a mood. I'm just not sure if I can trust them."

"Norns, when will you get over what they wrote about you?! Look at me. I'm supposed to be this large serpent who is either chasing his own tail or eating it. And I am supposed to bring about the end of everything,"

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"No, it doesn't."

"That's where we're different."

"Yeah. I know. And being like that is just going to keep you from enjoying getting to know them."

Fenris watched his brother walk away when he sighed and leaned against the wall.

That's easy for you to say, Jorgy, Fenris thought. You were never hunted in wolf from like a beast or shot with an arrow by mistake and nearly died of a collapsed lung before Healer Rhiannon saved you. His hand traced the two scars beneath his tunic just under the rib on his right breast. The scars are the only reminders of that black day when he was fourteen. Scars that Loki knew nothing about because Odin and Frigga forbade it, not wishing to cause their son pain since he could not return to Asgard at the time as his exile was not over.

After several minutes, the children were assembled in the hallway while Loki walked from Sam to Aleta and tried not to smile. He felt like the father from the Sound of Music as he placed his hands behind his back then looked at Halgran.

"I hope they weren't any trouble," Loki said.

"Well, there were a few glitches, but nothing we couldn't handle," she said then looked at the children. "Right, My Loves?"

"Yep," Sam said and the other kids nodded. Loki noticed Aleta was wearing her princess helmet as he shook his head, smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Then let's get going," Loki said when he saw Jormungandr walking closer.

"Hey Dad,"Jormungandr said.

"Hello Jorgy," he said and gave his son a hug,

Vince stared at his older brother. "Dude, you look like surfer!"

"I do like to surf," Jormungandr said with a wide grin.

"Cool! Can I see your board?!"

"Oh, man! Once Vince gets talking about surfing and skateboarding, we'll never get to eat," Hunter groaned.

"Come on, Vince. You can sit by Jorgy at dinner and chew his ear off," Loki told him. "Now let's head in for dinner before Hunter dies of starvation."

Jormungandr laughed as they walked down the hallway and headed for the main hall. The horns sounded after the large doors were opened and Loki felt a little shocked to see the room was filled with people. Both noble and peasant were invited to meet his children and Odin, sitting on his throne, gave Loki a nod.

"Whoa!" Hunter said and the other kids nodded.

"Looks like Granddad pulled out all the stops to make you feel welcome," Jorgy said.

"He really shouldn't have," Loki whispered. Frigga noticed he was upset as she gave his hand a squeeze and he smiled at her. They headed for the long table in front of the stairs to the throne as Loki saw Fenris sitting on the stairs near the archway to the balcony and Fenris barely nodded his head. Loki let go of Frigga's hand as she walked up the stairs to sit on the smaller throne when Loki and the boys except for Nate knelt down on one knee and the girls curtsied.

"Stand!" Odin said as they stood and he looked at the people gathered in the room. "Now that my whole family has arrived, let the banquet begin!"

Loki helped Aleta and Max sit on the booster chairs near his chair while Aleta placed her napkin on her lap and Max tucked the edge of the napkin in the top of his tunic. Loki shook his head as Max removed the napkin and placed the napkin on his lap. After the children were seated, Loki sat down when he saw Thor sitting with his friends and Thor raised his goblet in salute. Smiling, Loki raised his goblet then watched the servants bring in the first course and leaned back in the chair.

The first course was small fig, goat cheese, and almond appetizers. They were arranged in a circle upon the platter and each person was given two, except Thor who took four.

The fig was fresh and had a small indentation in the middle filled with goat cheese and an almond on top.

Aleta tapped Loki's arm. "Daddy, what's this?"

"It's a fig with cheese and an almond, spark," he told her. "Try it, it's good." Asgardian red figs were more flavorful than their Midgardian counterparts and Loki loved them. He demonstrated by picking up his fig and biting it. "See?"

Aleta picked hers up and looked at it skeptically. "Max, you try first."

Max picked up his fig and ate it. "Mmm! I like it!"

Aleta tried hers. "It is good!" She ate all hers and started on the second one. When it was all gone she looked mournfully at her plate. "Are there more?"

The server came around with another plate. "Would you like another, princess?"

"Yes, please," Aleta said.

The server gave them all another one.

The next appetizer was skewers of wild boar roasted with a sweet cherry barbecue sauce with pieces of cherries inbetween them. Loki ate his with relish and so did everyone else.

"I like this steak, Dad," Max said, his face shiny with grease.

"Max, it's not steak. It's pork." Loki told him. "But it's very good, isn't it?"

Max nodded happily.

"I like it too, Daddy," Aleta said.

The next course was a soup, a broccoli with sharp cheese, and Loki was pleased to see all his children eating it happily.

"I love broccoli cheese soup," Serena said to Lucy as she spooned some into her mouth.

After about fifteen minutes the main course was served. It was roasted pheasant rubbed with herbs and a chestnut stuffing with raisins. It was served with parslied beets and sweet potatoes and green beans. Yeast bread with honey butter was also served.

"This is so good!" Sam exclaimed, eating some of the pheasant. "What kind of chicken is this?"

"That's not chicken, Samantha," Thor told her. "It is pheasant."

"I love it!" the teenager enthused.

"Yeah! It's really good!" Hunter said with a mouthful of food.

"Eew, Hunter, eat with your mouth closed!" Belle said.

"Sorry," Hunter said and took a drink of fruit punch. Loki had told the servers not to give the children wine, but he was enjoying a sweet berry wine Odin had brought up from the wine cellars.

After the main course, the servants brought out some sweet berry tarts, some honey sponge cakes with fresh cream on the top and platters with berries and cheese.

"Oh wow! This berry tart is amazing!" Lucy said and Serena nodded.

"I like the cake," Aleta said with some cream on the tip of her nose.

"Hold still," Sam said as she used a napkin to wipe Aleta's nose and Aleta smiled.

Loki softly smiled while he watched Jorgy talking with Vince and Nate and Sam was talking with Sleipnir, who had changed into his human form. Loki glanced over at Fenris, who had been watching them throughout the feast, and he had hoped his son would have come and eat with his family.

"Daddy, do you think Fen would like some cake?" Max asked.

"He might," Loki said. He watched Max get up when Max asked one of the servants for a plate with the honey sponge then walked to Fenris. Fenris looked at Max as he walked closer then held out the plate and Fenris looked at the cake.

"Do you want some?" Max asked.

"Sure," Fenris said and took the plate.

"Ooooop! I forgot the fork!" Max said then went to get one. He returned as he sat down next to Fenris and handed him the fork. "Why are you sitting here all by yourself? Why don't you sit with us?"

"I'm not allowed," Fenris said.

"Why not?"

"I'm not a Royal, like you are, or one of the warriors."

"But you know Daddy."

"Yeah, but that's how things are," he said and was a little surprised when Max sat closer to him.

"Then I'm going to sit here, too."

"But, you're a prince."

"Nope. I'm Max!" he said with a grin and Fenris looked at Loki.

Loki gave him a small nod as Fenris smiled and started eating the cake.

"Did you see that?" Frigga asked as she glanced over at Fenris and Max and Odin looked over at them.

"Yes, I did," Odin said with a nod.

"Why does he feel he needs to be apart from his family?"

"He's like his father in that respect."

"True, but he is their brother."

"He will come around," Odin said when he heard Fenris laughing at something Max said and Odin took a sip of wine.

Max tugged on Fenris' sleeve. "Fen, what would happen if you came and sat with us?"

Nothing, his brother thought. But he made himself answer, "Nothing good for me. I would be thrown out of the hall for forgetting my place. Or worse, any noble could order me put in the stocks or whipped."

Max looked horrified. "But why?"

Fenris sighed. "Because what you were born matters here. It's how our society functions. Although four years ago it wasn't like this. Not as strict. But then the revolt happened. A bunch of commoners got together and started demanding things like better pay and fairer laws and they attacked some nobles they worked for and some people got hurt and killed and a castle was burned. The king sent in the army to put it down and arrested the ring leaders and then the Council passed new laws. Laws to teach the commoners their place."

Laws I hate, Fenris thought angrily. But for some reason Grandfather will not revoke them. Last time I tried to convince him to do so, he ordered me away and threatened to spank me. Granted I was only thirteen then but . . .He wondered whether his father knew about the changes in Asgard since his rebirth and vowed to tell him about them. It was why he tended to spend most of his time roaming the forests instead of here in the castle.

"But that isn't fair!" Max said.

"I know," Fenris said with a sigh.

"I'm going to tell Daddy. "

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "It will only get him in trouble."

"Well, it's still wrong," Max said with a pout. "If you want, you can be my brother. That will make you a Royal, too."

"You...? You want me to be your brother?"

"Yeah," Max said as he nudged him and Fenris smiled.

"Well then, Little Brother, want to go get some more cake?"

"Yeah!" Max grinned as they got up and went to get some more cake.

"Well, that is one down, eight to go," Loki thought as he watched Max and Fenris head for the table where the rest of the tarts, honey cakes, fruit and cheese had been placed and leaned back in his chair.

After the servants cleared away the dishes, Odin nodded and music filled the Great Hall. Loki recognized the song as all around started singing and some pounded their fists on the top of the tables.

"Whoa! That's loud!" Nate said.

"You should hear some of the other songs," Jorgy said. "My ears were ringing from the last feast."

"What are they singing about?" Vince asked.

"It's a song about Bors."

"Who is he?" Nate asked.

"He is our great-granddad."

"Oh," Vince said.

Fenris longed to cover his ears, the music hurt his sensitive eardrums. He also disliked the subject of the song, knowing from reading forbidden history texts in the archives that half of what the song claimed was false. Bors had not been a great ruler like the song claimed, but a tyrannical warlord. Yet all of the histories that spoke of that time had been banned or burned. Fenris had located the one book by chance-it had been hidden inside another one on hunting. He had known immediately that it was a forbidden book and had swapped out the cover of it with another on boring crop rotations, this way no one would know what he was really reading.

Max put his hands over his ears. "Oww! It's too loud!"

Fenris pulled the small boy against him. "Take your hands away, Little Brother. It's considered rude to do that."

"But my ears hurt," Max whimpered.

"Mine too," Fenris sighed. "Give me a minute." He took a cotton napkin and ripped it into small pieces, rolled them and stuck them in Max's ears. "How's that?"

"Better," sighed his brother. "What about you?"

"I will deal with it. They will see if I do it." He finger-combed Max's hair over his ears.

The song ended and a gentler aria began to play, this one about two lovers who met beneath an ash tree and fell in love, but were forced to part due to a feud between their families.

"I like this song better," Serena remarked. "It sounds pretty."

"What does it mean, Dad?" asked Sam.

Loki softly translated the song for his children, all except Belle, who already could understand the words.

"Are your dinners always like this?" Hunter asked Jorgy.

"No," he replied. "Usually we have our dinner in our private dining hall, just for the Royals. This is just Granddad's way of welcoming you to Asgard. We only do this on holidays and feasts after tournaments and state dinners."

"So not too often," Hunter clarified.

"Nope." Jorgy smiled.

"Can you show me some tricks on your board?" Vince asked.

"I can. You can swim, right?"

"Of course!" Vince said indignantly. "Dad made us all have repeat lessons at the Y."

'Good. So you won't drown," Jorgy joked. "Only kidding. Dad would make boots out of my hide if I ever let that happen."

The feast was winding down as the servants cleared the tables and Loki noticed Aleta was sleeping on Sam's lap. He glanced over at Max, but he was still chatting with Fenris, but Loki noticed Max was started to yawn. Loki rose from his chair as he walked over to his sons and Fenris looked at him.

"Looks like it's someone's bedtime," Loki said as he leaned over and picked Max up.

"I'm not sleepy, Daddy," Max said, placing his cheek against Loki's shoulder and half closed his eyes.

Fenris remembered a few times he said the same thing at Max' age, but Loki never really believed him and he would end up falling asleep before they made it to the nursery.

"Then why are your eyes closing?" Loki teased.

"Just...resting them."

Max made a soft sigh as he drifted off to sleep and Loki smiled at Fenris.

"Do you want me to take him?" Fenris asked.

"No, but you can accompany us to the nursery," Loki said while Sam walked over and he saw Aleta was also asleep.

"Max's asleep, too?" Sam asked.

"Looks like," Loki said as he turned and looked back at the other children. Nate and Lucy were yawning, but the rest of them were talking with Jorgy, Frigga or Odin and Hunter was watching Thor challenging Sif to an arm wrestling contest.

"Oh! Look at those little darlings!" Halgran said as she walked closer and Loki smiled. "Have they worn themselves out?"

"Looks like. We were going to take them to the nursery," Loki said.

"Norns, let me have them and you go enjoy yourself," she said then took Aleta and Max from Sam and Fenris and walked away.

"Is she always like that?" Sam asked with a laugh.

"Yes, she is," Loki said with a nod.

By the time the others have left and Halgran had taken the children to their rooms, Loki was alone in the Grand Hall and was standing on the balcony. He watched the dark stars twinkling in the night sky and the cool breeze moved through his hair.

He felt the night calling him when he checked to see if anyone was around and shifted into his owl form.

Loki took wing as he flew into the dark sky and enjoyed the wind moving through his feathers. He watched the ground moving below him when he saw a gray and silver furred wolf running by the trees and Loki flew down, landing on a branch. He recognized who the wolf was as he moved his head side to side, flew down to the ground and shifted into wolf form.

Fenris dipped his head respectfully as he saw Loki coming. "Hello, Father."

"Hello, Beta," Loki greeted his son, gently nuzzling him, his tail held high in the dominant Alpha position.

Fenris put his ears back slightly and licked Loki under the chin, which was how a wolf greeted his Alpha.

The silver and gray wolf bounded ahead of his father. "It is a wonderful night to run."

"It is," Loki agreed, his midnight coat blending perfectly with the shadows. "Let's go!" He sprinted through the trees and Fenris raced with him, his tongue hanging out.

The two wolves raced each other through the trees, their gait smooth and powerful. Loki saw with pride that his son was nearly as big as he was, though slenderer in the chest and shoulders.

"Are you glad to be back, Father?" Fenris asked when they paused in a clearing.

"I am glad to see my family again," Loki said. "And to have you meet your siblings. You seemed to be getting along well with Max."

"He reminds me of you," Fenris said.

"A lot of people say that."

"Are you sure he's adopted?"

"Yes, he's adopted."

"Hmmm...," Fenris said with a nod. He didn't want to tell his father that Max's scent almost matched Loki's and shook his head.

"What were you talking about?" Loki asked and Fenris looked at him.

"He wanted to know why I wasn't eating with the rest of you and I explained it wouldn't be proper due to me not being a Royal."

"You are a Royal," Loki said with a small growl.

"I know, but they don't."

"And Granddad doesn't treat me like one," Fenris thought.

"What else did you talk about?"

Fenris knew he couldn't lie to Loki, so instead he avoided mentioning the topic he had discussed with Max first, instead saying, "Max told me he wishes me to be his brother so I could sit with you. I agreed. Then we both complained about how our ears hurt when the music began to play and I ripped up a napkin and stuffed his ears with it to muffle the noise."

Loki laughed in wolf fashion. "That's pretty clever, Fenris. Are you sure you want to continue this charade?"

"Yes, Father. I want them to get to know me and I get to know them first."

"As you wish," Loki said when he spotted two rabbits near a bush and nodded his head. Fenris went down in a hunting stance as they stalked the rabbits then broke out into a run. Fenris wasn't sure if they were hunting or playing until he watched Loki move off in a different direction from the rabbit he was chasing and the rabbit vanished down the nearby hole. Fenris chased the rabbit he was chasing around a tree then moved off as the rabbit dived into the other hole and he came to a full stop.

"That was fun," Loki said as he padded over to him and sat on the ground.

"I wasn't sure if we were playing or hunting," Fenris said.

"Neither did the rabbits," Loki said and Fenris barked a laugh.

"I have missed this," Fenris said as he nudged Loki and Loki nodded. Being away from his other children hurt, but he knew Midgard would not be safe for them and he watched Fenris stretch out on the ground. In the moonlight, it was easy for them to see each other, but seeing the difference in the chest area of his son's fur sparked an uneasy feeling.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, I just noticed there is something wrong here," Loki said and nuzzled his nose into Fenris' chest. Even though it tickled, Fenris knew he couldn't lie and he sighed, rolling over onto his back.

Loki nuzzled the area by his right rib where two circular scars with barely any fur were. "What's this?"

"I got hurt," he said and Loki's eyes went wide.

"What happened?!"

"I was... I was shot with an arrow."

"When did this happen!?"

"It was when you were still in exile. I was hunting and someone shot me by accident."

Loki felt his blood boiling as he growled and Fenris whimpered.

"Did they find who did it?"

"Yes," he said with a nod.

"Tell me the rest," Loki said, looking up at the dark sky as he tried to calm down.

"I barely made it back to the palace. My right lung had collapsed and I would have died if Rhiannon hadn't saved me."

"How old were you?"

"I was fourteen."

Guilt moved through Loki as he sighed and Fenris sat up, licking Loki's chin.

"Why wasn't I told?"

"What could you have done? Like I said, you were in exile."

Loki knew he was right. There was nothing he could have done, but not being there for his son still hurt.

"I just hate the idea of any of my children being hurt or ill."

"Well, I'm still here to tell the tale. That must mean something," Fenris said and Loki softly laughed.

"True," Loki said then looked up at the moon. "Well, it is getting late. I need to get back to check on your brothers and sisters."

"I'll go back with you...," he said then paused. "If you want."

"Yes, I would like that!"

With a happy bark, Fenris walked by his father's side and they headed into the forest.

"You still have your rooms in the palace, right?" Loki asked as they trotted back to the castle.

"Yes. But they haven't been used in a month or so. Lately I've preferred the forest," his son answered.

"You can sleep in my rooms for tonight and let the maids clean yours tomorrow," Loki told him.

"On the couch," Fenris replied. "I'm not Max's age anymore to sleep in your bed."

"I'll give you a pillow and a blanket," Loki said easily. "And you can borrow some pajamas from me. They should fit, though you might have to roll up the pants a bit."

"I can just sleep in my clothes. You don't need to go through all this trouble," the younger wolf protested.

"Fenris," Loki said firmly.

"Yes, sir," he dipped his head in acquiescence then followed his father back home.

A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter! Sorry it took so long to post but I've been busy with taking care of my elderly father who had metastasized prostate cancer. Reviews are always welcome so I know you are still reading, or follow this story so you don't miss an update! Thanks to ninewood-you know why.