The days went on and Loki began to adjust to life on Asgard. The friendship between he and thor only grew stronger. Frigga started to teach him to read Asgardian, and he loved every minute of it. His nightmares began to die down after the second week, after Odin came back and assured him that his brother did not want him back. After that, Loki was more carefree than he had ever been.
He found that he loved living with Frigga and her family. It was as if he had discovered what a family was. Odin and Frigga never yelled at he and Thor, or each other. It was peaceful.
The weeks passed and he felt as though he had always lived in Asgard. The cold of Jotunheim was like a long-lost bad dream. Things began to fall into a routine. Every morning, he and Thor woke up to find breakfast made for them, then would study with Frigga. After studying reading and mathematics, Frigga taught him magic while Thor watched intently.
Loki was so tired after practicing his spells that he would have to eat again, then he would go with Frigga and Thor for a riding lesson. He found that he like horses very much, and that riding was quite relaxing.
At the end of the day, Frigga would make dinner. Loki found it odd that she would cook when she had servants to do it for her, but her food was always delicious. Loki and Thor would often help her with the cooking. "Why do we have to learn how to cook, anyway?" asked Thor one day. "So you can appriciate what the servants do for us," Frigga answered.
Loki enjoyed cooking much more than Thor did, it seemed. He felt as though he needed to help Frigga after all she had done for him. Even dinner fell into a sort of routine. Loki and Thor would help Frigga with the cooking, Odin would come home most nights, and then the boys would set the table.
After about three weeks, Loki had gotten accustomed to this along with everything else. Though one day, he broke the routine. "Here," said Frigga, handing him a stack of plates, "take these to the table." Loki took the plates and set off for the table. "Yes, Mother," he said it without even thinking.
He froze and tensed up. Should he have called her that? After all, she wasn't his real mother. As he froze, he could feel the plates slipping through his fingers, but could do nothing to stop them. They shattered on the ground with a clatter. "Loki!" exclaimed Frigga. He ducked, bracing for impact.
"What happened, are you all right?" asked Frigga worriedly. "I'm sorry," said Loki. "Nevermind that," said Frigga, "are you hurt, did you get cut?" He shook his head. "All right, then," she said, patting him on the back. With a wave of her hand, the plates fixed themselves and flew onto the table.
Odin stuck his head through the door. "Is everything all right?" he asked. Frigga nodded. "Perfectly fine," she replied, "our sons are just a little clumsy tonight." Loki couldn't contain his smile. Had she just called him her son? He was in good spirits for the rest of the night. From then on, he addressed Frigga as 'Mother'.
It was also the third week when Thor began asking him questions about Jotunheim. They were in Frigga's garden, in a little pocket in a thicket of bushes that Thor used as a playhouse. They'd taken refuge there in search of shade, their playing had made Loki hot. After a few minutes of resting, Thor finally got up his courage.
"So," he said, "Mother said you were from Jotunheim." Loki nodded. "But you don't look like a Jotun," he continued. "Before I came here, Mother put a spell on me so I would look like an Aseir, but I can change back whenever I want to," Loki answered.
Thor's eyes widened in fascination. "Can you do it right now?" he asked. Loki bit his lip. "Umm, Mother told me not to do it unless she said I could," he said nervously. "But you can trust me," replied Thor, "I won't even tell anyone you can do it."
Loki looked at the ground, then back at Thor. "Alright," he said, taking a deep breath, "just give me a few seconds." He closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt a chill run over his body and he opened his eyes. Thor looked at him in amazement. "Wow," he breathed. Loki looked down at his arm. It had returned to its original blue color.
It felt like ages since he had last worn his true form. "Your eyes.." Thor's voice trailed off. Loki lowered his head. "They're scary, I know," he said guiltily. "They're amazing!" exclaimed Thor. Loki's head snappped up. "Really?" he asked. Thor nodded enthusiastically. Loki couldn't help but smile, revealing those jagged Jotun teeth.
"Woah!" exclaimed Thor. "Your teeth! That's amazing!" Loki's smile widened. "Thank you," he said meekly. He looked through the bushes and saw some people approaching. Quickly, he switched back to his Aseir form. Thor peered through as well and beamed. "My friends are here!" he excalimed. "You should come meet them!"
Loki's eyes darted back to the grass. "Uhh, I don't think I should," he said. "Why not?" asked Thor. Loki chewed on his lip. "I don't think they'll like me," he said. Thor tilted his head to one side like a confused puppy. "Why wouldn't they like you? I like you," he said.
"Because I'm a Jotun," Loki said quietly, pulling his knees up to his chest, "I've started reading books now that I know more. All of the stories I've read so far are about Aseir killing Jotuns. If they find out, they might hate me."
"I don't think they'll hate you," said Thor, "but I won't tell them all the same, and if they do find out, and they do hate you, then who cares?" Loki shifted in the grass. "I thought you might care, they're your friends," he said.
Thor shook his head. "If they hate you, then they're not my friends anymore. They're just friends, we're brothers," he said proudly. Loki just stared at him, mouth agape. "You mean that?" he asked in awe. Thor nodded. "Of course! Mother adopted you, that makes you my brother, so we stick together," he explained.
Loki broke out into a wide, toothy grin. "Thank you," he said quietly. Thor returned the smile. "Come on," he said, "let's go meet my friends!" Thor crawled out of the bush and Loki reluctanly followed. "Hey!" Thor called to his friends. "Wait a minute!"
A boy with wavy blond hair whirled around and met them with a smile. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "We've been looking all over for you!" The boy was accompanied by a group of other children; a boy with black hair who really didn't seem that keen on being there, a boy who looked to be a few years older than the others, and one girl with black braids.
The girl gave Loki a good once-over. "Who is this?" she asked. "This is Loki," explained Thor, "my new brother," he said proudly. The other children looked at them curiously. The blond boy tilted his head. "Did I hear you right?" he asked. Thor nodded. "Mother and Father adopted him, he's an orphan from...the northern hills," he added, careful not to let Loki's secret slip.
The oldest boy, who sported brown locks that almost covered his eyes, was the first to speak up. "Welcome, Loki!" he said, clapping Loki on the back. Loki greeted him with a nervous smile. "Any friend of Thor's is a friend of ours!" said the blond boy cheerfully. One by one, they introduced themselves. The blond went first. "I am Fandrall," he said.
"I am Hogun," said the gloomy black-haired boy.
"And I am Volstagg," said the older boy with a grin.
"My name is Sif," said the girl.
The childern played hide-and-seek in the garden. Volstagg played the seeker, after complaining that he was really too old for this sort of thing, but a stern look from Sif convinced him otherwise.
Loki was an exceptional hider, after all, he'd had lots of practice. He found a tree with low branches and quickly clambered up. After almost an hour, everyone had been found but Loki. He made sure he was quiet as a mouse when he watched them walk under his tree.
"Loki?" called Thor. "The game is over, you won. Where are you?" He was standing right under him. "Where are you?" he asked again. Loki broke out in a fit of giggles. "Up here!" he said breathlessly. The children craned their necks upward.
"You were up there the whole time!?" exclaimed Volstagg. "I must be a simpleton!" Loki grinned down at his new companions. "Can you get down?" asked Thor. Loki nodded. "Sure!"
Carefully, the boy shimmied down the tree and jumped off the lowest limb, landing on his feet like a cat. "I'm impressed," remarked Sif, "you should play with us more often." Loki thought he must have been grinning like a fool, but he did not care.
"Boys!" Frigga called from the other side of the garden. "Come in, it's almost time for supper!" "Coming, Mother!" Thor shouted in return.
"I suppose this is goodbye, then," said Fandral, "it was very nice to meet you, Loki."
"Yes, I hope we see each other more often," added Volstagg.
Hogun nodded. "Yes, nice to meet you," he said.
The boys began to file out of the garden. "It was nice to meet you, Loki," said Sif, "you're a good hider."
"Thanks!" exclaimed Loki. He hadn't been sure as to wether Sif or Hogunn liked him. "Do you think they liked me?" he asked Thor nervously as they made thier way home.
Thor nodded with a smile. "Yes," he replied, "I think so."
"Even Sif and Hogun?" asked Loki
"Hogun always appears more unimpressed than he is," explained Thor, "and Sif hardly ever lets on that she likes someone, but yes, I think they like you."
Loki was spilling over with joy. He had just made friends! Thor looked over at his brother. He was doing quite well for himself on Asgard.
