Amund is clutching his throat, staring at Loki with a distressed look on his face. Every time he opens his mouth, only a loud yell escapes, with no articulation. Sigyn is so startled by the sound that she comes to the room to find out what's going on, and opens the door.
Amund's face is quickly being covered in tears, odd for a man who hasn't cried in many years. He is not as easily emotionally stirred as Narvi is. He looks at Sigyn with desperation that something is terribly wrong.
"Loki, what is happening?"
"I don't know, Sigyn. I'm just trying to give the boy back his voice!" Loki is equally concerned at this reaction. Amund cannot help but open his mouth as he sobs, only bringing more distress into the room. Loki hates to see the elf like this, and holds up his hands to reverse the spell.
The elf stands and grabs them instead, shaking his head no. He closes his mouth, stopping the sound for the most part. Sigyn goes to him, and takes Amund in her arms.
"Oh, Amund. I'm so sorry. I know you're out of practice." She knows just what to say, even with a man who is essentially a stranger. But the elf weeps on Sigyn's shoulder, desperate to have someone close to him now. Loki stands and pats him on the back.
"Come, Amund. We have to keep trying until you can speak properly."
It is quite a scene, with the daring Sigyn between two tall men clad in black; they almost look like opposing twins, with Loki's dark features countering the light and soft edges of Amund's face. The elf nods at Loki, and gestures once more before embracing the father of Narvi:
"Thank you."
...
Narvi and Vali spend two days in Asgard's palace halls, talking about all that they missed from one another. The two of them will always have an inseparable bond; Vali confesses to Narvi that it was a memory of him that finally led to his first kiss with Rigs. Vali says that without Narvi, he might never have had the courage to say something to her. He cannot echo the sentiment, as Narvi only had himself to rely on for matters of the heart back home. But he is appreciative of Vali's compliment.
Today, Vali is going to introduce Narvi to his beloved Ragfrieda. She is heavy with child, but not due to give birth until sometime in the next two months. Rigs has been healthy for the most part, though the pregnancy has caused her to become weaker than expected; Grid has come to her aid many times, and ordered the girl to stay in bed. At least they know, from the power of her brother, the Seer, that they are expecting a daughter.
Vali is proud to be on the cusp of fatherhood. He does not know what to expect from his daughter, especially considering the fact that he is so pale in comparison to Rigs; he expects that the girl will be beautiful as his wife is, but worries that his Jotun blood might pass on something less than flattering. Narvi offers words of comfort, but has no idea either. They must have faith that Vali's children will be all he can hope they will be.
Rigs is exuberant to meet Narvi, having heard so much about his miraculous return from the dead in recent weeks. She hugs him close to her, only interrupted by the enormous belly that separates them, and welcomes him whole-heartedly into their home.
"Narvi, it is my pleasure to finally meet you. I have heard stories of you since I was but a child. Please, come and sit with us..." Rigs says, but at the end her inflection drops, and she places her arm across her belly.
"Rigs, are you alright?" Vali asks, alarmed.
"Yes, Vali, don't trouble yourself, she's just a little excited to meet our guest as well." She smiles at Narvi, who still is not very familiar with the customs of the realm. He doesn't know if it is appropriate to touch her belly or not. There have been several births on Einheim, and even since he was very young, Narvi had to be present at many of them to make sure there were no tragedies. The only healer in the realm rarely gets to sleep when children are expected.
"It pleases me to see my brother with such a beauty," Narvi says, kissing Rigs' hand. She blushes somewhat. He knows how to flatter with the best of them, though his compliment is genuine.
"May I?" Narvi asks, holding his hand above the enormous bump that is Rigs' belly. She smiles.
"Of course you may, you are family!" She takes Narvi's hand and places it gently over her womb. He closes his eyes. They stand in silence for a few minutes.
"Ahh, very good." Narvi says.
"Can you feel her kicking?" Vali asks, having felt it himself several times.
"No...I can see the child; she is healthy. She is dark, like her mother, but has much of your nature, Vali. She doesn't like to bother anyone more than necessary. She is a quiet child."
Rigs and Vali hold one another's hands and stare in awe at Narvi's ability to see. He isn't watching them, focused instead on the vision he has of the baby.
"What else do you see, Narvi?" Vali asks with such curiosity, one would think he was still a child himself.
"I can't spoil it for you, Vali, that's for you to find out!" Narvi smiles at them. He drums his fingers on Rigs' belly and can feel the baby move in response.
"Hmm..." he says, smiling. "What a beautiful name."
"She told you her name?" Rigs asks, terribly curious.
"Oh yes. But that is for her to tell you, not me."