Family
At the sound of growling Legolas urged Arod into the open, the war horse reared at seeing so many wargs, fifteen he counted a second later. That was also when he saw a bald, eight-foot tall, jotun in a black, silver-hemmed kilt and gauntlets. 'Fenrir, Loki's son, no doubt.'
Loki, Merry and Pippin all said simultaneously, "Legolas !"
He laughed as Loki pulled him off Arod, his laughter cut-off by a deep kiss before he ran his hands through Loki's hair. Eventually, he pulled away, mostly it was because Fenrir rumbled, "Better then Thor the Thunder Idiot.", and he couldn't help laughing, nor could Loki.
Thor growled back, "You dare to insult me, Jotun !", as he stalked to glare up at Fenrir, reaching for Mjolnir.
As soon as Thor did that Loki had already knocked him over and roared, "Do not dare to pull Mjolnir on my son, Thor ! Fenrir, apologize. Now."
Ice swept out from Fenrir and it started freezing the lake around Orthanc, "Why should I, Father ?! This Asgardian fool is the reason you are here. He let his friends insult you and did nothing to stop it ! He tried to kill you ! Just because you wanted Grandfather Odin's approval and he didn't like being shoved aside for even a second. Not to mention all the times he let the others leave you to die ! At least, the Alf is worthy of your love and devotion, Father, better one of the accepting Alfar than an arrogant Asgardian."
Debated as Thor pushed himself up whether to put himself into the way with Loki, then walked to stand beside his first love. Boromir, Aragorn and the others were staring at the argument, while Vanafin was staring at Fenrir's ice.
It looked like Thor was grinding teeth as the Asgardian Prince replied, "I didn't know they were insulting him or leaving him to die. Sif said he just illusioned himself to escape enemy notice, if I had known she was lying I never would have left him behind, never ! As for trying to kill Loki, I had an over-reaction because he was trying to kill my Midgardian friends and when he disappeared I regretted it for the last two years. No matter how many times Mother told me to keep looking, a small part of my mind always that he was dead...that I would never be able to tell him what he really meant to me." Thor took a few steps forward to cup Loki's cheek, "Let Fenrir hate me if he will, but I love you, Loki. Legolas might not see how much you have changed, but I have seen you change remarkably and all for the better."
Almost he felt like laughing again as Loki looked confused, obviously trying to sort out what Thor had said, before Thor looked exasperated and pulled the jotun into a kiss.
He heard Thor's soft mumur of, "You still think too much, but if you didn't I would be dead ten thousand times over by now.", when they stopped and Loki still looked baffled.
His gaze drifted to Gandalf, Frigga and Boromir all of whom smiled, Aragorn who looked disappointed and Theoden, Eomer and Erkenbrand who looked slightly uncomfortable and wary. Vanafin had wandered through the wargs, past Merry and Pippin to get a closer look at Fenrir's ice.
To his senses the ground shook slightly as Fenrir walked over to in his turn look at Vanafin. Vanafin jumped when Fenrir asked, "Who be's you, little one ?"
The second son of Laufin responded proudly, "I am Vanafin, son of Laufin, son of Leofa called Laufey."
Gandalf led most of the others a bit away, then Loki chuckled and he followed the jotun over to Vanafin, "I am Loki Laufeyson, Bergelmirson. I who would have been Prince of Jotunheim had he not abandoned me to a potentially long and painful death. Your father Laufin is my half-brother and you Vanafin Laufinson are my half brother-son. This is my oldest son, Fenrir Vargfaethir."
'Fenrir is the father of Yggdrasil's wargs ? Is that why all these wargs are here ?'
Vanafin raised his eyebrows as he turned from the thick ice to look at Loki, "How can I be related to you besides that strange magic ? You hardly look like me at all." Vanafin's tone suggested he was caught half way in between anger, disbelief and slight fear.
Frigga and Thor couldn't contain their laughter. Frigga replied, "Loki show him if you will, what you used to look like for the last one thousand, three-hundred and ninety-eight years before you came here."
'He's one thousand four-hundred years old ? So, Angrboetha had Fenrir when Loki was one thousand one-hundred years old. That means Fenrir is, at least, three hundred years old and I'm, approximately, two hundred years older than him.'
He watched as Loki moved to stand beside Vanafin and shifted into his Asgardian-form, emerald-green eyes glowed in stark-contrast to the pale-skin and long black-hair. 'Doesn't he look gorgeous ?'
Thor's arm slid around his waist and he leaned against the Asgardian, Thor said, "Compare yourself to him, friend Vanafin, you do indeed look like him."
Vanafin did so, then looked at himself and Thor for comparison before nodding still in disbelief. "Loki, how then can you look so young if you are so much older than my father ?"
"I am a full-blooded jotun, a frost-giant, as is Fenrir, our lives span thousands of years. Obviously, this is not fully so for half-jotun's. Whereas you are very young to me, I am very young to many Asgardians, much less the oldest of Jotnar who knew my Great-great Grandfather Ymir when he lived. Have you summoned the ice before Vanafin ?"
As the boy looked confused, he answered, "He did, Loki, when his older brother Morfin was thrown off the Deeping Wall in our battle against the orcs and uruks at Helm's Deep last night."
Loki laughed, "I thought that was you last night, Thor, it was incredibly bright. I hardly got any sleep, but you all are alive, so I think that I can forgive you my rough night, loves. For you, Vanafin, like Fenrir and I did, you need to learn to control your ice magic."
Suddenly, Gandalf stated sharply, "Pippin, be a good lad and give me that, quickly, now, quickly. We must take it to Minas Terith, will yourself and Loki be accompanying Pippin and myself, Boromir ?"
Loki's appearance shifted back to his jotun-form and those red-eyes looked sad. 'We just barely see him again and now he's going to leave already ? Well, he did promise Boromir to go with him to Gondor.'
Saw that Gandalf had just covered something in his white-robes as Boromir said, "Fenrir, Legolas and Thor may come with, can they not ? They only just barely found Loki after years in Fenrir's case or weeks, in Legolas and Thor's case away. It wouldn't be fair to keep them from each other, now. Also, it sounds as if Vanafin should come with as well, if you agree Theoden, only so that he doesn't almost kill someone, like Loki did with that Glam elf."
Theoden called, "We will be safe without the son of Laufin though we will miss him while he is gone. Good-luck in Gondor, my friends."
With those words, the five of them made their way over to Gandalf, Pippin and Boromir. It was discussed then that Aragorn, Frigga, Gimli and Merry would be staying with Eomer, Théoden and Erkenbrand in Rohan for a few days before joining them in Gondor.
'Minas Terith is four days ride from here. Well, I suppose Thor, Loki and I do need quite a bit of time to catch up considering all the things that have happened. Loki and Fenrir can teach Vanafin whenever we stop to eat or some such.'
