"Come with me to the training fields, Brother." Thor said, clapping Loki on the shoulder. "It has been a while since you have joined our friends and I."
"I know." Loki replied. "I've been busy."
"You mean you've been getting busy with your wife." Thor replied, winking at his little brother.
Loki shot Thor a glare. "Why must you be so vulgar?"
Thor just laughed. "I am not the one spending so much time locked up in the bedroom."
"Do you wish me to come with you or not?" Loki asked, wanting to get off of this subject. For one thing, the things Loki and Ava did in private were none of his brother's business. For another, it only made him miss Ava more. And she's only been gone a few hours. Loki thought to himself.
"Does that mean you will go?" Thor asked.
"Of you shut up about what my wife and I do in the privacy of our chambers then, yes." Loki answered.
The two brothers then headed to the training fields where their friends were awaiting them. "Do my eyes deceive me or is that Loki? I haven't seen him in ages, I can't be sure." Fandral quipped.
"Haha, Fandral." Loki replied unamused.
"What happen, the missus get tired of your tricks already?" Volstagg teased.
Loki glared at the large man. "You might not want to mention Ava right now." Thor said.
"Oh, so she is tired of his tricks already?" Fandral asked, a teasing and yet somehow satisfied smile on his face.
"Why don't we change the subject?" Sif suggested. "Like, do either of you know who Queen Skuld chose to return to her island with her?"
"She chose Ava." Loki answered.
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "But…but she's not even a warrior." Sif said in disbelief.
"I know this…Ava knows this…and Skuld knows this." Loki replied. "And yet she still chose my wife."
"It is not the first time she has chosen a none warrior." Hogun spoke up breaking his usual silence.
"Yes, she chose our mother once before." Loki said with a sigh.
"And Mother has always said that it turned out for the best." Thor added, trying to make Loki feel better.
Loki knew that this was true, but Ava wasn't like his mother. She was just a bit more delicate and reserved than their mother was. She might be a bit less delicate had it not been for her father.
"Come on, let's get to sparing." Fandral said. "I think with Loki distracted I might be able to beat him for a change."
Loki looked up at Fandral. "You will not beat me."
Fandral grinned. "There's the Loki I know."
The two friends then took their stances, drawing their swords. Fandral grinned at Loki as he charged forward. Loki easily blocked his attack. "You know that is never going to work." Loki said, as he pushed Fandral away.
"Yes, well, I have to make sure you have your game on." Fandral replied.
They fought a little while longer, Loki defeating Fandral as easily as he always had. Loki found the sparing a distraction to keep him from thinking about Ava too much. Of course, later that night when he went to bed alone, there was nothing to distract him then. He had a hard time getting to sleep without his wife in his arms. This is going to be a long night.
Ava…
After breakfast, Skuld led all of the women out of the castle and to the fields outside. The more experienced Valkyries passed out long wooden staffs to the women. Ava looked around her, following the example of the other women around her and holding her staff as they did. The simple weapon felt huge, heavy, and awkward in her hands, but she did her best to hide it.
"Alright ladies, we shall begin the exercises before we pair off and spar." Skuld instructed. She then began to lead the group of women through the various moves and exercises that they could perform with the staff.
Ava did her best following the movements of everyone around her, but it was incredibly difficult. The staff just didn't feel right in her hands. No weapon will feel right in my hands. I am not a warrior. Ava thought to herself as she fumbled through the movements. She was already feeling her arms and shoulders ache with the effort of moving the staff around. After about thirty minutes of this, Skuld called an end to the exercise.
"Alright, everyone pair up…Ava, you are with me as I will teach you since this is your first day." Skuld instructed.
"Yes, my queen." Ava replied, automatically. She then followed Skuld over to an area where they would not risk getting in anyone else's way.
Skuld led Ava through the poses a few more times, helping her to get the movements right. "Alright, I am sure you have the pattern memorized?" Skuld asked.
Ava nodded. "Yes."
"Go through the movements again without the aid of my example." Skuld instructed.
Ava nodded and did her best. She followed the pattern exactly, but ended up dropping her staff a few times and fumbling on her feet. Skuld came up behind her. She placed a foot between Ava's and kicked them wider apart. "You must widen your stance. You have your feet too close together, which makes you unstable."
"Okay." Ava said, starting to feel more stable with her feet farther apart.
"And you must think of your staff or any weapon as an extension of yourself." Skuld told her. "It is but another part of your body." She then gave Ava a few more instructions, which helped her greatly, though she was still feeling a bit awkward.
"Alright, now let us try sparing." Skuld told her. "I will go easy on you since this is your first time."
Ava was getting herself ready, when Skuld came at her, her staff raised. Ava let out a yelp as she lifted her staff to block the attack. While she was able to block the attack, the force from Skuld's advance was enough to knock her down on her backside. Ava looked up as Skuld was getting ready to come after her and land a blow on her with her staff. Ava quickly rolled out of the way and pushed herself up on the ground.
Ava spent the next half hour doing her best to block Skuld's advances and ending up landing on her backside or knees. Sweat coated Ava's body and was threatening to drip from her forehead into her eyes. She wasn't used to all of this activity. She had a feeling she was going to be bruised by the time this was all over. Finally Skuld managed to knock the staff from Ava's hands as well as knock Ava to the ground.
"You are disarmed, which means this match is over." Skuld said. "You did well, though, Ava." She offered Ava her hand.
Ava took it and allowed Skuld to help her up. "Yes, for getting my butt kicked."
Skuld chuckled. "You will get better. This was after all your first match."
"And that was going easy on me?" Ava asked, looking up at the woman.
A smiled tugged at the corners of Skuld's mouth. "It was." She was then holding out a canteen of water to Ava. "Here drink and rest for a few moments."
"Thank you." Ava said, taking a seat on a rock.
Skuld sat down beside her. "You will get the hang of this." She said, placing a reassuring hand on Ava's shoulder.
"I will try." Ava replied.
After a few moments of rest, they were up and at it again. They spent until lunch time sparing. Ava didn't feel like she was improving any, but as Skuld kept kindly reminding her, she was doing well for her first day. It was finally lunch time, but instead of dining in the castle at the round table, they ate lunch out on the lush grass of the training field.
Afterwards, there was more sparing and training. All of which, left Ava feeling so incredibly sore, tired, and bruised. "Training is over for the day." Skuld announced. "Everyone clean up and then we shall have dinner."
Irene found Ava once again. "How are you feeling?" Irene asked.
"Sore, tired, and bruised." Ava confessed. "I don't know how I'll ever get through this."
"You will get the hang of it." Irene encouraged. "And I am sure that a dip in the hot spring and getting cleaned up will help you feel better."
Ava didn't say anything to that. She still wasn't sure about this group bathing thing. She and Loki hadn't even bathed together. She then went to her room and grabbed her towel, which was in the wardrobe. She stripped herself of her clothes and wrapped the towel around her. She then walked out into the hall and found all of the other women doing the same thing.
Ava fell in line and followed them out to the building that housed the natural hot spring. She made sure, of course, she was the last one inside. She really wasn't looking forward to this. She walked inside the room which had candles lit everywhere, letting in the room have some soft lighting. There were hooks on one wall, where the other women took and hung their towels before climbing into the water.
Ava felt completely self-conscious about her body. The other women didn't seem to think of this as that big of a deal. She watched as they played in the water, talked, and even helped each other wash their backs and hair. "You have nothing to worry about here." Skuld said, coming up beside Ava and removing her own towel and hanging it up. She then walked into the water. She turned around once the water was at her waist. "Come on now. You can't come to dinner covered in sweat and dirt."
Ava sighed and removed her towel hanging it up. She then wrapped her arms around her body, trying to cover herself. She walked into the water and ducked down so that the water covered her nakedness. "Ava, you really have nothing to hide here. We are all women and we are all equal here." Skuld told her. "Now come here and I'll help you wash your back and hair."
Ava slowly walked over to the woman and turned her back to her. Skuld dunked Ava's head under the water, wetting her hair. She then grabbed a bottle of a liquid that was sitting along a ledge. She put some in her hands and began to massage it into Ava's scalp. Ava did have to admit that the warm water and Skuld's gentle fingers massaging her head did help her relax a bit. Once she had finished, Skuld was dunking Ava's head under the water once again, rinsing the soap from her hair.
Once that was taken care of Skuld, then grabbed a different soap and squirted some in her hands. She then began to massage it into Ava's shoulders. "You're going to have to stand up straight so that I can get the rest of your back." Skuld told her.
Ava suppressed a sigh as she rose from her crouched position. She crossed her arms back over her chest once again, making Skuld chuckle. She then began to wash Ava's back. "We'll get some ice for your bruises later." Skuld said.
"My back must already be covered." Ava said.
"It's alright." Skuld said, her voice taking on a tender motherly tone. Her hands moved gently over Ava's bruised back, tenderly massaging her sore muscles. "You will learn."
After finishing the bath, all of the women dried off and returned to their rooms to get changed. Ava was surprised when her clothes were already cleaned and laying there for her. She dressed and then headed to dinner. Once the dinner was over, Ava returned to her room and dressed for bed, wrapping herself in Loki's tunic having brought it with her.
Ava crawled under the covers feeling completely exhausted from the day. She missed Loki and felt beaten down by the hard training. She ended up falling into a deep and dreamless sleep too tired to dream.
