Thor and his group had been dressing, fighting, eating and just generally living as Jotuns for some time now.
The experiment was not exactly the same as Loki's experience since they were adults, they knew they were Aesir and they each had a Jotun handler, but there was some progress, the Aesir no longer glared at the Jotun, and the Jotun had learned some respect for the Aesir fighting skills.
The warrior maid and her partner seemed to be doing especially well. They had started off the worst, she fought hard and he held his own against the precise but tiny woman. You were actually impressed at how she was often able to dominate him, both when physically sparring and in their conversations. They both seemed to enjoy the challenge that the other brought.
The smallest Aesir with light hair was the worst. He seemed seemed to be constantly in some sort of heat and the Jotun women found him repulsive. It was amusing to see his partner knock him down repeatedly. He probably should have had a male partner. You would have to ask Loki how long Aesir heats lasted. The man seemed to have been in that state as long as he had been here and it was getting really old, he seemed to have no discretion.
Helblindi King did decide that having ten warriors arguing during each of his meals was just too much noise for the royal dining room. Even though it was usually friendly it got rowdy sometimes. So the warriors, except for Thor and his handler, were put in a separate dining room.
Kolga was somewhat starstruck to be at the same table as her King and her beloved General so she usually stayed quiet unless Thor did something that needed correction, which happened very rarely any more. The Aesir prince was smarter that he appeared most of the time.
You started bringing your new apprentice with you as well, you figured Jaxarna should be shadowing you everywhere practical. She now sat to your right, on a chair with pillows to reach the table.
Jaxarna was awestruck, much like Thor's handler, Kolga. She kept very quiet and listened to every word.
Jaxarna found the Aesir crown prince intriguing, which utterly baffled you. He was squat, lumpy and pink with no markings on his skin at all. His hair was pale and fragile looking and he had no horns. He was certainly strong and had the impressive magic that controls thunder and his magic war hammer, but you didn't understand why Jaxarna found him so appealing. It just seemed to be part of her fascination with princes. You had thought it was just fairytale handsome princes like Byleister and Loki, but apparently the girl just loved princes. Again you apologized to your late teacher for whatever you did that had baffled him at her age. That time between child and adult is just bizarre.
Ha! Now are you thinking of Loki as a fairy handsome prince? What's happening to you? He is handsome, and knowledgeable and very powerful. But could you really ever get over what he did? This is not the man who had pointed the bifrost at Jotunheim anymore. This is a new man. A brilliant and attractive Jotun mage.
Farbauti General has not stopped with the parade of fierce and lovely lieutenants. Today's offering was a muscular bald woman with a hearty and quick laugh. She has long straight sharp horns with rows of gold bands set into them. She is loud and funny and you kind of like her-but not for Loki. You don't like any of them for Loki. Neither does he, fortunately.
This woman actually seems a better match for Thor. Her upbeat personality and love of battle seems very much in synch with the Aesir Prince who still calls Loki his brother. You wonder what Thor thinks of her. His grandmother had been Jotun, so intermingling at that level was not unheard of. Or maybe you just wanted her away from Loki.
Jaxarna is fascinated by the Aesir and Jotun partners. She spends a lot of her free time watching them in sparrow form from nearby trees.
You remember fondly spending a lot of time in sparrow form when you learned to shift into it-which really wasn't that long ago. All of you have had to grow up quickly.
You think it might be a good exercise if one of the Aesir warriors start training her to fight. Loki had warrior training, even though he had developed his own style. It might be good for Jaxarna. Perhaps Thor would spend some time with her, you knew she would pay attention to him, you thought with a smirk. You ask Loki what he thinks.
"She is a half mage with powers that surpass that of a simple warrior, I should train her in my fighting style" he says, clearly a little disgruntled that he wasn't your first choice.
"Perhaps she should develop her own style" you counter. "I think there is value in learning to fight without magic, and then adding it back in".
You sensed that this wasn't really about who should train Jaxarna to fight. You started walking out to where the group did their sparing.
Thor was relaxing with his warriors under a tree after their sparring session with their Jotun partners. The warrior maid was in deep and animated conversation with her Jotun partner, the others were bunched up with their own kind.
You didn't wait for Loki to start. "Thor Prince, I would like you to train my apprentice, Jaxarna in the warrior arts".
Thor looked surprised, then responded "certainly Sorceress, I would be happy to train the Lady Jaxarna". The other Aesir looked skeptically at Thor, clearly not pleased that he was willing to train an enemy child in their fighting style.
You knew that one of the tiny sparrows in the tree was really a silly Jotun half mage girl, who would be delighted by this news. That moment she hopped down and shifted into her natural form, startling the Aesir, who stood and drew their weapons.
"Sorceress! Thor Prince! Thank you so much! When can we start?" She said excitedly.
The Aesir stared at the girl, who was taller than most of them but much smaller than their Jotun partners. They recognized her and slowly put away their weapons.
"Were you spying on us?" Volstagg asked only half joking.
Jaxarna's grin faded a little and she looked to you.
"Jaxarna has to practice her flying, and she enjoys watching you spar. She was probably resting while you rested. Jaxarna, from now on please make yourself known if you are going to linger around Thor Prince and his warriors" you said smirking. "We have no reason to spy on our Aesir guests."
The Aesir looked at each other and then to the Jotnar. The Jotnar shrugged, they didn't much like being spied on either, though they were more forgiving of the young half mage, she was just acting her age and snooping and there was nothing confidential being spoken that day.
"We will start tomorrow morning when the sun comes up, lady Jaxarna" Thor prince said with a smile.
Jaxarna gave a big smile in return and nodded, then shrunk quickly into sparrow form and flew away.
You and Thor laughed.
Loki was quiet as you turned to walk back to the castle. You look at him walking next to you and frown.
"Loki, what you are doing with the children is amazing. I don't know what we would do without your help. I'm truly glad you are here".
"But I am also the reason that you need my help, am I not?" He said looking into the distance.
"Your Aesir self is the reason, yes. But your Jotun self is a different man".
He turned to look at you. His red eyes boring into yours as if there was something he could find in their depths that would prove you were being insincere. "Do you really believe that?"
"I do," you respond. "You have shown me your Jotun self, I believe what I have seen."
He was quiet. The two of you walked in silence through the courtyard, past the fish pond and the melting ice sculptures.
You studied his profile as you walked. High cheekbones and thin lips with the tall dramatically curved horns. His horns were now perfectly polished and sharpened, he had learned to care for them and obviously took some pride in them, accepting this feature of his natural Jotun form. He was very similar in appearance to your best friend Byleister, but somehow his sharp features and swirling ridges seemed appealing in a different way. The fact that he was barely taller than you allowed you to see him from a more intimate angle. He was very pleasant to look at and you smiled softly as you looked at him.
He caught your glance and his eyes went wide for a second, then he looked away as if to process what he was seeing. He looked back and gave you an awkward smile.
You chuckled, his smile was cute and slightly vulnerable, an amusing contrast to his usual demeanor. You quickly looked at the ground.
"Why don't you and Byleister start training the young ones to fight?" You started to break the awkwardness and get back to business.
"Jaxarna is my apprentice, her training is going to be catered more to what I need her to be doing. I think that having her train with your Aesir brother serves multiple purposes. I'm also hoping that teaching her will help him to understand us better. She is a half mage, but she is also a young girl, and I'm assuming that Aesir children go through similar stages. The more he sees us as being like his own people, the more likely he is to become a true ally and friend to the Jotnar."
Loki nods. He isn't completely convinced but he knows it is a losing battle, and not the best one to spend his energy on.
"Sorceress, would you join me for dinner tonight with me in my suite?" He said cautiously, "I think we have much to discuss" he added quickly.
You were caught off guard. What did this mean? Were you reading things into it? You did actually have quite a bit to talk about with him and his spot at the king's table was several places down. It made perfect sense that you should dine together, alone in order to discuss the training of the children and such without the noise and distractions from other diners.
"Yes, we do. I will come to your suite tonight and we can talk over dinner." You smiled and nodded as you walked off in the other direction purposefully. But you really hadn't thought about where you are going next and ended up just getting out of his sight and heading to the fish pond to think.
The fish saw you approach and swarmed the shallower water by the edge. You opened a container you had hidden in a snow bank that you were storing food scraps in and started tossing bits out to them. You watch them greedily gobble the bits of food and didn't think about anything at all.
Later that evening you are in your suite trying to decide if you should change your clothes for dinner. You don't usually do that, and you aren't quite sure why you are thinking of doing it now.
You are wearing your usual maroon gown with the long cowl. Your horns are polished and have gold tips. You have your hair in a long braid down your back. You decide to take it out and as you brush it you admire the waves that were created in your shiny hair by the braid. This will do, it's enough, it's just a working dinner, to discuss the children.
You look at the door between your suites for a moment, and then walk out your front door and down the hall to his front door. You don't want to start using that connecting door.
He opens his door and you immediately notice that he has changed his clothes. He's now wearing a dark green vest and kilt. His hair is loose and brushed back off of his face, accentuating his sharp features. Both the kilt and vest have black and gold accents. He looks very handsome and he smiles as he motions for you to come in.
There is a small, mage sized table already set with a full meal for two. He pulls back a chair and politely gestures for you to sit, then seats himself across from you.
