Astrid was rather bothered by Thor's words about her father mentioning wedding bells to him. It had become a bit hard to be around Thor alone because despite his promises, he was trying to swoon her. Lately if she saw Thor; it was when he was with Loki and/or Sif. She wanted to be his friend and still wanted to see him; but she wished Thor would get her father's words out of his ear.

Egil had brought Astrid to the palace to hopefully spend time with Thor. He noticed his daughter's distress and he chuckled lightly.

"Getting butterflies about seeing Thor? You're really becoming a woman now Astrid."

Astrid shot a slight glare at her father and she demanded,

"Why did you tell Thor you see wedding bells for us in our future? Don't you realize how awkward you made things?"

Egil chuckled and he shook his head.

"Come now Astrid; can't a Father dream a bit about his daughter's future? It would be a blessing for you to be with Thor and it's clear he has a shine in his eyes when you're with him."

"Not at the cost of a friendship I hold dear to me! He's treating me like other women and it kind of disgusts me. It's weird to be with him alone now because of you. There's jokes and then there's being cruel and destructive with honey words." Astrid stated.

Egil looked confused. He saw she and Thor were very close and would often share laughs and spar together warmly. He even welcomed when Thor kept her out late and they spent their times horseback riding. There was just a connection he saw in his daughter and him and she should be thanking him for guiding Thor to court her. Egil couldn't understand her daughter's protests in him trying to bring them together; more so since he and Odin hoped for their union.

"Girls your age in Asgard would love a guy like Thor. He's the epitome of Asgard. It helps your his friend since it means you can appeal to his heart in ways other girls can't."

"Yet it's not the Vanir way." Astrid murmured.

Egil heard this and gritted his teeth at his daughter.

"What was that Astrid?"

Astrid looked to her father and she crossed her arms since she knew he heard her. Yes they were in Asgard, but they were Vanir; people who loved and studied magic. Just because he was terrible at it, it didn't mean he had to devalue it in others that weren't his wife and daughter.

"Are you ashamed that you're a Vanir who can't do much magic? Are you ashamed that I excel at it? Are you perhaps trying to push me one way when you don't want me to explore options?" Astrid questioned.

Egil scoffed angrily at his daughter.

"We are in Asgard and we will follow their rules. Mighty warriors are what they value and you need to keep your mind open."

How ironic since what counted as an open mind meant she needed to see beyond traditional Asgard values. She valued Thor's might as a warrior but Loki's skill in magic...one people ignore completely.

"Mother, you, and I were all born in Vanaheim; that's not going to change just because you brought us here. I might not know a lot about our home, but I know they take pride in magic; it's what I take pride in. Asagrd is graced with a great sorcerer people neglect and that's a disappointment, more so since he's a son of Odin too." Astrid argued.

Egil didn't know what had gotten into his daughter to make her so bitter and agitated over a simple passing statement. There was something off about Astrid and as she dabbled more into magic. He knew she was spending more time with Loki rather than Thor and that concerned him. He knew allowing his daughter to play and be friends with Odin's other son was going to cost him and that he was corrupting his little girl. Loki reminded Egil of...no he thought, he would never bring him up since he was the one he despised most and nearly took everything from him.

"Quit while you're behind Astrid. Make an effort to see Thor today and I better not hear that you were spending your time here looking for Loki. I don't even care if you find that girl Sif and spar with her; just make sure you do something other than sneak off to find Odin's second son; otherwise I will start forbidding you from seeing him."

"What if he's with Thor?" Astrid asked, finding a loophole in her father's words.

"Make time alone with him, how's that for being smart with me young lady. Now I have a meeting with Odin; we will leave at sunset together. If the sun starts setting, have Thor bring you home."

Astrid rolled her eyes and conjured a small dagger made of mystical energy.

"I'm old enough to fend for myself and go home on my own if you decide to drink with your friends."

Egil growled and staggered off without another word.

Astrid retracted her dagger and sighed. What was she to do...she wanted to see Thor but she worried about him swooning her again and making things weird. She wanted to see Loki but was deep down scared of her father's threat. Sif it is Astrid thought as she left for the training grounds. Sure enough, Sif was there and Astrid sat to the sides and watched her. Her form was better than all the other males there and it made her smile slightly. Sif looked up to see Astrid and cracked a light smile.

"Hey, not running off to find Thor or Loki?" she questioned.

Astrid sighed.

"My father has his head up his ass about the two of them; wanting me to see Thor more and Loki less..."

"So you found me to listen but not listen to him...I'm not the last resort am I?" Sif asked as she low swept a guy that was coming from behind her.

"No, my last resort would be to go home. So second to last resort in a way or third if I count going into town or fourth if..."

Sif chuckled since Astrid's rambling was endearing yet funny.

"Alright I get it. Good to see you see me as a friend too and not just an acquaintance or accessory to Thor in a way."

Astrid sighed once more and stroked her arm. Astrid rolled her eyes as she sat with Astrid.

"Let me guess, you are worried about Thor?"

"In a way, yes. I mean...does he try sweet talking with you?"

Sif chuckled and nodded.

"Yes but I kicked his ass and he stopped. He doesn't mean it when he does it to me. I see him as nothing more than a brother in arms and my future king. Why don't you use your little magic to make him stop? I know I would stop flirting if my butt got torched with a fire orb or ten."

Astrid chuckled and shook her head. As much as that was getting tempting, she couldn't.

"I don't like using magic against Thor unless he asks me in our spars. Father made things weird by throwing out wedding bells...I mean is that what people see?"

"I don't see that but hey what do I know."

"Combat, horseback riding, some semblance of strategy, cooking, and camping."

Sif chuckled at that and nodded.

"Look, your father means well. Heck my father does the same thing with me but I don't let it bug me as much. I hang out with Thor because it's fun, even when he's trying to be all smooth because of my gender."

Astrid chuckled lightly but deep down she wondered what would become of Thor. She cared for him as a friend, almost like a brother of her own, and she hoped this detour would only be a small one. It would hurt her for a perfect friendship to be ruined because people expected more than friendship from them. Sif noticed Astrid was lost in thoughts and sighed in annoyance.

"Don't get hung up on this or you will ruin what you have more so than Thor ever will." Sif advised.

Astrid snapped out of her thoughts and smiled lightly.

"And people say you're just a pretty yet fierce face. People should know there is a good mind too."

Sif scoffed playfully.

"You know the way you speak sometimes makes me think of Loki."

Astrid chuckled at that.

"I do not sound like him...he's more elegant and calm with his words whereas I talk like there's hearts on my sleeves."

Sif chuckled at that, which caused Astrid to glare at her.

"What's wrong with my statement?" she asked.

"Nothing at all Astrid. It's kind of cute that you let yourself be exposed all the time with your feelings. Though sometimes I think you guard yourself so you don't get hurt."

Astrid thought for a moment and wondered if that was true. Sif was being goaded by the other men to spar with them and Astrid nodded softly.

"Don't let me keep you. It might do me some good to study your form. Thor and Loki are nice to see, but it's rare to see a woman fight the way you do."

Sif and her didn't always get along, but Sif was touched by her words.

"Well study away Astrid. Just don't get too squeamish if there's some blood."

Astrid only nodded as she watched Sif take down three men at the same time. Her movements had grace to them and Astrid even noticed she was adapting some of their dance lessons into combat. Intriguing and maybe something Astrid could learn to do. Her mother also had this grace when performing her spells and she wondered if there was more to being a Vanir she didn't know.

"Astrid right?"

Astrid looked to see a servant and she nodded to him.

"Letter for you." he simply said, giving her the sealed letter.

Astrid opened the letter and laughed softly at the contents.

I know you're not avoiding me because you hate me, but to preserve what we had. Pardon my intrusion but I often test my abilities by having some copies of me walk around the palace and town and I overheard Egil's yelling. Just wanted you to hear from me in some capacity. Maybe next time, Loki.

She looked at the servant and smiled lightly at him. This letter perked her up as she slid it into a tiny pocket hidden in her dress. Astrid motioned for the servant to come to him and thanked him.

"Do tell him thank you and that I look forward to a next time with him...Oh and this is for you, don't run into my father; giant man with bronze hair. I don't want him or anyone to know."

The servant nodded and sped off to relay her message to Loki. When Sif was done training, the two women walked out of the palace. The women traded stories and looked around the market to see if anything caught their eye. Astrid did notice a lovely gold pendant with a sparkling emerald. Sif looked at the pendant and raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't take for you to like the color green so much; unless it's more related to a special someone?"

Loki she meant but she shook her head.

"Green is just a calming color. It's the color of the trees and grass. I just love nature and I could spend a lot of my time in it."

"Fair, what comes to mind when you think of the color red?"

Astrid knew what Sif was doing and she chuckled.

"You're not subtle Sif; I am well aware Thor likes red and Loki likes green. You know my favorite shades of colors are in the pinks, blues, and purples."

Sif laughed since she was caught and nodded.

"I know, a lot of your clothes if all of them have those array of colors. Just wanted to hear your take since red has a lot of meaning."

Astrid chuckled and nodded.

"It can range from blood, war, and anger to softer and more pleasant feelings like love and passion. It really depends on the person and the memories."

Sif nodded and she looked at the pendant with a ruby in it. Both were just trinkets but they did look nice. Both women decided to make their way to Astrid's since it was getting late and Sif didn't want Astrid to be alone in her walk despite protests.

"You didn't need to walk me home Sif." Astrid complained somewhat.

"Thor would never shut up if I let you go alone. Maybe Loki would even chime in. You really had a hold over those two." she joked.

Astrid didn't like that tone and pressed,

"As in a magic hold?"

Sif sighed and shook her head.

"No Astrid, you know I don't mean that. You say I want to pick a fight but you go and say shit like this."

Astrid glared a bit and defended,

"I just don't like magic being associated with malicious ways. It would be cruel to use magic to force love among people; an ultimate misuse of power to me."

Sif raised an eyebrow and commented,

"I wasn't going that far Astrid but...wait are you actually forming a crush on Thor or is it for Loki?"

"Nope, not commenting on that." Astrid spoke as she could feel herself blushing a deep red.

"Oh come on, might as well talk it out. There must be a reason why you hate when your father brought up wedding bells to Thor? Is it because he ruined your moment or you like someone else?"

Astrid managed to chuckle and retorted,

"For someone who wants to be a female warrior and not be a cliched female, you care a lot about my love life."

"Look I might want to be a warrior, but we are still friends and females. I don't want you to think you only have your mother to go to on these matters. Plus these matters shouldn't be talked about with men; trust me."

Astrid and her both chuckled at that statement and nodded in agreement. When they got to Astrid's home she cracked a small smile to Sif.

"Thanks for the time Sif."

"No need to thank me Astrid; just don't get so uptight and angry at your Father. He's only thinking about you and maybe trying to help...misguided help but still help." Sif told her.

Astrid nodded as she went into her house. She hid Loki's letter in a secret compartment in her jewelry box and couldn't help but like the tiny rush of danger. What did her father have against Loki anyway? I mean yes he was a bit mischievous but he was very skilled in magic...wait that's the reason she thought. It was his love and skill of magic that really made them closer...she wondered even closer than Thor and her. She pushed that thought out of her head since she clearly cared for both Thor and Loki as friends should...but could Sif be right and that her feelings were transforming for either of them. For her friendships' sake, she prayed it was just her imagination.