Author's Note: Greetings. Here's another chapter.

Chapter 17: Perhaps It WasFriendship

Estele wasn't a good liar. Or maybe Amma was able to read his mind. He wasn't sure how Amma always knew when he'd had taken more than one sweet from the cabinet or that he'd accidentally ruined Erras' school book. But he couldn't let her know about his new secret. This one was very secret. He couldn't let anyone know about his new Aesir friend.

He was going to get his new friend some food. He decided to wait until Amma was out at the market and only Arra was at home. But Erra was busy studying so he probably wouldn't mind if he was in the kitchen.

He wondered what Aesir liked to eat, while he searched the cupboards. There wasn't very much in them, since they weren't allowed more than their rations and he knew that his family was only registered for three had looked through every cupboard and had found some bread and some soup. He hoped that his new friend liked bread and soup because that was all they had.

He put the food in one of the nice containers that Amma kept for guests and stepped outside.

"Estele, where are you off to?" Erra shouted from his room.

"I'm going to see Frost!" Estele shouted back, it was true. He was going to see his favorite goat but he was going to see someone else too.

"Very well, be back at the house before dark!"

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Thor jumped when he heard the door creak open, his hand hovering over his sword. But when he saw the now familiar red eyes peek through he relaxed. I never thought those words would pass my thoughts.

"I brought you some food."

"That is very kind of you. What have you brought?"

"Bread and soup!"

Thor tried not to let his face fall. But this child must have been perceptive. Like Loki.

"I apologise. It's all we had left from rations." Estele said, handing over a dish.

Thor's eyes widened. Rations? Since when did the Jotun have to ration anything?

"Why do you have rations?"

"After the war a lot of the food went away so now we have to share it equally. Even the King eats the same food as us!"

"Oh." Thor couldn't say more than that, he just ate while thinking.

He knew that many of the Jotun crops were burned during the war but he'd figured that they would have grown back by this time. Apparently not.

He hadn't expected for the Jotuns to be capable of sharing all food equally, he knew that wasn't the case in Asgard. He had seen people begging for scraps in the city from his excursions, but he had not batted an eye, had not even tried to help. He knew that Loki did, he gave gold and silver pieces to all unfortunates he met. Thor had laughed back then but now he realised that he, in fact, was the one who deserved that.

And here were the Jotuns, known as base and cruel, sharing the few crops they had. And this child was sharing what little his family had food with an Aesir, a member of the very same people who had caused him to have so little food in the first place.

"Have you ever been to Midgard? Erra told me about it."

"Erra?"

"My brother! He's really smart so he will be a healer. Amma says that he might even go to the palace to be the royal healer."

"What about your father?"

"Oh." The boy's face fell. Thor cursed himself for bringing it up. "He went away to be part of the army. Everyone has to either be part of the army or the healers and this time it was Ada's turn. I didn't want him to go but we didn't want the king to be angry with him."

"I'm sorry." And Thor was, he couldn't imagine being so young and without his father.

"It's alright." The boy said, once again happy. "May I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What is your name? I do not want to call you my new friend forever."

Thor's mind was racing. Friend? Since when was this a friendship?

"My name is Thor."

"Really? You have the same name as the prince of Asgard!"

"Yes, I do. What is your name, little one?"

"Estele! It means hope."

"That's a very nice name. And, to answer your earlier question, I have been to Midgard. And Vanaheim." And he went on to tell (slightly embellished) stories about his travels to this child who was so much like Loki.

Perhaps it was friendship.

Author's Note: Well, here it is. I quite like this chapter. And I'd love to hear what you think! Please comment, it's my drive.