- Chapter 65 -
Laughing and shaking his head, Jay walked into the kitchen to make himself a bowl of popcorn. The TV in the living room turned on and brought up the television streaming service. It cycled through the listings until it came to Nightwing, then sat with the 'resume episode' button selected but not pressed. Jay grabbed his bowl of popcorn and a few bottles of root beer out of the fridge. As he was setting them down on the coffee table in the living room, a sudden emotional spike left him panicked and worried. An automatic deliberation began in his thoughts to contain and resolve the panic. This containment didn't need to be long-term since a resolution was possible, so he turned his attention elsewhere when he heard the door to Edward's room open. The pitter patter of little feet came down the hallway directly towards him. It was the bleak terror in Edward's emotions that alarmed Jay. It was impinging on his own emotions. Another deliberation to handle the negative emotions began. His brother needed him now, so he went. Edward held his stuffed bear in one arm and was dragging his blanket behind him. Tears were trickling down his cheeks. Jay hurried over and scooped him up. He walked over to the sofa and settled down on it with his brother curled up in his lap. "What's wrong, Edward?" he asked as he took the little blanket and covered his brother with it. He allowed a small amount of his seidr to impel itself from his core so that he could touch at his brother with calm love in his thoughts. The silver flecks in his eyes shimmered.
.-.-.-.
"Loki," Thor whispered. He gasped as he watched them. This was all too familiar. He still remembered Loki coming to him after his nightmares. Those days were long gone, like so many other things. It was difficult to reconcile that with his desire to free Loki from Stark and return him home along with the children.
The two boys sitting next to one another made it that much clearer to Frigga who their father was. Each of the boys took strongly after Stark. Truly, the only difference in them seemed to be slightly differing shades of green in their eyes. The recording never got close enough to their eyes to see the particular shades. They were both almost exactly the same vivid green of Loki's eyes. The shimmer in Edward's eyes was just a touch darker than his brother's. Their faces were almost identical though. Despite how they looked like their father, they were both beautiful to Frigga.
.-.-.-.
"I had a bad dream," Edward sniffled, still shaken. More tears leaked from his eyes, which were wiped away with the edge of his blanket. He wanted so badly to flare out his seidr to his brother but couldn't. That would start a fire that he didn't have control over. It would force his brother to control it then clean up the mess from it.
With his little brother held close, Jay tucked Edward's little head under his chin. "Tell me about it," he said softly. He rested his head overtop of Edward's and kept his brother wrapped in his arms. He hated that he was capable of so much, but still couldn't take Edward's nightmares away. It was as hard a pill to swallow as the first day he realized it. It caused his body to shake slightly and his blood to heat up. A small thin line of red always ringed his vision when he thought about it. He wondered briefly if the sensation would ever change. The thought was there and gone in an instant as those emotions were set aside for deliberation. Jay propped his feet up on the table next to the bottles of root beer. He focused on his brother instead of the sensations. It was easier than focusing on himself.
.-.-.-.
Watching Jay with Edward made Frey proud of his grandson again. Even though the boy was so young, he was still so wonderful to his siblings. Edward's nightmares were not to be taken lightly. It was clear that the boy was as sensitive as Loki was, and just as painfully aware of the world around him. Frey vowed to himself on the day he was first handed Edward that he would spend the rest of his life doing whatever he could to aid the boy. He would give Edward the consistent support that Loki never got. Whenever they visited Frey set time aside to mentor Edward in magic, in meditation and anything else the boy might need. He was personally overseeing much of Edward's education. Ever since he'd learned the truth, Frey regretted many things. Not making it clear to Loki how valued she was to him was chief among them. He vowed to himself that Edward would be different. Edward would receive not only a proper education in magic, but the undeniable message that no matter what, he was valued, he was loved. I will be more than an island to Edward, he thought sourly.
.-.-.-.
"There was a tree in space, with planets on its branches like apples. It was so big," Edwards little voice was thick with tears. "There was a monster wyrm under it. She was digging under the tree and chewing on the roots. She stopped and looked at me." He shivered as he remembered those massive black eyes. They were so dark that no light could touch them.
"I'm here," Jay squeezed Edward gently. He kept his seidr flared out to gently touch at his brother. The fear in Edward's seidr was slowly lessening. Once he learned how to replace the fear with his own calm love he began doing it more often. Among his siblings, it was only Edward whose emotions were like his own. The similarity let him affect them like his own. It was only Edward who had connected to him. It was only Edward who he wanted to be connected to.
Jay was warm and safe. Edward tried to scoot a little closer to Jay. His brother was always with him; would always be with him. "She looked at me, and she said my name. It was scary," he shivered again and started crying. "It was scary!" he cried. He could still hear the Mother Wyrm's voice. It was a noise akin to scrapping mountains together. The sound was so deep and loud that it rolled over him like a solid tidal wave. He was terrified to be so powerless next to something so large.
Jay held onto Edward and rocked from side to side. "It's ok, I'm here. No one's going hurt you while I'm here. Do you understand that, Edward? They'll go through me before they get to you." He paused to give his brother another kiss on the top of his head. "I'll always be here."
.-.-.-.
Where did we go wrong, Little Brother? Thor wondered as he listened to the elder boy speak. He hoped that his nephews would stay close. The thought of them falling into the same state of disrepair that he and his Little Brother had was a sad one. He hoped he would get to meet them someday. If he did then he was going to do what he could to make sure they didn't let anger, inobservance and mistrust come between them.
A mix of concern and surprise edged the Asgardian King's thoughts. Odin looked to Frey briefly and whispered, "Nidhoggr?!" He knew it shouldn't be surprising that Loki's child was already dream-walking. It was very surprising that the boy somehow found his way to the very roots of Yggdrasil. That dark place wasn't somewhere a child belonged. It also surprised him that the boy referred to the Dark Striker as 'she'. That was extremely odd. He wanted to think nothing much of it, but the boy did find his way into someplace that even Odin hadn't been to. His grandson may very well have seen some surprising things.
For as concerned as Odin was Frey was equally concerned. He whispered in return, "It seems so. I'll ask after it." It was not surprise that Edward went dream-walking. The boy often visited him in his dreams. It was also no surprise that the boy might have found his way to the roots of Yggdrasil. The boy was powerful. It was surprising that Nidhoggr took notice of him. Frey didn't want the Dark Striker anywhere near his grandson. It was also surprising how the boy spoke of the great wyrm as female. That was something else he was going to have to ask about.
Jay was another one of her grandchildren. Frigga watched him carefully. He seemed like a kind young man, comforting his brother. She was grateful to have her husband's hand to hold onto as she watched. A sad little smile crossed her lips. The only worrisome thing about the boy was his age. He was old enough to have been born before Loki returned from the Norn's temple grounds. Her brother's tone of voice when he spoke of the lad told her that there was something she wasn't seeing about the boy. She wanted to. She wanted to meet all her grandchildren.
.-.-.-.
Nodding slowly, Edward cried; he cried and cried and held onto his brother. The gentle flow of Jay's seidr against him was soothing. He wanted so badly to flare out his own seidr to Jay, but that was just a bad idea. He didn't want to burn the sofa and make a mess. Jay was never upset at him for making those messes. Sometimes he just couldn't help himself and he had to flare out his seidr to his brother. It always left him feeling guilty when Jay had to control the fires and clean up the ashes. When he couldn't cry anymore he still sat in Jay's lap. He didn't want to move away. An occasional hiccup was the only noise he made. Edward knew that he was too big to sit in someone's lap. It wasn't very dignified, but he was just so scared. He always tried to be very dignified like his grandfather. It wasn't easy to do. "I'm sorry," he whispered to Jay, between hiccups. The fear was slowly leaving his thoughts. His brother's calm was replacing it. Jay was there with him. He could feel it in many different ways. It was soothing to know that his brother would always be with him. In many ways and in many things, Jay was what he needed most.
"Why?" Jay asked calmly.
"I shouldn't be scared, but I," Edward stammered.
Jay kissed Edward on the head and said, "Hush. It's fine. I'm here for you, no matter what." He continued to rock Edward for a few more minutes. "Do you want to watch Nightwing with me? We can share the popcorn," he offered.
Edward looked up at Jay, "Really?" His little eyes lit up at the idea. It was mischievous and naughty to stay up after Mama put them to bed. He liked being mischievous with Jay. His brother always made sure they were safe.
"Sure, you can even hold the bowl," Jay said. He turned Edward around so that he was still sitting on his lap but was now facing the TV. Edward reached down and picked up the bowl of popcorn. He set it on his lap. The lights in the living room dimmed and the show started.
.-.-.-.
Once again Frey was grateful to Jay for his constant care of the younger children. He wished he had more time than a few weeks to get to know his newest grandson. He could already tell that Jay was an honorable young man, and a fine son. There was more to the boy than was obvious from looking at him. Frey could tell that as well. Jay was a quiet young man and spoke little. As with Anthony, he didn't mind taking his time to get to know his grandson. Like his father, Jay was a good person. Frey had no doubt of that.
