Desi was just getting Star laid down for her nap when Laney arrived. "I just gave her some fruit because she wanted a little snack. Then she went right back to sleep." She told Laney.
Laney smiled and nodded. "Thank you. She's become fussy during part of the night lately, so we're trying what we can," Laney said softly.
"How long has she been getting fussy?" Desi asked curiously. "And what calms her down?"
"It's not every night, maybe a couple of nights a week. Sometimes a cuddle calms her, other times it takes a while," Laney explained. "Could she be teething? She's almost four months old."
"That's a little early for her to be teething, but I will check her when she wakes." Desi told Laney.
Laney nodded. "Is there anything I need to work on today?"
"We have just some regular checkups today, but you can look at the charts if you want. We do have one adult patient at the end of the day." Desi replied.
"I can do charts. That way you can be caught up on paperwork."
"I'm so far behind on paperwork, it isn't even funny." Desi sighed. "I've tried staying late to do it, but I end up falling asleep."
"I'll start on charts then," Laney stated. She sat at the nearby desk and started working on the charts.
Desi sat down at the other desk with a sigh. "We still have a half hour until the first appointment."
"I can get as many done as possible before then," Laney commented.
"We just need the three charts for today done. I will handle the rest of the paperwork." Desi replied. "I am trying to leave time each day for your training as well."
Laney nodded. "What would you like to work on with me today?" She asked as she put one finished chart off to the side.
"I was thinking of teaching you to use the Soul Forge. It's pretty much time for my next checkup anyway." Desi answered.
"That sounds interesting. I've watched others use it, but I haven't had the chance."
"Do you want to learn it today? It isn't so hard; it just takes a bit of practice." Desi assured Laney.
"I can start learning about it today. I know it's an important thing we use to help others," Laney replied.
"It is such an amazing tool to have. It does so much more than most healers realise." Desi explained. "I wish every major clinic could have one."
"Asgard is rather picky about what they have versus other places," Laney said. "They're prideful of what belongs to them."
Desi nodded. "I know that. I just disagree with withholding medicine. If Asgard was more open with accepting patients that need the Forge, it may not bother me so badly."
"Well, we're working on trying to fix that," Laney said happily as she finished another chart.
"I know. I have drafted my petitions already for Asgard to participate in the open medicine treaty. Thor has already said he will approve them when he takes the throne. It won't let other clinics have the Forge, but it will make it much easier for patients to come here for diagnosis and treatment." Desi explained.
Laney smiled even though her eyes were on her paperwork. "That sounds perfect."
"I will need Loki's approval as well, but I haven't had a chance to talk with him. Do you think he will support it?" Desi asked, setting some completed charts aside.
"I think he will. He's really come around to helping the people, which is wonderful. It beats the man I met when I first came here."
"What was he like when you first came here?" Desi asked curiously.
Laney pushed herself away from the desk and sat back in her chair. "Loki was angry... very distant with everyone and wanted to go against the world. I'll never forget the first time I walked up to his cell in the dungeons, and he saw my face after I had been gone for so long. I cried myself to sleep that night because I had thought he was dead for almost two years."
Desi nodded. "I can understand, kind of. I can't imagine what it would be like to be imprisoned with no memory of what happened, but I can see why it would make him feel angry. He seems a lot closer to the kid you were raised with now."
"I think he remembers what he did," Laney stated. "But he knows he was under the influence of something that made him do those things. Some of them anyway."
"Does he remember everything now?" Desi asked curiously. "Regardless, he was unfairly locked up and I see why that could make him angry."
"I'm not sure if he remembers everything. Loki refuses to talk about it, says it's not safe," Laney replied. She sighed and fiddled with the fabric of her shirt. "Although I haven't told him what I did when I was told he had died."
"Why wouldn't it be safe? Have you asked Frigga to talk with him?" Desi asked, concerned. "You know that talk will need to happen at some point..." she added softly.
"I know it will. I've bounced around the topic, but I haven't really told him what happened and how you found me," Laney said. "But I will mention it to Frigga to talk to Loki."
"I think at this point, I would wait until it needs to be talked about. Bringing it up on a good day doesn't seem to make much sense." Desi pointed out.
Laney nodded. "Hopefully there won't be a bad day," she said softly.
Loki's Mother was in her chambers, fresh from a bath. Her dinner had already been brought to her and she sat at her little table to eat. She had not been out of her chambers in days, but she felt a level of security behind the usually locked door.
Laney took a deep breath as she cuddled Star to her chest with one arm, holding her in place in her cloth sling. She stared at the chamber door that belonged to Loki's biological mother with a frown. I hope she greets me well. I can do this, just knock. After a final deep breath, Laney knocked quietly on the door.
There was a long moment of silence before an answer came. "Who's there?" Loki's Mother calls out.
"It's Laney and Star," Laney answered. "Do you care for company?"
"You can come in." She called back, but now nervous sounding.
Laney opened the door and walked in the large chambers with a soft smile. She closed the door behind her then nodded towards her. "Afternoon," she said softly.
"You can sit if you like... I can call for more food if you are hungry." She quickly offered.
"Oh, I'm not hungry," Laney answered softly. "Thank you though. That is very kind of you."
She nodded and returned to picking at her food. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"I actually have a question for you... about myself," Laney said softly.
"I will do my best to answer it for you." She promised, then picked up a piece of foreign looking meat and took a bite.
"Loki and I are bonded. He has given me a mate mark," Laney said. "I am wondering if it is possible for me to mark him in return."
She stayed quiet for a minute while she thought about it. "My grandfather was marked, so it is possible." She finally answered.
"Would you have an idea of how I could achieve it?" Laney asked quietly. "I know it's an intimate question."
"I don't mind the questions." She said truthfully. "I think you would just mark him the same way he marked you."
Laney bit her bottom lip as she began to blush. "I have tried. I've drawn blood on accident and the bite has bruised, but it doesn't stay or look like mine does."
"There is a specific way to bite. Like the angle of your teeth. Our teeth are shaped a little differently, so I think it's just easier for us." She explained to Laney.
"Does it take a lot of effort?" Laney asked curiously. "I am not sure the next time Loki and I will court, but I would like to be ready. I want to surprise him."
"If you can bite him hard enough to draw blood, I think it is simply technique, not effort." She replied. "Also, you do not need to be courting. A mate mark can be given at any time."
"I've only bitten him while we have been engaged in... each other," Laney said. "It's been in the heat of the moment."
"It still needs to be in the heat of the moment, but a different moment. It just has to be a moment where, in that moment, he is everything. An all-consuming moment where nothing else exists." She explained. "For us, marking our mate is the most intimate of moments, but it is a different kind of intimate. It is done in a moment when nothing else matters but making sure they are yours forever."
Laney sat back and thought about her words. "Loki has been my everything for a long time, even when I thought he was dead. Since Star was born my focus has changed more towards her, but I still cherish Loki just the same. Could time to just ourselves for more than a night help us out?"
She shook her head. "It's hard to explain, but it's not time like that. Let's try this... what was the situation when he marked you?"
"It was the first time we were intimate with each other," Laney answered.
"Was that the mate mark or the breeding mark?" She asked curiously.
Laney furrowed her brow in thought. "I might have them confused. The mate mark might have happened in Yamir and not here."
"We have many marks, so it can be confusing. The breeding mark is only given during intimacy intended for conception." She explained.
"Then the mate mark was done in Yamir. I can't quite remember what was going on at the time besides when I found out I was expecting."
"It is likely that nothing was going on." She said, then tried to gather her thoughts. "Have you ever experienced that surge of love? Like, you just see him standing somewhere, or doing whatever, and just felt that surge for no particular reason?"
"I have," Laney answered. "It normally also makes me feel protective."
"That is the kind of moment you need. The mark is only possible during a moment of very intense love." She explained.
"I'm not sure when the next time that will be. I don't think anyone would know." Laney sat back in her seat and gently rubbed Star's back while she slept in her cloth sling. "Loki told me that he feels off because he isn't marked. I haven't had a clue this whole time."
"That's because the bond isn't complete." She told Laney. "Just wait for that moment, you will know when the time is right."
Laney sighed to herself, feeling as doubt bubbled up in her stomach. Will there ever be a right time? She looked over at Loki's mother and smiled. "You've been a large help for me. I enjoy talking to you."
"Is there anything else I can help you with?" She asked, then finished the last of her food.
"I don't want to pressure you or say the wrong thing. But Loki is wondering about the prophecy from when he was an infant," Laney said softly.
"What does he want to know about it?" She askedLaney..
"He wants to know what it means," Laney replied simply.
"That is what he needs to figure out. The way the prophecy contradicts itself is what caused the fear that led to him being stolen from me." She sighed sadly.
"Would you be able to write it down for me?" Laney asked. "That way I can remember it?"
"I can, but I can't write in your language. I can only write in my native language." She explained.
"That's alright. It can be translated," Laney assured her.
"Do you have someone who can translate it?" She asked. Moving her plate, she grabbed a scrap of paper from the other side of the little table and laid it in front of her. She then grabbed her feather quill and quickly wrote it out.
"A family member will be coming to Asgard soon. I can ask him to do it for us... unless you'd like to tell me what it says, and I write beneath it?" Laney suggested.
She nodded then stood up and walked close enough to hand Laney the paper. She also took the chance to take a look at Star, unable to hide a soft smile. "You can use the table if you like."
Laney smiled. "If she wasn't napping, I would let you snuggle her for a good while." She took the paper and sat it down on the table in front of her then took the quill when it was offered to her.
"Maybe I could hold her another time?" She nervously asked and sat on the bed.
"Of course. She's your grandchild too," Laney said softly. She dipped the quill in ink then looked up at her. "What is the translation?"
"I hardly doubt I've earned the title of grandparent." She sighed. "The prophecy simply states that the chosen king will create peace through increased fighting." "
Laney quietly wrote it down, then sat the quill in its ink well before she sat back once more. "It's not about titles. You are Star's grandmother by blood. There's no denying that."
"Blood only goes so far." She said softly. "Do you think he will ever open up to me?"
"That's hard to say," Laney answered. "Loki feels very conflicted. He's still battling with himself about being Jotun since he was raised most of his thus far as an Æsir. I will say that he's gotten a lot better, and I hope that I've had something to do with that, but it will take time."
"He's not proud of his heritage?" She asked, feeling down again. "His bloodlines are from the absolute best, and he is the rightful king of Jotunheim."
Laney took a deep breath and rubbed Star's back. "That's not it. Loki had no clue he was Jotun until Thor rashly went to Jotunheim a few years ago and he followed. A Jotun guard grabbed Loki's arm and caused him to turn blue instead of being frostbitten. He took it harshly."
"Under Odin, I can see why he would grow to hate us... how does he feel about Star?" She asked, since Star was more Jotun.
"He loves his little girl," Laney replied. "She has him wrapped around her finger."
"Her Jotun heritage doesn't bother him?" She asked curiously.
Laney shook her head. "No, it doesn't. I was scared it would, but he loves her the way she is."
"If he can so easily accept her heritage, why can't he accept his own? Her heritage is from him after all." Shs pointed out.
"To be honest, I'm not quite sure," Laney answered. "I can mention that to him the next time the subject comes up."
"I just don't understand. Everything he loves about her comes from him, and you. He can't truly love the best parts of her without loving himself." She shrugged.
Laney furrowed her brow and bit her bottom lip. "You're right. Do you think he's... hiding how he feels from me?"
"I don't know him. What I'm saying is that I don't think he realizes that he's seeing himself in his daughter." She clarified.
"I will have to talk with him tonight. Maybe get a sitter in case Loki decides to become defensive," Laney said softly.
"Is he unsafe to be around when defensive? I... I could watch Star if you don't want her there when you talk to him." She offered.
"Not always. I just don't want her around if voices will be raised," Laney explained. "But I would love it if you wanted to watch her."
"You trust me enough to leave her here with me?" She asked, somewhat shocked.
"Of course. I trust you will not harm her, plus everything you could ever need for her is here in the palace," Laney said.
"Thank you. It means a lot to me that you would trust me to care for her." She said sincerely.
Laney stood and smiled. "You're welcome. Would you like to come get her a bit later or would you like her now?"
"I will leave that up to you. But so you know, I rarely leave my quarters, so it would be best if you can bring her back and forth." She told Laney.
"I can go ahead and let you have her, and I can have a guard bring her bag to you," Laney said as she began to untie her sling. "Would that be okay?"
"Of course. I love spending time with Star. She is always welcome here." She said, sounding more cheerful now.
Laney finished untying the sling and cradled a still sleeping Star in her arms. Silently, she stood and gently handed her over to Loki's mother. "I will come get her in a few hours."
She took the sleeping baby carefully into her arms. "She is so beautiful. I'm eternally grateful that you've let me be part of her life." "
"I'm happy that you've become a part of our lives. I know it's rocky right now, but I hope that we can all get closer some day," Laney said softly.
She looked up at Laney and smiled softly. "I hope so as well. I've said it before, but just to say it again... I'm not trying to take Lady Frigga's place. I know she is Loki's mother now and I'm not challenging that. I just wanted to help my son."
"Loki knows that I promise you, he does. It's just a lot for him to take in," Laney replied. "I will talk to him. Hopefully he will have enough confidence to talk to you soon."
"I want everyone to know that." She said truthfully.
"They will. Desi and I are working very hard to have the Jotun community respected in Asgard. Loki is working too. He's wanting to re-establish old trade routes that have been closed off."
"I have been on the old route once, and never on the new route." She told Laney. "I honestly don't know much about politics and such."
"I don't either. I just know about paperwork, contracts, and stuff like that." Laney grinned as Star snuggled against Loki's mother. "She likes you."
"Do you think so? I want her to like me." She shyly admitted.
"She does. She snuggles up to people she likes," Laney answered.
"That makes me feel really good. Thank you." She said softly.
Laney smiled and walked towards the door. "You're welcome. I'll be back to pick her up later. If you need me to come sooner just send word."
"I will, I promise." She assured Laney as she lightly rocked the sleeping Star. and watched as Laney left her chambers.