Edelweiss Say I'll Be with You Till the Day You Leave

by Kumiko Seph

[Part 5 in 'The Language of Flowers' series] Loki and Amelia have been through a lot in the years they've known each other, but raising teenagers is another story entirely. Between the drama, teen romance, the stress of school life, bullies, disobedience, fights, heroic acts and a very real alien threat, they're are about to find out that teenagers are everything but simple.

11. A Race You'll Never Win

My back is killing me but I was DETERMINED to finish this monster of a chapter today. Here it is, I really hope you love it!

It's LONG. I swear to god, I'll tell myself a chapter will be 7k words and then I write it an it's DOUBLE THAT LENGTH. Sometimes the writing just gets a mind of its own and I have no control over it. Anyway, ENJOY!

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Edelweiss Say I'll Be with You Till the Day You Leave

Chapter Eleven: A Race You'll Never Win

"He's gone to bloody Jotunheim!"

Amelia was startled awake, her whole body juddering beneath the thin blanket as Loki stormed into the bedroom with heavy footsteps; she clutched the sheets to her body and looked over at her husband in sleep-addled horror, failing to process what he had said as she had been in the midst of a peaceful slumber, draped across the space in which Loki had previously occupied before he decided to exit the comfy bed.

"Amelia, he's gone. Our son is gone," Loki repeated, conscious of the fact Amelia was staring at him with eyes that were still half-asleep. He had already used his magic to change his clothes to his typical Asgardian leathers and would already have been trudging through the blizzards of Jotunheim if it weren't for the fact he felt obliged to first inform his wife of the unfortunate development.

It took a few moments before there was awareness in Amelia's brown eyes, but when she finally comprehended what she had heard, her mouth fell open and her breaths came hard and fast.

"What? What?" She whispered, the fearful desperation immediately identifiable, "Where? Loki, where is Kari?" Her voice broke as it rose in volume and she jumped out of bed, almost stumbling as she reached for her gown and pulled it on, covering her nudity. She looked frantically around for her slippers, as if preparing to dress and march on Jotunheim in just her nightclothes - as was the capability of a mother's determination.

"Jotunheim," Loki repeated, his brow furrowed in anger, "I don't know why. I'm going to get him back."

Amelia choked as she sucked in a breath. Floundering forwards and latching onto her husband's arm, she stammered and spoke in low tones, "Surely Byleistr hasn't taken him!?"

Loki shook his head, eyes flashing intensely with anger, "No. Kari has made his own way there, and there's only one way he could've done so." His voice was deadly quiet, almost characteristic of the way he spoke about villains - the criminal individuals he often found himself fighting against from mission to mission. He was pissed, and Amelia did not blame him. If their son had escaped the palace and travelled to a whole other realm, he had a lot to answer for, including the transgression of almost giving his mother a damn heart attack.

At that moment, the door to the bedroom swung open and a guard entered, somewhat out of breath as if he'd sprinted from one end of the palace to the other, prompting Amelia to spin away and adjust her robe to make sure she was definitely fully covered, and her face turned an unfortunate shade of pink in the process.

"You were right, my prince, the vault was breached and the keystone is missing," the guard spoke, forcing himself to keep his eyes on Loki as he realised his mistake of not knocking before entering.

Loki himself must have been experiencing a level of infuriation previously unknown to him when regarding his children, because he did not think to even reprimand the guard for bursting in unannounced and catching sight of the princess in her loose nightclothes. It was a good thing the robe had been the first thing Amelia reached for when she threw herself out of bed.

"I assume you've alerted my brother," Loki stated, pinching his brow and grinding his teeth when the guard nodded in affirmation. "Leave us," he demanded, and the guard bowed his head and exited the room, letting the door close behind him.

"Loki, tell me exactly what the fuck has happened," Amelia implored, in no mood for unfamiliar buzzwords or confusing drops of information that she didn't understand, "what is a keystone? Are you saying our son took something from the vault? How?"

Loki wiped his face with his hand, huffing as he began pacing back and forth, "Amelia, there is only one way into Jotunheim from this realm without the use of the Bifrost. Helblindi used it once before when he sent his soldiers to kidnap you and the twins, that's how they reached Midgard to begin with. A mystic gateway between realms, but the gateway requires a key; when I killed Helblindi and Byleistr assumed Jotunheim's throne, he offered the key to us as a gesture of good faith, and insurance that no rogue frost giants would try and make off with it to potentially enter Midgard. That key - the keystone - has been kept in our vault ever since," he paused, observing his wife's face to make sure she was observing his words, "I don't know how, but it seems our son has taken it and travelled to Jotunheim."

Amelia was at a loss for words, nerves frayed and feeling oddly guilty for what had transpired, "But… but why would he run away? Have we done something to push him away?" Tears prickled at her eyes but she blinked them back.

Loki gazed at his wife. He didn't have an answer for that, and in all honesty he hadn't even considered that they had done something to make Kari want to leave - it was a ridiculous notion. All he had been contemplating was that their son was a naughty, disobedient, angst-ridden teenager who wanted to cause a stir and had picked the absolute worst way to do it.

"We've done nothing," Loki pointed out, "He's just being a difficult, arrogant child. He will regret what he has done and I see no reason why we shouldn't confine him to his chambers for the rest of the summer." His voice rose as he struggled to keep a lid on his temper, clenching his fists at his sides.

Amelia covered her mouth as she worried her lower lip between her teeth, shaking her head as she herself began to pace, concerned for her son's well being. "Loki, he is safe, isn't he?"

Loki pursed his lips, "He's with Byleistr, that is what Heimdall told me. Still, I do not trust everyone in Byleistr's court. For all I know, there are frost giants in Utgard who wish to avenge the deaths of Helblindi and Laufey, and if they knew Kari was my son, they might-" he cut himself off, growing silent and tense as a gasp sounded from Amelia's throat, before he gave his wife a dismal look, "I've lingered long enough, I need to go and get our son." He made the move toward the doors and then, without forewarning, they burst open again, this time revealing the king - who appeared to have dressed hastily.

Thor looked to be in a state of disbelief, "How exactly has my nephew broken through our vault security and fled to Jotunheim without any witnesses?"

"The gods only know," Loki hissed vehemently, "but be assured, I will find out." His tone was dangerous; Amelia knew Loki would never ever hurt their son, but his temper worried her - he definitely had no reservations about shouting Kari's ear off, and if the boy had felt the need to run away in the first place, she didn't want Loki screaming in the boy's ear and making things worse.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go," Thor pressed, Stormbreaker in hand. He too was distrustful of the frost giants in Utgard - it wasn't that he did not trust Byleistr, because the frost giant had proven he held no ill will to Asgard or Midgard, and that his intentions were purely righteous - but many of the Jotuns who had served Helblindi remained alive, and he feared they would not hesitate to inflict harm once again.

"Wait, Loki!" Amelia exclaimed, grabbing ahold of her husband's arm as he began to leave, and Loki halted, perceiving her disquieted expression and furrowing his eyebrows. She looked imploringly at him, squeezing his arm, "Loki, I need you to be gentle with Kari. Please. He's clearly troubled, I don't want you to rush in and frighten him with your temper. You know what happened last time, you need to be calm."

Loki looked taken aback, "Amelia, he has vastly misbehaved-"

"-and he needs to know what he's done is wrong, yes, but you need to think about why he's run away in the first place. Children who are happy don't run away, I-" Amelia's mouth snapped shut and her eyes looked glassy very suddenly, lips twitching as if she was struggling to say something, and then solemnly admitted, "...I would know."

Loki's eyes flicked between hers, his face softening in comprehension, before once again creasing with distress. There were parts of Amelia's childhood that she had still yet to divulge, just as there were things about Loki's childhood that he had never spoken about, but Amelia's words rang true. He himself had run away multiple times as a child, and it was not because he yearned to go sight-seeing in other realms.

"Just bring him home safe, okay? After that we can talk about punishing his behaviour, together." Amelia's gaze shined earnestly as she blinked back the moisture in her eyes, rubbing her hand over his arm affectionately.

Loki sighed, nodding in resignation, "...Alright, Amelia. I'll do this your way."

Amelia gave an answering sigh of relief, her eyes filling with reassurance, and she released him so that he could depart.

Thor, who had dutifully stepped away to give Amelia and Loki a moment to talk things over, resumed his overwrought demeanour, and motioned as if to hurry his brother out of the room.

"No, Thor," Loki said assertively, "I'm going to Jotunheim alone this time."

Thor faltered, "What?"

"He's my son, my responsibility. I'm going to find him and bring him home by myself," Loki declared, "And while I'm at it… I'm going to have a good, long talk with him."

---

Several hours earlier…

It really was far too easy for him, Kari thought as he approached the 'top secret' location of the mystic gateway between Midgard and Jotunheim, to come into possession of such sensitive information as this - the site at which two realms met. He had thought it would be impossible to find, that it surely had to be smothered in concealing magic, but alas it was not. It was simply there when he reached the coordinates he'd read in the book he had appropriated from the library.

Kari was surprised that the information had just been there on the page, but perhaps Thor felt it was unnecessary to hide the gateway's location while he thought the keystone needed to use it was secure beneath the palace. It was rather naive of them to think that Kari wouldn't jump at the chance to cross between realms when the capacity to do so was at his fingertips.

He'd always wanted to go to space, though unfortunately that was off the table. But this… this was the next best thing.

It had taken an hour to travel on horseback, though it probably would've taken anyone else closer to forty-five minutes. He'd had trouble controlling his horse, Nala, who seemed to know he was up to no good, and felt the need to make everything difficult for him as she usually did.

He'd never really had an affinity with animals, and it showed. His horse was essentially a disobedient little shit, something Kari had grumpily exclaimed after finally reaching his destination, at which point he sent Nala to make her way back home to the palace - she was exceedingly smart and had an impeccable memory, and could probably make her way home even easier than Kari could.

In the dark of night, Kari used the illuminating light of his magic to brighten the way - he'd learned one day, when he'd been playing around with his spells by himself, that forming a ball of energy and keeping it solid in his palm resulted in an excellent replacement for a flashlight.

The mystic gateway was tucked into the back of a cave south of the kingdom of Asgard, and when he locked his eyes upon it, Kari understood why it wasn't exactly a Midgardian tourist attraction. The gateway was subtle, like it had been lazily chipped into the back of the cave wall with a hammer and chisel, but the artist had given up halfway through. It wasn't overly dramatic as he had imagined, and was underwhelming enough that he almost walked past it; if he hadn't been actively looking for it, he may have even missed it entirely.

He gingerly reached into the bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out the keystone Aster had procured for him - it was a stone sphere, carved with Nordic runes that spelled the word Jotunheim - and lifted it to the door to drag it across the wall, tracing the lines he'd recalled the library book had detailed.

The lines of the gateway erupted with light when the final symbol was traced, and Kari squinted into the vast radiance until it dimmed ever so slightly to reveal a pathway made from luminescence, seemingly coming together in the shape of a tree branch. It made sense when he lifted his gaze to look upon the dazzling sight before him.

A tree composed of phosphorescence, both frightening and awe-inspiring in its enormity, stood before him. Well, it didn't exactly stand in place. It floated, roots on show, in an infinite space that reminded Kari of the universe's many galaxies.

On either side of the branch-bridge was a sheer drop into a shining void that seemed to hold both nothing and everything all at once. It was purely indescribable, which explained why Kari's thoughts felt like they were turning to slush as he looked upon it. He didn't want to dwell too long on it and end up losing his mind, so he pulled himself together and gulped, taking a step onto the path of light that somehow held his weight, and carefully made his way up the tree where the trail curved around its trunk.

In the back of his mind, Kari recalled that his father had once spoken of this tree; the Tree of Life, he'd called it, also known as Yggdrasil - the central sacred tree that connected all realms. He wondered if he could reach other realms from here, if he had the specific keystones and knew the specific symbols to trace; he would most definitely try if he could.

For now, it seemed Yggdrasil was laying out a very specific route for him to take, and he was set on traversing it without dawdling, because if he peered over the edge of the path beneath his feet for too long, it had a dizzying effect on him - and he did not want to fall off this thing.

When he reached the end of the line, a gleaming doorway formed before him, so he stepped through it and experienced the strangest feeling - it was like he was snapping back to reality and being pulled in, his feet becoming grounded on a rough and uneven floor.

The light rapidly faded, and he realised he was no longer circling the trunk of the World Tree, but had been deposited in another very dark cave. He wasted no time in illuminating his surroundings with his magic once more so that he could observe the way.

Unlike in Norway, the air here was cold and pleasant, a world away from the heat of the summer he'd been tortured by; it was immediately so much more comfortable, and he basked in it, returning the keystone to his bag as he set off through the linear passage in the realm he had not stepped foot in since he was a tiny child.

If Kari was a full Midgardian, he would be curling in on himself and shaking from the harsh chill in the air, especially in the light clothes he was wearing - leather and linen, the garb of an Asgardian adventurer, wasn't fit for braving the treacherous lands of Jotunheim - but thankfully, because he'd inherited his father's immunity to cold temperatures, he felt at home.

As the cave ahead grew lighter, Kari knew he was about to reach the outside - what awaited him, he wasn't sure, but he felt the odd pull of excitement in his chest. He was doing something he really shouldn't have been doing, and his father wasn't there to stop him - not yet, at least - and for the moment, he felt freedom.

The darkness of the cave receded, the light ahead growing brighter the closer he came to the exit, and he realised with a start that his body had already reacted to the ice cold air, turning blue from head to toe. Usually, he had to physically touch ice for the change to occur, as temperatures in Midgard scarcely reached a low enough point that it forced his skin to react, so it was surprising to lift his hand and see that azure hue already taking hold of him.

Though he could not see it, he knew his eyes had shifted from green to rich vermillion.

Kari stilled at the mouth of the cave, looking out at the vast white landscape ahead. It appeared to be noon here, not midnight like it was at home, which simply felt strange, like he'd entered into a new timezone in just a few short steps. Blessedly, the land was not in the middle of being ravaged by a blizzard - it was snowing, yes, but not violently so. The city of Utgard was within view, another blessing. The gods were on Kari's side, clearly.

With an exuberant grin, Kari began steadily walking in the direction of the Jotun city where the king resided. It was not an easy journey, because the ground was covered in a thick blanket of snow, and the terrain below it was already uneven, causing him to trip every few steps and teeter off balance. At one point, he fully toppled to the ground, scraping himself on the jagged rocks below the snow; he didn't let it slow him down and merely pushed himself back up, resuming his travels.

If Aster had seen him lose his footing, she most definitely would've been gasping for breath through her laughter.

His steps eventually grew steep as he began to ascend the mountain Utgard was built into, and individual little homes came into view, along with the vague shapes of humanoid giants.

Suddenly, it dawned on Kari that what he was doing was rather crazy. Kari didn't have a perfect recollection of what had happened the last time he was here, but he remembered the scariest parts, and the rest had been retold to him from both his mom and his dad. In his mind, he could see Jotun soldiers attacking his father and his uncle as they both fought valiantly to save him, his sister and his mother. The frost giants had fought like they enjoyed it; he could only hope that they didn't all pounce on him the moment he stepped into their territory. Before, he'd confidently told his sister that his status would protect him, but now he wasn't so sure.

When he reached the boundaries of the city, stepping through the open gates and continuing up the hill past Jotun civilians, he suddenly became awfully self-conscious of his stature. He wasn't exactly short back home - he was as tall as his mother and still actively growing - but here, there wasn't a single person around that didn't require him to tilt his head back to look them in the eyes.

And by the gods, they were all looking him in the eyes.

His outsider status was straight away sussed out, and he found his sure-footed steps began to falter a little. Resuming the trek, albeit with a little more caution, Kari tried to ignore the gawping faces of most of the surrounding inhabitants and made for the upper levels of the city that lead directly to the castle of Utgard - where the king of Jotunheim lived.

It was weird, Kari thought, how he had two uncles that were both kings of their respective lands. If the kids at school knew how intricately Kari was tied to royalty, they would all want to sit next to him at lunch and hear of the stories he had to tell. Even Louis, who had completely cut all contact with him since the initial incident, save for the occasional grim stare in the hallways or at lunch - he would surely be too enamoured with how incredible Kari really was to carry on ignoring him.

Too bad he couldn't tell anyone at school the things he yearned to tell them. He was forced to censor himself in everyday conversation when he was amongst his friends - he wouldn't even truthfully be able to tell them what he did all summer.

Being the son of a beloved superhero really did suck sometimes.

The crunch of the snow beneath his feet dampened as stepped onto a well-walked path that had been compressed by the feet of giants and followed it towards an area that was concealed behind a closed gate, guarded by Jotuns with spears.

The two guards on either side of the gate stepped forward when they saw him, peering down at him with distrust in their eyes. They did not raise their spears yet, clearly seeing Kari as a non-threatening child, but they were heedful, comprehending very quickly that he was not a resident of Utgard.

"Who goes there?" One of them questioned, his voice deep and intimidating to match his looming height, and Kari swallowed tightly, unnerved by the unfriendly stare in his deep red eyes.

"Um, I'm- um, uh," Kari stammered, trying to pull his thoughts together in the face of the frightening guard before him, "Kuh- uhh, I'm… here to see the king," he finished rather pathetically, shoving his hands in his pockets to avoid fidgeting, but the guard did not see this as an acceptable move.

"Hands out of your pockets!" The guard snapped, shocking Kari to his core, and he obeyed at once, keeping his hands flush against the outside of his thighs. "That wasn't the question that was asked of you, boy, state your name."

"Kari, it's Kari," he quickly responded, inwardly telling himself that he was going to be fine in an effort to calm his frazzled state.

"Kari?" The guard parroted with a sneer before turning to the other sentry present and cracking a smirk, "You hear that? Kari. He introduces himself like I'm supposed to know exactly who he is!" He released a booming laugh that could give Thor a run for his money and the other sentry responded in much the same way.

"I-I'm Kari Lokison! Son of Loki, a prince of Asgard!" Kari suddenly snapped, offended by the jeering, though in retrospect he wasn't sure if this was a stupid move or a brave one.

With the eyes of the guards back on him, he waited with baited breath for them to say something in response, but the both of them just glared like he was an inconvenience, like a piece of grit stuck in their boots.

"See yourself out of Utgard, child, you are not welcome here," the first guard said simply, and Kari couldn't tell if the Jotun didn't believe him, or if he did believe him and wanted him dismissed.

A petulant expression befell Kari's face, and he opened his mouth to repeat his title and demand to see the king, but was interrupted halfway through the first syllable by a fresh voice behind him.

"Now, now, Valdemar. This small giant here wishes to meet with the king. He must have a good reason to want to do so, no?"

Kari turned his head and was greeted by the sight of another giant, who stood about as tall as the guard - a respectable twelve feet tall, if he had to guess - whose dark hair was pulled back into one long braid. His face was oddly handsome for a Jotun, Kari supposed, especially when compared to the face of the guard who had a face like an ogre.

He did not know who this giant was, but a younger Jotun sidled up beside him looking like an overgrown ten year old, carrying a large bag to his chest that looked heavy. Well, heavy to Kari. This tall child seemed to carry it without issue, and the unknown younger giant rolled his red eyes over Kari in a surveying manner. His hair was also black, but shoulder length, a few small braids falling down either side of his face.

"Who's this small thing?" The young giant questioned with a smug expression, and Kari's nose scrunched at the wording.

"Tell us your name, child, I didn't quite catch it," the handsome Jotun asked, hands on his hips like a school teacher awaiting an answer.

"It's Kari Lokison," Kari said tentatively, "I'm a… prince of Asgard."

The handsome Jotun appraised him with a contemplating gaze, tilting his head as if to get a better look at him, before smiling in a way that suggested hi-jinks, "Asgard, hm? You smell more like a Midgardian, if you ask me." The tone was jarringly playful, which caught Kari off-guard and left him searching for words.

"I thought Asgard was destroyed ages ago," the young Jotun remarked, one eyebrow quirked up like he didn't believe Kari.

Suddenly, the handsome Jotun gave the younger one a harmless cuff to the side of his head, "Thickhead. Do you not recall your studies, Axle? You know the surviving Asgardians relocated to Midgard after Ragnarok."

The younger Jotun, presumably named Axle, whined and pouted, adjusting his grip on the bag in his arms, "Don't hit me when I can't fight back!"

"Pft," the handsome giant rolled his eyes, and then squinted at Kari with one more assessing gaze, and then smiled, "My name is Arvid. Follow me, young giant, I will take you to see the king. If what you tell me is true, your's will be an interesting meeting to behold."

With that, Arvid the Handsome Giant led Kari through the gates that the disgruntled guards reluctantly pulled open, and not-so-little Axle trailed along beside them, constantly eyeing Kari like he was trying to sum him up. All the while, Kari felt awed that he was being escorted through the boundaries of the castle by these two who presumably knew the king personally - that was all he could assume given the guards did not protest.

The entrance hall of the castle was uproarious with laughter and excitement, and while Kari vaguely remembered a lot of clamorous noise from rowdy giants the last time he'd been here, he could feel that the entire vibe of the room was far different than before. The giants seemed relaxed as they drank and ate, there were giants playing instruments and dancing in the corner, young giants played and ran about the room; all of them with contentment in their faces.

The capacity of Kari's memories were being pushed when it came to details, but if there was anything he did recall perfectly from the time Helblindi had stolen him and his sister, it was that everybody in the king's court had had an underlying fear running through their bodies that was so prominent, it had permeated the whole room.

That fear was gone now. This place was not nearly as frightening as he remembered.

He wasn't sure if it was tied to his distress from last time, or if it was because he had simply grown since then, but the giants did not quite seem as… giant as he remembered. Sure, they were tall. Huge, in fact - some of them reached at least twelve to fifteen feet, and yet seeing them all luxuriating on the benches drinking large goblets of mead with smiles on their faces, Kari felt as though they were all on his level rather than looming threateningly above him.

At the end of the hall, sitting upon the throne, was Byleistr. He was engaging in conversation with a female giant standing to his left, who was cradling a babe in her arms, and had yet to notice who had just entered his main hall. Kari swallowed, fidgeting with his fingers as Arvid led him all the way towards the steps that led up to the throne, Axle still following alongside them without a care in the world; he didn't know what to expect. All he knew of Byleistr was what his father and uncle Thor had told him, he was too young to recall much of the less frightening of the two brothers who had kidnapped him and his sister long ago, but the words that had become associated with the now Jotun king were 'intelligent', 'calculating', 'cordial' and 'fair'.

Byleistr turned his head to address the three now standing in his court when he noticed the room had quietened. Giants had lowered their voices and peered at Kari in curiosity, and the room was suddenly far more silent as a result. It was daunting.

The king's brow furrowed as he looked upon Kari, and Kari was shocked at how much Byleistr looked like his father. He knew they were twins, but the uncanny resemblance had slipped from his mind over the past decade. There were clear differences, but a quick glance could have him confusing the giant for his father in Jotun form - if it wasn't for Byleistr's very tall stature.

Axle spoke first, rushing forward and practically zipping up the steps. He lifted the bag in his arms, "I got the materials, father! Can you show me how to make my own armour now? Please?"

Kari's eyes grew wide as he realised the identity of the young giant. Axle was Byleistr's son, and because Byleistr was Kari's biological uncle, that made Axle his cousin. It was a strange revelation, learning he had even more family here in Jotunheim. Surely his father had to know that his Jotun brother had a son. The two realms had been in formal contact ever since they'd established an alliance years ago, but if his father had been made aware of the expansion of his Jotun brother's family, he never felt the need to share it with his own children.

And he certainly hadn't been eager to travel to Jotunheim to meet them, not like he had been eager to meet Thor's sons following their respective births.

"Later, my boy," Byleistr assured his son with a pat on the head, and then lifted his gaze to Kari, regarding him with confusion and a lack of recognition - which wasn't surprising given Kari's physical appearance had most definitely changed since the last time they'd met - but it was clear in the king's eyes that he knew Kari wasn't native to Utgard.

How was it that all of these giants could tell Kari did not belong there with just a single look?

It was then he remembered that he was wearing Asgardian-made leather armour, and things slowly began to make sense to Kari. He was practically presenting as an outsider with his unfamiliar garb; even if the giants could tell it wasn't specifically made in Asgard, they definitely knew it wasn't the handiwork of any of the Jotnar.

"Arvid?" Byleistr questioned, addressing the handsome Jotun.

"Sire, this young boy is claiming to be your nephew," Arvid motioned him with a hand, "Karo Lokison."

"No- it's Kari," Kari interjected, glaring up at the giant with an offended pout upon his lips.

Byleistr rose quite suddenly, watching Kari with a scrutinising stare as he slowly descended the stairs towards him, and although Byleistr's looming presence did not cause Kari to tremble, he still felt intimidated by the silence around him paired with the critical way his Jotun uncle was inching towards him.

When the Jotun king stood directly in front of him and Kari was craning his neck to look him in the eye, Byleistr squatted down so that he was face to face with him, and then he… sniffed him?

Presumably, Byleistr identified the same Midgardian scent that Arvid had recognised earlier, because his eyes lit up in recognition and shock.

"By the Gods," the king remarked, genuinely surprised, "you are Loki's son. What are you doing here, young one?" The question wasn't accusatory or in a tone that suggested Byleistr didn't want him here, but rather incredulity.

"I, um… I just… wanted to come," Kari shrugged his shoulders, suddenly bashful to be the centre of such attention.

Even Arvid looked astonished, "Wait, so that wasn't a jest? You really are a prince of Asgard?"

"Does your father know you're here?" Byleistr questioned, lifting an eyebrow as he watched Kari closely, though by the look in his eyes it seemed he already knew the answer to that question.

Kari sheepishly shook his head, and Byleistr rose to his full height again with a vaguely apprehensive expression, hands on his hips. He looked briefly like Loki did when he was disappointed and preparing to reprimand, but instead of doing such a thing, he gave Kari a small smile and asked, "Are you hungry, young one?"

With widening eyes, Kari nodded slightly. He hadn't eaten since dinner, which had been a good few hours ago by now, plus he had travelled all this way on foot so he was starting to lack energy and needed something to keep himself awake. It would be quite embarrassing to come all this way and then pass out on a bench till his father came to collect him - and shout his ear off, no doubt.

"Then come along and eat, and you can tell me exactly how you came to be here," Byleistr motioned the closest bench where a space was immediately made for him, and he did as he was told, taking a seat and looking over the spread of many different unfamiliar foods, a burst of enthusiasm growing within him to try everything he saw and bask in the culture that was a part of his heritage.

Kari sat amongst the giants who engaged readily in conversation with him; they appeared amicable and full of jests as they poked harmless fun at his small height, something he didn't take too seriously. He learned that Axle was almost ten years old, and that he had a younger sister, the baby giant cradled in the arms of the woman who hovered by Byleistr's side, and that her name was Insú - she was only four months old.

Kari also found out that Arvid, the giant he had seen as particularly handsome with his high cheek bones and chiselled jaw, was King Byleistr's chief advisor - essentially what Loki was to Thor - and that he had served him well ever since Byleistr had taken the throne.

Young Axle asked him questions about his home and he was happy to answer, revealing all sorts of interesting pieces of his life in Midgard to his curious cousin; Kari told him of his sisters and his cousins, Magni and Modi, and his mother, and finally the subject somehow got onto the topic of his education.

"I go to school in Manhattan, it's pretty boring sometimes. All the kids there are kind of annoying and we have to keep our entire lives a secret from them. I swear, if some of them knew who I really was, they'd flip. There's my sister's friend, Autumn, she's pretty cool and very smart, but quiet. Then there's Charlotte, who is honestly a major bitch half the time, but she likes the same movies and books that we like so we let her hang with us. Oh, and there's Louis, my best friend, he's really awesome-"

Kari fell suddenly quiet midway through his rapid explanation of his school life and friends, a feeling of woe overcoming him as he remembered the state of his friendship with Louis and their seemingly never-ending fight. He breathed a sigh, shaking his head when Axle asked him what was wrong, but he didn't feel like burdening the young giant with his friendship troubles so he tried his best to hide his dismay behind a false smile.

Byleistr, ever sharp and perceptive, noted the change in his nephew's mood and grew concerned. He rose from the table and lifted a hand to indicate that his son should stay put, "Kari, would you like to take a walk around the castle with me?"

Kari was surprised by the invitation, but couldn't deny that he was interested at the prospect of seeing more of the castle. All he really remembered from when he was a child were the cold grey walls of stone.

So he accepted the invitation and followed Byleistr out of the throne room and into the maze-like corridors of Castle Utgard that the king seemed to know like the back of his hand. He was led to the upper levels and shown the view from the apertures that lined the hallway - it was a mix of mountainous terrain and the sheer white snow. It was here that Byleistr not so subtly inquired about what was troubling Kari.

"I must ask, and certainly don't take this the wrong way, because you are more than welcome to spend time here, but why did you come to Jotunheim?" The king questioned when it was just the two of them.

Kari froze at the line of questioning and promptly scratched the back of his neck sheepishly; he supposed the pathetic excuse of 'I just want to visit' wouldn't be enough for the smart king of Jotunheim, and he didn't really want to try and lie to his Jotun uncle, so he let out a sigh and reluctantly opened up to Byleistr.

"I… I've just found it difficult to be around everyone at home, in Asgard. The weather is so hot, mom's always busy with Daisy, Aster is too busy spending time with her secret boyfriend to hang out with me, dad is always training with uncle Thor, and even Magni and Modi. He spends more time with them than with me, can you believe it? I just wanted to see if I would be missed, I guess," Kari quietly admitted, brow furrowing as he willed himself to remain calm and not let his emotions get the best of him.

Byleistr tilted his head, frowning down at the boy empathetically, but Kari wasn't yet finished.

"School has been rough. I had an argument with my friend and we still haven't made up. And then the summer comes and I go to Asgard and it's just as bland and lonely as school was. Summer vacation isn't supposed to be like that… It's supposed to be fun, but even if I was able to hang out with Louis all summer, he wouldn't want to hang out with me. He hates me."

Byleistr put a hand on Kari's shoulder, having to lean down ever so slightly just to reach him, and gave him a small but assuring smile, "Tell me about your problem at school, perhaps I can advise you on how to handle it?"

Kari stared up at his Jotun uncle, utterly awestruck yet again at how easily Byleistr had just… offered to help. It wasn't even anything to do with him, but here the King of Jotunheim was, volunteering to provide a solution to the problems that were plaguing him like it was just the most normal situation in the world.

He had never expected Byleistr to be so willing to talk him through something as mundane as his relationships at school that it left him momentarily speechless. For the first time in a while, Kari felt somewhat reassured that an adult was so willing to aid him. His mother had attempted to get Kari to fix things with Louis, but she hadn't tried to dig out the root of the problem, she had simply asked Kari to 'make up' with Louis, like it was that simple. Then there was his father, who hadn't even tried to listen to any problems Kari had with his school friends - when Kari and Aster had started arguing at the dinner table, Loki had put a stop to it by raising his voice, and that was that.

So here Kari stood, looking up at his uncle with a gaze full of gratefulness despite the fact that Byleistr hadn't even had a chance to offer any counsel just yet. With extreme ease, Kari began relaying the long story of everything that had led up to his fight with Louis - the way he had saved that child from the burning building, the subsequent illness and time off school, the reunion when he finally returned and was swarmed by all the students he had scarcely spoken to, and finally the odd reaction from Louis that resulted in an argument. He spoke of how Maya Green had invited him to sit with her every day since, and how he'd taken her up on the offer just to spite Louis.

Byleistr dutifully listened with a concentrated expression, all of his focus on Kari's situation like he was making it his life's mission to come up with a solution. Eventually, the Jotun king hummed quietly.

"So your friend Louis tried to minimise your achievement, which left you feeling upset - I understand why that would make you feel unhappy," Byleistr remarked, and Kari had to fight back tears from just how validated he felt. He swallowed thickly, making out like he was just brushing away a bit of dust from the corner of his eye when he was in fact wiping away a tear.

"And these children who swarmed you - they were not your friends until your heroic rescue of that little girl?"

Kari shook his head in confirmation.

"I must wonder, why is it you yearn for their approval?" Byleistr asked, "If they did not treat you with respect prior to your heroic moment, what exactly are you trying to prove to them?"

"Huh?" Kari murmured, taken aback by his uncle's questioning.

"Your friend Louis may have felt that these children were only seeing you as a person of value after you saved that girl, and perhaps wanted to highlight the fact that you are somebody of value regardless of that heroic act. Perhaps what he was trying to say simply came out wrong, does that sound like a possibility?" Byleistr suggested, and Kari peered up at him with a sorrowful feeling growing in his stomach.

Was that really what Louis's goal had been? To point out that Kari didn't need to go around saving people in order to be seen as somebody deserving of respect and attention?

Louis had repeatedly tried to steer attention away from the fact that Kari had done something dangerous and heroic, and Kari had assumed Louis did so out of jealousy from the attention he'd received.

He felt almost silly in hindsight after Byleistr pointed it out - Kari had been so dead set in revelling in the approval he received from these kids at school that hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things, and in doing so he had lost his best friend.

"Do you even enjoy the company of this… Maya Green?"

Kari blinked again, pondering the question. It didn't take him all that long to come to his conclusion, "Well… not really. She's kind of boring and just wants to talk about makeup all the time."

"So, you've spent months enduring the company of Maya Green despite finding her to be boring and uninteresting. Meanwhile you've lost precious time with the friends who actually matter over what could have just been a misunderstanding?" Byleistr asked, "Have you tried simply talking to Louis?"

"Talking?" Kari frowned.

"Yes. I find that clear communication does wonders in such situations," a small smile pulled at the corner of Byleistr's lips.

Kari exhaled, wondering if reconciliation with Louis was as simple as talking to him face to face and getting their feelings straight.

He was unable to finish that thought, because a flash of light from outside the apertures caught his eye and a beam of rainbow-coloured luminescence pierced the sky and touched down somewhere outside Castle Utgard.

"Oh," Byleistr spoke, "It looks like your father's arrived."

Kari ran his hands through his hair, pulling at his locks rather frantically as he turned around to start pacing back and forth, "Aw, shit. Dad's gonna be so mad at me. He's not going to let this go, I am in so much trouble. He never listens, he dismisses my feelings, I just want to make him proud but he never gives me the chance! I saved a little girl and he blew up at me. Why can't he just encourage me and let me be a hero?" He stopped, gazing up at his uncle with a wistful gleam in his eye, "Why can't he be like you? You're letting your son make himself some armour! I bet if your son saved a little girl, you'd be proud, huh? Not my dad."

Byleistr blinked with concern, seemingly taken aback by Kari's outburst, and then furrowed his brow and calmly stated, "I would not want Axle to make himself vulnerable by approaching a building on fire. We frost giants have a significant weakness to the element of fire, I feel the same must be true for you."

Kari groaned, running a hand over his face. He didn't want to be lectured again over this, "The point I'm trying to make is that you probably wanna teach your son how to fight and protect himself and be a good person who protects those who can't protect themselves, right? If he turned out to be a hero, you'd be proud of him, correct?"

Byleistr's face softened, "Yes, I would."

"Right," Kari nodded, "and that's what I want to be. A hero, like him! But he just told me I was a stupid, naive child. He might as well wrap me in bubble wrap if he's never going to let me take any risks," tears prickled at his eyes and he wiped them away on his sleeve.

A puzzled look flickered over Byleistr's face as he repeated the words 'bubble wrap?' in bewilderment, before quickly brushing it away and giving his nephew a purposeful and significant look.

"So you want to save people and be righteous, using your abilities for good, and for the betterment of people in Midgard?" The Jotun king murmured aloud, and Kari gave an assertive, eager nod. Byleistr looked momentarily like he was thinking hard about something, before there was a definitive change in his intense red eyes, like he had made up his mind about something.

"Well, in that case… there's something I'd like to give you. Follow me, we can afford a few more minutes while Arvid keeps your father busy, I'm sure," Byleistr stated, with a slight knowing smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. Kari tilted his head, intrigued at what his Jotun uncle could possibly have to give him, but followed without question, because he was never one to turn down a gift.

He jogged to keep up with the much taller giant, who was himself taking large strides in the name of haste, and was led through several winding corridors and down several flights of stairs till they eventually reached a large door with iron chains keeping it locked up. Byleistr made quick work of it; with a flick of his hand and a dash of yellow magic, the chains seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving the doors free to be opened, which Byleistr also did so with ease.

Inside was a messy room with random items strewn about the place, it looked like a storage room of some kind, but why would Byleistr keep all these oddities under lock and key?

"This is Utgard's vault," Byleistr spoke, answering Kari's unspoken question. Kari gazed around with renewed fascination and wondered again what his uncle wished to give him from this room; it had to be something of high value if he kept it secure.

The giant came to a stop in front of a coat-stand of sorts, which housed what seemed to be a feathery cloak. Byleistr picked it up and turned to Kari expectantly, holding it out for him; Kari looked almost uncertain, but held out his hands and accepted the cloak, lifting the garb in his hands to get a good look at it.

"Now this, I've been trying to find a use for for years now. It's a cloak that, when worn, allows its wearer the gift of flight; it transforms into a pair of elegant, dark wings that-"

"Flight?" Kari exclaimed, his eyes as wide as saucers, "Did you say flight?"

"Yes," Byleistr confirmed with raised eyebrows, "When you wear it, it will adjust to your size as I'm sure it currently remains as large as it did when it was last worn by myself. I must say, I was not a huge fan of the abilities it granted. Flying makes me travel sick, apparently." There was an echo of amusement in his tone, but Kari was still stuck on the fact that the cloak in his arms would allow him to actually fly.

"Holy shit," Kari whispered, "and you're giving it to me?"

"Of course. My son prefers to keep his feet on the ground, whereas you seem to be the type that would appreciate the vast freedom it grants," Byleistr remarked, "although, I want you to know that this is not a toy. I expect you to use it responsibly, and if I hear any word of it being used for ill intent or selfish purposes, I will take it back. Do you understand?" His voice was stern, but still calm, and the words were a promise of what would happen should Kari misuse the gift he had been given.

"Oh, yes, yes I totally understand! I won't use it irresponsibly, I swear! Thank you, oh gods, thank you so much," a slew of grateful words fell from Kari's lips as he lit up almost entirely with real, genuine happiness and excitement for the first time in months, "I'll use it responsibly, I swear! I'll do good with it, I promise," his eyes shone with unshed tears, his mind utterly blown that he had received such a wonderful gift from his Jotun uncle.

Byleistr smiled, "You are very welcome, young one. Now, we shouldn't keep your father waiting, come along."

Kari swallowed, still reeling from the gift, and hurriedly stored it carefully inside his bag, before he followed his uncle out of the vault and practised his breathing in an effort to calm himself for the upcoming barrage of screams he was going to be on the receiving end of.

---

Loki tapped his foot repeatedly against the stone floor of the main hall, arms crossed over his chest as he glared up at the giant who was currently seated in Byleistr's throne in a very relaxed way, splayed out like he was perfectly justified in where he had chosen to sit. His name was Arvid, Loki recalled; they'd met years back some time after Byleistr had chosen the giant to be his chief advisor, and Loki wasn't much fond of him then either.

"It's rather disrespectful of your own king, don't you think? Taking his seat like that," Loki spoke lowly, eyes narrowed in agitation. In reality, he did not care that his Jotun brother's advisor was acting so insolently, that was a problem for Byleistr, but Loki did find Arvid to be utterly annoying and grasped any opportunity to make him look bad in front of the rest of the court.

"Mmm, the king left me in charge, which means I get to sit on the throne, and I also get to decide who gets personally escorted out of Castle Utgard, so if I were you, I'd be on my best behaviour," Arvid jested with a playful tone, even leaning forward to wink because he knew it would vex Loki all the more.

"It's rather remiss of Byleistr to leave the throne in the hands of somebody who can't fight to save his life, no?" Loki clapped back, adding an extra layer of articulation to each word to get his point across.

"That's King Byleistr to you," Arvid responded, lifting his hand to admire his well-manicured fingernails, "and wow, aren't you the rude one? It almost seems like you're jealous you're not the one sitting on this throne." He crossed a leg over the other, smirking down at Loki with satisfaction, knowing he was poking at what was once a sore nerve.

Loki clenched his jaw irritably, "Enough of this foolish prattling. If my son is not brought to me this instant, I'll-"

A door flew open and Byleistr walked through with an anxious looking Kari in tow, and Loki immediately fell silent, his eyes flying to his son and holding tense eye contact until the boy dropped his gaze. Loki saw contrition on Kari's face; naturally, the boy knew he had done wrong by dropping into Jotunheim in the middle of the night without telling a single soul where he was going and what he was doing. He definitely knew he had caused his parents to worry relentlessly, and not for the first time. It seemed Kari had a bit of a streak going, the boy liked to pick all the ways in which he could insert himself into potential danger and trigger his parents to have heart attacks as they feared for his safety. Loki really wished his child wouldn't make a hobby of it, but clearly Kari had other ideas.

Granted, the boy did not seem injured in any way, that was a relief.

"Kari," Loki barely even said the boy's name with any inflection, but still his son flinched as he spoke. Kari slowly made his way towards his father, taking smaller than usual steps in order to stall as long as possible, and he clutched the bag slung over his shoulder tightly like it was a lifeline for him.

"Brother, it is good to see you," Byleistr remarked as he ascended the steps to his throne, which Arvid had already slipped out of, "would you like to stay for a while and perhaps meet your niece?"

Loki's eyes flitted to Byleistr's wife, a giantess called Sylfey who bore the title of Queen of Jotunheim, and the bundle she carried wrapped in her arms, before also peering towards Axle who was standing at her side, and he quietly exhaled and reluctantly shook his head, "Apologies, but I must return home with my son. His mother is extremely worried about him," he looked back at Kari as he said this, and the boy grew further guilty, lowering his head all the more to avoid his father's glare, "but I would be happy to visit sometime soon."

Byleistr nodded his head in understanding, "Very well. I look forward to it."

"I hope my boy hasn't been disruptive by dropping in unannounced," Loki drawled, refusing to take his eyes off of Kari; he needed the boy to know exactly how he felt about his son's risky escape to Jotunheim.

"Quite the contrary. It was a pleasure seeing him again, and he has been very well-behaved," Byleistr responded, and Kari peered back at his Jotun uncle, giving him a ghost of a smile.

"Right," Loki groused, "well, we should be going, in that case. Until next time."

"Until then, brother."

Kari swallowed, giving Byleistr, Arvid and Axle a wave over his shoulder, and then began walking as his father motioned the way forwards out of the main hall; he steadily avoided Loki's persistent gaze as he speed-walked away, as if he hoped outrunning his father would make his punishment any less severe.

To Kari's dismay and growing apprehension, they made it all the way out of the castle walls and beyond the boundaries of the residential land, out into the open white terrain where the wind and snow was beginning to pick up, before any words were spoken between the two of them. The silence was worse than an exploding temper, and Kari desperately wished with each added step that his father would hurry up and just say something. He was driving himself half mad with his nerves as he trudged through the fallen snow, his chest fluttering in anticipation of the first sign of his father's wrath, but when Loki did finally speak, it was with a shocking level of composure.

"Stop," Loki commanded his son who was walking a good few metres ahead of him, and the sudden speech made Kari flinch again, but he did as he was told and slowly turned around to face his dad.

It had been a while since either of them had seen the other's Jotun form as it was never truly cold enough in Midgard to cause their body's natural defences to trigger and transform them through air temperature alone, so they both took a moment to inspect the other's deep blue skin and bright red eyes. His father was more intimidating in this form; his red eyes were piercing.

After a few seconds, Loki lifted his hand out.

"Keystone. Now."

Kari gnawed at the inside of his cheek as he reached cautiously into his bag, hiding his newly received gift from view, and procured the keystone, placing it obediently into his father's hand; Loki placed it into his own pocket, and then continued to stare Kari down in a way that made the boy feel extremely uncomfortable and had him shifting his weight between his feet.

"Why?" Loki asked, a simple one-word question that rattled Kari to his core. His father was poised and imploring despite his heavily furrowed brow, but Kari had expected him to shout at him with booming anger and drag him back out of the realm.

"I… I-" Kari stammered, mouth opening and closing in a bid to try and figure out what to say.

"Why did you run away, to Jotunheim of all places, in the middle of the night?" Loki questioned again.

Kari's eyes stung with welling tears. He didn't feel as if he could accurately explain just why he felt the irresistible urge to flee Asgard and come to Jotunheim, because it wasn't just one solid reason. It was multiple little things that all boiled into one big desire to escape for a while, but his father wouldn't accept any excuse as a justified answer, Kari could tell from every part of his body language that he was trying to hold back his anger.

"I'm tired of this, Kari. You promised me you wouldn't do anything like this and put yourself in danger again, and don't act like you didn't know there were risks to coming here, I know you knew this place was dangerous," Loki seethed quietly, his voice fluctuating in volume as he tried to keep it controlled, and then a look of hurt seemed to seep into his expression, "It makes sense now, why you said 'I love you, dad' before bed. In case something did happen to you."

Kari blinked through his tears, a fruitless effort to dispel them, but he fought the urge to cry anyway as the wind whipped at his face. A snow-storm was beginning to emerge out of nowhere, as was habitual of the icy realm, and Kari felt the snowflakes hit his face with speed.

"It's okay, nothing happened to me dad, I'm fine," Kari tried to shrug it off, as if claiming the whole thing was 'no big deal' would be enough to save him from his father's anger, but from the look in Loki's bright vermillion eyes, it served only to increase his wrath.

"You promised me," Loki repeated.

Kari swallowed, "Technically I promised that I would refrain from saving someone if it meant putting myself in danger. But I wasn't here to save anyone." He knew he wasn't helping his situation, and that he was only digging his hole deeper.

Loki gave a sardonic nod of his head, "You came here for attention. You can't handle not being the centre of attention for a few days and that's why you came here," he concluded with a clenched jaw and Kari immediately shook his head in protest.

"No, that's wrong!" Kari snapped, his own anger spiking at the insinuation that he was just acting up because he craved attention, "I'm not here for attention! I'm here because it's too fucking hot in Asgard and nobody was gonna miss me anyway!"

The outburst and crude language from his son caused Loki's control on his temper to slip, and Kari seemed to realise his error in that moment, because he visibly froze up. Loki grinded his teeth together and made a noise of acute displeasure in the back of his throat, but he thought about what Amelia would say in this situation and he took a moment to breathe.

He ignored the usage of the curse word, there were more important things to discuss, "The idea that nobody in Asgard would miss you is absurd, boy. You are a teenager going through puberty, your hormones are all over the place and you are having wildly irrational thoughts and ideas as a result. Your family loves you. You know how devastated we would be if something happened to you, that much is clear from your burning building stunt. Why is it that you keep pushing these boundaries? At this age, you think you're invincible, but what do you think will happen if you keep testing the universe?" He took a step forward, demanding his son's undivided attention, and Kari took a step back. Loki repeated himself, "What do you think will happen?"

"Nothing happened," Kari snapped, "I'm fine! Byleistr would never have let anything happen to me!"

"You don't know all the dangers of this realm, boy. If you'd been unlucky enough, you could have died before you'd even reached his doorstep." The snow had grown thick; Castle Utgard had disappeared from view in the distance behind them due to the low visibility, and though Kari wasn't entirely sure, he surmised they could not see beyond a few metres ahead of them.

"Died how?" Kari argued, "From tripping on a rock? From getting lost in a snowstorm? I'm immune to the cold, remember! I'd have found my way back eventually!"

Almost in a flash, Loki summoned Laevateinn, his flaming sword, and roared in response, "You are an arrogant and oblivious child!" Kari staggered back a few terrified steps, and then the sound of an unknown creature's hideous snarl sounded from his left a fraction of a second before Loki lurched in the same direction, simultaneously swinging his blazing sword and pushing Kari aside with his free hand. Kari reeled for a few steps but ultimately saved himself from barrelling face-first into the ground, falling instead to his knees, and he seized up in fear at the sound of a dreadful shriek that sounded straight out of a horror movie. He clapped his hands over his ears, breathing hard, and heard the creature's grisly cries cut off quickly, followed by a heavy thud.

After a few moments of just the sound of the snow flurry around him, Kari peered over his shoulder and saw his father standing before a huge lifeless beast five times the size of him, still clutching his flaming sword in one hand. The beast was dead and drenched in blood, it looked similar to a wild boar that just happened to be gigantic, and it had sounded like something that would embed itself in Kari's nightmares for years to come.

Loki turned, a grim look on his face as he observed his son crouched in the snow and covering his ears, shivering from fright, and slowly walked towards him.

Kari didn't know why, but in that moment he lost himself in an intense wash of emotions and began to openly sob. Loki appeared to sigh, then lifted his head and spoke a few words up to the sky that Kari couldn't make out over the whirling noise of the blizzard surrounding them, before he approached and scooped Kari up under his arm without preamble.

The bright radiance of the rainbow Bifrost penetrated the storm and picked them up, where as usual Kari felt briefly like he was soaring through time and space, before they were deposited in Midgard, not in the palace, but rather by the lake on the outskirts of the kingdom.

In between his wretched sobs, the first thing Kari felt was the warm night air enveloping him and reminding him of one of the reasons he had realm-hopped in the first place. It wasn't too stifling now, but it would be by the time it hit midday.

The second thing he acknowledged was the reflection of the moon above in the peaceful lake before them, the mere sight prompting a wave of lethargy to roll over Kari as he recalled it was very late; guilt encompassed him at the thought of his mother lying awake and losing sleep while she waited for his father to return with him.

Kari crumpled into a heap on the ground when Loki released him and began frantically trying to wipe away his tears, embarrassed to be seen in such an emotional state, but his father wasn't doing or saying anything to worsen the humiliation he felt. Loki sat down beside him, cross-legged as he stared out at the water, a contemplative look on his face, and waited.

It took a few minutes for Kari to grow calmer, and by then his and his father's skin had bled back into white, reflecting the illuminating glow of the moon. Kari's eyes, while now back to their usual green, were still red rimmed with his distress.

"What made you think you wouldn't be missed?" Loki asked softly, his voice permeating the silence. Somewhere in the background, amongst the tall grass along the edges of the bank, crickets were chirping. The thought of bugs nearby made Kari's skin crawl.

The boy sniffled, trying to gather the composure to answer, and stammered out his response, "No one wants to spend time with me. You go to spar with uncle Thor, Magni and Modi. Aster would rather go and read by herself. Mom is too busy playing with Daisy. I don't have anyone to talk to, or to do anything with." He cautiously spoke the way he had spoken with Byleistr, revealing all the small things that had bothered him enough to do something so drastic in the end, "School was awful, Louis doesn't talk to me, I have no friends there either. And it's boring here, dad, I can't even do the things that make me happy, like playing video games, they're all back in Manhattan. This is the worst summer ever."

Loki gazed at his son, who covered his face and didn't meet his eyes, realising he had a lot of reasons to feel remorseful. Kari felt neglected, Loki had been so busy doing other things that he hadn't even thought his son needed attention; he had misidentified Kari's feelings before, thinking he just wanted to spend time alone in his room or swimming in the lake by himself - he thought that was just what the teenager wanted, completely disregarding the fact that his son was not an introvert. Kari was probably the only extrovert in the family. He thrived on spending time with friends and doing exciting hands-on activities, the boy was probably feeling constantly drained, and the weather certainly didn't help.

He had to be lonely in Asgard. Usually he would at least have Aster as somebody he could relate to, but their ongoing fight and inclination to avoid each other had meant that Kari truly didn't have anybody to enjoy his time with.

Loki understood now why his son often pushed for the idea of revealing the truth of his identity to his school friend. He always angrily shut the idea down, believing his son was purposely playing with fire and toying with an idea Kari knew was forbidden just to get on his father's nerves. Loki should've opened his ears and really listened to his son instead of being so dismissive.

"I'm sorry," Loki whispered, lifting a hand to rub Kari's back comfortingly. "I've not been attentive to you. I should have done better," he frowned, pausing, "I'm… sorry I don't spend enough time with you. But I… I wish you had said something, Kari. Instead of bottling it up and then travelling to Jotunheim in the middle of the night by yourself."

Kari couldn't meet his father's gaze again. He held onto his bag in his lap with a hold that was just shy of a death grip, fearing that any moment his father would find out what he had secreted away and would confiscate it and claim it too dangerous for him to be in possession of.

There was a lull of silence in which Loki seemed to ponder something, and then he posed his son a question that caused Kari to freeze, "How exactly did you get your hands on the keystone to begin with? It was locked in the palace's vault."

Kari pursed his lips, sealing them shut. He couldn't tell his father of Aster's involvement - he made a promise to her and he wasn't going to break it - but more importantly, he couldn't allude to anyone else's involvement whatsoever. If he hinted that somebody had aided him, his father would not stop interrogating him until he found out who that person was.

So Kari endeavoured to distract his dad away from his line of questioning, "I have tricks up my sleeve," he answered cryptically, because in a way it was true - except in this instance, Aster was the trick up his sleeve, and she in turn had tricks up her own sleeves. He knew the response wouldn't be enough though, so he brought up a topic that was a genuine and prevalent prospect in his mind.

"Dad," Kari murmured, not even needing to play up his emotions in any way as his eyes naturally watered once again, "are you ashamed of me?"

Loki blinked in shock, silent as though he did not comprehend the question for a few moments, before he sputtered out, "Why would you think that?"

Tears trickled down Kari's cheeks, "Because I'm not smart like Aster. You think I'm an idiot most of the time. She gets the highest grades in class and I get the lowest, and it's embarrassing for you because I'm bad at everything when I should be good at everything, because I'm your son. I have no talents, all I ever do is play video games, and you think I'm lazy because I spend hours a day on my playstation or my Nintendo switch." Kari released his thoughts and troubles like an endless stream of woe, taking the opportunity to vent his real beliefs to his father.

Loki was speechless, lips parted as he learned of his son's feelings, the notions his son actually believed to be true. And as he processed his son's words, he felt a tower of guilt come toppling down upon him because he had never given his son a reason to believe that wasn't how he felt about him. He'd called Kari stupid, yes, in anger, when he'd feared for the boy's safety after he'd pulled a frightening stunt, and even if he hadn't meant it, he still said it, and Kari only needed to hear it once to believe it was true.

And with Kari's passion for video games, Loki had never used the word 'lazy' to describe, but he hadn't needed to. His feelings were often made clear in the way he rolled his eyes or muttered remarks about how his son needed to do more productive things with his time than stare at a screen and fiddle with a gaming controller for three hours straight after school.

Loki knew the mind of a growing teen was prone to always comparing themselves to those who were more 'successful' than them, and with his words and actions doing nothing to repudiate Kari's thoughts of self-loathing, he had indirectly exacerbated them. He knew this story well, a tale as old as time, always comparing himself to his brighter sibling who received far more praise and notice from their father.

Kari didn't know just how much he was like his father, and Loki blamed himself.

"I'm not ashamed of you," Loki told him, just as his own father should have told him when he needed to hear it, "you're not stupid, nor are you lazy. You are not talentless. Just because you are not exactly like your sister, does not mean you hold any less value to me."

Kari snorted, shaking his head, "But I am stupid. I'm so bad at maths, and english, and science-"

"Those things aren't important. Grades aren't a reflection of someone's intellect. They're just a reflection of how well a student can commit something to memory. Believe me, you are not stupid."

Kari looked up at his father, blinking his teary eyes, "But what about the fact that I'm always playing video games? You think it's a waste of time, you think I'm lazy for playing them-"

"Kari," Loki murmured imploringly, "I admit I do not see the appeal of video games, but clearly you do. If playing them brings you joy, I am wrong to try and imply there is no merit to them; the fact that they make you happy is enough. I promise I won't say otherwise again," he took his son by the shoulders, turning the boy to him, hoping Kari would see in his eyes that he was trying, that he was being truthful.

Kari bit at his lip, still not bringing himself to meet Loki's eyes, "But… I am talentless. That much is true at least."

Loki shook his head, feeling an almost pained sensation in his chest at how deep his son's self-deprecation actually went. This was his fault, he had helped cause this.

"You… you sing really well," Loki said, trying to force a smile, "you used to sing all the time. You used to put on performances when you were little, singing songs from Frozen, and you were good at it."

Kari did not look emboldened by his father's assurance, "I don't think that counts…"

"Why?" Loki asked, giving his son's shoulders a single shake, and then he motioned wildly with one hand and began listing all the reasons why it did count, "There are Midgardians who make careers out of their singing talents. There are Midgardians who achieve high levels of fame, just because they can sing. Why does that not count as a talent? Some singers are more famous than us, the Avengers, who literally save lives for a living. Tell me again how singing is a talent that doesn't count."

Kari squinted at his father, growing almost lightly amused at how insistent he was, but he still could not see how his singing talent was something that could make his father abundantly proud of him in the long run. He let out a big sigh, deflating; he was tired and was beginning to lack the energy to protest his father's attempt at enthusiastic encouragement.

"If you want to grow up to be a famous singer, I'll support you," Loki promised, cupping his son's face to try and get the boy to look at him, it was the only way he felt he could show him that he meant what he was saying.

Kari blinked slowly, his eyes darting over his father's face, "I… don't know if I want to be a famous singer, dad."

Loki ran a hand through Kari's curls, "Then what do you want to be?"

Kari's face twisted slightly, his lips pulling back apprehensively like it wasn't really something he wanted to discuss at that moment, but Loki insisted. He needed his son to be open with him so that he could be open in return.

"You'll get upset if I tell you," Kari murmured, and Loki squinted with incredulous confusion. What career could his son possibly admit to wanting to pursue, that would leave Loki upset?

"Try me," Loki challenged.

Kari sighed in resignation, "I want to be an Avenger."

Loki drew in a slow breath, drawing back slightly and releasing his son's face; his face fell at the understanding, and Kari cringed at the expression on his father's face - upset, just as his son had said.

An Avenger. It was perhaps the only thing Kari could have said that filled him with dread. The only thing Loki couldn't eagerly accept as a career path for his son, the only thing Loki couldn't enthusiastically support.

"Kari…" Loki murmured.

"I told you so," Kari whispered, shifting and turning fully away from his father, looking back out at the lake once more. He moved his body to try and distance himself in that moment, "Just forget it, just forget I said it."

Loki was torn on what to feel within his heart. There was a part of him that told him he should have been happy that his son wanted to follow in his footsteps, to be an icon of hope, a light in the darkness with a drive to do good and save lives. It was a selfless venture in the eyes of someone like Steve Rogers, who was a righteous man - he only became a superhero to erase the evil in the world. Stark was different, he was compelled to become Iron Man partially because it was rooted in the desire to achieve more popularity and be loved by all, and over the years his priorities changed, and now Stark did what he did because it was the right thing to do.

Banner became an Avenger because he felt lost - his affliction, the Hulk, was a huge negative in his life at the time, and he learned he could harness it to become a positive.

Romanoff and Barton had become Avengers out of a sense of duty to the world.

And Thor - well, Thor had become an Avenger to save Loki from the life he had fallen into, unwillingly or not.

Loki had become an Avenger because Amelia showed him the path to redemption was always an option.

But what was Kari's drive? Did the boy want popularity or did he want to save lives?

The other part of Loki tried to shut down the idea without another thought. Being an Avenger was not an easy career path - it was a constant challenge in which a hero was met with difficult choices each and every day. There was greatness thwarting evil and saving innocents, but there was also grief - not every life could be saved, and that was a difficult pill to swallow.

Not to mention, there was risk. Loki trusted himself to survive his missions, he was undeniably the greatest sorcerer on the planet, and there were few who could outsmart him, but despite this, he always remained vigilant. He never underestimated his opponents, always reserved caution in each and every mission, because he couldn't let himself feel comfortable in case, by some miracle, he was caught off-guard and bested.

Kari did not have the experiences Loki had. The boy was not mature enough to face such risks, and because of that, Loki could not see his son in his own shoes.

And yet, despite his father telling him no, Kari would most definitely try and pursue the life of a hero, whether Loki approved or not. The boy was stubborn. Loki could not hope to dissuade his ambitions.

Looking out across the lake, Loki sighed.

"One time, when you were very little, your mother and I took you and your sister here for a picnic, right on this very spot," Loki spoke softly, like his mind was far away, "I can't imagine you would remember, you were so small at the time."

Kari lifted his head, brow furrowed as his dad recounted the memory.

"We ate lunch that was prepared by a servant in the kitchens, and I didn't know this at the time, but the palace had been infiltrated by an evil man with awful intentions. I had become negligent, too relaxed. The food you ate was poisoned. You became ill almost immediately and I was terrified you would not make it," Loki recalled, a harrowing glint in his eyes.

Kari's eyes widened, searching his memory for such a thing, but he had been too young to remember.

"I raced back to the palace on horseback, carrying you as I went. I took you to Inga, pushing past anyone who got in my way, and she prepared a concoction to save your life. You were severely weakened, I feared the worst was going to happen." Tears lined Loki's eyelids, showing Kari that the mere recollection of the memory was enough to leave Loki jarred and emotional.

"You survived, obviously," Loki gave a short, mirthless huff of laughter, "but I couldn't help but think of what might've happened if I hadn't been fast enough."

Kari didn't speak for a moment, letting the silence settle before he took a breath and stated, "I think I remember being really sick," the boy admitted, "I remember mom sitting beside me and holding my hand."

Loki gazed at his son, blinking away his tears, "It was not your mother who sat by you and held your hand, it was me."

"No, it was definitely mom. I remember mom," Kari frowned, protesting his father's recollection of events.

This time, Loki's chuckle held amusement and he shook his head, "No, it really was me. I took your mother's form until she arrived later," he explained, and Kari seemed surprised by the revelation.

"Why?"

Loki gave Kari a sad smile, "Because, in that moment, you needed your mother's comfort more than you needed mine. Your mother was not there, so I did what I had to do to calm you down."

"Oh," Kari whispered in acceptance.

They both quietened in reflection. Kari felt almost bad that he had not gleaned consolation from his father's presence in that moment when he had been a toddler, not that it had really been something in his control when he was so young. His mother's smile had always calmed him, it did not mean that he rejected his father in any way.

"Sometimes I forget that you're no longer a small child in need of my protection. It feels like you have grown in an instant right before my eyes. In a few short years, you will be considered a man," Loki hid his sorrow behind another smile, "It's absurd, you went from this tiny-" he motioned with his hands, "to this big, in just the blink of an eye." His hand settled on Kari's head again, ruffling his hair with fondness.

"Sorry," Kari spoke, forcing a little humour into the moment, "I'll try to stop growing so quickly."

Loki laughed and pulled his son to his side, squeezing him affectionately, and Kari ducked his head against his father's shoulder, returning the hug.

They sat for minutes in silence until Kari yawned loudly, and it was then that Loki was prompted to speak again.

"I can teach you to fight like an Avenger, if this is truly something you want to pursue," Loki offered, letting the idea hover, but Kari lifted his head in an instant, barely giving the offer time to hang in the air before he seized it.

"R-really!?" All hints of tiredness had dissipated in one line, Kari looked wide awake and full of disbelief, the boy probably thought he was dreaming.

"Yes. But I will also teach you how being a hero is not easy. I want you to know that it is an impossible job some days. Perhaps you will change your mind at some point, or perhaps not. There is no way of knowing what the future holds, but know this… I will always unerringly provide you with protection, whether you accept it or not - whether you feel you need it or not. Because when I close my eyes, I still see you as my little boy." His thumb brushed Kari's cheek, wiping away a tear.

Kari nodded, "I understand, dad. I'll do whatever it takes to become a good hero, I'll listen to everything you teach me. I promise I'll make you proud."

Loki breathed a heavy sigh, "Kari. You already make me proud."

They returned to the palace after that, strolling back through the woods and down the path of the quiet streets that led up to the well-guarded gates. When they reached their rooms, Amelia embraced her son with a hold so tight, he could scarcely draw in a breath. She fretted over him through her tears, and Kari found himself crying again, guilty to have brought his mother distress, but eventually his exhaustion overcame him and he was led back to his bedroom, catching the eye of his sister, Aster, who peered through the gap in her slightly ajar door. She looked relieved that he was okay, and Kari resigned himself to telling her all about it the day after.

When he was left alone in his room, he crawled onto his bed and pulled out the feathered cloak Byleistr had gifted him, spreading it out to view it closely. It was large, but Byleistr assured him that it would shrink to his size once he slung it over his shoulders. Drawing a hand through the soft feathers, Kari laid back against the pillows and fell asleep, dreaming of himself as a winged warrior who could swoop in at the last minute and save the day.

---

So about the keystone - I know a lot of people are probably thinking 'what even is that' and honestly, I feel kinda like I cheated by introducing it because it isn't something from the MCU, so people were trying to solve a mystery without all the pieces at the end of next chapter. This is probably the only time I'm gonna do something like this, but I felt compelled to involve some lore from other pieces of media that revolve around Norse mythology - namely the game God of War (and it's sequel, God of War: Ragnarok) which involve realm travel through 'mystic gateways' but only if you have the required keystones. I decided to involve it as an explanation for the hidden gateways Loki mentions in Thor: The Dark World, but obviously I still twisted the idea just a little. Forgive me for leaving you all guessing!