Three days Thor and Loki were away and when they returned it to a surprising greeting. Althia and several agents who Loki had been acquainted with greeted him warmly. They were polite to Thor but it was obvious that Loki was who they had come to see. He refused to discuss his visit home and she could sense to sullen anger whenever it was brought up. Thor handed off a long package to several guards and they followed him away. He spent most of the morning in meetings with various command officers on the base leaving Loki and the others alone. More than before Loki demanded she train hard. He set about pushing her in training throwing single and groups of opponents at her sometimes from the moment she entered the gym. She only avoided the rigorous training when Sharron and or Doctor Amin took her on outings.
Two months passed under the new schedule. Althia prided herself on the fact that it had been weeks since Loki had been able to surprise her during training. One evening as he was chasing her through the maze of walls and obstacles in one annex of the gym she managed to scale a 20 foot high wall and drop down behind him. He immediately spun on her and attacked. She used his forward momentum to flip him over her body and she continued the motion to land on his chest bringing the practice weapon down over his heart in a motion that leaned her body a fraction too far forward giving him the opportunity to reverse the roll and land on top of her his legs between hers.
Loki knew the position required her to lift her hips into his in an attempt to throw him up or sideways. He easily avoided the maneuver by thrusting his hips down and lifting his upper body shifting his center of balance below her pelvis. She succeeded in preventing him from pinning her arms and that was when she managed to surprise him. Shifting her weight she pushed straight out from beneath him sliding along the floor before she rolled backwards her feet together aiming for his jaw. The blow took him over on his side dazed for a moment. She used that time to flipped to her feet at the end of the roll and dart over to land a killing blow leaving the bright red imprint of her training weapons felt marker on his chest, solar plexus, and throat. The first she'd managed since he began training her. Standing he applauded her and they could hear the guards above doing the same. Althia was already flush from effort and her hair was disheveled but she was beaming. "That was wonderfully done my lady you advance faster than any I've ever seen trained." Loki said quietly. He still had a slight ringing in his ears from the force of the blow and it made him inordinately proud of her. "Now it is time to be rid of the fear you still harbor of blades." Her face changed expressions and her heart began to thunder in her chest. "Blades?" she shrank from the word. "Yes, little queen. You cannot go through life with such a handicap. Come I have something to show you."
He turned and led her back to the open air practice room they used for forms and group exercises. He walked over to the wall beneath the viewing room and snapped his fingers sharply. A series of ropes handled by guards were dropped from the rafters. She watched them as they shook, tossed and spun the ropes from the high spaces she normally occupied when she was alone in the gym. He looked at her and when he had her eyes he beckoned her and pointed up. "Do not cross the room. Use the ropes and get to that platform." He instructed her pointing to the viewing stage above and behind him. She nodded and grabbed the first rope. In a graceful move she folded herself up the rope carefully keeping one arm and one leg free in case she was attacked during the assent. She focused on the ropes and those around her as she'd been trained. Up she went a half coil of rope around her till she reached about halfway before swinging out to grab another. She uncoiled from the first and used the momentum to carry her across the room. Each rope swung erratically as she moved from one to the next. The strength in her arms had improved to the point she made it to the platform with ease. "Very good now watch." Two of the guards familiar to her came to stand with her as moral support. The guards had seen him practice this demonstration for the last month and others were gathered in the catwalks and along the wall. Only Althia was unaware of his second trip to the gym each night. In a rush of fluid motion he crossed to a table that held two boxes throwing the ropes in his way to increase the motion. The first case he opened and extracted a long slender blade. It was brought from Asgard by himself the second case had only recently arrived. He knew the foreign shape of the blade and hilt would distract her and assist in separating this blade from what was used on her. It was similar to a fencer's foil; long tapered blade with a hilt that was wrapped in heavy curves of metal over the hand as a guard but let a good deal of deceptively open space around the hand. It also had three sharp points of the same metal pointed down the length of the blade. An elegant and sinister weapon only related to the wide flat blades by having a sharp edge. The main difference between it and a fencer's foil was at first unnoticeable but when closely inspected profound. The diamond shape of the metal slightly wider on one axis with a concave surface between the edges, and the fact that the blade was sharp on 4 edges going 7/8 the length of the blade rather than two edges with a sharp edge for 1/3 the length. Hogun and Sif were the only ones who had mastered the forms who stood a chance of defeating him when using the weapon and accompanying style.
Watching her face he noted while she was afraid she was also fascinated by it. Moving through the forms associated with the blade Loki seemed to dance across the room. Moving gracefully as he leapt, spun, thrust and twisted the blade around his body. Reminiscent of the ballet she had danced around the guards the night she'd gotten drunk. The effect though would be devastating in a battle against multiply enemies and an utter and indisputable defeat for a single opponent. He moved through the swinging ropes all as thick as her wrist that between her passage and the guards above were swinging in unpredictable ways. No matter how the ropes swung by the time he'd come to a stop a few feet in front of the balcony she stood on; all the ropes were cut cleanly in two between three and six feet above the floor. She applauded her face joyous and enraptured. She'd never seen anything like what he'd just done and she was fascinated by it enough that her fear couldn't take hold. He bowed sweeping his fingers toward the floor his smile triumphant. "Come down." He commanded and returned to the table. A gasp from the guards who'd been with her spun him in time to see her leap from the rail straight up towards a rafter beam almost ten feet directly above her head and a good forty feet off the floor. She turned her torso a hundred and forty degrees as she was rising through the air she grabbed the beam that had been directly above her. Swinging in an arc her legs turning slower as she swung above the beam and came down on top. From the squat of her landing she started running along the flat upper surface till she reach a point where she couldn't stand and she seemed to fall off into open air. All the guards began running and calling for help. Loki dropped the blade and sprinted forward grabbing a rope to swing up and intercept her but he might as well have stayed on the floor. She latched onto a rope and swung back up in a perfect arc letting go and grabbing another closer to the ground. He watched her body move between the ropes and realized he had under estimated her. With a frown he slide down the rope and stormed towards where she landed.
"What a foolish…" he started when she turned to him with a smirk on her face that matched the one he had often given others. It stopped him in his tracks. He stared at her for a moment before he roared with laughter. Without warning he was sweeping her into a hug. "My dear lady." He said as he set her on the floor "I bow in defeat." He dropped to one knee his fist going to his heart in salute to her. "My little queen you have astonished us all."
Thor had been about to enter the room when his brother started to perform. He watched from the deep shadow of the doorway as Loki moved with the same grace of movement he did in battle. He had always been proud of Loki's sword work having seen it in battle decimate enemies far more agile than the ropes suspended from the ceiling. He had never seen a warrior move as Loki did and had always been pressed to best his brother when they sparred. In that moment he realized that not once had he ever complimented or admitted the truth of their comparable skill levels when sparing instead he had gloated like a buffoon each time he bested the man. Thor realized in that moment he was the cause of the chasm that had grown between them.
Like Loki, Thor watched Althia move through the rafters and fall but his confidence in her and his brother kept him calm. Nor did they let him down Loki was quick to react to her apparent slip and just as quick to realize she hadn't slipped but intended the move. The anger on Loki's face worried him and he started across the room when he saw Loki burst out laughing and sweep the tiny woman into his arms. Thor was stunned beyond words at Loki's actions. Seeing his brother treat anyone that way was so out of the ordinary he locked it away to contemplate later. As his brother rose he announced himself. "Brother." His voice broke the moment. Althia jumped so startled by Loki and please at her success in surprising him she hadn't seen Thor enter the room. Loki frowned slightly as he turned but he was in for several surprises.
Thor hugged him fiercely "It is good to see you brother." Thor said slapping him on the back. "I am surprised to see you Thor but you are welcome." Loki replied smoothly. Thor hugged Althia and watched Loki as he moved to pick up the blade from where he had dropped it. "I see you still use the same blade." Looking at Althia and the guards Thor smiled with pride and said the last thing Loki ever expected. "With that blade Loki has tested my every limit and on many occasions been the undoing of our enemies. None in all of Asgard are as devastating in battle with it as he." Turning carefully Loki returned to the cases. "If you have finished for the morning I would enjoy hearing how Lady Althia fairs under your tutelage." Loki was unsure what his brother's motives were but with a modest and regretful smile he signaled that he had yet completed today's lessons. "Actually you are just in time." Althia interrupted "Loki was about to begin my first instruction." Loki watched her, the slight increase in tension in her; nervousness he concluded. "I would appreciate it if you stayed." Thor smiled broadly "Of course I will." He replied. There it was; her fear of the knife. Loki thought to himself. He put his hand on her arm to draw her attention. When she looked at him he told her with his eyes she could put it off if it was too much. She very slightly shook he head, she wanted to try. Patting her arm he drew her wordlessly to the table and the other case.
Several of the guards gravitated towards the Avenger as he moved towards the side of the room. They were laughing in good humor and agreeing that Loki could tax any man's strength with the way he moves. Others smiled and moved to clean up the space. Althia watched Loki, the emotions he felt were as turbulent as a storm and confusion, suspicion, and pride rode across the top. She wanted to help him accept his brother's love and respect without suspicion. Which is why she asked Thor to stay. Perhaps focusing on teaching her and if she focused on him instead of Thor it might help heal the damage in their relationship. She wishes she could talk to her angel about how to fix this but she'd do her best to improvise. In truth she wanted all the comfort of friends she could get as Loki drew her to the table and the two cases on it.
She could see Loki's blade four and a half feet of blade that gleamed in the light. Even though he had used it to sever the ropes and left a good amount scattered across the floor there wasn't a dullness to the sheen or a spot of dulling on the blade edges she could see. The other case was smaller but not by much it was also twice as thick which confused her. Loki stepped behind her and reached around her to open the case. She shrank back to find him blocking her escape. His tall frame seemed wrapped forward around her. A leg beside each of hers, his body lined so close there was no slipping away. She stared down at a blade as long as her arm. It gleamed inside but the three points of his were absent replaced by leaf shaped protrusions that had the point and upper curve sharpened. "I had this made to fit your hand and build." Loki spoke slowly and softly in her ear. "It is of Asgardian ore that cannot be found in this realm." Slowly he pulled one hand back and slid it down her arm to her wrist. "Don't be afraid my lady, no hand has ever held it before and no hand will ever touch it save yours." He slowly raise her hand and guided it to the hilt. "It will be draw by no other hand." She resisted touching it but he was undeterred he was still a great deal stronger than her. "When all the suns in the nine realms burn out still will this blade rise to your call." His words were formal, rhythmic and it took her a moment to realize there was something special about what he was doing. He pushed her palm down to the hilt and it was both warm and cold against her skin. It felt like a hum was coming from the blade. Instinct or some other force caused her hand to wrap around the hilt and Loki released her wrist. "As long as there is breath within you this blade is yours. Till the day you relinquish it to your successor no hand will raise it save yours." Althia Sacmich felt the blade in her hand warm and hum she stared in wonder as she lifted it free of the case and held it up to catch the light. Thor was watching as she pulled the blade from the case. He knew what it was because he was the one who had commissioned and retrieved it for Loki. Watching his brother he knew that this woman had changed him forever. "It's singing to me." Althia whispered her eyes locked to the blade in her hand. "Yes, it does that among other things." Loki said picking up his sword and something up from beside his sword case. "It isn't a blade that you can lose or blithely give away." He said backing up she turned keeping her eyes on him. "Nor is it a weapon that can be taken from you by force or coercion." He moved as she watched him till he was in the center of the room. "No blade will ever again pierce your flesh while you hold that in your hand." With those words Loki smiled with confidence and lifted his hand. The harsh lights of the room reflected off a dagger. One that was shaped exactly like one she'd seen before. Fear rose like a tide in Althia but she couldn't back away or drop the sword in her hand. The first blade ever used on her looked exactly like the one in Loki's hand. Terror and memory threatened to overwhelm her; pushed back by the humming vibration in her hand. Loki drew his arm back and threw the dagger at her. It sailed end over end the light flickering off the metal as it rotated and the world slowed down. She saw the guards moving. She could hear their screams and then her body's training kick in; she moved. Her arm came up and down a smooth motion built from practice. A sudden shift in stance and form just as the dagger was about to reach her face. The sword knocked it from the air to clatter on the floor. She cart wheeled sideways as Loki began an attack. Thor and her guards cheered her on. Each stance, form, and action she took was smooth and followed through into a counter attack that left Loki backing away. She flickered forward and Loki turned but she shift into a flip her blade dancing against Loki's still holding the correct patterns as if she had practiced them for exactly this attack. Everyone watched the pair moving across the floor and around each other till in a move that looked as if it had failed brought bright blood from Loki's chin. "Enough!' he roared and Althia dropped down into the defeated position. Four strange and very loud voices raised to cheer with Loki and Thor and two more that Althia would recognize in any crowd. She turned rising and saw Bruce, Natasha, a strange woman in armor and three oddly mismatched men all cheering from the doorway.
Thor explained to the guards that by Asgardian custom Loki was the one who had to bind the blade to Althia as he was her teacher and the one who commissioned the forging of the blade. They stood there staring in a confused state of pride and irritation each one coming to realize even had she failed the test she wouldn't have died because her power would have healed even a wound such as the dagger would have made they hadn't worried about the sword but they didn't like anyone throwing knives at her.
The warriors and her two friends came up and congratulated Althia on becoming a bladed warrior. Though she wouldn't be expected to enter battle having just received her weapon it was an important day according to Asgardian custom. There was a great deal going on and Althia was careful of the blade in her hand that she didn't seem to want to put down. The woman in armor introduced by Thor as Lady Sif smiled radiantly. "It will be a good day when we stand side by side in battle Althia. Long have I been the only woman to lead on the battle field. Welcome and well met." A shorter man with long straight black hair bowed before her and put his hand on her shoulder without saying a word. The enormous man who was nearly as round as he was tall wrapped her in a hug. Slapped her carefully on the back and greeter her as if he'd known her their whole lives. The slender blonde bent over her hand the same way Loki had in his room months before. When Loki had done it, it had been courtly and slightly sensual this man made it an invitation and it seemed as if what he had done was indecent. She quickly pulled her hand back and trying to be polite moved to the shelter of Loki and Bruce's company. Fandral watched the beautiful woman as she pulled away from him and moved to Loki and the man called Bruce Banner in shock. He was unaccustomed to any woman preferring Loki's company to his own.
Loki was grinning broadly witnessing his old companion's ways fail to gain him the attentions any of the women. Loki his long frame erect but relaxed his hands clasped behind his back nodded politely and moved towards his brother, Natasha and some of the guards who welcomed him and oriented on him in a way the warriors three and Lady Sif had never seen before.
Bruce looked into Althia's eyes and his smile brightened the room for her. "I'm very proud of you." He said wrapping his arm around her shoulders standing with her blade on the other side of her body. "I didn't know what he was going to do today only that he's been seeing Thor on the side for the last few weeks." Bruce shook his head in amazement "We've been watching since you both started into the maze. You're the most amazing woman I've ever known." He said squeezing her gently. "I've got something for you but I want a little privacy if that's ok?" She smiled up at him and nodded. They would have their time later.