Loki looked at the massive wings with open fascination. It took Jazz everything she had not to moan when he threaded his fingers through them.
No one had told her how sensitive the stupid things would be!
"So basically you had to go through an obstacle course with many perils, lead a team in a hunt in another realm, and defeat a senior warrior without tripping on these," said Loki, terribly amused.
"My luck is chaotic," she complained. "And stop doing that!"
Loki's smirk widened.
"You mean this?" he asked, stroking the feathers in a downward fashion, making sure to thread his fingers through the individual feathers.
Jazz lost her control and moaned. Loki's grin was positively smug and devious. He was going to have so much fun with this.
"Quit that!" she complained, though he could tell her heart wasn't in it.
Loki didn't bother to reply, and kept 'grooming' her new wings. He had her a complete wreck before she finally had enough and pounced on him.
He was rather pleased that his girlfriend had gotten the upgrade long before she had made full Valkyrie. It made for so many interesting new things they could do.
Of course now she had to get used to the wings in question and building up the necessary muscle strength before they could return to Earth. It wouldn't do for her to have such a glaring weakness like a pair of wings she wasn't used to.
He found her the next morning at the leather smiths, showing them a rather design that she wanted. Why would she want to add discreet pouches inside the jacket she brought back with her from Earth?
Loki wasn't the only one baffled when, a few days after the new jacket was made, Jazz started walking around without any wings visible.
"How?"
"Undetectable expansion charms on the pouches inside the jacket. Once you fit the wings through the opening, they can move freely without smacking you in the face. I have an idea for a dress that could discreetly hide them too, though that's going to be trickier," she admitted smugly. "Some wizards may have abandoned their common sense when they graduate, but I never let those fools corrupt me with their so-called logic and close minded thinking."
Within a few days several of the older Valkyries were making discreet orders of their own for similar jackets, once they found out that the charms were rather stable and easy enough to cast. Jazz was very busy, but at the end of it the warrior women had a new fashion trend going on.
And that was before she made a line of dresses that had the same discreet pouches with a few minor additions to draw notice away from the remainder of the wings that weren't covered. The simple strips of cloth were covered in 'notice-me-not' charms that drew the eye away from the parts that weren't inside the pouch that hung loosely as part of the sleeve. All were quite tasteful and well within Asgardian standard for fashion without looking too garish.
Loki was vastly amused by this, as she had become the Valkyries new favorite person and member. If she ever needed their support, she had it, as he had seen even Brunhilde wearing one of her creations.
It was almost enough to distract him from the fact Thor was to be coronated soon. The braggart had far too much growing up to do before he was remotely ready to be king.
Jazz looked at Loki.
"I don't know about you, but if he gets crowned king I say we take an extended 'vacation' back on Earth."
"Agreed," said Loki. He had almost finished the books he brought with him anyway, and they still haven't gone through half of the movies. "How goes the trials of learning to fly?"
"I can hover, but that's about it for now," she admitted.
And they were surprised she was able to do that much. Then again they underestimated her love of flying. She really, really wanted to be able to swoop through the clouds with Hedwig soon. Without the armor blocking the wind in her face.
It still baffled her how stagnant Asgard was in many respects. Sure, it had a rich culture, diverse history and magical heritage...but after they cut ties from Earth it was like a slow decline into stagnation. Thankfully not to the same levels as the English magical society, but still pretty alarming.
She had introduced the complete Lord of the Rings series, from the Simarillion, to the Hobbit and finally the trilogy Lord of the Rings...and almost immediately the 'plays' were a huge success.
Then again, this was more or less a medieval culture. Of course they would identify easily with Aragorn's struggles to be the king the humans needed, or the easily rivalry between Gimli and Legolas. Never mind the staunch loyalty of Samwise, or the way Merry and Pippen matured into proper adults, and the magical prowess of Gandalf.
And this was before Jazz introduced Asgard to Anne McCaffery, Mercedes Lackey and a number of other authors who were very good at building worlds that people could lose themselves in.
On an unrelated note, the dwarves that traded with Asgard had liked the series so much that she was officially on their good side. Apparently it was rare for them to hear stories where a dwarf was one of the main characters and not a supporting one.
(Though she mostly suspected that the majority of why they liked her was because she introduced the other races to the Hobbit, in which the company of dwarves was rather prevalent.)
And Odin thought allowing her to date his son and actually stay in the palace would be a bad thing.
Jazz officially loved her wings, even if they were incredibly awkward as hell to get used to. She had learned through trial and error how to keep them off the ground...which was a strength exercise as much as it was a social norm among Valkyries...but the second she was able to do more than hover, she was rarely on the ground at all.
She had caught many of the older women off guard the second she perfectly executed a Wronski Feint with a near collision into the water.
Jazz was born for the air, and she damn well knew it.
Though if she was in the mood for speed, then she would put on the suit. She wasn't nearly strong enough to fly very fast, and it was only years of experience that allowed her to keep up with her older sisters, as they insisted she call them.
It was nice, like having an extended family.
Then came the minor panic that was Thor's coronation. Namely because of the fact she was dating Loki, she would have to dress up for it.
Jazz did not like being near the center of attention. It gave her hives and she was much more comfortable being in the middle of a battlefield, deep in combat.
There was a reason why out of Thor's little band of sycophants, she got along with Sif the best. The lone female of the group was one of her main sparring partners when using a broadsword that was roughly the same size and weight class as the Sword of Gryffindor, even if she couldn't use the real one because it was laced with basilisk venom.
That sword was firmly an emergency-only, holy shit nothing else is working, weapon.
Frigga, however, would not be dissuaded. She could tell Loki's interest in the girl from Midgard wasn't likely to abate any time soon...far from it. Which meant there was every possibility the girl might end up her daughter in law.
And that meant she had to get used to court functions.
Loki had to laugh at the grumpy look on her face.
"Just remember we only have to stick around as long as it takes for Thor to get the crown and then we're on vacation," said Loki. He gave her a look that said he would greatly enjoy getting her out of the fancy dress, even if most of it was covered by feathers.
Some Valkyries kept their wings up, but folded behind them. Others (like Jazz) opted to wrap the main bulk of the feathers like an odd sort of cloak to keep them out of the way.
Considering that humans weren't built with hollow bones like birds or to fly in general, the wing span of a Valkyrie was pretty damn big. Hence the issue of keeping said wings from smacking people in the face or just out of the way when they weren't flying or in combat.
There was a reason why Jazz's jackets and specially made dresses had been so popular. Being able to walk around without having to deal with the wings being in the way was a blessing.
She was already dreading explaining the new additions to Tony when she went home.
The tailors loved her for the extra business, so they were at least able to help customize an entirely new wardrobe to her specifications (she brought general outlines, which made it easier for them), but it was still going to be incredibly awkward.
The day of the coronation
Jazz was an expert at hiding her true feelings, because she managed to keep a perfect poker face despite feeling complete and utter disgust at what a ham Thor was being. Sure, he managed to retain some level of decorum, but there was no denying the man was beyond arrogant.
Jazz kept a neutral smile on her face...next to her she could see Sif looking somewhat annoyed by Thor's grandstanding and Loki trying very hard not to roll his eyes at the display... right up until the alarms went off.
If they hadn't, then Jazz would have left several time delay pranks while they went on vacation until Thor's head cooled down.
The second Thor's ego had him gearing up to go after the Frost Giants to demand answers, Jazz had enough of his nonsense. Loki apparently was in complete agreement, because he stood back near Sif to enjoy the show.
Thor cringed when her hand lashed out and firmly grasped his ear.
"Thor, if you attempt to drag us all the way to Jotunheim to get answers from their king, I will personally see to it that your life is made a living hell. A good king would never seek to cause an all out war for his people. He would wait for his people to do a proper investigation first and then he would get involved," said Jazz sweetly, in the exact same tone she used with Tony whenever he was about to do something particularly stupid.
She called it "The Mom Voice".
Thor looked abashed, but was still pretty mad his big day had been so thoroughly ruined.
Jazz continued, knowing she had to hammer it into his thick skull that rushing off half-cocked would only piss off Odin and get him into a great deal of trouble.
"Let's say you actually go through with your plan and make it to Jotunheim. You confront Laufey and demand answers as to why he broke into Asgard on your coronation day, when the guard would be weakened because everyone wants to see you crowned. You've now pissed off the Jotun king, and you're neck deep in enemy territory with an unknown amount of enemies there. Sure, you'd kill a few and manage to hold them off for a bit... but knowing you, you would only take your trusted friends as well as Loki and I with you. It would be a battle of attrition and Odin would be understandably furious with your actions because you didn't think," said Jazz in a coldly clinical voice.
There was a reason Loki loved his girlfriend. She had common sense and logic, which was sadly lacking in many realms.
Seeing Thor needed the extra push, she then turned to Sif.
"Lady Sif, how would you react to this sort of attack? Would you rush in half-cocked like some greenhorn trying to seek glory, or would you first wait for someone with experience in intelligence gathering to find out whether or not this was a small part in an all out assualt?" she asked bluntly.
"I would wait. We have no idea if this is the attack of a third party, or whether it was just a minor gamble to see if they could retrieve the artifact stolen from them," she replied without hesitation. "I certainly wouldn't charge in to enemy territory without all the facts first."
Thor stormed off, angry that he couldn't just go and demand answers from Laufey.
Jazz looked at Loki.
"How much you want to bet he goes to Odin and ends up proving he's not remotely ready for the crown and gets an overdue lesson on humility?"
"No bet. Let's see if we can leave for our trip to Midgard a bit early...and warn Heimdall not to let Thor off Asgard until he cools off," said Loki.
Jazz was none too pleased when they failed to get permission to leave. Thor had definitely overstepped his father's tolerance for his arrogance, because he was banished to Earth until he learned some humility.
Odin had also made it clear that he would not hesitate to send Jazz down to Earth to retrieve Mjolnir if Thor failed his test. He would not leave the symbol of the royal family in the hands of humans, and she had already proven herself worthy to weild it...even if it wasn't her sort of weapon.
The worst part of it all was Odin's rather crappy sense of timing. He should have told Loki years ago the truth of his heritage, not after Loki took temporary control over the throne when his adopted father went into Odinsleep.
At least Odin was secure in the knowledge that the Valkyrie his son had fallen for would keep Loki from doing anything too brash.
The news he was adopted hit Loki hard. He was angry at Odin for hiding it for so long and started to feel resentment as he almost started to believe that it was because he wasn't Odin's blood son that kept the king from making him the heir instead of Thor.
Fortunately for Loki, Jazz had a wellspring of common sense and wasn't afraid to call out someone on their bullshit.
He knew if he was a victim of her infamous headslaps (he had seen Tony get hit often enough when he was getting out of hand) then clearly she was about to unleash some uncommon wisdom.
"Loki, do you enjoy paperwork?" she asked bluntly.
"Not particularly."
"How about listening to the merchants whine, or being one of the few scholars and almost pure magic-users in Asgard and thus looked down upon because you actually use your brain instead of charging in like a moron?"
Loki, being far quicker on the uptake than Thor, gave her a hard look.
"You're saying I'm not fit to be king."
"No, I'm saying you'd grow to hate it immensely once you got over the fact that you were now in charge and had to put up with the nonsense that comes with it. You might be a good king, but considering Asgard is primarily a warrior's society and not one that has bothered to expand their intellectual horizons, you'd never be happy. You're the sort of person who would happily use the cloak and dagger approach rather than the blunt instrument that Thor can be. While you are as charismatic as your brother...and don't give me that look, regardless of the fact you're adopted it doesn't make you any less family... you are more suited to the shadows than the limelight."
"He lied to me."
"Loki, there is more to family than blood. Yes, Odin did take you as a spoil of war, to some extent, but has he ever treated you like a prize that he claimed from Laufey? Has Frigga ever shown you any less love because you were adopted, and not her blood child? Has Thor treated you any differently than he would a sibling?" she askd pointedly. "If Odin didn't think of you as his son, would he have named you a prince and given you the chance to be his stand-in, rather than ask Frigga to do it?"
Loki was one for cold, hard logic, and Jazz was often rather blunt when it came to getting to the heart of the issue.
Yes, Odin had kept a rather large secret from him. But Loki had never known he was adopted until now because in many ways Odin treated him the same as Thor. And Frigga had loved him as much as Thor, and had been the one to teach him his first magic.
Thor... Thor was an idiot, but even when he was in his adolescent years he had never failed to included Loki, despite the fact his "friends" claimed that he wasn't "cool" enough to be around.
His rage tempered by cold, hard logic and facts, Loki was once again very happy he had found Jasmine.
She was quite likely the only one who could have gotten through the anger and pain he felt long enough to make him see things clearly.