"I don't understand," Fenrir said, once Thor had finished his story. "If you and my father are enemies, then why did you release me?"
"You're my nephew. Whatever happens between your father and I that will never change," Thor explained as he reached out to comfort his nephew.
"But it did change," Fenrir said, swatting Thor's hand away. "You said yourself that you and my father aren't really brothers. We're not even Aesir." He added to himself.
"That doesn't matter." Thor said.
"But it does. Don't you understand; this explains everything. What I did on Svartalfheim, all the people I hurt, it was because of what I am. If it hadn't happened there then it would have happened here." Fenrir said, standing up and backing away from Thor. "It's inevitable. I'm a monster and monsters kill people."
"Fenris," Thor said, reaching out to his nephew again.
"No!" Fenrir yelled, wrapping his arms around himself. "What if I hurt more people? I'm going to go crazy just like my father."
"You're not crazy," Thor insisted.
"And neither is your father," Thor and Fenrir turned to see Frigga standing in the doorway. "Fenris, please sit down." Frigga said, stepping into the room.
"No, stay away from me," Fenrir insisted, throwing his arms out in front of him.
"Fenrir, come sit down," Frigga said.
"I don't want to hurt you." Fenrir whispered.
"Then don't." She said, indicating where she wanted him to sit. For a moment it appeared to Thor and Frigga that Fenrir was going to stay exactly where he was. Then, slowly, he made his way across the room. Thor moved to comfort his nephew when Frigga stopped him.
"Thor," she said, "I'd like to have some time alone with my grandson. Would you leave until dinner?" Before Thor could answer Fenrir began to panic again.
"What, no! Thor, don't leave her alone with me," Fenrir begged.
"Perhaps I should stay," Thor offered.
"No, there are some things that I need to say to Fenrir," She said. "I'm not afraid to be alone with my grandson," She added, when Fenrir began to protest again and confusion quickly replaced the fear in Fenrir's eyes.
"It's alright Thor, you can go," She said, as she walked Thor out into the hallway. Then, before he could say anything else, she closed the door and shut him out.
*/*/*/*/*
It was hours until Frigga and Fenrir had finally emerged from Loki's room. Thor jumped to his feet as soon as he heard the door open. Thor had hoped that after their talk Frigga would have reassured him, but when they came out Fenrir still looked as nervous as he'd been when Thor had left. At least he was no longer shaking, and he was letting Frigga lead him out by the hand. That at least was something.
"Thor," Frigga said, acting as though she hadn't known that he would be waiting outside the door for them to come out. "I'm glad you're back. Fenrir and I just had a wonderful talk. I think we understand each other much better now
"I think that it would be a good idea for you to take Fenris around the palace tomorrow. Much has changed since he's been gone but I think that it's time he was reminded of the prince he is." Frigga said, reaching up to smooth Fenrir's hair and, for the first time since he'd been back, he didn't pull away from her touch.
"We could begin now." Thor offered.
"Tomorrow will do fine. Its past time we all went to dinner," Frigga said.
"I'll take you to see the library first thing in the morning." Thor promised. "You always loved to go there when you were small."
*/*/*/*/*/*
"I think he remembers me," Fenrir said, as Sleipnir nuzzled him over the gate of his stall.
"It's hard to forget a boy who never came to the stables without giving him a treat," Thor said.
"I couldn't deny my brother," Fenrir said with a smirk. "Do the people of Midgard still think that my father gave birth to him?"
"I haven't heard anyone mention it, but the story was still strong a few hundred years ago," Thor admitted. Fenrir smiled at the horse and stroked his nose.
"There are worse brothers I could have," Fenrir said. Thor looked over at his nephew indulgently, and fought against his desire to embrace. This was the first time that Fenris had openly smiled since his return to Asgard, and Thor didn't want to upset the moment.
As much as Thor had wanted to disregard his mother's fears, after spending a week with his nephew he couldn't ignore how much he had been damaged by his time away. Fenrir acted like he thought that everyone who came near him was a snake about to strike and, with the exception of Thor and Frigga, seemed determined not to so much as speak to anyone unless pushed. Even Thor, who he seemed to trust the most, was not completely above suspicion. Fenrir still tensed up whenever Thor moved to hug him and more than once Thor had caught Fenrir watching him nervously, as though he were waiting for the moment Thor would turn on him.
This alone would have been enough to make Thor hate Auolies, but each day lead to new discoveries that left Thor itching to raise an army. Still, since he knew that such a response was out of his power, he had to settle for welcoming Fenrir home. In truth, Thor couldn't have been happier to reintroduce his nephew to Asgard. Unfortunately the feeling didn't appear to be mutual. While he allowed Thor to drag him all over the palace, Fenrir showed little to no enthusiasm for the venture.
Thor's efforts didn't seem to be doing much to change his mind on the subject. The library, where he'd loved to spend hours as a child, seemed to have lost its allure without a father to follow behind and question. Fenrir's lack of interest in the training yard had been almost heartbreaking for Thor. And the tour of the weapons rooms: that had been an utter disaster. Almost as soon as they'd entered the room Fenrir had nearly collapsed in fear at the thought of what such instruments could be used for and Thor had almost needed to carry him out.
Even the Arcanum, where Loki had always gone for comfort, had only caught Fenrir's eye for a few moments. The chance to use his magic seemed like it might finally be the thing that would excite him, but Fenrir only got as far as lighting a few candles before he retreated back into himself. It was almost enough to make a man give up. But then there were the moments like these; watching his nephew smile as he was tickled by horse whiskers.
"Do you think you still remember how to ride?" Thor asked, remembering the last time when he, Loki and Fenrir had gone hunting together.
"I don't know," Fenrir said. Thor was disappointed when he saw that the smile had already disappeared.
"I'll take you out tomorrow. You've always been a fast learner; I'm sure you'll remember it all quickly enough. A prince of Asgard must know how to ride," Thor watched as, for just a second, the smile ghosted back across Fenris's face. For the rest of the day Thor smiled for the both of them.
*/*/*/*/*/*
That night Frigga was late to their evening meal. When she arrived she went to give Thor a kiss on the forehead. It was a gesture that Thor had outgrown many years earlier, but the display made it easier to repeat the process on her grandson. Aside from Thor, Frigga was the only person that Fenrir allowed to come so close.
"How was your day?" She asked, leaving her grandson's side to take her place at the table.
"I saw the stables," Fenrir said quietly. No matter how many times, Thor, encouraged him to speak up, Fenrir, was reluctant to do more than whisper in front of the queen. "Thor said that he'd take me out riding." Frigga smiled at him.
"We'll have to see about getting you a horse," She said.
"I've already talked to Fandral. He's offered to give Fenrir one of his horses." Thor said, deciding to leave out the part where Fandral had made the offer as an apology for not helping to rescue Fenrir.
"He can certainly spare one." Frigga said with a smile. "From what I hear of the stables, his animals are all about as social as their master."
The conversation took all of Fenrir's attention as he tried to figure out if his uncle's friend was being criticized by his grandmother. It seemed to be some sort of joke between them, and he wished he could join in, but it still made him feel uncomfortable to be included.
"And why are you late? There were no troubles at the audiences today, were there?" Thor asked as he began digging into his meal.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Frigga said.
"Well then where were you?" Thor asked again. "In all my life you've never been late for a meal by more than a minute or two."
"Oh no, I was late far more often than that. But it is hard to notice the punctuality of others when you make a habit of missing the first course of a meal," Frigga teased.
"You know I never liked salad." Thor said.
"If you must know I was with your father. I believe that he will wake up any day now." The rest of the meal was taken up with Thor and Frigga talking excitedly about everything they would have to tell the Allfather when he awoke.
In the excitement of the moment they missed that what little color Fenrir had was draining from his face. Despite the excited voices spinning around him, Fenrir couldn't help the pit of dread that was forming in his stomach. For, as nice as all their talk sounded, the return of Odin marked an event that he was dreading.
*/*/*/*/*
When it was time to retire Fenrir still hadn't been able to bring himself to speak of his problems aloud. As they prepared for bed Thor continued talking about the ride they would take the next day. Fenrir wanted to be excited about the outing but one thought kept circling in his head. This was too much to bear; he needed to say something.
"Thor…" Fenrir began to speak but fear changed his question at the last minute. "What's that?" Thor looked to the table to where Fenrir was pointing.
"It's a cell phone; a Midgardian device that allows people to communicate across long distances. Sadly it doesn't work beyond Earth."
"Then why do you have it?" Fenrir asked.
"I forgot to leave it behind when I came here," Thor said, with a shrug.
"I suppose you'll be using it again soon enough when you go back to Midgard," Thor turned to Fenrir. "With the Allfather waking up, I guess there's no reason for you to stay."
"I may stay a little longer," Thor said.
"But you are leaving. Frigga asked you to stay but, you said yourself that Midgard is your home now," Fenrir finished bitterly.
"I have to return to Midgard. I told my team that I'd only be gone for a week and I've stayed a month already," Thor explained.
"I know but Frigga told me that you would stay until the Allfather woke up. I didn't think he would wake up so soon," Thor smiled, finally realizing what was troubling his nephew.
"My return to Midgard will not be permanent. I will come back to see you when I can. And with father returned from his slumber Frigga will be able to spend more time with you. Besides, you're a prince of Asgard. With Odin awake you'll be reintroduced to court life; you'd hardly have time for me anyway."
"I don't want you to leave," Fenrir said, his voice tight. This was too much for Thor. He immediately snatched Fenrir into a bone crushing hug.
"Soon your life will be so full that you won't even have time to miss me," Thor said.
"But what if something bad happens?" Fenrir asked. "What if something goes wrong and I need your help?"
"Fenris, you're not on Svartalfheim anymore. You are safe here. There's nothing for you to worry about," Thor said. "I will miss you, and I promise I will come back as often as my team can spare me."