THE SHE-WOLF AND THE RAVEN
Chapter 18: Daggers
"East of Midgard there was a place more evil than any region in Jötunheim. It was Jarnvid, the Iron Wood. There dwelt witches who were the most foul of all witches. And they had a queen over them, a hag, mother of many sons who took upon themselves the shapes of wolves. Two of her sons were Skoll and Hati, who pursued Sol, the Sun, and Mani, the Moon. She had a third son, who was Managarm, the wolf who was to be filled with the life-blood of men, who was to swallow up the Moon, and stain the heavens and earth with blood. To Jarnvid, the Iron Wood, Loki made his way. And he wed one of the witches there, Angerboda, and they had children that took on dread shapes. Loki's offspring were the most terrible of the foes that were to come against the Æsir and the Vanir in the time that was called the Twilight of the Gods."
ooo
The three days Fenris spent seeking solitude were plagued with fitful sleep. No matter which form he inhabited, the dreams still came with as much regularity as the morning frost. They reminded him of the dreams which haunted his sleep over the past decade as he dwelt as a wolf. In those, he was forced to watch Asgard fall to ruin.
Again and again, the golden spires burned, the throne room collapsed in devastation, and it's people fled in terror. He cringed as he remembered the stench of blood and shattered plaster that lingered in his mind each time he woke from those nightmares. Now he was forced to consider if, instead of dreams, he had seen visions of what would later become the future.
On the cold, Norwegian mountain side, Fenris woke before dawn with a start, his brow drenched in sweat despite the frost clinging to his clothes. His current dreams no longer carried the haunting prophecies of what could be but instead were suppressed memories of events long past. This had been too real, too close and he wished those memories could be banished from his subconscious mind with as much fervor as Odin banished Thor from Asgard. Unfortunately, he could not. He could still see it all and nothing he did removed the lingering terror of that day.
His rage over the unexpected death of his beloved mother warred with his desire to maintain his freedom and escape his promised fate of reimprisonment. He knew such an opportunity was unlikely to present itself again. What need had he of his brother's good opinion or trust in exchange for an eternity in an Asgardian cell? Even the very real probability of death was a welcome alternative to such a fate. He fairly galloped behind his brother as he basked in the heady taste of unexpected freedom, regardless of how short-lived it would be.
Yet as the Dark Elves attacked the throne room in a cacophony of burned flesh and flame and putrid magic, he was forced to confront the likelihood of his own demise again. Loki's senses, simultaneously lethargic with the weight of grief and energized by the adrenaline of his release from his cell, struggled to make sense of the sudden onslaught into battle and very real danger.
They managed, of course, and as the brothers formed an uneasy truce on their travels to Svartalheim, Loki knew it could not last. Whether by death, freedom, or imprisonment, their camaraderie would end as abruptly as it began.
Jane Foster gave another cry as her eyes darkened. Thor could not contain his worry as he watched her struggles. The Norns were either unbelievably cruel or unerringly wise to so inflict this woman, of all the possible hosts in the universe, as the chosen bearer of the Aether.
"What I could do with the power that flows through those veins," Loki said as he felt the fire of the Aether emanating from the Midgardian woman.
Loki could feel Thor's disappointment in his sky blue eyes. "It would consume you."
"She's holding up alright, for now," Loki answered with forced optimism. She could not endure much longer and they all knew it. Loki most of all. He was no stranger to the toll bearing such power wrought on a body, Midgardian or otherwise. After all, the disgraced second prince had himself wielded not one but two Infinity Stones and he well knew the toll. Despite his strength, he felt as a burnt out wick, extinguished by flame, long before he reached Asgard as prisoner. To wield such power sapped him of all his faculties, both within and without, and left him as vulnerable as a dry and crackling leaf in a windstorm.
"She's strong in ways you'd never even know," Thor said in a saccharine sweet fondness that left Loki feeling positively ill.
"Say goodbye," Loki answered without bothering to hide his bitterness. He did not need to see his brother to know the stubborn, foolhardy optimism he would find upon his face.
"Not this day."
"This day, the next, a hundred years, it's nothing. It's a heart beat. You'll never be ready. The only woman whose love you've prized will be snatched from you."
"And will that satisfy you?" Thor said in challenge and in anger. As if it were Loki's fault his love were mortal. As if it were Loki's plot to possess her with the Aether and put her life in peril. As if Loki delighted in the pain written on both their , Jane's death and Thor's heartbreak would not satisfy the second son of Odin.
Nothing would.
"Satisfaction is not in my nature," Loki answered, tasting the truth of the statement like poison on his tongue.
Two Infinity Stones and the throne of the Crown of Yggdrasil had not been enough. His subjugations of Jotunheim and Midgard no more eased his internal emptiness than his achievements as the most gifted mage in the Nine. No goal, no pursuit, no achievement, no conquest had ever satiated his ceaseless hunger for more.
"Surrender is not in mine," came his brother's reply as their eyes met and they both recognized the double-edged sword the other wielded. Each brother's strength was the mirror image of his weakness and each knew the other only too well.
Between Thor and Loki, the frail Midgardian woman lay struggling to best the indomitable power draining the strength of life from her body. Her fate, and the fates of countless others, now rested in the hands of both brothers
They could not fail.
Loki woke with the ash of Svartalheim clinging to his consciousness and vying with the chill of the early Norwegian dawn. He stretched his taut muscles from his bed of earth and pine needles. He sought to dispel his present reality from the dream-tinged past miring his mind like soft mud on a garden path after a night's downpour.
He still tasted ash.
He rose and walked through the craggy boulders to where he could just glimpse the grey breakers of the ocean far below. The slight taste of sea salt and pine helped clear his mind and remind him of where he stood.
Though that was his current dilemma: determining where he stood.
What was he to seek now? What path was he to pursue? For so many millennia, he existed for the pleasure of Odin, Thor, and Asgard. While as unattainable as grasping streams of water in his fingers, he still understood how to try in vain.
Thor's favor always rested on how well Loki allowed Thor to shine. Did Loki have the Tesseract or not? Could Loki navigate the way to Svartalfheim? Could Loki give him aid against foes on Jotuneim? Would Loki abandon claims on Midgard and fight alongside Thor? As long as Loki made Thor's aims successful, Loki dwelt in the good wishes of his brother.
Odin's favor rested on his ability to shift forms and to allow the Aesir mask to hide all that was not Aesir within him. Could Loki produce the desired results for Asgard and sacrifice all he was for their glory? Could Loki fulfill the purposes for which Odin claimed and so carefully forged him?
No. Loki could not.
Loki thought by killing Laufey he was rejecting and destroying his past. He sought to free himself from the tethers attaching him to the people he despised, from the bonds of bloodline tainting his ability to be Aesir, and prove his loyalty to his new adopted realm. He thought by gaining Odin's acceptance, it would prove his worth, prove he was indeed good -prove he was like Thor.
No. Loki was not.
Those were his dreams (and nightmares) of the past. Now Asgard was gone…and so was Odin. His pillars, the foundations on which he built his sense of purpose and longing and identity, were all ash.
The Mighty Thor, who would never surrender, was conquered. His brother was now a fractured soul, a lost being. His great physical strength could not replace the brokenness within. His brother now sought to escape his grief and failure instead of facing it and becoming the king and leader he was born to be.
If Thor could so fall, what of Loki? If Thor was not, by his very intrinsic nature, good and perfect and all that the Aesir longed for, how could Loki ever hope to achieve it?
No. Loki would not.
When Loki embraced his death that day on Svartalheim, he instead gained his freedom. He laid all his past ambitions to rest alongside the rotting corpses of the last of the Dark Elves and he walked through that portal as a resurrected man-no longer Loki, but Fenris.
He had spent enough years longing for what his hands could never hold and not clinging to what he could grasp and what he already held within his fingers. Perhaps he could not catch the streams of water in his hands, but he could freeze it and hold onto it as ice and then it would be his.
If the king of New Asgard could be forced to surrender then maybe, just maybe, Fenris could learn satisfaction. It was possible both brothers could embrace what ran so contrary to their natures and so forge new paths than either had yet tread upon.
Fenris knew it was his refusal of his current circumstances that kept him floating upon his life. It was as if he were a spider clinging to thin threads and swinging aimlessly in the wind rather than risk setting foot on solid ground.
He knew the she-wolf. While wary (and rightfully so), she would welcome him into her heart without question because her loyalty ran deep, her heart was open and sincere, and she only fought their bond because he did.
Within her presence, there was no political maneuvering or secret agendas. There were no false pretenses of affection in order to use him for her own purposes or pleas for him to change and mask his true self. Instead, there was only her-the lone grey wolf who let a raven give her chase, who kept away his nightmares with warmth and solace, and who shared both joy and mourning alongside him as seasons shifted and turned.
Why would he exchange what he now held to return to any of what once was? Could he really long for more than he already had?
No, Fenris would not.
He knew which path his feet should now tread. It lay through the heart of the still-waking Aesir town below him. It lay in accepting what he currently held in his hands and in going to find his mate...if she would still have him. His long-harbored fear of rejection simmered within him and he wondered if he were already too late. He grimaced at the thought of so many uncomfortable conversations.
oooo
Loki did not waver from his first objective when he returned to the Asgardian town. After three days pillaging through the sordid spaces within his troubled mind, one decision rose to the surface like oil on water. He clung to it like a sailor to the night sky and returned to the New Asgard immediately.
He made himself invisible in the dawn light until he arrived at the door to the tavern room Sif had first ushered him into. He found her waiting for him within, as he had requested. She rose to greet him, her crimson dress as bright as a bloodstain on vellum against the dark tavern's shadows.
"Prince," she said with a slight nod of her head and a guarded expression on her proud face.
"Queen," he replied with a full formal salute of both arms crossed over his chest. The gesture would have been respectful if not for the mocking smirk on his face and the jest lingering in his eyes.
A servant carried in a tray heavy with bread and cheese and ale. He set it on the rough, mottled tavern table that had been privy to one too many clandestine meetings. The man bowed before leaving them and both their postures relaxed as soon as the heavy door shut behind him. Sif's bracers clinked against the wood as she grabbed a tankard and set the second in front of him. She sat across from Loki and gave him a tight smile.
"You requested an audience?" she asked.
"Indeed. I have a request," he answered as he tested the weak ale.
"Speak."
"Remove me from the line of succession," he said, not bothering to hide his purpose further.
"I beg your pardon?" she said. Her head whipped up in surprise so fast, she spilled her ale without noticing it pour onto her red gown.
"You heard me plainly, woman. Remove me from the line of succession."
"But why...?" she began and she scrutinized him more closely as he pulled himself taller in his chair and leaned foreward to answer her.
"I jested not when I said the Prince of Asgard died on the plains of Svartalfheim. I have no wish to be king again nor do I desire to be surrounded by the intrigues and suspicions surrounding who will wield Gungnir."
"But your children…," Sif began and he cut her off before she could continue.
"I would no more put such a burden on my children than I would wish for them to face the Mad Titan on a field of battle in single combat," he answered with a smidge more bitterness than he intended. "Sif, allow me to speak frankly. Surely Thor has informed you of my true parentage?"
She gave a wary nod.
"Then you know. My children are half- Jotun, half-Midgardian. How warmly do you believe the Aesir would accept their rule? How kindly do you believe the Aesir will treat them when they are forged out of the two peoples the Aesir most despise? I do not wish them to hide their identity nor do I wish to ignore the extent of ill-favor they will face from amongst my supposed kin."
"The All-Father took you in as you were," she said.
Loki scoffed. "Obviously. That is why I was to end my days in a prison cell, robbed even the merciful death he informed me was my birthright. "
Sif sighed and took another half-hearted sip of ale. "You were both angry that day. You both wielded words as weapons."
"It matters no longer. Let Odin remain in his hallowed grave and let us turn to the halls of the living."
"As you wish. You and your house will be formally removed from the line of succession," she said, though she did not bother to hide her disappointment. "It will be announced to the council this evening. Have you informed the king? He will be most heartily disappointed."
"How I loathe to upset the oaf, but I am afraid he has removed me from thrones more times than I care to recall. I do not wish for a return to such humiliation. If I am to pursue new aims in future, I cannot walk the same paths as the past."
Sif answered him with a rueful smile but he failed to let her silence linger, lest she feel compelled to answer him. Instead he embued his tone with forced ease and moved on.
"Oh, and with your leave, my queen, we will be departing tomorrow evening and we will bring the Thunderer with us. Surely, his foul tempers can cause no harm in a land perennially blanketed in clouds and rain and a change of scene will benefit him."
"But you wished to removed from the line of succession-why then?" she began.
"While I may choose to be removed from the responsibilities of the line of Odin, it does not follow that I wish to cut myself off from my so-called brother."
"I am glad-for both your sakes."
"He may not agree once I cut off his drink and force his hands on the training field."
Sif laughed. "You are the only one who can."
"If he fails to heed me, I will turn him into a rabbit and let the pups chase him for a day or two. I hope to return your husband to you in better spirits than I take him."
"Thank you," she answered and she let the regal strength of the queen soften into the gratitude of the woman as she did.
He gave her a courtly bow and kissed her hand as he rose to leave.
"You are certain I cannot persuade you to stay as king?" she said, now with a playful air.
"Not for all the gold on Nidavellir," he answered.
oooooo
The golden rays of the morning sun warmed the cold stones of New Asgard as Loki left his audience with the queen. Shopkeepers and fishmongers along the wharf greeted him as he passed by and as he feigned that clear purpose drove his steps onward. There was no avoiding the inevitable. He would be required to face multiple uncomfortable conversations dripping with the "sentiment" he so despised to give voice to. He pretended it was a search for a more adequate view (and not pure cowardice) which guided his feet onto the longer path around the village instead of the more direct path to where his family lodged.
He did not go far before he realized he had stumbled upon the inevitable. Sitting on a bench overlooking the sea, her back to him, was the she-wolf. While the sun illuminated the grass and cobbled path around her with a gentle glow, she absorbed the light like a black hole and shouted at him in her dark silence. It was not only how her leather jacket and dark trousers perfectly imitated the tone of her hair that set her apart, but the careful barrier maintained around her by passersby. While all eyes fell upon the Midgardian ink blot with undisguised curiosity, none wished her well or inquired after her health or dared approach her where she sat.
Loki grimaced. He knew he could not feign ignorance and walk away, but he had hoped to procrastinate this meeting as long as possible and not dive into it immediately.
She did not so much as twitch a muscle as he approached her, but her attention stayed fixed on the sea, her back staunchly facing him. He remained a few paces behind her and stopped, waiting for her to speak first and break the rigid tension they were both mired in.
"Is there a worse person I could have imprinted on?" she said softly without turning to face him. It was a question and an accusation, a desperate plea and a challenge.
No, he answered within himself. Who in all the realms would be as much a burden to be irrevocably bound to? Why had the she-wolf earned such punishment as to be forced to call herself his?
He dared not speak the truth out loud for the bitter taste it left upon his tarnished silver tongue.
"Oh, most decidedly," he responded with a pretentious toss of his head as he forced himself to close the distance between them.
"Please, enlighten me," she said, her expression turning wry.
"You might have imprinted on my brother."
At her raised eyebrow his grin grew and he continued. "Think of it, good lady. Bound perpetually to the God of Thunder and Fertility, the Golden King of Asgard. He has long been sought by the most beautiful maidens of all the realms-but forbidden to wed any except those of a sufficient rank to become Queen of the Nine, though that will not stop them from gladly entering his bed."
"Hmmm, you may have a point. I don't think I could tolerate that much brash optimism or that many poptarts in my life."
"If you ever happened to come across the fragrance of his recently unbooted feet, you would wholeheartedly agree with me and praise all the stars of heaven for your good fortune not to be bound to that for perpetuity."
At that, the she-wolf burst into laughter. Loki bit back his own mirth, striving to not be over pleased with himself for her response.
"Ah, I have met a few others I would most assuredly tell you are far worse than me," he continued as he sat beside her on the bench.
"Please continue," she said, her dark eyes dancing with humor.
"Well, I am not certain the customs this edge of Midgard, but which level of relatives are considered sufficiently unrelated to allow marriage?"
"I think that varies by country. However, you do have a point with that one. Ugh. Now I need to bleach my brain."
"Or I could begin to list the failings of the various heroes of Midgard I have been so unfortunate as to have met…or there are those creatures you call Cold Ones that you are sworn enemies with….," he continued.
"You know, they might rank a little higher than you. I mean, at least they are from Earth," she answered.
"You wound me," he answered with mock-sincerity as he lifted his hand to his heart. "Perhaps you would have preferred a Galliotrope from Nidavellir? They resemble your home's 'banana slugs' but are the size of a horse and have an affinity for exceedingly long and morbid poetry."
Her shoulders shook in laughter and her entire demeanor relaxed as if she were a tea kettle that had been removed from boiling.
"The pups missed you," she said.
"Only them?"
"Well, you already know your brother. He could barely restrain himself from coming to find you."
"I am surprised he managed to stay away."
"To be honest, I don't think he realized how long you were away. He, uh, doesn't exactly have the best sense of time."
Loki raised one eyebrow and she shrugged. "He hasn't really left us since you left, but he hasn't realized more than a day has past. He still thinks the party was yesterday."
Loki pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. He wanted to prod her further, to see her irritation as she denied also missing him. Through their bond, he did not need to ask. He knew. He rather delighted in the knowledge that she had barely managed to restrain herself from coming after him as well. He had felt her struggle against the taut tethers of their bond and her reluctant concern into his wellbeing. All his pointed jests or inquiries into if she also missed him fell silent on his lips as he caught her expression. She would no more admit such sentiment than he would and it was not the time to force her to expose her vulnerabilities or attempt a charade she could not succeed in. So, he let his pointed questions disintegrate and moved on.
"My condolences for leaving you to manage the oaf on your own. I have been remiss in my brother-keeping duties."
"Oh, we've managed. The pups adore him."
"Very few fail to be taken with him," he answered and he tried to shake the jealousy from his mind before she noticed it.
He failed.
"So, are you staying then?" she asked as she turned her attention back to the ocean.
"Staying where?"
"Here."
"Why would I stay here?"
She did not answer, only arched one eyebrow.
"We have a wedding to attend," he answered. "Will it be uncouth to allow my brother to come as guest?"
"Oh, Seth would love it! Of course he can come-just make sure he doesn't set the forest on fire."
"You are more in danger of floods and rainstorms than fires, I am afraid."
"Meh. It's Washington. We are good with rain."
"So I informed the queen," Loki answered. "I have only to inform the king that he is being taken as hostage and we will be ready to depart for warmer, more cloud-covered lands."
The she-wolf nodded and he could sense her genuine approval of his suggestion. It was tinged with a deep yearning to return to her home and he realized he had failed to consider what experiences she may have faced among the proud Aesir in his absence.
"Are you the only one from Jotunheim?"
Loki exhaled deeply and clasped his hands in front of him.
"Did Thor tell you?"
"No."
"Then how..."
"Street gossip."
Loki could not prevent the frown that fell over his features at that. "I did not realize my parentage was the common knowledge of town rumormongering...especially as it is only recent knowledge to me," he said and sighed. "To my knowledge I am the only Jotun to mar the Aesir with my tainted presence."
The she-wolf shrugged and fiddled with a button on her jacket.
You never told us you were the only shapeshifter," she remarked after a few minutes of silence.
"You neglected to tell me you were the only female."
"You never asked."
"Neither did you."
She gave a long, weary exhale and rubbed at her temples.
"You will need to speak with Isaac and Sarah," she said.
"I was on my way to find the pups now. What has occurred?"
"More street gossip. Some of the local boys made fun of Isaac for spending all his time with the young pups. They called him a 'nursemaid to filthy curs' and called his manhood into question. Sarah got mad and decided to defend him. She phased..."
Loki groaned and Leah gave a rueful shake of her head.
"...Yeah. She phased in front of them and it took both your brother and I to tear her off them. By the time we got there, she had already done some significant damage. It's good you people have your crazy magic medicine. I couldn't believe they could reattach a severed hand like that.
"Well, she was so mad that she refused to phase back till night time. Isaac keeps telling her that he is fine and the boys were just being stupid, but I think she has had her fill of her own taunts about being a 'bastard Midgardian bitch' for one week."
"A...from whom did she receive such words? They will not live to see nightfall," Loki hissed as he materialized a dagger and spun it between his fingers.
"There's been too many to keep track of."
"Typical Aesir pride and hypocrisy," he said-more to himself than to her. He fell silent as he mulled over the appropriate response. He could only think of one solution which would be assuredly successful...and would sufficiently both appease and outrage the Aesir.
"We must remedy this. Come, Lady Leah." He outstretched one hand to take hers and pulled her to her feet
"Where are we going?"
"To defend the honor of my children," he answered. "I have been remiss in waiting as long as I have."
"Please tell me you aren't going to eat anyone or remove any limbs."
"That remains to be seen. Come. You must follow my lead."
With a flick of his wrist he changed her into Aesir female armor. She gave a light gasp as a sword and shield materialized in her hands and she nearly dropped them in her surprise. The next moment, he summoned his own armor and he walked on ahead, looking over his shoulder to ensure she followed after him, directly through town for all eyes to see and gossip about.
ooo
"Hold your sword aloft and wait," he told the she-wolf as she stood in the center of the grassy field. She rolled her eyes but complied. He conjured a battle ring around them out of conjured light and he leaned on his own sword as he watched. A trickle of curious Aesir began to fill in the boundaries around the battle ring, all eyes fixed on the pair in the center. Soon, the crowd multiplied as the whole town caught whispers of what was to occur and emptied its streets to fill the field
Loki tarried in silence until he heard Thor's booming voice from across the clearing. Then Loki gave an overdramatic bow and motioned to his audience.
"Warriors and shield-maidens of Asgard- the Lady Leah of The Land of Clear Waters, Midgardian warrior and shapeshifter, has called you here today to witness her battle prowess. She has called for her opponent to be Fenris Friggson."
Loki let whispers and questions percolate through the Aesir before he raised his sword. "And he will answer. I, Fenris Friggson, the former Prince Loki Odinson, will raise my blade against the Lady in the honored Aesir battle ring."
He winked at Sif after he finished the traditional opening speech. She glared at him before shaking her head and smiling. The council would not approve of this channel of communicating his abdication of his title, but he rather enjoyed ignoring protocol.
Despite the gasps of surprise at his address, the audience responded with the traditional solemn oaths of faithful witness. Loki displayed his own sword with a flourish and bowed his head toward the she-wolf.
"Now, impress them with your skills," he whispered as he neared her.
"I have never held a sword in my life. How can I impress them?" she hissed back.
"Swing it," he answered with a grin as he crouched into a warrior stance. She rolled her eyes and gave a clumsy swing of the sword. He dodged it easily and winked at her before countering her swing with his own well-practiced movement. They circled each other like vultures over a carcass and Loki easily countered each of her clumsy movements with his own graceful lunges.
The crowd cheered each time metal met metal. When Loki caught the jeers on the faces of some who were mocking the she-wolf's inept movements, he moved in closer to her.
"Now, phase," he whispered with a conspiratorial wink. She opened her mouth to protest but thought the better of it. She dropped the sword and shield and obeyed.
The Aesir gave startled cries and gasps as a huge, grey wolf and, not a woman, lunged at their former prince. He raised his sword at her again and they battled anew, teeth against blade. This time, their strength and skill was more evenly matched and they battled fiercely, each pushing back against the other around the ring.
Then Loki dropped his sword, vanished his armor, and gave the audience another bow. With an elegant leap and shimmer, it was a magnificent white wolf that stood before them. He gnashed his teeth and circled the grey wolf until she lunged again with well-practiced ferocity. This was a dance they both knew the steps for and they crashed into each other in a torrent of fur and teeth and claws. Grass and dirt flew up in clouds from where they met and fluttered around them as if raining from the sky. Cries of delight and disgust met the sight of the battle of the horse-sized wolves.
After an admirable fight, Loki sought out her magic and gave it a nudge until she burst into the clearing as a powerful Asgardian crested eagle, wings outstretched towards the blue sky. He felt her amusement as she dove from the sky to claw at his lupine face. He growled, snapped at her feet, and in a curlingleap, he transformed into a similar eagle and followed her into the air. Their claws danced through each other's feathers as they moved their battle upwards into the sky and over the heads of their surprised onlookers.
When they next alighted on the ground, he gave an eagle's bow, nudged her magic again as he withdrew his own and there stood two moon-white unicorns, horns pointed towards each other. Loki pawed the ground with cloven hoofs, whinnied, and charged. Leah threw her own head back, brayed, and galloped full speed to meet him in the center of the battle ring. With a blinding light and crash, their horns met and they tore up the earth as they sought purchase in it. Their strong shoulders pushed against each other as the deadly horns drew crimson strands of blood into their white coats.
With another invisible push, the unicorns melted away and were replaced by two towering Jotnar, sapphire blue with ice swords drawn. Leah gave him a surprised glance through her blood red eyes before grinning with jagged, deadly teeth. She circled him again, her ice sword crashing down upon his shoulder with strength rivalling an Aesir. The grass beneath them turned white with frost and cracked in fragile shards as their bare feet froze the earth beneath. The Aesir gave cries of horror as they saw the Jotnar appear before them and if it were not for the barrier Loki created around their battle ring, some of the Aesir warriors would have thrown their own blades upon the battling pair.
The outraged cries fell in a hushed silence as he shifted them both into the forms of Aesir. He knew all present would sense the difference between Leah as a Midgardian and as an Aesir. After a few rounds with blades in the ring, Loki ended the battle with his sword firmly placed against Leah's neck.
He threw the sword onto the earth below with a grass-muted clamor and took one of her hands to help her stand. She shifted back to her native shape and faced him. In his hand, he produced a silvery uru dagger inlaid with gems forming the shape of an elaborate serpent. He held it aloft over him as the crowd gave a hesitant cheer, encouraged by the sound of their king's joyous shout.
"Here, Asgard, you stand as witnesses of this valiant lady's willing battle and sound defeat," Loki said in a loud, resonant speech that held all the theatrics of a master performer. "I hereby grant her this dagger to keep with her always so that all may know whose sword will guard her and her offspring and whose house will fight for her honor if any seek to defame her or those that are hers. Do you hold to your oath?"
A chorus of cheers interspersed with "aye" rang out and Loki gave the she-wolf the dagger.
"Keep this with you at all times," he whispered. She carefully took it and ran one finger along the bejeweled handle in both admiration and confusion.
Thor's laughter and shout rang across the field and he barreled into the center of the ring with all three small wolf pups balanced in his his arms. Sarah and Isaac walked alongside, both in wolf form, and gave wary glances at the crowd around them, whose eyes failed to leave their positions. Thor placed the pups on the grass besides their parents and gave Loki a sturdy punch in the shoulder.
"See, Asgard, the house of Fenris Friggson is established this day," Thor boomed. "Mark it well and mark also these, the sons and daughters of this strong lineage. Never before has Asgard seen such a battle!"
With that, Thor stretched out his hands and his one good eye glowed. Through a swirling mixture of clouds and sun, what appeared overhead was the twin arcs of a double rainbow.
"In honor of this occasion, this night will be set apart for revels and feasts!" the king said with a broad, bearded grin as he clapped his brother one last time on the shoulder with enough force to send him off balance.
"And brother- we must have words this day," Thor whispered. "What mean you by changing your name and title?"
"Not now, Thor," Loki answered and he moved away from his brother before he was assailed with further questions.
The she-wolf caught his arm before he could escape and she pulled him lower so she could whisper into his ear.
"What the hell was that?" she asked.
"A sacred Aesir tradition to form a new house and new patrilineage. Now none will question the honor or legitimacy of our children."
She opened and closed her mouth once before she struck him on the shoulder and glared at him. "Please tell me that wasn't some weird form of an alien marriage ceremony?"
He only grinned wider and then vanished.
"Fenris!" Leah said with a groan but he did not reappear.
ooooo
Author's notes:
We are nearing the end here. Just a few chapters left...and quite a few conversations...but we are almost there.
Myth from Padraic Colom's Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths (1920). Actually, this myth formed the basis of my original plot for this story...hence meeting in the forest as wolves and Loki's post-Asgard status and Leah fit so well into it.
Dream dialogue taken from Thor: Dark World.