Bonds

“I don't feel any different.”
“Did you imagine the flower opening all the way?”
“I tried to.”
“You didn't even practice while I was away did you?”
“Of course I did! I mean, I practiced some...”

Loki sighed from his seated position on the shore of Jack's lake. It had been months since Loki had first explained these techniques to the spirit sitting beside him, but he didn't seem to be improving at all.

Jack growled a little at how disappointed Loki sounded. It wasn't like he wasn't trying, he was! He really wanted to learn better control. Others may think he didn't care about what he did with his powers, but he wasn't completely irresponsible. He knew that his lack of experience was dangerous; he knew that letting his powers get out of control got him into more trouble than he actually wanted. The idea of gaining a better handle on his abilities excited him, even if he didn't always show it. Plus, if he had better control, then he could probably do more intricate things with his frost and snow. Jack had fun imagining all the new tricks he could pull off. Maybe he could even make every individual snowflake unique.

“Could you explain it one more time? I feel like I'm missing something.”
Loki sighed again, but nodded.

The first technique was one Jack had dubbed “Flower Focus”. It was most useful when trying to get past a block in one's magical use. This block could be emotional, such as how some people froze up and couldn't do anything when frighted, or it could be physical, such as when one was near an object or person that interfered with magic.
It started with imagining a flower bud. This would become your sole focus. There was nothing more important than the flower bud, in fact, there was nothing in the world except the flower bud. Once this idea was firmly in your head, you made the bud bloom. You pictured the bud opening up, petals breaking apart and expanding until the blossom was fully open. Only now was it ready to receive the sun. The sun was, of course, your magical power.

The second technique already had a name, “The flame and the void”. This one was better suited for maintaining control and stopping oneself from giving into emotion fueled outbursts, like the raging blizzard Jack had made months ago. In this technique one imagined a flame. It was a small flame at first, just a bare flicker of warmth and light. But then you fed it your emotions and stress. Anger, sadness, pain, they were all given as fuel for the fire. The flame would grow with each addition, becomimg larger and hotter. Eventually the fire would grow so big that it consumed everything. With no more fuel, the fire would suddenly disappear. When it did, the void was what remained. While one was in the void, everything was calm. Any emotions became distant, barely entering conscious thought. It allowed the mind to focus solely on the matters at hand, making it easier for your actions to be more precise and controlled.

Jack nodded slowly after Loki's explanation, still looking a little confused, and tried again. Loki was honestly bewildered as to why Jack was having such trouble with this. Jack was normally so adaptable, and these were fairly basic practices on Asgard.

He gave Jack credit for coming up with a way to test himself though. The techniques did make one feel different, but it was always easier to judge one's progress with a more physical measure. To do this, Jack had come up with a very specific frost pattern. The pattern was not overly complex, Jack could do complex quite easily. Instead the pattern was highly uniform and repetitive, which required methodical focus to be done well. Presumably, if the focus and control exercises worked, he'd be able to finish the pattern more easily, or make it look better than normal.
So far that hadn't been happening.

Loki watched as Jack tapped his staff against the frozen surface of his lake. He touched many points very quickly, making frost stretch out from each point in sequence. The boy's brow was furrowed, and he looked completely focused on his work. But when he was done the pattern looked just the same as it had the first time. The outside edges varied greatly, and the internal repetition was sloppy. He frowned and closed his eyes again, trying the second technique. A minute later he tried again, with the same result.
Jack scowled down at his attempt and stomped over to the shore.

“This is ridiculous!”
“It is not ridiculous, it's useful!” Loki hissed back. He hated it when people dismissed his craft.
“How can it be useful if it doesn't even work? I'd probably learn more just by messing around! Stupid flowers and fire, don't mean anything.”
Loki had been ready to start arguing with him, but that last grumbled sentence caught his attention.

What did things like flowers or flames mean to someone like Jack? Loki had never seen the spirit out of his season or element, could he even be in warmer areas? In either case it was highly likely that Jack went a long time without seeing growing plants. Fire would hold a similar place, since someone like Jack had no use of it.
Maybe that was the reason Jack was having troubles, he needed a more personal perspective.

“Jack, how do you create snowflakes?” Jack shot Loki a look of confusion, frustration derailed at the abrupt change in topic.
“Well, I usually start out with a bit of dust, or whatever speck of something is floating around in the air, since creating them is easier with a base. I attach ice to it, and as more ice gets attached it grows into a crystal.”
Loki rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Then try this, instead of a blooming flower as your sole focus, imagine a growing snowflake. It starts out as just a tiny bit of dust and ice, but then it grows bigger and more complex. Eventually you will have a perfect ice crystal, ready to float down to the earth and fulfill its purpose.”

Jack nodded slowly, but not in confusion. He looked intrigued, even eager. He schooled his expression and closed his eyes once more, bowing his head and leaning on his staff. He stayed this way for a while, longer than his previous attempts. When he finally does open his eyes they gleam with determination.
Jack then walked calmly back onto the ice. Instead of tapping quickly to cover a lot of area he places his staff with care. When Jack is done he looks over his work, and smiles. The edges are now much more precise, with only small variations from the straight lines he was going for.
Loki looked over the work, clearly impressed with the sudden leap.

“See? I knew you had it in you.” Loki said, a hint of pride in his voice. Jack's face turned a very light shade of pink at the praise, but then he looked closer at the pattern.
“The inside hasn't improved much.” He wilted a bit.
“That's what the second one is for, control.” Now how was he going to adapt this one for Jack? Thinking back to Jack's blizzard, an idea came to him.
“Imagine a winter storm. You put all your emotions into the storm; it feeds off them and grows stronger and stronger. Eventually, it reaches a point where it has nothing more to consume and can rage no more. It suddenly dissipates, leaving a calm where there had previously been chaos.”

Jack got that same intrigued eager look, and did as suggested. This time it took even longer for him to come out of his mind, but it seemed to be worth it. His staff tapped the ice at a carefully measured pace, and the frost spread methodically into the gentle repetitions.

“Oh wow, Loki look at this! This is great!” Jack cried in excitement.

Loki did look at the design. It was a great improvement, especially after having so little progress over the months. There were still some flaws of course, always room for improvement. The Asgardian turned to Jack to tell him this, but paused.

The boy's face was lit up like the moon on a starless night. His grin was not from sarcasm or mischief, but from sheer joy over having learned something new. His eyes sparkled with delight, and Loki couldn't help smiling too. A light warm feeling spread throughout him at seeing his student and friend so unashamedly happy.

“It is.” That's all Loki said, reluctant to bring the boy down to reality just yet. It wasn't long before Jack did that himself though.
“It takes kind of long time go through it all though. That could be bad if I'm in the middle if a fight or argument.” Jack mused.
“Well, part of the reason for learning these is to avoid getting into such situations, but you are right. That's why it's important to practice them. The more familiar you are with the process the faster and easier it becomes; I'm able to do them almost automatically. So you should practice regularly.”
“Yes Mother.” Jack said in a sickly sweet voice.
“First Grandpa and now Mother? What did I ever do to deserve such mockery?” Loki said with a dramatic huff.
“I think the real question is: Since when do I need an excuse?” Jack snarked lightly, but the next moment he turned solemn. “But, you know, thank you.”
“I'm sorry, what was that?” Loki asked, turning his right ear toward Jack.
“Thank you for teaching me, Oh Great One.” Jack said loudly and clearly. Loki smirked.
“Much better. Now, I must be returning to Asg-” Something cold and crumbly slammed into the side of Loki's head. The God of Mischief blinked for a moment, blue sparks seeming to dance before his eyes. He turned to see Jack Frost playfully tossing a snowball into the air.
“Leaving so soon?”
“Not after war has been declared!” Loki rolled on the ground, scooping up snow as he did. By the time he was back up he had a snowball ready and waiting for his target. He pitched it at the laughing winter sprite, who swung his staff out to meet the snowball and send it flying back to its maker. Loki just managed to dodge. The two made eye contact.

It was on.

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Thor wondered why Loki came into his melee training session wet and dripping. The happy grin on his brother's face stopped him from questioning him though. It was rare to see such a genuine smile from Loki, and Thor didn't want to ruin his brother's fun.