Bonds

The palace training room resonated with the sounds of clashing metal. The crown prince of Asgard swung his hammer, hitting fake opponents and practicing a very specific set of battle forms. Sweat beaded on his skin, his blonde hair clung to his face, but taking a break didn't even enter his mind. He was so close to perfecting this set...

Thor roared in frustration as he missed the last target by a hair's breadth. The metal mallet slammed into the floor, creating an impressive dent. He wished he had an actual opponent to fight, but his usual sparring partners all had different duties to attend to at the moment.

“Such temper, brother. Do try not to leave the training hall in shambles again.”

Well, all his usual partners except one.

Loki was obviously referring to the time he had used Mjolnir rather than his training hammer during a session. He had just received the hammer and was eager to test his compatibility with the new weapon. Unfortunately, the training room hadn't been built to withstand such a remarkable weapon.

Thor looked over at his brother, who was carefully aiming a training spear. The smaller Asgardian released, and hit his mark dead center.

“You're never going to let me forget about that are you brother?” Thor fixed him with an annoyed glare. Loki shrugged.

“I was just trying to lighten the mood. Perhaps you should perform Calming the Storm, your control on that last swing is what failed you.”

“Calming the Storm?” Thor asked with a deep frown. Loki stiffened.

“I meant The Flame and the Void.” Loki corrected. Thor nodded in understanding.

“What is Calming the Storm then? I've never heard of such a technique.” He'd never been very good at performing Flame and the Void, even though it was common practice to use it in non-magical battle as well.

“It's the same technique, I just know someone who uses a different title for it.” Loki sounded casual, but Thor could detect a hint of hesitation in his brother's voice.

“Who?” Thor asked curiously. He wasn't aware Loki had any friends outside of the Warriors Three.

“You don't know him.” Loki said quickly, trying to make the topic seem unimportant. Thor's frown deepened though. He knew of most of the warriors serving Odin, which means he knew nearly everyone. Who in the palace could his brother be talking to that he didn't know and trained in battle control techniques?

“So do you think it would be better for me to focus training on a throwing spear, or with a melee staff like this one?” Loki asked before Thor could voice his confusion. Thor looked at the spear Loki had embedded in the wall, and at the close combat staff he now held in his hands.
After a minute of thought Thor gave his expert opinion. When using actual weapons, rather than magic, Loki tended to work better with a melee staff. Anything more distant he tended to use his tricks to take care off, but many of those spells are dangerous or useless up close. So Loki would benefit more from improving his close combat fighting. After the explanation Loki thanked his brother and excused himself to attend to some of his chores. Thor went back to practicing the last set he had failed. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Thor realized he hadn't asked Loki more about his new friend.
This thought made him miss the last target again. The God of Thunder's roar of frustration could be heard throughout the entire palace.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

After Jack's blizzard inducing freak out it had somehow followed that Loki and Jack talked more about their personal lives during visits. Jack would tell Loki all about the other spirits he'd met, and how he'd managed to get on the bad side of every single one of them. Loki inevitably spoke of his brother, parents, and few friends back on Asgard.

And it was because of this new development that Loki discovered Jack's strange obsession with anything family related.

Whenever Loki brought up anything about his family Jack went through a strange cycle. When a family story, or complaint started, Jack body language tended to bounce between avoidance and interest. Then when Loki finished talking the boy would always press for further detail, yet he never spoke of his own family. He even tried act like he wasn't that curious after the talking was done.

The Asgardian didn't press at first. He worried that perhaps the boy and his family did not get along, or perhaps that they had died. But as this cycle repeated over and over Loki began to wonder more and more. He didn't always give the information Jack demanded, but he felt he'd given away enough to entitle him to a little bit of Jack's family background.
It was upon a misty mountaintop that Loki finally decided to do a little demanding of his own.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The morning air was biting upon the lofty Rondslottet peak in Norway. Wind, who was carrying the fog in, recognized a voice echoing from the mountaintop. Seeing what was happening wind lifted a small part of the mist, just enough to create a bubble of clear air around her boy and his companion.

“So after I got the little red head all worked up about taking his gold I told him the truth. I didn't actually want any of it, I just followed the rainbow so I could come and say Hi. The look on his face was priceless!” Jack Frost crowed with laughter at the conclusion of his story. The memory of meeting the Leprechaun was going to keep him randomly grinning for a long time.

The God of Mischief, on the other hand, simply stared at the Bringer of Winter as the spirit rocked back and forth on boulder.

“So you went through all the trouble of finding a fully formed rainbow, figuring out how to ride it, and locating a spirit at the end, simply because you could? You didn't take a reward that was rightfully yours and didn't try to make any deal or trade?” Loki spoke slowly, as if to make sure he was getting it all right. Jack nodded, grin still firmly in place.

“Yeah, it was fun.”

“Honestly, sometimes your short-sightedness rival's my brother's.” Loki said with a disappointed shake of his head, letting himself lean even more into the tall pine at his side.

“So, you think your brother doesn't think about the future enough?” Jack asked.

“Oh he thinks about the future, but not with any kind of intelligence. He only thinks about how much training he can get in or when he can go on his next adventure outside of Asgard. He devotes little time to understanding our politics or inter-realm relationships, yet he's expected to be the ruler of us all one day.” Loki shook his head again, disappointment even stronger in his voice now. A small part of his mind tries to tell him that he's probably not giving his brother enough credit. Thor, the Warrior's Three and himself have all learned many things on the adventures Thor drags them into. But it feels good to rant a little, especially in a place where he can be certain no one from Asgard will overhear.

“What do your parents think about that?” Jack prompts.

“I believe Father worries about it, though he hardly ever does anything except to tell Thor that pursuits other than fighting are important as well.”

“And your mom?” Jack prompts further.
Loki could easily continue his rants, but he pauses and gives Jack a critical look instead.

“What is it about this subject?” Loki asks.

“What do you mean?” Jack responds, frowning in confusion.

“Every time I bring up my family you want to know every single detail. What does one person think about what another person is doing? Do they always get along? What causes them to fight? How do they resolve arguments? How do I feel about Thor, or how does Mother feel about me? You always want to know more about everything when it comes to family. Don't I get a little payback at some point?”

“What do you mean 'payback'?” Jack asked warily, all trace of earlier mischief gone.

“Don't I ever get to hear about how your family worked?”

Jack tensed at the question. He looked away from Loki, suddenly finding his staff to be much more interesting. Loki wondered if he'd brought that up a little too quickly. Surely the boy had someone to talk about. Everyone came from somewhere.

“I never really had one.” Jack admits.

The God of Mischief stood corrected.

“What do you mean?”

“I've always been like this.” Jack said, looking up a bit and gesturing to himself. “The first thing I can remember is being pulled out of my lake by the Moon. I never really had a family, so I'm...curious. I don't really have anyone else I can ask about it, and you only figure out so much by watching.”

“I see.” Loki said quietly, still processing the new information.

“Can I come to Asgard some time?” Jack suddenly asked.

“What?” Loki's processing was completely derailed.

“I want to visit Asgard. You talk about your family and those three warriors pretty often these days. I want to meet them myself.”

It was true, he did tend to bring them up quite a bit. Being able to share frustrations as well as stories had become very satisfying. Though, if he had known Jack would become this curious he may have brought them up less.

“You can't come to Asgard.” Loki said firmly.

“Why not?” Jack asked, frowning again.

“Most subjects of Asgard can travel to other realms freely, but Odin is very strict about who he allows into our home. Only ambassadors or merchants whom have previously spoken to Odin or his messengers may enter Asgard.”

Plus, a part of Loki didn't want the other people in his life to know about Jack. There were so few things that Loki felt were truly his, and not simply shared by his family or friends. Jack was one of those things. How could spending time with the boy be his respite if Thor or the others suddenly wanted to come along?

“That seems a little harsh.” Jack pointed out.

“The peace we have with the other realms is still somewhat tentative. Odin does not want to risk someone attacking Asgard from the inside.”

“So if I asked to visit, I'd definitely get a 'no'?”

“Definitely.”

Jack dropped the conversation after that, and that seemed to be the end of it. However, Loki knew Jack well at this point, so he should have realized that wasn't the case. And he definitely should have realized telling Jack Frost that something was against the rules was the least affective deterrent possible.

The two friends talked for a little more afterward, but soon it was time for Loki to leave. Jack stood back a little as Loki was about to warp back home, as the Asgardian had warned that standing too close could get you blasted back.

But this time, Jack didn't stay away.

As the bifrost began to encompass Loki, Jack suddenly called upon the winds. With a mighty gust Jack flew forward. The winter spirit grabbed Loki's arm just as the bifrost's bright light enveloped him fully. Well the light faded neither spirit could be seen on the snowy Norwegian peak.