Improvisation
I knew that we had crossed fully back into Asgard when a pair of aetheric tracers came darting straight to us through the forest. One flashed into Loki’s hand, the other into mine. I recognized Scathsa’s energy on the pattern as I absorbed the information. Before I was done, Loki had whistled for the barge, and we were both climbing in. He set a course directly back to the palace at the barge’s highest speed.
“The ansible, and Thor?” I said.
“Mine didn’t specifically mention Thor, but I made the connection,” he replied. “Mother sounded concerned, but not—overly concerned, if that makes sense.”
“It does,” I said. “It seemed urgent, but not an emergency, from what Scathsa sent me.”
I wasn’t sure if the patches of blue blooming in his aura represented worried tension, but I knew he was aware of my own agitation. After a few minutes of silence he reached over and took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. I have to admit that the contact comforted me for the remainder of the trip.
Loki dropped his shroud of invisibility as we neared the palace, and immediately another aetheric message found him. “The negotiation chamber,” he said, preparing to park the barge.
“You’re still blue,” I responded, wrapping myself in my own veil of invisibility. He blinked at me, then quickly created an illusion to cover his skin and eyes as he readjusted to being in the company of Aesir.
By the time we arrived at the hall set aside for the negotiations, his coloration had returned to the semblance of an Aesir and he dispelled his illusion as we entered. I walked to the phantom image of myself, which was dispersed as soon as I took up my position standing against the wall of the room and removed my own invisibility. None of the guards or other Aesir present so much as twitched, but Frigga glanced at me for a moment from where she sat at the head of the table. Heimdall, who I hadn’t noticed on entering, gave me a long, steady look, then turned to inspect Loki. I could almost see his shrug as he looked away.
The Queen nodded to Jari, who was standing next to Scathsa. The Aesir took a step forward and cleared her throat. “We have been working on extracting information from the ansible,” she said. “The most recent transmissions are the easiest to recover, and once we solved the matrix to decode it, we discovered that the last message instructed Tyr to be ready to leave Svartalfheim. It was sent from Midgard, by a person called Vidar.”
“The name of Vidar is known to us,” Frigga said. “And Odin banished Thor to Midgard. Heimdall has been watching Thor, but has seen nothing to indicate that Tyr or his allies have discovered Thor’s location. Midgard is a large realm, and it is possible that the matters are entirely unrelated. However, I have submitted a plea to the elders of Asgard for clemency in the matter of Thor’s banishment in light of this information, and for permission to return him to Asgard for reevaluation of his sentence.”
A white-haired Aesir sitting in front of a cluster of others stood up. “Since the matter does not appear to be urgent, we request leave to discuss the issue.”
Frigga looked at Heimdall, who gave a slight nod. “Granted,” she said. “If the situation changes to require immediate action, we will inform you. Heimdall, please keep a close watch on Thor.” With that she stood up and walked to the door as everyone bowed. She paused to catch Loki’s attention and nodded to him, then the two of them left the room. The rest of us filed out and went our separate ways.
As soon as the door to our suite was shut, Aizerue gestured for me to follow eir into the sauna. E barely waited for me to enter before returning to eir native form, filling the room and crowding me close to the door. As I shifted to my natural shape e coiled and stared down at me. “I take it you were able to remove Loki’s shapeshifting block,” e said. “And that you have been physically intimate with him. What I do not understand is the alteration in your own basic pattern, or why you are suddenly so nervous about me.”
I debated my responses for a moment, then took a deep breath and bowed my head. “I have ransomed my life for the secret of our home,” I said. “I did not tell him where or how to find it, only that it exists, and that Nastrond is a deception.”
An enormous taloned hand clutched my midsection and I was lifted up to Aizerue’s muzzle. Eir grip was fairly gentle, but very firm. I shivered, struggling with my instincts to fight or escape as e stared at me for several long moments.
“You were not threatened, coerced, or forced into giving this information?” e asked. “You gave it of your own free will?”
“I did,” I said, raising my head to look Aizerue in the eyes and trying to control my breathing.
“I will not ask if you understand the full consequences of what you have done. You don’t.” Eir eyes glittered in the darkness. “And because you’ve made a link with him, you have no reason to fear punishment from me. If I did anything to you he would bring the full might of Asgard to bear, to find our home and carry out vengeance however he would see fit.”
I winced, shaking my head. “I… did not intend that. Whatever your judgment is, let me explain it to Loki first, and he will not interfere or retaliate.”
“He will not? How can you possibly guarantee that?”
“What possible assurance can I give you other than my own life?” I said, with more than a touch of anger. “What guarantee do any of us have of anything? Yes, it is a risk, and yes, I took that risk, but I took it with my wings open!”
“What advantage could your actions bring us, that would be worth such a risk?” e said, setting me back down on the ground.
I sat up on my hind legs. “Loki doesn’t want to be king,” I said. “He doesn’t want Thor to be king because he doesn’t think Thor is capable, but I suspect that if Thor is sufficiently humbled by his banishment to accept instruction from their parents, Loki would willingly give up the position of heir. He’s been told that he was born to be a king all his life, and trained and groomed for it—but he’s just found out that he was intended to be king of Jotunheim, which he wants to rule even less than Asgard. He only wanted to be king when he believed that was his only possible ambition.
“Think of everything we can offer him,” I continued, spreading my claws. “After I removed the lock on his shapeshifting, the first thing he wanted to do was fly, and he delighted in it as much as any of our fledglings. He was instructed in technomancy by Frigga, but he took to it enthusiastically and made it his own, despite the low station of aetheric weavers in this society. He’s already discovered and mapped paths to the other linked Nine Realms—and kept that information secret, well enough that I doubt even Heimdall knows the extent of Loki’s travels.”
“So… if Thor is reinstated as heir, you believe you can persuade Loki to join us in Nidheim?” Aizerue sounded thoughtful, and even a bit pleased.
“What better way to cement positive relations between our worlds?” I lowered my head, striving to conceal my relief, especially since I’d been devising the idea as I spoke.
“I apologize,” Aizerue rumbled, nudging me gently with eir muzzle. “I assumed you had given our safety away in a moment of careless passion, but now I perceive the wisdom in your plan.” From the teasing lilt in eir voice, I could tell that e had seen straight through my gambit and had chosen to accept it at face value. “I would advise against such designs in the future, but I suspect similar circumstances will not arise again in your lifetime, at least for several centuries.” I nodded my understanding of the implicit warning.
“Daucus and Malalik have the sauna for tonight.” E shifted down into eir Aesir form, and I did the same. “The talks are still scheduled for tomorrow, and barring any other news or emergency, you’ll be on duty. I know I will be. Let’s get some sleep.”
We exited the sauna, and I curled up in a corner of the central room in my native form, intending to think over the events of the day, but instead almost immediately fell asleep.
The negotiations the next day went as quietly as Aizerue could have hoped. Laharu teased me gently about the way my aura lit up every time Loki walked past as we stood guard, indirectly reassuring me that he and the others had no real objections to the situation. When the meeting adjourned, Loki gave me an illusory smile before our groups separated, and as we walked to our suite I wondered if he would visit or send a message asking for me.
I didn’t have long to wait. As servants cleared out the remains of our dinner, Loki appeared in our doorway. Aizerue invited him in, but he demurred.
“I’ve just been given word that the elders have come to a decision—much more quickly than I would have expected,” he said. “Thor is to be retrieved from Midgard immediately. I’m being sent as the official envoy, and Sif and the Warriors Three are coming along in case Thor doesn’t believe me. And… I would appreciate your company, as well.”
Aizerue gave me a small, wry smile and nodded. “You’re going to Midgard?” Laharu said. “See if you can bring back some chocolate!” I laughed and promised I would try.
We met up with the others as we boarded a skybarge. Sif smiled at Loki and I, and the blond Aesir gave Loki an enthusiastic clap on the back. The other two were more reserved, but not unfriendly as the barge flew us to the Bifrost gate.
The transition from Asgard’s evening of stars in the darkness to Midgard’s bright midday sun made us all pause for a few minutes to orient ourselves. Heimdall had deposited us in an open, dusty plain, with a small town visible not too far away.
“Ugh, it’s hot.” The face of the red-haired Aesir, who I remembered as Volstagg, was already sheened with sweat.
“I could make us a bit more comfortable,” Loki said as we began walking towards the town. “As well as give us appearances that won’t stand out quite so much, and alarm the natives.”
“I do not think we are in need of your spells and illusions,” Hogun said.
Sif was about to reply when Loki and I both stopped, our heads turning to the same point in town. “Something’s wrong,” he said.
“I can hear screams,” Sif added.
“Too late to worry about alarming the natives.” I shifted to my native form, taking some extra energy to enlarge myself, and nodded to Loki and Sif. “Climb on.”
Sif hesitated as Loki scrambled onto my back, then shrugged and let him assist her in climbing up. “I can only carry two,” I said to the other three apologetically. “You’ll have to run.” Before they could respond I lifted off and was flying towards the town. In truth I could have carried the other three, but it would have required a much greater use of energy and greatly hampered my speed and mobility. Besides, I figured Loki would find it amusing.