A Whole Bunch of Loki's

...to Another

I shifted back into my full form, stretching out after feeling so small and compacted.

I deeply wanted to look around and investigate her living quarters further, but I wasn't sure how much time I had, so instead I followed the only light left in the house and made my way to her personal bedroom.

Stepping in, I found her already sleeping on top of the bed with her computer still on and her clothes dropped unceremoniously on the floor.

Lifting up the throw that she kept on her bed, I draped it over her sleeping form before taking a step back to admire her resting features.

It had been so long since I had last seen her and it seemed as though she had barely aged a day, somehow the childish face I once knew managed to mature without showing any signs of age despite the years we had been separated.

Or more correctly, since she had left.

There was no possible way that I could deny the reasons why she left, Mother had made it abundantly clear when I'd stumbled upon her in her room mere hours after my announcement.

Mother looked sad, not disappointed, just sad.

I knew she liked her, Father not so much, with her being the daughter of Skoll, a great enemy of his, it made sense that he would wish for me to take another's hand in marriage rather than that of a Jarnviorian.

Unfortunately for him, I had long lost my strange teenage love of the woman he had invited over and soon grew bored of her.

Initially I had been blinded by her beauty, this ethereal radiance that coated her in abundance and made everything she did seem somehow magical, but that had faded mere months after I had made the engagement official within the palace.

It was almost like I was going through what the Midgardians called a mid-life crisis, despite barely being a young adult by our years.

Why pick this girl I once knew as a crazy haired, adventurous and usually scruffy pup, when this other exotic being seemed more appealing to everyone.

Would probably fit better on my arm and get more admirable stares.

I knew now how wrong that was, that appearances in Asgard are as fickle as the relationships they hold with other realms.

Although I wholly believe the decision to run away from it all was a drastic one, I somehow couldn't blame her.

Teenage decisions are typically illogical and her being born of Ironwood, the realm of giantesses giving birth to wolves according to the lore I'd read, it was natural that she would become somewhat territorial over those she claimed as hers.

Such as myself, it would appear.

I didn't hold any ill will towards her, truth be told I would probably be the same were she to have wed another male from her realm.

Though their realm is much stricter in their traditions, a wedding to them is like a lifelong claim of a mate, a bond that can never be separated and sex was something held with high value, something you only did if you truly believed that you would be together for life.

It came as no surprise to me when Mother told me why she left, I'd always had a sneaking suspicion that she garnered more than platonic emotions for me as we were growing, but while she was snarky and feisty in attitude she most certainly wasn't as brazen when it came to confronting those emotions that could change things in a snap.

She'd avoid arguments and would always try to play the level ground, even when she was angry, I supposed that admitting a crush would be just as unsettling and nerve-wracking to her as an adrenaline spike from finally getting caught up in high anger.

To know that she had simply left made sense and while is tore at me, I understood in the long run that it was better for us.

Now I needed to tell her that my feelings had been superficial and had worn within months, that I'd moved too quickly and made many mistakes that lost me the things that should have truly mattered.

Looking around her room, I noted the book that sat atop a pile of letters which were stacked on a dark wood cabinet.

I carefully walked to the cabinet, glancing over my shoulder to make sure that the ruffling of my clothes hadn't woken her, and picked up the book that she was reading to inspect the spine.

It was a hardback of just barely three hundred pages, she'd taken the slipcover off and underneath the title was emblazoned onto the cardboard with silver writing.

'Saint Odd'.

The eighth book in a series we had both fallen in love with, one that we had agreed to finish together.

Though it had been three years ago since this final book came out, I supposed that I couldn't expect her to wait an eternity for me when she was the one who discovered this Midgardian author who had taken her instantly with his words.

Setting the book back down, I looked at the top letter that it had been resting on initially and noted Mother's handwriting.

I'd known that she'd kept in contact with her and I had no doubt that she now knew of me calling off the engagement, it didn't lead to her coming back nor would she know exactly what happened, but at least she knew I was unwed.

Behind me, she squirmed and let out a soft huff through her nose and for a moment I thought that perhaps I would be caught, but thankfully she was merely shifting on the bed and curling up further underneath the throw.

Turning my attention back to the letters, I pick up the one that she had put aside last, the one that had caused her to curse and give up for the day.

Flipping it open, I read over Mother's words and smile, shaking my head a little at how lovable she came across, even in her writing.

My smile soon turns into a quiet laugh as I read the last paragraph, no doubt the one that had caused such a reaction from her.

Looking at her over my shoulder, I fold up the letter and set it down before crouching in front of her laptop and reading over the lesson plan she'd written.

No surprise they brought her in as a shifter, even if she only had the two varying forms and anything in between as a choice.

Shifting so that I was sat with crossed legs, I pulled the laptop down and rested it on my lap.

Looking over my shoulder one more time, I start typing and finish off her lesson plan, being sure to include myself as a spare tutor if need be, as a way to help pull us back together.

During my time at the Academy, I planned on getting closer with her again, to explain what had happened and to somehow convince her that she was worth all the nobles in the world to me.

I wouldn't let one foolish mistake be the end of something I treasured, even after all these years.

(Okay, this is going to be my last update for about a week or so, I just need bit of a break from posting. I'll probably still be writing in the background and building up more stories to post, but I have bit of a hectic week coming up and I just need to stop writing! I write too much!)