"Sigyn," Valkyrie beckoned, "Heads up."
I looked up from the nets I was untangling, following Valkyrie's gaze. I saw none other than Asgard's king making his descent down the hill. He looked truly awful, his hair was in giant knots and his beard was long and overgrown. And somehow, I could nearly smell him from even this far away.
"God," I sighed, "He already ran out of ale?"
Valkyrie laughed lightly, "Seems so, or maybe he's just here to bother you again."
I shook my head, folding up the fishing net as I watched him walk towards the dock where Valkyrie and I were. Thor always seemed to make his appearances at the worst times, such as now when I had nearly a million nets to untangle and a million more fish to gut.
"He reeks," Hela said, her nose scrunched up in disgust, "I saw him earlier, he's foul."
I laughed lightly, "Oh, great," I said sarcastically.
"Hopefully he doesn't stay long this time," Hela said as she sorted through shells. She was not a huge fan of fishing or farming, nor was she a fan of gardening. But, Hela needed to help in one way or another so sorting shells was the extent of what I could make her do. I was so shocked at the fact that she didn't take after my green thrumb but I suppose she was more like her father in that way, dirt wasn't necessarily her forte but reading and hunting was.
"I doubt it," Valkyrie said, scoffing lightly, "By the swagger in his step, he is seeming quite confident right now. I say he graces us with his presence for four hours before retreating back to his cabin."
"Graces us with his presence?" Hela began, "That-"
I gave Hela a stern look. I understood that she wasn't the closest to her uncle. I couldn't necessarily blame her. But, she was still my daughter and she would practice kindness even if it killed her. In response she quickly shut her mouth, rolling her eyes just like Loki would.
"Hello, girls," Thor bellowed, now just meters away. Hela was right, I thought to myself, He does stink.
"Same ale as last time?" Valkyrie asked, preparing a barrel for Thor.
He shook his head. "No, no ale for me this time," Thor explained, "I just wanted to come down and see you all. Aren't I allowed to do that?"
He walked by Hela, ruffing up her hair with a lazy grin. She looked up at him, completely unamused. She flicked her hand, causing a spiral of green magic to pull Thor's hand away from her head.
"Hey," he whined, "Don't be so sour."
"Hey," Hela mocked, "Don't be so drunk."
"Hela," I warned, raising my brow as I looked at her.
"Sorry, uncle," she said softly, a red blush coming over her cheeks in embarrassment.
Thor chuckled, ruffling her hair once again before walking to me. "It's alright," he said, "No hard feelings here, scamp."
Hela offered a small smile, but the second his back was turned she rolled her eyes. Valkyrie laughed as she watched, stifling her laughter as best she could.
"You look nice today, Sigyn," Thor said, pulling me by the back of my apron towards him. I could hear both Hela and Valkyrie audibly groan in annoyance. I would've too but I knew shutting Thor down may result in him spiraling
"Oh, did I look awful the last time you saw me?" I said, brushing him off as I continued to work. Hela giggled lightly, she always loved when I'd get a little testy with Thor.
"No!" he stammered as he fiddled with the ties of my apron, "No, not at all, in fact, you were gorgeous then as well. I only meant that you look good, but I suppose you always look...good."
I nodded, "Right."
He sighed, dropping the ties of my apron. "What time are you done here?" he asked, gesturing to the fishery.
"Soon, but we'd all be done faster if you actually helped," I said, packing up a tackle box.
"Yeah," Valkyrie seconded, "Why don't you make yourself useful, your highness?"
I loaded up a box, filling it with chains and rope. I picked up and dropped it into Thor's arms.
"Help out for half an hour, and then we can talk," I said, "Alright?"
He sighed, obviously disappointed that he had to do work.
"Don't be so dramatic," Valkyrie warned, "Sigyn doesn't allow bad attitudes in her fishery. Last person who complained about work was on the gutting station for three weeks."
Hela shuddered, "That was awful," she reminisced, pausing as she collected herself. I
laughed lightly, seeing Hela struggle to clean and cut fish had been quite entertaining. She had thrown a near tantrum about helping load a boat, the fit was complete with magic outbursts that resulted in one of my skippers growing a pair of horns. Safe to say, Hela deserved to be put on gutting station after that.
The three of us quickly put Thor to work, forcing him to load up ships and do all of the heavy lifting. Hela had her fun with him, messing with him about his hair and teasing him relentlessly. She was acting so much like her father, it was almost scary to watch. Hela cocked her head with a smirk in the same fashion Loki had been known to do. She was just as dramatic as him as well, always challenging authority and taking the lead whenever she could. Her hunger for recognition echoed that of her father's. They were alike in every way possible.
Additionally, as she grew, she only resembled him more and more. She was tall, nearly surpassing my own height. Hela was slender and graceful, even though she was in her tweens. Her eyes only became a brighter green over the years, mimicking the shade of the norwegian grass. Her hair was long and thick, bone straight and glossy. She was still my little girl but she was definitely growing up faster than I could manage.
"That's the last of the boxes," Thor puffed, out of breath, "May I be done, Sigyn?"
"If he gets to be done then I get to be done too," Hela said, putting down her work. I could tell she was just dying to go and read or hunt before the sunlight fell.
"Yes, yes, you two can be done," I said.
"What about me?" Valkyrie asked, popping out her head from behind a stack of wooden crates.
"Yes, early night for everyone," I said, laughing lightly, "Come on, let's pack up shop."
Valkyrie and Hela flew from their positions, quickly working to shut off all the lights and closed all the garage doors in the fishery before they farted out. Never had I seen them move so fast. Thor, meanwhile, was busy examining our newest shipment of mead.
"Ah, ah, ah," I warned, pulling Thor away from the cases by his elbow, "No alcohol when you're here. If you want to talk to me you have to be sober."
"But that's hardly fair," he whined, turning towards me, "I never tell you that you don't get to drink."
"That's because I don't drink, Thor," I reminded him as he pulled me into him by my waist, "Maybe you ought to do the same."
He chuckled lightly as I pulled away from him.
"No, I'm not dropping alcohol anytime soon," he said, following after me as I lead him out of the fishery, "Where are we going? And are we going to-"
"We're going to my home, alright?" I said, "And don't get any ideas, I'm not even touching you until you shower."