Frigga Allmother

Hey all! So you might have noticed, but I’ve not been on here as much as usual. I’ve gotten on a bit of a Doctor Who kick again so I’m going to be mostly over on @spoilersandguns for a bit. I definitely intend to continue writing for Frigga, but it’s going to be slower for a little while because I was so fast to begin with.

This time Loki didn’t argue. The reminder that all of this was so precious, that he had been granted rescue and the return of his mother, was an overwhelming thought. He should be happy and gods he knew he could feel the sparks of joy and hope igniting deeper within him. They would grow with his strength. Only pain and the dependency he had developed for Thor were keeping his worries in the forefront of his mind.

He began to relax somewhat and dipped a spoon in the bowl. There was some advantage to having let it cool a little as it was best he didn’t waste energy affecting it with magic.

Loki shook his head, moisture reaching his eyes again above a feeble attempt to smile. He toyed with the soup just a bit longer, more words forcing their way up to the surface.

“I thought I’d killed you. I was so angry. I told them which way to go.”

Smiling as Loki seemed willing to eat, Frigga slowly stood and took a few steps closer to one of the ship’s windows. She was far more used to trying to project using one of her bonfires or her garden as a focal point, but she would have to make do with what she had available. The reassurance that Loki was well enough to at least try and consume something put her mind at enough ease that, if Thor were still alive as she believed, she would be able to focus enough to find him.

Though she was prepared to start trying looking for her eldest, Loki’s words broke that concentration, Frigga turning toward him in surprise. She studied him for a moment before dropping her gaze and exhaling softly.

More like daydreaming. Thor wasn’t entirely certain if that was better or worse than experiencing scary dreams – especially those which caused him such visible distress – but the way his mother explained it, and the promise that he could learn to mask such things even from his sibling brought comfort. The thought of being able to mask any of it seemed so far away, but the calm certainty with which she spoke helped bolster his natural self-confidence. If his mother thought it would work out alright, it would come to pass.

“As…long as you’re okay. I can still – can still come and sit with you, maybe? Just like now? I feel better for sitting up with you.”

Blue eyes returned to the journal when it was tapped and his hand again traced the cover as though it was something truly precious. In a sense it was: even if it was merely leather and paper, the act itself would prove invaluable. He was still too young, had no idea, but it was to become a habit relied upon by the crown prince even in his adult years, halted only by concerns of privacy as his reputation grew – and so those of those who would use his words against him.

For now though they would be the scribblings of a boy who here and now was feeling increasingly hopeful. “Sounds fair, yeah. I’ll do it – I’ll be really careful and write down everything I remember and—and if anything comes true I’ll let you know! I suppose if it’s not all scary and bad that would be really good. I could know what’s going to happen in battles or – or if Loki’s going to try and trick me! There are good things about it, right?”

Smiling softly at his offer, Frigga nodded. “I will be okay, I promise. However, I will not turn down your offer for company, as long as it would not interrupt your rest or other priorities.” She had managed dealing with her less pleasant visions this long with her various coping strategies, but perhaps having company wouldn’t hurt – especially if there was a chance that Thor, too, would need to learn such strategies. There was still a chance that he wouldn’t have visions like she did, but worst case, perhaps this would help with nightmares in general.

And if he used the journal she gifted him as she requested, then with any luck, his fears would be far alleviated regardless of whether or not he had her gift. She certainly didn’t mind getting up with him or Loki late in the night when something had frightened them, but she knew Odin wouldn’t approve of it for much longer – if he even did now – and there would be only so long she could sneak out of the room before he noticed. If this would serve as a way to relieve her sons’ concerns even when she could not, then it was a worthy practice.

Sylvie was sure that she was going to call for the guards and have the crazy woman spouting nonsense thrown out onto the streets, or maybe sent to the healers to try and treat her troubled mind. She watched as Frigga picked up one of her blades. Sylvie had made the blades herself, stealing into an alternate Asgard long enough to forge the weapons before leaving. Before she’d been pruned, she’d been learning how to fight like her older brother so she only felt right fighting with Asgardian weapons. The blades seemed to work to convince Frigga that she was telling the truth. “I….designed them to replicate the ones that you had.” She confessed, the blades a poor approximation of her mother’s weapons. 

She let out a soft breath when the Queen told her that she believed her. “Yes, yes of course.” Sylvie nodded as she took the blades and sheathed them. She fidgeted nervously for a moment, unsure of what to say or do. She should wait for Frigga to lead the way, she was the Queen after all. “I don’t call myself Loki. I mean, that was the name I was born with but I call myself Sylvie.” She explained. 

When the other woman agreed to join her with little hesitance, Frigga’s smile grew. The queen could tell that she was uncomfortable, or at least uncertain, if not by the way she held herself, then by the fact she had yet to take any movement other than retrieving her blades. Then again, if she had been isolated from others – and more so from any level of power who could be dangerous to her, then her hesitancy was understandable.

Frigga had no intention of generating such danger for her guest, giving her a small nod when she gave her name. If that was the way she had been and preferred referring herself by, then she would of course respect it. Besides, in a way, it would assist her in being able to distinguish her Loki and the one before her. “Sylvie it is, then. Please, follow me, Sylvie.”

She certainly had a point. If he could fool his mother, especially while she was acutely aware he was attempting to, then Loki would be even more assured of his victory.

“I am doing little more than the glamours you see around you, mother. But you are right. If I am to be certain in my task, perhaps a test upon you would serve me well. I am sure you will not object to me adjusting your reality for a little while?” He stalked toward her with dark intent, the red energy of the reality stone swirling at his finger tips, deliberately on show. Behind her, his true self approached, ready to fill her mind with a dream he would weave himself.

So it was one of the few scenarios she feared – sure, he might not have been using the illusions on her yet, but he was very willing to in order to get the stones and power he wanted.

Her gaze became unfocused for a moment as a flash of a vision appeared before her. She thought it might signal to someone behind her, but it was too quick and too blurred for her to take any action on it, and her power was still too weak to sense much. She dropped her eyes from his even as he approached, a sigh releasing from her.

“You say that, but he’s got a way with words almost as good as Loki.” Another huff, though it carried no true feeling behind it, and Thor pouted at the sunny windows once again. The best escape from his own thoughts was so often physical activity and he rather began to fear that staying in bed for the time being was going to leave these fears to fester.

His mother’s assurances offered some comfort, though it remained alarming to think on the possibilities this new turn presented. Berserkers were few and far between, he knew, but tales were rife in the stories he so often sought out and separating fact from fiction would be something achieved only over time. Odin, as he knew, was a patron god of berserkers – but terrifying though his temper was, the young man had yet to see such full power unleashed by his father. He wondered if it was possible to become so well-contained as he.

“I..I suppose if this means I can better protect the people I care about, it’s not..such a bad thing, yes? I protected Loki after all.” He shifted restlessly. “I just..I don’t remember much of anything. Is that normal every time? Am I just to become so dangerous?”

Giving him a sympathetic smile, Frigga noticed how his attention was drawn to the windows. It seemed he was much like her – far preferring the outdoors for comfort than the sometimes stifling rooms of the palace. Whether it was because it gave him true comfort, or he was restless and wishing he was playing with his friends instead of recovering, she could not say for sure. Regardless of what he wanted, he needed to recover. Letting him out any sooner would only risk him putting himself in a dangerous situation and possibly invoking the berserker state again.

At his questions, she exhaled softly. “It can help you protect others, yes, but seems to only occur when you perceive extreme danger. From what I understand from your father, you’ll be able to recall more and more over time as you learn to better control it. And you will, but it will take time, so you are not dangerous, but powerful. As long as you keep your desire to protect, that will determine the difference.”

@aesir-modir​ and I plotted. 

It had been a week since Sylvie had left her rooms. A week since her brother had disappeared into the void beneath the Bifrost. After what had happened, she didn’t want to talk to her father or her brother or anyone. She couldn’t listen to people talk about her twin as if he was some evil villain. She couldn’t bear to be amongst people without her twin. 

The only person she could bear to see was her mother. The pair sat on the balcony, looking over at the destroyed bifrost. “I keep feeling like he’s going to just walk in.” She confessed into silence. “With some petty grievance to complain about or interesting thing he found in a book.” 

Like Sylvie, Frigga hadn’t much left her chambers since the loss of Loki, only leaving if official business required it. Even when she did, she had been quiet. Inside her chambers, in what some would consider an act of desperation, she had tried projecting across the universe for any sign of Loki, but as of yet had received no positive results. She couldn’t bring herself to believe it, just as she could not tell Sylvie what she had attempted and her results thus far.

Up until this moment, Loki had not been certain on what he wanted next and even this had made him falter. The most important thing for him had been to get away from what bound him and then simply to have fun, to enjoy life free of responsibility, authority and confinement. This reminded him that running needed to be temporary and he would not be satisfied with anything beyond a tactical retreat.

“I plan to explore this reality’s future and visit the past of my own. I need to learn everything I can if I am to find my place.”

Frigga nodded slowly. “That sounds reasonable enough. If you can manage to keep your presence relatively unnoticed, you should have very little interruption. You were rather good at hiding when you were younger, this should be no different. Although, I hope you’ll even be fortunate enough to find what you’re looking before without having to explore everything.” If anyone could manage to walk along their own timeline and parallel ones, certainly Loki could with his magic and cunning.

“Ms Barker it is.” Formality was a difficult habit to break, and something in the stranger’s mannerisms engendered a certain sense of respect. Perhaps over coffee he’d get the opportunity to dig down a little more about her work, but curiosity would have to wait. The spectre of loss and anxiety still loomed, and if he could offer little practical aid at the very least he could offer some comfort before the next shift.

It was only a brief walk to the coffee shop, giving the barista a cheerful wave as he held the door open for Frida with a soft “after you”. The place was small, woody, and softly lit, clearly open late and the sort of venue which ran poetry nights or some such. Hipstery, but friendly enough and the perfect hideout to filter through emails. “Feel free to have a read around the boards if you don’t have a usual or anything, and don’t worry about the prices. New York’s never cheap.” Don chuckled, wondering now if he’d even brought the loyalty card with him today.

A quick glance at the board was enough to tell him that there was nothing new of interest to dissuade him from his own favourite. “So, uh…First time in New York ever, is it? How do you like it?”

Despite it not being her name, Frigga could not help but smile at the way he addressed her. It seemed that, even with Odin’s spell changing his identity, the manners she had instructed him in were still very present. Between that, and his general behavior, she still had hope that, with the right decisions on her part, there was a chance she could help him remember his past on his own. The only difficulty would be keeping it from being too sudden a change that he went into shock or denial in the process.

Following him to the coffee shop, Frigga gave the place her son had chosen a quick once over before noticing the barista and giving them a soft smile. It wasn’t quite the style of place that she expected Thor to frequent, but it wasn’t completely surprising either. While the place wasn’t exactly the same as the halls on Asgard, it still had that communal and warm feeling that those places had. Whether that was coincidence or something retained from the Thor she knew, she wasn’t quite sure yet.

At his words, she focused her attention on the boards, able to read and understand the letters well enough, but what they actually meant was unclear. They might as well have been in an unknown language, for she had no idea what some of the words were, and even less what the combinations meant.

// right, so I'll be offline basically from tomorrow through the weekend. I'll try to get through more of my drafts and such when I get back online, but no promises.

Speaking of drafts, welcome to the new rp blogs that have followed me lately! As you may have noticed by now, I don't do welcome starters, however that doesn't mean I don't want to play. Feel free to IM me or see my memes tag and I'll get to it all in the order it was received. Just a warning, I get busy at weird times so I am not fast in general.