* SON !

“ you wouldn’t, ”  thor promises,  but doesn’t force the issue further.  none of his children ⸻ and he counts his niece & nephew among those ranks  ⸻ will ever be pressured into anything,  be it to fight or to rule. eleifir deserves a space where he can say no. 

“  we’re glad to have you,  eleifir. ”  he almost objects to the use of allowed,  as if thor doesn’t want him & his sister here,  as if they don’t complete this family. as if a home is a privilege that can be taken away,  instead of a place you can always return to.  “ do you have everything you need?  have the triplets given you a moment’s rest? ”

       ❝ you  really  mean  that. ❞        it’s  not  a  question,  it’s  a  statement.        considering  his  father  is  the  god  of  lies,  he  can  sniff  out  when  someone  is  being  dishonest  a  mile  away.

‘ there’s a difference between cautious and anxious. ’ she quips, ‘ i am sorry, have i shrunken twelve centimeters? my gods am i blonde now? surely i must be for you to unload your emotional baggage on me like i’m mother. be honest, if i’ve changed so much i must go to the pharmacy for dye my husband prefers brunettes. ’ 

“ wouldn’t happen. mom’d stop it. ”  he doesn’t specify which mom ; he doesn’t feel he needs to. his faith in sigyn & sif is immense,  only dwarfed by his faith in himself.  thor vowed that his children would never learn to doubt themselves,  but he may have taken it a little too far,  because magni is fearless.  his hands begin to glow,  and his seiðr joins with his cousin’s,  warping the air around the portal.  the scene begins to shift,  grays reverting to golds,  but magni thinks little of it —- he doesn’t even realize that what they were looking at was asgard.  “ i don’t think it worked.  let’s go anyways. ” 

“ you don’t need to thank me, ” thor assures him.  when he’s done with hydra,  he thinks he might head for valhalla and tear odin apart,  too. how much of this started with him?  thor offers stormbreaker to eleifir,  not worried at all that the weapon might be too powerful for him. 

“ i mean that.  you have a home here,  and nothing you could ever do could change that. ”

       ❝ oh,  no,  i  wouldn’t  want  to...    cause  an  explosion  or  anything. ❞      he  stares  at  the  hammer,  unwilling  to  even  hold  it  for  another  second  longer.        he  stands  awkwardly,  shuffling  his  feet.

“ i know how it works, ” he promises,  dismissing the concern as if he hasn’t accidentally toppled through a portal once or twice before. “ come on —- you’re telling me you wouldn’t want to see what jotunheim used to be like?  before odin destroyed it? ”

‘ norns what is it with you two? ’ blue eyes spare a passing glance at him, expression somewhere between confusion and annoyance. ‘ everything is the end of the world. you’re not my favorite brother but it isn’t as if you’re vali. i’m not going to chastise you like you’re one of my daughters. ’

“ time travel,  i hope. ” though magni’s seiðr is strong,  it is not nearly strong enough to pull that off ⸻ and he does not have the patience to control his magic as he would need to.  still,  he’s thor’s kid,  and that makes him half-dreamer,  half-delusional.  he’s convinced he can do this. “ i just have to bend the portal once you make it. ”

“ really not mad, ”  thor promises,  holding out a hand & offering a gentle smile. it’s half-true.  he’s not even irritated with his nephew,  much less angry,  but he is furious,  as he so often is, with those that have taught him to worry. thor’s anger will do little to help eleifir,  though,  so he keeps it to himself.  the only sign is the way the air surrounding thor feels a little heavier,  as if a storm is coming. 

“ yes,  but she’s been lost before, eleifir.  i’ve stopped worrying about it.  you’re far more important to me. ”

        a  small  smile  forms  on  his  face,  his  eyes  keeping  themselves  away  from  his  uncle.        it’s  nice  to  know  that  thor  doesn’t  blame  him  for  playing  a  prank,  even  if  he  should  know  that  would  be  the  case.