Loki's Child (In Editing)

Chapter 12

    Loki trains Kari with a dagger, pressing her harder than he has recently. He had another nightmare of the Other last night, with her dying once more, but in a different way. Considering the prince does not want these dreams to become reality, he trains her.

"Keep your guard up. I could have impaled you thrice just now," Loki says.

Kari ducks as the dagger swipes near her head. "And I could have quit ages ago. You are pressing me too hard," she snaps, dodging a strike to her midsection, and sweeping Loki's legs out from underneath him.

Loki falls, but stands almost too quickly. Kari can see the green flash briefly, before swiping through Loki's torso, or really, the hologram's torso. It disappears, and Kari sees the real Loki just recovering from his fall.

"You used a distraction," Kari points out.

"In battle, you can use whatever will help you to win, be it magic, or simply your surroundings."

Kari takes a mental note of that, before continuing training. "So, why are you pressing me so hard?" She asks as she sidesteps Loki's strike.

Daggers are short range weapons, used by quick and clever warriors, so blocking with one isn't easy. Dodging and ducking however, are quite accomplishable.

"You need to learn how to fight," Loki states simply, like that clears everything up.

"I am aware of that, but learning how to fight does not require such to be trained at such difficulty when I am a beginner," Kari replies.

Loki sighs as he goes for a strike at his daughter's shoulder. "War might come, and I only wish for you to be prepared."

Kari freezes. "War's coming?" She asks.

Loki stops fighting for just a moment. "I never said that, I simply said if it does, I want you to be prepared."

"But you would not press me so hard so suddenly unless it is coming," the young teen realizes. "I am going to end up in a war."

Loki sighs. "Do not misinterpret my words. There is no war," he lies, but his daughter won't have it.

"Stop trying to hide the truth. Just as you can see through my lies, I can see through yours." Kari tells her father.

"Alright, yes, there may be war upon us. But I do not know when it comes, or if it will come. I just know that I have made an enemy, and he wants to take revenge by getting to you," Loki confesses.

Kari sees the stress and fear in Loki's eyes, and she walks up to her father to hug him.

"I am sorry for being such a weakness, and I will try harder to fight. But you must give me time to learn, even if your enemies will not. And, if they call war upon you, I will fight by your side," Kari says.

Loki is taken aback. His daughter is stronger and braver than he originally thought.

Loki wraps his arms around his daughter. "Thank you, my angel," he whispers, "but you will not be anywhere near the battle. I merely need you to know how to fight in case the enemy somehow gets to you."

"In that case..." The two pull away, and Kari gets into a basic fighting stance.

Loki smirks and copies her movement.

Kari then lunges, her dagger poised to maim Loki's arm, but the Asgardian quickly sidesteps and goes to sweep Kari's legs out from under her, but she jumps over them.

The two continue sparring until it is nearly lunch, where they go to eat.

Kari is never a big fan of the dining hall, for it is loud and boisterous, but she ignores the worst of the noise and focuses on eating. When she is done, she exits to her room and sits on her bed to read a Midgardian book.

Kari is about halfway through her book when Loki enters her room. She sets the book down and looks at him.

Her father takes a seat on her bed, and the teen looks at him expectantly.

"I wish to warn you of the threat that approaches. You know the reason I press you is because I fear a war. The problem is I do not know exactly when my enemies will strike. It could be today, or it could be months from now. Nonetheless, whenever they arrive, I want you to be prepared," Loki explains.

"When your enemies arrive, I will fight with everything I have and then some. I know that they are strong, perhaps even stronger than you, but this shall not keep me from returning to you alive. I'll always do whatever it takes." Kari states earnestly, smiling up at her father.

Loki looks down at his daughter and smiles back, but it is a pained smile. "You get that devotion from your mother. She too, was loyal," Loki informs her, a nostalgic look on his face.

"And I get my tricks from you." Kari says, shooting a small firecracker out of her palm.

Loki jumps slightly and glares at his daughter, who is now giggling.

"Indeed you do," he replies.

Kari playfully nudges him, and Loki nudges her back.

"Why must you inherit my magic? It would have been much easier with a less mischievous child," Loki muses wistfully.

"Did you know that Midgardians consider you the god of mischief, lies, and chaos? So if I'm your daughter, I believe it makes sense that I too, am mischievous," Kari retorts.

"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious." Loki shrugs, making Kari roll her eyes.

The two continue bickering, until Loki is the bigger person and simply stops retorting. He enjoys egging his daughter on, but she does the same to him, and Loki knows this will cause an endless fight unless one of them chose to stop it. And considering Kari was having to much fun, Loki ceased their madness.

"Is there any spell you are having trouble on besides the duplication?" Loki asks, knowing magic is as useful of a weapon as a dagger is.

"The teleportation. I can never concentrate enough on the location, and it is driving me crazy." Kari stresses.

"The best way to do that is to ignore the world around you. If you are capable of blocking out the noise and people, you will be able to concentrate on the place."

"I can try that, I guess." Kari shrugs. She closes her eyes and focuses on teleporting to her washroom.

Kari knows magic can easily drain you if you're not careful, so she does not attempt a great distance for her first teleportation. After concentrating and blocking out the world, Kari still can not teleport.

"Perhaps it is just not your area of expertise." Loki comforts her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kari shrugs Loki's hand off her. "I cannot duplicate, I cannot teleport, and my nonverbal enchantments are downright horrid. Is there anything I am good for?" The young teen rants, staring at her duvet.

"You are good at mischief and elemental spells. I have not seen a strong pyrokinetic in a long time, and you have true potential to be one." Loki reasons.

"Do you really believe that? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?" Kari asks, her frustration rising.

"I do truly believe so. Kari, you are talented when it comes to magic, incredibly talented. I cannot wait to see you when you are older, and have had the time to practice and perfect your skills. You have many gifts, and magic is most certainly one of them."

Kari gives a small smile and goes back to practicing her spell. By the end of the day, she still cannot teleport, but Loki knows she is making progress. His daughter is doing much better than he was at her age.