Mother Dearest

Volstagg Eats Too Much

"C'mon, Loki," Thor urged as he half-dragged, half-carried Loki like a ragdoll. Despite his little brother's whines of protest, Thor insisted that he join him in the garden. "You will like ma new friends."

Loki thought that was all well and good, but he just hoped he would get to the garden in one piece. Thor stopped a third time to straighten Loki's clothing and to gather him up in his arms, carrying him the rest of the way. He bounded out through the back door and down the stone path until he arrived at the main clearing where a group of kids was waiting for him.

"Hey, guys," Thor called, "look a' whut I have!" He presented a whining, wriggling Loki for the kids to see.

In the midst of being bounced around by Thor's rough handling, Loki managed to turn his head enough to get a glimpse of the kids directly in front of him. There were three boys and a little girl that had the most beautiful golden hair. Okay, not as beautiful as Mommy's, but it was close.

The blond-haired boy in front wrinkled his nose. "It's a baby," he stated the obvious as Thor placed Loki down on the ground at their feet.

"It is," Thor replied proudly. "He's ma brotha. His name's Loki."

The kids chattered with each other and gathered around Loki like he was something put on exhibit. It made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but he decided to ignore it for the time being. The fascination of these strangers outweighed his sense of security for once. He curiously gazed up into the new faces, his brow scrunching up in concentration as he studied each one. The blond-haired boy sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve as he talked with Thor. There was also a chubby redheaded boy with freckles who smelt of stale meat and cheese. He was in the middle of munching on a piece of bread as he leaned down to get a closer look at Loki. He smiled and finger waved, stretching a finger out to poke Loki's nose. Loki shook his head, wrinkled his nose, and turned away to look at the black-haired boy behind him. He hadn't spoken a word since they arrived but watched everything in silence.

Lastly, Loki turned his head to peer up at the little girl and smiled. Some fool made the mistake of putting a dress on her, he could clearly see. It was torn in places, lace hanging off, and smeared with dirt from where she'd been playing outside all day. Her shoes were also missing. Hanging loosely around her waist was a strap of leather, a wooden sword attached to it by means of a crudely made sheath.

"Mwah!" Loki squeaked as he reached out to grab hold of the girl's skirt.

"C'mon, Thor, get off," the blond-haired boy said suddenly. "Yur jestin' me."

"It's true, Fandral, he can change inta animuls. I seen 'im do it. Mommy says he's a...a...shapeshiftee."

"You mean shapeshifter?" Volstagg corrected.

"Tha's what I said."

Fandral waved them both off, giving a loud sniff.

Thor turned to Loki. "Loki, this is Fandral." He pointed to the redheaded boy and then the black-haired boy. "Tha's Volstagg an' Hogun." Then he pointed to the girl. "An' tha's Sif."

Sif got down on hands and knees in front of Loki. "Hey there," she said, smiling. "You're cute." She ran her hand over Loki's head, smoothing his hair down. Loki smiled back at her. She was nice. He liked her. Fandral was okay. He smelt funny, but he was okay. Hogun was okay, too. He still hadn't said anything, but that was okay. It was better than talking too much. And Volstagg...

Loki turned and looked at Volstagg again. The boy had traded his piece of bread for an apple, of which he practically inhaled in a matter of several seconds before throwing the core into a nearby azalea bush. He reached into his leather pouch and pulled out a banana.