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chthonicgodling · 2 months

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how many kids does your Loki actually have?

(hi everyone I am right now accepting eLoki’n’kids questions, pre-Elysium, past-Elysium, current-Elysium— pls. please please. pls pls pls pl—)

[prev question over here too!]

WELL i’ve actually been tentatively retconning one Elysium-child out of existence (no one cared about him anyway shshsh) and been back and forth with myself on doing that to another one so the current *but subject to change* count is 14!! ALL accidental it’s worth mentioning dggkfg

(plus - who knows if any more children might be in his future! Who knows!!! anything could happen!! anything at all….)

I’ll go through them all in order of oldest to newest!* (weird wording due to* Libby*) Please enjoy this blend of Norse mythy realness & Elysium brand chaos, under the cut cause it’s soooo extremely long of course; I mentioned it at the bottom but special warnings for some Dark Mentions in here of things like child death,/ murder/ miscarriage / & of course less dark but general pregnancy talks—

1- Sleipnir! Loki’s first born, the eldest son, also notably one of just two amongst all of them who has not been able to move into Elysium :(( Sleipnir- true to myth - is an eight legged horse, carried by Loki (in the shape of a horse) after being sired by Entire Horse Svaldifari. it’s… a long ridiculous story that ended up in an oopsie baby spider foal (you can just look up this Norse myth lmao) and that was all well and good until Loki finally returned to Asgard with toddler horse and Odin took him away. This first event - the first of what would be many tragic circumstances to follow surrounding his first six kids - was the start and beginning of Loki’s deep-seated trauma and paranoid caginess surrounding all of his pregnancies/children. to this day Sleipnir remains in service of the Aesir as Odin’s personal stallion, where Elysium can’t just take him since Odin would obviously notice and Loki is technically a wanted escaped fugitive in his home world so 🙃 horrifically sad and traumatizing forever. uhhh anyway!

2- Hela! Loki’s eldest daughter. I literally just drew her yesterday over here!! She’s the other one of all the kids who has not moved to Elysium. Loki is Hela’s mother, & she was sired by the Frost Giantess Angrboda, with whom Loki had begun to rendezvous with solely as an act of general rebellion against well, everyone. Loki uhhhhhh had not expected to somehow get magically pregnant from these encounters, biologically nonsensical as it was, but he’d delightedly rolled with it after the first time (and would return to her twice more hoping for more accidents - and receiving them - before she finally shooed him away). Like I said in her drawing, Hela was half dead once she was born, and half of her decomposes, regenerates, decomposes. As a teenager she and her younger siblings (the next two bullet points) were ripped from Loki by Odin and each respectively banished away in isolation out of fear of their growing powers. Hela is the queen of the Norse Dead and resides in their Underworld of Niflheim, where she has made a home and an obligation for herself that she will not abandon, even for the chance to reunite with her mom :(

3- Fenris! (also known as The Fenris Wolf….. also known as Fen), the former GIANT WOLF born to Loki & Angrboda again, nowadays shapeshifted into your run of the mill big hulking werewolfy Viking. Once again birthed by Loki as a puppy:) before growing extremely big with no sign of stopping. yes wolf-shape-Fen is larger than even Cerberus. Growing up as a gigantic bloodthirsty ravenous wolf but truly just misunderstood and unfairly judged Fen too was separated and banished during Odin’s scourge, imprisoned in isolation on the island of Lyngvi for many many years… until the coming of Ragnarok in ~2014ish (as Eisa and Einmyria were being born) - which Loki during canon Elysium events circumvented by freeing Fen, transforming him into a human shape, finally bringing him home to the Elysium palace. Fen is like ~palace adjacent~ he and his brother Jör are near inseparable and prefer to spend their time roaming the Underworld rather than confining to one place after so many years of being locked up.

4- Jörmundgandr! (also known as The World Serpent, The Midgard Serpent….. and also known as Jör) - the former GIGANTIC SEA SERPENT born ALSO to Loki and Angrboda, the last of their children before they “broke up” (had they even been dating??) Like By the time Jör was born - again to Loki yes as a big snake even then but. Quite a bit Smaller thank god. - Angrboda was finally like Jesus christ ENOUGH stop using me to sire children leave me alone??? and that was the End of that relationship or lack thereof. Jör was the last of the three kids that Odin banished away at once, he was thrown into The oceans of Midgard (EARTH) to wrap around the world nine times, ending with swallowing his own tail in one big ouroboros……. Like his older brother, Jör was freed and transformed humanoid to prevent Ragnarok in 2014 and lives Elysium-adjacent with Fen. Fun fact Jör was friends with mermaid Glaukos even as a big snake - from living in the oceans! Glaukos was able to reunite them when Loki first fell to Elysium yaaay. Also. it’s worth mentioning that even humanoid Jör is constantly biting his nails some things don’t change…. The ouroboros continues……

5 & 6- Vali and Nari! Who I just drew as teeny newborns over here and whomst I have drawn many MANY times. Normal human shapes except in the modern day Elysium canon….. they’re ghosties, eternally ten years old :(((( Loki carried the twins too though they’ve always called him father; their mother was the goddess Sigyn, nowadays Loki’s Big Ex (one of em.) after being Loki’s longest committed relationship, wife adjacent. the twins were conceived by accident of course very shortly after their previous three siblings were taken away, but Loki & Sigyn had been in a relationship for QUITE some time before that, as she’d acted as step parent to the trio since their early childhood. When Loki killed Balder as revenge for the loss of the trio, Odin magically bewitched ten year old Vali and Nari to kill each other and left their horrific remains for Loki to find (enough left for Loki to enchant the pieces himself and sEE WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND BY WHO).

This was one of the most horrifying and traumatizing things to have ever happened to Loki, now SIX losses of his beloved children— a catalyst for his period of supervillainry in which we allll know what happened. Sigyn also left him - an incredibly ugly breakup that didn’t help anything, as she’d blamed him fully for their deaths. When Loki ended up in Elysium, Tory transferred their ghosts from one Underworld to another and reunited them at long last :’)) finally the beginning of a happy ending!! As cheerful ghosts, solidified and recolored by their new bestest friend Meli (the goddess of ghosts) the twins DO live a happy and fulfilling life, and their return to his arms was the biggest step to Loki in Elysium finally starting to pull himself together. yay!!! and now the Elysium continuation kids!

7- Fjöer! son of Loki and Laphi, Loki’s first baby in the Elysium palace! Fjoer is half owl like his dad Laphi and is the shape of a big blue feathered. uh. thing. Fjöer like alllll the rest of them was an oopsie baby, after screwing arounddd and finding himself pregnant in the palace wth NO idea who the other parent could be. Loki panicked and ran away, preferring ALWAYS to be pregnant alone anyway (leaving secret instructions to find him just with Vali and Nari, though Epi was able to contact him through dreams.). Within a month Loki had given birth to… an entire bird’s EGG, narrowing the other parent down to ONE specific half-owl-god lmAO. He returned to the palace at that point, and Fjöer hatched two months later. Fjöer was actually the first cross couple baby of all the palace let alone with Loki (lmao look at us now!) but Laphi and Jesse took this in stride especially once Laphi’s owl-parent instincts took over. Fun fact!! Fjöer speaks only in chirpy bird talk, but all of his siblings and parents can understand him seamlessly! NO ONE ELSE, THOUGH

8- Rane! Daughter of Loki and…….. hmmm redacted due to in-progress retconning.(also she has never had a twin shhhhhhhhhhhgg). Let’s call her Flower Nymph for now. Rane’s humanoid but the first of Loki’s kids to LOOK and act Jotunn, as she came preloaded with a super low body temp and ice powers (which she hardly uses in favor of playing with mortal card tricks as a better form of magic), and was powerful enough in utero to knock all of Loki’s magic haywire. Soooooo back when Loki had left with Fjöer in utero, he’d somehow befriended a stray Flower Nymph residing newly in the palace, detached from everyone else; Vali and Nari had brought her to him to make friends lmao. what followed for the next few years was a friendship turned sort of romance, as she was COMPLETELY in love with him - he was not - he humored her for a while - it was a bad pairing all around - finally they broke up. They…. hooked up a few more times against their better judgement. Aaaand of course then Loki found out he was pregnant.

Loki’s relationship story with Flower Nymph is in the process of major retconning but they remain NOT together as a couple, just finally friends after many years of turmoil, and Rane shares split custody between the two of them (most of her time with Loki in the oalace). MOST fun fact about Rane of all time is!! she was actually born IN the avengers tower😈😇 which is a whole other story that I will not include here bc this length is so stupid already but. lmao! This is also Loki’s least favorite fact

9 & 10- Eisa and Einmyria! …Haha oh boy. they are Loki’s daughters with TORY, and the first EVER babies who Loki didn’t carry himself - while Loki was about eight months pregnant with Rane, on accident he had knocked up Tory, who had given birth to baby Raz himself not long before. Eisa is made out of molten lava - Einmyria is made out of smoldering ash. Before I talk about All this here is a DISCLAIMER that everything is fine with them and everyone NOW in terms of coparenting and a happy family!! but the series of events surrounding their surprise conception and birth was nothing but CHAOS. Maci had allowed Loki to sleep with Tory one time - NOT GET HIM PREGNANT, and she was BEYOND furious. Generally Maci AND ALSO TORY are NOT calm people they are both Very quick to anger!! Loki, bugging out of his mind from not carrying the babies himself, also feeling cornered from Maci meltdown rage and Tory’s anger and panic, responded to all of this by- perpetuating an all out war right back at them.

from all angles there was SO much screaming and yelling and fighting and custody battling— For like a solid four months of Tory’s pregnancy there was just utter turmoil, including events such as Tory fully leaving the palace (falling ill as the babies powers surged too strong for him to handle and returning); separately Maci leaving the palace in a fit and returning when Tory got sick; then separately again Loki himself getting kicked OUT of the palace after another explosive blowup— Tory and Loki PUNCHED EACH OTHER AT ONE POINT — oh my god it was a dramatic NIGHTMARE. You have to remember back then Loki and Maci HAAAATED EACH OTHER!! But finally tempers cooled and everyone calmed down, agreed to coparent and make nice for the babies’ sake, Tory allowed Loki to name the twins himself, everything was fine.

Everything is fine today! lol Maci was so bitchy about the kids and took one look at them and fell in love so bonus babies no issues. All that fuss and for nothing. …. By the way during Tory’s pregnancy with them had been when Thanatos had escaped and been exploded by Loki, and THEN— due to the stress of all these events of the past year— Ragnarok was triggered to begin. right around when Tory’s water broke (prematurely). Oops. Just uhh Loki things. This is when Fen and Jör came to the palace though!

11- Vrykolakas! Aka Vryk. Most of you probably know Vryk cause this was around the time I had started updating everyone on Elysium goings ons! Vryk is Loki and Epi’s son - sired by Loki and carried by Epi, and his claim to quirky fame is his action of traumatically dying in utero, and then clawing his way back out of his own grave to carry on forever undead. Vryk’s conception also came with a great deal of drama even before Epi had miscarried him. Epi and Loki (&Eury) slept together with the intention of possibly getting Loki pregnant, whatever happens happens, new free baby since Epi and Eury’s previous pregnancies had not been easy for either of them, but it was a panicky shock when Epi ended up pregnant instead. (None of Loki’s genetics or biology make any sense lol.) Though Maci and Loki had been playing nice with Eisa and Einmyria by then, Maci immediately started a fight with Loki with the misguided intention of protecting Epi who was terrified to be pregnant - to which of course Loki retaliAted back at her and ALLL THE DRAMA OF PREVIOUS STARTED UP ALL OVER AGAIN. Epi ended up barring both of them from being near him and hid in Chal’s house - this was when all that was going on too! - until unexpectedly miscarrying.

This was devastating of course I mean do I even need to say that. Aaughhhhh god and- Loki had lost so many children before, but never in this way, and he reeled as well. With even worse emotions at play now and those previous tensions only Barely having been smoothed, Loki and Epi got into a vicious fight - but reconcilied soon after over Vryk’s coffin. Aaaand then Vryk came back to life later that week and was fine ever after :)

Fun fact Vryk was the FINAL actual key for Maci and Loki to actually finally start to tolerate each other with any degree of warmth - for the reason OF warmth, actually. Vryk, being DEAD, does not give off body heat, and cried for days and days straight with no one able to tell what was wrong…. Until Maci, fire goddess, picked him up and immediately got him to stop. Vryk has always called Maci Mama :) shockingly Loki did not kill her over this— if only because Vryk would cry any time Maci put him down OR Loki left the room. They had no choice but to be together AHH lmao once again everything is fine now but! harrowing series of events!!

12- Kaia! may or may not exist still but I’m leaning forwards yes for now… lol Many years after Loki and That Flower Nymph aka Rane’s mom had broken up and accidentally had a baby and had a whole custody battle and then tentatively agreed to be platonic friends and never date again, they. then had sex anyway years later during one more lapse of judgement. Aaaaand this time that Flower Nymph herself ended up pregnant goDDAMMIT. She was pregnant with Kaia at the same time everything with Vryk was going on for time perspective and they were born around the same time! I have very little to say about Kaia actually - she’s got the same sort of partial custody thing worked out as Rane does, as That Flower Nymph does not live in the palace anymore and uhh. beyond that she’s just very baby! Normal pregnancy normal events just very awkward to have TWO babies post divorce - okay moving on!

13- Sæunn! Sæ is the current youngest of all of Loki’s children right now! Also appearing Jotunn-like, Sae’s most exciting feature is the ability to turn into a giant squid for NO reason, an ability only recently discovered. She is the daughter of Loki and Jesse (yknow. Laphi’s husband. whoopsies.) Jesse and Loki hooked up, on birth control bc Loki had too many fucking kids. Because Loki is Loki, that birth control did not work on Jesse And!!! Jesse found himself pregnant!’ The big thing about the birth of Sæunn is that - Before Jesse had ended up pregnant Loki had thought he’d been handling processing the events of Vryk’s almost loss quite well but suddenly having another baby IN someone else right after he’d watched Epi lose Vryk made Loki twitch out of his mind a little bit. He drove Jesse absolutely crazy treating him like he was made of glass for all nine months even with Jesse’s assurances that everything was totally fine. In fact the ONLY unusual thing about Sæ before she was born was that Jesse was inexplicably drawn to water and the pools the entire time. Otherwise the whole pregnancy was healthy and uneventful! Six years later (she’s six now!) the reason for that became extremely clear…. Squiddy :)

however. honestly. a quick aside. lmao the REAL lasting result of Sæunn’s birth was that Loki ended up taking like a three year celibacy hiatus due to EVERY FORM OF BIRTH CONTROL failing either him or any of his partners and oh my god this is so many babies back to back to back. celibacy in the… loosest sense of the word as Loki can just make clones of himself so 🙄 lol. up until - what with Maci being naturally infertile - well. was it possible she was the ONLY person Loki could actually sleep with without knocking up!!? yes😈 hence Loki’s long-standing grudge against her finally snapping, leading into that very first time in 2021…… and then, the next year! everyone discovering an,,, herbal birth control dealio….. that not only did successfully prevent pregnancies in Loki due to trial and error but also doubled as a….. sex pollen-esque aphrodisiac…… whose consensual yet probably hilariously irresponsible use by ALL parties can probably be single-handedly blamed for the blossoming of THE NOT THROUPLE DYNAMIC that we are dealing with today SO LMAO UHH— thanks Jesse and Saeunn?? ANYWAY-

FINALLY the last Lokikid currently is! of course! drumroll!!

14- Libitina! Aka LIBBY who we all know and love! Yes, Chal’s Libby! Most people say that Loki adopted Libby but Loki’s adamant that he gave birth to her and— he kinda did. Technically chronologically, Libby fits in before Vryk, because she was “born” when Chal was first caught by the palace and everyone discovered that she was sleep deprivedly hallucinating an entire girl as her best friend and conscience. When Chal healed her sleep deprivation and thus lost Libby, Loki was commissioned by Ty and Bel to bring her formally to life straight out of Chal’s head, and the real tangible Libby was created! Even from that moment they’d all joked that Loki was Libby’s mom. However it was some time later - hence this chronological timeframe - that Libby clarified with Loki— hey, ARE you my mom? “Do you want me to be?” “…yes?” “Then yes :)” and since then Loki has unequivocally treated Libby completely like one of his own.

Actually secretly Loki had wanted to formally adopt Chal too, he’d been the one in the first place who’d found Chal floundering around and had pushed most strongly For her rehab. but Chal and Loki’s relationship had never been parental or close due to both of them being little shits - in different ways. For that matter - When Tory and Maci (Maci and Chal are little shits in the SAME way) formally adopted Chal, they’d actually tried to loop Libby in, which is the exact moment they discovered that unbeknownst to anyone that Libby and Loki HAD established a parental bond and Loki refused to “toss her aside” to them (Libby didn’t even know this had come up Loki shut it down SO immediately 😅). So!!’ Libby Lokidottir!!! Even though no one will ever be closer to her than Chal is, Libby HAS been wholeheartedly welcomed and embraced by all of her Lokikid siblings, who are all completely ride or die for each other and Libby is no exception. She loves them and has so much love to give! And they all love her back!!

It is Chal’s sulky belief that Libby appears to have joined a cult and you know what? The Lokikid clan is. not far off.

thank you for joining me on this EXCEPTIONALLY LONG essay journey this was an absolute delight to write up. I’ve drawn all these guys except for Sleipnir so feel free to ask for links and pics if u wanna see any of them!! And so, Loki’s lucky 14!

only time will tell if the count will ever increase! like I said… anything could happen, even though Loki hasn’t been pregnant for SO long (since Rane a decade ago!!) and he IS on working birth control right now so…… but who knows!! WHOOOO KNOWS—

phew thank u again If you actually made it to the very bottom. If you can’t tell. I like to write just a bit…,,

#oc talk #eloki #asks #OKAY TW CLOUD UHH—#child death tw /#miscarriage tw /#death tw /#ASK TO TAG #this is hilariously long for a question that should have just been a CHECKLIST

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mybrothershands · 3 years

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MBH/Dumpling 2

second installment, same art because otherwise you'll be waiting on it all day tomorrow. Characters by myself and @diddlesanddoodles and editing by @thundering-susurrus

The giant pinched up his face as if he smelled something bad. He then prodded the lump in his chest-pocket. "Get up, you lazy fool."

Several emotions crossed Yale face all at once, from anger to confusion to relief. Now that he knew where to look, Yale could see a distinctive lump in the man’s front pocket and heard the smaller voice emanating from within. Well, if he had a human companion of his own, that was a welcome relief. But he still kept his hand on Nenani. Grinning, he jerked his head to indicate the lump on Ka's shirt. “Ah, well I suppose that answers that. He yer assistant then?”

"Parasite, more like," he said, fishing around in his pocket until he caught the man by the shirt and pulled his shoulders over the lip of the pocket.

"Why you little two-ton son of a hog-bellied cob, I ought to--" The human smacked the hand away.

A nervous laugh escaped the giant, and he clasped his hand over the smaller man's mouth. "Er, this is my brother. He took care of me when I was small," said Ka.

Yale had been watching Ka fish around in his pocket and smirked at the human’s grouchy reply. The human’s snark immediately reminded him of Farris, but upon hearing Ka call him his brother, Yale gave pause. His curiosity was piqued.

“Wha –? Really? Can’t say I’ve ever heard ‘a that. That must be one hell of a story,” he said and jerked his head towards Ka. “Ye must’ve had a time of it keepin’ ‘im fed and clothed proper.”

The giant paused, then seemed to draw back within himself and looked away. Cairo, however, had no such loss for words. "Got that right. Ungrateful, too. You should see the spot in my side where he--" The massive hand clamped over his mouth again.

"I, erm," Ka cleared his throat, worry painted on his face. "I was old enough to work when he took me in. I cleared land for a human farmer in exchange for food. Cairo paid for my clothes and gave me a place to stay."

Polly then decided to use his leg as a scratching post and began rubbing her face up and down the side of his pants, leaning into him. "Woah, hey!" Ka said as he was knocked off balance. Once he found his feet, he pulled her bridle back over her ear and straightened her forelock. "But yes, I'm," he waved his hand in a circle, "I can work with humans just fine. They just need to let me know they're there and keep away from my feet."

“Ah, well no worries there,” Yale said with a light laugh as he pulled his apron aside to reveal Nenani at his hip. “You know better than to be underfoot, ain’t that right Dumplin’?”

Nenani nodded while she observed the new giant and silently marveled at his height. Despite the way in which he towered over them, he had a kind face, and she was not afraid.

“Farris doesn’t like it if I’m on the floor,” she explained. “He doesn’t trust the footmen to keep a look out.”

Ka's expression softened. She was a little thing, even for her kind, with auburn hair that shone in the sunlight. Somehow she met his gaze without fear, and it gave him pause. "H-hello there," he said quietly. "I am Ka. It's nice to meet you, miss."

It took the giant a moment to realize that the young man must have been hiding her, and why he had questioned him so. Come to think of it, he had not seen a single small person, nor chest pocket since he had entered this town. Pieces began to fall into place, and he decided he should not stay here for long. Not with Cairo. Absently, his hand found its way to his pocket.

“Hi. I’m Nenani,” she replied back, trying to look friendly. He looked so nervous, she thought. Yale easily scooped her up and sat her on his leg. After getting comfortable, she gestured up at the cook and said, “And he didn’t say so, but this is Yale.”

Looking confused, Yale looked down at her. “I didn’t introduce myself at all did I?”

“Nope,” she replied. “That was very rude. Lolly would swat you.”

“Ah, well,” he said, giving Ka and Cairo an apologetic shrug. “She wouldn’t be too pleased with me bringin’ the lil’un on this errand either. So there’s that.”

Cairo grumbled as Ka fawned over this little girl. She seemed unafraid and even kind towards his brother, which he respected. Still, he regarded Yale with a critical eye. Hooking his elbow over the frayed lip of the pocket, the human raised his voice. "What kind of kitchen is this anyway, boy? It's a bit late in the day to be fetchin stuff. What are you doing out here now?"

“Best kitchen in Vhasshal,” Yale fired back with a smug grin. He pointed over his shoulder towards the castle behind them. “That being the royal kitchen.”

“But Gjerk didn’t clean the chimney and it ruined the luncheon roasts,” Nenani supplied with a frankness that made light of the true disaster. “Almost caught the whole kitchen on fire.”

Yale frowned and, blushing just a bit, agreed with a muted nod. “Aye. Well, even the best kitchen in Vhasshal can fall victim to inattentive tenderfoots. So we’re needin’ to shuffle things ‘round a bit. Headin’ to a merchant who raises and sells field rocs.”

Ka's face became a smiling mask with a blank stare. Royal kitchen? Was this boy not worried that some stranger picked off the street could poison someone Important? Even the king himself? What if something went wrong and he was blamed for it and put in prison? Even he himself was not sure he deserved such trust, and yet kept his mouth shut in hopes that there was something he did not know.

Cairo, meanwhile, looked the man up and down, and then the girl in turn. They seemed easygoing and honest, if not a bit frank. At last he nodded. "We will accept your offer."

The giant balked. "Cairo, I'm not sure--"

"Shut up," he said, waving a hand. "Your belly's been a'growling all day, and I'll have no more of it. This is an easy job, and you're gonna take it," Cairo barked.

Ka paused, a hint of frustration on his face. Still, this was Cairo. The giant seemed to let go of his worries and nodded. "Just tell me what to do," he said, fixing Yale in his gaze, "and I'll help as much as I can."

He seemed eager enough, Yale thought. And even if his kitchen skills were minimal, so long as he could hold a knife, he could find something for him to do. Ka’s human companion was clearly the more dominant of the two, which Yale found to be quite amusing. And even a bit refreshing. He was so used to humans reacting to him with fear or at the very least nervous suspicion. Not that they did not have a valid reason of course.

He decided he liked Cairo.

“Well, first we gotta go collect them rocs and scurry on back,” Yale said with a grin. “So if we just wanna follow along we’ll go get that done and we can get ye to work.” He paused as he considered Ka. “And get ye somethin’ t’eat. Farris might gripe at me fer it, but believe me. He’s gonna be thankful fer yer help. Even he don’t show it. Or say it. Or yells at ye.”

Yale flicked the reins to usher Polly forward, bringing a hand up to hold onto Nenani when she almost fell off his lap.

“Ah!”

“Oh, sorry there, Dumplin’.”

"Oh," said Ka as he backed away and let the animal slip past until he could walk beside the cab. This Farris fellow seemed a bit crotchety. "Thank you," he said above the creaking wheels. The mention of food set his mouth to watering. They had had so many good things down at the market, maybe now he could get his hands on something. "I can pay you, but I'm afraid my coin may just be trinkets to you."

From his pocket, Cairo squinted one eye, adjusting his position to better watch the small giant. "Why you call her 'dumpling,' anyhow?"

“It was a joke,” Nenani explained with a flat look. “Wasn’t a very funny one.”

“I dunno, I thought it was a pretty good one,” Yale replied with a knowing grin. He poked her belly and the girl squealed and laughed, batting at his fingers. She lost her balance and almost fell back off his lap, but Yale was quick enough to catch her and place her safely down on the bench beside him. He ruffled her hair into a bushy mess. “Anyway, I caught this one here after she’d nicked some fruit. And right in the middle of the King’s weddin’ feast too. Don’t think I’ve ever been that stressed in my life.”

“He threatened to eat me...” Nenani said with the same flat expression.

As lovely as he found the girl's laugh, Ka's smile quickly faded as the girl voiced the joke. He made a sound half way between a choke and a quack. "Hmm?"

Cairo looked more surprised at the noise his brother made than Nenani's admittance. "Oh he did, did he?" He sat up, eyeing Yale. "He looks like a pansy to me."

Yale could not help the smirk of satisfaction at seeing the way Ka reacted. But his focus drew to the man’s pocket and the human within. Leaning towards them and planting his hand on the other side of where Nenani sat, he grinned at the human man.

“Big words fer a fella who travels by pocket,” he challenged. “Why not come on outta there and I’ll show ye how much of a pansy I am.”

Nenani glared up at Yale and grabbed onto his sleeve and gave it a firm tug. “No fighting.”

Cairo merely laughed at the girl's reaction. "I ain't stupid. Think I'll stay in the pocket, eh?" He slapped Ka's chest.

The giant rolled his eyes. He kept pace with the cart fairly easily, even as the Svaldifari trotted. He cleared his throat. "Keep acting like that and I may just let him have you."

"What!" he exclaimed, clutching a hand over his heart. "He might skin me, don't you think? You brute, you should protect your poor old brother."

Ka sighed, plodding along. "You can take care of yourself just fine."

“Smart man, your brother,” Yale said to Ka. “With him taggin’ along, ye might just survive a day in Farris’s kitchen.”

There was something very comforting about watching Cairo and Ka banter. It was all too easy for Yale to be drawn back to the horrible memories of the war and the way it seemed to him at the time that the bloodletting would never cease. Yet before him was a man who openly and easily called a human his brother.

“As fer skinnin’: nah. Too much of a hassle. Much easier to just toss ye into the stew and pop the lid on.”

Beside him, Nenani rolled her eyes. She had become nearly desensitized to all staff’s banter about eating and cooking people. Cairo didn’t seem like the sort to take Yale seriously. But Ka, she observed, seemed to not care for the jokes at all.

Ka lolled his head back, exasperated, then clamped his hand back over Cairo's mouth. "Ne- Nena-nani, er..." he chewed on his tongue for a moment, still trying to decide how many syllables the girl's name had. "Nenani," he said decisively. "He... Yale. He said he found you stealing?" said the giant, desperate to change the subject.

There were a few shoves and knocks on his hand before there at last came a double-tap and Cairo's mouth was freed. However, he kept his mouth shut for once and watched the road ahead. The mare seemed to need a bit of guiding, unused to going this way, but Yale was not quite paying attention. He peered ahead. Was this the way they had come before? Where was the market?

“Oh. Yeah,” she replied as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt in slight embarrassment. “But it’s not like what Farris and they all thought at first. I’m not from the Hill Tribe, I’m from the Southlands. They were loading a bunch of carts near the docks and I tried to sneak in and grab a persimmon before anyone noticed, but the basket was really big and I just...kind of fell in. And got stuck.”

Yale stifled a snicker as he corrected Polly’s path. She whinnied at him in annoyance. “I remember all them peels, lil’un. It was certainly more than one.”

“I was in there for three days,” she said and stuck her tongue out at Yale. “What else was I gonna eat? The basket?” When Yale only shrugged at her, she continued. “I grew up being told stories about Vhasshal and I was really scared. So as soon as the caravan stopped, I tried to run.”

“Caught her tryin’ to make a run fer it,” Yale added lightly pinching her arm. “Didn’t get all that far. Like...a half a dozen yards maybe before I got ‘er.”

Ka frowned. He did not like the way that last bit sounded. He steered away as they passed another cart on the road. He wanted to ask the stories about Vhasshal, and why she had been so frightened, but the girl had not seemed a bit embarrassed about that point in her past. Come to think of it, maybe he did not want to know. "Persimmons... have peels?"

The edge of the village was approaching, and Yale could hear the sound of the rocs long before their pens came into view. Their destination was a handsome little cottage just at the end of the tight clusters of row homes. Though was an older building and had but a thatched roof, it was well maintained and clean. Behind it were the roc pens. There were a dozen or so of the birds loose in the larger space, and Yale felt relieved. He was only going to need ten for the luncheon service, and he’d be able to get a few extra just in case anything else went horribly wrong today.

“Well, I think they’re actually husks,” she was saying. “They’re from overseas somewhere. But you’re not supposed to eat the outsides because it’ll make you sick.”

“Ye did get sick though. Just not from eatin’ fruit,” Yale pointed out. His eyes trailed after the other cart as they passed, having seen the way they had been gawking at Ka. Poor guy must get that a lot.

“Yeah, I had the red reap,” Nenani said. “It was terrible. But Farris took care of me and gave me medicine and watched me all night while I had the fever.”

Ka blinked, trying to make sense of this new information. He had no idea what red reap was, but then again, he was not familiar with most diseases. "It sounds terrible," he said, worry on his brow. The way she had explained it, it sounded deadly. He could not imagine having to care for someone through the night, not knowing if the little thing would make it.

Though he had not yet met the man, Ka found himself reconsidering this Farris guy. If he was the type to yell at someone new, it seemed a bit backwards that he would worry over a thief. He shook the thought away. He had not met him yet. Maybe he would understand later.

It was then he heard some bird-like squabbling, and looked up to find a pen with some frighteningly large feathery beasts. "What... are those?" He felt a bit stupid for asking, but then again, nothing was familiar to him here. Nothing at all.

"What, you never seen a chicken before?" Cairo butted in.

“Oh them ain’t no chickens,” Yale answered, giving Cairo an amused sideways glance. “Those are common field rocs. Those beauties eat chickens fer breakfast. Literally. They’re birds of prey. And they’re what we’re here fer.”

Yale maneuvered the cart towards the pens and when they were close enough, he pulled the reins lightly and Polly came to a gentle halt. She turned to her head back at Yale, expectation in her eyes. With a chuckle, he reached into his apron pocket and pulled out a pressed oat cake. Turning to Ka, he held out the treat. “Wanna give Polly her reward while I go spend the king's money?”

A grin spread across Ka’s face, and he chuckled. "Seems she's in good hands," he said, gently taking the biscuit from him.

~~~

Twelve common field rocs were in the back of the cart, their wings tied down to their sides and hemp sacks placed over their heads to keep them docile. Nenani hung off the back of the driver’s bench, looking down at the immobilized birds. They were as large as cows, and it was a little daunting to think that there were birds that big in the world.

The trip back was fairly uneventful, except that news of Ka seemed to have made its way around the village, They seemed to be getting more stares than before, but Yale made a point of staring down whatever gawkers he noticed. But he did not have the same presence as Farris did, and mostly, the people just kept on staring.

Nenani found it to be pretty rude, and to several she stuck out her tongue.

As they approached the back gate that led to the kitchen courtyard, the guards stationed there did double takes as Ka came into view, but Yale was quick to head off any questions. “He’s here to help out for the day. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Farris.”

There was enough of a threat in those words that they were allowed to pass without any form of harassment.

“Don’t let those guards make ye nervous none, lad,” Yale said to Ka. “Most of ‘em are real decent fellas.”

Yale was still looking towards Ka as he directed Polly along the road, around the last bend, and into the courtyard. He pulled the reins and was about to say something else when felt a tug on his sleeve and he looked down at Nenani. “Hm? What’s it?”

Nenani merely pointed further ahead of them and Yale’s gaze followed along. A large fire pit had been lit in the middle of the yard, and the largest of their cooking pans was placed over the top, with a sizable pile of pumpkins next to it. Saen and Avery were in the middle of carving a few up but had made little headway.

But what had caught their eye was none of them, but the solitary figure just a short distance away. Standing with his arms akimbo and looking very displeased was Farris. His green eyes narrowed at Yale.

“Yer fuckin’ late.”

Ever since the border guards, Ka had gotten increasingly fidgety. As soon as Yale quieted down, he slowed up and walked behind the cart. The castle ahead was bigger than any he had seen, especially this close up. He ran his hand up and down his sleeve, trying to create some warmth as his breath crystallized before him. Upon hearing the voice, the giant's first impression was how gravelly and frayed it sounded, possibly from overuse. The second was that it did not sound happy.

"What's it to you?" Cairo muttered under his breath. It was more of a knee-jerk reaction, than anything, but it was enough to remind Ka to keep an eye on him. The human's left arm and legs lolled out of the pocket. He picked at his teeth as the giant walked. "Move over, Ka, I want to get a look at this meathead."

Ka merely shook his head, hand straying up to cover the man. "Be careful here. We don't know for sure if it's safe yet." There came a grumbling and a shove at the fingers, but for the most part he kept his mouth shut.

Before Yale could even begin to explain himself, Farris caught sight of Ka, and the kitchen master’s eyes widened as his gaze traveled up and up and up until he met the taller giant’s eye. “And just who in the Seven Hells are ye?”

Before Ka could answer, though, Yale jumped in. “Came across him on the way to get the rocs. He was lookin’ fer some work, and I offered to let him help us today.”

All through Yale’s explanations, Farris sized Ka up with a critical eye, pausing at the distinct bulge in the tall man’s pocket. His eyes narrowed suspiciously before turning their vitriol onto his assistant.

“Oh ye did, did ye?” he demanded. “Are ye fuckin’ daft boy?”

Yale hopped down off the cart. “We need the extra help, and as mad as ye are, ye can’t deny the big fella could be of some help. Hell, he’d make short work breakin’ down the pumpkins.” Yale leaned around Farris to yell past him towards his fellow cooks. “A whole lot faster than them two knobheads!”

Saen and Avery looked up from their work to glare back at Yale. Avery waved his knife in the air, calling back, “Go fuck yerself, Yale.”

Yale was still grinning when Farris drew his attention back with a growl. “And ye think I’d let just anyone off the street come in and cook in my kitchen, do ye?”

Yale glanced over his shoulder at Ka and then back to Farris. With a shrug, he said, “Honestly boss, I don’t think he’d fit. Be a bit tight.”

Farris’s ever-present glare faltered as an amused smirk crossed his lips. With a grunt he looked back at Ka. “Ye have any experience in a kitchen there, son?”

The giant clutched his fists against his chest, shoulders hunched and brow scrunched with worry. Though the man was half his height, he scared Ka. He looked like someone who knew how to fight and just might if aggravated.

"Y-yessir, just a bit, sir." Ka stuttered, coming out from behind the wagon. "Look, I promise I mean no harm, sir. I just, well I- I- I was looking for some work is all. He was nice enough to give me a chance. I promise I'll do my best if you'll only let me help."

Farris was silent for several moments, eyeing Ka once more. “Where ye from?”

The giant straightened up a bit, a slight hope welling in his chest. "Benhyke, sir. I'm... trying to find my way back there, actually."

“Never heard of it. So ye mean to tell me yer as tall as a fuckin’ house with no proper sense of direction?” The kitchen master didn’t give Ka a chance to answer before walking over to the cart where Nenani sat. He laid his arm across the drivers bench and looked at the girl. “What say ye Dumplin’? Think he’s some sort of secret assassin tryin’ to worm his way into the castle?”

Nenani blinked and shook her head. “No.”

“Well, if yer so sure,” he said with a small smile and scooped her up. Tucking her into the crook of his arm, he turned back to Ka. The warmth he had spoken to Nenani with was gone and the harsher tone returned. “Ye got a name?”

He scratched his head, still harboring the initial insult in his mind, and had not quite heard him speak to the girl. "What? O-oh I am Ka. And this is--" he paused. At first caution took over, but once he saw the way he cared for Nenani, the fear melted. "--Cairo," he finished.

Upon hearing his name, a single hand came out of the pocket and gave a dramatic wave. "Evening to you, you motherless goat," he called, then the hand disappeared again.

Farris’s expression darkened and, behind him, Yale was making a frantic motion with his hands at Ka that translated roughly to “Bad idea. Stop.”

“I’ll give ye fair warning now, boy,” Farris warned as he walked towards Ka. Pressing further into his space, he stared up at the taller giant and pointed towards his pocket. “Keep that one’s mouth under control or I’ll be doin’ it fer ‘im. I’ve had plenty of humans toss out insults at me and, one way or another, they learn not to. If ye wanna work, I’ve got work fer ye. And you’ll be paid fair wages fer it. But if that one skulking in yer pocket don’t watch it, he’s gonna become intimately acquainted with the inside of a roasting pan.”

Ka's face paled and he backed away, clutching one hand to his pocket. "No! No, please, he's my brother. Y-you can't--I won't..." He seemed to get ahold of himself then, squared his shoulders. "Take that back," he said, regaining his ground. If it were not for the girl in his arms, Ka was not sure what he might have done.

Farris did not back away, and his only movement was to use his free hand to cover Nenani as though to shield her. He met Ka’s eyes with a firm unwavering stare. “I don’t take it back. This is my kitchen and my word is law.” Farris let a small smirk come to his lips. “Just keep in mind though, I didn’t say nothing about actually cookin’ ‘im.”

The giant blinked, relaxing a bit. "What?"

At this point, Cairo heaved a dramatic sigh and pulled himself up. He looked the man up and down and came to a conclusion. "Ugly lump."

Nenani poked her head out from behind Farris’s hand. “No fighting.”

At Nenani's word, Ka took a step back. There was still anger in his blood, and he elected to stay on his toes, but any hostility was snuffed out by the girl's voice.

Farris only adjusted his hand to ruffle her hair. “Well ye ain’t no Blue Thorn Beauty yerself,” Farris shot back at Cairo, then raised an eyebrow at him. “Ain’t ye a bit old fer being carried ‘round like a babe?”

Cairo raised a brow, then patted the chest behind him. "This one here's the baby when it comes down to it, little man. Now--" He cut himself off as if he had heard something. "Alright already," he grumbled at apparently nothing. "What do I have to do to get your sorry bag of bones to do something decent, eh? This boy's half starved."

"Cairo..." Ka hissed through his teeth. "I haven't done the work yet."

Farris huffed and rolled his eyes. “Yale,” he called without taking his eyes from the pair. “Go grab this one one ‘a the leftover meat pies.” He paused, reconsidering the man and his height. “Make that two.”

“Will do, boss,” Yale replied, flashing Ka a wide grin before running off towards the stairway that led into the kitchen proper.

“I don’t run a charity here,” Farris told him sternly. “But if yer gonna be any use to me at all today, it wont be with an empty belly. Ye’ll eat and then ye’ll work. Understand?”

"No," Cairo said blatantly before Ka had a chance.

#crossover with doobdles

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