God Almighty first planted a garden.

[thelostprince]

Loki had been close with his family, even though he had also, at the same time, felt distinctly out of place, like an object on the mantle that didn't belong. His family was something he had always been able to rely on when he felt at odds with the rest of the world, and when he had let go on the Bifrost he had been attempting to remove himself from them, perhaps even as a punishment. Instead he had only managed to cut that part of himself away, and he felt the lack distinctively. Not only that, they hadn't appeared to miss him.

Having Thor here, like a dagger in his side he couldn't pull out, near drove him mad. He wanted to hate his brother, yet yearned for the affection Thor finally seemed willing to give; and always there was Foster, a game-piece on the board that he couldn't brush away. It was enough to force Loki into a moody sulk, were it not for Frigga.

It was complicated, because he knew he had to tell her of events that had led to his exile - if he didn't, Thor would, and these days he couldn't trust his brother to protect his interests and speak kindly of him. Still, wariness of certain conversational topics would not stop him from spending time with his mother, not after knowing that, in Thor's world, she had been taken from him.

It was a warm day in the gardens, not unpleasant. "I am not surprised to find you here, mother," he said to her, in greeting. "You always seem more at home with growing things."

Comments

[the_allmother]

"Loki," Frigga said warmly, turning at the sound of her youngest son's voice. She smiled at him, pleased beyond words to see him.

Frigga had taken to spending a great deal of her free time in the gardens and greenhouse that surrounded the hotel. It wasn't exactly like Asgard, but it did remind her most of home. She liked fresh air, the living things that surrounded them. Her son wasn't wrong in his assessment.

She had also endeavored to give both her sons some space. If she would have had it her way, she would have been with them as often as possible, but she knew they were both raw emotionally, and unfortunately, these were wounds that Frigga didn't know precisely how to heal. It was a little easier with Thor; she understood what exactly ailed him. But Loki, as always, was a little more enigmatic. She didn't know if he had also had to live through her death, or his behavior stemmed from something else. She knew, perhaps, that this was simply the way her son acted now, and while he had been far more prone to hiding secrets than Thor, she sincerely felt that there also something that was grievously bothering him.

"Would you care to join me?" she asked.

[thelostprince]

"If you've no protest," Loki replied. His memories and his view of his mother always involved her regal bearing, queenly mannerisms, and the steel that ran underneath. But she had never seemed distant from the world around her, like she was too good to be in it. She was often in the city, in the gardens, all through the grounds. If there was one thing the royalty of Asgard could not be accused of, it was an unwillingness to get their hands dirty. Most of the time, that meant war and training; but sometimes it meant working with the earth.

"Does anything here bear the work of your hands, yet?" he asked. "Idleness is the terrible curse of this place."

[the_allmother]

Frigga moved down the bench she was seated on in order to make more room for Loki, even if she wasn't entirely certain he would sit. Her first comment seemed almost ridiculous to her, but she merely smiled when he asked her if she had worked on anything in the garden yet.

"Why don't you tell me," Frigga challenged. After all, she had been training Loki in the arts of her magic. She was curious to see how far he had come in the years since. He'd shown a natural proficiency for them, and she had suspected he would surpass her. Of course, there was always the chance that he had since given such things up, but quietly, she hoped he hadn't. And part of her honestly didn't believe he would.

[thelostprince]

Loki took a seat next to her. Sure enough, being in her presence was soothing. While the revelation that he had been taken in after war had made him feel disillusioned, with his father asleep Loki had been forced to turn to his mother for support. And she had given it - as well as a crown.

Would she doubt her decision, now?

He focused on the flowers around them. Frigga's work could be subtle, like a natural extension of the world, but it tended to blossom into something startling. In the early stages, though, it was harder to detect by eye - but Loki could sense more than that around him. "Just over there," he said, motioning to a cluster of violet-coloured flowers, still young. They hummed with a quiet energy - as well he could note a vague pattern to their gathering, as they began to follow the beginning motions his mother was coaxing them through.

[the_allmother]

Frigga watched Loki's eyes skip across the sea of flowers and plants that surrounded them, and she couldn't help but smile. She could see how intuitive her son had become, and was pleased to see how easily he had honed in on the patterns of her own creations. He had surpassed her, she suspected.

"When I'm from, it would have taken you half a day to pick out my work," Frigga said warmly, both missing her young son at home and congratulating this older version of him on how far he had come in his studies.

"I bet your own magic is exquisite now," she added with a smile.

[thelostprince]

"I'm sure you used that trick often to keep me out of trouble, then," Loki replied, amused. That is, if Thor didn't show up to interrupt him and convince him to go on some madcap adventure.

When he was younger magic had taken more effort, sometimes even physical showmanship. Now he made a motion with his hands as a form of politeness, to warn people what might come; in truth he didn't need to do anything of the sort, and often didn't.

Some of the things he could do, he was sure, were not what his mother had initially had in mind. "I take after you," he replied, smiling.

[the_allmother]

"I did no such thing," Frigga answered, the laughter in her voice and mischievous smile on her face enough to indicate that was precisely what she had done on an occasion or two. Of course, such schemes would have been more efficient if they had involved both brothers, but sometimes resting assured that one was safe from the grasp of trouble was all she could ask for.

"You do, my Loki," Frigga said warmly, reaching between them to clasp one of her hands over his, holding tight to him for a moment. It had always been such a joy to watch the concentration on his face and she delighted in every one of his successes.

[thelostprince]

There were two parts to Loki - a crippling guilt and dislike, and a righteous confusion. He had apparently done something wrong, but could not figure out what. What was suggested clashed with everything he had been taught, and he was having difficulty placing the two realizations together. While he truly believed he had been in the right, no more worse than Thor at his best, he still felt nervous around his mother. His duplicity was not something he wanted to own up to.

"Perhaps not enough," he said, looking down at their hands. "Have you spoken with Thor, yet?"

[the_allmother]

"I have," Frigga answered, her voice taking on a distinctly more serious tone. She squeezed Loki's hand tightly. She didn't know if Thor and Loki were from the same time, but she assumed Loki knew what Thor knew.

"Are you from the same time as him, my love?" Frigga asked. Not that the knowledge of her death wouldn't grieve him, but she knew that it was a wound of a different caliber to experience something to know something.

[thelostprince]

"No," Loki admitted. "He is from a time further in the future than I, and he's made some... accusations." Thor's opinions had been quite forceful, to the point where Loki found many verging on ridiculous. Even if he had done them, where Thor came from, Loki now certainly had no inkling of them, so he didn't understand why he should be punished.

If he ought to be punished at all. How was he to know whether or not those actions Thor accused him of had not been well-meant?

[the_allmother]

"Accusations?" Frigga asked, her confusion evident. She had been certain that Loki's distress had been from her own death. But his words seemed to indicate otherwise. However, she couldn't even fully glean what they meant. She had no idea as to what accusations could have caused Loki to be so hidden, so cautious.

She grew quiet, waiting for an explanation. She didn't want to barrage him with a series of questions and knew that Loki would do things in his own way and in his own time.

[thelostprince]

Loki hoped his smile would soften some of the sharpness of the subject. "I am in exile," he said. "I suppose. And Thor has informed me of a great many things that I am supposed to have done, but he is not so good with detail. I am still uncertain of the extent of my crimes."

It was true, he would like to skirt around the topic of what he did know, for certain - his actions against Jotunheim and Odin's disapproval. However, if it came to light, he would admit to it. His actions had been out of love and yearning, and he would not apologize for them.

[the_allmother]

"Exile?" Frigga repeated, her confusion and worry evident in the single word she spoke. The frown at the corners of her mouth deepened, eyebrows drawing close together.

She didn't want to imagine a world where such a thing was possible. She was reminded, once again, that her boys were taken from a time so far beyond her -- but she still couldn't think this Loki in front of her capable of a crime that resulted in exile.

She pressed one hand softly against Loki's face.

"I will speak to your brother," she said, the words intended to be a comfort -- as if it was obvious that there had been some miscommunication between the brothers, or that Loki's exile was short-lived and something far more minor that he seemed to think it.

[thelostprince]

Loki laughed, somewhat bitterly. It was sweet of Frigga to make that claim, though he knew it would make no difference. "Whatever you wish, Mother," he said, bowing his head to her. "But I fear there is no talking to him. I've tried. He is set in his ways. Perhaps he has cause to be."

Which, of course, Loki did not truly believe - but he felt he should show some leeway and forgiveness, at least for her sake.

"He spoke to me of things that befall you, as well," he admitted. He did not know if Thor had informed her, but he doubted his brother had held back in that regard. "And that has grieved me most of all."

[the_allmother]

Frigga began to stroke her fingers gently through Loki's hair when he leaned his head in closer. The action stemmed from a desperation to reassure her son, something that was difficult to do in light of the fact that she knew very little about what circumstances would cause him such pain.

"Oh, my Loki," Frigga breathed out gently. "If it true that exile is in your future, perhaps you've been brought here to help learn how to avoid such a path. Have you though of that, my dear one?" she asked. "You and your brother are both stubborn, but I do not believe you could ever forsake one another."

She grew quiet, her hand stilling, when he began to speak again. It came as little surprise that Thor had also shared that particular detail.

"I wish my passing did not have to cause you and your brother such pain," Frigga answered him, still quiet, a bit more sober. "And I can only hope you know how dearly you are loved. I know you must mourn for awhile, but my wish would be for both of you to remember me by being the best men you can be."

[thelostprince]

He was surprised when he felt her touch his hair; he realized it had been very long since he had received any comforting touch, especially from his mother. The older they had grown, the more distant they had become. That was the way of things; he remembered, somewhat forlornly, the closeness he had once shared with both his parents. As he had grown it was only with Thor he could rely on, and then that had been taken from him, as well.

"Your passing could not cause anything less," Loki countered. "I've thought of nothing, much, I admit, beyond that." Whatever path he took, he was convinced knowledge of his future may not change that. He did what he did out of prudence and heartfelt desire, or so he liked to think.

[the_allmother]

It was a difficult problem and one, admittedly, that she wasn't entirely certainly she was prepared to fix. She couldn't stop her sons from mourning her death. Her comfort to them was also a complicated thing -- comfort as it was intended to be, but also a reminder of what they had lost.

She leaned in to press a soft kiss to Loki's forehead.

"You must thing of some other things at least then," she said smiling sadly at him. "Will you show me some of your magic, Loki?" she asked.

[thelostprince]

He smiled at her, faintly. "You need not treat me so gently, mother," he said. "I assure you, all will be well." If the thought of mourning distressed her, then he would not mention it again. He supposed it was not the pain of her passing which upset him - that was something he had to amit would always have come in time - but the manner in his discovery. He supposed he was blessed in that he could speak to her now.

"I'm not sure what I could show you," Loki mused. "I admit, I've moved beyond illusions. And even so I don't think any of my work in that quarter could surpass your own."

[the_allmother]

"It is in my disposition to treat you gently," Frigga answered with a smile. She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. She also knew that it was in his nature to say whatever he needed in order to make her feel better. They were both so brave, her sons. Still, it was a little strange to come into a world where they both suddenly worried about protecting her.

"Oh, I am certain your work has surpassed my own," Frigga said warmly. "You've always had quite the gift, my little one." Of course, it didn't matter how old Loki grew, she would always be her youngest, her baby -- the unexpected child who had stolen her heart utterly.

[thelostprince]

Loki gave her a smile that was partial adolescent awkwardness, as if she was starting to embarrass him; but he made it obvious enough that she would hopefully pick up on the fact he was teasing.

"Perhaps," he said. "I've been attempting to keep my studies broad. As you might have suspected, I don't have much glory in the battlefield to my name."

[the_allmother]

"Perhaps," she said, amused while also rolling her eyes. "From you, that means it is a certainty." If her son hinted at all that there was a chance he had surpassed her, it meant that he was eons beyond her now.

"What else have you studied?" she asked.

The comment about his glory on the battlefield didn't go unnoticed. While her sons were both young, it had been becoming increasingly obvious that Loki was the scholar of the two, Thor the warrior, their strengths working at counterpoint -- something that actually had become a comfort to Frigga, because of the hope that they would complement each other. But she did worry that Loki would be measured against Thor, and she wondered if he, himself, found himself wanting.

"I am certain of your glory in countless other pursuits," Frigga answered easily. "The world is not built and run only on the back of the warrior."

[thelostprince]

Loki smiled at her, the kind two people might share when they know the same secret. He tried to shy away from cockiness, especially from having seen it so often in his brother; partially over wondering if he deserved the right, but mostly because he found it slightly distasteful. But Asgardians were proud, and they found difficulty in being too humble. He preferred to be realistic, and she was right.

"Other worlds," he said. "Their histories and probable futures. Inter-dimensional travel. And other things." He had set out to find ways to fight with magic which, while likely not a surprise to Frigga, was too detailed to sum up. Everything could be weaponized.

"No, but they are certainly run by those who can do more than that," he said. "You would certainly know, mother, accomplished as you are at so many things."

[the_allmother]

The breadth of his knowledge sounded incredible, precisely the sort of thing she had always expected Loki to be capable of. While it still grieved her to know that he wasn't at ease as he should have been at home, she could only hope that he had found some peace in his range of studies and abilities.

"Inter-dimensional travel?" Frigga echoed curiously. "Are you able to use it here?" The hotel seemed to be a nebulous oddity, but she was curious to hear if Loki could manipulate it with his own power then.

Frigga smiled faintly at the mention of her own accomplishments. She was a queen, yes, and endeavored to all she could to fulfill that role, but she had always seen herself in a distinctly different light than Odin. His place was to make the hard decisions, to live with himself afterward. Hers was to support him, to help him uphold the peace in the realm. To raise their sons to be well-rounded, fighters whose first concern was protection.

"Ruling is such a small part of the world," Frigga murmured quietly, running her hand along the back of the world. "I hope my accomplishments have helped you understand that, my son."