Random Norse Bullshit

Chapter 4: He's (Beautiful) A Wolf

Men were not typically granted entrance to the birthing chambers of Asgard. But Loki had already visited them when he gave birth to Sliepnir and had switched to a womanly form to help in several particularly dangerous births, so he was considered something of an exception. Whether the healers thought him not enough of a man to pose a threat or if they considered the space already tainted by him anyways, Loki had never bothered trying to find out.

As such, Loki had been allowed to stay and help with his wife's labor, though he was forced out nearly the moment the infant was born. He should be grateful to be allowed in at all, he knew. Still, he left the chambers with the utmost reluctance.

Sigyn lay inside, exhausted and pale from the effort of expelling such a... large offspring. Loki would've liked to care for her himself, but the healers had told him to get lost assured him that that would not be necessary.

Besides, he had another to look after.

Eir was standing a few feet from the chamber entrance, cradling his new son in her arms. The boy was just over twice the size of a regular Æsir child, with hair that was dark like his mother's but already tangling like his father's. His eye color was impossible to tell, as his eyes were not open and most likely would not be so for several weeks.

"Is he healthy?" Loki asked. It had been the first question he had asked about Sleipnir, years before, and he had a feeling it would be the first asked about each of his children (provided Sigyn was willing to go through this again... or that he needed to seduce livestock once more).

"In a sense, yes," Eir answered with a light chuckle. She quirked an eyebrow, looking at Loki curiously. "Whatever are we to do with you, father of monsters?"

"He's beautiful," Loki breathed, ignoring her in favor of running his fingers gently through his son's hair– fur. Just born and already with fur, what a strong boy! The child whined at the touch, turning his head to nip at his father's fingers. "Oh my, what a fierce little warrior. Are you going to grow big and strong, my son?"

"He will if I have anything to say about it," Eir's voice was a whisper, but her promise was fierce and unbreakable. Just like her, Loki mused. Her expression grew tight. "Loki, the others might not react well to this."

"Whyever not?" Loki asked, feigning ignorance. He took the child to hold close to his chest, letting small bursts of his magic out to surround his offspring protectively. His boy was hungry already, whining and sniffing the air for milk, and Loki wondered if he should try to nurse him or wait for Sigyn. This was her first child, after all, so perhaps she'd be disappointed at not being allowed the privilege of his first meal. Then again, it wasn't like Loki could just let him go hungry, right?

"Loki, he's a wolf," Eir pointed out flatly, her arms crossed, interrupting Loki's musings.

"He's beautiful," Loki repeated, nuzzling his face gently against the overgrown puppy that was his son. "Beautiful and unique and my precious little boy, just like his brother. Oh, Slip is going to love racing you when you're older, my fearsome child... He's always wanted a sibling, I just know that he'll love you!"

Eir smiled and shook her head as Loki twirled around the room, gently rocking his son and grinning as he continued to ramble praises for his children.

"Ma'am." One of the healers exited the chambers, addressing Eir. Loki tensed, frowning and becoming still in mere moments. His hold on his son gained a protective edge, though the healer did not so much as look at him. "Lady Sigyn has awakened; she is asking to see her child and wife."

Loki snorted. From some, he might've taken offense, but he knew the healers that worked in the birthing chambers found peace in thinking of him in more feminine terms. Let them, he thought, as it made no real difference to him. He was Sliepnir's mother every bit as he was Odin's bloodbrother, and he could go by wife as easily as husband. He was a shapeshifter at heart, and such things hardly mattered to him.

(He was not Odin's sister. Sigyn called him only husband. He was Laufeyson, not Laufeydottir. He knew who he was, no matter the forms he wore, but saw no issue with others seeing him a tad differently)

"How is she faring?" Eir asked, snapping Loki from his thoughts.

"She has healed faster than expected," the healer answered slowly, a bit of suspicion creeping into her tone. Few knew of Sigyn's abilities in magic, but many suspected. "She should be well enough to not accidentally harm the... Child."

The child in question took this moment to try to bark in the general direction of the healer's voice, his attempt resulting in a squeaky little sound that caused the poor girl to jump and Loki to start cooing in adoration.

"Very well." Eir nodded, turning to Loki. "Go and introduce your mate to her child." She frowned as she gently added, "But remember that she is not as used to the unnatural as you are, Liesmith, and she is very worn out. She might not react well to the shock of your child's form."

Loki paused at that, for but a moment. Eir's caring concern, the healers' wariness, the other gods' open disdain — he could handle that, he could teach his son to handle it. But if Sigyn herself rejected the child? Surely she wouldn't, surely! It was not like her. But, well... it wasn't like she had been expecting a wolf pup rather than a 'proper' child.

Loki entered the birthing chambers almost as reluctantly as he'd exited them, his child clutched tight (but not too tight) against him. He smiled when he saw his wife, her beauty taking his breath away even when she was such a mess as childbirth tended to turn one into, his soul sparking when she smiled tiredly back. She wouldn't reject their son, he told himself. She wouldn't.

Sigyn's eyes grew wide as she caught sight of the bundle of fur in her husband's arms. "Loki," she said carefully, her voice filled with the expectation of exasperation, "please tell me you did not turn our child into a dog."

"He's not a dog, he's a wolf," Loki corrected, somewhat offended on the babe's behalf. Then added, in a self-conscious mutter, "And technically I'm only half responsible."

"Why would our child be a wolf?" Sigyn asked, her eyes still impossibly wide.

"Why not?" Loki shrugged, stepping closer and holding up the squirming child. "My first son was a horse."

"Because you slept with a horse!" Sigyn whisper-shouted at him, not wanting to frighten the pup with any loud noise. "Neither of us are wolves."

Loki shrugged again, moving the child further towards her. "Be that as it may, our son is a wolf."

Sigyn looked to her husband, to their child, her husband again, and lastly the wolf pup once more. "He's quite big," she murmured, reaching out a shaky hand to gently caress his fur. He immediately began whining and trying to press himself towards the scent of his mother. Sigyn panicked. "Is that crying? Why is he crying? What happened–"

"He's just hungry," Loki soothed her. He remembered how scared he was the first time Sleipnir had screamed to be fed. Loki pulled his second son closer to himself, his own form shimmering slightly as his curves and lines rearranged. "I can feed him–"

"No, give him here," Sigyn demanded, lifting up her loose birthing garments and reaching for the boy. "I want to do it."

Smiling, Loki set his precious cargo down on her breast, guiding her through nursing as best he could (though the basic principles were the same, the fact remained that horses and wolves were rather different creatures).

Content at last, the wolf fell asleep on his mother's chest.

"He's so beautiful," Sigyn whispered, gently petting him. "His fur is like silk, it is so soft. Are... Are wolves supposed to have fur when they're born?" she asked curiously, frowning.

Loki winced a little, reminded of his worries that had been soothed by Sigyn so readily feeding the child. "I know he's not quite what you expected–" Loki began pleadingly, but she interrupted him.

"If I wanted life to be predictable, I hardly would have married you, my love." Sigyn chuckled, her laugh bringing him joy as always. She sobered and told him, "He is indeed not what I expected. But he is our son and I love him, fur and paws and all."

Loki felt his chest lighten at those words, believing them instantly as they came from her lips, a sort of trust he would afford no one else. He laid next to her for a while, both of them quiet and at peace, watching their son wriggle around in his sleep.

"We made this," Loki whispered after a time, his expression filled with pure joy, gesturing to the child.

"Yeah," Sigyn agreed, her face mirroring his own, "we did."

Out in the hall, Eir moved away from where she had been spying on them. She smiled, chuckling to herself. "Oh whatever will we do with you," she repeated her words from earlier, "mother of monsters?"

A wolf as large as life.

A snake even larger.

A two-faced girl.

Twins who seemed normal enough in appearance, but carried their mother's magic and their father's mischief within.

Some people liked to blame Loki. He, after all, had birthed a horse.

Others liked to blame Sigyn. Loki had birthed a horse sired by a horse, they pointed out, while she had birthed far more wild things without such a seed.

Some liked to blame them both. Vanir and fire giant, Æsir and frost giant, form changing and true magic — who knew what mixing such things together could create?

Loki and Sigyn were not entirely sure why their children came out so uniquely. Perhaps it was due to Loki's dancing between forms. Perhaps it was a curse carried within Sigyn's spells. Perhaps it was a mix, or perhaps it was neither. They did not know, and they did not care.

Hoof and fang and paw, split faced and split souls, these were their children.

And they were beautiful.