Loke led Astien and Marius into his and Hjulmir's quarters, where in a decorated crib lay a baby. "He's so precious." Astien cooed.
Loke picked up the baby and proudly held him before the two men. "My first son with Hjulmir. His name is Marius."
"I wanna learn too!" Delas interrupted.
"Then you too will learn!" Hjulmir said. "Now, what weapon would you like to receive training in?"
"I wanna learn spears!" Delas said excitedly.
Marius chuckled. "It's a good, strong name. He looks like a tough little guy."
Cormac smiled.
"Oh, um, I need to pee. I'll be right back." Astien left the room.
"So, Marius is it? Are you the father? Or, do you know him?" Loke asked.
"And what about you? What do you want to learn, boy? Battleaxes, greatswords, sword and shield?" Hjulmir asked Cormac.
"A no, I'm not the father. I met Astien not too long ago. He said he's pregnant from another man who left him as soon as Astien told him he was pregnant. They were really close before that apparently."
"Sword and shield is what I had in mind," Cormac said.
"Astien never told me of any lover. What has he told you of him?"
"Then I think Aralith would be the best teacher for you." He turned to Delas. "Come, let's find someone who can teach you the ways of the spear." Delas and Hjulmir walked off as Aralith stepped forward.
"Then I suppose we'd better get started, boy." The woman said.
"They used to look up at the start and work together. And he wasn't all that romantic either."
Cormac nodded. "As you wish."
Loke's eyes narrowed. "What was that about the stars?"
Aralith led Cormac to a field. "First, let me see what you've got. Down to your pants, boy. I'll do the same." Aralith removed her armor and the clothes beneath it until she wore nothing but her pants. Her body was very muscular, and her breasts were bound against her chest. "Now come at me. Knock me off my feet."
"That they'd look up at them every night," Marius said. "Is something wrong with that?"
Cormac nodded and stripped. He took a deep breath and charged at Aralith.
A look of pure, indescribable rage came over Loke's face as he whispered, hissed in a low voice, more threatening and loud than any screaming: "That's MY story."
Aralith caught Cormac in his charge and tossed him to the side almost effortlessly. "You attack me directly and head on. A larger man like my husband might be able to do that, but you and I are small. We use our size to our advantage."
"What?" Marius muttered. He looked to Loke's face then to the ground. his brows furrowed as he thought back to previous conversations with Astien. "Excuse me." He left the room and made his way to the bathroom where he stood and waited for Astien to come out.
Cormac nodded and got back up.
Loke put his son back in his crib and followed Marius. He waited with him, and Astien was startled when he exited the bathroom. "Goodness! You two scared me half to death!" He became nervous when he noticed the looks on their faces. "Uhh, what's wrong?"
"That's my story you stole! That's the story of how Hjulmir and I fell in love!" Loke raged. "And you stole it! Stole it like so much nothing!"
"Is this true Astien? Have you been lying to me all this time?" Marius asked. "Just who is Aiden's biological father? He must be a real piece of work if you went through all this trouble." He scratched at his chin.
Cormac circled around and ran charged again. When he got close he dropped down and swept his legs out.
Astien froze. He hadn't prepared for this. He didn't know what to say. Aiden began to move and kick furiously. "Astien, I've been a fugitive for centuries. I know how to hide. You're hiding something. What is it? What are you hiding, Astien?"
Aralith rolled to the side, dodging Cormac's attack and came up behind him, pushing him to the ground. "Too direct. Part of using your size to your advantage is being able to maneuver around your opponent quickly, and strike them where they aren't looking." She helped Cormac to his feet. "Enough of this. Now lets move on to something else. Follow me."
"Yes, Astien, what are you hiding?" Marius asked.
Cormac nodded and followed Aralith.
Astien's eyes darted back and forth between the two men. He clutched his belly protectively. Perhaps sensing that his mother was feeling threatened, Aiden kicked harder and harder. "What are you hiding, Astien?" Loke asked again, voice low and menacing.
Aralith brought Cormac to a training yard. She pointed to a dummy. "Knock it down." She commanded. Unbeknownst to poor Cormac, it was heavily weighted, and anyone would have trouble simply knocking it down.
Marius' eyes narrowed as he waited for an answer.
Cormac nodded and looked the dummy over. He ran at it and tried to knock it out at the foundation.
Astien simply couldn't think of anything to say. He burst into tears. "There is no father. He's not even human." He fell to his knees and cried, clutching his belly as Aiden moved. Loke shook his hea and walked back to his room to check on his son.
The dummy gave a bit, but ultimately refused to fall over. "This one here was a test in brute strength. Many rookies don't knock it down their first time. In fact, none do." He handed Cormac a dull sword and small shield, and took a stance. "Now let's see what form you have."
Marius moved his mouth to say something, but he couldn't manage to say anything. He looked at Astien before turning around and walking away.
Cormac took an awkward stance with the sword and shield. "How's this?"
Astien feebly reached out to Marius, but his hand fell back to his belly as he watched him walk away, and he sobbed harder.
"That's no good. There are at lest six ways I could knock you off your feet, three ways I could disarm you, and three openings I could exploit to outright kill you. Stand like this." She moved to stand next to Cormac, and demonstrated her stance.
Marius went to a nearby park and sat on a bench.
Cormac copied her stance. "Like this?"