Cassidy stood with Navire on the balcony above the training yards. Loki had arrived shortly after with Thor by his side they seemed to be idly chatting as the rest of the men stretched and prepared for their workout. Loki brandished his knives to which Thor inspected and nodded in some unknown agreement, he then lifted his hand allowing Mjolnir to race into his palm. The gust of wind ruffled Loki's clothes and hair. Cassidy sighed in a love struck manor, the man was beautiful. Navire snorted his distaste; he still felt the girl was putting too much stock into the prince. He was sure she could accomplish more than her goal by herself but she had this man in particular tagged for her own and she was not giving up on it.

"I hope this is as prudent as you say it is." He commented dryly. "I am not interested in gawking at the prince as you are."

"Oh stop it." She huffed indignantly, "You need to view what you will be up against. You may not have to fight them directly but you can learn something of their thought process by their fighting styles. Besides I know you don't want to 'gawk' at them, that part is strictly for me." Cassidy gave a piercing smile that dared him to tease her again.

The training began and Navire soon saw why the two made such a formidable pair. Loki tended to focus on defense while Thor offense. Loki would critique the technique while Thor was able to pick out specific weapons for each soldiers style. They certainly did have their own techniques and knew it, which made their own spars so intense. Each knew the other's strengths and weaknesses and knew how to take advantage which left neither with one. It was quite impressive he had to admit. He would have to practice as well if he had any chance of beating them in a fair fight. Although a fair fight was not one of his strengths.

"I've seen enough." The man said as he turned his back to the fighting. "I will be in my quarters if you need me."

"Very well," Cassidy said smiling as she continued to watch the men bellow. "I hope you learned a new trick, you old dog."

The man grumbled but left her alone on the balcony. She was a smart ass little thing, but he couldn't say she wasn't right this time.

"We could have waited!" Ashera practically yelled over the downpour

The rain was coming down in sheets. They were seated on the edge of the forest; Loki had them set up under the cover of the thick pines and had added a shield to stay dry. It was the beginning of summer in Asgard and the rains had come late. Although it was a nice change to the slight drought they had been having Ashera wished she didn't have to be practicing her fire magic while it was so wet.

"And miss my few chances per week to get out of the castle? Never!" He grinned as Ashera scowled at the droplets of water. "What's wrong, afraid to get wet?"

"No I just don't like having to practice fire magic in the rain. You do know moisture is not good for flames right?" She asked sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact I did!" He answered with just as much bravado. "But it's only going to help your magic grow stronger!" he laughed. "Unless you just fear of smelling like a wet dog?" he added teasingly.

Ashera punched his shoulder lightly but smiled as she rolled her eyes. "Very well." She said with her own grin.

Concentrating she was able to produce a small flame in her hand. She looked smugly over at him. "There you go, now let's do something else." She grinned mischievously.

Loki almost shuddered at that look.

The girl turned cupping the flame onto a few twigs and added a few branches. She soon had a fire blazing before them.

Loki nodded, "Very well. First let's take a break."

They sat in silence. The rain had let up a little but it still pattered softly overhead.

Loki looked over at Ashera who was leaning back against a tree trunk, her fingers intertwined behind her head, she visibly breathed in the surrounding scents. A gentle smile resting on her lips; she appeared so calm. It made him smile in turn. He shook his head to dissipate any thoughts on the matter. Their next objective would need a clear mind. He did not need anything to interfere. After a few more moments when he had prepared himself, Loki cleared his throat to relay their continuation. As expected Ashera sat up and met him with a smile.

"Now," Loki tried to keep his mind calm, "Let us meditate. I will reach out to you. You just focus on sensing me." He instructed.

Ashera nodded her agreement. She sat on her knees before him and closed her eyes taking in a deep breath. She let it out slowly trying to concentrate on opening up her aura.

"Relax" Loki coaxed, "you are still too stiff. This is more about intuition than force. You just have to feel it." He tried to explain.

The girl grimaced and opened her eyes. "Loki, I'm not sure…"

"Right," He stated cutting her off, "Maybe we can try a different tactic." He looked into her emerald eyes, the fires reflection making them glow, and said "You must use your instinct, try changing first."

Nodding in agreement Ashera took a breath and began a slow transformation. It was painless at this point no matter the speed but she still took her time trying to stay relaxed. Her hands turned to paws, her ears pointed and her tail flipped against the ground. White fur covered her body as her joints and spine found their new positions. A slight gasp escaped the prince in front of her but she ignored it. She was becoming one with her surroundings; letting her instincts take control. She could hear the river flowing nearly a mile away, the splash of the water over rock. She could feel the rain hitting the sodden earth just beyond them. She could feel the fire crackle in front of her. She could sense Loki sitting close, his breath warm in the damp air. She could feel his very being. It was warm and golden. Honey and citrus, firelight and parchment; she longed to be a part of it. She needed to be a part of it. She felt a barrier crumble within her as she pushed her aura out. It greedily consumed its surroundings.

Loki sat in front of Ashera letting his aura surround them both. He hoped his suggestion wasn't too rash. Just as the thought left him she began her change. Slow and beautifully strange to witness, a small sound escaped him, something between wonder and surprise.

She now laid, belly on the ground, head on her paws, eyes closed and ears twitching. He could not help but be overcome by her beauty. The giant creature before him was so powerful yet gentle. He knew better than anyone. He had been training her in this form for some time now. He took a deep breath to steady his own emotions. He felt something push a bit at his aura. He loosened it sensing it was Ashera. It was hard to miss after being so close for so long, but it still surprised him that she had broken her barrier so easily all of a sudden. It was a misty rustic feeling; something akin to a river flowing through a pine forest, a hint of wood smoke and snowfall. That was what he felt and it soothed him. There was a need to be connected arising. The power he felt wash over him was unbelievable. Closing his eyes he allowed it to surround him. She was finally using her aura to its full potential. He could feel their powers mingle as if they were meant to be one the entire time. Perhaps it had been their proximity for so long, perhaps their magic was more similar than he had originally thought, either way they seemed to merge easily. There was a brief moment where he felt paws where his hands should be and the twitch of her tail could be confused for his. She had done it. They had done it. They were connected.

"Good." Loki said. "Now let's narrow it together. Stay concentrating and reduce the auras as one."

Ashera felt the wild nature of the combined auras and subdued them slightly to shrink them down. She suddenly realized that she was able to control a portion of Loki's aura now that they were merged. This was what he had meant all along. This is why trust was so important. For telepathy you needed to allow another person control of your own aura. Giving up control of anything for most people was a difficult task. He clearly had the same control over her portion as well. This realization sent a small shockwave across their connection.

Loki audibly gasped at the output of power but reigned in the extra force making their newly formed bond even stronger.

"Keep us connected in front of you, reduce the rest, feel my power and follow my lead." Loki's voice was calm and commanding. "Good," he stated, still calm. "Now do you feel the aura field in front of you? Our auras are one."

She could feel him talking, the reverberation of his voice, and the movement of his lips. She could sense their mingled auras in a mass in front of her.

Loki smiled, they were nearly done. Once they had established an anchor point they would be able to stay connected whenever they needed to. The thought had his stomach knot slightly in nervousness.

"Now," Loki said softly, "This will be more difficult. I need you to be open and honest." He swallowed the lump in his throat before continuing. He wanted this to work, but he was hesitant. He could not fathom why. This was what they had wanted, a telepathic connection. He hadn't realized giving a small part of his aura would feel so important, so intimate. What if she felt the same and refused?

"We need to hold on to this combined form of our auras." He paused again feeling Ashera react to his nervous nature. "In order to continue to have access to each other's minds we need to give up a portion of our own aura. This will act as an anchor to one another. You can recognize your own aura easily and it will always be yours so once someone else holds it they have access to you, even across realms."

Ashera shook her wolf head a moment, reorganizing her thoughts. This was complicated but felt very easy; after all it was what they had worked so hard on. She knew he was giving her a choice but she was not worried for herself. She could not deny she trusted him, heck she could not deny she had grown fond of the man. Clearly this would help her learn more, and he was also willing to take this risk with her. Her only concern was Loki feeling consequences from it. She was after all far inferior to a god. She was sure Loki could feel her disarray but the connection held and he said nothing of it.

He continued on, "This type of magical connection, as I have mentioned before, is difficult and requires trust, which is why we need to be sure. I will not be granted full access to your mind and you can still use barriers against me. This will be a pull that you feel when a connection is attempted. If you ignore it the other will not have access; but I will warn you, the pull is difficult to ignore. It is your own aura trying to reach you again."

"Can this be reversed?" Ashera questioned. Weather she had meant for him to hear or not the question came through.

Loki's heart throbbed at the question. It solidified the fact she might one day leave him. To his own surprise, even having known this arrangement was not permanent; it still hurt to think about it. He shielded Ashera from the feelings, knowing he might panic her if she could feel the full effect through their connection.

"Yes, there are ways." He hesitated, "But it is more difficult after longer periods of time. Once an aura is accepted it becomes a part of your own. Although the original aura will always recognize its parts and be drawn to them, the longer it is allowed to continue the bond with a new host, the more difficult it is to reverse the process."

He could feel Ashera ponder the information. He prepared himself for the worst but waited patiently for her response.

He felt her resolve through the connection and looked into her stern green eyes. In wolf form surrounded by white fur they stood out tenfold. They were determined and although she now knew the full risks she was still going to go through with it.

His heart raced faster as she moved directly in front of him. She reached out a paw and he automatically took it as it was offered. He heard her through his mind, "I am ready if you are. Let's finish what we started, together. I trust you."

"Thank you," he stated softly knowing she could never understand. She was accepting him for all he was, and being trusted by such an exceptional woman; it was all he could ask for.

"Very well," He smiled. Together they formed the anchor points within and slowly unwound their auras. Once the main link was broken they both sat and took a few deep breaths the hard part was over.

"Now I will reach out to you," Loki stated, "Just answer the pull you feel by reaching out to me with the anchor." He accessed her aura now residing within his own. Gently he nudged the line feeling it reverberate over their short distance. He soon felt his own aura reconnect and hold entwining itself with Ashera's.

"Now, say something," she couldn't tell if he had actually spoken it felt so real.

"Can you hear me?"

The thought flowed easily across their link. Loki laughed out loud and broke their connection. "YES!" He yelled, "That was brilliant!" Ashera jumped up excitedly letting her tongue hang out giving a few yips of triumph. Loki ruffled her fur as he continued his praise. "Wonderful!" He shouted.

Ashera, now more excited, changed to human form. "We did it!" She joined in his celebration throwing her arms around his neck. The man proceeded to pick her up from the ground and spin them in a circle. They both continued to laugh as he set her back down on her feet beneath the trees. Leaning in, he barely stopped himself from going further. Quickly he retreated a few steps back clearing his throat uncomfortably and clasping his hands behind his back.

"Right then!" He said trying to get back to business, "We will work on this daily; the more we communicate the better it will be." He smiled over at the girl who he could swear for a split second almost looked disappointed.