'Mother, please don't give her that, she'll never settle.' Clodagh pleaded as Lydia gave Taragh another bit of frosting from her cake, the now-retired queen never was a fan of overly sweet foods.

'Nana is the best.' Taragh beamed at her mother.

'What about Grandma?' Lydia asked.

'I am too spoiled.' Taragh admitted almost downtrodden, causing them to laugh. 'Cause I have Grandpa and Granddad too.'

'And Mommy and Daddy.' Sika stated with Mya on his lap, who had been telling him about her beginning school as was the norm at her age on Asgard. 'And you are lucky, not spoiled.'

'It shouldn't be lucky to have a nice family.' Taragh argued.

'No, but that is how it is.' Her father shrugged.

'LOKI!'

'Oh Norns, what does he want?' Loki rolled his eyes at his brother's bellow. When Thor stormed into the room gingerly holding a hedgehog in his hands, he glared at his brother. 'Yes, Thor?'

'Get it reversed.' He ordered, putting the hedgehog on the table.

'Get what reversed?' Loki asked, looking at the animal. 'Why have you brought a random animal into the palace?'

'It is not some random animal, it is Modi.'

'Thor, your son is a blonde yay-high boy, not a hedgehog.' Loki's hand was to where Modi was approximately in height.

'Conor turned Modi into a hedgehog.'

Loki looked at the door where his son was looking at them, unable to take a grin off his face, as hard as he tried. 'Conor, come here.' The boy entered the room. 'Is that Modi?' he indicated to the hedgehog, who was grooming itself in the table.

'Nope.' He shook his head, his black hair going wildly side to side as he did.

'Why do you seem so pleased with yourself?' Loki asked suspiciously. 'Darling?'

Clodagh moved forward to the animal, who ceased grooming it's leg and looked up at her. 'It's not Modi.'

'It is.' Thor argued.

'Thor, this is not your son.' Clodagh stated factually.

'I saw him turn Modi into this thing.' Thor stated firmly.

Clodagh looked at Loki. 'How easy is it to change a gender?'

'What?'

'Is it easy to change a creature's gender?' She repeated.

'Norn's I thought it a stretch to suggest Conor changed his species at this age but gender, no, it is not possible.' Frigga answered.

'Then this is not Modi unless he has female organs.' She pointed to the hedgehog's genitalia, 'it's a female.'

Thor frowned and looked at the creature for a moment before turning to look at a beaming Conor. 'Then where is my son?'

'Conor, where is Modi?' Clodagh asked her son.

Loki waved his hand and a green flash of his seidr emitted it's glow, taking a moment to sense everything, Loki paused and stared at his son. 'Oh, you clever little boy.' He grinned.

'Loki?' Thor looked at his brother worried.

'Conor did use seidr on Modi, yes, there is no denying that.' Loki conceded.

'So he lied?' Thor looked at his nephew angrily.

'No, you asked me if I turned him into a hedgehog and I didn't, so that's not a lie.' Conor pointed out.

'Do not get into semantics, you used seidr on your cousin.' Thor growled.

'No, we will get into the semantics of it. If you asked specifically if Conor did that and he answered he didn't, he didn't lie.' Loki countered. 'Conor, remove your spell.' Conor did as requested and Modi appeared, grinning next to his father. 'He put an invisibility spell on him, nothing more.'

'And going by the grins they both have, it was a plan to have you see them.' Frigga eyed her grandsons.

'You were played; by two children,' Loki erupted in laughter. Thor glared at him angrily, but could not say anything. The added laughter of the other adults caused him to remain silent.

'You cheeky pair of troublemakers.' Sika chuckled. Conor rushed over to his grandfather, sitting on his lap next to Mya.

'Boys will be boys.' Odin added.

'Boys will be...when we were kids you were on us about everything, you threatened to have me sent to Jotunheim once.' Thor stated in shock.

'You were pulling a young girl's hair and being mean to her, that is different, the boys here played a harmless joke, no one was harmed, though that animal looks somewhat confused by the situation.' Odin looked at the hedgehog who was after turning right side up again and was nibbling food that Clodagh was feeding it. Taragh went to her mother and helped feed it.

'You haven't seen your ravens today, have you dear?' Frigga smiled.

'I assume they are awaiting Clodagh to return to her rooms later.' Odin stated dismissively.

'I have not seen them in a day.' Clodagh informed him.

The retired Aesir ruler frowned at her. 'Where are my birds?'

'Huginn and Muninn are in our room,' Conor declared proudly. 'They made nests there and everything, but they are made of blankets, not real nests.'

'Why are the ravens there?' Thor asked.

'I don't know, we left the window open but they don't see to want to go anywhere. Mommy said to leave them to do what they want, you can't force them. They like to get scratches and they play with our hair.'

'Well, I cannot say I am surprised.' Sika chuckled, looking proudly at his daughter, who gave him a smile back.

In the time since his admission to her, he was eternally grateful for her giving him a chance to show her how grateful he was. The birth of two grandchildren had made him elated, but when she insisted on him being an active part of their lives, he openly wept, declaring he felt unworthy of such an honour, since he had not been there for her, but she insisted. With another on the way, he felt all the more overjoyed.

'How are you feeling?' Clodagh turned to look at her husband.

'Like I just pushed a half-elven, half Aesir baby out of my body.' She smiled, holding their newest daughter in her arms.

'Well, girls are ahead now, poor Conor and Aidan.' Loki looked at his daughter, small and fragile, sleeping in her mother's arms.

'So what, an even six?' She smiled knowingly.

'Well, five is a terribly awkward number. It's good to outnumber Thor's lot three to one.'

'Kaitlyn is carrying.'

'Well, we definitely have to have another, two to one is a minimum requirement, right Aoife?' He rubbed their daughter's hand.

'You really do want your army.' Clodagh joked.

'Loki's army, it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?'

'With nieces and nephews too.'

'All are welcome, Darling.' He winked.