Hi, all!

I FINALLY saw the Avengers, which led me to watch the other Marvel-Avengers movies again… Loved Thor, and re-watching the movie led me to re-read some of the old comics. Stumbled across the Thor: Son of Asgard miniseries comic they ran in 2004 (I think) and luuuurved them—Thor et al in the Asgardian version of high school? Yes please!

So don't worry, no spoilers for Avengers here, but thought it might be helpful to see how the heck I got into Avengers territory instead my usual X-Men. Or GI Joe. Geeez, I'm a nerd.

And, of course, because I love the strong female character types (if ya hadn't noticed), partic in the teenage/high school age (so much built in drama!), and in keeping with what is presented in Thor: SoA, this will be Thor/Sif, largely focused on Sif, and Loki (but not Sif/Loki), but with Thor and Balder and Odin and the rest coming to play too.

Anyway this is a plot bunny that's been nibbling at my brain since reading the SoA comics. I was thinking about what sorts of things young women have to be taught and warned about when it comes to schooling and teacher-student relationships. It occurred to me that Sif, as the only girl, might not have received that instruction. And weirdly, the day I was thinking that, came a terrible story in the paper about a TKD instructor who abused his position with two of his female students over several years, proving my point: if someone doesn't talk to young people about how to prevent abuse, they do not necessarily have the tools and skills to spot it on their own. We're naturally trusting when we're young; it's how the young (of either gender) are. Unfortunately we can't afford to be so for ever.

Since probably not everyone has read them there WILL be spoilers for that miniseries (a run of 12 issues) so you all understand what the heck is going on. I'll write those in-story as much as possible but where necessary will add an Author's Note at the top of the chapter. Like in this one. : )

Anyway the bunnies are chomping away, so here we go!

(And don't worry, I'm working on GIJOE and X-Men:E stories too!)

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So! For those of you who have not read the Son of Asgard series, or are unfamiliar with non-movie-Thor… Here are the elements of canon (from SoA) I'm using. Some of them, anyway.

Thor, Balder, and Sif are best friends.

Heimdall is Sif's older brother.

Loki Laufeyson is known to be an adopted foster-brother of Thor Odinson, and paradoxically is openly hateful towards Thor and his friends while at the same time being utterly loving and loyal to Odin and Asgard. He's also the only male in the school of sorcerers, and catches some flak for not being a warrior like the other guys… Yeah, he's got issues.

Thor knows he's deceitful but still loves him, Balder sees good in him, however deeply buried; Sif is distrustful and suspicious of him, with good reason. Loki hates Sif, too, come to think of it, for perceived slights, but Loki like everyone else thinks Balder is OK. Well, he hates Balder for being everything he's not and for being Thor's friend, but isn't openly antagonistic towards him.

Balder is loved by pretty much…everyone, and sees the best in everyone in return. He's not naive, it's just how he is.

Sif was the first maiden ever admitted to the warriors' school. She has a rivalry with the beautiful Amora (enchantress classmate of Loki's) for Thor's affections.

Brunnhilda is the second maiden admitted to the warriors' school, and agrees that Amora is a bitch and Loki is not to be trusted. She's pretty much Sif's only female friend.

Frigga is Thor's mother.

Odin is Thor's father, the Allfather, King, Lord of Asgard. (Hopefully you knew that one already.)

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That Dread Touch

by Alara

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THE STORY BEGINS…

The kingdom of Asgard, home of the mighty Norse gods, setting for many marvelous tales of heroism, valor, and victory….

This tale is set when Lord Odin, called the Allfather, was king of Asgard; he was aided in this by Frigga, his noble wife.

His pride (and sometimes head-shaking aggravation) were his sons, Thor and Loki; Thor the true son, golden-haired and broad-shouldered, and Loki Laufeyson, an adopted foster-son, dark and sinewy and sly. Thor was aimed for excellence in the warriors' school, while Loki shocked Asgard by showing an aptitude for spellcraft (formerly generally the realm of women alone), and was enrolled in the school of sorcery.

Times were changing for Asgard, however; on the heels of young Loki's assertion that he would be a sorcerer, little Thor's friend Sif declared that she was no meek shrinking maid, but warrior born, and insisted she be permitted to try for a place in the warriors' school when she was of an age to begin.

This caused an even bigger uproar than Loki's preference, for while there were records—few and far between—of men who were exclusively workers of magic, there were no records of an Asgardian woman taking up arms as her life's work. In sudden needed defense of her home, betimes, yes; as a lifelong pursuit of the arts of war, no.

Sif's parents, tutors, the townsfolk, all objected strenuously. However, when it was noted that Odin and Frigga remained silent and thoughtful on the subject, much of the talk was quieted; in that ensuing quiet Sif's brother Heimdall, whose senses were keenest in Asgard, offered up an observation: There was no rule against women entering the warriors' enclave. It was simply that no woman ever had, either by lack of interest or aptitude. "But my sister possesses both interest and aptitude, and should be allowed the same chance at entry as any other her age," he opined.

And while one or two of the instructors at the school did not think much of a female wishing to pursue the warrior's life, neither could they deny her the honest right to try.

And when the time came, try her they did, perhaps a little harder than the boys competing for places n the school alongside her. The young girl set her jaw determinedly and worked harder, until even the most chauvinistic had to agree she had won a place in the school fairly—and may she bring her teachers honor as she grew in her skill!

So it was that Lady Sif entered the warriors' enclave with her great friends, the prince Thor and quiet, kind Balder, and spent many happy years growing in understanding and knowledge. In the meantime, Loki spent much of his time on the fringes of this happy threesome, jealous of their closeness and openness, yet never able to resist playing tricks (oftentimes very nasty ones) on the friends, especially his brother and Sif.

And as they grew, when some inevitably tried to dismiss Sif as a warrior because of her sex, it was always a race to see who would defend her right to be there: the lady herself, or one or the other of her friends.

And the three friends grew from small children to bigger children to adolescents to that strange stage where one is no longer quite adolescent, but not quite a young adult; and it was during this time that Lord Odin became aware of how closely-knit this trio of friends was, and how their strengths shored up each other's weaknesses.

He sent them on a great quest, to collect the components for the first new magic weapon forged in an age. During this quest, the seeds for a very different relationship between Thor and Sif were sown. This was aided inadvertently by Loki, who had been following along trying to create serious trouble so that they might fail in their quest—and even better, fail in their friendship of one another. Loki it was, however, who helped them, when he realized that not just the quest, but the very fate of Asgard (and his beloved foster father Odin) were at stake—for the evil Karnilla, queen of the Norns, plotted Asgard's ruin.

Karnilla was defeated, but first managed to kill Thor in front of his father and friends. This terrible end was reversed, however, through the prescience of Odin. He set the stage for Thor's revival at the touch of Sif's tears of love, should the young lady love his son so. And she did love him so, and wept tears of barely-realized love over Thor's body, and because of Odin's swift preparations, Thor was restored to life (and was bewildered to find all staring at him in amazement).

Karnilla then threatened Loki's life, but was defeated by Balder's endless compassion and kindness. She vanished, vowing her return.

Following this set of adventures, the three friends returned to their school, but of course things were now different. Sif was aware of herself as a young woman for really the first time, and came to understand how lonely a life she might lead, as a lone woman-warrior amongst men.

But when things became truly bleak, Brunnhilda of the Valkyries came into the school—another female warrior, her own age! After a brief bad beginning, borne of mutual jealousy of each other's skills and status, they found themselves perforce becoming friends. None of the women in the sorcery school would have much to do with them, unnatural females that they were, so they looked to each other for feminine companionship. Sif eased Brunnhilda's way into the ranks of the warriors-in-training she'd known her whole life; Brunnhilda opened Sif's eyes to the ways a person could be both woman and warrior, which she'd learned from her sister-Valkyries.

But new friend aside, Sif remained steadfast close friends with Thor and Balder—and rather something more than friends with Thor. This last, of course, everybody realized long before except Thor, Sif, and the girls who were after Thor.

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Chapter 1

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Though it has been a long while since Queen Karnilla was last sighted, Asgard remains on alert against her causing them any more grief. The city is finally completing the last repairs necessary from the last battle, and are not eager to begin anew.

The buzz in the air at the warriors' school was not about the newly-finished courtyard, however, but a rumor that the great warrior Maldunn was to come to teach for a time at their school.

"I hear he's absolutely a master at staff, pike, and double-bladed pike!" Ashur exclaimed, his brown eyes wide.

"Sif had better watch out," another student grinned, nudging her shoulder companionably. "Maldunn thinks women are only good for singing songs and casting spells and tending babies."

"Our Sif will show him differently!" came Thor's voice, and Sif smiled at him. "Just wait and see."

"What, you're not going to let her steal your honor, are you, Thor?" came the obnoxious voice of Bennu, one of those who openly despised having any female counted among the warriors' ranks.

But Thor didn't allow himself to be baited, and shrugged easily. "If he chooses to challenge her merely because she is female, he deserves to be astonished. After all, wasn't it you she defeated in five—no, four—strokes during staff work last term?"

Chuckles rose at this reminder, and Bennu backed down: she had beaten him in a handful of moves, and everyone had witnessed it. Thor smirked, and moved closer to Sif.

"You're getting better at controlling your temper," Sif said to him quietly.

He smiled at her. "Well, you and Balder are right: my tendency to let whatever I think come out of my mouth will get me in trouble sooner rather than later. And what better time to practice than now?"

Her eyebrows rose. "Well! My lord Thor! You are getting wise in your old age—"

Balder dropped into their conversation, draping an arm around each of his friends' necks. "Oh, Sif, he's only grown wise enough to listen to the counsel of his best friends. Let's not give him too much credit…" Bantering, the friends headed off to lunch.

One instructor, overhearing the conversation, said, concerned, "I hadn't considered that we have Sif and Brunnhilda—young women— in our group. I've heard the rumors, but—Maldunn isn't that bad, is he?"

"Well… from what I hear, it's actually that he thinks women are only good for one thing." The other returned pointedly. "So much so, that Lord Odin has forbade him even speaking to any of the ladies at court. Rumor also has it that this was at Maldunn's own request, so… In any case, I don't think there's anything to worry about. He won't even think of Sif as a young woman after he sees how she fights," he stated confidently, "She's a natural. And we know her well, and this—difficulty—only just occurred to us, eh? As for Brunnhilda, she was raised by the Valkyries, and I do believe Maldunn considers them as another species; he'd never think of a Valkyrie girl as a girl! More to the point, they certainly don't stint educating their girls on the hazards we beastly men can pose. "

"And Sif—?"

"Aren't she and Brunnhilda good friends? Surely Brunnhilda discussed these things with her sword-sister."

"Yes, surely. Or Sif's mother did."

"Certainly." There was a pause; a sigh. "One of us is going to have to have this discussion with Sif, aren't we?"

An answering sigh. "Pretty soon; she's getting to the age where she will have to start thinking about idiot boys driven even more stupid with desire, especially as she moves more in Court circles."

"An unforeseen consequence of accepting a maiden into the warriors' ranks, I suppose."

"Well, we'll know better for the next one, and no harm done, after all?"

"None—but we'd better discuss a way to discreetly have this talk with her…"

"Right. How about we…"

The instructors walked off, unknowingly watched—and overheard—by Loki, whose interest was piqued at what he'd heard. How he hated Sif, who rebelled against everything a female should be, and was rewarded for it! Unlike himself, who was merely himself, which happened to be the opposite of what a boy was supposed to embody, and who was reviled for being himself. That hated Sif, with her smooth skin and long hair, who held the attention of his blasted hated-and-loved brother, and the friendship of the oh-so-likable Balder.

He'd been trying to figure a way to bring her idyll crashing down upon her, and this Maldunn might just be the answer…

First, however, he needed to speak with the beautiful Amora, who fancied herself in love with Thor, and so held a hatred for Sif nearly the equal of his own in its strength.

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So… what do you all think so far? This story will explore somewhat similar themes as some of my others do, but with some hopefully unexpected twists & turns, exploration of different aspects, etc.

Reviews and comments welcome!