AN: Resuming this one after a long time. So, hope it was good. I'll make the next chapter a bit bigger. And I've also edited the previous chapter and added some contractions to make the flow look better.
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[The Veilgrove Gardens, outskirts of Asgard]
The Veilgrove lay far from the noise of the city, hidden between ancient trees whose roots curved across the land like quiet guardians. A narrow stream ran through the middle, its surface reflecting the soft glow of blue and silver flowers that bloomed along the banks. The air felt cool and clean, carrying the scent of leaves and water. It was the kind of place where nothing rushed and nothing demanded attention.
I got there early and walked along the edge of the stream, taking in the quiet. The only sounds were the slow flowing of the water and the rustling branches above. Oh, there were a couple of birds too. This place reminded me of the calm I feel in my garden, but I could tell that the trees around me are far older than anything I've seen so far in Asgard.
Ah! I almost forgot to mention the reason I'm here. Since I'm leaving for Earth, Sif and I decided to go on our first official date. And I'm really excited. I wonder if she'd show up wearing her armor... Hahaha. That'd be fun. But I wouldn't mind seeing her in something simple... without her armor.
I looked down at what I was wearing and adjusted the sleeve of my shirt. I decided to go with something simple: Dark pants, a fitted black shirt, and boots.
Then I felt her presence before I saw her.
I turned toward the path, and for a moment, everything else faded.
Sif was walking slowly toward me, and I almost forgot how to breathe for a moment.
'Holy molly! She's gorgeous.' I thought.
She wore a long dress the color of deep red wine, the fabric moving gently with her as she walked. It followed the natural shape of her body. Her shoulders were bare, and her arms were free, which felt unusual after always seeing her prepared for battle. Her hair was loose, falling down her back in soft waves that caught the light from the glowing flowers around us.
She looked different.
Not in a way that made her unfamiliar, but in a way that made it harder to look away.
I let out a quiet breath and forced myself to speak. “You look… really good.”
Damn it! 'really good'? What the fuck is wrong with me? I could've said breathtaking or gorgeous or radiant... but 'really good.' Fuck!
Sif stopped a few steps in front of me, and a small smile formed on her lips. It was softer than the confident expression she usually wore. “That is a much better answer than what you said last time.”
“I’m improving.”
“You are,” she said, her eyes lingering on me for a moment. “You look different too.”
“Better or worse?”
She tilted her head slightly as she looked me over. “Better.”
That was enough for me.
I gestured toward the spot near the stream. “I figured we could sit there. It’s quiet.”
She nodded and walked beside me as we moved across the grass. The space felt different with her there, like the silence had more meaning now.
I took out the blanket from my inventory and spread it under the tree. Then I took out the basket filled with food before sitting down. She joined me, smoothing her dress as she sat across from me. The soft light from the flowers reflected in her eyes, and for a second, I found myself just watching her without thinking about anything else.
I opened the basket and started taking out the food. Fresh bread, roasted meat, fruit, and a bottle of wine. I poured the wine into two cups and handed one to her.
“Hope you like it.”
She took the cup and smiled faintly before taking a small sip. She paused for a moment before nodding. “You chose well.”
“Of course I did.”
She let out a soft laugh, and the sound stayed in the air longer than I expected.
We ate slowly and talked about small things at first. Training, the arena, the way Thor somehow turned every story into something bigger than it needed to be. It felt easy. There was no pressure, no need to think too much about what to say next.
At some point, the conversation faded on its own.
The quiet returned, but it felt comfortable.
I leaned back slightly and looked at her. She was watching the stream, her expression calm in a way I had not seen often.
Sif turned her head slightly and caught me staring. A small crease formed between her brows, though her lips hinted at a smile. “Is there something on my face?”
I blinked, then let out a short breath. “Yeah.”
Her hand lifted halfway to her cheek before pausing. “There is?”
I leaned in just a little, lowering my voice. “Yeah. It’s distracting.”
She froze for a second, then her expression softened. “That was… slightly better than ‘really good.’”
“I’m getting there,” I said, watching the way her eyes lingered on mine.
“You are,” she replied quietly.
The space between us felt smaller all of a sudden. She shifted closer, until her shoulder brushed against mine. I let myself lean into it, just enough to feel her warmth through the fabric.
Her head rested lightly against my shoulder... She smells like wine and berries.
I put my arm around her back without thinking. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she leaned in closer, resting her hand against my side.
“This is nice,” I murmured.
“It is,” she said, her voice softer than I had ever heard it.
A pair of small birds fluttered down from the branches above and landed on my legs like they had every right to be there. I chuckled under my breath and reached for the basket, breaking off a few small pieces of bread.
“Looks like we’ve got company.”
Sif lifted her head slightly, watching them with quiet curiosity. “Looks like a couple.”
“Yep,” I said while holding out my palm.
The birds hopped closer and began pecking gently at the crumbs. I grabbed a few more and held them out to her. “Here you go.” She took them, her fingers brushing mine for just a second. Then she held her hand out the same way I did.
One of the birds hopped over to her with a little chirp.
Her eyes widened just a little. “It came to me.”
“Told you. They like you.”
She smiled, and it was one of those real ones. The kind that didn’t try to hide behind anything.
We sat there feeding them in silence. At some point, our heads tilted closer without either of us noticing. Our temples brushed lightly as we both focused on the small creatures in front of us.
Her hair tickled my cheek.
I should have stayed in that moment.
But something shifted.
I felt a slight sensation at the edge of my awareness. It was subtle and easy to overlook if I wasn’t focused. Most people would probably miss it. I could even sense traces of magic. The warmth around me faded a bit as something cold touched my senses. It felt wrong. It wasn’t just cold, but invasive. It felt like something didn’t belong there.
The trees around us… they felt strained.
My Druid senses spread outward on instinct. The connection I had with the land sharpened. Roots, soil, water, small creatures moving beneath the surface. I felt all of it.
And I felt the pain.
It was faint, but it was there. The trees were resisting something. The smaller animals were restless, and some were dying deep inside the forest.
Sif shifted beside me, her body tensing slightly. “Jason?”
I didn’t respond right away.
My focus had already slipped past the present, reaching outward through the thin threads of life scattered across the forest.
Deeper in the Veilgrove, where the light barely reached the roots, a few smaller birds clung to the branches, their movements restless and uneven. One of them faltered. Its breath came sharp and strained, and a creeping cold spread along the bark beneath its claws.
I reached for that one.
My vision shifted instantly.
The world collapsed into fragments of motion and scattered light as I began to see through its eyes. The forest stretched ahead in warped angles, branches slicing across the sky in jagged lines. Something about the air felt wrong. Frost clung to leaves that should have been warm, and the ground shimmered beneath a thin layer of ice that spread like a disease.
Then something moved.
Large shapes moved between the trees. Each step pressed deep into the land, as though the forest itself struggled to bear their weight.
The bird tried to turn its head, but its strength was fading. The image trembled.
'Blue.'
That was the first detail that came into focus.
Skin like frozen stone. Breath spilling into the air in pale clouds. Their very presence drained the warmth from everything around them. The trees resisted, roots tightening, life pushing back, but it wasn’t enough.
The cold kept spreading.
The bird’s vision dimmed as its body began to fail. The last thing it saw was a massive foot descending, crushing frost into the soil as it stepped forward.
The connection was cut off.
Beside me, Sif’s hand tightened around my arm. “What is it?”
I turned my head slightly, my voice low.
“Frost Giants.”