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Step One: everyone has to eat
During the first night Loptr spends at the palace Thor comes to realize that no matter how confrontational and mistrusting the feral jǫtunn may be, there are ways to approach him. Well, there is one at least. Everyone has to eat and so Thor makes sure to cautiously walk up to his pet and bring him the food and water the squire had fetched together with the nourishment for Thor and his friends.
True, Loptr growls and hisses at him, but he does not attack or swipe at his master. He watches Thor stop close to him and set down the two bowls. Making sure to refrain from reaching out to the tightly wound jǫtunn, he retreats a short distance and crouches down. Thor glances at his pet from the corner of his eyes. Only when he stays where he is without showing any sign of moving closer again, does Loptr reach out to the bowls and tugs them closer. The ice giant slowly starts eating, ever watchful.
When he has finished his meal, the jǫtunn pet pushes the bowls away from him and returns to fully watching Thor, with an occasional glance at the fire pit where Fandral, Hogun and Sif are preparing their own food and making merry. Loptr settles down against the pole he is tied to and after some time he starts to comb his fingers through his hair, untangling it where his previous struggling had disheveled the tresses.
Thor watches some more and only when Sif calls for him does he get up and return to his friends. He sits down next to Fandral and accepts the plate of roasted meat and bread. A mug of mead follows.
“So, how did the feeding go?” Sif takes a hefty bite from her slice of bread. “Did you get him to eat?”
“Aye, he settled down and ate his food and drank his water. He is still stressed when being approached but he calms fast enough to get nourishment and rest.” The meat is well seasoned and hot from the fire it has been roasted over. “It will be a great challenge to make him accustomed to my presence.”
“Once he’s tamed he might be of use durings hunts or at battles.” Fandral takes a long sip from his own mug of mead.
“Hmm.” They continue eating and talking about today’s training. There are only three more weeks before the eliminations start in the outer regions and Thor and his friends are comparing the information that they had gathered on new and upcoming competitors. There are quite a number of newcomers this year and everyone is eager to steal the title from the crown prince of Ásgarðr. Thor wants to know as much as possible about who he is going to face in the tournament to be prepared properly.
Step Two: create a safe haven
The cautious supply of food and drink is repeated in the morning and Thor makes sure to leave his pet be the rest of the time. Around midday he notices that the jǫtunn has created a sort of denn. The grass is flattened where Loptr has been resting during the night and from somewhere he seems to have acquired a blanket that allows him to curl into it.
With wide eyes the jǫtunn watches the sparring in the training ring and the less attention he receives the calmer he seems to get. His attention seems to primarily focus and Sif and the Warriors Three. The pet has apparently figured out that it would be of use to keep an eye on the Æsir that will be around him. It almost looks like he is assessing the strengths and weaknesses of every one of them.
Thor makes sure to be the one to deliver the food and the drink. He wants to make sure that his pet associates positive things with him. In the afternoon he decides to stop his own sparring and wrestling to help with instructing the young boys that start their training as warriors. He enjoys teaching the basics and encouraging young boys.
He is demonstrating the right way to take down a larger opponent with your bare hands, when movement to the side of the training ring catches his eyes and he turns his head to find Loptr play wrestling with a small pup. The canine looks to be some kind of mutt that is at least half wolf. Its large paws have the pup trip and fall on its snout.
The jǫtunn seems amused by this and tickles the little animal, making it wriggle with joy. It takes Thor a couple of seconds to realize what exactly it is that has him stare transfixed at the display. Never before has he seen the ice giant look anything but harassed and defensive. The smile that plays around his lips and the playful behaviour are very much at odds with what he has seen of his pet so far.
It is this focus on the pet and the pup that has Thor unprepared for the sneak attack of his friends who have joined forces and try to wrestle him to the ground. The students have stopped their practice and are watching their prince being ambushed.
“You have no honour!” With a loud shout he tackles Fandral to the ground and reaches for Volstagg to throw him. His attempt is thwarted by Hogun and Sif who are holding him by one arm each, trying to drag him back from the other two warriors.
With a loud and booming laugh he pulls hard and has his two friends stumble forward, crashing into his shoulders. From the corner of his eye Thor catches sight of the jǫtunn who is curiously watching the wrestling, his posture relaxed.
Step Three: Avoid entrapping or crowding in
After two weeks of sleeping outside and feeding the jǫtunn three times a day, Thor is finally able to approach his new pet without causing Loptr to hiss and growl threateningly. Only yesterday evening he even managed to sit down three steps away from him and watch him eat. The little half-wolf pup that the ice giant likes to play with has become a permanent fixture and spends day and night with the jǫtunn.
Thor stops cleaning the blades he had been practicing with and looks over to his pet. Loptr is playing with the wolf-pup when it suddenly chases a bird to the practicing ring. Distraught the jǫtunn jumps up and through the fence. “Fenrir!”
The shout surprises him in more than one aspect. First of all, Loptr avoids calling attention to himself at any means possible. He doesn’t leave his safe haven that is his denn for anything but to relieve himself in the bushes.
The second surprise is that apparently he possesses at least rudimentary knowledge of the tongue of Ásgarðr. It seems to be good enough to have him name the pup and call him without even the slightest accent. He likes the lilting sound of the jǫtunn’s voice. It has him wonder if it would be a good idea to have Loptr taught to speak and read just to have him read to Thor from the Book of Songs.
His thoughts are interrupted when shouting starts as the training warriors start to chase the pup and consequently crowd the jǫtunn back towards the fence. With a jerk of his head towards the commotion, he takes off. “Halt your shouting!”
Together with the Warrior Three and Sif he herds the warriors away from the whining pup that hones in on its companion and races over to Loptr, who eagerly scoops the little wolf-hound up and holds it close. With a last distrustful look at the watching warriors, the jǫtunn climbs back through the fence and settles down in his denn, back to the spectators.
Thor calls it a win when he is able to pass by one hour later, close to the nest of grass and blanket, without getting a reaction. It seems like finally his pet is getting used to him. For the rest of the afternoon and in the evening he makes sure to keep more distance than the last couple of days. He gathers his pet might need some time to settle down after the stress earlier that day.
The next day he sits down again and watches him eat, feeding scraps of the meat to the pup, and when Thor calls him by his name, Loptr actually reacts by looking at him, cocking his head as if waiting for further instructions or comments. Teaching the jǫtunn pet to speak and read Ásgarðr tongue seems ever more plausible.
Step Four: Train to recognise signals and triggers
Thor has been living around the training grounds for a month now. The Warriors Three and Sif enjoy the long stay outside and it appeals to them much more than banquets, for it reminds them of long hunting trips they went on together in the past. for three days now, Thor has unleashed the jǫtunn pet for a couple of hours, allowing him more movement. So far Loptr hasn’t really ventured very far away from his denn.
One of the dog trainers who comes by from time to time to get Fenrir to train with his litter mates has told Thor about getting a pet accustomed to certain signals and triggers to tame and train them. They will associate them with positive emotions. It will help with make the pet trust his master faster.
For the last couple of days, before unleashing Loptr, Thor has called Loptr by his name and gave his head a short and soft pat. The first time he had touched him, the jǫtunn had tensed up and glared at him, but with every repeat action, the reaction had gotten less defensive and now he seemed accepting of the action. The last time he had seemed almost eager, because he knows that it means that Thor will let him wander around freely for some time.
Sif had warned him that he should be careful with unleashing Loptr, that he was still too feral to be allowed such liberties, but so far nothing had proven the jǫtunn to be untrustworthy and he even allowed Thor to put the leash on again. This might actually be due to the presence of the other warriors around. His pet is not unintelligent. He knows that there is no way to fight him and with his magic sealed away, there is nothing he can do to aid any escape attempt.
“Loptr.” Thor tries for more touching and scratches behind the horns, which has the jǫtunn trying to swallow a soft purr. He fights the smile that threatens to break out at the sound, when red eyes flick up to him, daring him to comment the reaction to the petting.
With as blank a face as he manages he reaches for the latch of the leash and lets the jǫtunn go for his daily time of freedom. Thor takes a step back and his pet keeps an eye on him as he slinks past and moves further away from the camp of warriors to play with the pup. It is remarkable to see how changed the jǫtunn is already. The first time Thor saw Loptr he had been badly wounded, feral and fighting for his life.
To see his pet now, healthy and at least most of the time content, Thor can’t help but feel a little bit proud of himself. He knows that he is not the one responsible for the physical recuperation, but he has been very patient with the emotional aspect of the healing and the adjustment to the new living circumstances.
He returns to the camp fire and the food that his friends have prepared, always looking back and watching his pet jǫtunn. The both of them have come a long way and they are both the better for it.
Step Five: Reduce the distance
For almost two months Thor and his friends have been camping out on the training grounds. Now, weeks after the arrival of his new pet, he has come to the decision to try and move Loptr to his own Thor’s own quarters and to the jǫtunn’s kennel there. His previous two mortal pets had prefered to sleep in their kennel because even though the rooms have barred windows and the balcony is fenced in, they needed some time to retreat where they felt save.
The last couple of days servants had been preparing everything for the new occupant of the kennel. Thor had instructed the rooms to be resembling jǫtunn living conditions and even though the temperature is much higher than the freezing cold of the ice world that is Jotunheimr, the furniture and the structuring of the space is inspired by reports and sketches of jǫtunn homes.
Thor had been training Loptr to walk on the leash. He had started by leading the jǫtunn just a short distance away from his denn before unleashing him and in the last week he had walked further and further until they had managed a full round around the training grounds. The pup had bounded after them, eagerly barking at every shadow and every bush they had encountered.
“Loptr.” Thor reaches out and pets him and then takes the leash. Fenrir, everyone has taken to calling the wolf-dog pup by this name, yips and follows them excitedly as Thor leads his pet towards the exit of the training grounds. The guards and the servants have been ordered to stay out of the way until their prince has successfully escorted his pet to the royal wing. When they pass the gate to the palace Loptr stops and starts to try to retreat.
“Come on.” Thor slowly reaches out and pets the arms of his pet. It takes them a couple of minutes and then Loptr follows him out of the training grounds. His head swerves from side to side and his takes everything in that they pass by. The happy presence of the pup is something that seems to calm the jǫtunn immensely.
They walk for about ten to fifteen minutes before the reach Thor’s quarters. He herds his two companions inside and then he guides his pet to the gated entrance of the kennel. The bars seem to make the jǫtunn uneasy at first but when he sees the rooms they lead to, his tense posture relaxes very quickly. Furs and rich carpets cover the floors and the tables, shelves and other furniture are of sturdy wood.
There is the scent of incense and beeswax candles and Thor can’t help but feel comfortable in the lodgings of his pet. Loptr and Fenrir start to explore the rooms and the balcony and soon they are eagerly inspecting every piece of furniture and every piece of decoration.
“Loptr, come.” The vocabulary that his pet understands seems to be ever growing and Thor has even started to teach him letters. When the jǫtunn joins him again Thor sets down an armful of books that he got for his pet. “They’ll help you learn to read.”
As soon as he has set the books down everything else seems to disappear for the jǫtunn. Eagerly he starts rifling through pages, his delicately clawed fingers tracing over thick paper. While Loptr is distracted Thor crouches down to Fenrir and puts a sturdy collar on him. It is dark red with a golden tag displaying a thunderbolt.
Step Six: Acclimate to touch and handling
“Loptr!” Thor watches as his pet stops climbing around the tree and drops down, landing in a crouch. Ever since he has started to include the jǫtunn in his training and in his daily activities, Thor has noticed that his pet has started to respond more readily to commands. There are occasional flinches or startled reactions when Loptr gets caught by surprise or he can’t see where the touch is coming from, but on the whole he is easily handled.
“Who would have thought that he was a feral beast little more than two months ago?” Fandral has joined Thor and the lean against the fence of the sparring ring where Sif and Hogun are circling each other. “He is almost as tame as a regular pet now.”
The comment is followed by an undignified yelp as the warrior jumps to the side, revealing a glaring jǫtunn. Thor laughs at the annoyed look at both faces. Loptr understands almost everything that is being said and if the mood strikes him he even answers when asked. Fandral’s comment has clearly upset him and as retaliation the Æsir finds himself with a clawed backside.
“Evil monster!” As he turns around Thor sees the three red stripes on his friend’s arse. Like a playing cat the warrior turns round and round to get a better look. “Look at what you have done!”
Loptr ignores the complaints and the cursing and steps up to his master. Thor reaches out and tousles his hair. That incites a small frown but after patting down his hair, the jǫtunn climbs the fence and sits down next to where Thor is leaning. His red eyes flick to the distressed Fandral and a soft derisive snort escapes him.
“One would think you are a blushing maiden with all the whining you are doing.” Thor’s words have his friend glare at him. He only grins cheekily at the warrior and makes a point of stroking down Loptr’s spine which soon after elicits a rumbling purr.
Thor likes petting his jǫtunn. The marked skin make it exciting to trace fingers down and over the blue body and even though the horns look dangerous and wild, they smooth to touch. Not to mention the silky black hair. With all his prior pets Thor had never thought about bedding them, but he can’t deny that doing so with Loptr has its appeal. Maybe in the future when the bond between them is not as new and fragile, he will take his pet to his bed.
“What happened to you Fandral? Spurned lover?” Volstagg joins them at the fence and grins at his friend.
“It was the damned jǫtunn who did it!” The answer has Volstagg laugh out loud and Thor can’t help but join in. Their banter has Hogun and Sif stop the training to enquire about the commotion and soon Fandral has to endure the teasing of all his friends.