"He sounds so surprised," Idun replied with a teasing sort of sigh. It had been a very long time since one of Loki's nicknames had made her frown. Now, many years into a rather cherished friendship, Idun took every silly short joke in stride. She knew affection came in many forms, and with Loki, a bit of it came with nicknames. Much of it was tightly woven into these interactions as well, with nothing but the trees to overhear the conversations they chose to have. "I made far too much. You can take some, if you like."
Loki hadn't come for wine, and Idun knew as much as soon as he spoke. The Loki who greeted her today was very different when he decided to make a social call. He grinned and teased. There was worry touching his face today. Undefined concern. Something was weighing on his mind, and she had been right to assume he was deep in a good amount of thought. A few sips of wine and he was sharing. Idun would have joked about that, another quip about loose lips, but she listened instead. She was a very good listener, after all.
A soft sort of sadness began to fill her when Loki's worries were shared, and Idun set her cup down in the grass, deciding she would have no distractions. No, her friend deserved her full attention. "There are many who might say a mother's love shapes a child," Idun began after she returned her gaze to his. What had brought him to these doubts? Whatever the reason, it was unfair. Loki was a good father.
"But think of the shape of your children if her hand was behind their growth," she continued. No, Idun did not believe a mother's love was the most cherished of bonds someone could have. That was a myth. It depended entirely on the mother, not some mystical connection that appeared the moment a child entered the world. "Loki, my dear friend, you are devious and cunning, but your heart is warm and your thoughts are sound. I would never describe you as psychotic." Idun paused, then smiled gently, playfully. "Unless you deserved it."
Which, of course, Loki did not. "You love your children, and as long as you have that to offer them, I can't see how they could be better off with their mother." Idun shifted, hugging one leg to her chest to rest her chin on her knee. "What made you ponder these things?"