The boat suddenly juddered. Thor whipped round to see that Loki's eyes were closed and that his head had fallen forward onto his chest. He was slumped against the helm, looking as limp as a rag doll. The engine hummed loudly as the boat veered sharply to the left and rocketed towards an outcrop of jagged, black rocks.
Thor leapt to the back of the boat. He grasped Loki by the shoulders, hauling him off the helm. Shoving his brother out of the way, Thor pushed the helm down and to the left as far as it would go. The engines screamed at such treatment but the small vessel obeyed, turning right and rising just above the rocks. Sparks were created as the boat scraped over the granite, but they otherwise passed by unharmed.
Thor clutched the shuddering helm with both hands, holding it steady until the boat had slowed and the engines quietened into its usual steady hum.
For a moment, both brothers were too shocked to speak, but stared at one another wide-eyed.
"Go and lie down," Thor ordered in a horse voice.
Loki gave his head a shake, still looking a little dazed at his rude awakening.
"I'm hungry," he announced, jutting his chin out.
Glowering Thor threw his satchel at him. Loki tore it open, rummaged through it and then looked up angrily.
"I don't eat meat," he snarled.
"Then you will have to go without, won't you?"
Thor watched as Loki held the strips of dried beef in his hand, staring at them with a look of disgust on his face, before wolfing them down as fast as he could.
"Didn't they feed you in the dudgeons?"
Loki dragged a fist across his mouth, looking pale. "Surprisingly, I haven't had much of an appetite these past few days."
Thor bowed his head briefly, before looking up again.
"Of course not, sorry...And I am sorry that you were left in your cell surrounded by broken furniture for two days. The guards should have kept a closer eye on you."
Thor spotted the flash of anger in Loki's eyes, but then it was gone as quickly as a ripple on the surface of a pond. He watched warily as Loki shrugged, wearing a mild expression on his face, as he turned his back on Thor. He wanted to ask what offence he had caused this time, but knew that Loki would not give him a straight answer.
Instead, he remained silent as the god of Mischief hopped nimbly onto the narrow side of the boat.
"Do you wish to know how I preserved my sanity after spending two years in solitary confinement? After all, you will most probably be joining me in the dudgeons and you will want to stave off madness for as long as possible. Oh, hullo, there is a caterpillar all the way down there. I'm going to piss on its head."
Thor grimaced, averting his eyes as far as possible as Loki unbuttoned his trousers, and concentrated on steering the boat.
"I'm all ears," he said, with forced patience.
"You must maintain control over your cell and mind. That cell will be your palace for the rest of eternity, so do with it as you will. Keep your clothes neatly folded in one corner and sleep in the other. That said, you must alter the environment every few days. Never keep it the same. And be prepared for the deterioration of your...your..." Loki waved vaguely in the direction of his head. He raised a hand to his mouth, absently biting on a knuckle. He chuckled. "I can't think of the word. It probably does not matter."
He began to jump up and down. Thor was observing him with increasing chariness, and when Loki began to hop on one leg Thor instinctively lifted his hand off the helm.
To his annoyance, Loki saw his raised hand and cackled. Thor knew then that Loki was simply doing to it to elicit a panicked reaction from him. He placed his hand firmly back on the helm, smiling sweetly back at Loki.
"Fine," Loki sighed with an air of resignation. "I will jump, if only to please you and Father."
Thor rolled his eyes as he watched Loki, with all the gracefulness of a cat, lightly ran along the side of the boat and hopped over Jane onto the bow.
"Everything I have ever done has been for the good of Asgard, but clearly I have disappointed you. What purpose do I have now? What reason to do I have to keep on living? I am crushed under the weight of your unhappiness with me."
Thor knew what Loki's motive was. He wanted Thor to beg him not to jump, maybe even to grab him. It was a power play to force Thor to show that he still cared, or if he didn't care, allow Loki a solid reason to despise him.
"I promised you vengeance. You can't take it if you're dead."
Loki's face suddenly twisted up in anger.
"And after that, what then?" he spat, words full of bitterness. "Back to an empty cell for the rest of eternity? You know that execution would be more merciful!"
Thor had had enough. He knew he shouldn't give into Loki's games, but there was a fear at the back of his head that Loki might actually leap off the boat. He never would forget how Loki had allowed himself to fall from the Bifrost. Loki's current erratic behaviour was something Thor had anticipated, but to be actually faced with it...it made Thor realise that it was only the visits from their mother which had kept Loki from completely falling apart. And now that she was gone...
He left the helm and leaning over Jane, gently took hold of Loki's wrist.
"Come on, brother," he said, softly. "We owe it to Mother to keep going. Come down now."
Loki's eyes widened slightly at the mention of their Mother. Thor waited as Loki bit his lip, trying to decide if he would finally do as he was told or continue to push the boundaries of their ruined relationship.
He jumped lightly over Jane, landing in front of Thor.
Thor nodded, giving Loki a half-smile. He was a little surprised to see Loki smiling sadly back at him.
"Sorry about this," Thor mumbled in a low voice.
"What?"
Thor grabbed hold of Loki's handcuffs before kicking his legs from under him, and quickly lowering him to the floor. Then he placed Mijonir onto Loki's chest before his brother could fight back. Loki grunted under the weight of the hammer; it wasn't exactly heavy, but the enchantment meant that he could not breathe as freely.
"Easy, Loki," Thor said, squeezing Loki's shoulder. "Mijolnir will not hurt you, but you will be more comfortable if you resist the urge to struggle."
"How do you know?" Loki snapped, kicking his legs out in a futile attempt to dislodge the hammer.
Thor smiled. "Two months ago, Volstagg volunteered to spend a night with Mijolnir balanced on his stomach, just to see if Mijolnir would roll off his round belly. He slept soundly and said that he found the weight quite soothing. I hope you will find the same because if we are to defeat Malakith then I need you at your best. And I really can't have you jumping about the boat all the time; you'll wake Jane."
For the next ten minutes Thor stubbornly ignored Loki, every growl, insult, curse, and plea that his younger brother made. Eventually, Loki fell quiet and when Thor chanced looking down, saw that Loki had indeed fallen asleep. He could have been feigning sleep, of course, but that didn't matter to Thor. Whether he was truly sleeping or faking it, he was being quiet and still and that's all Thor really wanted for the time being.
With both Jane and Loki asleep, Thor was left to his thoughts. Naturally, they turned to dark things as they continued to sail through the gloomy and broken ruins of the destroyed city. It was the kind of place which could easily drive a usually cheery soul to despair if left there long enough.
He began to think about how if he hadn't brought Jane home then Frigga would still be alive. The Dark Elves had tracked the Aether within Jane, and so had allowed themselves to be captured, the fastest and easiest way to get to Asgard. He should have thought things through, but as usual he had just blundered forward with little consideration for the consequences.
"Did she suffer?"
"I did not come here to share in our grief."
Loki had a right to know the details of her death, but Thor didn't feel quite ready to share just yet.
"And why not?"
The sound of his mother's voice was so clear and sharp in his ear that Thor found himself scanning the scene before him, just to make sure that she was not really there. It had to be the grim atmosphere of Svartalfheim; it was said to be bring ghosts out of the heart. Thor preferred to think that it was his own mind playing tricks on him.
"Why not?" Frigga's voice demanded. "He is still your brother."
Thor sighed. "On Earth, I gave Loki many opportunities for him to arrest his plans and to come home willingly. He turned them all down. He made it quite clear that we are not brothers. How then can I mourn with him for you?"
"By not talking to him you are punishing him unjustly and unfairly. My death was not your fault. Nor was it Loki's. Tell him."
Even if the voice was only a product of his imagination, Thor all too well recognised the instance in its tone. Frigga may have been soft in demeanour, but she was a worthy warrior queen of the Nine Realms. It did not do to disobey that steely tone.
With a little reluctance, Thor left the helm and went to where Loki lay. He took a moment to observe Loki's pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes. His exhaustion was hardly surprising. He had not been allowed any form of exercise (other than that he could gain from pacing) for two years, so the exertions of the day alone would have been enough to wipe him out. But, added to that was the sedating effect of the magic-suppressing rune marks which coated the handcuffs he wore. However, if Thor had to guess, he would say that Loki's grief was the greatest cause of his tiredness.
Thor carefully lifted Mijolnir up from Loki's chest. Loki sighed deeply, but did not stir, so Thor nudged him with the toe of his boot.
"Loki, come on, time to wake up. I want you back on the helm."
A frown creased up Loki's forehead, but he seemed to be having some difficultly with opening his eyes. They fluttered and fell shut again. Instead he rolled onto his side.
"Tired," he mumbled, drowsily.
"Loki, you've slept for hours."
"That hammer...felt good..."
Thor spun Mijolnir about in his hand. He didn't think it possible that such a powerful weapon also contained the properties of a powerful sleep aid.
He took out his water bottle and tipped it over Loki's head. The god of Mischief coughed and spluttered, but finally looked more alert.
"On the helm, now," Thor ordered. "We need to come up plan for deceiving Malakith...and we need to talk about Mother."
Loki's emerald eyes narrowed to slits. He silently stalked past Thor and sat beside the helm. He glared at Thor expectantly, waiting for him to speak first. Thor could feel the anger coming off him; it screamed at him through Loki's hunched shoulders, clenched hands, and dark expression, fury barely contained.
"It wasn't your fault that Mother was killed, you know," Thor said, softly.
"I never claimed that it was!" Loki shouted. "Are you trying to say that I am to blame?!"
"No, but I think that you feel guilty for not being able to protect her. Just as I do."
Loki snorted loudly. But, then he closed his eyes for a second or two, and when he opened them again the fury had melted into something that looked like regret.
"I told the elf to take the stairs to the left," he stated in a flat voice.
Thor shook his head, not understanding.
"So, what?" he said, eventually. "You told it to go left. You gave it a vague direction to the way out. It would have gotten out any way!" Suddenly he was shouting, infuriated by Loki's self-pity. "You're so melodramatic you would rather hold yourself responsible for Mother's death than accept it was out of our control! You think that I don't feel accountable? I brought Jane here!"
"Shhh."
"DO NOT SHUCH ME!"
"Shhh!" Loki repeated, louder, pressing a finger to his lips. "You'll wake the mortal."
It was enough to make Thor see that he was behaving irrationally.
"I'm competing with you over which of us should feel the most guilt," he admitted in a quiet voice, the ghost of a smile trailing over his lips. "Mother would be despairing of us."
"So, nothing has changed between us then?" Loki almost sounded optimistic.
The smile disappeared completely from Thor's face. "Some things remain the same. But not everything."
He ignored the look of hurt Loki wore and instead turn his attention to more pressing matters.
"You are going to need to chop my hand off," he said.
AN: Thank you for reading.