Thor and Loki are walking through the village, Thor talking loudly and amicably as always, when Loki pauses midstride. Thor continues on for a bit, too wrapped up in his story to notice immediately but when he does notice he stops and turns around to see Loki standing completely still.
"Why've you stopped?" Thor asks.
"Quiet…do you hear that?" Loki says, his head tilted as he listens for the faint sound he heard a hint of earlier.
Thor falls silent to listen as well and eventually he does hear something. A sound that is easily placed. It is the wailing of an infant.
"What on Midgard?" Thor begins, looking at Loki for a possible explanation. The God of Mischief shrugs and Thor straightens out his shoulders. "Come, brother, let us investigate."
"Must you always play the dashing hero?" Loki asks as Thor strides back towards him. "Can we not simply return to the palace?"
Thor stops beside Loki. "You were the one who noticed the infant crying."
Loki is quick to retort. "Just because I notice something doesn't mean I should act on it."
The God of Thunder shakes his head and continues walking towards the wailing. Loki sighs and turns to follow his oaf of a brother to the source of the sound. Eventually they come upon the child, swathed in a woolen blanket, left alone on the ground in a dark deserted alley.
Seeing such a sight makes both brothers sorrowful. No baby should be left in such a state. Loki is first to act; in part because of his pity for the little human and in part for fear that if Thor attempts to pick it up he'll drop it or something of the sort.
He walks forward and picks up the child, holding it up in the light to examine its face. As he holds it, the child stops crying to watch him with wide blue eyes. Staring back at this tiny bundle, Loki is struck by how incredibly vulnerable this child is. Completely innocent of the world and its horrors, unable to defend itself against even the smallest of threats. It's minutes later when Loki finally realizes Thor is talking to him.
"-going to do with it?"
Loki brings the baby close to his chest as he looks back at Thor. "We'll take her back to the palace where she can receive the care she needs. Once she's more comfortable, we can decide what to do next."
Thor nods. "Sensible."
Loki smirks. "Much more sensible than whatever you had planned, I'm sure."
If Loki wasn't holding a weak, fragile child Thor would punch him for that, but even he knows that would be a bad idea. So, he leaves his response to a simple eye roll before turning around.
"Come, let us make haste."
