Thor woke at daybreak. Or rather, he sat up in his bed at daybreak, without really having slept at all - he had left for the palace before his friends, though still at an ungodly hour, to try and find his brother.
He hadn't missed the pain with which Loki fled from them, though the young sorcerer had certainly tried to hide it.
Thor had found his brother's door barred, and no amount of demanding or pleading would solicit a response, let alone permit his entry.
After nearly half an hour Thor had finally retreated to his own chambers, lying on his bed to stare and scowl for the next several hours.
For that matter, he was still staring and scowling. He should probably stop that.
Thor shook himself and climbed to his feet. Having slept in his clothes, he only donned his boots before deciding to see if his brother was willing to forgive him yet.
But Loki's door was still locked. And Loki still didn't reply to his ranting and obsessive, rather loud, knocking.
Thor frowned. By now he at least would expect bitter insults through the door or something. Surely any moment the door would fly open to reveal a furious emerald glare - but no, that did not happen.
Thor was starting to worry. Was Loki really hurt badly? Had he been bleeding? Thor hadn't seen blood, but it had been deathly dark, and Loki was a rather… long… way… down…
Thor knocked again, just as loudly as before, but more precisely. "Loki? Loki… Loki, please let me in?"
As the last fifty times, there was no reply.
Loki could be cruel when he wanted to be, but even he couldn't keep up the silent treatment this long, Thor knew. By now he should have lost his temper and been shouting about Thor's oafs of friends and their terrible excuses for jokes…
Thor knocked again. He was more than a little worried now. What if Loki was hurt? Like, bad?
Thor knocked harder. "Loki! Loki, if you don't let me in now I'm coming in on my own, lock or nay!"
No sound answered, insult or otherwise.
Another three minutes passed, and Thor had made up his mind.
He knew the locks on these doors - they were not very strong if you just knew where to apply pressure…
Thor stumbled forward, barely keeping his footing as the wood split under his shoulder and the door flew out from beneath him.
Righting himself, rubbing his sore shoulder, Thor scanned his brother's chambers. The fact that no angry emerald-eyed god had stormed up to him in a fit of rage at the entry was reason enough for concern.
And more than a little concern.
Loki was not in the main room, and Thor's eyes drifted to the bedroom entrance - thank the stars, the door was open and not shut and locked.
"Loki?" Thor crossed the main room in long strides and froze in the doorway to the bedroom.
His little brother was curled on his bed fully clothed, boots and knife belt included, knees drawn to his chest and both arms clutching his stomach in a death grip. There was a line of red from his nose to his chin, and his nose itself was swollen and turned an angry yellowish colour.
"L...Loki?" Thor crossed cautiously to his brother, but the young sorcerer didn't move.
He flinched slightly when Thor rested a hand on his shoulder, but didn't otherwise stir.
"Loki?" Thor nearly whispered, shaking his brother's shoulder lightly.
A small sound escaped the young god, something terrifyingly close to a whimper.
"Loki, open your eyes."
Loki made the sound again, pulling weakly against Thor's touch, his eyes fluttering with obvious effort.
"Loki, please?" Thor moved his hand to brush Loki's hair from his face as he bent to inspect his swollen nose.
Glossy emerald eyes met his blue ones, focusing weakly and with some uncertainty. "Thor…?"
"It is I, brother." Thor said quietly. "Where are you injured?"
Loki hummed discontentedly, his eyes threatening to drift closed again.
"No! Stay awake!" Thor shook his shoulder again.
Loki gasped at the movement, eyes flying wide open and a hand darting from around his stomach to grasp his shoulder.
Thor drew his hand back immediately. "Your shoulder?" He asked, biting his lip.
Loki nodded slightly, cringing at his own action.
Thor nodded encouragingly, biting harder on his own lip. He should have forced his way in the night before! Should have made Loki go to the healer!
Healer - Loki needed to go to the healer.
"You were limping earlier." Thor remembered. "You are injured elsewhere?"
"My… my knee…" Loki murmured.
"Which one?" Thor asked.
"Mmm… right." Loki's eyes were fluttering again.
"Do you think you can… nevermind." Thor shook his head at himself. "I'm going to carry you to the healer's wing, alright?"
Loki's eyes were open again in a flash. "No." He said, weakly but firmly.
"Well, it's not like you can walk." Thor said. "No offence, but… look at you."
"I'd rather not." Loki muttered.
"You need to get to the healer's wing." Thor said, as-a-matter-of-factly. "You should have gone last night instead of coming here… you shouldn't have just marched off like that Loki! Alone in the forest! In the dark! What if you'd been attacked! You should have told me!"
Loki's eyes were shut again, this time in pain not in slumber.
Thor paused his rant to bend close to his brother. "Loki? What is wrong?"
"Too loud." Loki hummed.
Thor dropped to his knees beside the bed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Loki."
"Hmm." Loki replied.
Thor watched him a moment. "You still need healing, Loki."
"M'fine." Loki murmured, shifting the hand on his shoulder back to encircle his stomach. "Just… tired."
"You look terrible, Loki." Thor said. "And whatever Fandral said, that was a pretty big fall you took."
Loki opened his eyes halfway, his judgmental gaze studying Thor for what was nearly a solid minute. "I can walk." He announced, and he reluctantly uncurled his hand once again and held it out. "Help me up."
Thor frowned, but at least this was progress. He took his brother's hand and pulled him into a sitting position before Loki could change his mind.
Loki groaned, doubling over into his lap, still hugging his abdomen fiercely with one arm.
Thor placed a careful hand on his good shoulder to try and steady him, not relinquishing his grasp on Loki's hand for fear his brother would try to lie down again.
"Come long, Loki." He said softly. "You are obviously in pain, and it would not do well to put weight on your injured leg."
Loki sat up, the effort in the motion paling him visibly, but his eyes still burned with pained determination. "I. Can. Walk." He ground through clenched teeth.
"Loki-"
"I. Can. Walk."
Frown deepening, Thor put an arm around his brother and helped him to his trembling feet.
Even then, Thor carrying most of his brother's weight, Loki could barely hold himself up.
"Are you ready?" Thor asked.
"Y...yes." Loki said.
Putting weight, however minimal, on his injured knee sent knives up Loki's leg. He bit down hard on his lip to keep from crying out, and though it did not escape Thor's notice, a pointed glare closed the god of thunder's mouth and they continued their trek.
They made it out of the bedroom, through the main room and out into the hallway - the healer's wing was two floors down and Loki was already on the verge of losing consciousness.
He had no strength left to argue when three steps later Thor scooped him into his arms and started forward at a speed just short of a run.
He couldn't even keep his head up; it fell against Thor's chest for all his mental protests, and the edges of his vision were going dark.
Thor entered the healer's wing backwards, using his back to shove open the door when kicking it open seemed a terrible pairing with his already awful sense of balance.
He was greeted by two sets of large eyes, both young - no older than Thor - and only apprentices, but well trained. Well, in healing at least. In battle they would have died quickly, for they stood gawking like they'd never seen an injured man before in their lives.
"Don't just stand there!" Thor shouted. "Help me!"
The apprentices started, one rushing off to find a seasoned healer whilst the other ushered Thor to a bed.
Thor settled his brother down on the raised platform, watching closely as the emerald eyes opened and closed slowly, not seeming to really see anything.
"Where is he hurt?" The young apprentice asked, eyes still wide but at least with his head on straight.
"Uh… left shoulder and right knee… I hope that's all. And, his nose, obviously…"
The apprentice look on look at Loki's nose before stating, "Broken," and swiftly moved on to removing Loki's shirt so he could reach his shoulder.
The other apprentice came scurrying back with a healer behind her.
"By the gods what is this?" The elder woman cried, rushing to grip the edges of the healing tabel opposite Thor. "What happened?"
"He… fell." Thor said. "This was several hours ago. Neither of us realize how badly he was injured until just now…"
The woman waved the female apprentice away. "Hilde, go and fetch the Queen. Arne, what are you doing?"
"Prince Thor says there's yet something wrong with his shoulder, mistress." The apprentice untied the last knot on Loki's shirtfront and pushed it back to reveal a nasty collage of purples and yellows rippling from Loki's shoulder and across his heart.
They trio stared a moment.
"Something wrong with his shoulder indeed!" The healer gestured vaguely to a corner of the healer's wing. "Arne, fetch me my bag."
As the boy trotted away from the table the apprentice Hilde rushed back, Frigga right on her heels.
"Turid, what has happened?" Frigga cried, immediately taking Arne's place at the healer's side.
Loki's distant gaze found Frigga. "Mother…"
"For the gods' sake!" Frigga waved a hand over Loki's face, and his eyes rolled into his head. "Where is he hurt?"
"Shoulder, my lady." The healer gestured to the obvious bruising. "Just short of dislocation."
"His right knee, too." Thor added helpfully. "Though… not sure what's wrong with it."
Frigga looked to him in surprise, as if just noticing his presence. "Thor." She said.
"His ribs took some bruising it seems." Hilde had rounded the table to Thor's side. She reached across Thor to lift Loki's left hand. "His wrist has minor bruising as well. Possibly sprained."
"You said he fell, yes?" Arne set a deer-skin bag in Turid's reach.
"Fell?" Frigga's eyes whipped between speakers.
"Off… a cliff?" Arne continued.
"A cliff!?"
"It was a small cliff!" Thor defended. "More of a steep… incline… really…"
The excuse was dead in his mouth, but Frigga wasn't listening anyway. She was shredding leaves that Turid gave her and carefully trickling the plant's blood over the mottled colours on Loki's shoulder.
Turid ran her fingers across Loki's ribs, trying to determine if any of them were broken.
Thor felt useless to his brother as the others worked. Even Arne and Hilde, whom the elder women had shoved out of their path, were making themselves of use removing Loki's right boot and cutting a slit up his pant leg to reach his knee.
In the end Thor was even shoved from their path, having no clue what to do. But he couldn't just leave! After all, it was his fault… but not his fault alone.
Maybe Thor couldn't help the healers, but he could track down the Warriors Three and tell them off. Maybe it wouldn't actually do anything, but it would certainly get this bubbling anger at himself off his chest.
Balling his fists, Thor left his brother in the steady hands of the healers and his mother and marched on a new quest.