Author's Note: Updating early this week! Because I'm excited, and I can. I do not apologise for dragging out Loki's suffering and silence. Your reviews are always appreciated! :)

X. Knowledge-Seeking, Secret-Keeping

Loki had not forgotten the whispered conversation he had overheard on the night of the Veurr, but in light of more pressing concerns, he had pushed the matter to the back of his mind. Now, with several days' wait ahead of him before he could expect his raven to return, he decided that he might as well do a little investigation on his own. At worst, he would get on Thor's nerves, and at best… well, perhaps he would discover something he could use to his own advantage—and Loki had never been one to pass up that opportunity.

He took to lurking around the Einherjar barracks, keeping well out of sight at all times but using his other senses to filter through the information that passed by him. It was long, tedious work—taking in a casual conversation there, a muttered complaint elsewhere, and his legs soon became cramped from sitting in one place for too long—but he was patient, and it wasn't as if he had anything more important to do.

Hreidarr. That was the name he needed. He liked the taste of it, the way it whispered at the back of his throat. The name of a traitor.

Hreidarr, it turned out, was a remarkably well-respected captain of the palace guard. From his listening, and from a very productive search among some old records, Loki gleaned that he was older, a veteran of many conflicts including the war that had brought Jotunheim to its knees and several notorious battles against a Marauder commander who had fallen long before Loki was born. Either unable or unwilling to retire completely, he had retreated to a less hazardous post within the citadel, where he was known as the final authority in resolving disputes between the younger guards. The change had been recent, only within the last year or so, and that, at least, explained why Loki had not heard of him until now.

Loki leaned back in his deep chair in the library, tracing a finger thoughtfully over his lower lip as he continued to flip idly through the record-book. He had expected a different sort of man to be involved—someone lower, less principled, someone merely looking for gold and willing to dole out information for it. But no, instead he had found this Hreidarr, which meant there was something more at play here. There had to be a reason why this man, so utterly commendable in every outward respect, was willing to risk everything to pass on such sensitive information—to a people, no less, that by rights he should have no knowledge of.

Had so much changed in the time he had been gone? Somehow, Loki did not believe so. Asgard was notorious for remaining stagnant—the Realm Eternal, they called it. Change came uneasily here or not at all.

At least, he thought quietly, not without help.

He was still brooding over the matter when footsteps sounded around the corner, and he straightened just in time to see Thor appear at the end of the nearest shelf. Both brothers went still for the space of a heartbeat, but for once, Loki was not feeling terribly antagonistic.

"I didn't think you came here, normally," he remarked, careful to keep his tone mild and unthreatening—he could see that his brother was in great danger of turning around again on the spot, and he did not want that yet.

"I do not." Thor's voice was wary. "I was looking for Mother."

Loki arched a brow. "She was in the lower gardens, last I saw her. The east side, I think."

Thor blinked, looking surprised to have received such a civil answer, and he dithered a moment before inclining his head stiffly. "Thank you," he said, and started to turn.

"Wait a moment."

It annoyed Loki just slightly that he had to form the words in the tone of a request, but one had to make sacrifices in the pursuit of knowledge. He waited until Thor was facing him again before gesturing lightly and wordlessly towards a nearby chair.

A frown appeared between Thor's brows. "Why?"

"There's something I want to ask you." Loki made certain that his face betrayed nothing as he looked steadily back at his brother, but he remained inwardly tense, uncertain if Thor would comply. He had done very little to earn the other's trust up to this point.

Thor, of course, still looked incredibly suspicious; his jaw had tightened, and his hand was clenching ever so slightly at his side. "What is it?" he asked, darkly and without moving.

Loki let out a long, patient breath from between his teeth and resigned himself to a warier conversation than he would have liked. He leaned back in his seat, unhurriedly closing the record-book in front of him and shifting it aside, away from his brother. Then, his pale hands clasped in his lap, he lifted his chin a bit and asked, "What do you know about the Drey?"

It was immediately clear that whatever Thor had expected, it wasn't that; indeed, Loki had the distinct impression that his brother, at first, did not even know what he was referring to. The lines on the King's face deepened, and he gave Loki a bewildered look that, for a second, surpassed even his suspicion of the moments before. "The Drey…?"

Loki's lips thinned. "The Dreyrugar," he clarified, clearing his throat. "The Bl—"

"The Blood-stained," Thor finished for him suddenly, and the look he was giving Loki now was very strange—more contemplative than Loki was used to seeing on that face. He hesitated, then slowly took the previously offered chair and sank into it, resting his elbows on his knees. "That is a legend, Loki." There it was again, that quiet, assessing look. "And of such things you have always had more knowledge than I."

"Perhaps." Loki ran his hand along the edge of the table, spinning his words carefully in his head before voicing them. "I happened to come across a mention of them, and, well—" He shrugged lightly. "It's been a long time. I thought you might recall better."

He glanced up again only once, trying to judge Thor's expression from that brief glimpse, because oh, what a delicate line this was. He had to convince his brother that this was merely curiosity, harmless and stemming, perhaps, from long hours of monotony; it was too early yet to risk exposing what he was really after, especially when he hardly knew himself. But he suspected that he had the upper hand, because he knew Thor, and knew that the chance for a conversation unexpectedly devoid of bitterness was far too tempting of a thing for his brother to pass up.

And he could see the hesitation flickering across Thor's face, faint but definitely there, playing a silent tug-of-war between King and brother. Loki waited patiently, knowing that if he pressed, he would lose the advantage at once.

"I know little more than the old stories," Thor said at last. He seemed to have relaxed slightly, though his eyes remained on Loki. "They were part of Asgard, millennia ago, and were given their name only when they broke away from her." He shook his head. "If they did exist at one time, there is no record of them left."

If? There is no if, brother, for the legends live yet, far beyond your sight.

But though his thoughts were contemptuous, all Loki said aloud was, "So you don't believe it really happened."

Thor gave a rather disinterested shrug of one shoulder. "I know not. "

Loki was observant enough to notice the creeping edge of impatience in his brother's tone, and wise enough to heed it. "Nor do I," he said, also shrugging, "but I thought I would ask, for lack of a better source."

Thor gave him a sharper look. "Why the sudden interest in this?"

"The stories intrigue me," Loki returned calmly, his answer long since ready. "And since I have very little else to do, I may as well spend my time chasing obscure lore." There was a deftly-added note of irritation in his voice now, placed as a final layer to soothe any remaining suspicions that his brother might have.

"Yes, but to what end?" asked Thor slowly, his voice low. He had not taken his eyes from Loki's face, as though he actually thought he might be able to see past the mask. Worse, he was not taking the bait.

Loki twisted his lips in a thin, patronising semblance of a smile. "Must I always seek an end? There is such thing as knowledge for knowledge's sake, Thor. Not that I would expect you to understand that."

"I don't know what you seek anymore." Thor suddenly rose, shaking his head and turning away. "I wonder if even you do."

The library air suddenly seemed very cold in its stillness. Loki's smile dropped.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

With a show of reluctance, Thor turned to look at him again. "It means that whatever lies you may be spinning now, I believe there is far more still that you have not said." His tone was steady, and Loki felt his chest suddenly tighten, as though a hand were pressing on his lungs. "I have thought back many times, Loki, to our first meeting on Midgard; to your words there to me. I do not know what you hoped to accomplish by what you did, but of this much I am certain now: you did not wish to rule Midgard. You were King of Asgard once. You would not settle for anything less."

As Thor spoke, Loki's features had gone rigid. How long had Thor been waiting to say this? This was too close, far too close; he could not allow his brother to delve any deeper.

"How do you know what I would or would not do?" he hissed suddenly, leaning forward in his seat with all signs of civility gone. "You know me not, brother, as much as you would like to claim otherwise—"

"Exactly."

The sudden agreement caught Loki off-guard again, and his eyes narrowed. "Exactly what?" he demanded testily.

Thor breathed a heavy sigh. "You are right, brother—I do not know you anymore." He shook his head. "Even when we fought that first time, even when you deceived us, when you let go and we thought you dead… it was not until later, but I thought I understood why. But what you did on Midgard was senseless, Loki, and whatever you are, it is not that. It is as if some madness took you then."

Inwardly seething, Loki forced a low, harsh laugh. "Believe what you like, Odinson. I gave you my reasons; I am not to blame if they are beyond your comprehension."

But Thor merely shook his head again, looking weary now. "I wish I could trust you, Loki," he continued quietly, with a note of helplessness in his voice. "But even more would I have you trust me again, and Mother, as you once did."

Something uneasy twisted within Loki, and he quickly shoved the feeling aside again before it could rise any further. He wondered if Thor knew just how deep his words were striking.

"Trust?" he hissed aloud. Hostility was his defence now. "After what you did—both of you?" His tone scathing, he raised his hand and deliberately wrenched back his sleeve from his wrist. "After—"

"What would you have me do?"

Thor's voice was loud, cracked with frustration. It was several moments before the echoes of his words faded. There was desperation written on the King's face, in the lines that tensed along his forehead and around the tight, straight set of his mouth—and for the first time, Loki had the sudden, uncomfortable impression that he was not the only one poisoned and hurting because of the hand that Fate held dealt them.

"I did not ask for this, Loki!" Thor said forcefully, words tumbling from his lips as though something within him had been unstoppered. "I did not expect the throne any more than you did that first time, but I had no choice—and I can no longer think of myself only, you know that. The safety of the Realms must come first." He took a step forward, and Loki braced his hand against the table, ready to get to his feet if need be. "I would seek reconciliation between us, Loki, and gladly, but how can I do so when you will give me nothing in return?"

Loki had not taken his eyes from his brother, and they were glimmering dangerously in his pale face. "And what is it you want from me?"

"Answers, brother!" said Thor desperately. "Better yet, some sign, however small, that the man I once knew is still in there."

"He's not."

His gaze going dark, Loki shoved his chair back and rose. He had meant to be asking the questions, not answering them, and already he had let his brother take this conversation too far in the other direction. Time to end it. "The one you seek is gone, Thor," he spat. "He fell into darkness an eternity ago, and was consumed by it."

A pained look flickered across Thor's face. "Loki..."

"Save your pity." Loki turned his back deliberately and strode away, flatly ignoring his own name that he heard called after him. If Thor wanted answers, he was doomed to disappointment. He would get none.