"Loki."
Loki opened his eyes. The healer was standing by one of the beds, gesturing him over.
"Would you like to see how it's done?" She asked. Loki motioned for Tanis to remain in the shadows. Walking over to the bed, he stared down apathetically at the injured warrior. The man was badly burned on his left side, and had a large gash in his right leg that was still bleeding.
The healer went about cleaning his wounds, as the warrior complained loudly.
"Ouch, that hurts! Careful, the beast took a huge chunk out of my leg there. Got what it deserved, the vile creature."
Loki glared at him, and the man slowly shut up and turned his head away, unable to hold Loki's scathing look.
After the healer had cleaned all the wounds, she placed her hands over them, speaking the incantations just loudly enough for Loki to hear.
Loki watched with interest as muscle and sinew wove back together, skin growing back over the exposed flesh.
As soon as she was done, the healer moved on to the next patient.
Loki lingered behind a moment, continuing to stare at the man as he stood up and tested his weight on his newly healed leg.
"Why?" Loki asked.
The man looked at him.
"Why did you kill that dragon?"
"Because it was dangerous!" The warrior said.
"Are you telling me that you go out and hunt all potentially dangerous creatures? She hadn't even done anything to you! There haven't been any reports on dragon attacks recently. Are you saying she was a threat that must be disposed of simply because of her very existence, even when she hasn't done anyone any harm? Because she's a monstrous beast?" Loki hissed.
"Didn't you see what the creature did to me?!" The warrior said indignantly.
"Oh, and who attacked first? You and the rest of your men, or the dragon?" Loki inquired coldly, as the man continued to frown at him. "Dragons are thinking, intelligent beings, not mindlessly brutal monsters. They don't hunt for mere fun. No, they are nowhere near as cruel as the likes of you," Loki spat, before turning on his heels.
The next time the warrior unsheathed his sword, he dropped it, yelping in pain as it burned his hand. He watched, horror-struck, as the blade inexplicably melted into a puddle of molten metal.
A while later, Thor came into the Healer's Room, cradling his left hand to his chest. He stared around in surprise at the bustling chambers.
"What brings you here, brother?" Loki asked, walking up from behind Thor.
"Loki!" Thor exclaimed, jumping slightly. "Why do you always have to do that?"
"Do what?" Loki asked innocently.
"Sneak up on me like that! Can you never just come from the front like a normal person?" Thor replied, annoyed.
"Now what would be the fun of that," Loki smirked. His eyes landed on Thor's hand, and he raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"I hit myself with the hammer..." Thor muttered, looking down and biting his lip.
"Why am I not surprised?" Loki asked rhetorically, as he took Thor's right hand and led him to a chair.
"I'd call a healer over, but I'm afraid they're busy attending to people with significantly worse injuries, who get healing priority," Loki explained, as Thor sat down. "But I've observed them work for a few hours now, and I've seen them heal many broken bones, so I believe I could successfully repair your hand, should you allow me to try."
"Have you done such a thing before?" Thor asked.
"I could say yes if it would comfort you, but I'd be lying," Loki said honestly. "But I doubt any of the healers will be available for another hour or two. If you'd like to wait..."
"No, that's alright. I trust you," Thor attempted to smile through his gritted teeth.
Loki gently took Thor's left hand in both of his own, examining his brother's broken fingers. Deftly he snapped the bones back into their correct positions, resulting in a pained gasp from Thor, who squeezed his eyes shut in the attempt not to cry.
"Sorry," Loki said, looking at his brother empathetically. "But it wouldn't do for your fingers to be healed crooked."
He began murmuring to himself, and a faint green glow encompassed Thor's hand.
"Sorry that took so long," Loki apologized, as Thor flexed his hand. "But I didn't want to take any chances of making any mistakes."
"Loki, you are amazing," Thor said in awe. "How could you learn how to do this in not but a few hours?"
Loki grinned shyly. "It's significantly easier to learn by observation of someone who knows what they're doing, than by reading instructions in a magic book. And once you have an good idea of how magic works, it isn't that difficult to apply it to other areas."
"Thank you so much, brother," Thor said, suddenly engulfing Loki in a hug.
"Thor..." Loki gasped for breath.
"Sorry," Thor let go and looked at his younger brother sheepishly.
"It's fine," Loki said, grinning at him. "I'm glad you seem to be remembering your manners."
Thor grinned back proudly. "I even remember to thank the weapon smith!"
Loki's reply was interrupted by a sudden comotion.
"DRAGON!" One of the warriors yelled.
"He must have spotted Tanis," Loki whispered, widening his eyes.
In a moment Loki had grabbed Tanis and deposited her in his brother's arms, pushing him out the door.
"Take her back to your chambers with you," Loki said, a note of desperation in his voice. "Don't let her be seen by any of the warriors!"
"A DRAGON IN ASGARD! KILL THE BEAST!"
As Thor left, Loki suddenly appeared beside the warrior who'd cried out.
"What dragon?" Loki asked, his face one of concerned confusion.
"It-it was just right there!" the warrior said, pointing to the corner empty corner of the room.
Everyone in the room stared at the two of them.
Loki walked over and inspected where the man pointed, and finding no signs of there ever having been a dragon, returned back to the man.
"You must be imagining things," Loki said comfortingly, patting the man's arm. He sent a wink at the healers.
"B-but, I could have sworn!" The warrior stammered.
"After having fought that dragon, it's only normal that you would be seeing images of dragons out of the corner of your eyes," Loki lowered his voice, "It's a natural side effect of the fear you must of felt while fighting such a powerful creature. It is usually looked down upon to show such weakness, but don't worry about it; I won't tell anybody."
The warrior flushed in embarrassment, as Loki smiled at him sweetly, before walking away.