As Thor had finished explaining, he looked up at Valkyrie who looked seriously back at him; for his entire explanation she hadn't spoken a single word. Thor sighed.
"You think I'm going mad, don't you?" Thor asked. "Honestly, you may be right." He rubbed his face.
Valkyrie sighed. "With the state you are in, it is not unreasonable to think you would start seeing things which aren't there."
Thor closed his eyes.
"However, what you are telling me doesn't sound like something that would spring from your mind," Valkyrie commented.
Thor looked up. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I could see you starting to see a fake Loki all around the place. However, the way you would see him would either be as a very idealized version or a version constantly mocking you for your failure. The Loki you describe… Really does sound like dear old Lackey. As self serving as ever."
Thor nodded slowly. "He does seem to be acting in his own self interest."
"And yet, you seem to be doing a bit better." Valkyrie sighed. "I've been trying to make you take a shower for a month!"
Thor blushed deeply, looking away.
"How did Loki do it?" Valkyrie asked.
"He said I was gross," Thor informed, and Valkyrie snorted in amusement. "Also, he kicked me in the face."
Valkyrie laughed as she shook her head. "Well, you kind of seemed to need that."
"Aye." Thor smiled lightly, but then his smile faltered. "Valkyrie, if what Loki said is true… That's not good. This world has started to… to collapse." He swallowed. "Because Thanos destroyed the Stones… What am I supposed to do?!" He grabbed his head. "I couldn't stop Thanos before and now, the fabric of the universe might be unraveling!"
Valkyrie was quiet as she looked at Thor, her eyes stern. "Clearly, this is not something we can fix alone."
Thor looked at her.
"Who do we know, whom would know about the fabrics of the universe?" Valkyrie tried, and Thor gasped.
"The Midgardian mystics!" Thor exclaimed as he stood up. "Yes, that's it!" Then he halted. "But… how do you contact them?" he asked.
Valkyrie shrugged. "I don't know."
Thor sighed deeply. "Then who would?" he asked.
"Not sure," Valkyrie admitted. "But Thor, I think you have forgotten, locking yourself away like that. You are not alone, you have friends here, on Earth."
Thor took in a deep breath.
"I still get calls from them, you know, asking how you are doing. They are worried about you," Valkyrie informed him.
Thor could feel it again, his emotions rising, why did it only ever take so little? So very, very little?
"Call out to them," Valkyrie encouraged.
"Are you sure that..." Thor tried.
"It's better than staying here, isn't it?" Valkyrie asked.
Thor took a deep breath as he looked down, then he looked up again. "Aye, you're right," he stated. "Erhm, Valkyrie," he mumbled.
"Yes, Thor?" Valkyrie asked.
"I need to go to New York, but… I don't want to travel in sweatpants," Thor admitted. "I need..." he blushed deeply. "Bigger clothes."
Valkyrie smiled, amused. "I'll find some for you," she assured. "You have done so well today! Thank the Norns."
"Well, from your perspective it has only been a few hours, from mine it has been days," Thor pointed out.
"Regardless." Valkyrie sighed. "I just…. It's nice to see you up and about. You know?" she asked.
"I've… I know, I am pathetic," Thor sighed.
"No." Valkyrie shook her head. "You're not."
"But I.." Thor started, only for Valkyrie to quiet him.
"When there is danger, something tangible to face, anything you can do… You'll do it, I've seen it before," Valkyrie stated. "Like right now… People are in need, so you arise once more. That's just what you do."
"I don't know," Thor admitted. "But, at least I have to try." He sighed deeply. "I think I shall go visit friend Romanoff, she seems to have contact with most people."
"She is the one whom has been most consistent with her calls," Valkyrie informed. "I bet she is going to be happy to see you."
"I… hope so," Thor sighed.
"Trust me," Valkyrie said. "She views you as her family."
Thor smiled lightly. "I don't deserve that."
"Yes, you do," Valkyrie replied. "Get some rest, I'll get you some nicer clothes."
And Thor smiled as Valkyrie left the room, then he sat down, sighing deeply, wondering when the next shift would occur.
The answer was, not right away. There didn't seem to be much rhyme or reason behind these shifts. Thor managed to get the better clothes and sighed in relief as he felt at least somewhat decent again..
His hair had a pretty awkward length, though he managed to tie it back into a ponytail which made it look a bit less awkward.
Then he actually took a walk, a walk in the village.
People regarded him, some with hesitance, others with curiosity. Finally, Thor gathered courage and approached someone, an elder man.
"How… are things holding up?" Thor at last asked.
"Well," The man breathed. "We are doing good… My king."
Thor sighed. But didn't say anything to it. "Do you lack anything?" he asked. "Anyone in the village?"
The man shook his head. "We are making due, my king."
Thor started to feel frustrated, this had also been the issue beforehand! Whenever Thor asked if there was something he could do, everyone had always said no!
Couldn't they understand! Thor wanted to do something, he needed to do something… Anything.
Finally, Thor nodded. "Good… That's good."
And the man hurried back to his duties as Thor sighed, once again getting the sense that he was a pretty bad king.
Finally Thor boarded one of their small air crafts so he could head for America, it was going to be a pretty long flight, and of course he was left alone in there.
Valkyrie had been smart enough to remove any bottles from the plane before he was allowed inside, now all Thor had in here was water and salad… Sometimes Valkyrie had her own brand of humor with her.
As Thor was sitting, he felt himself grow tired, the sounds of the engines seemed to grow distant… then suddenly they were gone and Thor looked around to see his own chambers in Asgard… Oh boy, back here again, and if it was the same as before, no time had passed whatsoever.
This had the potential to become confusing real fast.
