Hi guys! Hope your Christmas was wonderful. Enjoy the chapter! :)
Thor turned back from watching Loki and Hena. He was still smiling from his jest, but it faded when he noticed the restless expressions on his friends' faces. Though they tried to hide it, something had distressed them during their conversation with his father. Fandral in particular was uncomfortable.
"My friends, truthfully, what did my father say to you?" Thor asked.
Volstagg looked up quickly and almost nervously consulted the others with his gaze.
"Loki is gone now." Fandral murmured "We can say. Odin did not forbid that."
"Perhaps it was implied." Volstagg pointed out with a burdened sigh. Then he shrugged.
Thor scowled now. Fandral drew in a breath.
"The conversation was regarding our leaving to Midgard while you were banished."
The God of Thunder blinked in surprise. That had not been the direction he expected their explanation to go.
"And?"
"Apparently Odin was never quite informed of the whole story. He...told us that what we did in going to retrieve you was a defiance of both his and Loki's orders as king of Asgard. And that Loki did have as much claim to the throne as you would in that situation."
Thor had never gone to his father and explained the events. He had always assumed that his friends had a reason for coming to Midgard after him. That his brother had been up to something harmful to Asgard. According to Loki, that had not been the case. He must have given his side to Odin to contemplate.
"We weren't trying to defy anyone." Fandral spoke quickly for a moment, thinking he had to justify himself "I suppose we weren't really thinking at all. We did not realize that Loki had only taken the throne in Odin's and your absence. I know now that he did not plan harm to Asgard itself. We went to retrieve you because something felt amiss."
"Something was amiss. Just not in the way we thought." Sif corrected "Loki was planning to allow Frost Giants into Asgard so that he could save Odin from them and justify the destruction of Jotunheim."
Fandral nodded, gaze on the ground "Odin said that we had no cause to go to Midgard at that point. And that our doing this perhaps created a further problem with Loki that could have been avoided."
Thor listened in silence still. It was true as far as he knew, though he had not thought deeply about it. Loki had no plans to harm him or the Warriors until they rebelled as badly as they had.
"We did not mean to betray Loki or anyone else." This was only Volstagg's second time speaking since the start of the conversation, an abnormal occurrence for him.
"What does my father intend to do?" Thor asked.
"We are not certain. He said that we would come before both him and the council in a few days time once things were better settled." Fandral said, finally revealing why they were nervous.
"Before the council as well?" Thor remained taken aback.
"Yes, which does not sound...good at all." Fandral replied grimly.
"I do not suspect that they will punish you." the prince looked upward as he thought "You were not acting with any malice towards Asgard."
"Yes, but it has become clear that neither was Loki." Volstagg pointed out "I know he saw it as defiance of his order. But, that was...simply not why we did it." he sighed "I suppose the best we can do is explain this."
Thor did not respond, lost in thought. He wished that the whole situation had never happened. On one hand, he knew that if he had been in Loki's position, he would have been extremely offended at his friend's actions. On the other hand, he was glad his friends had come for him. He would forever be grateful for their loyalty. But he didn't want their loyalty to him to overshadow their loyalty to his brother.
"How do you think Odin's conversation with Loki went?" Fandral asked, changing the subject.
"I am going to assume that it went well." Thor responded, thinking back even though he would have liked to speak more on the previous matter. He frowned in realization "They interacted very peacefully." he leaned to look at his father and his brother. The two of them had not spoken directly very much as far as he could recall. Yet, for the first time in many years, he had not felt tension between them.
"That is good news." Volstagg replied honestly. His gaze rose to the group of people now approaching him and he unexpectedly smiled.
Thor looked back and saw that the Warrior's family was in sight. Volstagg was a devoted solider of Asgard, but his story was as much one of romance as it was of battle.
"Well, what do we have here?" he asked with a loud laugh as he walked over "I did not think you would be joining me here today."
The woman smiled as he took point by her side to introduce his family. His wife, Adary and three of their children, two of which were boys. The eldest was a girl, older than Mazi by at least a few years. Thor had not personally seen them in several months, as Volstagg and his wife stayed very private. Their youngest children, however, were more than happy to interact with the people around them. Mazi came up to them within moments.
"Are you from Asgard?" she asked.
Volstagg's daughter nodded and both of the boys answered aloud simultaneously.
"Oh, then you do not know me. I am Mazi Anaheim." the princess continued "We are playing a game, do you want to play with us?" she turned slightly "That is Cooper and that is Nathaniel, and that is Lila. They are from Midgard and they are very fun."
Adary smiled at her warmly and then peered at her children, letting them answer.
"Do you play hide and seek?" that was the younger of the two boys "We know good places to hide by the palace."
"Yes, I play that with my sister." Mazi responded excitedly. Her gaze sent the question over to the mortal children. Cooper shrugged in agreement.
"Is that Prince Loki?" Volstagg's older son gaped in sudden shock "I have not seen him in a long time!"
Volstagg glanced at his wife. Neither of them had told the children anything of the events the past few years.
"Where has he been?" the Warrior's daughter asked, but immediately began to explain to Mazi without knowing that the girl already had a relationship with the God of Mischief "Prince Loki is really fun, he will always do a magic trick for you if you ask."
Thor followed their gaze to his brother as well. He was still talking with Hena beside a few other realm representatives, seemingly very content.
"Is that his wife? Did he get married? Is that why he has been gone?" one of the boys' eyes suddenly shot open as he reevaluated Mazi "Are you his daughter?"
The group collectively laughed and Mazi's jaw dropped.
"No, silly." she replied as if he were absolutely ridiculous "He will be my brother! That is my sister by him. They are not married yet, but they will be and then he will be my real older brother."
"What realm are you from?" Volstagg's daughter scrutinized her for a moment, trying to determine for herself.
"I am from Anaheim. My parents are the king and queen. And my sister is a princess like me."
"So then he is going to be king of your realm?"
"Yes, but not yet because my parents are still going to rule for the time being." Mazi replied formally.
"Can we go and talk to him?" Only one of the boys asked their parents for permission, but the other stared at them expectantly as well.
Adary hesitated, making sure that was alright with the other adults around her.
"Yes." she said steadily "But remember everything I told you as we walked here. You behave yourselves."
"We will." their daughter responded even though both of her brothers had already begun their way over to the God of Mischief.
"I am not sure what to say to them." Adary murmured to Volstagg once they were gone.
"If they don't ask where he was, there is no need to explain." he replied with a shake of his head "Let them enjoy themselves."
"He looks...like he is doing very well." she continued before turning to the others "Thor, how are you?"
"I am well, thank you. Your children appear to have aged a few years in a matter of months." the God of Thunder smiled.
Adary laughed once "Oh, I agree. They have certainly grown up recently." her kind eyes moved on to the mortals and other Warriors. As they introduced themselves, Thor's thoughts drifted. Volstagg's children were talking to Loki now. His brother looked pleasantly surprised to see them, having stepped away from Hena for a moment for them. Thor was too far away to hear the words, but the God of Mischief held out a hand at the eldest boy's shoulder height and then lifted it above his head as if beyond shocked at his growth.
The three children had always been close to the younger prince. Thor knew that he had not been as personable nor as invested in many of his relationships. Watching the scene now, he felt a bit regretful.
"What did they decide on his...prison sentence?" Adary asked, first looking to her husband and then the others. She noticed the stuffed animal Volstagg held with a confused smile.
"There will be no more prison time. He will be confined to Asgard for the next one hundred years. Other than Jotunheim. But, no, he does not have to return to his cell." Thor answered. Laura shook her head again in disbelief at the amount of time.
"Oh, that is wonderful news to hear. Is he getting married?" Adary asked, following the same thought process as her children "I assumed that woman was from another realm. Anaheim they said?"
"Yes, she is the princess of Anaheim." Volstagg spoke this time "I believe they will marry. I do not know when."
Adary nodded "Likely when his time here is finished. Is she the eldest princess?"
"Yes, she only has one sibling and they are younger than her."
"I'm glad that one hundred years is so short for you guys. At least for Loki's sake. That is quite literally our entire life." Laura said, smiling sadly "And even still, that seems like a long time."
"Compared to what it could have been, this is kind." Thor replied "And I am not referring to his life sentence. The council's initial reduced sentence was one hundred years longer in prison and then one thousand years on Asgard."
"Oh my heck, one thousand?" Laura lifted her hands to her face. Normally, the Warriors would have laughed at a mortal's bewilderment, but they were equally astounded.
Thor nodded "Yes, but my father refused. It took them two days to propose something that satisfied both the strict and more lenient members of the council."
"Refused the council?" Fandral asked "That has not happened in a long time to my knowledge."
"He kept this one out of public hearing. I am not sure if Loki is to know it or not, so I would rather ere on the side of caution and not tell him." Thor said "I'll ask my father for certain." he inclined his head at the person approaching.
The Allfather had finished his welcome of each of leaders present. Briefly, the prince wondered if he should have accompanied him. But the king's expression didn't imply that. He simply came back to his son's side.
"Do we have new allies?" Thor queried.
"Yes, a large array. The Nine Realms will remain as they are, but we will be communing with the others more frequently." Odin was going to say more on the subject, but his eyes abruptly flicked to something past them and his eyebrows rose "Mazi, where are you going?"
Thor's attention shot to the children by Loki, only to realize that the young princess was no longer there. She had managed to separate herself from the group and was sneakily heading towards the palace. The artifacts left on Anaheim were currently being transported down to the Vault where they would be permanently stored. That was exactly where the little girl was heading.
Mazi froze as soon as Odin said her name. She looked back sheepishly, eyes wide.
"Don't go over there." he said this in the tone of a father and not a king "We are moving dangerous items at the moment."
"The Tesseract?" Mazi asked curiously.
"Correct. And you should stay far from that. It is not safe."
"How did you know I was going over there?" she half accused him "I was not being bad before."
"Oh, I know a trick or two." Odin replied in amusement.
"But I am not bad." Mazi said, her voice indicating that she was hurt by his lack of trust.
"I know you're not, little one, but the place you intended to go is very dangerous right now."
Mazi huffed out a loud breath "I forget that you had to take care of Loki when he was little."
"I certainly did, which means you'll have to be quite clever to get past me. I believe you might eventually do that too."
"Yes, I will. I will also be better at magic than him as well." Mazi declared, grinning as she saw that Odin meant no harm.
"With him as your teacher I have no doubt. He taught many of these things to himself with little instruction. "
"So then he can teach me and I can learn quicker and learn more in the same amount of time." Mazi deduced.
"Yes, that is true. Just be patient with yourself. It has taken him a long time to get where he is." Odin reminded her.
"I am very patient. Most of the time." the little girl let out a low hum and looked back at the other children "Can I go now?"
He nodded "Just stay away from that area of the palace for now. Even harmless mischief needs temperance."
"Okay. I can do that." Mazi replied turning away to leave.
Odin watched with a few small shakes of his head. The incident was oddly akin to ones he'd had with Loki and Thor. His eldest son was now looking at him curiously.
"I understand that you're a parent, but she's not your child. How in Valhalla did you know how to do that?"
Odin vaguely laughed "That skill will come to you in time. But the similarity between her and Loki as a child is almost eery. She responds the same way to being caught. Loki would only listen if you explained your reasoning. They both relish getting the better of others through tricks. Still, she is oddly responsible, same as he."
"And magical." Thor almost muttered.
'Yes, they most certainly share magic." Odin agreed. Then he let out a near sigh "You should considering taking some of that responsibility for yourself right now. The report for the council truly does need to be done, Thor. Before they come to me in complaint."
"I will have it done by the end of this day." Thor replied, his voice apologetic "These reports have been far and few between. I suppose I have fallen out of custom." his eyebrows furrowed "I do find this tradition to be a bit tedious."
"Tedious or not, it is essential to maintaining equity between the realms." Odin responded "I won't begrudge you waiting until this evening, but beyond that I might start to worry."
"It will be done before tomorrow." Thor promised. His father nodded and turned to leave.
Immediately, the God of Thunder set his sights on Loki. His brother was still with Hena, engaged in conversation with leaders of Anaheim's neighbor realms.
"We do have good tidings to bring from the distant realm of Midgard." Tony said "Loki is no longer going to be considered a security threat by SHIELD. Nicholas Fury had a fun time trying to track us down while we were imprisoned. He's up to speed."
"Well, I wouldn't...necessarily say that Loki would be welcome back at any SHIELD family reunion." Hawkeye corrected, making sure that there would not be any misunderstanding "But, yeah, he was taken off the list."
"Not that it will matter. Technically everyone down there will be dead by the time he could ever come around again." Tony pointed out.
"Oh my gosh." Laura said, pulling her head back "You're right. That's crazy."
"Yet true. I am not even certain that SHIELD will be around that long anyway." Tony continued "They don't...quite have the proper sales pitch."
"And SHIELD is your mortal defense system?" Volstagg asked. Natasha and Hawkeye laughed briefly.
"No...it's kind of a hierarchy of 'who can throw the next person off a cliff so they can be on top.'" Tony responded "They don't actually defend people; they send in nukes for the greater good."
"Why do you support them then?" Fandral asked. While he understood the sarcasm, he could see that there was a bit of honesty in the man's words.
"Tony has a bad rapport with the lead members. Don't listen to anything he says." Hawkeye replied.
"You know, just for the record, I am the Avenger who saved the entire city of New York and maybe a few surrounding areas, by flying into space. Don't tell me I didn't qualify for your precious Avengers Initiative." Tony said.
"Take it up with Fury. I have a feeling that you guys have yet to have your feud." Black Widow replied.
"We have one every time we make eye contact, what are you talking about?" Tony asked.
Thor half-heartedly listened to his friends' banter, his focus elsewhere. The Frost Giant king and Hena had left the arrogant leader of Medlore and were merely talking to others as a formality. He could see that the discussions were coming to an end and his brother was preparing to take his leave.
"You know what is kind of ironic, Thor, is that I am pretty sure you're still considered a high-risk terrorist suspect by SHIELD. From the first time you broke into that compound to get your hammer." Hawkeye then blinked in disbelief "Whoa." he looked down at Mjolnir "Holy cow, that feels like a lifetime ago. How is that the same hammer we were called in for in New Mexico."
"He's considered a terrorist threat? Why did they ever let him join the Avengers?" Tony asked, not the least bit concerned about his friend's reminiscences "The level of my justice in being offended just went clear to the tippy-top of that castle."
"Tony, there isn't an official Avenger 'list,' SHIELD just identified people who could be...useful at one point or another. Thor accidently integrated himself." Hawkeye responded "Will we die with this argument still unfinished?"
"Accidentally?" Thor asked, defending himself unconvincingly "No, no, I knew what I was walking into."
"Then why did you do your best to destroy my suit when we first met?" Tony replied.
"That was...a...test. To see how well you were equipped to deal with enemies." Thor responded, his voice confident, but slightly too hesitant to be believable. His eyes flicked over and brightened. His brother had finally finished his conversations, leaving Hena to discuss with her parents for a moment. He was walking over to their general area now.
"Loki, I need your help." Thor said right as the man got within a few feet.
The God of Mischief pulled back his head with a surprised blink. His gaze briefly flicked to the others as if they might hold a clue.
"Yes?" he asked, face wary.
"I don't know how to write the battle report for the council." the older son continued "But I need to have it done by tonight or father is going to throw me from the Bifrost."
Loki's eyebrows raised incredulously "What? Thor, why haven't you just asked him?"
"Because it's humiliating." Thor responded in exasperation.
"And why exactly don't you know how to do these? We've had hundreds of battles we've fought in." Loki asked, ignoring his excuse.
Thor hesitated, but he didn't need to say anything else. Loki suddenly came to a realization.
"Oh my goodness. Did I do every single one of those over the past centuries that we led Asgard to war?" he asked, partially to himself. He looked at Thor, mouth open "You've never done a single one, have you?"
"I have so. It has just been a very long time." Thor replied, doing his best to mumble. He sighed and looked at his younger brother seriously "I don't want father to know. Will you help me?"
Loki rolled his eyes and then closed them for a second in annoyance. He started walking towards the palace without giving a verbal answer.
"Thank you." Thor said in relief, quickly following after him. He glanced back at his Asgardian friends "Do not tell Odin where we've gone if he comes back out here."
"We won't have much choice if you take a long time." Volstagg replied honestly.
"It won't take very long." Loki growled back. He briefly turned back "Pardon me, Adary, I will actually greet you formally once we don't have a dier emergency on our hands."
The woman blinked in good humor after him. Fandral simultaneously laughed quietly in his throat, shaking his head.
"You would think three years without him Thor would have learned to do some of these things by himself."
"In all fairness, I am certain that Loki didn't have Thor do them before because he didn't want to answer questions for him." Volstagg replied in amusement "He just wanted them done."
"I will not be making up a lie if Odin comes back." Hogun said. Fandral smiled.
"I know. Let us just hope he returns after them."
The princes had disappeared into the palace, heading in a different direction than Odin had minutes earlier. There was a low chance they would cross paths with him, but it appeared that they were taking the more cautious route.
"Laura, I've kind of lost track of our children. Do you know where they went?" Hawkeye asked flippantly.
"They went with ours. They are just around that pillar there. I can see them." Adary replied to him and he looked over. It was interesting to see the contrast between her and the man beside her. Volstagg was extremely outspoken and social, while she on the other hand, had very mild manners and her tone was nearly always gentle.
"Oh...thank you. I promise I'm not a bad parent, I was just kidding." Hawkeye said with a small nervous laugh.
"I did not suspect you of anything, do not worry." the woman assured him.
"I'm surprised they aren't running the castle halls right now." Laura said "A place this big would be the home of their dreams." she followed Adary's directions for viewing the children. Though she did want to make sure they were all there and behaving themselves, she looked at Lila in particular. Her daughter was still reserved, even surrounded by other children.
Shortly after this, Asgardian servants brought out drinks for the guests aplenty from the realms. The choices ranged from simple water to light liquor. They were arranged on a table near the entrance of the palace, allowing everyone to select their own drink.
"Hey, let's get some more Asgardian liquor." Tony said enthusiastically "That stuff would sell for a few hundred thousand dollars a bottle."
Hawkeye snorted "Yeah, I imagine it would."
"You might start a serious problem down on Midgard with it. Mead isn't made for mortals." Volstagg cautioned.
"Which is why it would sell for so much, keep up with me." Tony replied off-handedly.
"I'll take water, but have at it." Hawkeye held out a hand to the table.
Adary said something quietly to her husband, inclining her head towards the children, and he nodded in acknowledgement. The others continued the discussion over the liquor as she left. The game of hide and seek Volstagg's boys had suggested had been forgotten when they saw Loki. Now all of the children were gathered in a circle, listening to a game Nathaniel was explaining. Adary stopped nearby to watch.
A fair while following, Loki came back out. As predicted, explaining the process to the elder prince had not taken very long. However grueling it may have been. Thor was not with him, presumably finishing the report in the palace. Loki passed Adary with a small greeting, but she turned fully to speak with him. Her gestures suggested she was asking him a question. Their relationship had been that of a citizen and prince, but during the last few decades, especially as her younger children were maturing, they'd become friends. His interest in magic was attractive to any child, but also Adary herself. Sorcery was uncommon in her family, but that did not stop their daughter from showing interest.
The two of them spoke for a few minutes before Loki dipped his head in parting. Adary left to follow her children again, who had already disappeared around the side of the palace.
Loki stopped near his Asgardian friends and the Avengers, but remained a slight distance from them, just as he had on Earth. Hena was finishing a conversation with another realm representative over by her parents. As he waited, the God of Mischief opened the book he had brought back with him from the palace.
Tony noticed him first and opened his mouth, then frowned and looked at the others.
"So doing this down on Earth wasn't abnormal for him?" he asked "He wasn't only a recluse because he disliked us?"
Fandral's brow furrowed as he followed the mortal's gaze.
"Oh. No...he is most certainly quiet unless you engage him in direct conversation. And he has always enjoyed reading. I would not necessarily call him a recluse however. He may just have nothing to say. There is also a larger group of people here he would not have called friends just a few weeks ago. And not just you Midgardians. I'm working to restore a friendship with him."
"Well, you've got a nice long one hundred years." Tony responded.
"Hopefully longer. I doubt he'll go to Anaheim and never visit here again."
Meanwhile, Mazi and Hawkeye's children approached the God of Mischief. Laura's face turned uneasy.
"Maybe we should have them go play somewhere else. I'm too worried that they're going to forget to be careful."
"I think they're okay." Hawkeye replied honestly, trying to assure her without sounding patronizing. Eir's comments had made them all more paranoid than it seemed they needed to be.
"Can you teach us how to do some of your magic tricks?" Nathaniel asked Loki, his voice inquisitive.
The God of Mischief glanced upwards, clearly thinking that over. He half-laughed.
"Well..." he held up one finger "Wait here. Let me get something."
Nathaniel glanced at Cooper, as if expecting him to know already.
"What is it?" Mazi asked, scowling as the younger prince of Asgard turned.
"You'll see it in a moment." he replied "We'll let them do a little of their own magic."
"I am coming with you." Mazi said determinedly, following the few steps he had taken. She looked back at Cooper and Nathaniel "Stay here so that it can be a surprise."
"What if we want to come?" Cooper asked, sounding very indignant.
"No, you will like the surprise better if you wait here." Mazi told him cheerfully. The boy folded his arms, but to both of the watching parents' surprise, he let the argument go.
Loki, on the other hand, held back a smile at the little girl's tenacity. She joined him on his walk. Within a few seconds, she turned to him with a few eager words. He laughed before catching her as she jumped up towards his arms. Then he placed her up on his shoulders as they left.
"Where is he going?" that was Hena's voice from the other side of the group. She walked over curiously, briefly standing on her toes to see above the tallest members.
"Not sure. He said he had a surprise for them." Laura was the one to respond for them. Hena's eyebrows went up as her interested piqued.
Cooper walked over to them, irritated. Nathaniel stayed with Lila near where Loki left them.
"Mazi is so bossy." the oldest boy said.
"Hey." Hawkeye scowled at him warningly as his mother simply opened her mouth in embarrassment.
"No, it's alright." Hena said instantly, feeling apologetic more than anything "She certainly can be at times. Did she tell you to do something?"
"No, no. She wanted them to wait for the surprise rather than go with her and Loki. It might have felt like she was trying to tell you what to do, Cooper, but she was only trying to make it more exciting for you." Laura explained to him, internally exasperated by her child.
"Oh. Well, if she becomes controlling in anyway, feel free to ask her to stop." Hena glanced at Cooper "You too, okay?"
"I can't do that. If I do that then she won't like me." he responded in irritation at the suggestion "Girls don't like to be told what to do."
Hena grinned "Do you like her?"
"Yes, she's really cute and really fun." he replied. The blushing followed shortly after and he blurted out "But I don't want to get married. Don't tell her that."
"Oh, I won't. You can trust me." Hena nodded seriously.
"Cross your heart?" Cooper checked. The princess smiled, made an 'x' over her heart and held up her hand obediently.
As soon as the child left, the group murmured their amusement.
"He's crushing hard." Tony said.
Hena chuckled "It's adorable that he's trying to cater to her. But I hope she doesn't drive him mad. She is going through a very controlling phase."
"So is Cooper. It's hard to tell if he is actually being bossed around or if he just wants to be the one in control." Laura replied. The two women continued on that subject for several more minutes before Loki returned from the palace. Mazi now walked behind him. Immediately, both boys ran to him to investigate. He held something in his hands that even the Warriors had to lean to see.
"What is that?" Nathaniel asked intently, staring at the golden sphere being shown to them.
"This is something Thor and I played with for hours when we were your age." Loki answered. He threw the ball into the air. Every mortal there, adult and child, followed its path upward and then blinked in shock as it stayed in the air. Then the ball unfolded and parts of it detached to orbit around the now smaller sphere in the center.
Nathaniel's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Even Mazi gaped. Loki held out his hands and it silently refolded, falling into his hands.
"How did you do that?" Cooper demanded.
"I didn't. It did. It will stay suspended in the air until you open your hands to catch it." Loki responded "Thor and I would wager how close to our hands we could stop it without touching it."
With that, he threw the sphere back into the air for them.
"I want to try." Nathaniel said eagerly, stepping forward until he was underneath the floating object.
"So do I." Cooper added, his voice annoyed.
"You have all the time in the world to play with it. It will not matter who goes first." Loki spoke mildly. A silence followed for a few moments between them all.
"Okay, you can try first, Nathaniel." Cooper conceded, stepping backwards.
Laura nodded, impressed with her oldest son as well as the activity Loki offered them. The God of Mischief stayed nearby momentarily just to watch.
Nathaniel readied himself, looking directly up at the ball. He held out his hands, but instantly ducked as it started to fall. Mazi couldn't stop herself from letting out a laugh, but she quickly contained herself.
"It won't hit you." Loki told him, fairly amused himself "As soon as you move your hands, it will stop. Go slowly if you want."
"Is it heavy?" Nathaniel asked uneasily.
"No. You can easily carry it."
Encouraged, the boy held out his hands again. He flinched as it came closer and then pulled his arms back to his sides. Slowly, painfully, yet surely, he managed to get it down to where he could take hold.
"You're good at that." Mazi said kindly and Nathaniel grinned. He handed it to Cooper, who then sweetly offered it to Lila next. She shook her head without saying anything.
Loki took his leave after that, although he only moved a few yards away.
"That certainly looks fun." Hena said, making him look up.
"Oh, you're finished." he replied "How did the conversation resolve?"
"Quite well. I still am not enamored of him." Hena spoke honestly and without apology about their neighboring realm's king. She gave him a slightly scolding look "You sent him into a frazzle. I wasn't certain you would be able to throw him like that, but you proved me wrong."
Loki scoffed a bit, obviously pleased with himself "We parted on amiable terms."
"My parents did do a majority of the talking after you left, which I was grateful for. He did say farewell to me specifically. It was a favorable sign. He generally does that only to those he perceives as equals."
"You had no need to be nervous." Loki told her honestly, though kindly.
"I actually disagree, I think it is very good to be nervous when doing something important. It shows that you care." Hena responded. Loki's eyebrows went up.
"I am so offended." he said, putting one hand to his chest.
"No, I did not mean that offensively." Hena laughed "You were likely nervous talking to the other leaders of the Nine Realms when you first started doing so. My parents have generally taken on that task until the last few decades. Asgard is different from Anaheim in that regard. We have less interaction with our neighboring realms. I have to build my own personal relationships with our allies. And now we are gaining new ones."
"True. I did want to make a good impression my first time introducing myself. I was not saying the task wasn't difficult, I was saying that I knew you would do well and you should not doubt yourself." Loki said.
Hena looked over, mouth curving up. Her cheeks flushed lightly as she blinked.
Banner observed the children experimenting with the ball, studying each time it stayed suspended in the air.
"That might be something worth researching." Tony mentioned, knowing exactly what he was thinking "Ah, Prince of Thunder, there you are!"
Thor's focus was on the papers he was carrying and it took him a moment to look up to his title. Briefly, he looked for his father, but Odin had not returned yet.
"Loki, I don't believe that you met my father's brother when you were on Anaheim last, did you?" Hena asked, her attention elsewhere. She nodded in response to her own question "They were traveling off-realm at that time."
"Yes, I recall you mentioning that." Loki responded.
"Well, you will get a chance to meet them now. When we learned Anaheim was under the threat of attack, my father sent for them." Hena told him "They've come here today as well. I'm not certain where all of them are, but I would like you to meet my uncle."
"He's the one who travels to different realms searching for new magic and energy sources, yes? With groups of people, I might add." Loki checked. Though he had not known Hena's uncle before falling to Anaheim, he had heard of the man's reputation and been secretly interested in joining those expeditions for centuries.
Hena nodded to answer his question.
"Yes. You and him would get along very well. He is similar to my father, but sorcery is his focus. Thus he tends to be more serious in nature." she said "And, you remember Leah."
Loki confirmed and Fandral asked a question at the same time.
"How many siblings do your parents have?"
Hena attention turned to him apologetically "Sorry, I should realize that all of you do not know whom I am talking about. My father has one sister and one brother and that sister has one daughter, Leah. My uncle has two children, a son and a daughter. They have been with him traveling realms." she glanced at Loki, who was taking in new information just the same "Evera is the daughter. She didn't visit while you were there, but Heden did. He spends more time on Anaheim than the rest of my uncle's family."
"I remember him, though he was only there a few days." Loki was thinking back, but Hena responded before that.
"Yes, he left very soon after he came." she chuckled. For a moment, she considered recounting the story of when Loki and Heden met, but decided to finish answering Fandral's question first.
"My mother has two sisters. Both of them are married and one of them has a daughter my age, Daleah, as well as triplets Mazi's age. All of which are also girls.
"Does your mom's family only consist of women?" Tony asked. Hena laughed breathily this time.
"No, although it certainly seems that way. My mother has been pregnant with daughters every time except one. I'm not certain why we tend to breed females in this family. But, hopefully in an effort to balance out the feminine atmosphere, my mother's other sister does have one son. And a daughter as well." she looked at Loki "You will be a welcome addition."
"Oh, thank you." he responded.
"And not just because you're a man." Hena continued, the corners of her mouth still curved up "I am going to go and find Leah."
"Why?" Loki asked, mildly indignant.
"She's my cousin and this is her first time here. I know the two of you tease each other mercilessly but I think that you enjoy it." Hena shrugged "At least I hope you do. She's always wanted to come to Asgard, so I imagine she'll want to see us and particularly you since this is your home."
"Tease each other? Excuse me, I have never once teased her." the God of Mischief corrected.
"Then the two of you must genuinely hate each other." Hena turned away with an amused sigh, not interested in carrying on the jest. She first headed towards her parents, intending to find her cousin from there.
"Mazi?" she addressed her sister "I will back in a moment. Loki is right over there if you need something."
Mazi nodded obediently and put her attention on Loki "Don't worry, I'm not supposed to be rambunctious."
"Oh? By whose orders?"
"My mother and father. This is not our realm, so I have to be extra good."
"I think you are doing well enough already." Loki assured her.
"Your dad caught me trying to see the Tesseract." Mazi admitted rather defiantly.
"Did he?" Loki laughed through his teeth "I'm sorry. But I am glad he did. It wouldn't be safe. Particularly for you."
Mazi folded her arms and huffed out a breath "If you say I can go in there, then I won't get in trouble."
"But I would." Loki pulled her closer for a brief consoling pat "Someday I'll take you to see it. I promise. I think we all have had enough of its power."
"When?" the little girl stared up at him curiously.
"Once you've forgotten about it entirely."
"Why?"
"You might be ready for it then."
Mazi crinkled her eyebrows "I do not understand. But okay. If you promise."
"I do."
She nodded, pivoting on one foot to face the mortal children. Thor waited a moment to make sure that she was done.
"Loki?" he asked, approaching.
"What?" the younger brother glanced over at him.
"Will you look over this for me?" he asked, holding out the papers containing his report.
Loki reached and accepted them. With a brief glance over the first page, he handed it back.
"Done."
Thor scowled and Loki rolled his eyes with a deep exhale.
"This is the first one I have done in a very long time and I want to make sure it is accurate. You are..." he paused, reluctant to say the next part "better at these things than me."
"Yes, and I already completed my own." Loki responded irritably. Even as he said this, he was walking over to the nearby benches to sit.
"Thank you." Thor said, sounding exactly as he had when his younger brother initially went with him.
"I'll have it done by tonight, your majesty."
"Preferably earlier." Thor corrected, earning a dark look.
Volstagg breathed out loudly through his nose in hilarity at the two princes bickering. Fandral shared the moment with him, though surprised at Loki's kindness. However irritably it was shown.
The cats from Anaheim were still hovering around the group. The larger one, which was Mazi's, had left Laura's side and joined one much smaller than itself a few yards away. The smaller one was Hena's and as soon as Loki set his gaze on her, she hissed. The God of Mischief intoned in disgust.
"Oh yes. I remember you." he said. The cat hissed again without moving positions.
Laura watched it, scowling in bewilderment.
"Evil creature." Loki muttered.
"Is that Mazi's or Hena's?" Thor asked. He honestly didn't pay attention to them himself.
"Hena's. The demon cat." Loki said, giving the animal a scowl.
"Why don't you like her?" Mazi questioned, hands rising to her hips.
"I don't not like her. She's the one who hates me. For a reason that has yet to be discovered." Loki responded "From the moment I set foot in Anaheim."
"She likes everyone. I don't know what you're doing wrong." Mazi said plainly.
Loki gave her a sideways look, unable to hide his smile at her outright honesty.
"Trust me, I don't know either." he shook his head "We clearly have differing personalities. She is definitely what some would call a goody-goody. Even as a cat."
"She does come when we call her better than my cat. Mine doesn't always listen." Mazi agreed.
"See? And I get along much better with yours."
"But, you like Hena." Mazi pointed out, eyes wide as she attempted to stare into his soul.
Loki paused and then exhaled in a laugh "That's very true. You're far too intuitive for your age. Nothing gets past you."
"Why do you like Hena if she is a goody-goody?" Mazi continued curiously.
"I wouldn't call Hena that necessarily. She's a rule follower definitely, but she also knows when to set rules aside. And she doesn't cast judgement on others. Otherwise she wouldn't even look twice in my direction." the man still smiled at the little girl.
"But you are responsible." Mazi said with a scowl as she pointed at Thor's papers he was holding.
"Well, yes. I do have a curse of being responsible, unfortunately."
"So, you are a secret rule follower." Mazi jabbed a finger at him. Loki grabbed her arm and pulled her closer so he could tickle her. She squealed, struggling to get away, but he had a firm grip. She couldn't help but laugh in near pain until he released her.
"Go away."
"No!" Mazi defied him immediately. To immediately contradict her words, she dashed away, hoping to avoid being tickled any more. Loki let her go without following, even though he was extremely amused. The humor left, however, as Hena's cat hissed at him again. He gave her a scowl before returning his attention to the papers.
A pair of guards, who had come from the direction of the Bifrost, passed Mazi on their way over. One watched her for a moment as she raced past. They stopped before the others.
"Pardon us. Prince Loki and Thor, the leaders of Alfheim have just arrived." one of them said with a dip of his head "Vanaheim should be following shortly."
Loki glanced up at his name and for a moment his eyes were vaguely surprised at the title they used. It had always accompanied his name in the past and therefore it was easy to overlook. The guard had explicitly said his name first.
"Thank you." he replied with a nod and Thor followed suit.
"Are you guys not friends with all of your nine realms? Or did some of them just not want to come to help out at Hena's place?" Tony asked
"The ones we are allies with came to the battle. Alfheim and Vanaheim. You from Midgard and now Jotunheim." Thor held a hand towards Loki briefly "Not all of the nine have inhabitants we can necessarily call upon for help. Nilfheim is a realm of the common and forsaken dead. Nidavellir is home of dwarves that we do not associate with but once a century. If that."
"Muspelheim came. But on Thanos' side." Loki added plainly "Asgard is not their favorite realm."
Laura's gaze went up slightly as she tried to mentally count all the ones that had been mentioned.
"That was seven. Asgard is included in the Nine." Loki told her, seeing her face "The last one is Svartalfheim. Once home to dark elves, rather than light like Alfheim. They are extinct or near extinct that at this point."
"Wow. So, you only interact with half of the other realms?" Laura asked.
"And you can go to the realm of the dead?" Captain America questioned, eyebrows up.
"Yes." Thor replied to Laura at the same time Loki shook his head to answer the soldier's question. If they could visit the dead, he would certainly be there on a daily basis.
"I thought it was Valhalla?" Hawkeye asked and Volstagg laughed quietly at the all of the mortals' confusion.
"Valhalla is where the soldiers and the honorable dead go. It is within Asgard, though we do not have access to it." Thor explained. He put his gaze on Loki "Are you coming to greet Alfheim?"
The younger prince glanced up, pausing.
"No. That's not my responsibility."
Thor scowled at him, uncertain of whether Loki was offended or gloating. His brother then continued, allowing himself a small grin and a satisfied sigh.
"I am gleefully duty-free for the next one hundred years."
"And you're just going to love that, aren't you?" Thor responded scathingly.
"Every moment."
"You realize you're going to have to interact with them on Jotunheim's behalf, yes?"
"I will. In my own due time. You needn't worry that."
The God of Thunder rolled his eyes and pivoted away from him. Though, in truth, he would have preferred to go with his younger brother. The leaders of Alfheim were not intimidating, but now that he had Loki back, he disliked doing these formalities on his own.
"You realize you're going to be assisting him all along the way, yes?" Fandral asked, referring to Thor.
"Don't ruin it, Fandral." Loki replied, pulling the top paper from the stack and neatly tucking it behind the rest.
"I'm not trying to, I am simply stating what I believe will happen in the future." Fandral defended himself "Because it is already happening."
"Yes, it most certainly is." After responding, Loki rolled his eyes at Thor's idiocy and waved his hand over the page, making the edges glow green as he manipulated the words.
"What are you doing?" Sif took a step forward, eyes narrowed.
"Adding Muspelheim into his report." Despite her tone, Loki didn't react. He continued his task "Excluding an entire realm is exactly something Thor would do."
Sif blinked and then withdrew her protectiveness. Loki picked up Thor's pen that he had set on the bench and began filling in the now empty spots on the paper.
"I don't believe you would have needed to add Muspelheim in before this recent battle." Fandral said "To be completely honest, I haven't thought about them since I first learned the Nine Realms. Interesting that they should align with Thanos."
"I imagine he simply told them that Asgard would be on the other end of the portal." Loki replied.
"That would suggest a they're a little less sentient. Or battle hungry." Volstagg tilted his head down just a little bit to try and watch exactly what the Silvertongue was doing "I am curious if Odin will acknowledge the battle to them."
"I doubt it. There would be little, if anything, gained." Loki answered. The Warrior shrugged.
"So, where do the Water Giants live? Aquaheim?" Hawkeye asked. Laura half-chuckled and rolled her eyes at her husband.
"Maybe those exist somewhere." Fandral replied, half-smiling "You think our names strange?"
"I think they're...nonsensical, yes." Hawkeye said, nodding honestly "Muspelheim? Where does that come from? And Midgard?"
"I'm certain whoever came up with naming our planet 'Earth' was far superior." Tony commented.
"No, but at least that has a reason behind it. Earth, dirt? I'm not a genius, but none of the names so far have any reasoning to them."
Laura looked over towards Loki, expecting him to provide insight, but he had his full attention on the papers in front of him now.
"Why not Midheim? Like all the other realms?" Hawkeye asked, folding his arms slightly.
"Well...Midgard is the closest realm to Asgard. Perhaps that is why." Fandral replied.
"And Jotunheim? I mean, obviously there are Jotuns...Frost Giants there. Where is that name from?"
Fandral paused, pressing his lips together. He finally looked at Loki with a deep breath.
"Would you care join in and provide some insight?"
The prince didn't respond immediately, but within the few seconds of silence, he realized the Warrior was addressing him. He glanced up, eyebrows raised.
"In theory, Midgard is in the center of Jotunheim, or in the center of the nine realms. Hence, mid."
"And why 'gard'? Why not 'heim'?" Hawkeye continued to be the one to ask. Everyone else was ruminating over the new information.
"Midgard was thought to be the realm striving to become like Asgard. 'Heim' just means home. You aren't home of the 'mid'. Jotunheim is home of the Jotuns, Vanaheim is home of the Vanir, Muspelheim is named after Muspell, which is normally considered to be the original giant meant to cause Ragnarok. Alfheim or 'Elf-home' is obviously the home of elves. Svartalfheim is similar. 'Svart' means black, so 'Dark-Elf-Home.' Nidavellir is also called Myrkheim. Myrk meaning dark, so 'dark-home' or world of darkness. The dwarves live there. Honestly, I am not certain why it isn't named after them." Loki looked back down at his paper "I'll stop there, you understand the concept."
Fandral gestured one hand at him with a few nods, showing the others that the prince knowing such information off the top of his head was normal.
"Wait, wait, what about Asgard?" Laura asked, holding up one finger to bring the Silvertongue back into the conversation.
"Asgard is just a term that means "Enclosure of the Aesir." Loki looked over at the palace as he noticed Odin appear. With a flick of his hand, Thor's unfinished report disappeared and was replaced with a book. He waited to materialize the papers again until the king passed on his way to the newly arriving realms.
"What is Aesir exactly?" Hawkeye asked, noticing the God instinctively cover for his brother "You guys have used that term before."
"A race. The human race. The Aesir race. That's all it means."
About a hundred yards away from that conversation, Hena gave Odin a smile as she returned from her search for her cousin. She tried to see what Loki was doing from the distance, but she couldn't. Her eyes were narrowed in confusion all the way up until she recognized it. Loki glanced around at her approach. She leaned on the back of the bench as he spoke.
"No Leah? I had my self-esteem all prepared."
"Aha." Hena replied sarcastically "She is not on Asgard. My father's siblings are not here yet."
"Oh dear, we haven't even met them and already they don't like us."
Hena exhaled in a small laugh as she straightened up to walk around and join him on the bench.
"As much as I am grateful for a whole swath of new allies, it is a little bit overwhelming. It seems as though there will be much more to manage when I have to assume the throne than when my parents did."
"No, not really. I don't think you'll need to manage the other realms. Their own leaders usually do that." Loki replied, giving her an impish look. Hena slapped at him playfully.
"Stop it. You know what I mean." she searched briefly for Mazi, but found that she had rejoined Hawkeye's children. Both of the boys were still very entertained by the golden ball the God of Mischief had given them. Though Cooper had invited her several times, Lila simply watched them play. Her expression was passive and she said very little if anything at all. Even as Hena joked with Loki, she could feel Laura's anxiety for her daughter.
"Oh my goodness, is Thor just a complete..." her thoughts were broken by Loki's suddenly irritated voice.
"What?" she asked as he shuffled through the papers.
"I did this." the Silvertongue looked at her "I did too much for him. I helped turn him into the arrogant brute that he was the majority of his life."
Hena half-smiled, her expression puzzled. She was about to question him, when he continued.
"This is all wrong. He has the documents in the wrong order, his account of the battle isn't complete, his signatures are on the wrong pages." Loki exhaled in irritation and reached up one hand to rub along his face.
"How many of these has he done before?" Hena asked charitably.
"I honestly can't even say."
"But...just from being around the two of you, I can clearly see that Thor is not as detail...as detail conscious as you. He isn't worried about little things like this. So you needn't worry about it for him. I'm sure your father's advisors will pull through if something as...horrible as this is given to them." she grinned now.
"I'm sure they will. It is simply ridiculous." Loki dropped the papers next to him on the seat, presumably for Thor to come and take them. Hena could sense his uneasiness immediately and he promptly shook his head.
"No." he stood and turned so that he could arrange the papers on the bench. Hena laughed.
"How is your wrist doing?" she lifted his arm up to see it. Her face changed to one of alarm as she saw that the scarlet portion of the bandage had increased.
"Bleeding ever so lightly." Loki replied and she shook her head.
"You should go back to Eir."
"So that she can worry over me some more as she replaces the bandage?" the God of Mischief questioned "As of right now, there isn't anything she can do but keep it at bay."
"What about Nebula?" Hena asked quickly "She knew how to pull it out. She saved your life on Anaheim. We should find her and ask what the antidote might be."
Loki looked over with a small scowl at the new information, but he didn't question her. He shrugged.
"It is a thought, but I doubt she knows. I would assume most people who are infected with it never get a chance to receive the antidote."
Hena momentarily paused, pondering that, but then disagreed "No. Thanos wasn't intending to kill you, which I am assuming means he had an antidote there."
"Unless this isn't lethal if they remove it every week." Loki pointed out, still organizing the papers. Hena stared at him incredulously. His calmness surrounding the whole issue bothered her.
Adary was returning from the palace with her children, which distracted her. Each of them nearly simultaneously leaned to see what the Midgardian kids were playing with, but were let down when they saw it was nothing new to them. Cooper was progressively improving on how close he could stop the ball before it touched his hands. Nathaniel and Lila simply watched their brother now.
Loki began to remove Thor's wrongly placed signature and add it to another. Laura watched in fascination. Then she noticed how badly the God's hands were shaking. He stopped immediately, closing them into fists to stop the quivering and waited several seconds to resume.
"Is that still Thor's report or are you claiming it as yours now?" Hogun asked innocently. Loki shook his head in annoyance at his older brother. Volstagg then parted from the group to send off his wife. He briefly introduced her to Valder and Svleiva as they returned to their daughters.
"How many children does Volstagg have?" Hena asked, voicing her thoughts aloud.
"Six, I believe. Unless that number grew in the past few years." Loki replied.
"It is still six. I believe they would like another however." Fandral added.
"Are the other children younger or older than the ones I saw?" Hena's eyebrows rose in realization that she had only seen half of their family.
"One is younger. I suspect he is with Vostagg's sister. The others are likely in town somewhere."
Thor passed the leaders of Anaheim on his way back to them. He appeared in a slight hurry after seeing his father, gaze boring into Loki as he approached. The God of Mischief didn't speak; he simply held out the group of papers to his older brother.
"Finished?" Thor asked, accepting it.
"Yes. Now you can turn it in in all it's glory."
"Thank you." The elder prince scanned the top page briefly. Then he proceeded to set the stack back down on the bench and straightened up as Valder and Svleiva arrived. The queen raised her chin to look for her younger daughter. Upon seeing her, she put her attention back to the group.
"Loki, you're bleeding." she said almost immediately, ignorant of the fact that Hena had already made him aware. He laughed breathily, but did not inform her of that.
"Don't worry for me. Thus far it hasn't been bothersome."
The queen blinked at him worriedly, deciding not to press.
"How are you feeling?"
"Uhm...quite well." Loki responded plainly. His hands had stopped shaking after completing Thor's report. He looked to the palace "Eir is meant to be making her hourly rounds about now."
Mazi silently made her way over to her mother. She had a grin as she stuck up behind her. As she was about to jump in an attempt to scare the queen, Svleiva turned around and growled playfully at her. Mazi squealed in surprise, then laughter as her mother pulled her in for a hug.
"No, I was supposed to scare you!" she demanded, now trying to push away in good natured defiance.
"Oh, I know exactly what you were doing." Svleiva replied, voice bubbling. Mazi folded her arms and turned her back on her mother mockingly.
"Where do you believe you're going?" the queen queried.
"To explore all of Asgard." Mazi responded definitively.
"Ah. Well, let us wait a moment to do that. We'll have plenty of time to see it all. I'll take you around, I promise."
"But when? I am old enough to go myself." the girl argued.
"Soon. There are many people your father and I need to speak with here. Give us a little while."
With a loud, impatient sigh, Mazi relented "Okay."
"Thank you. You can go and play, just remember to stay where we can see you." Svleiva reminded her. Her daughter scampered off without responding, but she stopped by the mortal children obediently.
On cue, Eir walked out from the palace doors. She went unnoticed for several minutes, much to her appreciation. She observed Loki as he interacted with the others, noting that he appeared relaxed.
Servants had already informed Odin that the healer would be out shortly. He came to a stop beside Valder and Svleiva silently.
"How are you feeling?" Eir asked Loki as she came up.
"Spectacular." he replied and her eyebrows went up. She nodded, contenting her amusement with vague smile.
"Good to hear." she gestured over to the bench for him to take a seat again. He exhaled and did so without complaint.
"How long have you been bleeding?" she asked, reaching out both hands to feel his neck with her thumbs "I hoped it would stop after being wrapped."
"It was noticed a short while after I came out. If I were to guess, I would say it did not stop bleeding at all."
Eir sighed in frustration, but quickly moved on to her next objective "How is your throat feeling?"
"It hasn't bothered me."
"Pain anywhere else?" Eir questioned him without stopping her examination.
"Not thus far." Loki responded. Svlieva listened carefully as she observed.
The healer took ahold of the prince's arm, opposite to the bandaged one to peer at his veins. The black tint was still there, though lighter than her previous checkup. Her eyes narrowed briefly before releasing him and taking a small cup of liquid brought to her by another maiden.
"Drink this. I'll rebandage your arm while you do so."
"Please don't tell me it's more of that atrocious drink you had me take when I woke up." Loki said.
"Before you ate? Yes." Eir didn't pause as she set a second cup down on the bench "This one will begin to reverse internal damage that is still occurring with the toxin in you. The maids are bringing you your next meal as we speak."
Loki's eyes widened in disbelief "I ate merely an hour ago. There is not any possible way you believe I could eat again right now."
"I told you that there were different ways we could try to reach your calorie minimum. Right now, we are doing six to ten meals a day at seven-hundred and fifty to one thousand calories each." Eir reminded him rather sternly "This is one of your smaller ones. You have to eat something nearly every hour. Preferably more, if you can handle it."
Loki stared at her.
"I'm not doing this to torture you." Eir's voice smiled "This is the very minimum I can be doing, trust me."
"Oh really? How much more restrictive could this be?" Loki asked. His dubious face suggested he knew it could be far worse but wanted to hear it anyway.
"We could add on a supplemental drink every every hours as well as oil or cream to all your drinks. We could cut out all water during the day and only allow you to drink it at night so that you can eat calories more easily. Or increase the calories to eight thousand. You'll gain weight much faster that way." Eir paused for him to comment, enjoying telling him all that she was not forcing upon him.
"By all means, why not eight thousand? Better yet, let us do twelve thousand and shorten the time by half." Loki responded sarcastically.
"So, there you are. I'm not being unreasonable. My duty and desire is to keep you alive. This is how we must do it." she reached to take his arm "Now, drink those. They will help."
The wrap around his wrist was soaked through on one side, but as she pulled it off, there was no blood dripping from the wound. Her brow furrowed and she glanced up as Loki took one of the drinks obediently.
"This is most peculiar. The amount of blood that is on this bandage suggests that your arm should be bleeding heavily. Yet, it is not."
The God of Mischief set down the now empty cup and exhaled "Perhaps we should leave it uncovered. The pressure on it might be agitating the toxin. It does not like being handled. That may be making it bleed more than what would be considered normal."
"I considered that. If you would like to try it, we may. I would be cautious, however. The maids there at the battle told me that it hemorrhaged severely when left as it was."
Loki nodded and she then cleaned the wound without rewrapping it. A rather grim silence hovered over the group, only broken by the children playing a short distance away.
"What did your analysis of it find?" Odin asked and Eir held back a sigh.
"It's molecular structure is similar to many neurotoxins I've seen."
"Oh dear. My mind is all I have left; let's leave that alone." Loki responded. Eir just blinked in exasperation at how lightly he was taking in the situation. The look she gave him did incite a few chuckles from the audience.
"The difficult part of it is that the substance goes dormant a short while after I remove it. It wants a living host."
"That sounds like the Aether." Loki said in partial amusement and Eir frowned instantly. Odin was already shaking his head when she looked in his direction.
"No, but it may be something that acts accordingly. The Aether was recently captured and moved to a protected location. If I suspected that is what it was, we would be in a more dire situation." the king replied.
"It seems unlikely that Thanos would have given you an Infinity Stone to merely keep." Eir added.
"Actually, he did do just that." Loki said, now with a small grin as he brought up the scepter. Then he returned to seriousness "But, no, I know this is not that."
"We will send out samples to be examined. Thanos was closer to our realm and those in the outer rim. Perhaps he took it from one of our realms there." Valder stepped into the conversation.
"Yes." Eir nodded "Anything such as that would be useful. She continued her parting instruction to the God of Mischief "For now, what we are doing will have to be sufficient. Watch this carefully. If there is even a hint of blood, you need to come to me immediately. Is that clear?" she consulted the others "Is that clear?"
"Excuse me?" Loki tilted his head at her with a scowl as she delegated responsibility.
"You are excused." Eir replied. She reached out to feel his throat one last time, ignoring his annoyance. His eyes fluttered once again, reminding everyone watching why they were being mindful around him. The healer did not react whatsoever. Odin and Svleiva noticeablely shifted their gaze. In the likely event that Loki would check to see if anyone had observed that, neither of them intended to be looking.
"Considering everything, you are healing quite well." Eir gathered her unused materials and stood "Send for me if you need anything."
"I will." Loki laughed under his breath, resigned to her coddling "Thank you."
As soon as she left, Hena lifted up his lower arm to inspect it. Loki smiled and shook his head at the concentration on her face. He cup one hand around his mouth and facetiously called after Eir. It was not loud enough for her to hear, but Hena scowled at him nonetheless.
Eir silently put away the tinctures and medical supplies. Her treatment, though well guided, was still experimental. Loki seemed to be responding well to the mixtures she was giving him, but the toxin was not reacting as she expected. Her worry was that he would not be strong enough to handle another attack from it, if that should come. Yet, somehow, Loki was remaining very calm about that possibility. That inspired hope that he was recovering, but it also made her wonder if he was denying anything was wrong. The Silvertongue had never been irresponsible, particularly in these types of dilemmas. Still, Eir worried.
A voice from behind made her turn expectantly.
"Pardon me, Lady Eir." the guard said as he entered the healing chamber.
"What is it?" she asked, head tilted.
"Odin sent me to speak with you. He wants you to examine the mortal girl when you are able. I can bring her here."
"The one with two brothers?" the healer questioned. She wasn't familiar with any of their names. The guard nodded affirmatively.
"Yes. It appears she was touched with one of the Infinity Stones. They are not certain how it has affected her, but Odin must have noticed something enough to be concerned."
Eir paused and then nodded "Of course. I will go and get them myself."
Drop a review if you are so inclined! :)