They couldn't just leave Vanaheim after what had happened. The soldiers who hadn't been injured were instead recruited into assisting the reconstruction and healing of the small village's homes and market places. There was little to be done about the destroyed crops or livestock, but at least the assistance rebuilding could be beneficial. A symbol of Asgard's sympathies to the families and friends of those remaining. Thor pledged as much help as he could, but with the overflow from Midgard there were few other sources that hadn't already been tapped. Natasha heard it all while sitting in his room, Loki still speaking with Vanaheim's king as Thor consulted Frigga, completely and utterly out of his depth. He was built for war, not for healing. There was no one better at that than Frigga.

She reminded him of his new treaty with Alfheim, and her words brought his head a little higher, straightened his shoulders further.

"I will speak with their king and ensure that the proper measures are taken," Frigga promised him.

"Thank you, mother."

"And your fiance will be there in the morning."

He paused, and Nat could feel his muscles growing even more tense beneath her hand. "Mother-."

"It will do the people good to see her at your side, assisting in the clean up and helping with Vanaheim's healing process. She will meet you in the morning. Enjoy what time you have." She said and even without looking Natasha could imagine the woman's knowing expression, the back of her neck heating up. Her attention, meanwhile, was on Thor's face. He thanked his mother for her wisdom, and as her image disappeared Thor deflated. His head fell into his hands, frame beginning to shake. Natasha's hand snaked slowly down to his chest, wrapping herself around him and pressing her lips softly to his temples. She tried not to think that this might be the last time she could do it, the last time she'd be close enough to smell the ozone on his skin, to feel the thrumming of electricity, now lessened in his pain, just beneath the surface. All of it made her heart ache. He reached upwards to clasp the side of her head, resting his hand there, too afraid to let go. Neither spoke, the silence far too heavy to consider traversing through, and as he collected himself she simply encased him as best she could, protecting him in the one way she could, burying her face in his shoulder. Had their need for supplies, for soldiers, for aid itself not been so great then matters would be different. But after what she'd seen, the destruction of Vanaheim? All the lives lost? Thanos hadn't targeted their armories or barracks, he hadn't even gone for the capitol. He'd hit their homes, not any of the other important organs but the heart itself, without even having to administer a finishing blow.

When that came, though?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a throat being cleared on the other side of the tent door. Loki. Beneath her, Thor's body tensed, and as Natasha released him he stood tall. Not for the first time did she wonder when had the carefree prince she'd met and fall for transform into the hardened warrior who stood in front of her then?

"Come in, Loki," Thor said, turning to face his brother when he entered the small tent. If Thor was battle wizened, then Loki was jaded and exhausted. Natasha could read the stress in his shoulders and how he did all he could to keep from letting them-and himself-fall. Her poor men.

"There's a war council being summoned by King Dra'ace," he said, voice low. He'd not shed his Jotun skin, red eyes burning as they stared at Thor, trying to get a read of him the way Natasha had been doing to them both. She rested a hand on Thor's shoulder once more, squeezing it through the fabric of his shift, grateful to feel him loosen if only slightly.

"Then let us hope he has good news. I am sick to my soul of the bad."

Loki nodded his agreement before leading the two out, Natasha falling into step with them both. As they walked she couldn't help but stare at the still smouldering piles of wood from the bonfires earlier that morning. Many of the remaining buildings had been far too damaged to be repaired, and so had to have been broken to pieces and burnt after salvaging what little was still reusable. Their men were exhausted, disheartened, and yet still they worked, faces drawn and soot covered as they hauled loads of lumber from one site to the next. Supplies were limited, however. There was only so much they could do without causing too great a loss to the land, one that would take centuries to repair.

The council was held in one of the larger tents that had been set up while the Aesir stayed, not wishing to intrude further than they had to on Vanaheim's hospitality. The king, a wide, muscular man, black-brown hair braided down his back, sat flanked by two men of his own, and though he spoke to them in a quiet, weary voice his deep brown eyes were alert, calculating the three newcomers. The guards standing just inside tensed, relaxing only as Dra'ace welcomed Loki, Thor, and Natasha. Well, not Natasha. He left her out, pointedly she could only assume. It wasn't as though he wasn't familiar with her on her other visits to Vanaheim to ensure that her people were being well taken care of. She felt, rather than saw, Thor's fury crackling on his skin, but took him by the elbow. Times were tense, she could understand even if she didn't like it, but the last thing they needed was to isolate Dra'ace from helping them further.

They sat in a round, a hologram of Vanaheim taking up the space in the very center. From there Natasha could see the extent of the damage. Helbindi hadn't simply gone for the people but the land around them as well. Far plots of burned forest, like great scars on the land, stretched for miles past what they'd considered to be the damaged portion. Centuries, now, seemed like a best case scenario for how long it would take to recover their losses.

"We will open trade with the dwarves and barter with them to recover the lumber that was lost," Thor assured Dra'ace, steely gaze meeting the Vanir king's.

"Will they respond?" The man's gaze flicked to Loki, who clenched his jaw and his hands at his sides. Nat had heard that tale before, had traced the faint lines over Loki's lips where he'd been forced to keep his silence. She pressed her arm against his, the cool of his skin as comforting to her as the warmth of hers seemed to be.

"I will handle the matter personally," Thor insisted, bringing the king's calculating gaze back to him.

"Of course. The lumber is the least of our worries. Loki, you reported having lost all of your men that you'd brought and Thor your losses were reported in the thirties?"

"Twenty-eight," Thor said, voice rough. Natasha had watched him personally say a prayer to the Norns for each soldier they'd lost, shed tears of her own as she watched Kitty's pyre catch in a great wave of flame, the embers stretching and reaching towards Valhalla.

"And how many more on Asgard? On Jotunheim?"

They rattled off numbers too low to give Natasha courage, or Dra'ace it seemed, courage. The king's face tightened. "And Alfheim has pledged its support as well?"

"Aye, twelve-hundred warriors ready-."

"Twelve-hundred?!" Dra'ace shouted.

"And around fifteen-hundred still training," Thor continued, as though the outburst hadn't happened. Beside her, Loki reached for his dagger, fingers tightening on the hilt. She, too, grew still and hardened her gaze at the king, unsure what to expect from him. If he withdrew his support Asgard would be finished without a doubt. They couldn't afford more losses.

"There are still others who could be persuaded to help," Natasha said. "Thanos is a galaxy-wide threat, not simply our own."

Dra'ace's face contorted, lips turning upwards in a smirk that wasn't at all demeaning, the same one given to a child who tried to play games while the adults were busy. She pushed down the indignation rising like the tide within her. "And whom, madam," the word dripped with sarcasm as his gaze flicked to Thor, Loki, then Natasha in turn. "Might you suggest? Several of the Jotun have already rallied against us, the Kree follow Thanos because they believe him to be the very best option, and there are rumors the Dark Elves themselves have joined his forces. Whom else could possibly assist us?" He leaned back in his seat, broad arms stretched across his chest while Natasha purposefuly kept eye contact. She wouldn't back down to some sexist asshole. She'd been playing men her whole life, and she couldn't see how this was any different.

"I've met once with the king of Muspelheim, I will go and speak with him-."

"Lord Katrik will not speak with you, though you might still be useful and worm your way into his son's bedchambers-."

The slam of Thor's fist on the table made near everyone seated jump, Dra'ace's advisors looking nauseous as the scent of ozone spiked the air.

"You will reconsider your slight against the Lady Natasha," Thor snarled as he rose to his feet. The look on his face would've made a lesser man tremble, but Dra'ace simply sat back in his seat, face impassive.

"She is the reason this has all come to pass-."

"Thanos is the reason, you witless swine," Thor spat, thoughts of diplomacy flying out the window. Natasha hastened to take him by the wrist, and her magic flared just below her skin's surface. Unbidden, it latched onto Thor's strength and tugged him back, absorbing the crackling energy until he dropped into his seat beside her.

"There are others." Loki, who'd been remarkably quiet during that all, stared at Natasha, his face set in a grim expression she'd seen only after he'd confessed to Odin's death. "Hela-."

"Your charge is far too weak to be of any use," Dra'ace said with a roll of his eyes. "And if you think this will dissuade me from breaking-."

"Hela told me of a force too great to be known by many. There are several lesser beings that believe they do not exist, and so write them off." The look in the Vanaheim king's direction was deliberate enough to make the man's hackles raise. "But should the proper leverage be obtained, and the terms iron-clad, then Thor, your grandfather may be of some use to us in the middle of this mayhem."

The gravity of these words was lost on Natasha, who knew only of Bor's existence and his superb fighting skills while defending Asgard. The others, however, went very still.

"Loki," Thor said, voice so quiet it was a miracle Natasha could hear him at all. "The Disir cannot be controlled."

"I do not mean to control them. I mean to unleash them. What better prey is there for them than Death herself and the Titan who seeks her out?"

Dra'ace, it seemed for once, had nothing to say.

A/N: Good lord this literally took five million years to finish writing, and I'm so sorry for that. Life is insane over here, and with school getting ready to start it's only gonna get more hectic. I'll try and update as soon as I can, but I hope you enjoy the short update!