"Alright, Alright," He stepped in between the two men before him, who were beginning to turn their screaming match physical, "that's enough. I think we should have a break. We're all hungry, are we not?"
He got mumbled replies as everyone backed away, people exiting the meeting room, some mingling. His stomach growled loudly. He really was hungry.
He walked out the door toward the hallway he had seen his brother mingling in earlier. "Brother?" He called for him, walking down the hall slowly, searching the metal walkways.
As he turned the corner, he ran into Sif, who seemed to be rushing away from something.
"Oof!" She walked into him, and stumbled backward.
"Lady Sif? Are you alright?" He stepped toward her, "Why are you rushing?"
She smoothed her clothing out, and straightened herself. "Nothing, I was just getting ready to see how the meeting was going."
"The meeting has been recessed. We're breaking for lunch."
"Oh, well, I am hungry I guess. Please excuse me." She made a move to pass him, but he put a hand up, stopping her. "Hold on, Sif. Why are you in such a hurry anyway?"
"I'm not Thor."
"You are." He shook his head, letting it go, before turning to her once more, "By the way, have you seen Loki? I haven't seen him since he went out for air."
"No," She mumbled, pushing past him harder than usual, "I haven't."
Thor was dumbstruck. What the hell was her problem today? It seemed she had had a bad morning. He wondered where she had come from anyway. He glanced around, and caught sight of an archway. He headed up the stairs, a sickening feeling building in his gut.
Where was Loki?
Loki never just disappeared during an important event like this. If he says he'll be back, he's always back. This change in his brother's behavior was so odd that it made Thor's hair stand on end. He climbed the stairs more quickly.
Sif had been acting strange today too. What was happening? He wanted to kick himself for not noticing these strange things earlier. He had been too absorbed in the boring discussion with the other royals.
When he reached the top of the stairs, he gazed about the balcony. What had Sif been doing up here, anyway?
He glanced around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Although, the cogs in his mind began turning, this would be an excellent place to get some air.
He stepped out onto the balcony, searching the entire width and breadth of it, searching for signs of his brother.
He ran his hands along the railings, as he began to lose hope that his brother had not been up here after all.
Then his hand hit an imperfection in the railing. He inspected in further. It dented the rail outward, as if something heavy had been shoved against it.
This was odd.
He gazed over the edge of the bent railing, and downward. All that lay below was trees, that covered whatever lay beneath them.
A speck of black at the edge of the tower caught his eye. He crouched down, reaching between the bars of the railing, grabbing the pliable fabric and pulling it back up with him.
He recognized it immediately. The pliable, black, but sturdy fabric of Loki's robe.
He rubbed the fabric between his thumb and forefinger. He hadn't felt this fabric in a long time. Panic welled within him and rose as quickly as a storm. His brother's fabric was outside the railing.
He turned and ran back down the long and winding staircase. Fandral caught him as he exited out into the hallway. "Whoa, Thor, slow down. What's going on?"
"My brother!"
"What about Loki?" Fandral asked, certain that Loki had done something terrible once again.
Thor put a hand on Fandral's shoulder pushing him aside, "I think something terrible has happened to my brother! I must go find him!"
Thor was off before Fandral could stop him, his footsteps echoing through the hall. He couldn't shake the feeling that his brother was hurt and lost somewhere, alone.
His brother had done terrible things yes, and almost everyone is Asgard wouldn't care where he was or what happened to him, but…Thor couldn't look at Loki without seeing his little brother….