"Loki." Odin All-Father was seated on his throne, looking even more aged from when the raven-haired god had last seen him. "You have committed crimes against Asgard. What do you say in your defence?"
Loki made an exasperating noise through his mask, glaring at his supposed king. Did Odin want to make a fool of him by stating his own stupidity?
"Father, you may want to remove the apparatus that restricts him from talking, as well as his chains."
"Do you agree not to attack me or any other in this room if I remove these items?" The god nodded, raising his wrists towards the king. Odin spoke a few quiet words and the bonds fell away, and the mask clattered to the floor.
"You do not know how glad I am to have that thing off of me," Loki said, brushing himself down carefully. "Now, what was your question, King?"
"What do you have to say about the crimes that you have committed on Midgard and, therefore, against Asgard?"
"I have nothing to say about it. I did it because I could, and because I wanted to. Need there be else to be said?" Thor shifted worriedly on the stairs by his father, knowing that those very words could condemn Loki to death.
"So you do not regret that which you have done."
"No," said Loki simply, picking at his fingernails, already thoroughly bored. "Punish me as you will, but know that I do not regret anything I have done."
Odin stiffened in his throne at these words. He had thought that this boy, one who once been his son, might see the fault in himself if he reviewed what he had done. But he seemed to neither care nor repent anything.
"Then you have condemned yourself."
"Father," whispered Thor to Odin quietly, drawing nearer to him to speak more privately. "I ask that you have pity on Loki. We do not know the full extent of what happened to Loki while he was in that black hole."
The All-Father calmed a little at his son's words, settling himself more comfortably on his throne. Thor did have a point, though Loki's actions still had to be punished. Even if the half Jotun had been on orders from the Chitauri and was pushed to this against his will, that didn't mean that he would leave this room without punishment.
"Thank you, Thor." The blonde nodded and stepped away, casting a worried look at the man at the bottom of the stairs. In all circumstances, Loki would always be his brother.
"Loki, Thor has spoken for you." The god snatched a quick glance at him, eyes flashing with something unidentifiable. "Therefore, I have chosen to reduce the severity of your punishment, dire as your actions might have been."
"Can we stop beating around the bush, Odin?" The king glared down at the impudent boy, once more furious before remembering to be calm.
"You shall be sent to Midgard, banished until I have seen fit that you have repented for your crimes and redeemed yourself to return. I will strip you of your powers and cast you out."
Loki looked up at him in surprise. He had thought that he would have at least been allowed to remain in Asgard. But to banish him to Midgard? What was the reason for this?
"Odin, King, when you say powers-?"
"All of them. Including your knowledge of arcane spells." The god gasped a little at this. So he was expected to live on Midgard, with no powers or spells, and to repent? This unfair judgement was like many of the others that Odin had made over Loki before.
...
"But it was an accident! I swear this, Father!"
"Father, I was there. I saw everything that happened." Thor was once again standing up for his younger brother, this time for what really was an accident.
\\\
Loki had been sparring with Sif, with her being the challenger. The girl had been scorning about his ability to fight.
"You only fight from a distance with your magic. Why don't you fight in close combat?"
"I do not find it necessary," he replied, quietly but with inner anger.
"Because you are weak." This had resulted in Loki having to be pulled off Sif before he had caused her any real damage. "I challenge you to single combat," she spat at him as they were both restrained by their friends.
"I accept," he said, pulling roughly away from his brother.
"You do not need to do this, brother," said Thor urgently, knowing that Loki wasn't exactly the best of fighters.
"I do this for my honour, Thor." The fierceness in his normally peaceful green eyes proved to Thor that this was the truth. His brother was not normally like this, furious in a way that words could not describe.
He was used to the calm, solitary Loki, who was not disturbed by anything or anyone. Thor ran eyes over his little brother, smiling. Days spent inside studying musty old tomes had left Loki's complexion pale white, unlike Thor's sun-tanned skin. His hair was black and hung curling to his shoulders, though the god knew that the other would cut it soon out of pure frustration. And then there were his eyes; they were deep, soulful orbs that knew every single move you were going to make before you made it. They reflected mossy rocks, and long-lost forests, and the deep plush grass that they stood on.
Loki raised an eyebrow at his brother's staring before he gestured him to follow the others to the stadium where most of their training took place.
"What will it be, serpent, swords, axes, hammers or spears?" Sif was goading him, trying to make him lose his cool.
"Why not spears, Lady Sif? We both have training in those," he said acidly, smiling like the Cheshire Cat. She pursed her lips together at this and snatched a spear off of the wall. It was taller than she was, as she hadn't yet grown to her full height. Loki still thought that she was short for her age, though she had yet to grow into womanhood.
"Choose your weapon and let us begin." Volstagg stepped in between them as the god carefully picked a spear off the wall, stroking soft fingers along it.
"First to five hits wins," said Volstagg, nervously stroking the beginnings of his beard. "Go." He raised a hand to signal the beginning of the round and quickly retreated to sit with the others.
They both circled each other carefully, noting the other's stance and assessing their weaknesses. It was Sif who attacked first, charging forward and swinging her spear in a low arc, intended to trip him up. Loki jumped above it, in return twisting around her so he could tap her on the shoulder once with his spear.
"You'll have to do better than that, Sif," he teased her, stepping away so they could start the next round. She bared her teeth at him menacingly before Volstagg called out to begin once again.
This time, Sif kept her distance, holding her spear near the end in a precarious way. The girl was going to use the length of the spear to her advantage; of course, Loki had ways of getting around that.
He stepped forward slowly, goading her into trying to strike him. She resisted for a while before she felt that he was too close and made a swipe at his shoulder. The boy dodged by ducking underneath it and spun quickly behind her, tapping her on the other shoulder.
'Three more to go,' thought Loki to himself, grinning at his opponent. Thor was proud of the way that his brother was performing, but he knew that confidence could just as well trip him up at this point.
As Volstagg signalled the third round, Sif darted towards him and made to stab him in the torso area, a look of malice in her eyes. Loki's eyes widened as he only just managed to dodge the blow that could have crushed his ribs, or worse, ripped through his skin.
'So that is how it shall be.' The god was not thinking of the consequences that this could bring about as he used Sif's distraction of her attack to return one of his own; this one was successful, though not in her eyes.
Blood began spreading across the front of the girl's tunic, below her heart. It was a grievous blow, and Loki immediately dropped his spear to go and help her.
"Get away from me, traitor," she hissed angrily as the others came rushing over the field. "I do not wish for your help."
"We must take her to the healing room immediately," said Fandral, putting an arm around her shoulders and lifting her up. "I suspect that Heimdall will have been watching. I hope for your sake that all goes well," he said, casting a piteous look at him.
"Brother, what caused you to do such a thing?" asked Thor, standing beside his brother who was seemingly unaware of anything around him.
"I did not intend to injure her," he whispered, still not looking at the blonde. "In this, you must believe me."
"Of course I believe you. I was not able to inspect the fight closely, but did Sif provoke you in some way to act like that?" Loki stayed silent for a minute before answering,
"She tried striking the first blow." The doors to the stadium swung upon and one of their father's soldiers came striding in.
"Odin requests both of the prince's presences in the throne room at once."
\\\
"Even if it was an accident, it has still had dire consequences. I have to punish you in some way, for you are my son."
'It would not be like this if I were your first-born, or if this same thing had happened to Thor,' thought Loki bitterly. 'Thor is your most favoured son. Admit it, Father.'
"Therefore, you are to be confined to your rooms for the next month, and you also owe an apology to Sif for injuring her," said Odin All-Father sternly.
"Of course, Father," said the boy through gritted teeth.
...
"So I am to be cast out immediately, with no powers, until you see fit for me to return?" Odin nodded at the half Jotun. "With no help?"
"You have to learn that one action can have far-reaching consequences, Loki. You are lucky that I did not deem you to be executed, and you have your brother to thank for that."
"Thank you, Thor," spat out Loki. "For your ever graciousness and that of your father as well."
"Loki, wait-"
"I do not care, Thor. If you are to cast me out, Odin, then do it now." The ebony-haired man spread his arms. "Better for it to be over now then to say goodbyes to people who do not care for me."
