Disclaimer: I don't own Thor, or any of the characters used in this fic. They all belong to Marvel and their respective creators. I only own any original characters that I choose to include, as well as any original plot ideas.

Chapter 14: Song Of The Caged Bird

A/N: This week has been insane. I've worked twenty hours in the past three days, have to work again tonight, have a ton of studying to do, and have to report for filming Monday through Wednesday. Needless to say, updates aren't going to be as frequent for a little while. Hope all of you are doing well in the meantime.

Fandral sneered, turned and backhanded a glass across the table, caused it to clatter to the floor as he paced madly, and Thor thought that, at any time now, they'd be dragging the seething man to his rooms to rest and collect himself. What with his crazed circles, he was like to end up light-headed, cough up his meal, and spend the rest of the day complaining about it. Which was just one more thing that the prince didn't want to hear about. Already, the afternoon had consisted of listening to his friends grumble to one another about how Loki had gone too far this time.

It had been one thing, Hogun had said, for the trickster to unleash a mass of snakes in the stables and spook the horses, but this was a whole other matter. And it wasn't funny.

Thor leaned forward, pounded his forehead on the table, rattling the dishes as the others ate, chattering among themselves and all but ignoring him. He preferred it, actually, not being brought into the conversation that would only serve to make him angrier. He'd very nearly pounded his brother into dirt, dragged him to Sif's door and forced him to his knees. Pranks were all well and good, but to cut the woman's hair. Thor still couldn't quite wrap his head around it.

His brother's words echoed in his head, that Loki had done it for the both of them, he and Sif, as a means to prod Thor forward, urge him to take notice of the supposedly obvious way she always looked at him. She was sweet on him, this much was sure. Sif would certainly push him, fight with him as she did with the others, always had, but Thor could not think of a time when she had been sincerely angry with him, or let her irritation with his foolishness last for more than just a day. Their friends, on the other hand, had not been quite so fortunate.

Now, with this latest antagonistic act, Thor began to fear that things among their motley crew would never be the same again. Particularly between his brother and Sif.

He pushed off the table, ignored Volstagg as the man called after him, "Where are you going?" It was the first time in the past two hours that a one of them had actually addressed Thor directly.

Something had to be done about this, Thor decided walking out of the dining hall, to right the wrong. For now, he would sleep on it, and perhaps find the answer in the dark.

But, for the moment, Thor had an idea.

# - # - # - #

Still half-asleep, Loki yawned and opened his eyes the next morning just in time to see the ceiling as it moved hurriedly above his head, leaned back and saw Thor as he dragged the trickster through the palace, much to the surprise of the servants. Apparently, he'd been yanked right out of bed. Twisting, Loki shouted at him, demanded that Thor take him back to his room as he wasn't dressed for whatever madness he had planned in that head of his. But the thunderer said nothing, made no move to turn back, and continued tugging Loki along behind him by the collar of his tunic.

Once again, this was not the proper way to wake someone up. A lesson which Thor seemed to be failing miserably. First the ordeal in the woods, and now this. Clearly, Loki would have to find some way of ensuring that his dear brother came to understand that raucous noise, buckets of water, kicks to the chest, and dragging people out of bed were all examples of things that one was notsupposed to do.

Light flashed in his eyes from the morning sun, and Loki grimaced, managed to wrench himself out of Thor's grasp halfway down a set of stairs. His head fell back, smacked the point of a step and he writhed, growling as the God of Thunder tugged him to his feet.

"Up," came the command, and Thor fastened his arm to Loki's sleeve, pulled him the rest of the way down the stairs and into the garden.

"What are you doing?!" Loki snapped, and shoved his brother away. Stumbling back, Thor looked ready to tackle him.

Instead, Thor said nothing and sneered, grabbed him again and set to dragging him around once more. At least, this time, he was on his feet, and not being towed behind Thor like an animal after the kill. This was ridiculous, he thought, forced to follow his brother about like a naughty child, wondering what manner of punishment awaited him. In order to irritate him, Loki had a mind to ask Thor what this was all about, just so he could have the pleasure of watching the thunderer's face contort the way it always did. It would likely be even funnier given the severity of the situation. But, just as Loki smiled at that, Thor stopped by the fountain, thumped him in the back of the head, growled that he stay put, and disappeared behind the rose bushes.

Loki sighed, sat on the edge of the fountain and watched the fish as they tried to swim against the stream of water. They were just illusions, but his mother had grown so fond of them that he'd just let them be. They were also easier to take care of than real fish, not requiring any special attention or sustenance, but, noting how tiny flakes of food hovered on the surface, it seemed that Frigga had developed a habit of feeding them anyway.

The bushes rustled and Thor stepped out, his back to Loki as thorns and leaves stuck to his blond hair, his voice dropped to a whisper. He wouldn't have cared otherwise, but seeing how his brother kept looking back at him over his shoulder, the trickster was suddenly interested in what he was saying, wondering if it was some manner of secret. Thor stomped a foot, hissed through the dark leaves and made a face, reaching inside and tugging on a hand that Loki immediately recognized as Sif's. He frowned, leaned back to lay down on the low fountain wall, hand dangling in the water as the fish brushed against his fingertips. So that's what Thor's game was. This didn't have anything to do with the thunder god beating him into submission. It was about trying to make Sif feel better.

When the woman finally trailed behind him, she clung to her hood, glared at him beneath its shadow. Loki smiled, though he was a bit disappointed. Her face wasn't red as it had been previously reported, and she wasn't crying. Sif was angry, probably wanted to kick him the way she had as a girl. And, as Thor pulled her closer to the fountain, Loki thought that she might.

Thor let go of her hand, moved to Loki's side and yanked him to his feet, smacking him in the head again, probably for good measure. Sif didn't smile.

"What have you to say for yourself?" the thunderer demanded.

Loki scowled, looked quietly at Sif and noted that she didn't want this any more than he did. She'd probably prefer being locked up in her private chambers, imagining ways to humiliate and get back at him. Her eyes looked empty, distant, as though she were thinking on such things already. The trickster wouldn't say anything, but the thought was bothersome. He didn't want to know what she would come up with.

Thor shoved him again, and he sighed.

"Please, stop," he said monotonously, sporting a mocking look on his face. "It's hard to say anything through the haze of bitter tears."

Sif's eyes narrowed and Thor growled.

"Apologize!" he snapped, and Loki turned, pushed Thor away.

"Why?! For doing you a favor?!" The trickster looked between them. "Both of you?! At least now you can look at each other! So don't act like I'm the villain of the piece!" Loki smirked. "And at least Sif looks like the boy she's always tried to be."

The woman lunged forward, grabbed him by the wrist and shoved him at the shoulder, pushing the prince until the backs of his knees bumped against the low fountain wall, sending him toppling into the water. Loki sat up and sputtered, knotted fingers in his sleeves of his tunic and shuddered. It didn't matter if the sun was up and out, he was still freezing.

Loki glowered up at her, failed to see the shock in Thor's eye as he looked between them, and watched bitterly as Sif turned on her heel, placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, and walked briskly away.

"You should have just apologized." The thunderer shook his head. "And you say I'm the idiot..."

The trickster said nothing as Thor looked over his shoulder and hurried after her, not bothering to stop as their mother swept through the garden, stared with mouth agape as Loki climbed out of the fountain.

"Why are you all wet?" she said, surprised. "And why aren't you dressed?"

Loki clenched his teeth and said nothing.