Title content and format changed as it is more of a Richard chapter. But hey, you get some silly Thor and some calm Loki. As well as the introduction of a later character.

Thanks as always, hope you enjoy, and hope I don't hate this chapter tomorrow and edit the hell out of it. I never submit "hot off the press", but this is the closest I've gotten, finished this a few hours ago. Usually I wait at least a night.

Later (❤) - Hades

Man and his Beast

Mannfolk eða hans Dýr

"Whaf happened to 'ou?"

"Please do not speak to me when your mouth is full. I understand the meat is delicious, but for god's sake there are such things as manners."

"I apologise, but there is no need to be sharp, Audolf, also, why are you forsaking the gods?"

"It's an expression, Thor."

"I do not understand."

"Nevermind! Just get your feet off my chair!"

"Very well. Be calm."

"Thank you. Ahh. I am so tired, phew."

"Rest, I shall keep watch over Loki."

"You know that is a terrible idea, Thor."

"How so?"

"Nevermind."

"Regardless, I ask again, what happened to your face? Were you in a brawl?"

"That's one way to put it."

"Do you need medical assistance? There is a little blood there."

"No, it's just a bruise and a couple of scratches."

"I see a bite on your collarbone."

"That too."

"Were you attacked by an animal in this building? Do you wish me to hunt it?"

"No thanks. She's safe."

"She? You keep a female beast in the premises? Bold, especially when I have seen some of the other humans that roam this area."

"Look closer, Thor."

"What an odd bite. Wait… is it human?"

"Yes."

"Why would a human bite another!"

"She's always been like that, don't worry about it. I simply got in the way of an adventure, plus I surprised her, so she reacted. Simple. Not the worst she's done either. Once I had a broken foot and arm after trying to get her to give me her favourite toy."

"Oh, she is a patient?"

"You could say that."

"If she is that violent, why isn't she locked down like Loki?"

"She would go insane if she was stuck in a room constantly."

"Haha! I understand the joke, very humorous, Audolf."

"Great, Thor, great."

Thor awoke with a start; it was dark in the room. Throwing the warm-but-still-hospital-esque sheets aside he rose beside his low-set bed. Down to his minimal leather armour, he frowned, something wasn't right. He flicked the light switch, illuminating the room and showing… nothing. Nothing was out of order. The blankets on his bed were messy, but apart from that everything was just as it had been before he had slept. His eyes swept the room, moving over the table with Mjölnir placed at the ready, his boots next to the bed, the light switch and its' partner light, indented in the roof above his head, and the simple door. It was a plain room, meant simply for guests who weren't patients to sleep in. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hand, feeling the bags under his eyes. He had woken up like this for as long as Loki had been in the building. Mostly incoherent dreams with an underlying theme of darkness and terror, but occasionally it was clear enough to understand, somewhat. Tonight's dream had been fuzzy and blurred, with gold, green and black flashing most common in the seizure-inducing rainbow of fog that had been his dream. There had been muttering too, he recognised it as his brother's, as well as some other familiar voices. There had been one voice he hadn't heard before, but he ignored it, still annoyed that he couldn't recall anything they had said, though most of it had been incoherent regardless.

He relaxed into sitting on his bed, running a hand through his long, blonde hair. His eyes drooped and he sighed again, letting his face fall into his hands, elbows balanced on his legs. He doubted he would sleep again tonight, so after a deep breath he stood again, taking a step and running his hand along Mjölnir's shaft, feeling the familiar binding around its' handle. He felt calm at its' touch, though still tired, and moved to the door, leaving his hammer behind. Carefully turning the handle as to not to cause noise and wake up any other sleeping guests, Thor moved into the hallway, clicking shut the door behind him. Mentally marking which was his room in the hall of mirrored doors, he passed through the hallway, attempting to be as silent as possible; which he managed, which he thought was pretty good for the god of thunder. Chuckling noiselessly at his joke, he left the hallway and made his way through the maze of doors into the private lobby (with the help of the card Richard had given him to unlock the doors), where he resided most of the time. It was still alight, and there was one of the doctors asleep against the armrest of the couch he was sitting on, book on lap and cold coffee on table beside him. It wasn't Richard, Thor noted, and moved to his regular seat, near the window, though it was currently dark. He collapsed into it and let his head fall back against the soft material, eyes closing. His ear twitched when he heard a soft scamper of feet, and his eyes opened again, surveying the area. Still the same lobby, couches, tables, Midgard plastic-paper books (magazines, Richard had called them), and the sleeping man, who hadn't changed his soft breathing. Brow creasing, Thor began to worry, "Hello?" he spoke as softly as he could, but his gruff voice still managed to echo throughout the room, though it didn't stir the sleeping man. Thor listened intently, ears pricked for a noise, body half tense, though still in a relaxed position. A few minutes passed and nothing changed, in environment and in Thor himself, they were at a standstill.

Eventually one of them broke, and Thor let out his held breath, letting his muscles relax again. Almost immediately after, another gasp of a breath was barely heard, and Thor's eyes narrowed. He stood, rolling his shoulders and wandering towards where he heard the noise. As he approached where he thought it was, his face turned sly, the gasp had sounded much too young to be a threat, perhaps it was a doctor's child. It may even be the sleeping man's son or daughter. But regardless, he didn't need to fear or even prepare for it.

Or so he thought.

As he rounded the couch he had heard the noise, hand on the back and head and half his body twisted around to grin at the hiding person, he was shocked to find himself instantly stumbling back, a sharp pain just above his crotch from the kick he had received. Taking a moment to regain himself, he raised his arms, ready to fight. The hiding position behind the couch was empty, and Thor frowned deeply. They were quick, that was certain. "Show yourself! You need not fear me, but if it a fight you want, then be at it!" Thor spoke at his normal volume, which unfortunately woke the sleeping man, who jerked forwards, sending his book to the floor.
He rubbed his eyes, looking up and checking where he was, "Wha… Oh. You're Richard's guest. The one who's with the patient in lockdown," his eyes were still drooped and he yawned, checking his watch.
Thor relaxed only slightly, turning to the man, "Yes, I am Tho- Dr Audolf's guest. Tell me; is there a beast in this room?"
The man raised an eyebrow, "Uh, no? We don't keep animals here. The only time we have an animal in the area is out in the courtyard, and even then it's a strictly trained dog," he seemed uncomfortable around Thor, understandably, standing and bending over to retrieve his book.
Thor frowned again, "What of that girl Audolf told me about? The one that caused his wounds?"
The man chuckled, understanding as he picked up his cold coffee, "Oh, you mean Grid. She may be around, she rarely sleeps at night, and she has an uncanny knack for appearing wherever you think she's not."
It was Thor's turn to raise an eyebrow, but he stayed silent, filing the questions arising for consultation with Richard later.
"Now if you don't mind, my back is killing me, it's three-thirty in the morning, and I need a few more hours rest before seeing my patients. Goodbye." The man walked past Thor and exited the second door to the lobby, one that led down to the doctor's quarters.
Thor frowned once again, turning completely around and scanning the room. The girl he had spoken of was nowhere to be seen, or heard, as his ears picked up. "Reveal yourself, child," his voice was stone, the memory of the kick still in his stomach muscles.

There was a clatter behind him, but by the time he heaved his heavy body around, all he saw was a flash of orange-red and a slamming door.

"Richard, awaken! I need you to help me find the Asgardian named girl!"

Richard Audolf's eyes opened wide, veins of red stretching towards his iris, darkness shadowing his eyes. He had finally gotten asleep for the first time in two, almost three, days, only to awoken by a roaring Thor. He slammed his eyes open and shut a few times, feeling pain as they begged to be closed forever to be able to rest. He rolled over in his bed, squinting at the light and trying to view the silhouette of the man standing in the doorway.
"I swear, if it's anything other than someone dying, I am going to-"
"Richard, come with me! I am sorry for waking you up, but this is urgent, this girl is plaguing me!" Thor thundered away, marching into the room and crossing his arms, waiting for Richard to get out of bed.
Richard could feel his temper about to snap, which was rare for him, being a doctor of the mind and all, but then again, sleep and food deprivation, as well as stress, really thinned his tolerance for taking crap from "gods". That, and his eye and nose still hurt from being slammed into. "Thor, I need sleep," he spoke bluntly, voices laced with sting, hoping Thor would get the message.
Thor frowned, "I realise that, doctor, but she will not leave me be. No other person will help me, so I came to you, as you said I could," he had hoped this would be quick, then Richard could go back to sleep, but he was painfully prolonging it.

Richard sighed, shutting his eyes one last time and wrenching himself into sitting position, legs over the side of the bed, toes touching the ground. He had the most decent bed in the facility, luckily enough. He pulled his simple white pyjama sleeve down, and fixed his clothes so they were less wrinkled and messy. Thor watched impatiently. After Richard finished he looked up at Thor, eyes squinted, elbows on legs and hands hanging between legs, "Right. So what is it you want? Something about a girl?" his voice was weary, his short brown-grey hair messy, and his eyelids drooped.
Thor nodded, "Yes, the beast-girl that attacked you, I need you to find and detain her."
Richard squinted more, confusion on his face, "Wait, Grid? Why?"
"She will not stop ghosting me. And she kicked me."
Richard raised an eyebrow, "So you got me up at-" he glanced at the digital clock next to his bed, "four in the morning, to catch a mentally deranged girl who kicked you?"
"Yes."

Richard groaned and put his head in his hands, "Fine, you know what, fine, I can go and check on Loki while we're at it. Just let me get some Modafinil."
Thor smiled happily, "Good, good! What is Modafin-EL though? Will it help your intelligence?"
Richard put on an angry face of disbelief, his tired mind had processed that differently, "It will help me wake the hell up, Thor. And no, but it might help me deal with yours."
Thor blinked, surprised at the hostility, "No need to be rude, doctor."
Richard waved a hand, the other covering his eyes from the light, "Whatever, just get out while I get changed."
Thor nodded, and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Richard sighed, raised a hand, and turned off the light, letting darkness take over the room again. He pushed himself up with his hands on his legs and moved towards his closet. It was a walk-in closet, and he closed the door behind him and turned up the dial light, as to not hurt his eyes again. Picking out a simple grey coat over long-sleeved top and long dark grey pants, he changed his clothes, trying to go as slowly as possible. What had Grid done this time? Dammit, could he not get one night's sleep he so desperately needed? He actually envied Loki, sleeping so much. He considered next time taking the sedative himself. He occasionally took some of the medicine they gave the patients, but purely to help him sleep, wake up, or concentrate. His mind wandered as he pulled his pants up over his briefs and tightened his belt, he had taken a hallucinogen once. Once. He was almost admitted himself after that fiasco. Finishing his prolonged clothes change, he bundled up his pyjamas and put them in the wash basket. Moving to the third draw on the second wardrobe, he lifted his socks (removing a pair to wear), and shifted around the various pill and liquid medicine bottles and boxes. Finding the drug he needed, he removed three tablets, put the box back to its' hidden position under the socks, and walked out of the closet, turning off the light, tablets in one hand, socks in the other.

He picked up his glass of water from beside the bed and popped the tablets in his mouth. He had no problem with dry-swallowing, but it would leave a taste in his mouth, and it would leave his throat dry. He swallowed the tablets with the help of the water and closed his eyes, waiting a minute to let his stomach settle after taking tablets without food. After his stomach calmed down he moved to his shoes beside the bed and sat down, sinking into the soft mattress. His was one of the rare non-hospital beds, with a real mattress, sheets and pillow. Sliding his socks over his feet he pulled on his shoes and stood. His shoes had no laces, the same as everyone else who was part of the staff. Patients could take their laces or even use then to hurt themselves or others. It had happened before, with Grid no less. Grabbing his keys, he approached the exit.

He opened the door into the hallway, glancing at Thor as he exited his room. He turned and locked his door behind him, and faced Thor, waiting.
Thor had waited patiently, but he was starting to get annoyed at Richard's slowness. He tapped his foot once when he saw Richard leave his room, but put on a happy expression when faced, "Thank you, Audolf, now, what can you tell me about the Asgardian-named beast-girl?"
Richard squinted, this time because of Thor's question, not because of the bright light in the hallway, "Asgardian… What do you mean?"
"Grid, it is Asgardian."
Richard raised his hands, "Sure, I'll ask later, what do you want to know?"
"Why does she follow me so?"
"She is interested by you, probably by look and scent. Yes, you probably smell much different than any of the staff or other patients."
"Interesting. How do I get her to stop followi-" Thor's head whipped around, eyes scanning the corner of the hallway, he could have sworn he had seen two large eyes in the side of his vision.
Richard raised an eyebrow, "Thor? Are you sure you're okay? I can give you something similar to what I gave Loki if it'll make you feel better," and help everyone who comes across you to actually fall and stay asleep he mentally added.
Thor shook his head, "Yes! I know she is here!" he seemed intent on finding the girl, so Richard sighed, running a hand through his hair to smooth it out.
"Alright. Come with me," Richard turned and walked down the opposite side of the corridor Thor had been staring at, turning a corner and going through a door. Thor followed reluctantly, eyes still sweeping the area around him.

They kept weaving through the maze of hallways, all the way into the patient's rooms. Richard led, picking out the room at the end, jiggling the handle to show the lock was broken. Thor raised an eyebrow, "Why not fix it?"
"It wouldn't do anything, she would break it again. Besides, we don't actually mind her running about; it can be quite gratifying if she's in a good mood." Richard pushed the door open, revealing an upturned bed frame, a curled and ripped mattress in the corner heaped with blankets and pillows, various clothes on the floor and an odd smell. Richard frowned, "Dammit, she's been sneaking food again," he moved to the makeshift bed, lifting a sheet and watching as pillows tumbled away.
Thor stood next to him, confused and uneasy with the environment he was in. He watched Richard paw around in the pile, completely at ease with going through what looked like a lion's den. Thor put a hand on the doctor's shoulder, "We don't have to be here, I just asked-" he was nervous, but was cut off by the investigating man.
"She usually leaves it here at night, so it's a good bargaining chip if she's pulling a stunt like she is on you. That, and I want to get rid of any food she has here." Richard ignored Thor, pulling a pillow up and shaking its' case, a half-eaten apple rolling onto the floor. Rolling his eyes he kept going, planning to pick it up later. He found what he was looking for, a frayed and limp toy.
Thor raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms, "This is what will stop her? A simple plaything?" he sounded sceptical.
Richard rolled his eyes again and held it around its' sausage-like stomach, walking out of the room (picking the apple up on the way out) and waiting outside for Thor.
Thor took one last look around the unease-inducing den, then left, thankful to be out of there. He waited for the doctor to close the door again, and then followed him back down the hallway. "How is this going to help?" Thor was starting to get impatient, and actually pulled the toy from Richard's grip, holding it up to look at it. It was a simple sausage dog soft toy, half filled with beads. Its' button eyes seemed to glow, one half hanging off by a thread.
Richard shifted uncomfortably, "Well I guess that's one way to get her here…" he mumbled, before turning and calling out to no one in particular, "Grid! I know you're there, if you want your toy back then come up and say sorry for hurting this man!"

Richard flinched forwards and covered his head when another of the patient's room doors slammed against the wall with a thundering bang as it was hurled open, revealing a blur that jumped onto Thor's back, trying to snatch the toy from his grasp.
Thor flinched as well, but as soon as he felt the pressure on his back he swung his arm around, grabbing what he thought was the scruff of the thing on him, prising it off him and whirling it in front of him, holding it off the ground. He frowned.

It was a girl with startlingly long red-orange hair curling around her body and frizzing off at odd angles.

"Right, so, Loki? You awake yet?" Richard walked through the door, yawning slightly. After a gruelling and somewhat painful (to him) introduction of Grid to Thor, he planned a quick visit to Loki and then back to bed for… an hour and a half. Great. The medication had worked, waking him up and making him feel more alert, but he could still feel the underlying "GO TO SLEEP" his body was telling him. He approached Loki's table, still lost in thought until he snapped back into focus, surprised with what he saw.

Loki's eyes were wide open, staring directly at the light; Richard could almost swear he could see the veins in his eyes as they protested looking at the bright light. The rest of Loki was odd, he was completely tense, his jaw locked and his arms stuck out straight against the restraints. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, and tiny beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.
"Loki? Loki?" Richard kept repeating his patient's name, daring to raise a hand to shield Loki's eyes from the light, which caused the man to snap his eyes shut with such a force Richard swore he could hear them close.
Loki panted out a breath, and Richard realised he probably hadn't been breathing, "Loki? What happened?"

Loki opened his eyes and swung his head around, investigating the area and locking eyes with the doctor. It was a couple of very awkward minutes before he spoke, still panting, "I… I did it… I won…" his face split into a relieved smile, though Richard would have felt more at ease if he knew why he was smiling.
"What did you win?"
Loki's brow creased, and he felt the sweat on it, frowning more, "I beat them. I cannot go back if I am not alive," he chuckled out a dry, croaking laugh. An off-putting laugh.
Richard looked worryingly shocked, "You're dead? You don't seem dead, Loki."
"No, no, I am dead in my mind! They can defile my body all they want! I cannot feel it!" Loki laughed again, letting his head fall back against the pillow, eyes closing and happiness on his face.
Richard was still worried, "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"
Loki stopped laughing and wondered for a moment, "Release me, and I shall tell. Do not worry, I am in a wondrous mood, all I wish to do is wipe my brow and celebrate!" he smiled innocently at the doctor, truth emanating from his face.
Richard was pleased and believed he wouldn't hurt him, but he was still concerned by what Loki had said. He nodded, "But only your top half until I am certain," he warned Loki as he undid the buckle below the table under Loki's left wrist.
Loki nodded, "Understandably."
Richard continued undoing Loki's restraints, but always keeping his eyes on the pleased man. He finished undoing Loki's stomach/pelvis strap and moved behind Loki's head again.
Loki slightly tensed up, once again, but he was more curious than anything, expecting the pillow to be bent again.
Richard chuckled, "It's more than a simple table," he unlocked a clip under the table's structure, lifting the top half of the bed into a more vertical position, allowing Loki to sit up, legs still bound.
Loki raised an eyebrow, "Why thank you," he snorted a smooth laugh and lifted his pre-released arm to wipe the now cold sweat of his forehead. Wiping his hand on his pants, he looked at his other arm, which hadn't moved yet. He groaned as he attempted to move it, pain mixed with pins and needles shooting through his joints. Shaking his head in frustration, he lurched forwards, moving all the parts of his body he could.
Richard jerked slightly, not ready for Loki's action, but 'tsch'd when he saw Loki groan again as his body protested.

It took a few minutes of stretching and cracking of bones to stop the pain in Loki's body, but eventually he was able to move it, though creakingly so. He relaxed back into the bed, resting his head against the pillow, enjoying himself. He remembered his deal and sighed, "I am taken somewhere when I sleep."
Richard raised an eyebrow, but moved to the table and sat down, this may not be a short trip after all.
"Thor is there. As is the All-Father, Odin," Loki continued, pausing as he heard a quiet "I knew it" from Richard, but he kept going, "A long story made short, I ended my life in that pit of darkness."
Richard raised both brows this time, "You consciously committed suicide in a dream?"
Loki nodded, smiling, "Yes."
Richard was worried, "It is more than a dream, Loki, you hallucinate those bad things sometimes. As in, you actually experience them awake. It's why I've had to put you to sleep so often, I had hoped you would be calmer in your mind during sleep."
Loki frowned, "It won't happen again will it? Both of those, the hallucinating and the being put to sleep?"
Richard sighed, rubbing his eyes, but he looked back up and smiled, "I have medicine that you can take instead of injections that will stop the hallucinations, which means you won't have to be put to sleep."
Loki's eyes shifted, thinking, as he looked at Richard, "Audolf, give me that medicine immediately. Fix the voices and thoughts," he spoke bluntly, as if it were a quick fix. Richard sighed.
"It's not that easy, Loki, you will have to stay here for a long time, slowly getting better. It's like a wound, it needs to heal."
Loki frowned again, "Hm. So be it," he let his head fall against the pillow again and closed his eyes, breathing slowly.

Richard looked away, slightly sad, it is a shame he can't fix people's illnesses as quick as Loki wanted, he wished he could too, but it simply wasn't realistic. He thought for a moment, before speaking, "Would you like to see Thor? I told him he could see you when you were unbound and well enough, it's been tough for him too."

Loki looked at him again, his face betraying nothing, "Bring him in," his voice was emotionless.