Clint´s days passed in a similar fashion, working out a little just after waking, and then eating a granola bar and foraging berries for breakfast. He showered every couple days and refilled the water pack in the river. He hiked away for hours and killed his dinner and wowed himself when he came across a couple lone juniper trees. He climbed the trunks and stole their berries away by the handful in a small pouch. He referenced thin books tucked away in a pocket of his pants to name the trees he saw and the possible edible plants he wondered about.

It was barely a week into his camp when he was out hiking again, never leaving his bow behind, while he kneeled in the dirt and inspected a paw print left behind. Some kind of canidae. Maybe a fox. His coat pocket vibrated once against his ribs and he jolted at the surprise, not expecting to be contacted while he was, for all intents and purposes, off the grid. He revealed the phone and read the text message from Natasha:

Thunderstorm incoming. Buckle down.

Clint gave the phone a confused look. He knew the code, but not the reasoning. The second sentence meant trouble. He looked backward toward the direction of his camp, a couple hours walk back, and he stowed the phone. He gave the paw print in the damp earth a look of disappointment and headed back to the campsite.

As he neared the camp, afternoon sun setting into his eyes, the archer slowed his pace and sneaked behind trees, not wanting to reveal himself just yet. He heard no voices, but that didn't mean no one was there. He peaked around the edge of a tree and saw Thor standing by the fire pit, sans cape, hands on his hips just staring down at the embers. His back faced Clint but even from there Clint could see his shoulders loose in loss. He must be tired and unhappy. The thunder god exhaled sharply and waved a hand in exasperation.

"I suppose we shall have to wait for his return," he said and moved to sit on the ground.

Revealed by Thor's movement, Loki stood on the other side of the ring of stones, looking askance at the tops of the trees. Clint jerked back behind his own tree and squeezed a death grip on his bow, heart hammering in his chest. He was sure that he had begun hyperventilating, but he hoped he was being silent about it, questions slung in and out of his brain faster than he could really give them completion, angry and a little frightened by the appearance of his old master. He tried to pull himself together with an open mouthed gulp of air and thought about his next move. How would he greet them, one an ally and the other a foe? He considered the possibility of Thor being under control just like Clint had been, or else Loki would have been in chains like the last time he'd seen him. When he'd been taken back to Asgard as a prisoner.

Decision made, he notched an arrow and aimed it at Loki, his body hidden by the tree with only his arm visible, brushing against the bark.

"Thor," Clint said, and the blond god twisted around to see the man holding his arrow ready against his cheek. "Got an explanation for this?"

Loki made no movements; he looked blandly in Clint's direction, unperturbed by the weapon ready to run him through. Thor stood and rubbed the dirt off his hands, a smile on his face, and suddenly blocking Loki from view just as fully as he had hidden him before. Clint stepped sideways to keep him in his sights and Thor didn't move to prevent it.

"Hawkeye, there is no harm to come to you," the hulking god said simply, knowing the reason for Clint's caution.

The archer finally took a glance into Thor's eyes and saw them his normal blue shade, not the suffocating blue opal of the Tesseract.

"You positive on that?"

"My word on it, friend."

After a few second of deliberation, warring within himself, Clint eased the string of his bow and lowered it, coming out from behind the tree. Thor was pleased by his movement and squeezed Clint's shoulder before pulling him in for a half hug and thumping him on the back. He'd seen human males greet each other this way during his visits and used it as the custom greeting.

"Well met, my friend," Thor beamed and lead Clint to the fire pit and sat down again. Clint went to one knee and kept his eyes on Loki who still watched with no kind of emotion.

"Are you hunting, Hawkeye- it's not usually such a private affair."

"No, camping," the archer corrected, although he had been hunting for his meals. Thor looked at Clint for an explanation. "People come out to the wild and spend a couple days and then they go home. They use it as vacation time, relaxing. Most don't hunt for food while they do it. They bring food from home."

"But that takes the fun from it!" Thor smiled, seeming to understand the concept.

Clint looked away from Thor when he heard Loki click his tongue in irritation, and he wondered when he had looked away. Thor commanded attention. He looked back at the golden god and jerked his head towards Loki.

"What's going on with this? Why's he here?"

Thor's face was suddenly serious. Not grave, but he had news. "I come here on business with you- Loki is part of it."

"What happened to being tried in Asgard for punishment?"

Thor shrugged. "Well, that is our meaning here. My father has come to his decision and laid down his law, and so we've come to you."

"Enough fancy talk, man, just lay it out; I don't want to be around him longer than I have to."

Thor pursed his lips. "The AllFather has decreed that Loki will serve his sentence under your care. He has things-"

"Whoa, hey- say that again?"

"You are to be Loki's handler for the duration of his punishment."

Clint stared dumbfounded at Thor while he tried to process this tiny bit of information. His eyes skittered around him and he shook his head disbelievingly. "Wh- What? The hell did you just say?" He began to chuckle nervously, sure he wasn't understanding something and he was having a blond moment. Those were a real thing, right?

Thor tried to calm the archer with a large hand over Clint's forearm. "I realize it is shocking for you, but I can explain if you allow me."

Clint rested his elbow on a knee and covered his eyes with one hand, not being able to look at the gods without getting angry. He whirled the other hand in a gesture for Thor to continue. He wasn't sure if he was going to listen, feeling like it would just be poison dipping into his ears. It would slowly corrode away his eardrum and liquify his brain.

"My father believes Loki requires structure and discipline meted out to him in order to halt his behavior. There are qualities he lacks that would make any more outbursts and plots extinct." Thor took a breath and looked up at Loki with sadness. "Loki has been banished from Asgard and is sentenced to a life on Midgard without his magic. Father commanded that you, Hawkeye, be the one responsible for him while he learns the ways of the humans. As Loki took control of your life when he set foot in this realm, so shall you take control of his. Father found it a small recompense for your loss of free will."

Clint had set his bow on the ground and covered his face with both hands, listening to Thor in the darkness he allowed himself. "What if I don't want it?" He asked. "I don't want to be any part of this! I didn't see any big guy in the sky asking me if this was okay; tell him to take him back- put him in a fucking dungeon or something! You know we humans put our bad guys away somewhere when we catch them, right? You guys don't do that?"

"Loki has already spent time in our prisons while awaiting his sentence, and if the AllFather believed a lifetime in the dungeon would curb his appetites for power and domination then he surely would have done it." Thor bent his legs and rested his arms on his knees. "My father also threw me from Asgard when I needed to learn lessons about myself; you remember? My hammer grounded in the mud and I could scarcely move it an inch even as I tugged with all my being. That is what Odin desires to achieve here again."

Clint finally looked up and saw Loki had moved to sit on the rock by the fire, waiting. "You tell SHIELD about this, I guess?"

"Indeed. And the Widow was kind enough to reveal your location to me. She bade me vow never to tell another soul of this place though. It is your personal place away?"

"I like to think so," Clint muttered. "What did Fury say?"

Thor grunted and nodded his head, grabbing a nearby log and tossing it into the pit. It would soon catch fire from the embers and begin to give them light against the setting sun.

"He was disparate in his disbelief, but after all explanations and reassurances were made, he agreed. With reluctance."

Clint's stomach dropped and he groaned. If Director Fury agreed to this alien nonsense then he almost had no choice in the matter. "Alright, then give me the details too. What the hell am I supposed to do with him- take him to orphanages to feed the kids and make him sing in church?"

"Do as you see fit. He cannot leave your side in a distance of a quarter of a mile, and he has been stripped of all magic."

"What happens if he gets passed a quarter mile?"

"He cannot. It simply won't happen."

"And no magic."

"None," Thor nodded.

"No- no clones, no teleporting... no heals?"

Clint's last revelation gave Thor pause but he confirmed it all just the same. Thor felt he had to pounce on the thought before Clint could run away with it. "You will not kill him."

"Wanna bet on that?"

"Hawkeye, my father laid down this law and part of it was that Loki is not to be killed. By any hand." Thor looked into Clint's steely grey eyes and sighed. "I understand the need for revenge, friend. I know you hurt inside and would gladly expunge Loki for it, but know that Odin will also strike you down if you do. Loki is still my father's son."

"Not." Loki said offhandedly and became silent again.

Thor ignored his brother's disagreement.

It was quiet between them as they considered their positions and listened to the fire crackling large before them. Clint's stomach tightened and he huffed, getting up.

"Well, I'm gonna get some snacks before it turns dark; I'll be back." The archer wandered away slowly, feeling defeated and put upon. He nearly dragged his feet through the grass as he headed for the nearest blackberry bush and stood there popping berry after berry into his mouth. The night was falling and he was being bathed in the darkness while he methodically filled his belly. He turned to look in the direction of camp, a small glow of orange light in the distance and he tried to imagine sitting around that fire with just Loki at his side, Thor no longer present. He couldn't. Not without a muzzle and handcuffs. He didn't know what Thor thought Clint was going to do with the wayward god. He felt like this would take him back to the days with those opal-blue eyes, that mind control, and he shuddered at the thought. But if Clint let the rational and logical side of him think about the situation, he found that there was nothing inherently dangerous about it. Glorified babysitting is what it would be.

He came back to the camp, thinking about how he didn't like that there was some apparently all-powerful god that could make commands and decisions without checking with his 'lessers'. Just assuming the humans will obey every word he says as law because, well, he's Odin AllFather. Clint just had to bend over and take it.

Thor still sat on the grass, the hammer resting at his side and leaned for the handle to touch his thigh. Loki was also still on the rock, looking up into the dark blue skies littered with diamonds. Whether the pale god was counting them or memorizing them Clint was sure he didn't know. There was one thing he did know. He stepped up beside Loki, holding his breath for being so close the god again. He told himself he'd never get that close again unless it was to slit his throat, but apparently this was important.
Loki noticed the lack of space between him and the archer and he looked up at him, eyes widened for the low light but still... no emotion.

Clint squinted his eyes at him. "Get out of my seat," he growled.

Loki's eyes fell downwards to the rock he sat on and then back up to Clint's eyes.

"Loki," Thor called. "Move. We are but guests in Hawkeye's camp."

Loki's breath blew hard from his nose and he moved to sit on the ground between the two. Clint took his place on the rock and stretched out his legs before him, laying the bow on the ground and unbuckling the quiver to lay it aside as well.

"Alright," Clint consented, drawing Thor's gaze. "I'll do it; not that I have much choice."

Thor looked relieved and he half-smiled at the archer. "Thank you, Hawkeye. I feel you will not regret this, no matter how you may feel about it throughout the ordeal."

Clint decided he'd had enough of today and he rose, making his way to the tent. "Yeah, well, tell daddy-dearest he needs to work on his decision making. Things like consent beforehand and shit. I'm going to bed."

Thor chuckled and leaned back on the grass. "Then I shall too bed down for the night. I will leave on the morrow. Sleep well."

"Uh-huh," Clint muttered and waved a dismissing hand behind him as he got out of his boots and climbed into the tent, out of his clothes, and into his sleeping bag. He sighed hard enough to bulge his cheeks as he stared up at the ceiling of the sleeping quarters.

"What a fucking day," he said aloud and turned over.