Chapter Seven: War and Peace

The rest of the week dragged on.

Not wanting to intrude on Sigyn's desire to avoid him, Loki put Brunnhilde in charge of visiting the healers. Loki spotted Sigyn's parents one time during a food supply check; they glared at him the entire time despite his best efforts to ignore them.

Thor, as king, became so busy Loki only saw his brother at their morning meetings. It took everyone to keep the ship running smoothly and to calm the people's worries.

As the weeks wore on, everyone became restless. Floating slowly through space in a confined ship would put even the most patient people on edge. Korg and Brunnhilde broke up a fair share of fights, most of which were between parents arguing over food rations and a few rebellious adolescents who sought unconventional ways to release their pent-up energy.

The ship stopped to restock and refuel at nearby planets whenever they found one. However, their supplies seemed to dwindle almost as quickly as they restocked.

The stress of maintaining order got to Thor, so much so Loki could feel an almost constant electrical field surrounding his brother. An overwhelming scent of ozone followed Thor wherever he went and one could track his location simply by seeing whose hair stood on end.

So far, Thor's electricity had yet to interfere with any of the mechanisms on the ship, but at this rate, it would only take one bad day to set Thor off. Not wanting to bother Thor, Loki kept himself busy simply because Thor's fondness for backslaps had shocked Loki too many times to count.

Leaving Thor to burn off his energy alone, Loki found different places to sleep which mostly consisted of random corners where he would hide from others. Not the most comfortable by any means, it still did the job of secluding him from unwanted attention.

The random corners reminded him of the hideaway in the palace's library; both offered a quiet escape where he could read and work in comfort. Nobody knew about his hiding spot, not even Thor or Sigyn. He had a whole plethora of locations around Asagard where he could disappear for a few hours if he got tired of people bothering him.

The little nooks around the ship often left him stiff from sleeping curled up to fit his tall frame into small areas. In addition, nightmares usually kept him awake at night so he never began the day well rested. He thought about staying on the Commodore but quickly threw that notion away. The ship reminded him of an overly raunchy party the Grandmaster forced him to attend. Not even the black-out drunken state he'd been in could erase the memory of that horrible event.

Currently, Loki sat at the dining hall table balancing their budget for their next supply run. Few places took Asgardian coins and they had limited currency from other planets, so Loki converted their small number of coins to the universal currency of units. Financially, they were on the verge of declaring bankruptcy, something Loki never imagined Asgardians—let alone the royal family—would ever experience.

While Loki double-checked his calculations, Thor burst through doors, jarring Loki from his thoughts.

"Brother! I found you!" Thor boomed with a wide grin—a rarity these days—and sat heavily on a chair beside him.

"Indeed you have," Loki muttered, begrudgingly erasing the jagged line on the paper he made when Thor startled him.

"I wanted to talk to you," Thor said, his smile dropping.

"You already are," Loki said without looking up from his paper. When Thor didn't say anything in return, Loki looked up to see Thor's somber expression. "What's wrong?"

Thor fiddled with his eyepatch and sighed, almost as if ashamed to admit something so trivial. "I had a nightmare last night."

"So? I have them all the time. It's probably the stress getting to you. Take a break or something," Loki replied, unsympathetic. He could spend his time on something more important than Thor's nightly issues. He returned to his calculations, ignoring Thor's pained expression from being ignored.

"I know but this felt different—more like a memory instead of a dream, one I can't fully remember," Thor explained. Thor took Loki's silence as a cue to keep talking. "I keep waking up with a headache and the dreams play on repeat."

It sounded oddly familiar, and knowing Thor inherited Frigga's ability to see glimpses of the past and future through dreams, Loki paused his writing.

"And what did you see?" Loki asked.

"A wolf pup. I can't reach it, it always disappears into the darkness, but I can still hear it whining—crying for help."

"There were a lot of wolves on Asgard, Thor. They probably all died in the explosion," Loki replied, returning to his paper. Something itched inside his skull, and he squinted at the numbers on the page to distract himself.

"I know," Thor repeated, quieter this time. "But this one...it knew me; I knew it—him. All the dreams end the same and I can't do anything to stop them. I want to help but I can't and it's really starting to bother me."

No doubt the quiet rumblings at night were from Thor's emotions lashing out in his sleep. Now Loki knew why.

"It's not just from stress, Loki," Thor continued. "And it's not just a wolf. For reasons I cannot explain, I also see a horse, a serpent, a baby girl. They all disappear into the darkness, and I—"

Loki immediately stopped writing, the pencil falling onto the table from his loosened grip as he sat up straight. He turned to stare in shock at Thor.

"What does the girl look like?" Loki asked, his voice wavering a bit.

"She's an infant. Dark hair, pale skin. She almost reminds me of—"

"Hela," Loki finished and grasped Thor's forearm. Panic flared inside his chest, and the itch in his chest grew stronger. "She looks like Hela, doesn't she?"

Thor blinked and reared his head back in confusion. "Yes and—"

"How many legs does the horse have?" Loki questioned.

"Why does it matter?"

"How many legs does the horse have?" Loki repeated, his grip tightening.

Thor closed his good eye and tilted his head as he thought. "You're acting strange brother; all horses have four…"

Thor opened his eyes again and stared back at Loki. "Would you find me strange if I told you said the horse had...eight legs? Just like the myths—the one you said might be true."

Loki released Thor's arm and sat back against the chair to run a hair through his hair. He chewed his bottom lip in thought, contemplating whether or not he should admit to sharing his own nightly experiences.

"You're not going insane, Thor," Loki said, quiet. "I have the same ones."

"What?" Thor exclaimed. "It's impossible."

"No, it's not. Not if we share the same memories," Loki countered. He ticked off the similarities on his fingers as he spoke, "The little girl looks like Hela, the horse has eight legs, the snake is unusually large, and the wolf looks like a younger and kinder version of the wolf we fought on the bridge."

Thor's mouth dropped slightly open, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"I have headaches too," Loki added. "It is not a coincidence we share the same nightmares and headaches. Something else is going on. Every time I close my eyes, I can feel their pain, like they are out there, calling to me."

Thor shook his head and took a deep breath, frowning as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you mocking me? I'm not in the mood for this. I came here because I wanted to talk to you about something serious and you decided to turn it into a joke. It's not funny, Loki, so stop."

"It's not a joke; I'm being serious!" Loki shouted. "Does nothing sound familiar? How am I supposed to prank you when I do not know your dreams?"

"You're reading my mind. You probably made a...psychic link or something. I'm not amused, brother, and it's an invasion of privacy," Thor accused and stood up. His fists clenched at his sides. Thor tended to get physical when upset, and their petty squabble could devolve into a full-blown argument.

"You first have to have a brain for someone else to read it," Loki snapped, frustrated at the lack of seriousness. Any honesty always got questioned, and it started to annoy him. "I am not aware of any psychic link. If there is a link between us, it has probably developed in our childhood. They say siblings tend to form connections close enough to share similar ideas, especially with sorcerers. I may have unknowingly imprinted on you as an infant, but let me tell you right now, I am not reading your mind to prank you."

Thor laughed. "How am I supposed to know if you are telling the truth?"

"It's called trust," Loki retorted bitterly, his temper rising to a dangerous level.

"In case you have forgotten, you are not the most trustworthy person."

Loki should have known it would eventually come to Thor's lack of trust regarding his brother. Part of it, Loki knew, fell on himself. His actions over the years certainly painted himself in not the most flattering light, and he had long ago accepted others would not immediately trust him.

However, he believed he and Thor had moved beyond discussions of trust. Perhaps they were not on as good terms as Loki had thought. Certainly, Thor would realize Loki told the truth about the nightmares. If Thor didn't trust him on such insignificant matters, then why would he entrust Loki with important details like the ship's budget?

Time and time again, Loki proved his value by always listening to Thor's orders and finishing assigned tasks. He asked for more whenever he completed one early and never complained about overworking. So far, he also hadn't done anything to warrant suspicion.

Loki vaguely wondered if Thor had somehow found out about the Tesseract but Loki brushed it aside. Kingly duties required Thor's undivided attention. If he hadn't noticed Loki's silent musing after his failed interaction with Sigyn, Thor certainly wouldn't have discovered the Tesseract hidden in Loki's pocket dimension.

Still, it stung to realize Thor didn't fully trust Loki. After everything they'd been through, especially lately, Thor could at least attempt to believe Loki before jumping to conclusions. Maybe, Loki should've stayed behind on Sakaar so Thor wouldn't have to handle his delinquent little brother.

"I completely understand," Loki said, choking back a sob at the thought of intentionally being left behind, which already happened when Thor used the obedience disc on him. Maybe he deserved it, to be cast out and left behind because he hadn't done anything worthwhile in the past few years.

A golden king like Thor had no time for a backstabbing monster like Loki.

"Do you?" Thor asked, his good eye glaring Loki down.

Loki felt himself standing. Despite having Frost Giant blood, Thor still towered over him and had a broader frame.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Loki hissed. His temper, on the brink of cracking, forced his words out without much thought. Times like these, where his mouth ran faster than his mind, usually got him in trouble.

"I am just making an observation," Thor stated, the bluntness of it only added fuel to the fire. "You seem to have a problem figuring out who you are."

"What?"

"Loki, I am seriously not in the mood for your tricks," Thor growled, the air crackling with electricity.

"I'm not lying! Why won't you listen?!" Loki shouted, gesturing wildly in frustration. All thoughts of restraining his temper flew right into the vacuum of space. "What am I supposed to do? I follow all your orders, I have never complained, and yet you accuse me of pranking you. Why? Because I'm bored? I've been too busy to be bored! How dense can you be?"

"Keep your vile tongue under control," Thor boomed. "How dare you insult your brother and your king?!"

"A good king wouldn't pick a fight with his people! Maybe if you weren't so stubborn, you would see that—"

A blinding surge of pain blossomed on Loki's cheek as Thor's fist connected with Loki's jaw. The force of the blow caused Loki to stumble back a few steps as little black dots danced across his vision. It certainly fell short of Thor's strongest punches but the suddenness of it caught Loki off-guard.

Loki held his jaw and stared at Thor in shock. Nothing had broken but he would have a nasty bruise later.

Thor had hit him. His older brother, the one who promised to protect him, had hit him.

Shaking in anger, Loki twisted his wrist and summoned a dagger. He lunged at Thor, intending to stab him in the shoulder.

Thor caught his wrist and flung him off his feet. Sailing through the air, hit the wall and barely dodged another punch.

Dropping low, Loki rolled past Thor and hooked a foot behind Thor's to swipe him off his feet. Thor landed hard on his rear and Loki quickly pinned him.

Raising his dagger again, Loki brought it down towards Thor only for him to catch it again and kick him off.

The dagger clattered onto the floor out of Loki's reach.

Thor ran at him and Loki quickly moved to slide right between Thor's legs. In one fluid motion, Loki righted himself, turned around, and jumped onto Thor's back, latching onto him with his legs and locking Thor into a chokehold.

Growling, Thor reached up, grabbed a fistful of Loki's hair, and yanked.

Loki released his grip as sparks flew from Thor's fingers. Lightning arched through the air and jolted Loki across the room.

He landed on the table and slid a few feet to fall off the far edge. Stunned, Loki blinked the spots out of his eyes and shook himself off only for a solid punch to strike him in the temple.

Thor yanked Loki upward by the collar and growled low, "Take back what you said."

"Never," Loki hissed. Using Thor's forearms for leverage, he hauled his knee between them and into Thor's chin.

Thor stumbled backward and glared. Blue sparks crackled along his clenched fists and his eye white out in an electric glow.

Something surged inside Loki, and he brought his closed fists up to his chest. Cupping them, he shoved them forward before Thor could retaliate.

Green energy burst out, sending Thor hurtling through the dining room wall. The shockwave toppled the chairs and table and dropped the Grandmaster's portrait from its nail.

The ragged edges of the wall glowed with a faint green glimmer, and Loki froze in shock. He glanced down at his fists and rotated them to stare at his upturned palms.

"Well, that's new," Thor said, all hint of malice gone.

Loki's head whipped up to see Thor shaking himself off behind the damaged wall. No lightning sizzled from his body, and for some odd reason, Thor had a grin on his face.

"I—"

Thor climbed through the cavity and waved a dismissive hand in the air. "You're strong."

"I've never—"

Thor stopped a few feet in front of him and extended a hand. "Truce?"

Loki glanced between Thor's hand, his face, and his own palms. Then he met Thor's gaze again, and seeing a twinkle in his brother's eye, sealed the handshake.

"Truce."