Final steps

[st_ratagem]

Loki had spent the last hour or two before sunset preparing, and the first hour afterward. He’d taken ruthless advantage of the fact that the Inn staff was desperate to give people towels and had carefully interwoven the. On the floor such that there was no chance of getting at the actual carpet below without effort. He’d selected a dagger from his collection - a very old one that he hadn’t actively used since childhood, one of a pair given to him by his mother - and sharpened it to an almost perfect edge. He’d opened up the balcony door to let the early-winter night chill in. He’d even out together a little aid kit (disinfectant, pads, bandages, needle and thread) for afterward.

In many ways, the hardest part was settling on the towels with the in-etched staff resting in front of him and forcing Odin’s enchantment away, knowing that he wouldn’t be allowing himself to go back to normal possibly for hours. And that, as soon as Thor arrived with a bowl and his hands, it would all have a witness.

Comments

[st_ratagem]

It fell as snow. Big heavy flakes, speaking to the fact that Loki hadn’t quite gotten it cold enough for powder. The roof, too, is still warm enough that the flakes melt almost soon as they land.

But it was snow, recognizable and definite.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor reaches out to grab one and just as his hand folds around it, he can feel it shift back to liquid against the warmth of his palm.

He spins, eyes bright and his smile broad.

"Loki!" He holds out his hand to show his brother the melted puddle of snowflake.

"You did it!"

[st_ratagem]

Loki caught a snowflake as well, but in his hand, of course, it didn’t melt. He also didn’t smile. “You were here, too, Thor.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"What do you mean?" Thor asks excitedly, clearly not getting Loki's point.

[st_ratagem]

“Snow doesn’t happen without clouds and potential rain, brother.” For all Thor’s ego, he picked odd times not to claim credit due.

[st_ormbreaker]

"Yes, but without you, it would have been ordinary clouds and rain," Thor points out. "You could have waited for an ordinary rainstorm and done the same thing without me."

[st_ratagem]

“It’s winter. You could have waited for it to be cold enough without me.” Loki shrugged. “We May have to admit it was a team effort. I’m sure it will get less horrifying the more we say it.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"We made a great team," Thor says. "We still do."

Thor presses a hand against the side of Loki's shoulder and pulls him towards him in a sidehug.

[st_ratagem]

Loki didn’t fight the side-hug, but he did turn his head to look at Thor. “You realize I’m still blue. You’re risking your arm with this.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Worth the risk."

[st_ratagem]

“You are an idiot.” Loki let Odin’s enchantment flood back, warming both his skin and the air around them, turning the snow into rain.

[st_ormbreaker]

"I would have been fine," Thor complains at Loki's turning. The rain overhead stops as abruptly as it started and the little puff of cloud dissolves into the night sky.

[st_ratagem]

“You’re already down an eye, you don’t need to lose an arm as well.” Loki was very sure of this point.

[st_ormbreaker]

"You're exaggerating," he says. "I'm sure I wouldn't lose an arm." Thor gives his brother one final squeeze, then lets go.

[st_ratagem]

“I’m pretty sure I could do it, though.” He wouldn’t, at least not without an extremely good reason. Possibly not even then. But still! The possibility existed in some form,

[st_ormbreaker]

"You're sure you could take off my arm, but weren't sure you could make snow."

[st_ratagem]

“Snow is different. I could always make myself cold, that was never the problem. I could always freeze your arm off. Or, you know,your hair is wet. I could freeze it so it breaks off.” Another thing he wouldn’t do. Thor would forgive the arm, but not his hair,

[st_ormbreaker]

True -- Thor would be more concerned with his hair than he would be his hand.

"C'mon," Thor whines. "Let me see how long I can touch you."

[st_ratagem]

“Make it start raining again.” Yes, this was weird and stupid. It could also be entertaining.

[st_ormbreaker]

A torrent of rain lets loose from above in an instant -- enough so that they'll both be soaked in no time. Thor looks at loki expectantly, waiting.

[st_ratagem]

Loki dropped Odin’s enchantment again, letting the blue-lined frost giant face take over again. As if to give Thor permission, he also folded his hands behind his back, shifting the staff behind his back as well. That way, when he started freezing the water around Thor’s legs and feet, it wouldn’t be as noticeable.

He’d told Thor he intended to practice. He was almost certain he had.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor slaps a hand onto Loki's shoulder and clenches it, determined to outlast his brother.

[st_ratagem]

Obligingly, Loki dropped his personal temperature as far down as he could. Thor wanted to see how long he could stand it, why not? On Jotunheim, they’d learned that frost giants could freeze through and shatter armor with a touch. If Thor wanted to experience that without armor, he could.

Besides, it helped Loki direct ice around his brother’s feet and ankles, freezing him to the roof.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor's grip on Loki's shoulder tightens a little as the cold begins to pierce through his skin. He's always been a bit of a furnace -- always running hot where others ran cold. That was part of why he was sure he'd be able to stand it.

Or why he didn't plan on letting go before Loki gave in and returned to his enchanted form.

Thor's hand doesn't move.

[st_ratagem]

At this point, it was Thor's decision exactly how much frostbite he wanted to inflict on himself. Loki was content to let Thor make that decision - though he would intervene, probably, if it actually looked like the man intended to sacrifice a hand - and building up the ice sticking his feet to the roof wasn't taking as much concentration as he'd thought it might.

All of that meant that Loki had spare mental space to think, which generally meant he had space to talk. This time was no exception, though he made an effort to find a topic he thought would please his brother. "Have you decided what to do about the sword thing, at your wedding? Since an ancestral blade of your fathers is likely to be... difficult... to come by."