[Loki, Thor, Valkyrie] Asgardians play rough

[st_ratagem]

The Inn, while not technically all that small, seemed to get emptier and smaller with time. That was, in Loki’s experience, one of the features of imprisonment in general. The business of every day was simply filling the day, finding what novelty one could in order to vary the texture of time.

Today, for some reason, he’d opted to appear in the Inn’s fitness room slash sparring arena to watch Thor and the Valkyrie spar. He had no intention of challenging the winner, of course; Thor would demolish him and he generally preferred less public locations for anything involving Valkyrie and violence in his direction. But it would at least be interesting to watch the two have fun or bleed off aggression, and possibly play spoiler of sorts - a few little tricks to tip the scales one way or the other in case one of them got complacent.

Sniping from the sidelines was, after all, entirely his style.

Comments

[st_ratagem]

Loki fell in at his brother's side, directing an I'm fine sort of shrug at Valkyrie. She might or might not believe it, but it was true enough that he wasn't remotely as badly off as she'd been. "She is mostly healed, Thor. Not that rest isn't a good idea!" That was important to note. "But she's in no particular danger of dying unless something new happens."

[st_allionofdoom]

Eyeing both brothers, Valkyrie’s shoulders fell in a soundless sigh. They both seemed normal, aside from the mutual concern and Loki’s depleted energy. “I’ll rest. For a short period.”

After, however...

[st_ormbreaker]

"You should take it easy until we know what's going on," Thor says. "I don't want you to risk getting hurt again." Not just because he was concerned for Valkyrie's welfare (because he was!), but also because he knew his brother well enough to know that he'd deplete himself again in the name of her welfare.

He wasn't going to let harm come to them again.

"You feel any different this morning?" he asks of Valkyrie. They're going up stairs now, and Thor casts a glance behind him to make sure Loki's not struggling to keep pace.

[st_ratagem]

Loki was in fact moving more slowly than usual, though he gave no indication of struggle otherwise. The prospect of not moving for a while was an excellent motivator to keep on. Sleep, read, settle into the loveseat to watch fish. Nothing that required effort.

"Thor is right," he said, hoping that a bald admission like that would get attention. "You've lost a fair amount of physical capacity somehow, and for the next day or so at least I won't be able to heal you if you break yourself. I therefore request that 'easy' be your guiding principle until we work out how to fix whatever happened."

[st_allionofdoom]

“If this has happened to me, what’s to say something hasn’t happened to others?” Feeling somehow certain of this possibility, Valkyrie at the least remained controlled in her king’s arms.

“...I felt slow upon waking, but not so weak.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"If something has happened to the others, that's something for me to handle while you and Loki rest."

As they approach the entrance, Thor nods a head towards the door. "Loki, can you grab that?"

[st_ratagem]

Loki nodded, made his way to the door, unlocked it with the key - from his pocket - and opened it. Ordinarily he'd have opened it magically so he wouldn't have had to dodge around Thor, but... well, tapped out was unfortunately tapped out even where convenience was concerned. "If nothing else, we can be fairly sure that Thor is intact, as am I. Or at the very least, my magic was available to me when I needed it."

[st_allionofdoom]

Suddenly Valkyrie’s arm whipped out, taking Thor by his scruffy jaw before they could enter the threshold (even if she didn’t wield much power, she had more than enough to squish his cheeks and force his head to meet her eyes.)

“Promise me you’ll do so. Loki hasn’t got enoug in him to handle many more rounds of this.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Pinky promise," Thor says, and he pulls his face out of her grasp. "I'm confining both of you Loki's quarters until further notice. No chance for either one of you to get into trouble."

He sets Valkyrie down on the bed, then glances from Valkyrie over to Loki. "Do either of you need anything before I go check on the others?"

[st_ratagem]

"Brother, if you think either of us can't get into trouble here, you don't know either of us." Loki smiled to show it was a joke. Mostly so, anyway, because he at least wouldn't consider himself particularly bound by Thor's order. He'd stay in his room because he felt like it, and leave on a similar principle. "Probably more food sooner or later, as Valkyrie needs to make up some loss. But it's not immediate. See to the rest of the Inn, brother."

[st_allionofdoom]

Squinting at Thor, Valkyrie instead turned her attention towards Loki. "Does he do the confinement thing often?"

She recalled Stark being subjected to the very same thing around New Years time.

[st_ormbreaker]

"I'm going," Thor announces before Loki can give Valkyrie his answer. "I'll be back with something for you two to eat and drink later on."

Thor looks at the both of them, gestures at his eyes with his middle and index fingers, then turns those fingers back at them.

And with that, Thor departs.

[st_ratagem]

“He does it when he’s worried but has things to do that mean he can’t just hang around and fuss.” With Thor gone, Loki joined Valkyrie on the bed, not-accidentally covering one of her hands with one of his. “Generally I comply until I decide not to. Most days that’s just ‘until he’s gone’ but I think this time I’ll release myself tomorrow or so.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"I regret causing a stir." Turning her palm over, she squeezed Loki's clammy fingers. Much of the warmth had returned to her own...thanks to him, of course.

[st_ratagem]

“I don’t imagine you did it on purpose.” Of the three of them, Loki knew he was the one with anything like a deathwish, and even his enjoyment of pain wasn’t likely to stretch that far. “I also don’t imagine I’ll be entirely awake shortly, so if you’re inclined to defy my brother you’ll have your chance.” He leaned to kiss her, gentle and brief. “I’ll ask that you stay, though. I sleep better with you nearby.”

[st_allionofdoom]

The kiss warmed her inside, and the earnestness of the request made his case. “Well. You gave me your energy and this would be the only way for me to give it back.” She pressed a hand lightly to his chest, encouraging him to lower.

[st_ratagem]

Loki let himself be guided down until he was comfortably on his back, looking up at her. “I'm not going to leave you hurt. If you needed it again, I’d give it again.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"I know. That's why I'll be good." She tapped the man's nose for emphasis. "And I won't be stuck behaving myself alone. Understand?"

[st_ratagem]

"Misbehavior pact it is!" Either they would both behave or neither would. That really did seem about right. He reached up to touch her temple and slide fingertips into her hair. "How's your head?"

[st_allionofdoom]

“Still attached to my body.” So, clearly, all it needed to be. Leaning into Loki’s hand, she then rolled off and to his side, saving the urge to weight him down with her body for a time when he wasn’t shambling about.

[st_ratagem]

“Let me know if it starts to ache. Concussions are tricky.” Whether or not she was tired, and she didn’t seem to be, Loki shifted to pull her close and curl around her as if she was a living pillow or plush toy. “I may be worrying for nothing, of course.”

[st_allionofdoom]

“I assure you, I’m simply hungry.” Room service was one of those nifty little conveniences that Valkyrie had seldom used, preferring to go out an hunt her own sustenance. She put a hand over Loki’s to re-gift him his warmth as she drew closer. “I’ll order you something.”

[st_ratagem]

"Mm-hmm." He probably did have to eat, at that, and as ever it didn't matter much what it was. More interesting to Loki at the moment was a warm and lucid Valkyrie, available to hold and bouncing back with as much energy as anyone could wish. "Or I could steal some of whatever you order for yourself."

[st_allionofdoom]

“I’d let you.” She pulled up the blue cover, letting it flutter down to settle on their forms. “Only you.”

[st_ratagem]

He had to laugh, even if it was a little drowsy. Being warm and still and comfortable was letting the exhaustion hit as hard as it wanted to. "Do you imagine I'd try to share with anyone else? I'm not good at that."