fossilised | I come from a land of ice and snow

Thor gazed upon his brother for a moment as if he did not truly see him. He could not imagine how Loki would not want to return to Jotunheim. Was he still sore that they could not offer an alliance? Odin had not told him anything of what may have befallen his brother and Thor thought this campaign to be about forcing vassalage.

He watched Loki for a moment, and then took the cup Steven offered him only to put it down again before he strode towards his brother. Something terrible had happened then on Jotunheim and Odin and Frigga had gone to teach a lesson to those that remained upon that broken Realm. Sense flooded him and he put a hand out to Loki's shoulder.

"Well then. It seems as if he has decided that you were punished enough. Do you not remember when we stole the cask of ale from the sea witch? He'd initially commanded me to return it but changed his mind instead at the last moment and returned it himself." Thor had gotten a good telling off from their mother for putting himself and Loki in danger and his punishment had become the knowledge that he had done the wrong thing.

Thor yanked Loki into his arms after that and sighed.

"There will be other campaigns. Let us not be too disappointed about this one." Of course, it was only Thor who was disappointed but he tended to only think about himself.

Loki's illusions could shield him from the eyes of those who might see his wounded pride made physical by what Jotunheim had done to him, but they couldn't stop touch. Thor's embrace would surely allow him to feel that Loki was far too thin, that he was altered in ways beyond which he allowed to be visible.

Shock faded slowly.

That Odin would show him such compassion left him highly suspicious. He was not like Thor, believing that learning he had done wrong would be punishment enough, and he was no child any longer to have such gentle lesson. Surely another punishment would be coming, the All-Father would not let this rest.

"They must surely return before long, the might of them combined will make this campaign a short one, and I must speak with the All-Father as soon as he returns to Asgard."

He pulled back from Thor, eyes hard with suspicion.

"There is much at work here that swims beneath the surface."

Thor didn't respond. His mind was stuck on the skin and bones that was his brother, at the somewhat deformed spine he'd felt on his palms, at the lack of muscle definition-- He could not formulate words to that and so after Loki pulled back, Thor stood as if he had been fully stunned or encased in ice.

Suddenly, he understood everything. He felt the rage that Odin must be feeling and their mother-- she was far more frightening than Odin would ever be.

"He went to avenge the wrongs done upon his son," Thor whispered. Loki had been afraid to return to the place he had been so humiliated. Frigga had been angry... This all made the most plausible sense to him at the moment.

His heart sank to his toes.

"I think they mean to bring Jotunheim to heel." And that meant destroying the last of those in power and replacing them with others more sympathetic to their cause.

Loki bristled at the almost casual way that Thor put voice to the shame that dug down into his very bones, eyes flashing and spine straightening. The illusion made him look perfect, the picture of health and indignation. There was little point in lying, even his silver tongue could not hide what had happened now. Not from Thor, not from his parents, not from Anthony.

"You will never speak of that again."

His voice was sharp like a whip crack, he would not have the Warriors Three and Lady Sif learning of his shame, he would not have it spread around like a common rumour. He would never be able to show his face again.

"Odin All-Father cares nothing for wrongs done against me, I had counsel with him earlier this day and he made certain to tell me my faults that could not go without punishment. If Jotunheim is to be brought to heel, why do that?"

"Odin All-Father cares about you a great deal," Thor bit back. "Not everything is a slight to you, Loki. Do you remember not the story you told me of a warrior who found a babe left exposed in the snow and ice? You have always been raised my brother. You have always been raised as his son, Loki. Stop this, I beg you. Stop this before you feel a slight and decide once more to leave our family."

Thor likely should not have said those things but he was worried to lose Loki again when he needed him. He didn't do well without his brother as a balance.

Thor folded his arms over his chest.

"You stole. You defected. For you to be told to fetch what was taken seems to be a fair punishment. But he cares enough about you not to make you do this."

Loki could not deny the logic of Thor's words even if he still felt fear that a further punishment was coming. Surely that too was logic, that even if the All-Father cared for him enough to mitigate this harsh punishment, that something would be coming when they returned.

"I do not wish to leave my family or home again for some time."

The admission was soft and tired. He had fire within him still, fire that would demand retribution from Jotunheim, that would need chaos, that would want to feel true power. But for now that fire had dimmed to a mere ember in the face of being humbled on Jotunheim.

"I stole nothing, even when sending me for the Casket, the All-Father said that it belonged in my hands. It is mine, not Asgard's, nor did I defect. I gave no secrets of the Aesir to the Jotnar. I am no true and virtuous man, but do not attribute me crimes that I have not committed."

The only crime of his, as far as he could see, had been to insult his mother.

Thor had very little to say about what was thievery and what was not. He didn’t want to contradict his parents but he also wanted Loki to return to himself…and not live in paranoia for a slight or a punishment that was not to come. He had difficulty understanding Loki sometimes, though. The slight in this situation would be the here and now, the being denied redemption and revenge on those that had wronged him. He wisely kept his mouth shut on that and wandered back to get his drink, laid so forcefully on the table.

“However it is to be, it had been done. We can not guess the All-Father’s plans but if he took only himself and his Queen, I would imagine that war is not what he decided upon. Your birthright will be restored to you, I am certain. It would be a pity should it not be. You and I fought well together when you were in possession of it, as was I with Mjolnir. Perhaps you ought to deem give it a name?”

The casket was a weapon after all. All good weapons needed names.

“But while we deliberate, let us dine! Has your slave been sent to fetch it?” Loki’s chambers looked dismal and Thor thought, perhaps, he’d forgotten. This question, therefore, was just to help him save face.

Perhaps the year on the throne had taught Thor some wisdom after all, for this understanding of a gentle approach for Loki in order to not provoke his spiky temper was a wise one indeed. It did leave Loki with a dilemma, though, for he could not admit that he had dismissed his slave - one who he prized deeply and extolled the wonders of - in a fit of petulant rage.

"Of course he has been sent to fetch it, the kitchens must be slow the evening in surprise as to our dining together."

He glanced over at Steven, clear warning in his eyes.

"Go to find Anthony and see what is taking so long, return with cold meats for us to dine on as we wait if a full meal will be long in coming."

Steven didn't hesitate. Loyal as he was to Thor, he understood that an order like this for a basic task would not be one he needed to get permission on. He simply bowed properly, hand over heart, and ran from the hall. It took him a full ten minutes of running around to find Anthony, for he truly expected him to be in the kitchen and didn't know his friend had been dismissed.

Eventually he burst into Bruce's room, panting from sprinting.

"What are you doing here? Your master has sent me to find you, dinner for the princes!"

An exasperated Bruce extracted himself from a suitably and instantaneously perked up Anthony. The younger man was still sitting on his feet in the middle of his blanket ball, hair all mussed up from having wriggled around in bed, eyes bright red and puffy from his tears. “He wants me back?” Steven might have guessed any number of reasons that Loki would have, obvious now at least, dismissed Anthony, but that was nothing that Anthony was likely to admit to. Just as he had never spoken about his eleven day ordeal with the bandits until Bruce had been dispatched to go and find him and then destroy those that touched him. He never intended to tell Steven that, especially because he’d been glowing for a full year since he’d taken James’ place.

Anthony was not jealous of him, but he felt lesser for what had happened. And lesser still for letting his mouth run on like that so soon after Loki returned.

Bounding out of bed, Anthony grabbed the jerkin he’d flung to the floor and made a little bow to Bruce. “Thank you,” he said, without saying much else. He still hadn’t processed Bruce’s nameless rejection, though it hardly mattered. He could go on caring for someone that didn’t give him the time of day.

And besides, he had Loki back now.

That was good enough for him.

“If the Princes need dinner, why are you looking for me,” he snapped at Steven gently. He just wanted to take the pressure off of himself, and by extension, Loki. “You should have gotten dinner started. Come on. You’ve got a lot to learn about your rank, even if you’ve been at it a whole year already. Jeez, Steven.”

It wasn't necessarily that Bruce wasn't interested, and it certainly wasn't that he didn't care, but he knew that relationships were a dangerous thing to cultivate between slaves. It could lead to heartbreak if they were separated, or if one was sold to be a breeding slave, it could lead to a conflict of interest if their masters ended up at odds. It was too dangerous, and so he thought the kindest thing to do was to pretend that he hadn't heard.

Steven looked shocked, but he quickly followed Anthony out of the room and back towards the kitchens at a light jog.

"Prince Loki told his brother that he sent you for food some time ago, I was sent to see what was taking so long."

Steven didn't see the subterfuge, but Anthony surely would. This was his way of getting Anthony back without having to admit to anyone that they had been apart to begin with, and making him look incompetent with slow food, was his alternative punishment for speaking back to him.

"I went to the kitchens and they hadn't even heard the princes were dining together! What were you doing in Bruce's furs?"

“Really none of your business,” Anthony told Steven, knowing what it would look like. He didn’t want it to look like that, but Steven probably had a particular idea him anyway. He’d always spent so much time with Bruce, especially over the last year when Loki was gone, that this could be unseemly. He just had to hope that Steven would keep his mouth shut or Loki might need to have to safe face again by really dismissing him.

Anthony couldn’t let that happen.

But he couldn’t lie about the kitchen supposedly having their dinner underway to be picked up or they would all get in trouble. So he kept his mouth shut with excuses and focused instead on just getting everything done. It took some time pulling on his jerkin while he walked, and trying to get his hair to stick down too. He ended up giving up with that and instead, attempted to out pace Steven to the kitchen. That didn’t work.

He could feel deep blue eyes focused on him as they got together cold cuts and he finally turned to address the confused, annoying blond. “My prince knows what I was doing. If you want to make a scene about it, you can, but it’s going to cause a lot of unneeded heartache. And I’ve been through enough, Steven. I really have. So just forget whatever you think happened because it didn’t.”

Steven wasn't an idiot, far from it, and this troubled him. But he took Anthony at his word to forget about it or, at least, not mention it. If Anthony was getting over his head by starting a proper relationship with another slave, then that was his choice and those would be his consequences to bear. If he were ignoring Loki's orders on purpose for some reason-- no, he couldn't think of any reason.

Intensely blue and troubled eyes watched him as he got the cold meats together and set the kitchen staff in a flurry cooking joints of meat, fish, and vegetables as fast as they could.

"I worry because I love you, Anthony," he said in a low voice. "You're my family, the only one I've ever had, I don't want to see you hurt. If you tell me not to ask, then I won't, but I thought we were closer than that."

Anthony grit his teeth as he tugged Steven into an alcove. The kitchens were so busy that no one noticed them and overhearing them was impossible. “I love you too,” he said with a touch of venom, “so don’t you dare pull that one on me, okay? I would tell you if I could, but I love my prince more than myself. You have to trust me on this when I tell you that I did nothing inappropriate and that I have to put my prince first. Just like you should put yours. And it’s nothing. It’s nothing Steven, I can promise you that with every inch of my soul. My prince has returned and I need to focus everything on him.”

He could never potentially embarrass Loki. Not in front of Steven, not even in secret. Besides, Loki would know.

“But I will tell you this… Bruce holds no interest in me save for a sort of student of his. He saved my life from bandits. He is a friend, but I am not an idiot. My prince is all I need. Same as yours is all you need. Please don’t look disappointed with me.”

There were some moments that Steven felt so proud of Anthony, this was one of them. Despite what inappropriateness he could have been up to, and how unprofessional he could still be, that he loved his prince and felt such fierce loyalty was amazing. He wished that he could go back and tell the disenfranchised Anthony of the village that he would be chosen and it would be wonderful.

He hesitated long enough to tug Anthony into a tight hug, his always ridiculous muscles even larger now after fifty years of apples and training with his master and James, and then a year of serving so personally.

"I trust you, I'm not disappointed, I'm just-- I was trying to figure it out, Anthony. The princes need fed, and you're going to look incompetent in front of both of them for it taking this long."

"Only the one that doesn't matter," Anthony chirped, battling off a hug. "To me at least. Will you stop trying to suffocate me? I'll take the cold meats, you wait for the rest. I need to see my Prince." He'd only been dismissed for half a day but his world had ended for those hours and now he wanted to run back into arms that would not be waiting open. Not yet. Maybe not at all this evening. And that was all right. Bruce cautioned him about how it might go with Loki and Anthony understood. He would have to be punished in front of Thor if Thor looked like he was skeptical at how long it took to get somethings g to eat and he was all right with that too.

No other slave would be so willing to suffer for Loki to save face. Not like Anthony.

Pushing a cart laden with appetizers, Anthony actually hummed the entire way until he backed into Loki's chambers. His eyes were still red from tears and he still looked a mess, but he was here and that was enough to make him smile sunshine.

"Apologies. Steven is on his way with the main course."

Loki examined the way that Anthony looked when he came in. Red eyes, but posture erect and smile genuine. It drove a thin tendril of satisfaction through him to know that Anthony had suffered for his words, but also that he understood he had been right to be punished and was simply glad to return. Not that he showed this, a quick glance at his brother drawing a frown to his face.

"Such delay is unheard of, is this the fault of the kitchen staff? Tell me why we have now waited so long for a meal?"

He knew why.

Of course he did, and he gave Anthony the opportunity to divert punishment from himself in order to see how selfish his slave was and how much he believed he needed to be punished for what had happened.

Anthony was not going to make the life of those that slaved in the kitchens any worse. They had necessary but thankless tasks and barely any ability to move up in this world. If anyone was sick at a feast, they were held accountable. If food was prepared slowly or served cold or warm inappropriately, they were punished. Anthony was not going to make their lives harder. “I was distracted, my Prince,” Anthony said. “The fault it all mind for the lateness.”

He placed a hand over his heart and bowed low, knowing he would be punished for this. His words had been wrong, he accepted his punishment and he would take anything he needed to rather than be sent away again.

He couldn’t survive it. He was not a fighter like Steven. Or well respected like Bruce. If he didn’t have Loki, he had no one. And Loki knew it.

A well made and honourable decision, and one that pleased Loki. Not for the nameless kitchen slaves, for he cared little for their plight, but for Anthony understanding that punishment must still be meted.

"You have risen too far above yourself in the position of personal slave, it seems, that you no longer care if even your master has been fed. You have shamed me in front of my brother. You will return to the kitchens and instruct them to take you on in the most menial of labours for the rest of the day. You may return to me and your duties tomorrow at dawn, when I trust you will have learned not to repeat these mistakes."

It would not be a kind day, but it was better than being flogged. He would likely be set to assisting the spit dog, a hot position where he would get many small burns and ache with the labour of it for hours.

"Forgive me, brother, for this disgrace in our first meal together for many long months."

As far as Anthony was concerned, this was an easy task. He'd be in pain come dawn but he would serve happily. Or if not happily, at least only partially half-assed and with very low comments under his breath. He did, however, hear Thor's snort as he left.

And his words: "this is why you need more than one slave, brother. I understand this one pleases you and has been an exemplar with his loyalty, but you need to take on more, if only to keep that one in line and to remind him that all are replaceable."

Even his James. Even if that thought still hurt him. Even if sometimes he pretended that Steven was James (at least until he opened his mouth with none of the glib jokes James had offered.

"We could select a few from the household. Or peruse the village. After father returns of course for I am chained to the throne once more. Oh! Vanaheim! I heard they have been breeding them pretty there."

"I do not want more than one slave, Anthony is the first that I have found able to keep up with the demands made of him. I do not just need a slave with muscle or obedience, they must be quick and intelligent."

Not that James and Steven were fools, he had seen intelligence in both. But it had been the wrong sort of intelligence. He needed ones like him, quicksilver and individual, willing to go against the grain when needed without being overly ridiculous about it. Anthony was his, he did not need another.

He had a feeling that Thor was not listening, and Loki may end up with a gift of a slave once Thor had the throne in his past once more.

"Now tell me how it has been to be the All-Father, where have you stumbled?"

Thor had the usual, assumed issues with being All-Father…namely, he could not do anything he pleased whenever he felt like it. Being a king, and ruling, was a lot more difficult than pleasurable. In fact, Thor found no pleasure in it at all and said, secretly, to Loki only though Steven had also been privy to it while it had been ongoing the last year, that he wished he was not first born, or that he could swap himself for another brother from time to time.

It was only his closeness and love for Loki that allowed him to admit that.

By the evening, as the stars came out in force and Steven was left to clear away dishes and bring drinks (something he hadn’t done in over twenty years), while Anthony turned spits of meat for tomorrow’s morning meal and came up with an idea on how to mechanize the process, Thor again mentioned that Loki ought to not rely on just one servant.

“His punishment is yours since you’re now bereft of him,” he pointed out, grabbing Steven by the wrist as he passed to pull him close.

Steven grinned and allowed himself to be pulled into Thor, even boldly addressing Prince Loki as part of the conversation to back up his master's point.

"My master has other slaves and this only makes me happy. I want to see him served as best he can, and that means many to see to his needs."

Loki raised an eyebrow at being given advice by Thor's slave, but he didn't refute the idea. It was a commonly held one, but one he did not subscribe to. He was a jealous man, and he had seen that same spark of jealousy within Anthony, his slave would not enjoy having to share his affections.

"I will be bereft of him for tonight only, do you think the palace slaves so incompetent as to serve me for one night?"

“You will never convince him. He did not find one he liked until he was nearing his millennial. He might take on a second by the time he reaches his second.” Anthony should still be alive by then. The apple would have only just started to fail and he would start to age. Perhaps slowly, perhaps all at once. Midgardians weren’t meant for the fruit. At least it made the worthy ones able to serve longer. For that, Thor had always been grateful.

He tilted his head back to watch Steven with more affection than he ought to have. Thor was always one to fall a bit too quickly for those he should not.

“I see no palace issue here, though,” he said, mostly speaking to Steven, though his words of course were for his brother. “Do you think we ought to offer one from our stables? Unfortunately, I do not think I have one of his taste. Dark haired, short…”

To be looked at with such devotion and affection by someone with the status that Thor had, it was intoxicating. Steven felt a flush in his cheeks, embarrassing him with their pinkness. He could not fall for his master, not truly, for that would be ridiculous. He was there for bed sport and, if he were lucky, companionship. He was not about to be a consort.

"Perhaps if there are no bred slaves on Asgard or Vanaheim, then Midgard may have some."

It had been a long time since the last culling, after all. Steven understood how it went, all the slaves did. They knew that their home realm was an embarrassment where the mortals thought themselves free and strong, and because their lives were so short they forgot so swiftly about their masters. They killed one another, they had no unified leader, they were truly disgusting.

But to fetch unbroken Midgardians every few millennia was necessary, or the stock became inbred.

"A culling-- the last one was before I was born-- Ha! Well thought, Steven. When the All-Father returns, we shall have ourselves a time bringing fresh slaves to the Realm! You'll find another to be fond of." Thor didn't stop to think what it was like the first few generations of slaves. They were impossible to train, impossible to work with, and many were just used for a genetic infusion. It was their grandchildren, raised without knowing of the lives of their ancestors in freedom, that were truly viable.

Sure, some took to slavery well. But those were far and few between.

Thor's hand lingered on the small of Steven's back as he stood at the ready beside him, a place he often kept it with him when they were in private. He was touchier with Steven than he had been with James. Less careful. More obvious.

That was James' loss' doing. Plain and simple.

"I have yet to step foot upon Midgard. I wish to see it. And our parents owe us." And that seemed to settle it. "So then, Loki. Do you wish use of one of slaves for this evening as yours is occupied?"

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Jeni gets a tag before I run out even if nobody else does <3

Worst morning

oh no ): I sent you a PP if you want to talk about it /hug

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