Shadows of the Heart [ R ]

[Greed]

[ For The Wolverine ]

[ OOC - I realize that this doesn't give you much to work with. Creative license, activate! xD ]

Loki turned his head to the side a small bit, giving passersby a sideways glance over his shoulder as he stood there, some of his weight against the cane containing some of the tesseract in it. Midgardians were foolish creatures – how could they walk around in complete serenity? At any second, with a single deft movement, he could cause all hell to break loose. It was tempting, too. It would require almost no effort on his part to send them scurrying like ants. What could he say? The thought of knowing he had so much power over such powerless creatures was a tempting thing to think – especially when not a single one could stop him. Loki’s eyes turned to the sky, wondering where his daft brother was at, and what he was doing. This time, he was certain, he wasn’t going to fail against the blonde-haired brother of his… Thor wasn’t even his blood brother. Nothing could unite them as brothers, not even common ‘parents.’ So what if the parents he had now had raised him all his life? They’d lied to him. They’d kept one of the most important things about himself a secret…and inside it’d ruined him, but he’d never say that out loud, even if he knew some people already knew that was the case. Shaking his head to get the poisonous thoughts out of his head, Loki started to walk away, head held high, looking at people from underneath dark lashes every now and again when he caught someone staring. He was above these disgusting lowlifes. He was so far above them it was hardly fair to them.

Loki let his thoughts calm as he listened to nothing but the clicking of the cane against the concrete as he walked to somewhere less populated. Usually he’d teleport right back to Bifrost, but right now, he was focusing on being sneaky. He was the god of mischief – so being sneaky was really no problem for him either. As well as that, he had to make sure that he wasn’t missed by the people in Asgard. Explaining his absence would be no problem for he always had a lie or ten up his sleeve, but he’d rather not be questioned – everyone knew he was the master liar, what reason did they have to trust him? This time, it was better safe than sorry. As soon as he was far enough away from any of the other puny humans, Loki once more looked to the sky as there was a rush of wind and his world lurched forward. Within seconds, the raven-haired god found himself standing inside the large golden dome at the edge of the Bifrost, the usual guard standing outside. Without another glance towards the man, Loki strode from the dome and made his way down the familiar rainbow road into the heart of Asgard before he’d be missed.

[The Wolverine]

{Let me not make a fool of myself with this post. You went joking eh. You said you posted a lot.}

Thor stood on the balcony of his room overlooking the empire of Asgard. He sighed heavily, leaning against the neatly polished bannister, gazing out over the city and turning his haze to the rainbow bridge. What a gorgeous work of architecture, the god thought. He thought of Jane and how much he missed the mortal woman. Thor stood up straight and pulled at a strand of thread hanging from his cloak, turning back into his chambers. He started to pace the expanse of the marble-floored room. Out of the corner of his blue eye, the prince saw a flash of light signaling the return of a being back to the realm. Thor departed from his room, making his way down to the throne room. He strides out of the large cheer, heading towards the courtyard. He was curios as to whom had came back and from where.

[Greed]

[ Pfft. That is nothing on my part. I usually post 1,000’s, but it’s hard with the intro posts to post a lot, y’know? It’s just like… meh. ]

Loki’s regular clothes melded into his usual Asgardian wear, minus his helmet, the tesseract-holding cane morphing from the cane into the scepter he preferred it in. He always felt like an old man, walking around with a cane. He supposed he was; he’d been around many more years than any mortal could ever hope to be around. As soon as the Bifrost ended and he stepped foot onto the usual streets, Loki looked around, eyes dulling scanning the familiar landscape. Ah, what he wouldn’t give to not have to return here sometimes… But this. This was ‘home.’ And some day would it not only be home, it would be his kingdom; the one he would rule over. He was the rightful Asgardian prince. Who cared if he was a Jotun? Nobody else had to know. A jotun could sit the throne and rule just as well – perhaps better – than a ‘purebred’ Asgardian fool. Loki shook his head as he made his way back towards where his chambers were. A breath being easily released caught in his throat as he caught a glimpse of his half-brother. It was impossible to miss the man in the crowd…he was a giant, if not always by height, definitely by the sheer size of himself. Loki narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the scepter. It would be quite nice if he could make it vanish, but for now, it would just have to be his pretend play toy. Knowing interaction was inevitable, Loki strode gracefully over to where his brother was, a small smile plastered on his lips, fake in every way, “You look to be headed somewhere, brother. Are you headed back to your precious Midgard? Perhaps to see that Jane of yours?”

[The Wolverine]

A small smile played on Thor's lips as he saw his brother making his way from the bridge. Resting his hand on the handle of his hammer, the god took a casual stance once he noticed that Loki was walking over to him. Upon hearing the other god's comment, he shook his golden donned head. "Honestly, I came out here to see who had come from the Bifrost. I'm surprised to see you, brother," Thor replied calmly, eyeing the scepter in Loki's hand. "Where did you go?" He questioned.

[Greed]

Loki noted the smile his brother sported. The fool…how can he continually smile at me when all he ever is to me is my maid? Cleaning up after every mess I make…sometimes I wonder if I ought to just make messes so he can scurry around and clean them up. Not much would change in my life then, I suppose. Loki thought, pulling himself out of his thoughts when Thor began speaking. Uninterested eyes examined his brother for a second. The god always seemed so carefree. Was there ever a time where he sat down and contemplated what he was going to do when he ascended the throne – if he ascended the throne? Loki shrugged his shoulders casually at Thor’s response to seeing him. He followed Thor’s eyes for a second, moving to the scepter, and a grin spread across his face but he quickly smothered the giddiness of having a secret that was going to ultimately overthrow the one whom he’d lived in the shadow of for ages, “I went to Midgard,” he said plainly. “It’s quite boring sitting around in your bedchambers with absolutely nothing to do, so I decided I’d go down for a…visit.” Loki smirked. “I still do not see what you find so attractive about the place. Filthy mortals all…” Loki glanced at his brother before holding his tongue. “Needless to say it was hardly a meaningful trip, but it killed time, which is what I was after.”

[The Wolverine]

Thor shook his head once again. "What I find interesting about Midgard is my concern. I am, however, surprised that you didn't kill anyone," he said. Thor rubbed the back if his neck in thought. "It's surprising," he mumbled to himself. "Shall we go inside and see if we can't find a way to entertain you, Loki?" He challenged.

[Greed]

“Oh, excuse me for prying, your highness,” Loki replied without a hint of emotion, though his eyes flashed. However, he could agree with Thor on thinking it surprising that he didn’t kill anyone. Oh, he thought about saying he’d almost done it, but he didn’t need the unnecessary talking-to he’d most likely get from his brother. Why he cherished the mortals so much, Loki would never know, nor did he ever want to know. He didn’t care. “I went there to kill time, Thor, not to kill people,” Loki said in halfhearted jest, though he was feeling not at all humorous. He rose a brow at his brother’s next question. “We could always go play with the bilgesnipe,” Loki replied with another halfhearted shrug. “What is in there that I have not already seen? Unless you suggest we cause mischief among our home’s inhabitants, I’m not quite sure what all is in there that I have not already exhausted its…‘fun.’”

[The Wolverine]

Thor let out an exhaustive sigh. Why can't we get along like normal siblings? Why must he take the fun out of everything?, he thought, looking over his brother. "Battling some bilgensnipe sounds like some fun. You'll accompany me, Loki, since it was your idea," the prince said. "It will be some "fun" as you say," Thor smiled, swinging his hammer around slowly.

[Greed]

Loki rolled his eyes a bit at his brother’s sigh. Did he expect a different response from him? Was there any other way that Loki ever responded to him? Whatever his brother had been expecting, Loki could promise he’d never get it. It just wasn’t the way things worked…maybe when they were children, when they were too innocent to care, when it didn’t matter who Loki’s real parents were…when the throne wasn’t in the balance, when being equals didn’t matter because they were equals by age… Now all of that mattered, and Loki was doomed to forever be in Thor’s shadow unless he did something about it, and more often than not those things were drastic that sometimes he had fun doing, and other times not. He sure as Helheim didn’t like failing, however. He rose his brows at what his brother said. “I said play, not battle, Thor,” Loki said, though for once he didn’t really mind. It’d give him a chance to try out his new ‘toy.’ “Ah, well. I walked into it, didn’t I? Let’s go find ourselves some bilgesnipe then.”

[The Wolverine]

Thor smirked slightly. "Battle, play, same difference, Loki. And of course, you walked into that," he replied, taking a few large strides ahead, waiting in his brother. He was ring too anxious to destroy a bilgesnipe.

[Greed]

“To you it is,” Loki corrected, “I must’ve forgotten who I was speaking to for a second. Forgive my momentary lapse in cognitive reasoning.” Loki smirked a little bit, waiting a second before following after his brother, not necessarily content with the fact that he had to take two strides or so for one of Thor’s. He supposed that’s just what happened when you had two people of such differing sizes. But even now, years after the first incident with Jotunheim and its almost destruction, Thor seemed still all too eager to go into battle, no matter how small. “You’re still as eager as you were as a boy to go ‘play,’” Loki commented offhandedly, the scepter morphing into a more of a staff. “Reminds me of old times with wooden swords and endless amounts of time.”

[The Wolverine]

Thor frowned. "I've grown less violent over time," he defended himself, taking shorter steps. "You don't even seem like you want to do this. You're a party pooper as the mortals call one." Thor looked about and turned his gaze unto his brother. "Tell me something, Loki. Why is it tht you never want to make things good between us?" The blonde make asked, walking down a street that led to one of the many entrances to the forest surrounding the city of Asgard.

[Greed]

"Mmm," Loki said, somewhat convinced but somewhat not. He knew his brother better than he felt Thor knew. One had to understand one's...enemy of sorts if they were ever going to rise above or beat them. He wouldn't call Thor his enemy entirely, of course. Although he would not consider Thor an ally if his life depended on it, he couldn't forget times when things had been better, easier, and oftentimes used to find himself wishing things could continue to be like that. He didn't blame Thor for the way things were; no, for that he blamed their father. That lying man who'd given him a life full of hope, only to find out that that hope had been built upon nothing but lies, lies, and more lies. It made sense why he'd always loved Thor more. He couldn't possibly open his heart up to a Jotun that much. He thought him weak, didn't he? "Oh, no, I want to do this," Loki said, "I suggested it after all, did I not?" he questioned, not looking at his brother when he felt the blonde god's gaze on him, instead just following alongside him, eyes on the road ahead. He pondered the blonde's question, debating on how he ought to answer it. "Our needs and desires are too different to make certain things work. At least we have interactions, correct? Is it not what some mortals say...something like siblings don't usually get along?"

[The Wolverine]

As Loki asked his own questions, Thor turned his head thinking on such things. "Yes, you are correct. You did sugget the bilgesnipe hunt, to say." On the other hand, Thor was now questioning this expedition. Was this a good idea or a foolish one? Would a king really be out, parading around the forest chasing mindless creatures? As Loki asked his other question, the god nodded. "You speak truth, brother, but remind yourself that we are not mortals."

[Greed]

Loki nodded at the response he got about the bilgesnipe. He knew how powerful the tesseract was said to be, but using it was a different matter, and he was more than ready to try it out for once. Seeing as going down to Midgard and killing a whole bunch of people wouldn't get him the results he wanted - not quite yet, anyways - he knew bilgesnipe were the next best thing. Nobody would miss them, now would they? The only thing he had an issue with was being a prince going out and randomly killing beasts with the tesseract. Or part of it. Loki nodded at Thor's observation. He wouldn't dare say mortals and immortals were alike in any possible away aside from form, but even then not all gods were formed like mortals, either. "Yes...that's true," Loki said after a momentary pause. "My only other explanation is that things change. Things happen and people learn to adapt to new...problems that arise, and they change."

[The Wolverine]

Thor looked up as the two entered the forest, lacking of light due to the thick foliage above their heads. Personally, he marveled at the wonder of nature and the calmness of the woods. "Some certain things have ruined our relationshop with each other though," the god said. Mostly because of father, he thought halfheartedly. "Shall we track down one of those beasts?" He asked, wanting to get his mind off the fact that his brother was a Jotun.

[Greed]

Loki tensed slightly at Thor's comment, shooting his half brother a sideways glance. "And some 'certain things' cannot be changed," Loki muttered under his breath, trying to dispatch the foul mood that had curled up, unwelcome, in his gut. He'd never forget what he was, nor would he ever stop resenting what he was. He could hardly be considered human - a god, perhaps, thanks to the All Father in some regards, but when it came down to things...he was nothing but a monster that didn't even belong in Asgard, and he could never forget that, no matter how hard he tried. Loki slowed in his pace for a second, scanning the ground for any footprints. "Yes, let's," he said, eager to get away from where the conversation had previously been going. That road was not one he wanted to travel down, not ever, and especially not with Thor. After another second of looking on the ground, Loki raised what he'd turned back into a scepter and pointed, "There are footprints going this way." He said, more eager now to let off some steam, hopefully, by finding and eradicating one of those beasts, even though that wasn't typically how he managed his temper.

[The Wolverine]

Thor nodded,"You know, I do blame Odin for what happened to you." He turned his attentions I the ground an smiled slightly. "Onward towards a fight to distract us," he muttered, taking off after the trail in a slow jog.

[Greed]

Loki turned and glanced at his brother. He couldn't say he had been expecting Odin's golden boy to blame Odin for what happened to him. Yes, well, you're not the only one who blames him, Loki thought with bitter resentment. He supposed Thor had just been an instigator. If they had never gone to Jotunheim, Loki had no doubt in his mind he would still be ignorant as to whom he was... But at the same time he never would've banished himself - sort of - and learned all that he had. When Thor started out at a light jog, Loki followed behind him at his own pace, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of a bilgesnipe.

[The Wolverine]

Thor looked behind him to make sure Loki was able to keep up. He pulled his hammer out, holding it tightly in his large hand. "Here, bilgesnipe," the god whispered quietly in an unbecoming way. The soon to be king calling for a bilgesnipe! Not something you'd see everyday in Asgard.

[Greed]

Loki noticed Thor looking back, more likely making sure that his younger sibling was still within sight than anything else. Loki pretended not to notice, though. What need did he have to worry about getting 'lost?' He had his wits and the tesseract. Thor was more, in that situation, a helpful hand. Loki continued his trek, keeping his distance from Thor and looking side to side, searching for a beast. When his eyes finally landed on gently sloping antlers he grinned, vanishing from his spot to a spot behind a tree, closer to the bilgesnipe. "Thor," Loki called quietly to his brother, pointing towards the bilgesnipe with the end of his scepter, preparing to use his new 'toy.'

[The Wolverine]

Thor continued a ways before he heard his brother's quiet call. He stopped in his tracks and turned, looking to where the end of the scepter was pointing towards. A smile lit up the god's face as he walked back unthreaded direction of Loki and the beast. He swung his hammer lightly, nodding at Loki, allowing his brother to do the honor of starting the fight.

[Greed]

Loki waited for his brother to come over, glancing for a second at the look of bliss at the prospect of battle that his brother was sporting, and for a split second he allowed himself his own excited smile. Loki gave a single nod to the one he was given, pulling the scepter back for a moment, blue light crackling as it charged, before thrusting it forward, the blue electricity flying over the distance between Loki and the beast, squarely hitting the beast and knocking it over. "Ha!" Loki exclaimed. Powerful thing it was, knocking over a giant creature such as a bilgesnipe. That could only mean no mortal could stand against it and win. Loki looked down at the scepter and grinned before turning to his brother and nodding in the direction of the angrily howling beast.

[The Wolverine]

Thor leaned against the trunk of the tree he was takong refuge behind. Upon seeing his brother's specter in use, the god knew it had to be the tesseract. He shrugged off the knowledge and smiled at the unpleasant howling of the bilgesnipe. Taking his own steps towards the giant beat, Thor pulled his hammer into a swing and ran at the knocked over creature. He let out a battle cry and hit the bilgesnipe in the side, sending it a few yards away groaning in pain.

[Greed]

Loki watched as his brother moved forward, confident in all his warlike glory, and hit the beast again. Loki's eyes watched with some disinterest as the beast moved even farther away from him. He heard the beast's groans and shook his head. Pitiful creature...just like the Midgardians. Loki glanced over at his brother again before charging the scepter again and releasing the blue energy, taking a few steps forward as it arched above the ground and made contact with the beast. He watched the darkened silhouette of the creature writhe before withdrawing the power stemming from the tesseract. He waited for the bilgesnipe to make another sound; to move or show any signs of life, but when it didn't he simply nodded. It wasn't surprising to him that the creature hadnt lasted more than three blows. His brother, he would admit, was formidable with his hammer, and with the tesseract there was little Loki thought he couldn't do. But still, he eyed the bilgesnipe for a second, not entirely sure it was dead, his eyes flickering over to his brother. If Thor wanted to make sure it was dead he had no problem with that. He was quite interested in finding another something to test the scepter out on. Absentmindedly, he wondered what it would do to a god. He was smarter than trying, but even if he didn't plan on trying he still had the bubbling curiosity. But it was best to not think those kinds of thoughts. He didn't need the temptation.

[ Sorry. Gave you almost nothing to work with 3: ]

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