Chapter Text
It had been almost four months and no one had seen Loki. Significant work had been done to repair the bifrost and finally, it was up and running again.
At first, Thor thought Loki had simply been reclusively isolating himself in his room to avoid causing trouble. He'd noticed him there a few times initially. . . But now he was starting to feel suspicious. Thor had been busy going from realm to realm, doing his duties as a prince and protector, but his brother's absence was felt now by everyone.
Odin had been busy too, but when evening came , Thor decided to press the issue as he found his father eating alone in his chambers.
“Father? May I disturb you a moment?” He knocked a couple times in the door before stepping inside.
Odin greeted him with a weary smile, motioning him further in. “Come. Sit with me.”
Thor obliged, taking a space near the balcony which overlooked all of Asgard. “Father, have you seen Loki? I cannot find him and no one else seems to know his whereabouts. I am beginning to worry-”
"Do not concern yourself.” Odin merely waved his hand in a dismissive gesture before focusing on eating. “Heimdall watches him from time to time. Loki causes no harm to anyone. Not anymore.”
“You make it sound as though he is dead. Did something happen?” Thor raised a suspicious brow at that. His sense of concern only rose further.
“It is a matter of discretion, my son. I doubt he would wish the entire nine realms to know what he is occupying his time with. Willingly or not.” Odin explained without truly revealing anything, lowering his voice slightly. “Disgraceful as it all is, I see no reason to interfere yet.”
“Disgraceful? Where is he? What has he been doing?” Thor refused to be kept out of the loop. He has no patience for Loki's games or tricks, even seemingly harmless ones.
“You are better off not knowing.” Odin shook his head curtly, taking a slow and pointed sip of wine with his meal.
“You are being cryptic. Just tell me! We have not been able to connect. We have not spoken in nearly four months! Not since everything that happened.” Thor insisted, his hands clenching and unclenching in frustration. “If it is truly harmless, then why keep it a secret? Is it. . . perverse?”
"It is complicated." Odin's expression darkened slightly as the veil of nonchalance slipped. “Loki was restless, itching to do something. Anything. So, I sent him on an assignment to occupy his time before he could come up with an idea of his own. We both know how precarious that can be. Everything just. . . spiralled out of control.”
Thor sighed, standing up as the chair scraped against the floor. “Is there anything I can do to help? Please, Father. Tell me more.”
Odin’s shoulders tensed slightly as he tried to maintain a facade of apathy, but clearly something was simmering enough deep within that he was concerned. “I thought it may humble him to try to help a race he considers beneath him. It was presented to him as a form of atonement, but I suspect he only took the assignment as excuse to get away from Asgard for a while.”
“That….that could be anyone, anywhere.” Thor let out a short huff of amusement, shaking his head. “My brother’s ego knows no bounds. Where exactly did he run off to? I am curious about this assignment you gave him. What sort of people does he dwell with now?”
Odin let out a low hum mixed with a grumble, looking at Thor expectantly. “Orcs.”
“ORCS?!” Thor flinched, uncertain if he should laugh or prepare for battle. “Respectfully, Father, have you gone mad?! That is too much temptation for Loki! He will have amassed them all into an army by now and who knows what sort of trouble he will have wrought? You have released a wolf to dominate a pack of domestic puppies! Not only that, but orcs are not anything to scoff at when in large numbers.”
“If he managed to accomplish anything at all, he will have earned it. The entire realm is dying. The soil is dead, the beasts all but extinct, the waters run dry. The orcs have already resorted to cannibalism just to eek out a few more years.” Odin explained, grimly.
“So, it was a suicide mission for someone who has not a single ounce of altruism within him?” Thor grumbled, running a hand over his face and through his beard. “Your wisdom is completely lost on me here. Explain the purpose of any of this! Is it just a punishment? Should I be heading over there to retrieve him? Or a body?”
“You may retrieve him, but I would insist you do so discreetly. Loki has his own way of twisting matters. Heimdall can tell you where he is. I must rest now.” Odin replied, sitting back slowly and folding his hands together. “You must not breathe a word of any of this to anyone. You will understand when you get there.”
“I can only imagine what a dirty, pathetic, broken state I may find him in.” Thor grumbled in annoyance. “But being humbled would do him good, I suppose. But really, Father? Orcs?!”
Thor wanted to press on the matter further, but he could see just how tired Odin was. His eyes held an exhaustion that went beyond simple tiredness. "Whatever it takes, I shall drag him back here and get him to the healers immediately."
He went to leave, but Odin called to him just when he reached the edge of the doors.
“Thor…”
Thor tensed, sensing a shift in Odin’s tone as he turned back to him. “Yes, Father?”
“He is not himself.” Odin explained in a hushed voice, barely above an urgent whisper. “You will not find a broken body, but a broken mind.”
Thor went straight to Heimdall, who was guarding the bifrost with his usual intensity.
“You are not going to enjoy what you find.” Heimdall shook his head in pity.
Thor grumbled in further irritation. “What could be so terrible that it would cause my brother to break? And why did no one tell me sooner?!"
“To speak of it is to give life to absurdity, my prince. It would humiliate Loki.” Heimdall replied, mirroring Odin's own cryptic attitude from before.
“Should I be bringing anything?” Thor asked, glancing over his shoulder briefly to look back towards the glorious golden city.
“Several dozen cattle might be appreciated, but we do not have time for that.” it was unclear if Heimdall was joking. Heimdall NEVER joked. . . which meant he was being serious.
Thor thought about the starving orcs. Would bringing food make it easier to rescue Loki? Were they keeping him hostage? Were they going to eat him? Had they already?!
Heimdall didn't need to be asked. He simply got the bifrost ready. "A spell was cast which has spread so far and so deep that even Loki himself has been lost to it. Do not break the spell too abruptly or the consequences will be dire."
"My brother's mind is too strong to succumb to a spell." Thor argued, shaking his head.
"Not one which he has cast himself." Heimdall corrected. "His energy wanes. Tread thoughtfully."