The God's Awakening

Chapter 16

Loki awoke to a quiet room, no obnoxious beeping, snoring or talking. Taking a moment to organise his thoughts he felt foolish. To show such weakness was not something he had intended, not just to Thor and his friends but to Carly as well. He needed to get a firmer grip on himself. He knew that they would not leave him alone and so he took in the time to assess the situation. He was obviously at the Avengers base, though by the sounds coming from what he assumed was a slightly open window it wasn't the tower which he was thankful of. There was no chance they would have left him alone if they were there. Carly had told him that both Thor and Barton had taken it upon themselves to watch over him which was a little more than confusing. Out of all of Midgards defenders it was those two he had done the most to. Even if most of it was not of my choosing. He wasn't sure if they knew he had been controlled or not. Not that they would care if they did find out. he thought sadly.

Deciding it would do no good to dwell on these thoughts he took stock of his physical condition. The Seidhr cuff still felt heavy on his right wrist but otherwise he felt well. He could still feel some of his wounds healing which frustrated him a little. Whilst under the control of the mind stone He had done something which tied his Seidhr to that stone causing his own Seidhr to harm him. Until he felt the last connection being broken his Seidhr had caused lacerations to appear on his body. He had been thankful that the cell on Asgard had reduced his access to it as otherwise he would possibly have died. It was, after all, a way to punish him if he failed in his test. The cuff gave him no access to his Seidhr though he could sense it. His body was mostly healed, not strong enough to have a training session with the Einherjar but definitely stronger than he had felt for a while. His muscles were rested and his mind was clearer than it had been for years.

Taking a deep cleansing breath he realised that the warm weight was missing from his chest and Carly's Seidhr was no longer strengthening his. Opening his eyes slowly he noticed the lights were low and he was truly alone in the room. Sitting slowly he took note that he was wearing, or not wearing. He found he was adorned in a pair of cream soft, thin trousers with a matching shirt. He had nothing on his feet which he supposed made sense as he had been in the bed for who knew how long. Running his hands through his hair he was confused to find his dark locks were damp.

Loki wasn't sure whether he should announce his presence or not but had decided not to try and run. There's no point, Heimdall will be watching me regardless. he thought ruefully. The raven haired Prince could not recall when he had earned such distrust from the gatekeeper and it upset him as he had enjoyed talking to him as a child. Not that it matters now. Deciding that he should at least see if anyone was nearby he carefully stood on shaky legs.

"Thor? Lady Carly?" His voice sounded a little scratchy and weak which he did not really care for. Trying to moisten his throat he called out a little stronger. "Thor? Lady Carly?"

A small clattering, as though someone had dropped something, came from a door to his left. Cautiously he took a slow step in that direction.

"Loki?" Carly's voice came from behind the door.

"Lady Carly, are you well?" Loki asked, finding it strange hearing her voice out loud. There was something familiar about it but he could not place what it was.

Slowly the door opened, the bright light spilling out into the main room revealing a young woman with dark blonde hair falling over her shoulders. Her blue eyes filled with surprise and relief. The pang of recognition that ran through Loki was quickly overriden by the pain and sadness that followed.

No. he told himself sternly. It is not her. She died centuries ago.

"Lady Carly, I..... Oh! My apologies!" A light blush spreading across the young Prince's face as he realised that the woman in front of him had nothing but a thin towel wrapped around he which barely covered her from the top of her chest to just above mid thigh. Quickly he spun around to face the other way and glanced to see if there were any clothes. Unfortunately there was nothing but the thin blanket on his bed. Just as he was about to move to retrieve it he heard her voice in his head once again.

"Is this better?" Looking down he saw her in her fox form once again. "I'm sorry, Thor was here to wash you and I thought I should freshen up as well. I didn't know he'd gone".

"It is nothing to apologise for." he told her kindly until he registered what she had said. "Wait. Thor washed me?!" The incredulity and disgust in his voice must have amused his companion as she gave out what sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

"You have been lying there for five days now." she said, the amusement clear. "You were starting to smell". The fox scrunched up her face to express her point.

"Ah, I see." he conceded the point, feeling slightly embarrassed. A thought then occurred to him and he felt foolish for only realising it now. It just shows I'm not at my best. "Lady Carly, surely it is not easy for you to speak with Thor and the others in this form." he said as he sat on the bed again.

"No, it's not." she agreed, jumping up next to him. "At first I didn't trust them".

"Who would?" Loki asked with a small laugh.

"Hey." she chided him, swatting him with her tail but there was laughter in her tone. "Some of them seem alright though Thor and Stark could probably be a bit quieter".

"Thor, quiet? That is something I would love to witness. He is loud even when he sleeps." Loki chuckled, amused at the concept.

"Anyway, I did think about transforming to speak with them but..... Well....." Embarrassment colouring her tone as she avoided looking at him.

"I see." he said as realisation dawned on him. An amused sparkle entered his eyes. "You have no clothing and would prefer not to speak through a door".

"I did have clothing." she responded defensively. "I showered two days ago and may have.... umm... forgotten to dress as I heard movement in here so I transformed quickly to come and see what was happening".

"And the mortals took your clothing." Loki nodded. He couldn't help but find the whole situation at least a little amusing. For some reason he found it easy to speak with Carly, despite her resemblance to someone from his past. He resolved to not think any further on it.

The two sat in companionable silence for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts when Carly's ears perked up and she looked to get door.

"Someone's coming." She said as she jumped down and put herself between Loki and the door. The action surprised him but also sent a pang of warmth through him.