Madness of the Serpent

Incarceration

After the interrogation, the spirit wanted to submit to the lure of sleep, partially from stress and partially from growing anxiety, but it resisted the temptation. It was concerned with how often its new body needed to rest, as if it was recovering from a traumatic experience.

This... made sense, considering all of the stresses put upon its body and mind since its creation.

Instead, it sat cross-legged in front of the surface meant for sleeping, resting its back against the hard frame. It had a thin but firm pad lining its surface, which had turned out to be very stiff and uncomfortable. It almost missed the sleeping mat back in Loki's lair. At least the blanket it had been provided with was warm, if scratchy and rough.

The thoughts whirling around its mind where unpleasant and filled with uncertainty, especially after its interaction with Coulson of SHIELD. It had not been as successful as it could have hoped in fooling the human that it was one of their kind. He had hid his expressions well, but it had recognized the look of oddness as the same one it had received from the human serving edibles at the event in Germany.

It should have remained silent, its inexperience betraying its non-human nature. But what had it truly revealed? The spirit was ignorant as to Loki's intentions for these humans; the spirit had no inkling as to what he wanted or needed from them.

It had not realized it had closed its eyes and rested its cheek against the sleeping surface until several minutes later, startled immediately into wakefulness by a familiar, purring voice in its ear.

"Sleeping, are we?"

Its eyes snapped open as its body jerked in response. It was staring at... a knee.

The spirit looked up and Loki grinned, sitting on the bunk with one hand resting behind his head in a relaxed pose as he leaned against the wall. His mischievous smile belayed any type of actual concern for their captivity, which apparently did not prevent him from moving freely.

"How?" it asked simply, studying his form closely.

"Quite easily, actually. Oh, do not fret. This is merely a projection," the Jotun-Asgardian explained, apparently reading a change in the spirit's face. "I do not plan to make my move just yet.

"It is humorous, though. The mortals fear me, stowing me away in an incredibly robust cage meant for an epic beast. But, the thing of it is, there is not so much as a single enchanted barrier. Not one spell of containment. You would almost conceive that the humans know nothing of sorcery and spellwork."

Loki appeared to be maddeningly happy, his tone gleefully exuberant as he grinned down at it with all of his flashing teeth.

"Did you know we are currently trapped aboard a flying metal contraption thirty-thousand feet in the air with an assortment of volatile, erratic, and unstable super-powered beings capable of causing far more damage than I?"

It blinked once, unsure how to respond, both to his disturbed enthusiasm and his alarming statement.

"I realize it's difficult to grasp. Even I  was surprised they would create such a deliciously chaotic concoction, let alone place it within my reach." Loki sighed longingly, almost achingly.

"It would be impolite not  to make sport of them."

When it did not respond to his dark humor, he looked down at it and smiled winningly.

"Come."

Before it could respond, Loki reached down and placed his palm on its head, splayed fingers slightly pushing into its dark hair.