Timeless

◈ 19 ◈

It was close to nightfall when we got back to Asgard. Thor insisted that I at least checked in with Eir, so we parted ways with Sif and Fandral for the night.

"Back again with yet another injury, I see. And all in a few hours." She scolded as I limped into the healing chambers, still using Thor for support.

"It's good to see you too, Eir."

She sighed and helped me onto the medical table, but there was a twinkle in her eyes as she did so. As the family healer, she'd grown quite fond of Thor and me. We'd always been her most common visitors.

"So what did you do this time?"

I tensed up as she cleaned the wound, squeezing my eyes shut and biting my lower lip to keep from shouting in pain.

"It's not that big of a deal." I gritted out.

She glanced down at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Not that big of a deal? Loki, you're going to have to stay here at least overnight if you want it to heal properly."

I made a face and was about to come back with a retort before she went right back at the wound and started cleaning it out again. Hissing through my teeth, I balled my hands into fists and tried not to look at the damage.

Eir made a clucking noise with her teeth and gave me a disapproving look.

"Did someone run you through with a sword?"

Thor moved a little closer to the healer and nodded.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened."

"Well, who was it? Do they still live?" She asked.

Thor looked down at me and then back up at Eir.

"I believe that unless that stab wound is fatal, he does still live."

"Oh."

I groaned and sent Thor a death glare.

"Don't worry, Eir. My intentions were to destroy the Tesseract and Aether before they fell into the wrong hands. As it turns out, the methods to do so were particularly....gruesome....but I survived, which is what's important."

She breathed a sigh of relief and went to work stitching up the wound, which, surprisingly, didn't hurt as much as the cleaning process.

When she was finished, she put away her tools and turned to the two of us.

"Well like I said, you'll have to stay here overnight if you want that wound to heal properly. Whether Thor wants to stay too is up to him."

Thor looked like he was going to say yes, but stopped from making a comment when Jane walked into the room.

"Thor, I think you need to figure some things out with Jane. You don't have to stay here. I know how important she is to you." I told him, lowering my voice.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I think I can handle being alone for one night. I'm not five years old, you oaf."

He laughed and patted my shoulder.

"Thank you, brother."

"Don't mention it. Seriously, please never mention it again. I'd much rather keep my reputation the way it is."

Thor just shook his head with a grin and walked over to Jane. She pulled her shawl a bit tighter over her shoulders as if there had been a sudden breeze.

"You're back." I heard her say.

"That I am. Jane, I believe we need to talk."

I gave him a thumbs up for support as he led her out of the chambers and down the hall.

Eir helped me prop my head up against my pillow and handed me a cup that was filled up halfway with a foul-smelling substance.

"You'll have to drink that twice every three hours until your wound is healed."

I downed the liquid in one gulp and wrinkled my nose in disgust. Not only did it taste bad, but it also sent fiery hot pains through my chest as it began the slow and excruciating process of healing.

I traded her the empty cup for the books that she was holding in her hands. She offered me a sympathetic smile as she sat down in a chair near me.

"I figured I'd give you something to do since you clearly won't be getting much sleep. You're in for a long night."

Picking up one of the books and flipping to the first page, I sighed and whispered something under my breath.

"Wonderful."