Hellfire

Here will you Dwell

Loki could not find any sleep that night, staring at the ceiling while his brother lay next to him. Thor was close, yet so far gone, smiling and humming as his dreams took him to glorious battles and promised lands.

The trickster got out of his bed, throwing the thick fur blankets that covered him to the ground. He aimlessly phased through their chamber, a hand running through his hair as he tried to understand his restlessness.

It happened before. Thor would do anything to win a war, sacrificing precious blood whenever he saw fit. This was nothing new.

Then why? Why was his heart racing? Why was his usually steady mind in chaos? Why were nights so quiet, leaving him with nothing but his thoughts? Something was on his mind, something that would not let him rest.

He let himself fall to his knees, his upper body resting on the bed. He was so tired, a crushing wave of homesickness washing over him. Homesick to times of old. Homesick to where he was still a child, playing with his older brother who he so adored.

He did not remember exactly when it was that his eyes had fallen shut, his head heavy. He peered through his lashes and found his thin fingers intertwined, his mind slowly memorizing that he had been praying and had profanely fallen asleep while doing so.

He stood up, feeling thousands of years old as his back protested heavily.

He then froze, holding his breath.

Someone was watching him, eyes following his every movement, hidden in the shadows of their room.

It was only when a loud screeching sound echoed from behind him that Loki turned around, his eye meeting those of Thor's most trusted and probably most loyal companions. Huginn and Muninn, the large ravens that once served Odin, were watching Loki's every move while resting on the bedposts, their heads tilting inquisitively from one side to the other.

Loki never liked them. Their large black eyes and spine-chilling screeches have given him enough sleepless nights when he was but a young child and had send him straight into the safety of his mother's arms.

The trickster squinted his eye, noticing the drops of blood that were slowly dripping down Munnin's paw. The creature did not seem wounded and Loki knew that it would never hunt without its master's consent.

The large birds suddenly opened their beaks and screeched, their wings franticly flapping, black feathers fluttering through the air.

It was this that caused Thor to wake up. He jolted up in his bed, his drowsy expression soon making way for clear annoyance. 'Loki? Wha-what is happening?! And- by Odin's beard, what is that noise?!'

The younger god merely pointed at the creatures which were fluttering through the room. The ravens instantly calmed at the sound of their master's call. They settled on each of Thor's shoulders, and Loki could swear they were whispering, telling the god of what they have seen.

A smile crept up the blond's face as he looked from his raven towards its paw, noticing the blood that was starting to dry. He rubbed the ruby-red liquid between his thumb and index finger and smelled it. 'They have returned,' he looked at his little brother through his lashes, his grin never fading. 'My Einherjar have been triumphant.'

*

Loki remained silent as he followed his brother into the large courtyard. He had had tried so hard to forget about the lives that have been thrown away, the blood that has been spilt and the immortal souls that were now making their way towards Helheim. He wished he had forgotten.