Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 95: The rest is silence

Chapter Ninety-Five

The rest is silence

Svatea-Acram Nebula

Thor raised his arms to defend himself from the attack he did not expect. The chain curled around his vambrace as he came face-to-face with his brother. He had already seen it from afar that his skin was Jotun blue, but it was still a profoundly unfamiliar sight. Knowledge was one thing, proof another.

'Loki...' he started to say but the other chain came at him. He raised his other hand and let it coil around Mjölnir. He wished he weren't so well-versed in fighting his brother.

'Thor, I told you something's wrong with him,' he heard it in his ear. It was true, Bucky had warned them all, but it did not deter Thor from approaching his brother. The only reason he got here first was because Iron Man was unable to leave the battle he was currently engaged in around the Other's ship.

'Is he all right, is he hurt?' Stark asked him almost at the same time.

Thor looked at his brother and he was unable to answer. Physically, he was not that severely injured. Certainly, he was bleeding more than Thor would have liked, but his brother was stronger than to be taken down by such wounds. No, the wounds were not what worried him. It was the way Loki looked back at Thor. The rage on his face should have been familiar, considering the way their relationship had been in recent years, but it was anything but. There was not an ounce of recognition in his brother's red eyes.

Loki tried to pull his chains back, but Thor did not allow it, he twisted his arms, letting the chain coil around his vambrace and Mjölnir some more. If this would have been a real fight, he would have never done this, since he was essentially trapped, but he was not here to fight his brother.

Loki noticed what he did and pulled harder on his chains, trying to get Thor off-balance, but he was strong and heavy enough not to be easily dislodged. The chain shifted on his left forearm, digging into his wrist. Thor could feel its coldness biting into his skin, but he ignored it.

When Loki noticed that Thor would not be moved he locked his gaze on him for a second. There was more than just anger there. Even with the unfamiliar colours Thor liked to think that he knew his brother's face well enough to recognize his emotions, at least the ones he did not try to hide. And right now he was not hiding anything at all.

'I am not here to fight you!' Thor shouted, but his words did not achieve anything. In fact, he noticed that ice was growing upon the chains. He had never suffered the touch of a Jotun before and he was not planning to experience it now either.

Loki charged at him, so unlike him to run headfirst at an opponent, but still very familiar. His body knew what to do even if Loki himself was not fully aware of the world around him. Thor trained alongside his brother since they were boys, so such an attack was easy enough to avoid for him. He quickly turned, getting out of his brother's way, and twisted Mjölnir one more time to wrap the chain more firmly around it. Then he swiftly put it down, trapping the piece of chain underneath it. He quickly freed his other hand from the icy chain and let go of his hammer.

Loki realized immediately that he was trapped and his attempts to free himself grew more and more fervent. He was pulling at his chains with all his strength, the shackles digging into his bloody wrist as frost covered up every link. The ice on the river was thick enough to carry their weight, but this was but a temporary solution. If Loki wouldn't have been so lost in his own mind, he probably already would have shattered the ice beneath Mjölnir instead of trying to move his chain.

'Loki, peace, I am not here to harm you,' he spoke again, but his brother still did not react to the words. Thor watched how his struggle turned more desperate and it hurt his very heart to see it. His face seemed so very naked, for all his masks were missing. He was angry and hurt, but what truly made Thor's guts churn was that he was afraid, so very clearly afraid.