[ Loki is too skilled of an actor to allow Esja's body to tense at the direction Thor has turned the meandering conversation, but the unease lays just below the illusory skin. He doesn't need to hear the reaffirmation of what he has known to be true for an age. For longer than an age, even — before Loki knew what he was, he knew first what he was to Thor, and the downward spiral of their shared experiences only crosshatched the distance between them until it solidified into shadow. He knows this, he does not shy from that truth, and still he would not hear it from Thor's lips.
But Esja would, and Loki cannot draw her away when Thor is finally offering her safe passage into the golden halls of his mind. She strokes the broad warmth of his back; her fingertips trace the jut of a shoulderblade, follow the curve of his spine. She knows of the great Odin and the tranquil Frigga, as much as a princess of Vanaheim should. Of Loki, she would know only the barest sketch of his exploits. Asgard celebrates his service as a prince and says little else.
King Thor wouldn't want wicked Loki's crimes to shame the House of Odin, after all. ]
And neither have I pressed you to speak of them. [ She speaks only after a moment has passed, a murmur so soft that it barely escapes her lips. Her hands slide down his back again, slowly, soothingly. She lets the silence filter back in, letting him take the reins. ]
no subject
But Esja would, and Loki cannot draw her away when Thor is finally offering her safe passage into the golden halls of his mind. She strokes the broad warmth of his back; her fingertips trace the jut of a shoulderblade, follow the curve of his spine. She knows of the great Odin and the tranquil Frigga, as much as a princess of Vanaheim should. Of Loki, she would know only the barest sketch of his exploits. Asgard celebrates his service as a prince and says little else.
King Thor wouldn't want wicked Loki's crimes to shame the House of Odin, after all. ]
And neither have I pressed you to speak of them. [ She speaks only after a moment has passed, a murmur so soft that it barely escapes her lips. Her hands slide down his back again, slowly, soothingly. She lets the silence filter back in, letting him take the reins. ]