('Look around you.')
He tries.
His father's orders are explicit: Loki is not to leave the realm. It took enough argument between them to keep Loki from being bound under that snake again, and a small modicum of freedom on top of that, so he wouldn't be imprisoned from now until Ragnarok.
Of course, Asgard could be an elabroate prison when seen in a certain light; Thor knew that well enough. That was partly why he tried to heed his father's words, so that he wouldn't lose this realm like he had before.
But in the solitude of the mountain bungalow, above the clouds where the jungle warmth cooled into a brisk, thin air, he began to think around those rules. Had it not been ten years since Loki's crimes? Had he not done enough good for these mortals to earn some company with his brother, away from one-eyed ravens and gossipping servants?
Had he not found this small dwelling amongst the rock simply because he could be close to the sky and the planet's muted storms? What he wouldn't give to feel the lightning in his veins again, to hear the crash of thunder, to feel the air crackle with excitement and laughter.
"Loki," he whispers on the breeze. Thor leans on his cane as he looks out at the blanket of clouds, broken by points of dark stone, and he closes his eyes as the yearning tugs at him - his kingdom, his freedom, his brother - all the things that must be kept or hidden or postponed. If he were a younger man, he might have screamed into the emptiness before him, brought Mjolnir down and cracked the mountain in two, but now all he does is sigh and turn back towards the porch.
He takes the stairs slowly, and he looks out over the view one last time before stepping into the small living room.
The glass chinks on the table, and Loki reclines over the entire length of the couch. Thor's throat is tight. His chest aches. He needs to ask - how what when - but Loki gives him a devilish smile, as if he knows.
"Even Heimdall can see you pining, brother." Loki says, tipping his head back to look at the ceiling. "Your prayers do not fall on deaf ears."
His father's orders are explicit: Loki is not to leave the realm. It took enough argument between them to keep Loki from being bound under that snake again, and a small modicum of freedom on top of that, so he wouldn't be imprisoned from now until Ragnarok.
Of course, Asgard could be an elabroate prison when seen in a certain light; Thor knew that well enough. That was partly why he tried to heed his father's words, so that he wouldn't lose this realm like he had before.
But in the solitude of the mountain bungalow, above the clouds where the jungle warmth cooled into a brisk, thin air, he began to think around those rules. Had it not been ten years since Loki's crimes? Had he not done enough good for these mortals to earn some company with his brother, away from one-eyed ravens and gossipping servants?
Had he not found this small dwelling amongst the rock simply because he could be close to the sky and the planet's muted storms? What he wouldn't give to feel the lightning in his veins again, to hear the crash of thunder, to feel the air crackle with excitement and laughter.
"Loki," he whispers on the breeze. Thor leans on his cane as he looks out at the blanket of clouds, broken by points of dark stone, and he closes his eyes as the yearning tugs at him - his kingdom, his freedom, his brother - all the things that must be kept or hidden or postponed. If he were a younger man, he might have screamed into the emptiness before him, brought Mjolnir down and cracked the mountain in two, but now all he does is sigh and turn back towards the porch.
He takes the stairs slowly, and he looks out over the view one last time before stepping into the small living room.
The glass chinks on the table, and Loki reclines over the entire length of the couch. Thor's throat is tight. His chest aches. He needs to ask - how what when - but Loki gives him a devilish smile, as if he knows.
"Even Heimdall can see you pining, brother." Loki says, tipping his head back to look at the ceiling. "Your prayers do not fall on deaf ears."