[Part 1 of 3] Destiny Still Arrives

[pirateangelbaby]

The Statesman quakes beneath Thor's boots, metal screeching and groaning like a beast dying from a messy kill, shuddering in its death throes. Another blast rocks the ship and he stumbles, rapidly searching for his footing as he makes his way toward the main hall, heart thundering in his chest. Screams echo through the corridors, panic and terror spreading through the refugees trapped on the vessel that was to be their salvation, and may yet become their pyre.

It's utter chaos, worse than the evacuation of Asgard, a confused mass of Asgardian orphans and widows and widowers all struggling to know what to do, and hundreds - thousands - of eyes turn beseechingly to their king as he appears in their midst, looking desperately to him to save them.

There aren't enough escape pods for them all, and they all know it.

But that's not the only avenue of escape, either. The only question is how long they have.

"Asgard!" Thor shouts over the cacophony, and the crowd quiets enough for his words to carry over the entire nation, even without Gungnir to silence them. "Hear me! All children and their guardians, make for the Nexus portal at once. All other non-combatants to the escape pods!" None of those dismissed wait to hear more, the people quickly streaming out of the main hall, but there are so many. Too many.

Not enough time.

"Valkyrie, take the Commodore and as many people as it can carry," Thor tells her, and she scowls and opens her mouth to protest, but he cuts her off with a raised hand. "I need you to gather the escape pods once the danger is over. Get the people to Earth, and find Steven Rogers or Natasha Romanoff. They'll grant you access to the Nexus for the rest. And find Loki, the other one. Norns willing, that's where they'll be."

"But your Majesty-"

"Go! We don't have time to argue."

Valkyrie curses and punches him in the chest, furious, and stalks away, her blue cape rippling angrily behind her. She doesn't look back, and Thor does not watch her leave, his attention demanded by those who've yet stayed behind. Loki, looking pale as death itself, eyes wide with a fear Thor has never seen on him before. Heimdall, grim-faced and clutching shining Hofund in his fist, the watchman's golden eyes staring right through Thor as he keeps his gaze upon the leviathan of a ship looming over the Statesman like an eagle descending on a mouse. The militia that the Valkyrie has been training, a mere handful compared to the ten thousand Einherjar that once protected Asgard, a ragtag troop of commoners nowhere near ready for real combat.

Their enemy will not wait.

Thanos is coming now.

"Every moment we still fight is another moment our people have to escape," Thor says to those who remain, and though he's fought in a thousand battles and come close to death on many occasions, never have his hands trembled as they do now, knowing that all of Asgard now hangs in the balance. He clenches his fists tightly, lightning skittering over his hands and arms, and squares his jaw to hide the fear. "If Valhalla calls us home today, we're damned sure going to send the Titan and his minions to Hel first. For Asgard!"

"For Asgard!" the militia cry out in reply, raising their weapons in quaking hands, voices trembling with terror, yet standing their ground at the side of their king. Even though it will almost certainly mean their deaths.

Asgard will yet live. They have not come all this way for nothing.

---

In the heart of the Nexus, one of the many portals hums to life, and a flood of people begins to stream forth. Too many children, too few adults, screaming and crying as distant sounds of thunder and explosions chase them through the doorway, and black acrid smoke belches out of the portal with every person that passes through.

There's still more waiting to come through yet when there's an abrupt screeching of buckling metal and shattering glass, and on the other side, there's a brief glimpse of terrified faces and a starfield where the hull should be before the portal blinks out entirely. The archway lies crumpled in on itself, smoking and silent.

---

Thor crumples to the deck, gasping for air through mouthfuls of his own blood, just another body in the sea of the dead and dying. He tries to roll over, to push himself to his feet, but his arm refuses to obey, lying limp several feet away from his body, the stump of what's left only succeeding in painting crimson smears against the floor, his lifeblood steadily draining his strength with every beat of his heart. He tries to summon the storm in his bones, but manages only a feeble spark between his remaining fingers, and nothing more.

He can do little but listen as Thanos' ship carves the Statesman in half, the tortured groan of metal ripping apart and the roar of hull breach in the distance, as his henchmen prowl through the slaughter and brutally end the lives of those who still draw breath, and pray that someone - anyone - has made it to safety.

A withered creature smiles at the massacre as it paces softly through the bodies, voice raised as if in praise. "Hear me, and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan..."

Comments

[coldsong]

Since his last conversation with Thor, Loki has kept an ear to any arrivals in the Nexus. And since his last conversation with Baroness Pelsor, he's kept special attention on the outskirts of the Plaza and the Wilds, anywhere close to neutral or claimed territory. If Asgardians in need come through, he does not want there to be any misunderstandings. He's spoken up for the Fallen thus far, and would hate to have to do a 180.

Fortunately, Thor's usual portal opens up in the Nexus proper, and when the children start stumbling through, it takes Loki less than sixty seconds to take note. The blast of icy air as he appears before them is not to their liking, and because he is in his Jotun guise, there's a chorus of frightened screams from a few of the children nearest him.

That will hurt, later, but he adjust quickly, taking on the more familiar form of their Prince and picking up one of the fallen little ones to make space for the stream of evacuees. A second Loki, this one illusion, and then a third, appear down the street, beckoning the refugees in their direction. "Do not run, walk quickly, this way, come, hurry!"

The faster they move away from the portal, the more will be able to get through before the worst occurs.

The real, solid Loki is right by the opening, reaching through to help guide whomever he can, when the metal screams. He knows what's happening, but it all occurs so fast, he can't even scream at them to jump in a last desperate bid for their lives.

There was a hand in his, he knows not whose, but it tears free as the ship is smashed, and then there are only stars. Merciless oblivion.

He will weep later. Now, he can only hustle the last few away from the collapsing archway, and stare at the ruin that is left.

do not go gentle into that good night...

He cannot let shock take hold. Turning, he singles out the nearest adult, a mother with an infant in her arms. "Help me keep them together. I cannot help the children if they run off in a panic."

It's going to be a tall order. So many are already wailing for their parents or siblings...

[liverfree]

With his inventory replenished and Hephaestus keeping watch over the studio, Prometheus takes a well-deserved break to visit the Plaza, although he is not entirely relaxed. Not when there is only a tenuous ceasefire and a frankly inefficient anti-violence field currently keeping things quiet.

And now, not even that, with so many terrified women and children milling about the Plaza. They all look so lost, like a flock without a shepherd. He pauses in worry, wondering what calamity has led them here.

A woman sits on a couch, three young children gathered around her. Two of them press up against her for comfort, the third sobs incoherently for his mother. She looks up and locks eyes with Prometheus and pleads, "Please, can you look for Endre's mother, she was separated from us when we escaped. Her name is Magna, she has dark hair in two plaits, and a dress like mine. I... I tried to keep her in sight, but I was carrying my children, and --"

"Say no more," Prometheus gently interrupts. "I will go find her. Is there someone in charge of your evacuation? How many of you are there?"

The woman shakes her head. "I... I don't know." She reaches awkwardly to draw little Endre towards her, gently shushing him. "No one is in charge, our king told us to go, so we did. T-there was a Jotun helping people through at the gate..."

That bit of information makes the Titan's heart sink, though he's careful not to show it. "I'll be back as soon as I can. If you need something for yourself or the children, ask any of the vendors here and tell them Prometheus sent you."

He gives her an encouraging smile, then heads further into the thick of the crowd, looking for both Endre's mother and Loki, whom he is more sure about finding.

[coldsong]

Prometheus will see Loki's duplicate illusions first, most likely. They wear his court robes and armor, twin-horned golden helmet glistening like a beacon for the Asgardians around him. There are a few adults, mostly mothers with children in tow, and one or two evident tween- or teen-agers (or whatever the Asgardian equivalent is), trying to soothe and calm the smallest children.

In panic, already little groups have run off or gotten split away from the bulk of the refugees. Loki's illusions are moving around the ones that remain, as if to herd them like a border collie with sheep. The illusions speak gently though, rather than biting, moving about to coax everyone into sitting. You're safe here, it will be all right. Sit, breathe. I am here.

It's a far cry from the grandiose entrance he made before Ragnarok, but Prometheus didn't get to witness that anyway.

After a few steps, he will see the real Prince of Asgard. Loki is reduced to his normal height now, a bit over six feet tall, but not nearly as visible as in his towering, enhanced Jotun shape. In the sea of terrified children, though, he stands out, no less because he has one white-faced, trembling girl clinging to his back and a toddler in his arms. Both are unsettlingly silent in the mass of more panicked children. They were among the last out of the portal and saw destruction hurtling toward them. He does not know if their families made it.

There is a look on his face, as he orders two of the older children to guard a group of six younger ones, a look like a wild creature trying to gather and defend its young in the midst of a forest fire or some other disaster.

"...but we shall make a game of it," he's telling them, voice warm and lilting despite the raw expression in his eyes. "I want you all to sit in place and play 'I Spy', all right? And if you spy someone who you know is of Asgard and looks hurt or will not come sit with you, you must call me at once. Do not chase them, but tell me. Understood?"

He breaks off as he sees Prometheus, drawing a deep, shaky breath. He kisses the nearest child on top of the head and murmurs something inaudible to him, then hastens toward the Titan with the other two still in his arms.

"Help," he begs quietly. "There are hundreds of children and only a few adults. I cannot contain them if they panic and go running. Please."

[liverfree]

By the time Prometheus finds Loki -- the real one -- he has acquired a small flock of children tagging along behind him like a mother hen with her chicks. Maybe it is the aura of calmness that he radiates, or maybe his beard reminds them of Odin a little, but he has taken the time to comfort each one, and so they follow him obediently back to the center of the Plaza.

The sight of Loki tending to the children is a wholesome one, and Prometheus would say so if the reason for it wasn't so tragic. "Of course," he says quickly, not too far off from the tone he used when speaking to the woman on the couch. "I'll do what I can."

Which begs the question, what can he do to help, exactly? He considers taking on his true size and herding up the straying children that way, but almost immediately dismisses the idea. The last thing these people need is a giant, even if he isn't blue. His gaze falls on a convenient Nexus couch, and a second, better idea takes hold. One that he puts into action by weaving to the edge of the crowd, calling out to any Asgardian he comes across.

"Hello! I think we should try to make everyone more comfortable. See those pillows over there? Grab as many as you can. Cushions, too! We can make ourselves a nice place to sit and wait with everyone, okay?"

He begins pushing the couches, chairs -- anything one can sit on, really -- into a wide circle, like a corral. The adults and older children catch on quickly and take over so he can work on retrieving the small ones who are too scared or shy to take part. He gently herds them to the center where the ground is already littered with piles of padding so that everyone may find a seat.

If the Powers That Be don't like him rearranging all the furniture, well, too bad. He keeps at it, his demeanor cheerful, as if this sort of thing happens in the Nexus all the time, all the while keeping an eye out for Magna. The child to adult ratio disturbs him, and not simply because of short-term logistics. Where are the rest of the parents?

[coldsong]

In all fairness, when Loki protested he can't contain panicking children, what he probably meant was he couldn't contain them in a gentle, humane way, or without terrifying them further. He could certainly create a magical barrier, but that's not a thing one does to one's own children.

There may also be a certain sliver of his over-complicated brain fighting flashbacks right now. His friend's easy, reassuring agreement--and what a thing it is to have a figure from another pantheon as a friend--seems to calm him some, and the frantic look in his eyes dies back to resolute determination.

A few meters away and to the side, the god's illusions can be heard speaking to others: "Yes, this is Prometheus, a friend and ally to both myself and Thor. You may trust him as you would...er...Thor." Because Loki isn't quite sure how fully his countrymen trust him at this point.

One of the adult women giggles nervously, and he turns to look at her as if to speak, but quickly becomes distracted by Prometheus' activity. What they're making is part corral, part giant furniture fort, and Loki brightens subtly. It's a good idea, very good.

"Rindr, if you and Solvi would please try and gather the smallest children and put them in the center of that ring. Hild, you and...and...I'm sorry, Elgr, yes? Yes. Get anyone who is injured to the couch on the end there. This will take some sorting out, but we'll manage."

One of his illusions flits off abruptly, ducking through the crowd as if finally free to hunt out the strays.

There are several minutes of hustling and chaos, but the terrified children are starting to calm and the weeping is dying down. Even as he works, though, Loki continues to hold onto the two that are clinging to him, murmuring to the toddler now and again. Once they are all gathered, he can run triage. Once that is done, a solution for housing them all will have to be found.

[liverfree]

The commentary from Loki's illusions makes Prometheus chuckle briefly as he shoves another couch into place. Good thing he works hard to keep his ego in check, because that's an awfully nice thing to say about him. Already he's seeing these women and children as within his realm of responsibility and care, as if they were his own people.

It does beg the question of where Thor is, but he'll worry about that later. Right now he needs to finish gathering everyone together and making the furniture corral as pleasant as possible. When it seems that there are no more strays, he heads over to another part of the Plaza, where a vendor is selling popcorn and other snacks from a cart. After a brief exchange, Prometheus presses a number of gold coins into the happy vendor's hands and wheels the cart over to the corral.

He also snags himself a first aid kit, one of several that are stationed about the Plaza.

Once snacks are being handed out and it gets about as calm as it can, Prometheus returns to Loki's side, kit in hand. "How many are injured? Do you need my help, or should I try to make a list of who is here?"

[coldsong]

He's worried about the refugees, but he continues to calm as things begin to fall into place. Whether he and Prometheus manage to hold onto their friendship or not, he will not forget this help.

Some of the children gape at the cart being wheeled over, and one of the women hastens to take charge there. Even little Asgardians have significant appetites, and snacks are a good idea, but they'll demolish the contents of that cart quickly if not curbed. Loki is by the first aid couch when Prometheus returns to his side, and he has about a dozen children and two adults lined up around him with injuries. He's got his hands on the head of a pre-teen boy, who seems to have some kind of head or neck wound.

"Less than I feared," he answers. "And most are bumps or sprains." He's using his seidr now, lips pursed tightly, brows knit in concentration.

"This one most definitely has a concussion, though. Some...some debris must have hit him." He swallows. "There are also a few burns, but I don't think any of these are life-threatening."

That's a mercy. If they were going to lose any of these people, Loki's not sure what he would do, let alone what he'd tell Thor later. In the meantime, though, he's still got the girl and the toddler clinging to him, although they're on the floor next to him now rather than on his back or in his arms.

"Norns. If you can do a roll-call, that would be immensely helpful. Unless you have exceptional skill with healing head injuries, I think I can manage. I'm not a good healer, but I can do a bit of everything."

He pauses and reaches back to take the first aid kit, then nods his head at the children clinging to his coat. "If you find any others who are in shock like this, without an adult with them, please bring them to me. I will take them to shelter first."

[liverfree]

If the cart runs empty, he'll try to find another one. After this winter, feeding a significantly smaller group of people doesn't seem as arduous a task. He does thank the woman who takes charge before leaving her to distribute the snacks in a calm and orderly manner.

He's relieved to hear that the injuries are not more serious. No trampled children, thank the Fates. "The last time I treated a head injury was on a practice dummy," he admits. "If I find any others in shock, I'll bring them here promptly."

Pulling out his PINpoint and opening a notepad app, he gets to work asking and typing people's names. It's not a simple task: many children, especially the younger ones, are too scared or shy to give their names, and Prometheus must gently coax out that information or resort to writing out a description. When there are siblings or a parent or other relative, he makes note of it, as well.

The hardest names to put down are those of the children who are alone. Those he spends a little extra time with, asking them what their favorite animal is, or what they want to be when they grow up. Not relevant information, but he puts it down anyway.

Circling back towards Loki, he comes across a woman sitting by herself, staring straight ahead as if in a stupor. Her dark hair is in twin, disheveled plaits. "Are you Magna?" he queries.

She looks up at him, blinking slowly, and nods. He wonders briefly if she's also concussed, but the sight of him seems to rouse her and she stands up. "M-my son, Endre, have you --"

"Yes, he's all right, he's with your friend. Come with me, I'll take you to them." He guides her to the other woman and her children. Endre breaks away immediately and rushes into his mother's arms. It fills Prometheus with a sense of contentment.

At least until Endre looks up and asks, "Mama, where's Hilde?" and all Magna can do is sob and clutch onto him more tightly.

It takes a bit of time to get everyone's names, longer yet because occasionally Prometheus comes across another small child in shock or someone with an injury who needs treatment, and so he brings them to Loki and then spends a few minutes trying to figure off where in the crowd he left off. But eventually he completes his task. Returning to Loki's side for hopefully the last time, he shows him the list. "I sent it to your PINpoint as well," he adds. "Loki, if this is not the best time, I'll ask again later, but I must know what happened. Last I heard, the Statesmen was heading for Earth."

[coldsong]

The thrum and gleam of Loki's magic remains steady as he works on the injured. Not all of the minor wounds will be healed this way, but anything that might slow the person down or leave them at risk of infection will be treated. A few minor scrapes and cuts are bandaged by some of the older children and adults, and by the time Prometheus returns to Loki's couch infirmary, he is weaving some kind of sleep spell over the handful of children that are in shock. There's an older teenage girl next to him who seems to be watching intently. She's very, very pale, possibly in some shock herself, but she's also holding the toddler that was in Loki's arms earlier.

"Thank you," he tells Prometheus, quiet but heartfelt, and it takes him a long moment to look up from the sleeping children around him. When he does, he turns to the girl first, murmuring instructions and directions to one of the residential areas of the Nexus, and then: "Tell them that Loki of Asgard demands they return his favor. Take Solvi and her little one, and...and I will come to you later, once everyone else is settled."

That settled, he rises and puts his hand on Prometheus' shoulder, pulling him aside and away from the group. There's a flicker of green as he creates some sort of soundproof barrier around them. "Thanos attacked," he says in a hollow voice, and there is something not-quite-right with his body language. It's jerky and robotic.

"If things occurred in Thor's world the same as they did in mine, he will have survived and a few others will have escaped via space, but there are no guarantees. It is equally possible that you are looking at the last living Asgardians from his universe."

[liverfree]

Prometheus stays respectfully silent while Loki gives his instructions to the teenaged girl, then lets himself be pulled aside so that he can get his answer. It is terrible news to hear, but not entirely unexpected. Thanos had been a looming threat in Thor's universe for a long while. What a tragedy that he struck so soon, while Thor's people were most vulnerable.

He makes note of the way Loki speaks. Hoo boy, that's some trauma there. He keeps it in mind while he replies, his voice low and reassuring. "Then we will make sure that they are well-cared for. Loki, on my honor, I will do whatever I can to aid you and your people. You are not alone in this."

Although he is willing to bet all his drachma that Thor is still alive and finding a way to rescue the others. His friend is far too noble (and stubborn) to give up on his people.

[coldsong]

He should have taken the Tesseract and ran. Stolen an escape pod, something, anything. Even used the power of the stone itself--that would have brought Thanos on him fast, like sending up a signal flare, but maybe he could have kept a few steps ahead. Instead, he thought he could use it to bargain for time, forgetting how ruthless the Mad Titan could be. Or, no. No, he never forgot how ruthless Thanos could be, but Loki relied too heavily on his own ability to fake indifference to those around him.

Thor was always going to be a weak spot. So, too, would have been some of the others aboard that ship (the Valkyrie cut apart and rebuilt like Nebula, Heimdall with his eyes torn out...there are things that are indeed worse than pain) though perhaps not quite as glaringly weak.

Loki gambled and lost, and witnessing these twice-orphaned children makes him wonder if he could have made the gamble for himself alone, without the remnants of Asgard at stake. This is the danger of sentiment.

"Less than a year ago," he says, "that little girl I was carrying just now was painted blue and pretending to be my infant self on the stage in Asgard. I sent her mother a gift when her little brother was born."

Of course, they're talking different dimensions; it might not be the same here as in Loki's own world of origin, but still.

"I am the closest thing they have to a leader until Thor comes. If he does come."

He's quiet for too long a moment, then shakes himself and says, "Thank you. I...they will need places to stay. My own safe houses will not accommodate children well, for the most part."

[liverfree]

There's no way to know what Loki is thinking, but Prometheus can take a good guess once Loki comments on his de facto leadership. There is no mention of the other members of Thor's council. There is no mention of the other Loki. It's hard for Prometheus to remember sometimes that this Loki is from a timeline ahead of Thor's, but the distant look in his friend's eyes puts that fact in sharp relief.

He places a hand on Loki's shoulder, coaxing the deity to focus on him and not the past. "Loki. You care for your people, and you have proper resources here. That's enough to lead them through this tragedy, or at least keep them safe and cared for. And I can certainly find them places to stay. My neighborhood has become popular among the local artists and philosophers. It's... kind of hippie? Without the drugs. Everyone looks out for one other, I'm sure we can make room."

[coldsong]

There's no doubt in his mind that the other Loki is dead. Heimdall, too, he suspects strongly, has lost his life in defense of Asgard. The last three standing in any world must always have been Thor, Heimdall, and the Valkyrie, and if Thor sent the latter to gather and shepherd any people escaping by way of escape pods or the Commodore...

Well. If she survived, that would be a bright spot in a dark universe. A bright, wine-drenched spot with the mouth of a sailor. (He really would like to see her again.)

He twitches a little at the touch to his shoulder, but refocuses readily enough on Prometheus. "Is it, though? Is it enough? They have lost their entire world, and then had their means of escaping that disaster destroyed, ripped from beneath their feet. It's cruel."

Railing against the Norns won't make any difference, though, and if hating Thanos could harm him, he'd be crushed under the sheer volume of Loki's spite by now. What's happened has happened. "I...will take charge of the injured children, and the ones who I've had to spell to sleep. But for the others, yes. Many of them are alone, orphans, but I think the older children can help the younger, for a while, and there are a few adults here. If you can help find them housing..."

And maybe this is temporary. If the Valkyrie managed to get away, there will be adults to help aboard the Commodore, if they can just get to them.

[liverfree]

"Loki," he repeats, a bit more sternly this time. It won't do for his friend to keep chasing these dark thoughts, not while his people need him. "Somehow you gave the Norns the run-around and ended up here. Just as the Norns led Thor through a portal so many months ago, so that his people could one day use it to escape. That has to be enough, for now."

He looks briefly at the sleeping children, and the others with their healing injuries. "Once they have recovered, come find me and I will find homes for them, as well. If the goodwill I've earned in the neighborhood isn't enough, I've got plenty of drachma to burn."

What's an immortal to do with all the money they've shrewdly invested over the centuries, anyway? He's played the role of philanthropist before, he can do it in the Nexus without breaking a sweat.

"I'd like to take one of the adults with me, as they'll have a better idea of what the children need. Who do you recommend?" That is, who is the least traumatized here?

[coldsong]

Loki's ice-green eyes snap to Prometheus' face at that tone, and there's a blend of irritation and indignation that crosses his face, a flash of you're not my REAL dad. It softens after a few seconds, though, because taking things the wrong way simply isn't an option in the midst of a crisis, and Loki knows it. "I think everything happens in accordance with the story the Norns are composing," he says. "That is such faith as I have, and it affords me no comfort right now. But you're right. Now is the time for practical considerations."

"Some...may have found a home already," he says quietly. It's an emotional impulse he's feeling, and he needs time to analyze it rationally, but there's a reason he's gathering the worst-off, along with the healer's apprentice and the mother and infant. They're his, at least for now.

"Money should not be an issue, no." Anything Loki can't buy with what he's got, he can barter, bully, or steal. But if Prometheus has honest means and offers them freely, that's probably better.

"Rindr," he says. "She's older, and caring for her three nephews. One of them, Elgr, is nearly 90, and he's a big help. Take her, if she will go--and I'm sure she will not refuse--and perhaps bring them along."

"I will begin taking groups to the closest hostel. If better places can be found for them, so much the better, but I don't like leaving them in the middle of the Nexus, either."

[liverfree]

Well, if that irritated glare doesn't take him right back to when he was advisor to the Olympians. It's a sore spot for him, one of the few that he has, but his look of I'm only trying to help here lasts but a moment. There is no room for ego in a crisis. Besides, what Loki has to say about the Norns is very un-godlike, at least in his experience. How many times did Zeus complain to the Fates to change something, as if he had any sort of sway over their decisions?

Whatever the Norns have planned, at least they have led these people to the Plaza. Prometheus will thank them for that.

"Ah, yes," he says in response to Rindr's name. "I spoke with her briefly. Lovely woman. We'll get the housing situation sorted and return as soon as we can." He doesn't like the idea of leaving everyone in the Plaza for long, either. "And, ah... Loki, if it's all right, I can take in a family or two. I expanded my studio so I have the space."

[coldsong]

Loki is a transgressor of boundaries, and he cannot be what he is without boundaries to transgress. He fights fate tooth and nail, and to have something to fight, he must therefore believe in Fate. He never expects to bully the Norns into making something go his way. Rather, he plays a waiting game, reacting to what they throw at him and trying to turn it to his favor. And in the end, when the story is complete and the final thread of the tapestry is stitched in place and the loose ends trimmed, he has faith that the story he's been a part of will have been worth the telling.

Right now, though, the threads seem dark and knotted and tarnished with ash and blood, and he continues to struggle to maintain his focus.

And yet: "Yes. Please do. There are few people in this place I would rather see caring for the last holdouts of Asgard."

[liverfree]

Whatever his beliefs, Prometheus will respect them. Strange how much their pantheons have in common, and yet how different they are, as well.

He gives Loki a small smile. He's touched, truly, but now isn't the time to bask in the warm fuzzies. "It would be my honor," he says sincerely. "I'll be off, then. With any luck, we won't be gone long."

And then he follows through, finding Rindr and her nephews who are amenable to accompanying him, as predicted. He gets the practical matters out of the way, leaving time for questions about the Nexus itself, as well as a quick stop at Yaya's newly opened restaurant. The old woman demands that Prometheus returns with as many children as he can for a proper meal once he has them all settled in housing.

By the end of his trip, he and Rindr have secured lodging in his neighborhood. It will be group housing for many of them, and some of his artist friends are already talking about setting up a sort of art camp, but at least the broader logistics are taken care of.

He can return to Loki with that settled, at least.

[coldsong]

Thor, too, Loki knows, would approve of Prometheus caring for their people. He has proven a good friend; invaluable. Loki still worries that sooner or later he will run afoul of him, maybe not to the point where violence occurs, but enough to test his good nature to the extreme. Even then, though, he trusts this Titan to look after the people of Asgard, and Thor.

Loki nods soberly, watching for only a moment as he goes, and then he begins dispatching his illusions to the closest hostels and inns, looking for space for the others.

As it turns out, the hostels have plenty of space; most of the residents who were there while post-Winter repairs were done on their properties are gone now, back to their own homes. Taking on a large group of children and adolescents is a tall order, but using the list Prometheus has afforded him, Loki is able to split the refugees into groups where at least one or two adults are there with the little ones, and several older children, to help out. It won't do for the long term; there will be caregiver burnout, and fast, but for the interim, it will have to hold them.

He keeps the more cohesive family units with him; they will be the easiest to settle. Some of them have already latched on to younger children and toddlers that are technically unrelated, but who need care and welcome. It's this group that will remain when Prometheus returns as well as close to a hundred others that he has not been able to settle yet. Magna and Endre are among the families, as well as some others. There seem to be no adult males in this entire group, and the women are not shieldmaidens, just homemakers and scholars and farmers. It makes sense. The most vulnerable have been dispatched to the safest place.

At least some of the elderly were meant to be with the refugees coming to the Nexus, Loki thinks with a pang in his heart. They probably insisted that the little ones escape first. But what he wouldn't give for a few Asgardian grandparents to help, here.

He looks tired when Prometheus returns, but now he's playing with illusions to entertain the children. There are glimmering green deer chasing one another through the circle of furniture, leaping weightlessly over the seated kids.

"I've gotten some of them placed," he tells Prometheus. "Can you handle this many?"

[liverfree]

When Prometheus returns, even he looks a bit tired around the eyes. It is Rindr who answers Loki, giving her prince a cursory bow before patting the Titan's arm in a friendly manner. "Prometheus here has it all settled. Apartments and communal space, all on the same block. There is an old human woman who seems determined to feed the lot of us, as well."

She speaks the latter with a small note of wonder mixed in with her otherwise sedate manner. Thor had spoken of the people who inhabited Earth -- a short-lived race who needed his help, not the other way around. She hadn't expected much of them, to be honest, but the generosity of the people she has met so far has been enlightening.

Prometheus gives her a warm smile, then turns his attention to Loki. "I can walk people over in small groups -- around twenty at a time, perhaps -- and get them placed into their housing. It won't be quite so frenetic, that way."

[coldsong]

"That's wonderful," Loki sighs, and finds what he actually wants to do is cry rather than smile and reassure. But that's all right. There will be plenty of time for that later. There is always time later to mourn.

"The people here are very generous," he tells Rindr. "The humans and the others. There are many, many races and species represented here. We need not worry about lack of welcome, at least."

Later on, he'll wonder what Odin would think of all this. Whether he would be apoplectic at the thought of his people so fallen that they would take a meal from a mortal restaurateur, or whether he would be pleased that they're capable of adapting to a change so tremendous. Loki knows what he thinks, though.

Adaptability is power.

"That's a good plan," he nods to Prometheus. "I'll keep watch here, but if you want me to send an illusion along with you, I can do that, as well."

[liverfree]

Rindr nods, taking in this information thoughtfully, then looks up at Prometheus. "I'll start gathering up the first group." She gives another bow, then heads off, gesturing for her nephews to come with her. Who knows what Odin would make of this change, but she at least seems comfortable with the idea.

"That'd be a good idea," Prometheus says in response to the offer. "These people need a familiar face while they're getting settled." He pulls out his PINpoint and sends Loki another message. "Here's an annotated list of who is staying where. If anything changes, I'll let you know. People might want to rearrange themselves after a few days."

There's room for a few more, but he keeps that to himself. Loki seems determined to care for some of these children himself. "If there's anything else I can do, you know where to find me."

[coldsong]

"Thank you, Rindr," Loki tells her gently. "I will come around to visit as soon as I am able."

Until Thor comes here, until any further survivors are found, these are Loki's people. Never mind that they're from a universe parallel to his own and therefore no direct relation to him. Never mind that even his brother is not really his brother. They're here and they need him. He's going to be watching them like a mother bear watches her cubs.

He takes a deep breath and turns back to Prometheus with a nod. "Thank you. I'll keep an eye on them, as well. I don't know whether Thor will want to attempt to resettle them on Earth eventually--of course, he's not going to force anyone who would rather stay here, but if there are any living relatives for these children, they'll need to be found and matched up, in time. But he can decide when he comes."

He will come. He must come. He can't be dead.

[liverfree]

It's a side of Loki that Prometheus didn't exactly not expect, but is glad to see all the same. He only hopes that the deity does not burn himself out protecting his people before Thor can return.

Because Thor will. Obviously. Gods don't die. Or if they do, they come back. Or if they don't, then you find Hades and pester him and maybe wrestle his dog for a while and then they come back. That's how it's done in his pantheon, anyway.

"My Earth is always an option, too. Although they may prefer a place that has more experience with non-humans." Not that they wouldn't blend in, at first glance, but that difference in aging might cause some problems.

Catching sight of Rindr rounding up the first group of refugees, he dares to give Loki another clasp to the shoulder in farewell, hoping he does not rattle his already frayed nerves. "Until I return, then."

[coldsong]

If you want to wrestle Hela's dog, Prometheus, more power to you. Loki prefers to leave that kind of thing to the Hulk whenever possible.

In any case, the implicit offer to help Asgard resettle on Prometheus' world makes Loki smile a little more earnestly. He's not used to have friends to lean on; it's a peculiar feeling. Usually it's been him and Thor, and when Thor's not around, it's just him. This is probably a change for the better.

"We will not forget your kindness," he tells the Titan, and actually leans into the touch this time. "When things are settled further, I will come see you."

It's going to be a frantic few weeks, unfortunately. But Asgard survives, and has a place to call home, at least temporarily.