Curious he says. Curious! Curious my ass. Curious is when it's pouring rain and there's no sun but still a rainbow. Curious is when there's no wind, but the leaves still tumble across the ground. Curious is when the wand that chose Harry Potter had the same core as the one that chose Voldemort! That is curious!
Curious is not when some freaky elf guy barges into Starbucks, kidnaps you then precedes to inject you with various liquids that burn and sting your insides. That is not curious, that is scary and hurts like hell!
But of course Loki would think that's 'curious.' Of course he would.
I groan and roll over in my bed. It's late but outside, the giant planet that's closest to Asgard shines so brightly, it's almost like day time.
Once everything in the tea room had happened, and I had calmed down some, Loki and I met up with Thor and went to dinner. After I said good night to Loki (to which I got no response and just a door slammed in my face), I locked him in for the night. Then I changed into my pajamas and got into bed, assuming I'd be able to fall asleep instantly because I was so tired. Instead, I lay awake into the wee hours of the night, thinking of ways to get to Loki and somehow bond with him.
I had tried today, thinking that maybe if I told him about the thing we have in common, he'd open up a little. But he got pissed off, then I got pissed off, then I made my stupid 'question game' comment and my hand decided to zap him. My hand zapped him. Why did my hand zap him? What's going on with me? How did- NO! I'm on the topic of Loki right now.
Although, before my comment, he had asked me to explain what I had said about me understanding him and maybe if I bring that up again he'll listen. I just can't let him grab the conversation and run. There needs to be some sort of understanding between us if I'm going to be here any longer than the day after tomorrow.
I close my eyes, deciding that tomorrow I will find a time to talk. And when I do he will listen.
***
I wake up with faint remnants of a dream swirling in my head, involving a floating hand and two men who were probably Loki and Odin. The three followed me around the whole time and one man repeated, "Curious, very curious!" over and over while the other yelled at me about different forms of chemical bonds. I remember yelling back, "No! I haven't taken Chemistry in over two years! Please leave me alone!"
My dream fades away, leaving nothing but a small fear of and confusion over hydrogen, and I am left thinking about my inevitable conversation with Loki. He seems to speak his mind the most when not directly asked, so maybe he'll be the one to bring it up.
Probably not, but whatever.
I yawn, then swing my feet over the side of my bed. Instantly, a shiver runs down my spine as my toes touch bare floor. I stand and tip toe quickly to the closest rug then to my closet door and swing it open. Inside, I pull out a warm-looking green tunic and some pants. Once I'm changed, I pull on some boots and walk back out.
Stretching, I make my way over to one of the curtains and pull it aside. When I do, I'm greeted with air that is thick with white puffy snowflakes. My mouth falls open and I swing the glass door wide so I can hurry out onto the balcony already covered in an inch of fresh snow. I look up at the sky, closing my eyes and smiling as the soft crystals fall against my face.
I open my eyes and face the railing to look out over the garden. The flowers and trees are all covered, but somehow the frost hasn't killed anything; the petals and leaves are all the same color as they were when Lifa and I first explored them. I turn my head slowly from side to side, taking in Asgard dressed in white. Everything that I can see from my small balcony is dusted in snow and looks like something from a movie.
If I do get a chance to talk to Loki, it could very well be while we're making a snowman.
I lean down and pack some snow into a ball. I straighten, then pull back and chuck it as far into the trees as I can (which, I have to admit, isn't that far). It flies through the air, then falls behind the foliage. A split second later there's the sound of it hitting something and someone lets out a surprised cry. The tree tops swish and move a little, and I hear the sound of two people walking toward me. I make another snowball and wait, prepared to protect myself with the only weapon I have.
When the people are just outside of my sight, they start talking. I grin as I hear Frigga shushing Thor's loud whisper.
"Take up arms, mother," Thor says, still very loudly. Frigga laughs.
"Who goes there!" I call.
Thor walks out of the trees, hands positioned in a passive, but not surrendering, manner.
"Tis I!" he calls back. "Now if you would so kindly drop your weapon, we will not have to fight."
I roll the snowball in my cold hands, contemplating whether I should drop it and not risk an onslaught of icy spheres of snow. Thor can definitely throw farther and harder than I can so it'll probably hurt. But against my better judgement, I decide not to surrender and raise the snowball into a throwing position.
"You drop your weapons and I will not start this fight," I say, smiling.
Thor grins. "Then now will be the time of war." He pulls his arm back and throws his snowball.
I watch as it hurtles through the air, then dodge right before it hits me in the chest. The snow smacks against the wall and my hair gets dusted. I duck down behind the railing, peering through the bars. Another ball sails directly over me and lands on the floor of the balcony. This one had come from Frigga.
"Hey!" I make more snowballs as quickly as I can. "Two against one!"
"Do you wish to forfeit?" Thor asks.
I pick up two more of my freshly made snowballs and stand up. "Never!" Then I start raining my white cannon balls down upon my adversaries.
Thor ducks back into the trees and I watch, open mouthed, as Frigga holds one hand above her head and creates a magical umbrella that my snowballs bounce harmlessly off of.
"Two against one and magic?" I say.
Frigga smiles then uses an enchantment to form a snowball and throw it at me. I try to doge it, but the magic ball follows me and hits me in the back.
I fall over and lay there for a moment. When I regain my breath, I rise to my knees and begin to make more snowballs. I stand back up and turn, ready to throw, only to see five snowballs hovering in the air and Thor holding six more.
Sighing, I smile and let the snowballs I am holding fall to the ground. I raise my hands and say, "Okay, you've bested me."
Frigga lets the snowballs drop and Thor drops his as well.
"You put up a valiant effort, Lady Freya." He bows.
I curtsy slightly in return.
Thor says something to the Allmother that I can't make out, then they hug. Frigga smiles up at me, nodding her head before turning to go.
"That was fun," I say, as Thor walks up the spiral staircase to where I stand leaning against the wall.
"I am glad you are not disappointed at our victory," he says.
"I would have won if your mom hadn't whipped out her magic."
"Would you have?" he asks, laughs. "I am not so sure."
"Oh, you're not, huh? Well then, guess what."
"What?"
"I am one of the best snowball-fighters on Midgard. I would have dusted you both with my awesome snowballing abilities."
"Then perhaps a rematch at some later hour? Possibly when we have even teams."
I hold out my hand and Thor grips it firmly. "To our next battle." We bob our clasped hands once.
"I shall prepare my troops," he says. He waits for me to walk into my room before closing the door.
"Even teams," I remind him.
"I shall have my mother and her magic on my side. You can have my brother and possibly his abilities if he acts accordingly."
"Rally the troops!" I cry, raising a fist and twirling as I speak. "We shall fight at dawn and it will be a battle all of the Nine Realms remember!"
Thor laughs. "That will be because I am the one who wins."
I turn to him. "Or," I walk up to him, "will it be because Loki and I completely and utterly destroy you?"
"We shall see, m'lady. But until then, let us make a truce."
"That we will," I say. "Oh! And speaking of your mom's magic, I didn't even realize she could do other things besides healing people. When she healed Loki in the dungeons, I guess I had assumed it was like an Asgardian mother sixth sense or something."
"She is the one who taught Loki everything he knows."
I open my mouth to say something, but all that comes out is 'oh.' It's only fitting that Loki took everything his mother taught him and turned it against hundreds of thousands of innocent, defenseless people.
"With magic comes great responsibility and sadly, my brother chose to use his power to control those weaker than he," Thor says, speaking my thoughts.
I nod, not knowing what to say.
He walks to the hearth and gets a small fire going.
"Have you eaten?" he asks.
"No."
"Neither have I. Shall we wake Loki and go to breakfast?"
"Sure," I say. Up until now, I haven't realized how hungry I actually am and at the mention of food, my mind starts to fantasize about everything I haven't been able to eat in the weeks I've been here. Pizza, bagels, cupcakes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Pancakes. Gods, I could go for some pancakes right about now. Then an idea hits. "Thor," I start.
"Yes?" He looks up at me and, when he sees my smile, eyes me suspiciously.
"Have you ever had a pancake?"
"Er...no. Is it a cake but made in a pan?"
"Well...yes. But they are delicious and I really want one right now."
"Then let us go and make one," he says, standing.
I walk over to my nightstand to get the key and once it is hanging around my neck, the two of us walk out. We cross the hall to Loki's door and I knock. There's no response so Thor knocks and calls his name. Still there's no response. I unlock the door and open it enough to peak my head into the room.
When I hear no sound from inside, I walk farther in. A corner blocks my view into the room.
"I'll just be a minute," I whisper to Thor. He nods.
I walk inside as quietly as I can. "Loki?"
I get to the corner and peak around it. I see the bed and in it is Loki, sleeping on top of the covers, a book open half on the bed and half on his bare chest. His black, normally slicked-back hair hangs in messy waves.
"Loki, we're going to breakfast. Thor's waiting for us."
He shifts slightly, but doesn't wake up. I try to think of a way to wake him up without having to shake him. I really don't want our first encounter of the day to be him strangling me; that would not be a good way to start the morning.
Looking around, I see that, like my room, Loki's walls are lined with bookshelves. But, unlike my room, all the book shelves are completely full. I walk over to one shelf and pull a book out, deciding that maybe shuffling around will rouse him slowly and not make him quick to yell (or strangle). I look at the leather cover of the book I'm holding and on it, scrawled in fancy golden letters, are the words: Óendanleiki Steinninn, Yfirlit Sagan.
"And I still cannot speak Norse," I mutter, sliding the book back into it's place.
"What are you doing here, you stupid girl?" comes Loki's half sleepy voice from behind me.
I whirl around. He's propped up on one elbow and watches me with narrowed eyes.
"We're going to make breakfast. Thor's waiting and we're all gonna make pancakes," I say quickly, and turn. I begin heading for the door to leave but his voice stops me.
"What?"
I look at him. "You, me, Thor. Pancakes. Get dressed, we'll be waiting outside your room."
I walk out leaving Loki frowning at me. Thor closes the door when I'm in the hall again.
"Is he awake?"
"Yes. He caught me looking at his books," I say, smiling. "And I confused him with the words 'pancakes,' even though you seemed to understand it pretty quickly."
Thor smiles. "Yes, but when you told me, I had not just awoken."
"That is true."
A minute later, the door opens and Loki walks out in his usual getup, holding a book. His hair, I notice, is straightened and slicked back again.
"Good morning, brother," Thor says.
"Is it?" Loki asks.
"Yes, it is. There's snow," I say. "And hopefully pancakes."
"Snow is merely precipitation, like rain or hail. It is not something to be marveled at," he says. "I assume we are going to the kitchen, since the girl said something about cooking Midgardian delicacies."
"You do know I have a name, right?" Loki ignores me and focuses on Thor.
"Indeed, we are," Thor says. "Lead the way, Lady Freya."
......................................
"Okay," I say, looking at the bowls and spoons and Asgardian measuring cups that litter the counter in front of me.
"What are the ingredients?" Thor asks.
"I don't know exactly because, sadly, I have not memorized the recipe. So I'm just gonna wing it."
"Let me rephrase my question then: what do you think the ingredients are?"
"Flour, sugar, eggs, milk, baking powder, um..." I think. "I've made them so many ways. With my mom, we add a lot of cinnamon, but when I make it with my friend, Darcy, we put in vanilla. I guess we could put in both, if you have either of those things."
I feel a hand on my arm and look up. Thor has come around the counter and now is staring at me.
"Is everything ok-"
"Freya, did you just say Darcy?" he asks.
I frown at him. "...Yeah...why?"
He closes his other hand around my shoulder and holds me there, staring intently into my eyes. "What is her second name?"
"You mean her last name?"
"Yes, yes, that. What is it?"
"Lewis. Why?" Thor's eyes widen when I say this. "Are-are you okay?"
He grips my shoulders tighter and steps closer.
"Do you know anyone by the name of Jane Foster?"
I nod. "Y-yes..." I say slowly.
Loki looks up and in my peripheral vision, I see him roll his eyes.
"What's going on? I don't get it." I look at Loki then back to Thor, but neither of them says anything right away.
"Did you hear of my banishment to your realm?"
"Wait, you went to Earth?!"
"Yes, did you hear any of what transpired?"
"Lifa told me how you were banished to another realm, but I didn't realize it was Earth."
"I was sent there by my father-"
"Must we speak of this now?" Loki mutters.
"-And when I first arrived there, I believe I was in the territory of New Mexico."
"It's a state, but keep going."
"The state of New Mexico," Thor corrects. "Jane hit me with her vehicle and Darcy shocked me with some sort of electric rectangle."
"Jane hit you with her car?"
He nods like being hit with a car is no big deal. "Yes, twice."
"Oh my god!" I bring a hand to my forehead.
"Did you speak to Jane before you came here? Do you know if she is well?"
"Oh my god!" I repeat.
"What is the matter?"
"You're the one!" I poke his chest, but the action is awkward because he is still gripping my shoulders.
"The...one?" The god frowns at me. "What do you mean?"
"The guy! Darcy started telling me about how Jane met a guy who apparently had to move or something. She mentioned something about worm holes then Jane glared at her and she shut up," I say. "You're the guy, aren't you?"
"Yes, I suppose. Tell me, Lady Freya, is Jane well?"
"When I last talked to them, yes. She was doing fine. At least I think. It was after the stuff in New York and when I brought it up, she got awkward then said she had to go."
"Perhaps," Loki says, "it was because he never went to see her while he was on your measly planet."
"And why could I not, Loki? Answer me that!" Thor finally lets me go and turns to his brother angrily.
Loki rolls his eyes and sighs as he stands. "I am well aware of all that I have done seeing as no one here lets me forget. And with that being so, there is no need for me to listen. This conversation was boring me anyway." He turns to me. "If it is all the same to you, I'd like to return to my room."
"No. You are staying here and we are all making pancakes together, more or less as friends."
"Less would be preferable. But if I am to sit and endure your attempts at camaraderie, at least let me have some say in what occurs."
"Okay, Loki. What do you want to occur?" I ask. I cross my arms and glare at him around Thor's chest. "The only reason I'm trying to be friendly with you is because your dad told us to. And I really want to get out of here, so if I have to sort of be friends with you to do that, then that's what I'll do."
"But must this include baking?" It's almost a whine.
"You don't have to help make them, just try the pancakes when we're done."
"Thank you for lessening my pain," he says then sits back down, opening his book.
I open my mouth to say something, but close it. Don't be rude; you're trying to bring him closer, not push him away, I think as Thor and I return to the counter. But if I had known he was going to be this intolerable then maybe I wouldn't have- No. That's not true. Even if I had known well before hand that he'd be like this, I still would have sought his help. He is most likely the only one who has enough magic to even try opening the Bifrost, so we need his help. Maybe Frigga could help too, but I have one more day of 'bonding' to get through, so I need to take it one step at a time.
I spend the next ten to fifteen minutes calling out all the ingredients we need as Thor and a cook (who's name I think is Ingrid, but she grumbled it when I asked-I had dropped a bowl and she wasn't very happy we invaded her kitchen) retrieve everything I call out. Substitutions are made when something-say baking powder-from Earth has a completely different name than it's Asgardian counterpart. When this happens, I describe what it is used for, it's taste, or what it does and then Ingrid would mutter something in Norse and walk off shaking her head, only to come back with what I described. She is very grumbly but also very helpful.
When all of the ingredients are spread out on the counter, Ingrid leaves us. I tell Thor how much of everything I think we need and he measures out flour and sugar as I crack an egg into a small bowl.
A little while later, I glance up to see how he's doing. "No! Thor!"
He pauses just as he's about to dump a cup of sugar into his bowl. "What? You said two cups of sugar and only a few of these small spoons of flour."
"No, I said it was the other way around. If you put that much sugar in, they'll come out like hunks of sugar hockey pucks."
"I see."
I can tell he doesn't know what I'm talking about as he slowly draws his hand back and dumps the cup of sugar back into it's container. Then he measures out the correct amount of sugar and flour and pours them into a bowl together and we continue mixing and measuring and chatting lightly.
"It's just weird," I start a little while later, after thinking about what Thor had said about his and Jane's time together, "that Jane never talked more in depth about you. I would've thought she'd at least tell me how you met, but saying, 'Oh, you know, I hit him with my car twice and it was love at first sight,' would kinda be weird."
Thor chuckles. "I suppose it would. It could have also been that one of your government organizations was trying to put a stop to all her scientific endeavors."
I stop stirring the pancake batter. "Wait, what?"
"After my father sent me through the Bifrost's portal to your world, he then sent Mjölnir through as well. One of your government organizations found it and tried to conceal it from Midgardian eyes. I believe the organization's name began with an S... perhaps it was Shield, but I am not certain. I tried to pull the hammer from the rock in which it had landed, but I...failed."
"You were not yet worthy," Loki says from behind me.
"You were on Earth as well, brother," Thor says, his tone steely. "I am surprised you did not attempt to pull it from the stone."
"Oh, I did, but it was when you were in captivity." Loki flips a page in his book. "I was also unworthy, if that isn't painfully obvious."
Thor opens his mouth to say something but I cut in, "Both of you shut up! You're just trying to get a rise out of each other and we haven't even eaten breakfast yet!"
"You are right, I apologize," Thor says.
"Thank you," I say, ignoring Loki's lack of response. "But now the pancake batter is ready and waiting to be baked, so!" I hold the bowl out to Thor. "If you are worthy enough for Mjölnir, you are worthy enough to start making these," I say.
Thor laughs, but then looks at the batter, worried. "You want me to-"
This time I laugh. "Don't worry, I'll be right over. I'm just going to look for a spatula."
He nods and takes the bowl from me, then makes his way over to the stove top.
I open a drawer, push around some spoons and giant forks and...nothing. I check two more, but still there's nothing resembling a spatula anywhere. I dig through a jar full of various utensils and pull one out to look at it. The handle is made of wood and attached to it is a long metal rod that tapers to a point. I frown at it. What the heck do they use this for? Shrugging, I continue looking.
A second later, there's a tap on my shoulder. I jump, letting out a small shriek, and spin around. As I do, I put my left hand up, trying to block my face.
Now it's Loki's turn to cry out and I watch, frozen, and he backs away from me, pressing his fingers to his cheek.
"Jesu- Loki, what the hell?" I cry.
"I was merely going to ask if you needed assistance. I did not foresee my query bringing about your brandishing of a sharp metal object!" he says.
I look at his hands and from in between his fingers, I see red.
"Oh my god! Did this thing cut you?" I start toward him, then stop and put down the sharp pokey thing.
"Wise choice," he mutters.
"I forgot I was holding it. You just startled me. Sorry."
Loki pulls his hand away and looks at it. The tips of his fingers are covered in red and on his cheek, cutting perfectly across his right cheek bone, is a long, thin wound only slightly wider than a paper cut.
"It's not that big, okay, that's good," I say. "That means you can heal easily, right? With your...superhuman, god powers?"
He rolls his eyes then grimaces and winces.
"Do you know," he says, his voice sounding tight, "what is in the disk you so hastily attached to my skin?" I shake my head so he continues, "Poison. And because it is, in fact, poison, my abilities are weakened and thus I need...assistance." He says the last word like it is hard to get out.
He just asked for help. Loki, the God of Mischief, just asked me for help. Is this progress? Is he finally trusting me enough to ask me to help him? But he did say it was because he can't do it himself...But he also could go and look at it himself, in a mirror. I technically don't have to be the one who helps him. So I'm just going to go with the trusting-
"Well?" Loki asks when I haven't said anything.
I blink myself out of my thoughts. "Okay, right, sit down. Thor, can you get me a rag and some water?"
Thor looks up from the pancakes. "What in Odin's name happened?"
"I accidentally hit him in the face."
The god's brow furrows, but he goes to get what I've asked for anyway.
Loki sits down in the chair he had been in before and moves his book to the floor. I pull a chair up next to him then find a stool to put the water on. I'm just sitting down when Thor returns, a bowl of steaming water, a brown cloth and a bandage in hand.
"Thanks," I say. He nods, setting them on the stool, and asks if I need any help. I say no, so he goes back over to make more pancakes. Props to him for figuring out how to do it without my help.
I dip a corner of the cloth into the hot water and touch it to his skin, just below the cut. Loki hisses and pulls his face out of my reach. "Careful girl," he snarls, his fingers pressed against his cheek.
"Loki, I need to get the blood off your skin so I can put a bandage on it." He purses his lips and a second later he straightens without looking at me, dropping his hand to his lap. I dampen the cloth again and wipe more blood away. I repeat this over and over and every time I do it, he flinches. Pressing my lips together and focusing on the cut, I hold his chin gently with my free hand and he (surprisingly) doesn't pull away.
When I have wiped away all the blood, I look at the cut. More blood has risen and threatens to drip down his cheek, so I wipe it away and as I do, I see a small glint of something silver. Part of the metal utensil must have chipped off when it hit him. Crap. First I poke him in the face, and now I have to tweeze a sliver out of his cheek without any tweezers. Crap.
I wipe away more blood, and look closer, making sure I'm not about to poke his wound for no reason. The same bit of silver twinkles back at me, almost mockingly, and I sit back. Blowing air out through puffed lips, I drop the rag into the bowl.
"What?" he says, staring at me.
"Do you guys have any tweezers?" I ask.
"Any what?"
That would be a 'no.'
"There's a sliver, and I need to get it out," I say.
He sighs.
"I need to get it out," I repeat.
"With what?"
"Well, I would use tweezers, but seeing as you don't know what those are, we'll have to settle with this rag."
"Very well, go ahead."
"It might hurt a little," I say.
He nods.
"Okay..."
I twirl the rag so that it forms a slightly pointed tip. Then, holding the cloth in one hand, I use my other to carefully open the cut a little. As I do, Loki flinches and pulls away slightly.
"Don't flinch," I say, glancing at him. He's looking at me.
"That hurt."
"Yeah? Well, it'll hurt a whole lot more with you flinching. So stop."
He does, so I pull open the cut just enough for me to try to get the sliver out. I try once and look at the tip of the rag. Nothing. I try again, and still it doesn't work. I'm going to need a needle. I try one more time, but it still doesn't work.
I sit back in my chair again.
"Finished?"
"No. I couldn't get it out. I need something small and pointed enough to pull it out or push it out."
"A needle perhaps?"
I nod. Loki nods and looks extremely uncomfortable.
"It'll be fine, it's just going to take a second," I say. I turn around. "Thor, can you get a needle?"
Thor flips four more pancakes then turns. "Yes, I shall."
I turn back to Loki who has pressed his lips into a thin line.
"Loki, don't worry. It'll just-"
"I do not need your compassion." He's quiet and his eyes follow Thor out of the room. "You claim to know me so well," he says once his brother is gone, "but have you ever gotten cut by a kitchen utensil?"
I stare at him, my mouth open slightly. Did he just make a joke? A grin flickers across his lips.
"Well, have you?" he asks.
I let out a short laugh. "I can proudly say I have not."
Loki smiles a little, but then it's gone. His resistance to opening up is infuriating.
"You say you know me so well," I say. He raises his eyebrows expectantly. "But have you ever been tortured for countless hours."
Instantly he looks away and I watch, frozen, as his features harden. He says something I can't catch so I open my mouth to ask, but he repeats it before I speak.
"Yes, I have."
Instinctively, I reach forward to take his hand and squeeze it, but I stop and let it hover in the air. I stare at it for a minute then grab his hand quickly. When I let go, he's looking at me.
"I...I'm sorry," I murmur.
"I have found one, Lady Freya," Thor calls. He walks in and over to us. "Is this to your liking?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Thank you." I take the needle he holds out to me.
"Once you have finished, there will be pancakes waiting," he says. He smiles. "I believe I have perfected the technique."
"I can't wait. And sorry I didn't help," I call as Thor returns to the stove.
"Do not fret."
I turn back around. "This will literally take thirty seconds. And if you want, I'll tell you what I'm doing as I do it."
"Do not treat me like a child in need of reassurance."
"Okay, I won't, but right now I'm just going to hold your head still so you don't move and make me poke you again. And now I'm just looking at it, okay?"
"Did you not hear what I just-"
"What you said earlier. That gives us two things in common."
Loki eyes me, clearly annoyed.
"One: we've both been tortured and two: our dads both suck, at least to some degree. Yours is a hundred times better than mine." I get the splinter out and rinse the needle in the water. "But that's only what I've gathered from what I've seen so far."
"You have not seen much," he mutters. "And if you are going to get the sliver out, do so."
I smile at him. "I already did."
"Then for Valhalla's sake, drop your hand." He grabs it, pulls it away from his cheek, pushes it at me roughly then stands.
He picks up the bandage and when he presses it onto his cheek, it blends in with his skin. He reaches down to pick up his book, and looks at me.
"If we are to be traipsing about the palace for the day, I wish to retrieve another book."
I stand up and push my chair back to its place. Pointing at him, I say, "We are, and you can, but pancakes first, then we'll go back to your room."
He rolls his eyes. "Very well."
We walk over to Thor who has put out three plates, each containing two huge, perfectly round, golden pancakes.
Loki pulls a small piece of pancake off his plate and eats it. I watch him, waiting for his reaction.
"This is..." he says as he pulls off some more, "...very good."