His voice cracked in subconscious fear of the creatures. He didn't know he'd spoken. He didn't know he needed to until he's started. But the silence needed filling, the ghosts needed to be freed.
Natasha had lifted her gaze from her fingers to the wall, a show of her attention.
"They once played a game similar to what we played with me. An older game, meant for masters of deception and trickery. Liar's Die was their name for it."
"Let us play a game, trickster."
Loki closed his eyes, trying to weed out their voices from his head. His limbs shook from trying to hold his beaten self upright, his hands tied above his head had his arms burning constantly. The agony of his previous punishments still coursed freshly through his veins, gaping wounds open to the cold winds of the Chitauri wasteland.
"Does it not wish to do so?"
"Does it wish for rest?"
He squeezed his eyes tighter, as though it would somehow stop their poisonous words from reaching his ears.
"What if we grant you rest for winning this game? A month of rest- none of our play and our punishment. A month of peace."
A month? A month sounded to good to be true- a month to be free of constant pain and torture, to not have his blood pour out of him and flow like a river, to gather strength and hidden magic that had been forced deep into himself.
"But..."
He clenched his fists in anticipation.
"If you lose, we do what we wish with you."
Cold terror ran through him, replacing the hot burning pain with something much worse. Deals with the Chitauri were dangerous—foolish, even—but the promise of a month—a month!—of freedom, of painless, fearless freedom, was so sweet and so unimaginable that he craved it. Needed it. He nodded and the Chitauri yelped with excitement.
"The Jotun had agreed!"
"Unbind it, and bring it here!"
He could feel the growing excitement building in the crowd of Chitauri, that had gathered to see the hopeful downfall of the fallen prince. They pushed him down before a small table of stone- his knees buckled quickly enough under the pressure, but he couldn't let them see how weak he was.
One of the creatures sat across from him, presenting him with five stones, almost coin like in shape. On one side, Loki could feel an engraved X, the other showed a small O.
"You know how to play, don't you Asgardian?"
He shook his head. He could feel the sneer grow on the creature opposite him.
"Tis a simple game. Liar's Die is its name. Five rounds, three tries, to decide the winner. You shake the stones in the cup, and you state your Crosses. Three crosses allows you another stone." A scaly finger pointed to the pile of similarly marked stones cast aside. " A shaking of three Crosses in a row allows for a Red Stone," a lesser clump of coloured stones were indicated to him. Were they even red? Was there any other colour other than darkness in this land?
"The Red Stone may be switched for a cross, should you lack the three. A false claim of crosses may be made. But a revelation of the lie from the opponent means for the removal of a stone. Should the opponent in fact be telling the truth, you must give the stone to them. And the one with the most stones by the end wins."
Loki swallowed his fear. He could taste the danger of the game, could already feel the consequences, the pain of their torture that would come for him should he lose. But the temptation of a month of freedom was too strong, too sweet. He needed it- if there was a chance for a painless month- he needed to try.
A swift nod from him woke the Chitauri, their cheers instilling an unshakeable fear into him. But he had to know. He had to try for peace.
"Let us begin."
They shook the stones in their palms before slamming them down on the table. Loki almost prayed- to Odin, to Thor- brother, mother... father- help me if you will. He glanced beside him, to ensure no Chitauri was watching him. He opened his palm just enough for him to see. Three crosses safely scattered under the shade of his palm, with two unwanted noughts discarded to the side.
"Ladies first." The Chitauri leered.
Loki cleared his throat, then cleared it again. When he opened his mouth, his voice was so weak and thin- mewling babes must have sounded stronger than he.
"Three crosses."
The Chitauri narrowed its beady eyes at him. A cold stone was handed to him, cold and comforting in his palm.
"Four crosses."
"Liar."
The Chitauri growled, before lifting his palm to reveal his false claim. Four Noughts lay before him instead. Loki felt a familiar smirk try to find its way into his features.
"Second try."
They rolled again. This time however, he wasn't so lucky. He had to play wisely- he couldn't afford to lie so early in the game.
"One cross."
The warrior across him sneered.
"Two crosses."
They rolled again. By the end of the second round, Loki had gained two stones, his opponent having gained only one. None had been lost on either side, only small victories made.
"Round Three."
"Four crosses."
"Liar."
A painful emotion shot through Loki as he was forced to relent - to reveal his lie and surrender a stone. The Chitauri cheered at his failure, his pain, willing for the game to continue so that he may lose and they may have their fun.
The fourth round ended with Loki having seven stones, and the Chitauri warrior with eight. Loki bit down hard on the side of his tongue. One more game. He still had a chance. One more game and he could have a week of freedom. He was the God of Lies—who was better to play this game than him?
"Round Five."
"First try."
"Two crosses."
"Five crosses."
"Liar."
A growl followed the fortunate lie. A flutter of hope emerged in his stomach as the stone was pushed towards him. They were even- just one more, one more...
"Second try."
"Three crosses."
"Liar."
Loki almost cried out in despair. He should've lied later, much later. What was there to gain from a simple draw?
Dignity perhaps?
For a fallen prince, there is no throne.
To go as a fool or with pride, a decision made alone.
"Final try."
"Three crosses."
The Chitauri smirked. "Liar."
The trickster's lie had the creatures whooping, celebrating in joy for his inevitable fate. Loki breathed in and out steadily, taking in his defeat. He knew, perhaps, that deep down freedom would never be his. Freedom really was life's greatest lie, and this lesson had certainly taught him that.
"You are a lie, little Jotun," said his opponent, "made from the scraps of pitiful truths, begging to be true like a child at prayer. You are made of falsehood and deceit- why continue to exist when the only truth is how much joy your death would bring to your family?"
He could see the Chitauri closing in around him hungrily- they would finally get their promise, the sight of liar's blood spilling onto the rough rocks. His heart raced at an unsustainabe pace, and he prayed that he may fall unconscious or perhaps even be granted death before they reached him. But his luck was never that good.
He went slack as they tore at him, grasped his arms roughly and dragged him mercilessly to a burning fire. The pain was unbearable already, but some merciless force refused him the comfort of darkness. They tied him above the fire, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, a desperate attempt to keep the screams building up inside him at bay.
And suddenly it burned and he screamed, he tore his lungs out as he cried, the jeers of the Chitauri barely audible as yelled out indistinguishable pleas. He could feel his skin crackling, shrinking like paper in a fireplace, flaking away into ash. He burned like a dying star, refusing to explode into a supernova.
In the aftermath, he couldn't move for a fortnight.
***
Liar's Die
Ok so my explanation for it in the story might've been a bit confusing, but I'll clarify it here:
Each player starts with five stones. One side of each stone has a cross. The other had a nought.
For every try, you shake however many stones you have in your hands and then just slam them flat on the table.
You only state your Crosses.
If you get three Crosses in one try, you gain another stone.
If you get three stones three times in a row, you get a Red Stone instead of a normal stone (so you should get stone, stone, Red Stone.)
The Red Stone can be swapped for a Cross at any point in the game- you mainly use it if you don't have enough crosses.
If you lie, and someone calls you out on it, you give them a stone. (Just a normal stone).
If you don't lie, but you are accused of doing so, they have to give you one of theirs.
You have to show your stones to confirm or deny an accusation.
Five rounds, three tries for each.
The worst liar 'dies'. Actual murder isn't necessary :)
I sort of had an idea that the Chituari are more intelligent than we give them credit for so I ran with it and this is the result!
ALSO what kind of chapters do people want? Like are we talking nitty gritty angsty emotion filled whump sort of stuff? And so you want Loki to share any scenes with a specific character? Or two (or more) other characters to share a scene?