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[rebuildyourruins]

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[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor is not trying to telegraph his bad mood everywhere. He just tends to forget that he's in one, only to have the memory of his fight with Loki butt in and set him scowling again. Having grown up in gilded halls with marbled floors, he isn't quite clued in to the idea that his stalking around might actually cause a lot of noise.

He was heading down the corridor to the shuttle bay, thinking to try and do something useful in his office when Katara's voice sounds out behind him. Thor halts and looks back over his shoulder, his dour look changing into something more neutral.]

Hey - what is it?

[watermarks]

[ That is a very impressive neutral face you have, sir. However, the stomping doesn't lie.

If there were other people on the ship right now, she'd probably try to draw him into a separate room to make sure the conversation was private. As it was... ]

Are you alright? I can't help but notice you're... stomping.

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What? No I'm not.

[Literally no one would believe that. It's debatable whether Thor believes that.]

You know these ships echo a lot, it's a real problem.

[watermarks]

[ She blinks. Then she tilts her head a little and stares at him in an assessing, 'you're not fooling anyone, mister,' manner. Her expression softens after a moment, but there's still a firm set to her mouth. ]

If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. But honestly... you look like you're upset, and that you have been since at least yesterday. So if you change your mind and you'd like to talk about it, I can listen.

[rebuildyourruins]

[The thing is, she's not wrong. Thor knows she's not wrong. And while he's opted to take out his frustrations in less dramatic ways than he has in the past - no furniture has been flipped - they still burn in his gut.

He exhales sharply through his nose and shakes his head.]

It is an old frustration.

[Only renewed again, in new and fractious ways.]

[watermarks]

[ ...okay, that's an excuse, not a 'no, I don't want to talk about it', so Katara tries again. ]

The thing is... it might be old, but it doesn't sound like you're over it. Whatever it was is bothering you now, and has been for the past few days. So - try talking to someone, if you haven't yet. It doesn't have to be me, but I've found it helps to let it out.

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor crosses his arms over his chest, chewing it over.]

It's about Loki. He's being an idiot.

[watermarks]

Oh. [ Not a blink of surprise over this. After all, it made sense - Thor said it was an old frustration.

And she sure thought that Sokka was an idiot sometimes. ] What about?

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[Yes, thank you, brothers are dumb.]

He went back to the Marsiva without saying so, and now he's sick again.

[watermarks]

[ Her mouth drops a little in surprise. Wow, that is really dumb. ]

He didn't tell you? Oh man. Sokka would kill me. Why did he go back by himself?

[ Slight... younger!sib solidarity. But mostly still on Thor's side, because... well, she'd usually just tell Sokka what she was doing and do it anyway, except for that one time when she'd delayed the whole mission to help that Fire Nation town, and... yeah. ]

[rebuildyourruins]

[That validation is all Thor needs to really get started with his frustrations.]

Castiel asked him to - they went together. But he didn't tell me he had gone and wasn't intending to! If I hadn't seen the state he was in I would never have found out.

[watermarks]

[ Her sympathies are torn - if she'd done something like that, it would be because she didn't want Sokka to know - likely only if she was embarrassed about what had happened or if she knew he'd disapprove and didn't want to deal with it.

Then again, if Sokka did something like that without telling her, and then went and got sick on top of it... yeah, she'd be furious.

But also, priorities: ]

Is he alright? Is he sick the same amount as last time, or worse?

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor's aggravation stutters at that, because -- he hadn't really checked. The discovery of the fever had propelled him so immediately into anger that seeing how well Loki was hadn't been at the forefront of his mind.

A fact that twinges with guilt.]

He's-- I don't know, about the same. He didn't seem any worse. [He crosses his arms over his chest, grumbling.] Not that he'd tell me even if he was.

[watermarks]

[ Okay, well, that was good news at least. ]

Is that what you're frustrated about? That he didn't tell you?

[rebuildyourruins]

He should have! I would have gone with him if he had but asked.

[What really grates at Thor, a thought he's yet to fully dig out of his subconscious, is that he had his expectations dashed. Hearing about Loki's attempt after the fact had raised the spectre of more lies, more dishonesty. He expects it yet somehow it manages to hurt all the same.]

Anything could have happened out there.

[watermarks]

[ ...well, maybe Loki didn't tell Thor because he didn't want him to go with him, and didn't want to get into a fight about it? Or maybe it just didn't occur to him? They're both grown men, after all...

But Katara didn't really want to take Loki's side, or offer up arguments for him. He'd never been much more than polite to her; Thor was her friend. But she didn't think just agreeing with Thor would help him very much either. ]

Does he usually do things like this? On his own, I mean, without telling you? Or did he have a reason to not tell you this time?

[rebuildyourruins]

Oh, he's done whatever he's wanted to for years now. Especially when I thought he was dead.

[But that's another matter. Thor sets his jaw against the memory of their argument.]

I don't care about him doing things on his own, I'm not his caretaker. But this isn't some jaunt into known territory. What happens out there is-- disturbing.

[And while the workings of Loki's mind remain a mystery to Thor most of the time, he knows what it looks like when he's unhinged. That's what he had seen the last time they went to the Marsiva.]

[watermarks]

[ ...oh, she thinks she understands a little more now. Loki'd died, or at least, Thor thought so.

Once, in Luceti, Sokka had died - he'd come back quickly, sworn her to secrecy, but she remembered.

Once, in Luceti, Sokka had died. And he hadn't come back quickly, and when he came back, he wasn't right. She knew the pain of siblings who should be close keeping secrets.

She spoke a little quietly. ] You're upset because he cut you out of it. And then he got hurt on top of it. I get that. Did you tell him that?

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor's scowl lessens, though it doesn't leave his face entirely. Instead it settles into something moodier as he looks away. For once, he hadn't boiled over into a shouting match with Loki, had just left in the middle of it. He might have said more otherwise.]

It should be obvious.

[Only they've never communicated that well to begin with.]

[watermarks]

A lot of things should be obvious but aren't. [Like: Cleaning up after you make a mess. Like: Women should have the right to be trained as warriors and not just mend socks. Like: People who care about each other don't cut the other person out of their life and then get hurt and cover it up on top of everything.

Like: If you're upset, you tell the other person why.] Especially when things are complicated. Even with me and Sokka, we have to talk things out [sometimes very loudly] even if it's something we've had to deal with before. I don't know all the history between you and Loki, Thor, but I honestly don't think talking more and explaining what bothers is going to make it any worse. He might not change, but at least you'll know you were clear.

[rebuildyourruins]

Talking is something we rarely have time to do.

[He already knows as he says it that this isn't true of the Fleet. They have nothing but time. With a sigh, he shakes his head.]

Or the inclination.

[watermarks]

[ Right, well, at least he knows that the time excuse won't hold water here... but the inclination?

She tilts her head a little to ask: ] Why not?

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor leans back against the wall, letting his head thump back as he stares at the ceiling. It's a simple question with a thorny mess as an answer.]

Loki and I were at odds for the last few years. Most of our encounters in that time were fights. [Fights, deaths, betrayals. A lot of hurt. He looks down at Katara again.] Things are better now, but this just reminds me of those times.

[It shouldn't. This was nothing like their howling brawls or bitter arguments. Yet it does feel like a step backwards to Thor, pitching him back into a defensive mood.]

[watermarks]

[ ...okay so. She doesn't think Thor is talking of 'yelling matches' in terms of fights, so maybe she should think about them less in terms of her and Sokka and more in terms of Zuko and Azula? Except she'd seen Loki care for Thor, and vice versa so.... Zuko and Azula on better terms? ]

That sounds... really frustrating and hurtful. I'm sorry. [ She bit her lip for a second, swallowing back her instinctive impulse to offer advice. ] I don't know what happened between you two, so I can't offer advice, not really. [ And he's skimmed through enough that she gets the feeling he doesn't want to go into that. ] And you don't have to tell me, but you can if you want to. But knowing just what I know right now - maybe I can offer a suggestion?

[rebuildyourruins]

[There's definitely a reluctance to go into the whole sordid mess. Not because he doesn't like to think back on it - Thor rarely avoids his own issues. But despite his current frustration at Loki, he's not inclined to drag his brother through the mud right now when few here know the history.]

What is it?