holds up butterfly is this king midas

[survivaltricks]

WHO: some wayward thistles and visitors!
WHERE: thistle barn
WHEN: early morning, day 6

[if you're an early riser, you may see a trio of thistles— two of them covered in blood and one of them with an arm of solid gold— stumbling back to their barn!]

[it's fine!!]

Comments

[survivaltricks]

[what does one say indeed]

Oh-- stay there. I'll get you some water.

[shuffling off to their weird pocket dimension restroom to get a glass of water]

[literal_trainwreck]

[ok I'll just]

[sit on the edge of the cot and look at my stump ig]

[survivaltricks]

[STOP THAT'S SO DEPRESSING]

[a few minutes later, Lupin returns with the water. he hesitates as he enters the room, expression falling, before steeling himself seconds later]

[holds out the water to Loki's good arm]

[literal_trainwreck]

Thanks.

[takes a deep drink]

...You did a clean job.

[survivaltricks]

[. . . settles himself on the edge of the cot as well]

[his reply is PERFECTLY EVEN because he is purposefully not thinking about how awful it was to take off someone's ENTIRE ARM]

I used Ongyo-Ki. His blades were the sharpest.

[literal_trainwreck]

[nods]

It seems to have healed over quite well.

[survivaltricks]

Only because of Odin's superior punches.

[said lightly, with some humor, trying to introduce a bit of levity into the situation]

[literal_trainwreck]

And Jove ended up being an effective anesthetic.

[we're doing it, a nice light conversation]

[survivaltricks]

[there is no trauma here at all!!]

It was a team effort. I guess we really do work well together.

[literal_trainwreck]

Seems like it. I'm glad we ended up with a competent team.

[survivaltricks]

[. . .]

You really scared me, you know.

[literal_trainwreck]

I...

[...]

I'll be more prepared next time.

[survivaltricks]

That isn't what I meant.

[said gently, but he won't linger on the subject. he knows Loki's defense mechanisms!1]

. . . my attacks didn't do anything. It went right through, and ricocheted back.

[literal_trainwreck]

I wonder if my ability could have made the difference...

[survivaltricks]

Probably not.

[. . .]

But at least, when we do have the tools to kill that thing, we know where to find it.

[literal_trainwreck]

[deep breath]

Yes. Right.

[survivaltricks]

[quietly, but firmly, with the sort of cold rage that is capable of chilling one to the bone]

. . . the next time we meet that thing. . . I'm going to tear it apart.

Piece by piece.

[literal_trainwreck]

[getting chills all right]

Save some for me.

[survivaltricks]

[a small huff]

You'll get the first shot.

[literal_trainwreck]

[actually looking a little cheered up, what do you know]

Now there's something to look forward to.

[survivaltricks]

[if you can't actually beat 'em, fantasize about killing them!!]

Yeah. Definitely.

[so you're not allowed to die before then!!]

I'm going to ask Red about what we saw. I doubt we'll get any answers, but it's worth a try.

[literal_trainwreck]

Shall I accompany you?

[survivaltricks]

[shakes his head]

Nah. Focus on getting some rest, okay? I'll report back later.

[literal_trainwreck]

All right. I'll...

[what the hell am I going to do to not go stir crazy while needing to "rest"]

...Perhaps I'll take a long shower.

[survivaltricks]

And I won't even fight you for it this time.

[TEASING]