“Tell that to the awards committee,” Anubis huffed.
“Ah, so that’s why you're in a funk.”
Thor stood, walked over to the small bar, and rummaged around for a few seconds, pulling out a bottle that Anubis had never seen before. The liquid was clear, and although Anubis was not a big drinker, he knew Thor could drink most mortals and gods under the table.
“If we’re going to have a serious in-depth talk, let’s get wasted to do it.”
Grabbing two shot glasses, he walked back over and sat beside Anubis. Thor uncorked the bottle and poured some into the glasses, handing one to Anubis, and the pure pina from the agave plant wafted under his nose.
Tequila. “I’m going to need something stronger than this,” Anubis said.
Thor chuckled. “Trust me, bro, this ain’t the normal tequila. I raided Loki’s stash.”
“Oh, for fuck's sake,” Anubis said, shaking his head.
Everyone knew that the god of mischief had the best connections for getting exotic alcohol made from the blood of magical beasts willing to give. They were of higher grade and could get even the strongest god belligerently drunk, but it would be deadly to humans. One sip would probably kill them. Not only that, Loki treasured his alcohol and would maim anyone who looked at the bottles sideways.
“That’s not all I took.”
Thor reached into his pocket and pulled out a joint, bringing it under his nose, and Anubis grinned, smelling the refined herbs that would cap the night off just right, making him forget the horrible blow job.
Anubis looked from the joint to the shot glasses and then at Thor before howling with laughter. “Loki will fucking kill you for taking his precious belongings.”
“It was just sitting there collecting dust.” Thor shrugged. “I’ll replace those ten crates and anything else I borrowed before he notices they’re gone.”
“Borrowed. Is that what we’re calling it these days?” He laughed even harder. “He’s going to freeze your ass into eternity for stealing his shit now that he’s gotten some of his powers back.” Anubis could imagine the magnificent ice statue of Thor in Loki’s courtyard on display for everyone to see and laugh at. It wasn’t a secret that Loki did not get along with any of his brothers. Loki hated Thor just as much as he did Baldur.
Thor rolled his eyes. “Name one time Loki kicked my ass.”
Anubis stopped laughing and thought about his friend's words. The brothers had fought most of their lives, but to this day, Loki had never beaten Thor. He might have gotten a few licks in, but Thor always came out on top. Anubis could see why Loki had bad feelings for his brothers.
“As long as he doesn’t come after me, I don’t care what we drink or smoke,” Anubis said.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of Loki.”
“Maybe in his dreams, I am. But name one time I backed down from a fight with anyone,” he said, throwing his words back to Thor.
Thor smiled. “That's why we’re friends, Anpu. You never run away.”
“Does Loki know you and Baldur talked Odin into infusing his powers into Valleywood?” The city was once a peaceful place with one of the strongest magical barriers, even stronger than Vale Valley, but over time, greed and corruption corroded the magic, weakening it.
Thor shook his head. “Nope, and he won’t find out.”
“I can’t believe Baldur forgave him,” Anubis said. “If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have.”
“Yeah, Loki can be troublesome.” Thor sighed. “But I think he can change. Baldur and I know how much he values his powers, so we thought it would be better for him to earn them back. You know how Loki feels about mortals, so what better way for him to see the errors of his ways? Let him live as one and slowly gain understanding and his powers back. He’s been getting help from the other gods and doing some good deeds, but he still has a ways to go. The better he becomes, the stronger Valleywood’s magic gets. He must become the heart and soul of this town.”
“Isn’t that too much to put on him?”
“No,” Thor answered. “Many see him as this trickster who, by all accounts, is an asshole.”
Anubis quirked a brow at the last part, and Thor chuckled.
“Fine, he is an asshole, but name one god who doesn’t have asshole tendencies?” That Anubis couldn’t refute. “And just like everyone else, Loki has good qualities others need to see. I think if Loki finds his mate, things will change for him. Hell, I’m hoping it does.”
Only you can see his good qualities.
Anubis knew how much Thor and Baldur loved Loki, and no matter what he’d done over the years, they would protect him. But Loki, on the other hand, had never seen it. He was too busy causing chaos to notice.
