Was that unknown presence he sensed simply his brother? No, he didn't think it was that.

"Really?" he asked. Voices sounded different here, too, as if their words hung awkwardly in the air, unsure of where to go. "It's unknown. Isn't that what you always craved, whenever we went adventuring together? Wasn't it danger that quickened your blood?" And wasn't it danger that, at one time, had turned Loki always into the voice of caution between them? To think that there had been a role reversal somewhere, though, was laughable to him.