Lullabye (Ship of Nails: Part 2)

Loki is careful in the wake of his breakdown.

Abandoning the children to lurk in the Wilds and sort himself out is simply not a possibility. Neither is passing over the incident like nothing happened. A balance of sorts must be struck, and days are split between lessons and friends willing to watch them with him, to sit by his side and make themselves his moral support. It turns out there is no shortage of friends, and while Loki is more inclined to chalk that up to the children’s charisma than his own worthiness, it helps to see it.

At night, he has Mrs. Hedgeworthy, or a friend staying over, or both.

It’s not really the children that are the issue, of course. It’s him, and the crushing weight of the loss they all bear and cannot relieve from one another.

( cut for length )

((Musical inspiration))