For Asgard!

Raising a finger in Loki's direction, Sif cleared her throat. "I am more inclined than usual to verbally note your qualities, rather. But yes, you can blame it on the mood." The lazy smile she gave him, he could also blame on the mood. Despite Sif's reservations on Midgardians - which were falling away the more time she spent with them, incidentally - that had not been meant as an insult. She admired Loki's passion even if recently it had been so misguided it hurt her to think about it. You couldn't quite praise someone's passion when it gave way to genocide and betrayal. But that had not quite happened yet for him, which brought her peace. She nodded as he said things about himself that corresponded to her image of him, though her smile faltered when Loki said himself not belonging on Asgard. "I disagree. Were we all the same we would be a stunted folk, bland and square, denying progress and evolution. Going against the many does not deem you unfit. And it's where I have always seen you. To me, though perhaps not to you, it is your home." She looked down and away, blinking. "But I- I think I understand why you would feel such a way." It could not have been easy. After so many times hearing about how he had felt himself in Thor's shadow Sif had begun to observe the moments she had been privy to and see if he had been correct, and decided that as long as he had felt that way, it did not much matter whether he had been or not.

Many ages had gone by since the last time Loki and Sif had touched. Last time it had been her sword tip touching him, and that did not count. When she felt his hand on her calf Sif curbed the reflex of pulling away, instead looking up into his eyes with her widened ones. This was about what she had said about Thor. He was consoling her and it felt so strange, so sweet yet somewhat humiliating - it would always be when someone other than herself got wind of her true feelings and showed to possess such knowledge - that Sif didn't quite know how to feel. Sif also did not want to rebuke any gesture of Loki's she deemed as positive, seeing as she was trying to do her part so that he would not feel the need to go on a path he could not return from without death. Wordlessly, she reached down and put her hand over his for only a second, only enough to let her fingers brush his and leave the knowledge that she understood the gesture. She was even thankful that there had been no words attached to it as despite having started on the topic Sif had no wish to discuss it further.

"He ought never to have cast that doubt in the first place," she blurted out, bitterly, gasping when she realized what had just come out of her mouth. Speaking against the Allfather was inadvisable and frowned upon, even to one of his sons, even to the one he had scorned the most. But Sif had seen certain behaviors he had had with both his sons that had not felt right and she would not have gone with, and in this place her guard was down most of the time. It was a dangerous thing, but outside the golden atmosphere of her homeland she had not felt so pressed to keep her opinions to herself. And, as long as she did not make a habit of it and they did not end up in the Allfather's ears - which she doubted they would - Sif did not much care. She took to observing her nails instead after Loki's jest, smirk in place. "How dramatic! That is disappointing. I thought if anybody would enjoy a bit of nail scratching here and there would be you."