A talking snake seems pretty par for the course for the Nexus, he thinks. Or maybe he's dreaming. It's better than dreaming about his past, in any event. He doesn't recognise the verse, but it stirs thoughts nonetheless.

"How very apt," he muses, smiling again at its little snakey tongue. Had he known who the snake was, he'd wonder if those words were for him, for Loki, or just a general commentary on the present situation. As it is, he can only roll the verse about with all his other thoughts, dulled by lack of food and sleep and this crushing weariness.

He lays his arm on his knees so he can rest without disturbing the little snake. "I wonder what promises snakes would make," he says, leaning his head against the wall. "A snake conversation would be interesting to listen to, I should think. Or maybe you aren't really a snake? Who can tell, here?" Another smile. "Stay as long as you wish, though, little friend. I'm not going anywhere."

Indeed, he goes still, watching the snake idly. It's a nice little oasis of quiet in the midst of all this suffering.