Her frustration is palpable, and though they're not precisely arguing with one another, it's the closest they've ever come to a quarrel so far. Loki feels perversely exhilarated by it. What she complains of is not that far from what he, too, is feeling.

Namely, alienation.

"Have you ever seen what happens when you pack a snowball too tightly? Squeeze it until it can't bear the pressure? It breaks, and the pieces slip through your fingers. But no one will ever thank you for pointing out how rigid and inflexible their grasp has become. They have the strength of their convictions."

"Now, me? I don't have convictions. Or, if I do, they are very deeply buried. I have goals, instead."

"And my goal now is to grow, to stretch my limits, and see what I may become."

His head drops a little lower to nuzzle and slide against her shoulder. "They would fall at your feet, if you truly turned your mind against them. Not that I encourage you to do that, but I would have you know that I see the power in you, whether they do or no."

"What do you want, my dearest? What is your goal? If it is merely to hang on until the weather breaks and then return to a life more comfortable, there is no shame in that. But if it is change, or something even greater, now might be the time to seize the chance."

He knows she's trying to do good, and takes no issue with that, really. But there are a lot of ways to do good, and sometimes the easiest way is to simply distract yourself and refrain from doing bad.

"I tell you this, because it's similar to something I was told not long ago. And it is why I am out here."