Oh, that's nice. He wasn't sure she would be comfortable with affectionate touch with him in such a strange form, and a stranger state of mind. It's reassuring, and unexpected.

"There is no real constant in existence, save change," he says with a sigh. "You're right. Cricket is alive? Uninjured?" Because his alternate will be furious, either way, but if the boy is all right, they will both manage.

"You will rebuild. I know how tiresome it gets, but you are strong enough to break and then come back together again. You are a Valkyrie."

He chuckles softly at the question. "None other than Winter, himself. And I cannot fathom what his ulterior motive might be, but for my part, his advice rang true. I am not human, nor truly mortal. I have fallen through the Abyss, been torn apart and stitched back together, committed and seen horrors. And I have been trying to be the same Loki once so loved by Thor. It's not working."

"I hope that whatever I become will be something you can care for, and trust, Harley. Though I cannot promise that. But I value you beyond worlds, beyond stars. You are worthy, and beloved, whatever may come."