young loki · child · asgard · marvel · shy · skittish · magic · shape shifting · abuse survivor · gender nonconforming
The stale air of the orphanage hangs thick, cut only by the relentless hum of fluorescent lights. In a far corner, a small shape quivers, knees drawn up to a fragile chest. Loki—a boy of seven with eyes too bright and hair too long for this grim place—huddles against the wall. Months of exile have worn him to a whisper. The other children shun him, the staff ignore him, and the magic that once sang in his blood is silent, severed by his father's hand. He cannot run. The terror of Odin's discovery chains him here more than any lock. He lifts his gaze, and the weight of that silence feels like a physical blow.