Idun didn't believe Loki. Not because his words seemed false, but simply because Idun didn't know how to believe in anything. If this was a world where Bragi could lose all his blood and vanish so easily, how could anything she believed in be true? That pool of blood was proof that Idun didn't have proof of anything anymore. Her eyes returned to it and pain pulsed through her in violent jolts. Loki said it wasn't enough to be too much, but Idun realized her question was wrong.
His answer wasn't what she needed at all.
She took a breath and turned her head, glancing at Loki as he spoke again. The pool looked like it was made of the exact amount of blood it consisted of. Idun didn't think it was an optical illusion. She didn't have the hope left in her to believe her eyes were just tricking her. What was there left to believe in, anyway? Idun looked at him, and then she looked away. "Thank you," she said. There was nothing else to say. She tried to just listen instead. Once upon a time, Bragi had hidden from her for three months. All the music stopped. All the joy left his eyes. Idun tried to hear the world like Bragi did, but the beats of her heart were broken shards of glass ripping deep into her chest. There was no music there. She couldn't hear the world as Bragi heard it if Bragi could no longer hear the world...
Idun almost looked back at the puddle on the floor when Sigyn came into view instead. It was a terrible shame she hadn't been able to offer Sigyn tea. The room was cold. She probably would've liked some tea. Her words filtered through Idun's mind a few times before they properly registered. "Of course...you're right. I need to..." But Idun didn't want to. This needed to stop being real. Odin wouldn't make it stop. Odin was too fond of wisdom and truth and reality. He'd make it unbearably real.
Her shoulders slumped slightly as she closed her eyes. Idun had never actually paid attention to one god calling another. She didn't know how to just pretend like she was doing it. It would've been nice if she could pretend, though. Then maybe they would go, and Idun could be alone. The cold would seem more inviting once she was alone. Bragi wouldn't like her thinking thoughts like that, though. She gave up. Odin, she whispered, though no words were spoken aloud. There's blood. A lot. In Boston, in Bragi's home. Loki and Sigyn are with me, but...Sigyn said to call. I'm sorry...I didn't want to bother you.
She didn't open her eyes. Idun just sighed and waited. Maybe Odin would know more about the blood.