When Sif arrived, Thor was standing by the ice-fishing hole, attentively watching the fish bite, chatting about motorcycles with Nick. Seeing Sif approach, he hurriedly extended an arm to bring his wife to the front.
Sif's attire was somewhat similar to Thor's. Inside she wore a long thick sweater that covered her knees and washed-out jeans, and a leather jacket with a thick fur collar on the outside. She didn't wear gloves, but she wore a pair of long boots that could wade in water.
She was only slightly shorter than Thor, taller than Steve and Nick. With a substantial bone structure, she appeared quite robust. Her thick black hair tied into a high ponytail at the back of her head, topped with a Yankees baseball cap.
"You look fantastic, Sif, I still remember when you first appeared on Earth wearing Asgardian armor, you certainly frightened quite a few people," said Thor.
Sif rolled her eyes slightly and said, "That surely didn't include you, Captain America. In my opinion, humans are able to accept you heroes in tight clothes, yet cannot accept traditional Asgardian attire?"
"It's precisely because they accepted your Asgardian traditional attire too well, that S.H.I.E.L.D. asked you not to wear your own clothes." Nick feigned a sigh and said, "Last time, didn't a child think you were actors in a parade and nearly fractured his arm trying to play with you?"
"Because you always squeeze Viking pirates into parade processions, we haven't even charged you copyright fees," Thor replied.
"Stop talking nonsense, Thor. You're not the only Vikings, let alone the only pirates," Steve shrugged and replied.
Loki glanced at his watch and said, "If we head back to New York for shopping now, we should be able to buy what we need before the supermarket closes. Tell me what else we're short of, I'll make a list."
Nick and Steve rapidly exchanged glances, Nick cleared his throat and said, "We were thinking of having a barbecue party, right in front of the lakeside cabin, but we didn't bring any barbecue equipment, because we weren't sure if other non-Americans could accept this kind of partying. Could you check with the others for us?"
"If they agree, could you help us buy some barbecue equipment?"
Loki nodded, and was about to head towards the others, when Thor turned to look at Sif and said mysteriously, "Loki, you go ahead, I need to talk to Sif about some Asgardian affairs."
Loki looked back at him a bit puzzled, gave him a warning look, and then hastened away from there.
As soon as Loki left, Thor pulled Nick with his left hand and Steve with his right hand to huddle together, and then said, "Dr. Schiller drew a portrait for Loki, a remarkably good portrait!"
Nick and Steve gasped in unison.
On the other side, Loki first approached Charles, Erik, and Ivan, who were at their fishing spot. After explaining her intention, Ivan curled his lips and said, "Americans love their barbecue parties, let them be, I can eat anything."
"I have no objections," Charles said kindly, but he beckoned to Loki. When Loki approached his wheelchair, Charles looked into her eyes with his blue ones and said, "You are going to Schiller's place later, right?"
Loki nodded, and Charles smiled and said, "If they react in a way that you didn't expect, I hope you won't mind too much. Young people are full of energy, love novelty, and change their minds so quickly it gives people a headache. If you can't stand them, come back to us. I just happen to be studying Norse mythology lately."
This left Loki rather puzzled. She noticed that Charles was trying to be friendly, but she didn't understand why. Surely Schiller hadn't messed something up again?
With this question in mind, Loki came to Schiller and Natasha's fishing spot. Seeing her, Natasha slapped her forehead in frustration.
Natasha's reaction made Loki perplexed. She didn't have the female intuition, but she had the wisdom and ability to read people. She could feel that Natasha was not too pleased to see her.
What confused her was that the female agent didn't say it directly. Loki knew that Natasha was not the type of person who liked to beat around the bush, so what was this cryptic behavior about?
"Nick came over and asked if you would like to have a barbecue party tonight. He's afraid it will be too rowdy for you. If you agree, I'll go back to New York City and purchase the ingredients," explained Loki.
Listening to this, Schiller nodded and said, "American barbecue parties are usually quite wild, but I think everyone here has good judgment. As we age, we know how to restrain ourselves."
Loki slightly frowned. She sensed that something was off about Schiller. She started to scan both Schiller's and Natasha's faces.
"By the way, miss, have you found anything in my bedroom?"
Loki felt as if her throat had been clenched and she was suffocating for a moment, but seeing Schiller's calm reaction, she couldn't be sure what he was really asking. If she arbitrarily translated this sentence to "Did you see that painting?", wouldn't that make her seem self-absorbed?
Loki was a person who cared deeply about respect. She had built higher walls around her heart to cover certain things, or perhaps she believed that as long as she doesn't hope, she wouldn't be disappointed. So, she casually shrugged and said,
"Doctor, if you expected me to find something in your bedroom that would resonate artistically between us, you're thinking too much. I'm not interested in your strange memorabilia, no matter where you picked them up."
At this, Schiller suddenly started laughing. Loki and Natasha had never seen Schiller laugh so freely before, as he normally would just smile and not chuckle his joy from deep within his lungs.
"Come over here, miss," Schiller said while looking at Loki.
Natasha was internally screaming "NO!" a thousand times, yet she watched helplessly as Loki walked over.
She felt a bit of a stomachache, and this was the most intense she'd experienced since she had food poisoning at sixteen from consuming spoiled meat jelly.
Now that Natasha was aware of Schiller's secret, her mind wasn't occupied by any romantic sentiment. The whole consideration had shifted from "who should or shouldn't sleep with whom" to "who might end up on whom's makeshift surgical table." With that in mind, her stomachache intensified.
Loki, somewhat puzzled, walked over and sat next to Dr. Schiller. He also slid his gloved hand into the sleeve of Schiller's opposite hand, standing beside him and watching.
The fishing chair was low, so Schiller had to tilt his head up to see Loki. It was then that Loki noticed, "Oh, Doctor, why aren't you wearing glasses?"
"It allows me to see the details of the fish biting the hook more clearly."
How Natasha wished Loki were a German and not a Nordic God. Then he would have heard of the "Grimm's Fairy Tales" in his childhood — "Why is your mouth so big, big bad wolf?" "Of course, it's the better to eat you with!"
"Okay." Loki said: "Do you need anything special from the supermarket? Perhaps medical records?"
Loki finished speaking and smiled a little. He then thought his joke was not very funny, even perhaps a bit offensive and murmured under his breath.
Natasha clearly heard herself curse loudly in her thoughts.
As Schiller said, Natasha had a broad perspective. She understood the severity of the situation. Yes, even if Loki was an underdeveloped Frost Giant, her physical condition would be hundreds of times stronger than a human. And even if Schiller stabbed her, he probably couldn't kill her, not even if he flayed her like a fish. She would most likely survive through magic.
But the problem is, would Asgard's Divine King allow a human to treat his sister in such a way? Thor, being somewhat reasonable, wouldn't stand for it either.
No matter how important this human was to Earth, if he seriously harmed Loki, be it physically or emotionally, or both, Thor would certainly go berserk. At that point, a severe conflict between Earth and Asgard would inevitably ensue.
At this thought, Natasha's stomachache intensified.
"...Peter once threw my entire room into space. All my collectibles were all tossed about. After that, Peter tried to bribe me with a lemon tart, which ended up only appealing to the rat. The rat ended up energizing too much and destroyed my kitchen."
Loki burst into giggles, covering her mouth with her hand and saying, "I can imagine the chaotic scene. It's rare for Peter Parker to overstep that way, as he knows you will tolerate him."
"Yes, he can completely relax with me, he can be mischievous without consequences. They all can."
"Do you enjoy that?"
"It's my honor."
Seeing the grey eyes and the shadowy lashes reflecting in them, Loki discovered that Schiller's pupils were not entirely grey but had an almost imperceptible deep-red hue. It was as if she's found a blood-colored pool in the midst of a vast limestone plain — full of vitality but possessing an indescribable eeriness.
It was as if a whirlpool was gradually sucking in Loki's consciousness. Sitting nearby, Natasha watched Loki's slightly absent-minded expression, her eyes widened. She began to clutch her chest and cough violently.
The sound of coughing finally woke Loki up, her gaze turned to Natasha, and Schiller's eyes followed suit. Looking at Natasha, Schiller asked, "Are you alright, ma'am?"
"It's nothing, I should smoke less." Natasha gritted her teeth, "I'll quit smoking from tomorrow."
"Admirable." Schiller turned back to cast his bait again. Loki, somewhat dazed, stood there for a while before she heard Natasha's voice from a far-off distance.
"Your Highness Loki, we have nothing special to purchase. If you want to go into town, you'd better leave soon. The supermarket is about to close."
"Oh, right, I should leave now," Loki nodded.
As Loki's silhouette disappeared across the ice, Natasha stared intently at Schiller's eyes and said, "Doctor, you know you can't..."
"Did you see me do anything to her?"
"But I know what you're going to do to her!"
"How do you know? Is it based on evidence leading to a logical conclusion, or is it simply a product of your wild imagination?"
"I ..." Natasha rubbed her frowned cheek, in the end, she managed to say, "My stomach hurts."