"Hey!" she protested, tugging on her wrist, trying to get it out of Loki's cold vice-like grip. Unfortunately, he was stronger than she was. And he was dragging her further into the building. There was no question in his body language or the bruising grip on her that she wasn't getting away. Not without truly hurting him. Whatever her words had sparked was riding him hard. He wasn't letting her out of his sight again.

He also annoyingly still had her ring, so it would be a pain to flee now. She would just have to sneak back to claim her ring later, which was easier said than done when a magician was involved. He ignored her protests and kept his grip on her wrist firm as he dragged her into the elevator at the back of the reception area. He was silent the entire ride up the tower, and dragged her out into what appeared to be a living room with a huge tv and too many couches and comfy chairs spread around it.

"Let me go!" she protested again, yanking harder against the hand holding her wrist. She really didn't want to force him through violence. His grip should not have been that strong on her overtop of her coat. She didn't want to force him to let her go, but she would if he didn't knock it off and start explaining things.

Soon.

"Please do not fight me, Lady Fae. This is important," Loki told her firmly, but not unkindly, just in a tone that told her clearly that he expected to be obeyed. She noted that while he was holding her firmly, he wasn't hurting her, not really. He just wasn't letting her escape. It was almost as if he were afraid of losing her if he wasn't physically holding onto her.

She huffed, "Fine," she grumbled and walked with him into the common room. Struggling wasn't going to help matters any. Not if she wanted answers or her ring back.

Thor was waiting for them in the common room and stood when they entered. He had been so excited when Loki had said he wished to meet the fae lady downstairs. He was glad Loki had finally wanted to do something, anything. That that activity had to do with another person was an even better sign. Though Thor stiffened when he saw her wrist firmly in Loki's grip; that was unacceptable behavior towards a guest. "Brother, that is not how you treat a guest..." he told Loki, his tone dry, but trying to keep the situation from turning violent. He didn't care for how the fae lady was being treated any more than she did.

Something about the two men's interaction brought back a memory of two boys, one with black hair in a green tunic, the other was blond in a red tunic having some kind of argument. She was standing nearby huffing in exasperation at her silly boys. Not her sons, no, her friends. She had been the same size as them.

Now, where had that memory come from?

"Brother, now is not the time for you to berate me, you will understand my actions in a moment," Loki told him, his voice calm as his hand remained clamped around her wrist, his grip not loosening at all, as if he were afraid she would disappear if he let she go. "Lady Fae, please inform my brother of your name," he addressed her pleasantly, gently. There was a sense of caring and something that could easily be mistaken for love. Had they actually known each other.

She huffed at Loki's treatment of her and hoped there would be explanations soon. "My name is Sigyn, what of it?" she grumbled and watched Thor's eyes go wide after she said her name.

"You see why I did not wish to risk losing her again now that I have found her?" Loki asked his brother with desperation in his voice. Thor nodded, but didn't say anything yet as Loki turned to her and finally dropped her wrist. "I apologize for my rough treatment, lady. I was surprised when I heard your name. There was a young noble lady on Asgard by the name of Sigyn who went missing around 500 years ago, we presumed her dead. She had been my best friend," he added that part softly and she wasn't sure she or Thor were meant to hear those words. She saw the haunted look and pain in his eyes and all she wanted to do was go hug him.

That was a strange reaction for someone used to being alone.

"You think I'm you missing Sigyn, though surely the name can't be that uncommon..." she said softly, the pieces coming together from what he'd said so far. He thought her his long lost friend. She couldn't just accept it without any form of evidence, though, so she had to bring up the question.

Loki shook his head. "The name was never very popular on Asgard, and became nearly taboo to use after y-she," he corrected quickly, very nearly saying 'you' to her. He couldn't let himself have that much hope, not yet. Not without proof. "disappeared,"

Sigyn wished she could remember more of her childhood, but she couldn't yet. She'd had to hide the memories even from herself. A golden lady had taught her that piece of magic when she was a child. When she was teaching the black-haired boy.

Her memories were coming back slowly in the presence of these two men.

"You told me earlier that you were taken when you were younger, you said 500 or so mortal years, and don't remember where you're from," Loki added gently to the fae lady, to the lady who looked nothing like his Sigyn, but... still seemed so familiar. He was also explaining for Thor's benefit. The pieces were falling into place and it seemed more and more likely as the conversation went on. "The timeline fits, especially from a child's memory...Sig was only 500 when she was taken from us,"

"True," she agreed softly, "I had to hide my memories, even from myself to protect the people back home from the fae," she added just as softly. She had a feeling that with these revelations, she definitely wasn't leaving their care. She had a feeling they were right, but there was no proof. How could there be?

"Can you find your memories again?" Thor asked her gently, and gods he sounded so familiar, with that overly protective brotherly tone and the true concern in his words.

She nodded, concentration in her eyes. "Given time I can, but not soon enough to answer your questions as fast as I'd like," she explained, Loki nodded along, seeming to know exactly what magic she'd used to hide her memories all of those years ago. He was a magician, of course, he knew, or had a good idea.

Thor looked to Loki. "How do we find out the truth?" he asked Loki just as gently. He didn't want Loki hurt if she wasn't really his long lost best friend. The longer Loki was left to hope she was his Sigyn, the more broken-hearted he would be if she weren't. And Loki had already tried to kill himself once in recent history.

Loki considered that and both Sigyn and Thor could practically see the gears in his mind turning as he thought over the situation. "I would suggest I help her unlock her memories through magic, but I am not sure that is wise as I have never tried to look into the mind of a fae. I can contact Mother and see if she has any ideas," Loki finally replied cautiously. He didn't want to take risks, not with this, not with potentially hurting his Sigyn.

"Can you contact Mother from here?" Thor asked a bit incredulously. It was incredibly far from Midgard to Asgard, especially without using the Bifrost's power. He wasn't sure whether to believe Loki's skill could truly reach home. "Is her ring enough of a clue? It is a noble lady's ring, and they contain magic, do they not?" Thor was trying to come up with a solution that didn't mean Loki had to contact Frigga between the realms. He didn't quite believe Loki could do it as easily as he was claiming. Loki was a known liar, especially when it came to solving a mystery he wanted solved. And Loki was desperate to find out if she were his long lost best friend.

Desperate was an understatement.

"Mother and I are connected from any distance. She taught me my magic, you oaf. Yes, the rings have magic in them, spells to make sure they grow with the wearer and a protection spell on them. It protects them until they hand over the ring to the one who owns their heart," Loki explained to his brother, though the fae took in the information as well. The information was familiar, known, but still so new to her.

Thor sighed and grumbled at his brother. "I am merely throwing out suggestions of easier ways to solve the mystery than trying to reach across the realms with magic." The fae had been watching them silently, unobtrusively. She was quite practiced at not drawing undue attention to herself and was taking in all of the 'new' information as they spoke.

Loki's eyes glazed over a little as he spoke telepathically with Frigga. Sigyn and Thor couldn't hear the conversation, though Loki had to draw enough power and concentration that its as obvious what he was up to. /Mother, can you hear me?/ he asked her as he made the reach between the realms.

/I can hear you, darling. Is there trouble?/ Frigga replied, concerned that Loki would be contacting her from Midgard. There was no other reason she could think of for Loki to be contacting her over such a long distance except for some kind of trouble.

/Not exactly.../ he paused, nervous to explain now that it was time to find out the truth. He didn't want to lose the hope he had built that this fae lady really was his Sigyn. /There is a fae lady here who says her name is Sigyn, though we do not know if she is the same Sigyn Thor and I knew when we were younger, the same Sigyn we lost. We could use your help in confirming the truth for her/ He really meant 'for me', but left those words unspoken. He knew his mother would understand.

/Why would a fae lady be our missing Sigyn? Though that name is not common. It lost favor with the people after our Sigyn went missing/ she paused while she considered how to test the lady for Loki. /Though it is easy enough for me to confirm or deny. I assume she is there with you. Have her perform a piece of Asgardian magic, if she can. I taught Sigyn when you were both children so I can recognize her magic, just as I can yours/ As long as Frigga was linked with Loki she would be able to feel the fae's power.

Loki looked at Sigyn, which was more than a little weird with his eyes glazed with magic as they were. "Lady Fae, would you be willing to perform a piece of magic for me? My mother will be able to confirm or deny your identity from that, since she taught Sigyn magic when we were children," his voice was a little monotonous when he spoke while still in trance.

"A-alright," she replied shyly. She wasn't used to dealing with, or really being around people. She only had a couple of friends on Midgard and liked to keep it that way. She created a little illusion rose. It was the first little spell she thought of and was the magic of her childhood, not from her powers as fae, somehow understanding the request from Loki's question, though he hadn't stated it.

/That is our Sigyn!/ Frigga confirmed, sounding excited that she was back from the dead. Of course, she was excited. Frigga adopted all children who came into her life, especially the ones who came into her children's lives.

/Thank you, Mother/ Loki replied and ended the connection before it drained his powers too much to keep it open. Even he had trouble holding the connection across the realms.

He turned to Sigyn properly and she saw unshed tears of joy in his eyes. "Mother confirmed it. You are of Asgard and the same Sigyn we knew when we were children," he told her, with joy in his expression, though she had the feeling he hadn't experienced joy in a long, long while. Sig and Thor both stared at him in disbelief, but it just clicked with her as the truth, fae could hear lies after all. Though she vowed that she was going to regain her blocked memories as soon as possible to know for sure herself.

But she remembered something... "You're the same Loki, then? The black-haired boy I studied magic with?" she asked softly, her own eyes glazed as she fought to remember. "And hammer brain the oaf?" she looked at Thor who rolled his eyes.

"She remembers nothing else except that terrible nickname," he grumbled and all three of them laughed.

Loki looked like he was trying to remain proper and polite, but he was fighting and failing. He rushed to her and after a moment of hesitation, a moment where she could tell him no to deny him the touch, he pulled her into his arms. She remembered that his skin was always freakishly cold, though she couldn't feel it through her coat. "I thought I'd lost you forever," he whispered as he held her to him.

She slowly wrapped her arms around him, comforted by the feeling of old memories, even if she didn't quite remember them yet.

Still, being in his arms felt like home.