Okay, once again, I had a lapse in my updates. Once again, my excuses go to homework and a lack of inspiration. We'll just jump right to the important stuff.

This chapter is another Dog Days chapter, so it doesn't have a request. IMPORTANT NOTE: In this chapter, Loki is unusually violent and possibly going insane again. Be warned if you don't like a violent and/or insane Loki.

Disclaimer: I don't think MARVEL thinks I think I own the Avengers. But just in case they sue me, I've got a blind lawyer who can bail me out. Oh, wait... Daredevil belongs to MARVEL, too...

Ever since Thor had brought home a pack of dogs, Loki's nerves had been wound tight. He needed to relieve stress very desperately, or he was going to snap and go insane. But unlike Tony, he didn't search for relaxation in the violence of a Whack-A-Mole machine, nor did he look for sympathy from a temperamental doctor.

No, Loki took his stress out on everything he did.

During the W.U.T.S. club meet ups in the stairwell, he would paint large and vividly detailed scenes depicting Thor's numerous dogs dying in horrible, vicious, bloody ways. (They quickly ran out of red paint with both Natasha and Loki using it in copious amounts.)

This greatly distressed Thor. He would spend hours painting over Loki's horrifying artwork with happier scenes. Like his puppies, with all their body parts and absolutely no blood to be seen anywhere. (The only reason Loki didn't paint over Thor's painting over his original painting was that he refused to stoop to such a childish game of change-it-fix-it-repeat.)

When he was pursuing the Internet, Loki researched sustenances that were hazardous to dogs. Then he left those foods out on the floor in Thor's puppies' playroom. (Unfortunately for Loki, Thor had also done his research, because he always recognized what the substances would do to his precious puppies and made sure to get rid of the dog poison Loki put out.)

When he disguised himself with an illusion and went out to the book store, he snapped at anyone and everyone who was standing or sitting in the middle of the aisle reading. At the cashier, he haggled more viciously than usual and filed complaints about the service. (He also got banned from entering the building. Several times. But he used a different illusion each time, so it was of no consequence to him.)

When he critiqued the books he read on Amazon, he was abnormally straightforward in his insults of the books and his bar of acceptable literature rose dramatically. (His bar was hard to hurdle before. Now it was all but impossible.)

When his usual activities got old and he wanted to learn something new, he went to Natasha and asked her about creative ways to kill canines. (She refused to tell him anything. Damn Thor's puppies, they got to her, too.)

Even Loki's cooking reflected his horrible mood. The food was so spicy only Bruce could down it and Thor's portion of meals was always burnt but icy cold.

It was becoming clear to everyone that Loki's problem with Thor's dogs was turning into everyone else's problem, too. (None of them liked Loki's new cooking style.)

Something had to be done. (Someone save them from Loki's horrid food.)

Thor had an idea. (This won't end well.)

"Loki! I have the answer to your troubled mood!"

Loki slowly lifted his gaze from the disappointingly bland book he was reading and regarded Thor with a look that was a perfect ratio of annoyance, superiority, and uncaring. "Oh?" he inquired mockingly. "You think me troubled? Do continue. I'm interested in hearing your diagnosis of my mental state."

Thor eyed him solemnly. "You are unhappy," he said, "because..."

"...Be-cause...?"

"Because you have not embraced your inner puppy!"

"...What," Loki said flatly.

At precisely that moment (and it must have been Thor's doing, because the timing was too perfect for it to not be his infernal work), two bundles of fur tumbled over each other into the room, wrestling and yapping happily.

"See?" Thor pointed at the two fluff balls. "Botolfr," his finger moved slightly to indicate the black puppy, "and Asmolfr," the finger pointed at the yellow one now, "are both Labrador Retrievers, and though they are not related and their colors differ, they play together as brothers would! They play together as we should!"

By this point, Loki had an idea of what Thor's point was.

"Watch them!" Thor said, walking over to join Loki on the couch and fling an arm over his shoulder (restraining him). "You will see, and you will understand!"

Loki did watch. The disgustingly excited creatures were making his right eye twitch violently and his eyelids spasm.

(Loki could have teleported away. That would only have been a temporary solution to the problem, though. Thor doesn't give up, ever.)

"Thor," Loki said in a falsely light voice, "If those things are not out of my sight within ten seconds, I am going to go insane and commit canicide.* One—"

It was amazing how fast Thor was out of the room with his precious dogs, Loki thought. Thor choosing to move that fast was something that only happened sometimes.

(The stupid Midgardian saying of "out of sight, out of mind" wasn't true. Loki couldn't see the dogs, but he still wanted to go insane. Damn Thor to Hel. This is all his fault.)

Still, Thor's fear wouldn't last forever. Loki would have to find a more permanent protection against those blasted canines.

*Canicide is the killing of dogs. I'm sure you didn't want to know this. -Frosted the all-knowing author

Yes, Loki probably seems OOC. Again. But hey, the guy's stressed to the max, so it's justified. (I think.)

Reviews, requests, and other things that start with R go in the little box below, or with a flamingo. :)