“If there’s nothing to be done, there’s nothing to be done. His feelings, his problem.” Unless it was useful to take them on in some way, but mucking around in emotions was tricky, difficult, and generally had very little real payoff.

Time did flow like a river, sometimes; Loki couldn’t play with it himself, but he didn’t need to in order to understand that he refused to be bound by anything but his own decisions. “Or a multitude of small rocks.” Or a ditches sufficient to bleed it away.

Not a bad metaphor, all things considered. “I’d concentrate on keeping your own head above water. If we’re talking rivers.”