"Exiled, stripped of your power, disinherited, and disavowed," Frigga corrected. She had been furious with Odin for that last bit more than anything. "Do not doubt it: If Thor had not changed, Mjolnir would have never again heard his call. If Thor had not changed, or if his punishment had changed him for the worse instead of for the better, do not think that Midgard would have been his final place of rest. There is always response to change, but whether or not is restorative or pejorative depends on the nature of the change."

Was Loki's understanding so flawed? Did he truly see no difference between an impulsive act and a strategic assault? A man returned with repentance and with willingness to aid his realm and serve as opposed to a man returned in chains, cursing the name of all who would care for him? She could not allow those assumptions to stand.

But then... "Such a question, Loki," she said quietly. "Do you think a person's self is as immutable as the table of the elements?"