(no subject)

[selfimage]

WHO: LOKI and OPEN
WHERE: Various locations. (Maurtia Falls, Heropa.)
WHEN: The evening of June 9th.
WHAT: Loki's been ported back. Terrible things happened, and now he's sulking everywhere.
WARNINGS: Spoilers, and Loki. Mostly Loki.


1 | sulking, Heropa

A wave of relief washes over him when he re-arrives. He knows this place.

While freedom brings its own comforts, the fresh memories of shackles carries weight, and the breath that he had unaware that he had been holding comes out in a sigh. It happened in what seemed like hours ago, but the memory itself was at distance as the others returned. Fresh, but like he had been watching himself. A story yet to be written in this universe—a universe, for the most part, entirely free of a Loki. There are small comforts that come along with that, especially after the shock and dissonance of his departure.

Loki goes over the events in his mind again, looking for holes or untruths that he hadn’t seen during his confrontation with himself. He curses when he finds none.

There’s an overhang that keeps him dry from the rain. He thinks about it—picking up and moving, leaving the government housing (he wondered if they realized he was missing, there was still that thing with Danger he needed to follow up on), leaving Norman Osborn (though they were currently mutually benefitting off one another, Loki doubted that Norman even knew that he was gone) with one less cosmetics salesman, and taking off to start something new. The urge to run was strong.

He slips a hand in his pocket, searching for his phone. When he doesn’t find it, his face contorts and a small ugh comes from his throat.

“High and dry, I’d say.”

At least he was still joking.

2 | sulking in the club, Maurtia Falls

It was a bar that he hadn’t been to before. He thought about heading to one of the more (or less) popular imPort run bars, but he vouched for keeping himself off the grid before he decided just how much of what he was going to cast away. What better way to stay off the grid than in a deafening, blinding, drunken club full of young hipsters in an eclectic array of loud clothing that was more like a parade of the retro-funk that he couldn’t place. (That, somehow, was also comforting.)

There was enough circling in his mind to keep it off of the music (Noh-Varr would complain later, he was sure). His phone was still missing, which mean that he was still cursed and blessed with still being missing.

It was a good time to figure out a next move.

3 | closed to David

Retracing his steps to find his phone had been difficult. Luckily with a little sorcery and some help from a nice gentleman in electronics, he’s able to track and pinpoint the location of his phone in no time.

The only problem is that it’s with David. Ugh, David.

With a few choice teleportation spells, he finds his way back to the Heropa government housing and off to find David. Unlike every other mission that he underwent ever, this one is more than a little easy and more than a little annoying. Of course David would be the one to find his phone; he finds himself both cursed and lucky in the ways that he wouldn’t like to admit.

Instead of using the front door, he raps his knuckles on David’s windowpane. If this was any less annoying and any more comical, he’d choose a few lines from a Wes Anderson movie to set the mood.

“Knock, knock,” he mumbles. “I refuse to end this with a punchline.”

Comments

[xpostate]

The sun has gone down, but David's curtains are still closed. He has been nursing a hangover all day, sitting in the dark and putting together his laptop from the best parts he can afford. He's in the middle of debugging a few changes to his custom OS when he hears the knock.

Lazily pulling himself off the bed, he peeks through the curtains, half-tempted to just leave it, when he decides instead to open the window.

"Shouldn't that be a promise more than a refusal?"

1

[transuniversal]

It's not that Noh-Varr was necessarily offended by Loki ignoring him (if that's what happened.) That would require a more human social aspect that he fakes but doesn't necessarily possess, although it is irritating to try to talk to somebody about serious issues and have them blow you off. Actually the fact that Loki didn't have anything to say about margaritas (or Kate) had been more troubling than anything else, and Noh-Varr can't help feeling kind of relieved to spot him sulking.

Definitely sulking.

He knows what sulking looks like.

"Yes. It's a good thing there were no heroic do-or-die moments you missed."

1

[the_human]

"You need help?"

It's raining, but the only allowance Finn has given to it is to remove his hat and tuck it into his backpack. Blond hair is plastered to his forehead, his shirt and shorts soaked through-- but that's all right. The rain is warm, and he likes it better than the heat. The flower growing on the stump of his right arm likes it too; it curls up into the rain, drinking it up.

He gives the other boy a look, friendly and a little concerned, and tips his head. "You kinda look lost."

none ... of the above ...?

[selfequipped]

When the knock comes, Kate is in the middle of putting together a file on someone for Matt. It seems like a good idea to collect this information for the two of them, though she wishes that she could provide it in a format that would make it less obvious that he had superhuman abilities. Still, that isn't an ability she has at the moment—but she intends to look into it in the future.

As it is, she neglects her work for the moment, stuffing it into a file so that Billy doesn't see it while she rises up. She trusts Billy, but confidential information is still confidential information. And this is her idea of downtime these days.

She grabs her drink (a fruity bottled alcoholic something) as she heads toward the door, and she peeks through the hole on the door and quickly steps back, opening it to Loki as quickly as possible. It's immediate that something has happened to him. That much is apparent. The way he stands, the way he looks—even if Loki is sometimes a master of trickery, he can be rather theatric about the way he carries himself.

Her free hand reaches out to grab him by the wrist to pull him inside. "I'm relieved to see you back," she says, and her tone is genuine.

Even if he can be an asshole, he's still a friend.

[selfimage]

A hangover is exactly what he deserves—but for now, details get swallowed by larger issues, and Loki could care less if he knew. There were more pressing things on his mind, and in the light of convoluted missions and schemes, and what lay within the barrier of his new memories.

"I could weave something convincing for you, but I thought that you'd appreciate something a little more straight-forward," Loki replies, maybe a bit dryly. "You have my phone." He relates the latter with a sigh, tucking his hands into his pockets and giving David a lift of the brow.

"I won't ask how much of my privacy you thought to invade. I am Loki, after all."

[selfimage]

Well, the ignoring hadn't necessarily been intentional. Maybe some parts of Noh-Varr's texts had been worth ignoring (maybe every four or five had some good content worth replying to), but he can't say that he didn't enjoy the usual barrage of attention that he offered. It was fun shooting back pointless quips and wit back and forth when there was hardly anything better to do (and sometimes when there was).

Of course, he managed to show up at the worst moments.

Not that there were many good ones to come (dramatics, Loki).

"Yes, what a shame that would've been."

He was still missing his phone.

[celestialpervert]

He hasn't been in town long, but Balthazar is learning to spot a fellow 'import' when he see's one. Walking down the street he pauses several steps away, hands in his pockets and strangely he's dry despite standing in the rain.

He cocked, he speaks.

"Bad day?"

[transuniversal]

Shooting back pointless quips is the whole point. This seems to be an essential part of the human experience and human communication, even though both of them were immensely far from being anything approaching human, physically or in outlook.

They are not the sort of people- friends? Acquaintances?- who have serious talks. Noh-Varr knows Loki has an agenda, just, as he suspects, Loki recognizes Noh-Varr's capacity to operate on several levels.

"You're being facetious. But if something had happened to Billy or David, you would be even more upset."

And so Loki will understand what's being said there, if not so directly.

[selfimage]

The a lot taller other boy, who's wearing a pair of horns (but things were odd in this part of town with the arrival of the imPorts, anyway). He doesn't bother to cloak himself because the tourists who find themselves enamored on the other end of the camera have retreated to their hotel rooms for the evening. Rain keeps away the crowd.

There would normally be a quip or a witty joke to put here, but he's feeling decidedly unwitty and unquippy at the moment.

"The opposite, actually."

[the_human]

"So . . . what, you mean you don't need help? Or . . . you want to help others? That's kinda confusing." He stares at him for a few seconds, contemplating that, before shrugging. Coming forward, he edges under the overhang next to the boy.

[selfimage]

And oh, how much of an imPort is he? Between the pair of horns, snake-like amor and the tacky jacket, he's regular imPort material. Where there would normally be the barrage of tourists clamoring to get a good picture with him (and him enthusiastically obliging), they're replaced by the hollow sound of the rain. It's good, because he doesn't feel creative enough to come up with an appealing illusion.

"To say the least," he says, though there's a bitter ring to it. "Mounting issues on a matriarch that ended in tragedy. Mostly for me. I'm collecting myself as we speak. Something about bitter feelings."

[celestialpervert]

Balthazar saunters closer. He himself looks normal. Middle aged, tanned skin and stocky frame with an accent that's a blend of French and Scottish. Even his blue eyes look ordinary.

"Well I can hear that much." He says joining the other under the overhang.

"I'm guessing close enough to be family without actually being blood?"

[xpostate]

He casts a glance back toward his bed, of course it's still where he left it. Why wouldn't it be? He reaches under his visor to massage the bridge of his nose, he probably shouldn't even be wearing it now except that he never takes it off. At this rate, he'll have to add the prescription again.

"Yeah, I have it. I was trying to find you, but you weren't with it." He leans his elbows on the windowsill, looking about as tired as he feels. "Unless you'd rather I left it unattended. Who knows who else might have picked it up."

[selfimage]

It could be a clever Loki trick where it's a hologram illusion phone (it's not, but the possibility is always there).

"A curious and unanticipated vacation that turned sour," he says a bit hotly, meeting his eyes (a good way of showing someone you mean business when every other thing you say could and usually is a lie). "Welcome back Loki, yay." That was probably the most unenthused 'yay' ever to be heard from him.

"Those who would know my nefarious secrets, no doubt. You're as good at avoiding the point a I am." Loki looks more resigned than offended and accusing.

[selfimage]

It was easy to catch people's interest, but Loki did have a way with his own theatrics.

"Suspiciously accurate," he says with a faint raise of his brow. He doesn't bother shaking out his hair or asking the obvious question. Not yet, sometimes there were points in conversations where those answers became obvious.

He was willing to be patient for that, despite the mood hanging over him.

[selfimage]

Loki quirks his head toward him with a sigh. He's entirely not in the mood to be all that jerkishly witty, which is good for anyone that manages to come across him. "I'm not entirely lost." In some ways he feels like he's been found, but it's uncomfortable enough of a feeling that he doesn't necessarily feel like voicing it.

"But I'm not in need of aid. Do you usually go around offering such things to strangers?"

His eyes go to the flowers and then to his face, curious. It was easy to spot an imPort.

[celestialpervert]

"Hmph." Balthazar leans against the wall. "Cookie for me then."

He gives the other a small shrug of his shoulders. "I've had similar circumstances. There's a particular kind of bitterness that comes with it."

[selfimage]

Noh-Varr had always been part of the plan—though Loki didn't know the specifics, he knew that there were points in the algorithm that he could exploit for his own purpose, and he did. There were points of unpredictability, but the plan was never fun without them.

"Hello to you too."

That didn't mean that Noh-Varr didn't know how to have a good time. Of course, it was only until after everything happened and he was bent on leaving did he really learn to appreciate it.

Best to not let Noh-Varr know that.

"Then I suppose you can rest assured of their safety," he says almost hotly, as if he's not going to answer that directly. "You've kept everything warm without me, haven't you?

1

[larker]

If Loki's paying any kind of attention to his surroundings, he'll notice the bright orange umbrella first. It's garish, old-looking, but at least it's doing the job of keeping Gabriel dry enough. When one's reality manipulation powers are halved, one has to make do with what they get.

That and Gabriel likes his umbrella.

Spotting Loki off to one side, looking miserable, the archangel saunters over. Doesn't matter that he's not invited, Hell would probably freeze over if he had to wait.

"Better than low and wet." Gabriel pauses, eyebrows raised. "Okay that unintentionally sounded bad. But you catch my drift. Sup?"

[selfimage]

It's some small details that he can pick up, and a bright orange umbrella against a weary sky is one of them. Of course, he can spot that from a mile away.

Of course he could count on him for approaching, even with the theatrics.

"I thought you came to make a pass at me," the idea is always sort of amusing. "You could say that I was a victim of a very unfortunate glitch."

[selfimage]

"Frosting and sugar and all," Loki retorts smoothly.

One imPort to another, Balthazar doesn't seem all too surprised at his appearance. One thing Loki can say about dropping the illusion is that he does get some interesting company.

"Family events always do get complicated. Any advice from such experiences?"

He usually wasn't up for that, but the play could be to his benefit.

[larker]

"Glitch in the system huh? So do you prefer torches, pitchforks, or both?"

Gabriel takes a moment to stand under the overhang with Loki, shaking the umbrella off to one side. So much for Florida being the sunshine state, more like "puddles and mud ditches everywhere" state. The look on Loki's face is quite dejected for the youngster, and Gabriel can't deny he's curious. He remembers their conversation a good while back, about how the name "Loki" was cursed, attached the bad things.

"Alright, what crap do you need to stick onto your name this time?"

[celestialpervert]

"Not frosting no, just a sprinkle of cinnamon."

Balthazar smirks, peering from under the overhang to watch the rain fall. He's seen stranger, and certainly more outlandish. Was he supposed to be surprised?

He gives the other a glance, his jovial expression fading.

"Not really. I faked my death and left after stealing... A lot of things."

[selfimage]

Somehow, Gabriel turned into the decent friend that he probably didn't deserve. In all honesty, he would most likely outright deny it. There were throwbacks to this kind of thing. There's a bit of a look at the pitchforks comment because in an odd way, it certainly felt like that—maybe a little worse.

There's a sigh and a wave of his hand before he leans back against the brick wall behind him. His voice is a bit more subdued than its usual playful, whimsy (and trollish) tone.

"Less so of the crap that I stuck, and moreso of gaps that I left unfilled." It's vague enough. "Tell me, why did you take the identity of Loki?"

[larker]

It is vague, Gabriel raising an eyebrow. Doesn't make much sense, but then in all honesty, Loki's world is a whole different thing from his own regardless of the parallels they could drawn. Anything Gabriel can think of would only be a guess by this point, he'll just have to wait for Loki to spill the beans on it.

"Sounds about right, same goes for a lot of people around here." The name Loki? What a question, it'd been done so long ago that Gabriel actually has to give it some thought. "Well, in my world Loki is a trickster, and they basically kill people who deserve it. Just desserts, that sort of crap. Sounded interesting, and with that name it'd keep me under Heaven's radar without having to go completely into hiding. Why?"