riverview | Video; Sleep Deprivation

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Video; Sleep Deprivation

[The video shows Ivar looking a little rumpled, the look of someone who has been trying to sleep and can't. He's cleaning out grime from under his fingernails with one of his knives as he speaks and it occasionally flashes into view.

Oddly enough, he's smiling, his eyes just a little too bright. It's not a happy smile. When Ivar gets angry, sometimes, he smiles in a way that says he's going to rip your throat out with his teeth if you get too close. His tone sounds oddly cheerful as he speaks.]

To whoever is making that horrible racket that's keeping me awake, you have two options. Stop it. [Then his voice goes dark and furious.] Or I'll stop it. Trust me when I say my way will be a lot more unpleasant. [He never stops smiling even as he turns off the video.]

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[Ivar watches the snake go up Loki's arm. He must be some sort of animal charmer to have it do something like that so casually.]

And who should I thank for helping me with this problem?

[ Loki hesitates. He has been using a fake name with a few of the inhabitants, but his eyes slide over the weapons by Ivar's bed. Noting his accent and what he's been told . . . ]

Loki should suffice.

[For a moment, Ivar's blue eyes go wide. If he hadn't already become familiar with the idea of doubles appearing in the Quarantine, he would be very confused right now.]

Huh. Another one. It is an honor to meet you.

[His eyes glance over to one of the empty beds on the floor, the one where the Loki he already knows usually is at.]

But I have to wonder how is this city going to survive two trickster gods?

[ Ah, so his other self resides here? That explains the irritating wards. A useful note to make, though Loki wished he knew that before hand. He tilts his head in acknowledgement. ]

If he is so fixated on his title, he is welcome to it.

[ All Lokis are, to some degree. It's tied to their identity. But he has some freedom other Lokis may not have. ]

I'll be sure to let him know.

[He takes in the sight of this Loki. He looks older than the one that resides here, but there's something more than that. It's something in the eyes that speaks to different experiences that have brought him to this point.]

My name is Ivar Ragnarsson. Sometimes called Ivar The Boneless.

[A name Loki might recognize. He'd made it into the history books with that name, infamous for his clever mind and brutally cruel nature.]

Ívarr hinn Beinlausi.

[ Old Norse. It has been a long time and speaking the tongue reassures him as well as makes him bitter for halcyon days. But Loki shakes it off quickly. He does not descend into melancholia and madness like he used to. His strings have been cut. ]

You have a good name.

[ Of course, Loki knows his history. But there's no reason for him to let that be known to Ivar. ]

And what does the son of Ragnar have in a place like this? I doubt you can seize much glory here.

[The words said in his native tongue make Ivar long for home, the family he'd been ripped away from when he ended up in Riverview. Loki is right. The only glory to be found is on the battlefield back in his own time.]

I didn't want to show up here. I just did. If I could go back home, I would. I'm in the middle of a war against the Saxons, and without me to plan for them, my brothers are going to lose it.

[Ivar was the brains of the operation. Much as he loved his brothers, they generally tended to just attack something until it went down and stopped moving. They never though outside and looked at the bigger picture.]

[ Loki clicks his tongue. He wonders how or even if time passes on other worlds. Asgard would have collapsed by now and such a collapse would echo across all the realms. It is not a solid theory but it holds water.

This is recorded history. Set in stone. Even Riverview would not meddle so deep. ]

Time might have other ideas. I doubt the war will pass you by.

[Part of what is to happen has already been fixed. The Ragnarssons shall defeat King Ecbert and he shall commit suicide. Ivar will slay his brother Sigurd in a moment of anger. Then he'll go on to fight against a warrior-bishop of England. Beyond that, only the gods know what will happen.]

I'm going back as soon as I'm able. They can't keep me here forever.

And they won't, most likely. They'll keep you here for as long as "they" are entertained by it.

[ After all, this is just a giant rat cage for people to gaze down and watch them scurry. He's been in enough cages to know. ]

You think that's why they brought us here? Rather than their explanation it was just pure happenstance?

[Ivar doesn't particularly care why. Frankly, life's been a lot easier since coming here. He doesn't have to fight for everything here like he did back home.]

That would be my reasoning. But I doubt it is a shared one.

[ Most people would be more than pleased with a happier, safer world, away from their own troubles. Sadly, Loki hoards his troubles and grievances. He doesn't share. ]

You make it sound like you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[Ivar cynically figures it was only a matter of time. Nothing in his life ever lasted forever. Anytime something good happened to him, it lasted only for so long before being ripped away again.]

[ He chuckles. ]

It is my nature to doubt and question. I'm not named for my idleness and a love for peace.

That's a good thing. This place could use someone here who doesn't just accept things the way they are.

Are there so many that way?

[ It wouldn't surprise him, but it still seems odd so many would take this at face value. ]

I haven't met many who have thought otherwise.

[As for Ivar, he coped by thinking of the situation as being a purely temporary one. He wasn't going to be denied his fate back home.]

[ Hm. An improvement, he supposes. ]

Let us hope it stays that way.

If they find a way to send us back, will you take it?

[Ivar will in a heartbeat. Much as he's grown close to some people here, he's too cold-hearted to let the war on England and its kings continue on without him there to fight.]

[ Loki visibly hesitates. Yes, the answer comes to him easily. But Thor was here. Abandoning Thor on Midgard was one thing. Thor had friends. A lover. A life outside of Loki. It eased the guilt of his lie. Leaving him here though . . . even though some of Thor's Midgard friends remained. Could he do that?

Did he want to?

Yes, the insidious beat of his heart says. No, says another. ]

It depends on the hand that gives it to me.

[There's a long beat while he waits for Loki to answer. It seems like hesitation, though Ivar can't place why that would be. Who is he to know the inner workings of a god?]

I will, no matter what it takes.

[In one way, they are very much alike. Ivar can't abandon his brothers, the only family he has left. They need him, for not one of them has the strategic mind he does. Without him there, he fears to think what that will mean for their campaign.]

[ His lips twitch in faint amusement. ]

Then we shall see it done.

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Video; Sleep Deprivation

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