text | un: medraut (pre-fire)

[eternalmagic]

Good morning. I've recently arrived in Riverview - my name is Mordred.

Suggestions are both welcome and encouraged as I learn my way around this lovely city. So is advice. [Although that could be such a bad idea. It's fine. He's accepted his choices.] In the meantime, I'll be fulfilling a position with Gramarye Magic Research.

Those of you that use magic yourselves, I sincerely hope our paths will cross while I'm here.

[And boy does he ever mean it.]

Comments

[ikols]

But I have all the creature comforts I could want or need in my club, therein lies your conundrum: what do you get the god who has everything? :o

[eternalmagic]

[Why do gods always say that.]

Something humble, I'm afraid -- I'm a bit light on resources at the moment.

Why don't you let me mix you a drink?

[ikols]

That's a fair offer. Nip over whenever you're free, I'll let the barman know you're allowed access to the Green Mile; alcoholic mixer for gods.

[eternalmagic]

My pleasure. I'll try not to disappoint.

[ikols]

[ Whenever Mordred rolls in, Loki is by himself on a couch by the hearth of the lounge, the club all but deserted in the daytime save for a few brunchers speckled around the tables with their menus of all-day breakfasts. The godling looks less like one than usual post-break up with Anthony, in his old green hoodie and worn jeans, invested in his phone like any other twenty-something.

If it weren't for the heartbeat of the magic in the air centralising around him like light inexorably pulled toward a black hole, he would go even more unnoticed by the occasional magical-sort that ventures in. ]

[eternalmagic]

[It is a certain type of person who goes to bars during the day, and Mordred is not that type of person. But Mordred is even less the type of person who would keep a god waiting for long, especially when he's angling for something. Which is almost always. Besides, he's all about the exploration right now.

Mordred has encountered gods before. Even since he's been here, in fact (and that was another Loki, on top of it all). And every god carries more of a punch than the average magical presence... but even before Mordred actually sets eyes on this new Loki, the reality of him -- the aura of his magic -- rises over the sorcerer like a tidal wave.

Chaos magic.

And a whole fucking ton of it.That magic is the only sort that Mordred has ever encountered which has remained steadfastly beyond his grasp: his own power is too firmly rooted in the earth, in the energy of the elements around him. But he wouldn't be who he is today if he didn't vibrate at the opportunity to be close to that magic, to experience it even peripherally (perhaps always in the lingering hope that one day it might rub off and stick).

Fortunately he's not, like, creepy about it. And Loki looks busy(ish), but Mordred approaches him anyway, hanging back a respectful distance but still close enough that ignoring him would have to be deliberate.]

Sorry to interrupt.

[ikols]

You're cute, it's no problem.

[ He looks up after speaking, mirroring wards in the building having afforded a certain sensory appraisal of Mordred since he stepped over the entrance. It's not that he cares about appearances even as he lies by putting the insinuation out there, but he's curious as to whether Mordred knows he just walked into a viper's pit. The pub floor hums with daytime music and the crackle of a hearth that never gets too hot, and Loki looks entirely at home as he hitches up a smile for the newcomer. A mage, no less. There aren't many straight-up wizards around, save for those whose company chafes after a while (he includes himself in that assessment).

Mordred has a similar aura of strength about him, the kind that quavers in the air beyond sight and smell. Victor is the same. ]

Take a seat, we can play with the barman's nerves later. Would you like something to eat?

[eternalmagic]

[Calling Mordred a mage out loud would be a bit like calling a T-rex a lizard; it's true, sort of, but it does rather diminish the whole thing. In any case, he never sets a foot down without a very real sense of the magic underneath it, and would climb down the viper's throat if it meant getting something he wanted.

Hopefully it won't come to that just for VIP access, but... still.

By way of an answer, he plucks up the nearest menu and takes a seat nearby while scanning it.] What's your favorite?

[ikols]

Bacon rolls with the ketchup condiment.

[ Folding his legs at an incline toward Mordred, Loki watches him while idly playing with the phone on his lap. ]

Did you want to ask me anything before telling me about yourself?

[eternalmagic]

Simple taste. [Deceptively so, perhaps.

He sets the menu down without asking for anything, and looks over at his host, silent for a moment or two. Chaos magic, jeans and a hoodie, the faintest touch of something subdued (most trickster gods would have smirked or sneered by now)... this Loki is different, very, although that kind of thing doesn't usually bear pointing out.]

Why the club?

[ikols]

Simple times.

[ He cracks a lopsided smile that suits him better than it should if he wanted to look trustworthy, with more humour than kindness. ]

Why not? Revelry is always preferable to riots, what's one more watering hole?

[eternalmagic]

True, but your counterpart here is studying Riverview's magic. Most trickster gods I've met aren't especially entrepreneurial. This is different.

[At a glance, anyway. It's still quite supernatural, and Mordred wonders what it feels like at night.]

None of that is a criticism, mind.

[ikols]

He's doing well for himself.

[ It's useful having another Laufeyson around, strangely enough, and Loki bears him no ill-will for the sake of it. That would be a tad ironic. He could do the research but it's a lot easier to pick his other self's brain from time to time, knowing he won't have learned anything pointless.

In a drawl, he asks, ] How many trickster gods have you met?

[eternalmagic]

Seems like it. He's a hard sell.

[And rightfully so, of course. Brain-picking is plenty of what he hopes to get out of his cooperation with Gramarye, and the other Loki is already high on that list. But it's better to tread carefully around gods, especially when you're still the New Guy. He leans back with a small smile.]

A few. You're the third of... yourself. [Then he tilts his head in a brief nod, eyes bright.] First with chaos magic, though.

[ikols]

[ The Lamb hasn't been through the slaughter yet, he's a hard sell but little worse. To Mordred, Loki neglects to answer until he hears of how the other Laufeysons have been doing by the mage's estimation. ]

What have they been using, their quick wit and good looks?

[ If Mordred's native version of Loki didn't meet one of those requirements, well. That would say a lot, too. ]

[eternalmagic]

[He nods obligingly.]

Plus a well-tailored suit and an absolute circus of illusions, respectively. You're never a dull acquaintance.

[ikols]

That's a nice way of putting it.

[ Mild, but he isn't immune to flattery even if it comes on the sideline of the point. A hum and a nod are given as one, his attention flicking to the other patrons for somewhere to roam. ]

You don't harbour any grievances against them that you're thinking of taking out on me, I hope. You wouldn't be the first but you seem a bit cleverer than that.

[eternalmagic]

[Mordred has the grace to look affronted.]

Certainly not. All of my interactions have been mutually beneficial, so far, and I am well invested in continuing the trend. Besides-- [with a generous, conciliatory gesture] --how vindictive would I have to be to pick a fight I can't win?

[The answer is 'very' and also 'not more than he is capable of being'.]

[ikols]

[ Loki's gaze lingers on Mordred with a sharp edge of understanding, reading him and finding he can tolerate him if not befriend this one entirely; he isn't sure, Mordred is neither a clean-cut idiot or a coward. If he turns out to be an enemy then at least Loki won't be bored.

His smile lengthens, something shifting in his eyes when he blinks and the keenness softens too. He chins a hand. ]

So what have you been doing, Mordred, wandering around every god's door with your lashes batting?

[ If Loki's heart wasn't still sore that tactic may have been snapped up and returned in short order, yet he remains polite without any overtures. ]

[eternalmagic]

[Mordred is very particular about his enemies. He's not above harassing local deities a bit if it means gaining something important, but after that he'll quickly be on his way. No reason to overstay one's welcome, after all. He comes looking for neither friendship nor trouble. Just something new.]

That depends -- how many more of you are there?

[ikols]

I'd tell you but they happen to be my siblings and I'm not sure I like the idea of you trying the same thing on them. Unlike me, they may hurt you.

[ Especially Angela ... although, on second thought, Loki would pay to see that. ]

[eternalmagic]

I guess I'll just keep my eyelashes to myself then.

[Flirting with Mordred rarely resolves the way people expect it to, anyway, and gods have less sense of humor about that kind of thing.]

[ikols]

[ That response is what prompts Loki to tell him, the easily swayed disinterest is better than if Mordred had been desperately nosy. ]

Thor and Angela.

[eternalmagic]

[He smiles, not anticipating the acquiescence and therefore pleasantly surprised to get it. An eyebrow lifts.]

Thor I recognize, but... I've never encountered a Norse goddess named Angela. She's your sister?

[ikols]

She is. Angela was lost to us for a time but her story is her own, she can decide for herself whether she wants to tell you. If she doesn't throw you over the perimeter wall, that is. [ Angela wouldn't, more than likely, but you never know.

Spreading his hands, one holding onto his phone, he arches a brow right back and affects taking offence. ]

But I thought you came here to nose around for deets on me, I'm starting to get jealous.