Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

[necromanswers]

Who: Everyone! OTA!
Broadcast: sure why not
Action: yeahhhhhh
When: 11/12 to 1/4 (minus 12/26)


It's Candlenights! Or Christmas! Or whatever! It's festive! Go celebrate, explore, go get free stuff from a tree!!

More importantly it's a mingle!

--SYSTEM INFORMATION--

Comments

[rebuildyourruins]

[He takes his hand back and starts rummaging around in his pocket.]

I told you, the locals do a lot of gift-giving here. I've had a lot of time on my hands, so I thought I would do the same thing.

[Finding what he's looking for, he draws it out and holds it out on his palm for Loki. In his hand is a woven leather strap, capped at one end with a golden stone. Interwoven with the leather is a strip of familiar red fabric.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ gob-smacked, loki takes the strap, turning it over in his hands. his fingers absently run through the fabric. ]

Did you make this?

[rebuildyourruins]

Yeah. The leathermakers in this world have good wares.

[Thor shifts his position, bringing up one knee and resting his arm against it. When he talks again it's across the water in front of them.]

I've been here for a year, but home is never far from my mind. Even moreso now. It is hard not to feel like the time trapped here isn't slipping away from us back in our own universe, no matter what anyone else says about it.

[And it constantly sends his thought down dark, nervous roads. Doubting his own ability to lead when he returns, worn away by endless months of useless time spent away from his own people. But Thor can't let time go by without making some use of it. He has to act as though his efforts are leading to something. Because they are. He believes that.]

Despite the time, I haven't forgotten how much we all lost in Ragnarok. We have our lives, that's the important thing. But that doesn't make the loss of everything else any less. So, [Thor turns back to Loki then, his gaze catching on Frigga's ring where it sits on Loki's finger before returning to his face.] I wanted to give you something to keep. We're all of us starting over, wherever we end up. [Whether Loki stays or goes. Thor knows there's no guarantee Loki will stick around for good.] There's no reason we should start empty-handed.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki swallows, his throat bobbing. he's never been good at this. declarations like these left him off-center and uncertain. his fingers tighten over the strap. it feels for the first time, he had more to lose than ever before. and he couldn't — would not be the instrument to destroy this.

his fingers tighten over the strap. ]

We are.

But I have what I wanted. Do you know what that is?

[rebuildyourruins]

[Times like this, Thor never knows if he'll get the answer right or not. He's been wrong before.]

What is it?

[dothelokimotion]

To be here like this. To be your equal.

[ he doesn't smile because he feels his face might just crack and reveal all his deep seated insecurities, the ones loki is trying to disassemble, piece by piece. by telling people, he's giving them the means to destroy him. ]

I'm not going anywhere without you.

[rebuildyourruins]

[It strikes him almost like a memory out of the distant past. A statement from a time when they were still just children, Thor going out riding or hunting and Loki yelling at him from behind to slow down, he's coming too. But this is now; now, where it means something wholly different.

Thor finds that he believes Loki when he says it, too. A year is hardly anything to him, but it has still been long enough to be a process in finding some measure of trust in Loki again. So he lets the smile take hold of him without hesitation.]

Good, because I don't intend on it either.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki smiles back, faint and uncertain but slowly growing. it helps to know thor believes him, even if loki still has a long way in proving himself. but that's not so important either. he is who he is. ]

You had better not.

[rebuildyourruins]

As though you'd ever let me forget it if I did. Besides, you do half my paperwork for me.

[It's not that much, but it's still amusing to say.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki shrugs casually. ]

Your handwriting hasn't improved with age, brother.

[rebuildyourruins]

Just because I don't obsess over the form of it doesn't mean it's bad!

[It's perfectly legible. Loki's penmanship is nice and all, but it takes far too long for Thor to bother with.]

I'm not going to do any this month anyway.

[dothelokimotion]

[ that catches his interest. ]

Why not?

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor snorts, some faint irritation crossing his face. He pulls his leg closer and starts unlacing his boot.]

I've been chasing myself in circles with it for weeks. I can't keep doing the same thing over and over - it's pointless. So I'm going to leave it alone for a bit.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki observes him quietly. ]

You feel this place is an exercise in futility.

[rebuildyourruins]

No. Not all of it.

[Certainly not what he's done with Loki and everyone else here. Yanking off his boot, he starts on the next.]

But there's only so much I can do for Asgard while I'm here. Planning, preparing, considering options... I'm still working with the same information I had a year ago, Loki. I'm going to keep working. I just have to stop for now before I drive myself mad.

[It's so many things coming together to a point of peak frustration. Hammering lightning into the hills was one outlet. Deciding to shelve his work for a month is another. Lest he take another run at the Marsiva, Thor's options aren't that many.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ . . . there is a long pause at that. ]

Then . . . perhaps there are other things you should look into.

[rebuildyourruins]

[Thor pauses in the middle of tugging his other boot off.]

Like what?

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki purses his lips. ]

Something important. But it can wait for later.

[rebuildyourruins]

[Watching Loki for a long moment, Thor has to wonder what's on his brother's mind. It's true they have ample time here to come back to the subject later. If it's important... well. If Loki says they'll discuss it, Thor trusts that much. He nods, finally tossing his boot aside.]

All right. Later it is.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki nods slowly. he's not sure how he'll manage it, but it's been put off long enough. he kicks his feet idly. for now, there's the hotsprings and his gift. ]

I won't forget.

[rebuildyourruins]

[With his pant legs rolled up, Thor finally shoves his own feet into the water, letting out a sigh. He's not about to jump all the way in today, but he knows from experience how damn good it feels. It's no coincidence this planet is the one he decided to start slacking off in.]

I know. Just let me know when, and I'll be there.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki watches the water warily before slipping his own feet in, his shoes vanishing via magic. ]

I will.