driftfleet | [ video + action ] in this world now I am undying ( iw update )

Entry tags:

[ video + action ] in this world now I am undying ( iw update )

Who: Loki + You
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: SS First Breath
When: Right now!

( feed: action )

[ the feed turns on and you're not sure why. all is quiet on the ship front. there doesn't seem to be much activity on the first breath, even this late. all is silent. until you hear a crackle. suddenly ice speeds its way over the walls, ceilings and floors of the ship, instantly freezing everything along its path. everything is coated in silvery, sharp ice, cold to the touch.

and for a moment, a shrill scream echoes throughout the ship before going quiet with the feed. ]

( much later: video )

[ loki turns the feed on. he looks queasy and ready to drop off right then and there, but he clears his throat, coughing as it hurts. ]

My apologies. It seems I lost control of my magic. I will immediately see to any repairs. But perhaps people coming by should mind their step in the meantime.

[ he looks like he has more to say, but he ducks his head, turning off the feed. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He'd been sleeping when it happened. There wasn't much else he could do besides sleep, eat, and bitch about his situation. So he was groggy when he felt the surge of magic rip through the ship. It was enough to wake him from actual sleep though, and he snapped to attention with a panic, his breath fogging the air. It was frigid and he wrapped his arms around himself, shivering.

He was going to complain about the AC when someone screamed. Someone - on his ship - screamed.

Taako was out of bed an instant later, Umbra Staff at his side. He fell on patches of ice, gritting his teeth against pulled stitches and new bruises, tracing the source.

It wasn't hard to figure out - only 3 magic users were on the ship. He didn't scream, Haggar wasn't there sort, so that left?

Taako banged on Loki's door, using the Staff to keep himself from sliding away.]

Hey! What the fuck is going on? Are you in there?!

[ loki flinches from the sound at the door. he should say something but it feels as though his voice has been robbed of him. that he will crumble into dust should anyone see him this way. it took a long time, long enough for taako to get impatient but loki finally, finally musters up enough energy to hobble to the door.

he could do this. death number three. he's crawled out of worse pits. the door opens. ]

I am.

[ his voice is a low, wiry rasp. ]

[More than impatient, Taako had been getting desperate. He also didn't want to walk in to a dead body he couldn't do anything about. He'd almost been that dead body not but a week or so ago; he wasn't sure if could deal with seeing Loki gone while he remained.

Please, don't take anyone!

Taako kept banging on the door, ears flat against his head, not caring that he was definitely ripping stitches as he kept at it. He's about to push the door open when it slides free of its own volition, his captain on the other side. Taako's relief is fleeting as he hears his voice, and a brief flicker of fear runs through him.

Loki doesn't look hurt, but he looks dead tired.]

What happened? Was that-- this? [He motions to the ice everywhere] What happened to you?

[ not hurt, though it's hard to see the bruises around his throat. loki hasn't taken time to hide them just yet. ]

I — I lost control. I apologize.

[ his voice continues to shift from whisper to whisper. ]

[Oh hell no. Loki didn't lose control - that was kind of this dude's whole gig. Taako grimaces and presses a hand to his side, then tries to give him a more thorough look-over. His voice is hoarse - from screaming? But it was just the once?]

Yeah, no shit. Are we-- you; are you under attack?

[ loki shakes his head, but even that little movement seemed to hurt. ]

Not anymore.

[And there it is - now that he isn't panicking, he can see it. The ugly lines around Loki's neck in a familiar pattern that sends ice through his veins.

There isn't anyone in Loki's room that he can see. Taako lifts his staff as best he can, glancing up and down the hall. He likes to pretend he doesn't care about these idiots, and he's 99% sure none of them would give a shit if he died, but he isn't about to let any of them die while he still has breath left in his body. He's weak and recovering and Lup will kick his ass for getting out of bed, but if they're under seige? He's going to fuck someone up. ]

We have a fucking security officer - where the fuck were they? Where'd the asshole who attacked you go? I didn't pass anyone here.

[ it takes a long moment for loki to parse all of that — taako's words, his anger and concern. his expression flutters before slipping like ice. ]

No. They're not here. It was — It was an awakening. The Atroma returned me to a . . . painful point in time and that is what I came back to.

[There's a moment where he doesn't understand. How could someone not here leave bruises like that on his neck? That shit would--

"I slept and woke up with a year's worth of memories."

Belth's words suddenly ring in Taako's mind and his grip on the Umbra Staff goes white knuckled. He knows he has no right to feel protective over a god, but that doesn't change the anger that boils in his stomach at the idea of anyone hurting someone he, well, found agreeable in that way that most normal people would say "liked."]

.....fuck.

[He isn't sure what else to say. He exhales the expletive under his breath, then reaches out for the door frame to keep himself from sliding.]

You. Um. You want me to get something from the infirmary for that? [He motions to his own neck to indicate Loki's] Situation? I, uh, have to go there anyway...

[ his lips curve upwards, though it's clear there's no real humour in it. ]

They are merely remnants. It will fade.

[ thanos hadn't scarred him. loki refuses to let the titan claim more pieces of him. ]

[Yeah, that makes sense. Taako might like Loki, but he doesn't think that feeling is mutual. But Taako has had enough bruises in his life that he knows how they never really fade when they leave a mark that ugly.]

Yeah. Yeah, no doubt.

[His ears droop a little, nervously flicking back against his head.]

... Are. This is a stupid question, I'm sure, but... Are you okay? You need me to, I dunno, get someone else?

[ loki has never been in this position. never really had to deal with anyone's concern beyond thor's, so he has gotten used to not expecting anything. loki visibly struggles, trying not to seem like he was brushing taako off while his own mind ran helter-skelter. ]

Thank you. I . . . I don't think there is anything anyone can do for me anymore.

[Yeah, he knows this feeling all too well. Taako was like this, not that long ago, when he woke up to a cold room and his failures on the Iskaulit. He had the advantage of having Lup there, willing to yell at him and tell him he was stupid. He isn't nearly as good at this as she is - he's been alone too much of his life to know the right things to say. He never cared enough to learn.

But, well, seeing Loki right now? He might not have glass stuck through him, but he's still hurting all the same.]

Bullshit? I call bullshit. First? I got some concealer and probably way too much experience in covering up bruises for you. Next? I dunno, tea or something. You look as shit as I do.

[ loki looks for a loss for words, something vulnerable peeking through the surface. ]

You're injured as well. And I can mask the bruises until they fade.

Yeah no shit; I blew myself up for all you chucklefucks.

[Not that anyone asked me to do the spell or owed him anything since he failed, but making Loki mask his own bruises while his magic may or may not be on the fritz? That's asking for worse disasters than the ice everywhere.]

I can't exactly get back to my room easily since, as you said, I'm injured. Might as well do something useful here.

[ for that loki reaches out . . . to flick his nose. ]

You should have discussed it first.

I will help you to your room.

Wow? What the fuck?

[Taako flinches back, grabbing his face like he's been burned. Who said he hadn't discussed it with people beforehand? He'd done all the discussing he was willing to do within reason without putting people he actually gave a shit about in the line of fire.]

The face is the brand, my dude; no touchy. And if I needed help getting back, I'd Fly my ass there.

[He takes the moment to jab a finger from his free hand at Loki's chest, glaring up at him from behind the one covering his nose.]

We're not here to discuss my fuck-ups. We all know how bad they are at this point - Lup chewed my ass out already, done and over. But you? That's a new one. It's kinda hard not to notice that some serious shit just went down.

[ loki had only been teasing and in a way, trying to show his own gratitude for checking up on him, so the severity of the reaction takes him off guard. his expression shutters completely and he pulls back, hands falling to his side. loki remains quiet, not sure what to say before making a perfunctory reply. ]

I'll be fine.

[The way Loki recoils is...odd? Odd's a good way to put it. He was certain his captain had all but given up on him, but he seemed wounded by Taako's reaction. Or was wounded not the right word?

Fuck, he was so bad at interpersonal interactions. He missed the days when he didn't give a shit.

With a sigh, Taako dropped his hand from his face and his tone loses its barbs and edges.]

"Be" fine isn't the same as "am" fine - conjugation or whatever it's called.

[Then he flicks his wrist and a tube of concealer appears in his hands.]

I'm not gonna pry, my man, but if you wanna get it off your pretty chest, I'm here to listen. And take care of those bruises before big, tall, and punches through walls can get here and flip his shit.

[ loki still looks wary, tinged with exhaustion. for him, it's only been a few hours since he was strangled to death. he still expects to feel the blood on his cheeks, the crushing pressure around his throat. ]

Thor would — There's nothing Thor can do. I died.

You--

[Taako stops dead, going so stiff the concealer in his hands shivers from the pressure. He died? As in Grim Reaper and off to the Astral Plane levels of died?

He stares at Loki for a moment, face twinging as if he's trying to laugh off what the god just said as some weird joke, but the expression dies as he sees no mischief or mirth anywhere in Loki. It's a horrifying sight, and Taako knows the feeling because, well, he's died too. Eleven times as he recalls. He still has nightmares about it if he lets his mind wander to Refuge during his nightly Trances. He can guess as to the method of Loki's death, too. Those bruises say volumes.

The pregnant pause between them passes and Taako lets out a tense breath.]

Well fuck me...

[He still doesn't know the right thing to say, so he starts babbling a little. He pulls the concealer back and fidgets with it as the words tumble his lips, tripping over themselves.]

You want-- I mean, you want a drink instead? Because I know what it's like to be in your shoes - not the exact thing, but yeah, a lot, of um death happened to, well uh me too, once, and I know I needed about fifty hard shots of whatever to just parse it in my head.

[ loki isn't sure if he's fit for company. the bruises continue to ache, like phantom burns he can't fully exorcise. he's not sure if he's fit for anyone considering the trail of circumstances that have led him here. he destroyed his own hopes, thor's and everyone else. his father's words continue to ring in his words.

unlike thor, odin has no reason to bestow wisdom on his least-loyal son. still, loki finds himself nodding. ]

Drinks sounds . . . doable. At least.

[The pause between his rambling and Loki's answer stretches long enough that Taako can feel where he's definitely pulled his stitches. Haggar will likely yell at him again, Lup, too, but right now? He's tense, waiting to bolt if his proposal is rejected. He's not exactly good at comforting anyone. He's spectacularly shit at doing it for himself even, so he doesn't honestly expect Loki to agree until the very moment that he does.

Which is why he stares at him for a moment in shock until his brain kicks into gear and Taako nods.]

Yeah, okay, sure, yeah - um.

[Then he glances back at the icy hallway and the road hazards between him and the kitchen.]

Conjured okay? Because I'm pretty sure if I go to the kitchen right now, I'll fall and bleed out and die. Y'know. Again.

You should really rest.

[ though loki can understand why everyone on the ship panicked after that display of magic. loki has never lost control before — not once. his hold on his magic has never been tenuous or weak, never prone to emotional distress. for it to happen like this, especially since he now possesses the casket . . . it makes him wonder if his other heritage was raising its head at him pointedly. ]

I can conjure some.

Pot? [He gestures to Loki.]

Meet my friend Kettle.

[Then he gestures to himself.

No one's going to be telling him to rest when they have godsdamn strangle marks on their neck and just froze their ship like Fantasy Elsa.]

But let's split the duties, huh? Can you get me some.... [And he thinks for a moment, tapping a finger against the wall where he's holding on to keep himself upright.]

Mmmmm honey syrup and lemon juice? We got the ice we need, like, everywhere. I can get the other two.

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