No Longer in the Shadows (Arrival, OTA)

[green_god_loki]

"He's not my father!" Loki shouted as he turned away from the wall of his cell to face Frigga.

"And am I not your mother?" the Queen of Asgard asked quietly, undisturbed.

It took Loki a long moment to answer. Gathering the will to answer how he wanted, rather than what his heart felt. "No, you are not." It came out softer than he'd intended, less

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[nomoreinnocence]

"Assuming that wasn't a rhetorical question," Lana said. "You're in the village of Haurvatat."

It was a nice day so she'd been sitting on a nearby bench sketching when she'd heard the man's question and looked up.

[green_god_loki]

"You're quick," Loki said. "Thank you for the name. Where in Midgard is it. Excuse me, that's right, you people call it Earth."

[nomoreinnocence]

She blinked at his use of the word Midgard, but just filed it away for future reference. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure it's on Earth," she admitted. "They call it a pocket universe, where people from all sorts of different worlds and times arrive. It's a strange place, but not a bad place to live all things considered."

At least when dinosaurs weren't invading.

[green_god_loki]

"Ah, a pocket dimension. Whose is it?"

[nomoreinnocence]

"Whose is it?" Lana had no idea how to answer that. In all the years she'd been here, she'd never even considered the question.

"I... have no idea. I didn't even know they could belong to anyone. Sorry. All I know is people end up here and aren't able to leave until the village decides it's time - which might have something to do with learning some lesson that you need to. There's a hotel just over there. When you go over you'll find they're expecting you and have a room ready, which will probably have a few personal items of yours. But I've never met anyone who claimed to be in charge."

[green_god_loki]

"Then let me ask this: The majority of those who are here: Are they mortals, gods, giants or other?" he asked with great care.

[nomoreinnocence]

"I've never thought of it that way," Lana said, "But I suppose that they are mostly mortals of some kind. There are at least a few who consider themselves gods, though. Or angels."

[green_god_loki]

"Then it's Midgardian. If it were Asgardian, there would be gods here."

Loki nodded to himself, mentally picking this place as, well, easy pickings.

[nomoreinnocence]

"I suppose you must be right," she said. "Though I don't know much about it. It's Norse mythology you're talking about, right? I'm not very familiar with that."

[green_god_loki]

"They created their religion based on the wars that were fought on Earth between Asgard and Jotunheim." Loki still found it funny.

[nomoreinnocence]

"I'm not really sure what you mean," Lana admitted, "But I'll take your word for it. You seem to know a lot more than I do. Do you want me to show you to the Hotel? I don't mind helping you get settled in, if you want. I know it can be disorienting to just show up here."

[green_god_loki]

"If you would be so kind," Loki smiled. "I would be in your debt."

[nomoreinnocence]

"Sure," Lana said and started to close up her sketchbook to put it away. "It's not that far, and the people are very nice."

She tucked the book away in her purse and stood. "It's just down here, you can see it there, tallest building we have, really."

[green_god_loki]

He swept her a rather florid bow.

"Might I know the name of the rather enchanting creature before me?" he asked with a smile - only a hint of mockery in the two gestures. Whether the mockery was aimed at the courtliness or at their target could be left up to interpretation. Or misinterpretation.

[nomoreinnocence]

She wasn't quite sure if he was teasing her or making fun of her. She decided to just take it at face value for the moment. "I'm sorry. I'm Lana Lang. I run the bookstore here in the village. And I've been here for six years, so I'm pretty familiar with the place."

[green_god_loki]

"Loki of Asgard bids you greetings, Lana Lang"