Another Loki arrives

[norseloki]

Date: April 1, 2003, early evening
Status: Public
Setting: Just outside Tadfield Manor
Summary: Loki (II) arrives (complete)

Comments

[safehouse_guest]

Ms Hodges giggled and blushed; that roguish smile was doing strange things to her stomach. "Well, sir, if you haven't toured the Manor yet, I'm sure I could remedy that..."

There was a god... well, two gods... no, one god in two forms... oh tush, there was a very handsome man flirting with her, and she patted her hair rather self-consciously before entering 'Loki of Iceland' into the computer. Adam's explanation was suddenly the last thing on her mind.

[norseloki]

"Wonderful", Loki said, putting the key away quickly. "We only got as far as my room."

He turned to his other self. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked, not quite sure about it. He wasn't quite certain how he himself would have reacted, had their roles been reversed,and of course he also didn't know what women the other Loki had claimed for himself yet.

[leucemic_god]

"Of course not," Loki replied with a smile. There'd be enough opportunities to talk with himself later. "I do have some practising to get on with after all. Better do that while it's still light outside and maybe I'll see you in the bar tonight?"

[norseloki]

"Sure", Loki told him with a wide smile. "That is - Do they have mead? I've found it terribly difficult to get a decent drink in this new world!"

[safehouse_guest]

"I hope you don't mind my breaking in," Ms Hodges smiled, "But we have an excellent barman. I don't know where he gets half those vintages, but I'm sure he'll have mead."

[norseloki]

"Wonderful", Loki said. "I love mead." he savoured the word as if it actually had some taste to it. He had tried a number of drinks since he had escaped, and most of them were fine if you wanted to drink in order not to stand out somewhere, but they were hardly anything that he would have ordered just to enjoy it. On the other hand... maybe he should wait until he had tried the local mead before deciding that it was good. After all, no one knew what the local folk might come up with to ruin a perfectly good drink.

He turned back to Mary Hodges. "Shall we, then?" he asked politely.

[safehouse_guest]

Oh. Oh my. That blush was not going anyway anytime soon, that was for sure.

"Of course, sir. Which part of the Manor would you like to see first?" She stepped out from behind the desk, smoothing down her skirt and hoping that the amount of effort it took to speak normally to the god wasn't too obvious.

[norseloki]

Loki was quite enjoying himself by now. He gave a slight bow int he direction of his other self, then focussed fully on the woman.

"What is there to be seen?" he asked. "I am sure you know better than I do what places a newcomer should know of. But you mentioned a bar? Maybe you could start by showing me that?"

[safehouse_guest]

You are not a giddy schoolgirl. You are not a giddy schoolgirl. You are not a giddy schoolgirl.

"Certainly, sir. It's this way," she smiled, gesturing in the direction of the bar and trying to remember how to walk properly.

[norseloki]

Loki followed, staying beside and just far enough behind her so he wouldn't accidentially go into the wrong direction. "What exactly is this place anyway?" he siad. "And what's the point of it?"

[leucemic_god]

Loki looked after them for a moment shaking his head. Maybe he should have tried seducing the nun, but the therapy might have had some consequences he didn't really want to find out about, yet. Besides, his other self had gotten there first.

He put the thought behind him and went back outside. It was time to see whether he could turn into a passable goldfish.

[safehouse_guest]

God was the right word. Ms Hodges had to concentrate on keeping her eyes on her path.

Ah, something she was familiar with, something she could reel off. "This is Tadfield Manor. It's a safe place for people like you - gods, goddesses, angels, demons, personifications, and so on. Lodging here is free, as long as you abide by the rules. There's only one rule, really. You're not supposed to do anything that could potentially cause harm to Tadfield or its inhabitants. As for its purpose - well, I don't know if you know who Adam Young is, but his being here tends to... attract powerful beings. He didn't want this to endanger the town, so he set this up."

[norseloki]

"No", Loki said politely, enjoying himself thoroughly. "I do not know who Adam Young is. See, I have spent the last few thousand years locked into a cave... chained... tortured." He tried to look as if he deserved the world's pity.

"I haven't really been able to keep track of deaths and births and so on." He sighed. "And the world has changed so much. Though I am very glad to see that some things seem to never change." The smile reappeared again on his face as he watched the woman.

[safehouse_guest]

"Oh my," Ms Hodges gasped, covering her mouth. "That's horrible, really, who would do such a thing? And why? How did you escape, or were you released?"

She knew who the gods were - she knew their names, pantheons and functions - but beyond that, she had little knowledge of mythology.

She shifted under his gaze, smoothing her clothes down again just for something to do with her hands. "Well, a lot happens in a thousand years!" she laughed, rather nervously. "We have a rather good library if you'd like to brush up on your history."

[norseloki]

"My fellow gods did," Loki explained. "It was all a misunderstanding, really, but it seems that they just must overdo anything. The rock they had chained me to gave way after half an eternity. I'm not even sure how long I was there, but when it happened, I got out of there as fast as I could."

He shuddered, at least partially without intending to.

"But let's talk of more pleasant things," he tried to shift the focus. "A library sounds good. I like libraries." You could, after all, always set them on fire if you needed a distraction to make your exit. Most of them that he had seen looked as if they would burn quite prettily. "And - do you have a favorite place in the house?"

[safehouse_guest]

Ms Hodges nodded. Poor Loki. She was supposed to provide proper service to anyone who wanted to stay there, but if any of the other Norse gods turned up, she'd... she'd put them in the worst rooms.

She had to fight back another blush at the question. It's a perfectly innocent question. "Well, usually I stay in my room when off duty. This was my home even before I turned it into a hotel, you see, but since the fire and renovations most of it is nearly unrecognisable. But the wing where my room is wasn't badly burned and I tried to keep it the way it was. I like to stay inside and read. I like the gardens too, though, we have lovely weather here and you can really see the effect it has on the rhodendrons." She bit her lip. She was no longer a nun of the Chattering Order; there was really no need to ramble, but she was nervous.