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]

"Really?" Loki asked. "I've never had a garden. I fear fire and plants don't mix very well. Are you a descendant of the people who built this place, then, if it was your home?"

Actually, he would have liked to know more about that fire, but at the moment he filed the information away for later use.

[safehouse_guest]

"A descendant?" Mary laughed. "Oh, no. This used to be a convent for the nuns of the Chattering Order of St. Beryl." She remembered that Loki probably had no idea what a nun was. "A nun is like a priestess in Christianity," she explained. "We were Satanic, though. I lived here with the other nuns and the Mother Superior, who was like the head priestess. But there was a fire almost twenty years back, and it burned the place down. I decided to stay when the others left. I liked the place, after all. So I run it now."

[norseloki]

"So you proclaimed prophecies and performed sacrificaes and rites?" Loki asked. "I must admit, I personally never bothered with priests. They tend to get in the way once they start interpreting what you told them so it fits their own little scheme. No offence intended, though." He smiled broadly at her. "I'm sure you weren't one of those. So you are no longer a priestess now?"

He thought that was what she had meant by staying back, but he wasn't sure. And if she still was... Oh, this place seemed to be full of potential allies even among the mortals. He liked that, and he permitted at least part of the pleasure he felt at the thought to show on his face.

[safehouse_guest]

"Not... exactly. We were nurses. Well, we did do rites, but they weren't that complicated." Mary sighed. "I'm not sure, really. After the fire the others went away, and I said I'd stay to look after this place. I forward mail to them, but I'm still not really sure if the Order even exists anymore. I can assure you I wasn't one of those, though."

She blushed yet again at the look on his face.

[norseloki]

"You don't seem like one of them," Loki assured her. "So, what was it like? Were the rules very strict?"

He personally held rules in a certain disregard. But he did know that there were those people who felt different about that. And that in turn might make his efforts worthless even before he had really started making them.

[safehouse_guest]

She shrugged. "Not really. We had to abstain from some things, of course, but..." she remembered one particular vow, and knew quite well that at the moment she probably resembled a tomato.

"I'm not really sure anyway; before leaving, the Mother - the head priestess told me breaking my vows in a black sisterhood, er, in our cult, was perfectly fine."

[norseloki]

"Ah yes, that would certainly be fine," Loki said, although, truth be told, he had no idea what she was talking about.

Her physical reaction, however, he recognized perfectly well. As if accidentially, he stepped a little closer to her. "Now - where did you say that library was?"

[safehouse_guest]

Mary shivered slightly at his increased proximity. "I-it's down this way. Here we are. We have a librarian, but he'll be off duty by now."

She'd always been curious about... well, goings-on, but she hadn't yet broken her vow of chastity.

[norseloki]

"I see," Loki said.

Ah, but this was going wonderful. He loved the way ths was still working. He wondered idly how far he should push this.

[safehouse_guest]

Mary paused in front of the library doors, pushing one of them open and flicking on the light switch just inside.

"This is the library," she said, rather unnecessarily; the shelves of neatly organised books were self-explanatory. "Would you like to go inside or look around the rest of the Manor, now that you know where it is?"

[norseloki]

Loki quickly scanned the library. All very neat and orderly, he realized. He wasn't exactly an avid reader, so he shook his head.

"No, thank you. I think I'll look at the books another time. What else is there that I should know about?"

Wow, I didn't get the e-mail notification. o_0 Sorry!

[safehouse_guest]

"Well, I'm sure you've seen the grounds; they're lovely. There's a restaurant, bar, and a ballroom, and a greenhouse."

She glanced around the library, mentally comparing the neat shelves to the unorganised mess of some weeks ago. Thank goodness for the librarian.

Re: Wow, I didn't get the e-mail notification. o_0 Sorry!

[norseloki]

"Only what I saw walking up to the entrance," Loki admitted. "How often do you have balls here?"

As he turned away from the library, he gently brushed her arm, lightly enough that the touch could have been accidental if she preferred to take it that way.

[safehouse_guest]

"Not very often. A few years ago a corporate company held one, and that was the last one. We keep it clean, though."

Her steps faltered a little at the touch. It was an accident. It must have been an accident.

"W - would you like to see the ballroom?" It was probably the first time she'd stammered since some awkward moments in her teens.

[norseloki]

"Sure!" Loki said, smirking. Her physical reaction had not gone unnoticed. "So, do you never have any reason to celebrate anything here? How boring!"