(a passive fiction)

[scarred_grin]

Long story short, while Weyland and Skaði are busily crafting the box to contain the god-killing sword upstairs--long story short it's a running joke with Loki, an occasional hobby, being a selkie poseur. It's a pleasant way to spend an evening, if one happens to be an enterprising and vaguely amoral shapeshifter.

Yeah, baby, it's a lonely life out there in the sea. I want to know how it feels to be human, even if it's just for one night--no, don't leave your husband for me. You can't live underwater. No, don't tell your parents you've met the perfect woman--what sort of wife would I be to you? I can't see you again for seven years. But I'll think of you while I'm out there. Will you think of me?

But these things take subtlety; you can't overplay it. Which is why--well, that and laziness--he's taking the low-key approach tonight. One scruffy redhead (in a thick fisherman's sweater, corduroy trousers, no shoes) over on the couch, working his way through a plate of broiled fish and vegetables, a sealskin coat beside him.

A harmless diversion, while he bides his time. Quite botherable.

[open until it scrolls]

Comments

[poins]

"Thou wouldst be cold out there, without thy boots," Poins says, touching Loki's bare toes.

[scarred_grin]

"That's why I'm in here," he says with a grin, and wiggles his toes a bit.

"Also, there's no food out there. I'd have to hunt for my dinner, and it's so much easier to just order things in here. Plus I don't have to cook."

He'll never deny his laziness.

[poins]

"Thy clothes are warm, as if thou wouldst fain be out among among the fierce beasts in the snow," Poins says.

[scarred_grin]

"But I don't have shoes on," he says. "If I went outside like this, my feet might freeze and break off. No, it's much better to stay right where I am. I don't want to lose any parts tonight."

Or in general. But these things are negotiable.

[poins]

"Thy clothes are far too warm to be within," Poins says, "but then, thy bare feet would fain keep thee from the snow. Thou art an enigma!"

[scarred_grin]

"You don't know the half of it, honey."

He likes to think he's pretty simple, but he tends to be misunderstood, so maybe that's not the case.

"Anyway, it's not like I have my coat on. That would make me too hot. With no shoes on, I'm perfectly comfortable like this."

[poins]

"That coat is truly warm, made for the raging seas in winter," Poins agrees. "But whyfor, then, doest thou not wear thy shoes, and leavest socks or stockings off as well?"

He trusts that thereby hangs a tale.

[scarred_grin]

"If I put my shoes on, I'd be too hot," he explains. "It's like... they say you lose the most warmth through your head, hands and feet. Which is not coincidentally what I have uncovered."

It almost makes sense.

"Anyway, I like this sweater. It's big enough that I can smuggle things in it if I want to."

[poins]

"Drink, armaments, or magic?" Poins asks. "What art thou smuggling?"

[scarred_grin]

He gives him the grin of a man who is up to no good whatsoever.

"You really want to know?" he asks. "I can show you, but you can't tell anybody. They might not like it."

[poins]

Poins raises an eyebrow, smirks, and nods.

[scarred_grin]

"C'mere, then," he says, motioning him closer. "I really don't want other people to see--ladies might faint. I won't be responsible for that kind of trouble, not tonight."

[poins]

Poins steps closer, and cranes his neck, in curiosity.

[the_cupbearer]

Looking nothing really like a fisherman, Ganymede runs a lazy, teasing hand over Loki's red hair, making a few locks stand more upright with a gentle smile. "I like this shape," he says lightly, perching on the arm of the couch nearest the chaos god. Around the shirt he's stolen--because if it belonged to him it's rather loose--there are glimpses of the tattoos he's still sporting.

"You look comfortable."

[scarred_grin]

His hair is still cherry-scented, if only very faintly. That may never go away, at this rate.

"I like it too," he says, grinning up at him. "I'd say it's the one I was born with, but I wasn't actually born, so... anyway, it's very comfortable here. Good food, good drinks, good company."

Especially since his husband the diplomat and his stepdaughter the wolf are both upstairs.

[the_cupbearer]

"Born or not," Ganymede smiles, fingers toying with his hair and allowing Loki to lay his head back in his lap. "You are still very handsome. So what puts you in such a pleasant mood?"

[scarred_grin]

His day just got a lot cozier, that's for sure.

And he still likes being told he's pretty.

"Well, you just put me in an even better one," he says. "But I don't think I need a reason to be in a good mood--I'd need a reason to be in a bad one. I don't have any."

Well. No reasons he's willing to admit to in public.

[the_cupbearer]

Ganymede smiles upside-down at Loki. "Then I'm glad to share in a pleasant mood. I'm in one myself lately."

He's procured the bracelet he needs to give to Weyland, now all he needs is the blood part, after following the requirements of light and company, and the like. "Playing a fisherman today?"

[scarred_grin]

"I'm supposed to be a selkie," he says, more quietly. "If you're a shapeshifter, and you're in the right parts of the world, it's a damn good way to have a one-night stand. And even if you're not in the right parts of the world, it's a good excuse for lounging around."

He's been a fisherman. It's cold, wet and miserable work, but it's a living.

[the_cupbearer]

"Is that the only reason you imitate them?" he asks, lazily drawing spirals with his fingertips onto Loki's shoulder.

[scarred_grin]

"...well, that and I had a sudden craving for fish," he says. "Which fits with being part seal. I did consider turning into a unicorn and chasing people around, but I'm trying to be good these days. Trying to stay out of trouble."

Teja wouldn't like having to arrest him again.

[the_cupbearer]

Ganymede laughs at that and shakes his head in amusement. "I cannot imagine it being very fun to chase people as a unicorn, but perhaps if you consented to let one of them ride you..."

He's joking, yes, but what's the fun in conversations with gods that you're fairly sure won't harm you if you don't try to poke a little fun at them?

[scarred_grin]

"So guy-unicorns go for virgin women," he says with a chuckle. "But what about lady-unicorns? Do they chase after virginal human men, or do they go with the double standard and prefer them to be experienced? I mean, I could go either way... but everybody knew that already."

It helps that Loki doesn't take himself seriously. At all.

[the_cupbearer]

"Some human men aren't horribly bad right off the bat," he ribs gently. "I wasn't, at least not that I recall."

Beat. "If you were a unicorn, what would you want, a virgin or not?"

[scarred_grin]

"Some human men are horrible no matter how experienced they are," he says. "I've been women. I know."

He's had first-time experiences as men too, but at least when dealing with fellow men, there's a level of understanding of what feels good, where the important anatomy is, and the knowledge that nipples are not to be operated like radio knobs.

"Experience doesn't matter so much as... having someone who pays attention, I guess? If it's their first time, but they're listening to you, and... or do you just mean as a unicorn, some human to follow around? I wouldn't specify. I'd just chase whoever struck my fancy, and let the rumors go."