dualislogs | A God and a Sorceress

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A God and a Sorceress

Who: Loki Odinson, Rinoa Heartilly
What: New roomies getting to know one another. Rinoa giving a proper welcome.
When: Early September (Backdating AHOY)
Where: Dorms (Floor 2 - Room 201)
Warnings: Unlikely to be any. Will update if necessary.

She'd barely gotten to know Billy when he was there and when he was gone, she couldn't help but frown. I should have spoken up more, she thought to herself. Wishes are too little too late, aren't they. It sure seemed like since she'd arrived that she'd wanted to do... a lot of wishing.

Rinoa still didn't quite know where she fit in and being faced with solitude for however so long it would be granted to her, it was difficult not to feel a little lonely. A bit like an island. She wondered idly if Nida ever felt the same way. Perhaps not. At the end of the day, he was still a child of the Garden.

The day that Loki was to arrive, however, happened to be a fortuitous one, considering it kept Rinoa from falling too deep into that rabbit hole. She had been considering visiting the cafe, though it wasn't for work purpose, and instead she was greeted by someone... who was not Billy at all.

"Uhm," she began as she looked up. And... up and up. Because when next to one another, Rinoa was a decent bit smaller than... well. The new companion who certainly didn't look like he fit in. "...Hi!"

Sticking out her hand, she smiled brightly. "Are you lost? Can I help you find something? Someone maybe?"

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Loki wasn't certain what he'd expected from the dormitory room he'd been directed to, but a roommate certainly wasn't it. She was unassuming at least, but looks were deceiving and Loki trusted no one. He arched an eyebrow at her greeting, though, smiling amicably.

"Hello." He held up the key he'd been given, which clearly stated it was to room 201. "And no, I don't believe I am." He took the hand she'd offered, inclining his head. "I am Loki of Asgard. Well-met."

Oh. He... had a key. He had a key. Of course, dormitory mate. Rinoa blinked once and then perhaps a second time for good measure. Oh, good. Nicer to have company sometimes than to be in one's solitude.

But when he introduced himself, she had to admit that it was probably the first time she'd ever heard someone do so in such a way. Was it unnecessarily formal or just a weird verbal quirk? Yet in a place where alien catforms were seemingly commonplace, Rinoa supposed she just had no place to judge.

"Rinoa," she replied, still smiling, and perhaps smiling a bit more at the way he carried himself. "Well-met!" She'd have to go to Squall later and ask him if that kind of greetign was common. Then she moved to the side to wave him on in.

"You just arrived then, or at least did so recently," she began as her features softened a bit. Best not to be overbearing. "It looks like we'll be staying together. Hope you don't mind sharing your space a bit."

Loki was reminded briefly of the human girls so eager to have their pictures taken with his obnoxious older brother, and he breathed a sigh, asking the heavens for patience as he accepted her invitation.

"I have, and it would seem I have little choice." He wasn't annoyed by that prospect, and didn't sound it, either. If anything, he was subtly amused at the strange goings on that resulted in this outcome. "I hope you don't snore." And by the mischievous smirk, that was a joke.

Her head tipped and she eyed him for several moments before she issued a laugh. Because at first she wasn't sure if he was serious or not. And come to think of it, she couldn't remember anyone else saying anything on it.

"I... don't think that I do? No one has ever said that I do? I'm sure it'll be fine." But...

Rinoa squinted at him analytically. "Do you snore? Because I will bury you in your pillows if you do." She probably wouldn't, be he had a sense of humour and she could appreciate that.

The co-ed dormitory would certainly take some adjustment, but he believed he could manage. With such a charming roommate it would be difficult not to, though he'd need to find some means of privacy at some point. Loki was a private man, after all.

He turned his gaze toward the bed that clearly wasn't occupied and smiled before looking back to her.

"I have a sorrowful lack of pillows for the task, I'm afraid. I don't snore to my knowledge, but it's been some time since I had a bed partner."

Did he just...
Was that...

Rinoa stared at him for some moments and couldn't help the wave of colour that fell over her cheeks. "We... We're not bed partners." And then she laughed, because it seemed to be all she could do to keep herself in one piece. Not that Loki was anything but handsome, and he was, and she was not immune to that.

"All the same," she continued, trying to ignore the way she reddened, "it'll be nice to have someone in here again. I didn't get an opportunity to spend much time with my last roommate. I hope we can change that this time. Do you like animals at all?" But before she even gave him the chance to answer that, she was moving right along a bit excitedly. "Oh! Can you cook? Because I probably shouldn't."

Oh, the implication had been worth it that was certain, and he laughed along with her, because she'd responded just as he'd hoped, and she was a good sport about the whole affair. He could certainly get on well enough with this human, at least for the time being.

"Heavens, no. I'm a prince not a cook." He shook his head. "Surely there are taverns and the like here."

Wait. Wait.

Rinoa stared at him. "You're a prince?" And the moment that came out of his mouth, she was scrutinising him from head to toe. The only princes she'd ever known came from books. If she was going by a book comparison, he didn't look like a prince at all.

"...You don't look like a prince." That could have come out better, but it was too late, because there it was.

He stood taller at her reaction, shoulders back, head held high, but he didn't look offended. Instead, he just smiled slightly.

"Oh? And what should a prince look like?"

Honestly, it was a good question. The only princes Rinoa had ever known were... well.

"I... guess whatever a prince in a book looks like?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "So... something fancy and ornate. Intricate. I kind of always pictured princes with lighter hair. Shorter for certain. You could be a dark, evil prince, I guess."

Rinoa moved around him, careful to keep some distance between them as she eyed him from head-to-toe. But then, considering she was called 'princess' a good deal of her time, she was pretty sure she didn't look like a storybook princess either. Princess-turned-sorceress? Not that anyone would have known she was a sorceress from appearance.

There was probably a lesson somewhere in all of this.

"'Prince' is a birthright, Rinoa. It isn't beholden to the blond." Besides, the blond prince he knew was actually taller, which for a frost giant was...disappointing, but there'd been a reason his birth father had seen him exposed and left to die.

"Are you satisfied you were mistaken?"

"As... if I would know..." Rinoa started to laugh. "You're kind of the first prince I've ever met. Do I need to call you 'Your Highness' or something?" Lifting her hands, she hid them in her mess of dark hair as she eyed him. And she didn't even know how to begin answering his question. Was she satisfied...? Jeez. It was weird that he could fluster her so easily. In the end, she supposed even a prince couldn't escape the clutches of the city and its influence.

"To be fair, I'm a simple girl with simple needs, so you just tell me what the right way is to treat you and I'll do my best. If you don't, I'm gonna be super casual and you might not like that."

He moved his eyes over her frame, raising an eyebrow but smiling. "Simple is typically best, and 'Loki' will do. Officially, I am Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, Rightful King of Jotunheim, and God of Mischief, but I feel that might be cumbersome in casual conversation."

Just what in the name of Hyne was he looking at, hmmm?

Her eyebrows rose again as he gave his proper title and she couldn't help but start chortling at the very end of it all. "God of Mischief? That sounds like a self-given name if ever there was one." Shaking her head, she continued, "I will begrudgingly settle for just calling you Loki. But if you decide later on you want to be called 'Prince' or something you're gonna have to say something."

"Loki is who I am, Rinoa, to spite all else." And what was he looking at? Well, that was to remain a mystery.

"And the humans gave it to me, actually. You see, I've always been something of a trickster."

"A dark-haired prince who looks like he's a villain and is called a mischief maker by the people." Rinoa said it all out loud to try it on for size, though made it rather apparent that she was having an extremely difficult time taking any of it seriously. Although she didn't want to be rude, so to keep her smile from becoming overpowering, she nipped into her lower lip. At least until she could guarantee she'd speak without laughing.

"Oh, I can tell you're going to be fun to live with," she did manage to get out, still grinning. "We're gonna have to figure out what we do about food, though. I don't cook, you know? Not that I can't, but that I probably shouldn't. I do, however, make an excellent hot cocoa. So if you like chocolate, I'm your girl."

"How is it I look the part of the villain exactly?" He grins, though, and nods. He'd been called far worse, of course, and better. "I've always been a trickster, it's true. In fact-" as he spoke, he formed an illusion of himself that seemed to pause for dramatic effect while he simultaneously cloaked himself in a veil of silence and invisibility and moved behind her, his illusion still smiling charmingly, until his actual form was safely behind her, at which point the illusion dissolved as did his invisibility and he finished his sentence, "-I'm rather good at it."

He cleared his throat before adding, "as for cooking, I'm sure we can figure something out. How hard can it be?"

"It's probably the dark ha... ir..." she began.

The demonstration certainly piqued her interest. Not that she wasn't interested already. It wasn't every day that a cute guy was at her door, after all. Not... that she was supposed to think anything like that of Loki. All the same, when she heard him, she turned quickly only to find him where... he definitely wasn't before.

"Magic, you know magic." And that was extremely relevant to her interests because well. If he really did know magic, then she wouldn't be prejudiced by him. And maybe... she could learn to control her own, though the abilities of a sorceress were still largely unknown to her. "Okay, that's really cool. Although I'm not sure that qualifies you to be a 'trickster.' I know lots of people who can use magic." They just usually needed a guardian force to be able to use it.

And while she really wanted to address the cooking thing... he had her far too distracted.

He chuckled at her reaction, but smiled broadly to spite himself, basking in the admiration. He couldn't help it. He'd always loved praise. In fact, it could be said he lived for it. "I do, though there are many forms of magic, you know."

"And of course it doesn't. Transmutation, conjuration? That makes me a trickster." He laughs. "Once, I turned my brother into a frog for an entire month."

No. She certainly didn't know, but that just went to show her how much she really needed to learn more about it. Seemed like Loki could very well be her opportunity to do just that. And have a good time simultaneously. She liked that he wasn't overly serious and it was definitely a breath of fresh air considering the other guys in her life tended to be a little morose at times.

Transmutation. That one she knew. And she could do that. Well, she wasn't sure if she could do that in the city, but she knew she could back where she came from. Made her wonder what limitations had been placed on him upon arrival.

"You're serious, aren't you?" she asked him with an incredulous look before she started laughing all over again, utterly charmed. "Your brother does magic, too? A month is a very long time to be a frog."

"Rarely," he grins, moving away from her and beginning to take a look around this new shared space, "but in this instance, yes. Deadly serious." The apartment, if he could be called that, was small, far smaller than he was used to living in even alone, and would certainly take some getting used to. Most recently he'd been the king of Asgard for a time, after all. This was certainly not an improvement.

"Thor? Do magic?" He laughs, shaking his head and turning back to her. "Certainly not. It takes a degree of finesse to master magic, something my broad, blond, picturesque prince of a brother sorely lacks." He referenced her 'princely expectation' with chagrin masked with a saccharine smile. "I take it magic is something you'd like to learn?"

Billy's portion was rather quickly emptied out once he had left. It was easy to tell which side was habitable and which wasn't. Rinoa's side didn't have much either. Mostly because she hadn't been there long enough to acquire anything. It was mostly hot cocoa from the cafe. Music books for work. Clothes. The necessities. And a lot of books, because when she wasn't busy working or bothering the others from her home world, then she was reading. It probably wouldn't have killed her to socialise a little more.

She didn't understand his humour when it came to talking about his sibling, but seemed amused anyway, if only because of his reaction. When he smiled, she seemed to pick up on the silent implication and she did laugh a little then. Not that she really knew what to expect when it came to royalty.

"Actually—" she began, though she lowered her voice before she continued. "—I can do some. It's... actually kind of a big deal where I come from. In my world, most people have to have certain things in their possession to cast magic. I don't." And that wasn't a good thing, which was why she didn't look particularly proud of it. "I can cast elemental spells and... really... any... it seems, but I only came here with support. So... constructive ones. And uhm. Something like your transmutation."

He noted with a frown the shift in her tone. So magic in her world was frowned upon, at least the usage of it without aid. It made sense. Thor's friends, even when they were children, distrusted him simply because of what he could do, no matter whether their Queen had taught him or not. He didn't keep the expression of understanding from his face, either, instead offering her one of sympathy.

"People don't trust you because you can do things they can't." He nodded. "That is what got me labeled the Trickster. A shield, I suppose, to belittle my talents. A shame it didn't work."

He rolled his shoulder in something of a shrug before motioning to her. "Very well. Let us see this transmutation, then."

She didn't know what he had experienced in his own life, but she took note of the way he looked at her and ultimately ended up smiling rather sheepishly. "Something like that," she agreed with a subtle nod. She wondered for a moment, if anyone thought she was a trickster, too. A trickster might have been better than the handling the fear that was around her. She could handle envy. But fear...

How was she to face that?

He distracted her then and after a moment's hesitance, she found herself turning a little pink. "I... don't exactly know enough about what I can do to show you on a whim. Not things like that, anyway. Sorry. I've only recently embraced what I am and what I can do. I'm still..." Trying not to be afraid of what she was capable of.

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, analyzing this woman who was clearly afraid of her gifts. That wasn't his problem, of course, but it was a shame nonetheless. He crossed his arms, tilting his head to the side curiously, and nodded.

"Alright, then. How did come to learn you had these abilities at all?"

He didn't even say anything and she felt a bit evaluated. What kind of sorceress didn't know what she was capable of? A new one. A reluctant one. She probably wouldn't have been if it weren't for the history of her home world and the negative connotation that 'sorceress' came with. All of that was kind of heavy to be handing over to Loki so soon, though.

...Maybe... when they got to know one another better. If he didn't find her outright annoying.

"I didn't exactly sign up for it if that's what you're asking." Rinoa tried to laugh it off and marginally succeeded before she decided to give him a more proper, serious answer. "Uhm. I'm not wholly certain about a sorceress's specifics, but they're inherited, it seems. Only those who have the ability to harness the skills can acquire them and you can only get them from a sorceress who has passed them on.""

So there it was. Rinoa had inherited the powers of not one sorceress, but at least two. Possibly Ultimecia's as well? The whole thing with the Time Compression didn't exactly make things easy to understand for her and she doubted any of the others really had answers either. Maybe Squall did. He knew Edea, after all. Not that that meant anything for certain.

"Even though it's... been a while since I originally received them, sorceresses are depicted as a threat in my world, so they are normally sealed away for their safety and for the safety of those around them. I guess you could say I haven't had the proper environment to work with them."

Ah, so there it was. She was raised to fear sorceresses, and thus when she found herself to be one, however that came to be, she in turn had grown to fear herself. It was a sentiment he could understand, and had lived rather literally, only he'd also hated himself, and his parents for hiding the truth.

"Do you wish to know more about your abilities?"

He seemed a smart man and evidently all she'd said was exactly what he needed to hear in order to get the gist of the situation. His question garnered a sheepish curve of the mouth from her. "I've been intending to look into it while I'm here, yeah." She nodded slowly before she continued, "Without trying to make anyone I know too uncomfortable. There are other people from my home world here with the same apprehension."

People she thought she should have been able to rely on, but felt she couldn't because of the misgivings. At the same time, it would have been unfair to ask it of any of them, considering the circumstances. It was something she was almost certain she'd have to do on her own.

"I guess that means when I've got some time alone I'll be working on it. Hard to know where to begin when I don't know a lot about it. But everyone's got to start somewhere."

"You won't make much progress without help." Was he volunteering for such a roll? It seemed as though he was. "Magic is an awesome force, capable of miracles and vast destruction, but only if handled properly." It sounded like a line given to him by someone else, and someone he trusted deeply.

"You'll need a proper space to practice also."

"...Yeah, you're not wrong."

Although she had to wonder where he was going with that open-ended statement. Rinoa suspected it was a veiled offer and she wasn't sure she knew him well enough to accept that invitation. She would have liked to accept it.

Her weight shifted and she settled a hand atop her hip. "I don't even know where one would practise that kind of thing. Don't suppose you have any ideas in that pretty head of yours."

Veiled statement? Never. Loki is the most trustworthy many you'll ever meet, just ask him. Still, he smiled at her flattery, while not playing into it just yet.

"None at all, but this is, after all, the first place I've gone here."

"Oh, right."

Rinoa pinched the bridge of her nose. A stupid implied question on her part. How would he know considering he hadn't really gone anywhere else. And Rinoa didn't... exactly know everywhere because Squall had cautioned her against going too many places alone.

"I don't know my way around super well, but I can take you some places, if you want. If you like cats, I work at the cat cafe." Although she supposed they weren't really cats. Alien cats. Something like it. A surprise for the unexpected.

"Perhaps not too alien." He smiled, though, nodding. "I've visited many worlds. Few things surprise me."

And he'd lived a long time by her standards. "But I may take you up on that offer." He made am otion around their shared space. "I clearly have nothing."

Rinoa watched him and couldn't help sneaking a glance over to her own side of things. Because honestly... she probably could have used some more stuff, too. At the end of the tale, their little apartment together looked kind of sad. Rinoa made a note to figure out what kinds of things he liked, so she could fill their space with them.

"Did you come here with anything? Some of the people I know were able to bring weapons from home, I think. And some trinkets from other worlds they'd been to. Or... you could be like me, I suppose, and only came with the clothes on your back."

But judging from how he stood there with nothing but the magic in his hands, she suspected his situation was quite a bit similar to hers. At least Squall had a gunblade. She didn't even have a weapon. "I guess the formalities aside, if you're hungry, Loki, I can take you out to eat."

"I'm afraid not." He'd left his world with nothing except the clothes he'd had. The ship he'd been traveling upon was ravaged, held together by a force beyond the knowledge of most, and he'd stood up to the man who had recently become the most powerful man in the universe, and had died for it. He shook his head. That didn't matter anymore.

"It's been some time since I've eaten, actually. Thank you."

She smiled apologetically. She could understand where he was coming from. But at least she had her friends. She began to wonder if Loki had anything of the same, yet found it not necessarily appropriate to ask him of that yet.

When he took her invitation, she brightened up again. The company would be nice. "Well, then. Let's change that up, hm? Can't have you fainting away on me. After all, it's always the prince kissing the princess awake. I don't think I've ever read it being the opposite way around."

Loki's allies were even fewer than his friends, and at the moment, he had none, not here at the least. His brother was the closest thing in his world he could count as one, and he was far from his reach. The likelihood of there being anyone here who wished him anything other than animosity was slim and something he would not count upon in times of strife. No, he'd go it alone, as he'd always done.

"While I do exist to abolish stereotypes, I'd rather fall in chivalrous duty rather than for fault of skipping dinner." He smiled that charming smile of his and motioned toward the door. "After you."

"In chivalrous duty," Rinoa parroted, unable to keep herself from grinning. Maybe because his was so infectious. "Sounds like something a prince would say." She bounded past him, evidently more than a little excited for the opportunity to go out and about. Not that she couldn't go out on her own, but rather that she recollected Squall's preference that she not do such. At least until she had a weapon. Or maybe better control over her sorceress powers. Either way, Loki was just going to have to play bodyguard this time out.

Hopefully he wouldn't mind.

Just outside, she waited for him as she considered their options on where to go. "There's a cute variety of diners all over the city if you want to check one of them out. There's honestly more bars and cafes than there are restaurants. There's also a grocery store, which... is kind of useless to us both since we don't cook, but they probably have stuff there we can eat too." That wasn't raw, of course. "I'm going to guess the diner is our best bet."

After a moment, she paused, "I guess because you're a prince you might be used to really fancy things. If that's true, I have to warn you that the diners aren't fancy at all. I hope that's okay."

"Really? Imagine that." Rinoa was indeed a curiosity, but there was an energy about her he recognized. It may be new to her, but she desired something very similar to himself: acceptance. The longer he was in this place, which had so far been admittedly short, the more the reality of it was sinking in. He was trapped here, but when last he'd been aware he'd died at the hands of a monster, and now this?

And so, as he joined her outside, he was all smiles and flippancy, the perfect way to disguise anything untoward, and he laughed.

"The diner it is, then. I've already accepted slumming it." And he offers her an arm. "Shall we?"

She remained utterly oblivious to the thoughts whirling about in his head and though Rinoa tended to be an occasional good judge of character, even as she eyed him, she couldn't even make a remote intuition observation about him.

Yet most of her thoughts to do so went out proverbial window when she found him offering his arm. Brightening up, and completely unaccustomed to that kind of behaviour, she was immediately charmed. (Not that she'd ever been uncharmed since Loki had arrived, in truth.) With a distinct kind of pleasure, she loosely curled a slender arm about his.

"Yeah! Let's go~!"

...Maybe she was a little too happy.

Wrapping this here is good. Loki now has a love of bacon. :)

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A God and a Sorceress

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We can either wrap this up here, they can do diner stuff. Whatever you'd like! ♥

OOC