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The pair of gods disappear from the apartment in Manhattan with a faint flicker of light and a whoosh of displaced air, rushing into the vacuum of their departure. Simultaneously, several thousand miles away and across the ocean, another flash flares into life atop the hillock that overlooks the small inlet of Lindisfarne monastery. It's only ruins now, walls outlining what once was a thriving home to an order of monks in Northern England. There are broken down walls, an old skeleton of a cathedral, and an untended graveyard all serving as a reminder as to the place where the Nords first took blade to the English.
For some reason Loki probably finds this funny, to meet with his brother here in the middle of the night in England while they consider the future of mankind… in a way. He turns around at promptly lights a cigarette with a flick of a lighter from inside his pocket and then takes a drag. "Apologies, but Amora was becoming a bit irate at her inability to eavesdrop. I felt it best for us and for her to perhaps give us some distance."
He starts the descent down the side of the grassy hill, walking towards the monastery with an easy stride. "So where shall we start?" He turns around, walking backwards as he smiles at Thor, "What has happened in my absence?"
~
Thor takes hold of Loki, and the familiar rush fills his ears. In the next moment, booted feet land upon ground not trod for … millenia. It is fitting in a way, even if he doesn't recognize it initially. He's used to this mode of travel even if it hasn't been in the recent past. Stepping out from arrival, Thor looks around at their surroundings before he exhales, brows rising now at the affectation of smoking.
He follows easily, picking his way, "She presumes much, then. Your decision was the correct one." The further away from the city, and into the countryside where they'd once been makes him a little more introspective if not a little more 'himself'. Like old days.
Thor chuckles and pauses in his pace to draw some air, "Much has happened, brother, yet remains the same and easily recognizable. You have been missed at home; mother has asked in the past if I had seen you or heard of your exploits." Of course she would. "But, mortals…"
Thor begins again, approaching the ruins. "Mortals. I said before, Father simply doesn't recognize that they are no longer as they were when he was here."
~
Reaching the bottom of the hillock and walking across the way, heading towards the old piles of stones of what once were the walls surrounding the monastery, Louis continues with that easy stride as he listens. He gives a nod here, a smile there. At the end he lifts a hand to the side and waves it vaguely, as if brushing past the worries that his brother holds. He stops there at the fence, resting an arm upon the pile of stones and then ashing his cigarette after taking a drag.
"Well, I would agree with you. Entirely." He looks across the sea that separates the island from the main land, the lights of the city nearby visibly against the horizon. He turns back towards Thor. "My time here has convinced me that they've advanced. Evolved. Ah, brother. It has been too long. Help me with the tale." He then slaps a hand upon a rather /huge/ boulder underneath that pile of stones and rubble. "And help me with this, c'mon. Make yourself useful for once." His lip twitches as he kneels and starts to dig his fingers down into the dirt, reaching for a hand hold on the large boulder that is half under the ground, and is perhaps ten feet wide all told. Definitely something a human could not move without a lot of other humans… or some power equipment.
~
The lights off in the distance doesn't seem to bother Thor at all, though it gives a further bit of grounding. Life is so much easier out here, and upon the approach, he nods in the conversation. "See? And if you told Father that too? You know you could at least convince Mother, and she in turn…" Because right now? Neither Odin nor Thor would or could be able to see past their own points. "I know they'd listen to reason."
Stopping near the place of rubble, Thor looks around before he looks down at the dirt where Loki begins digging out. Brows rise at the 'for once', and he laughs, "Still not getting your hands dirty, brother? Put your back into it." He won't let his brother dig alone, however, and he steps carefully before he crouches down, poking the dirt for a good purchase. Dirt is shifted to the side just to get that better grip, and he begins to worry at it in order to get an even better purchase. It budges, promising more with the next pull, perhaps.
~
It takes the two Asgardians several moments, a few grunts, and then finally the huge boulder rises into the air, trailing dirt and debris down its rough sides. Once they get their hands under it they can shift and then /WHUMPF!/ the whole thing falls over, leaving them there with a large crater in the ground some six feet deep. A crater that Loki promptly jumps down into.
"That is the thing. Right now the argument is immaterial. You could be discussing whether or not Huginn or Muninn had the darker feathers. You are both matching pride against pride." He kicks at the dirt some, the toe of his shoe scratching the ground until there's a faint _thunk_. He kneels again and starts to dig into the ground, coming up with a decayed wooden box lined with silver. He tosses it out of the hole beside Thor's foot and then clambers out of the crater.
"He most likely feels he's teaching you a lesson, and you are asserting your independence. But we can work within that framework. The worthiness of mortals. I've had worse positions to take with fewer arguments."
At that he kicks open the box and inside is a rough and ancient barrel, but what is more telling is the smell that emanates from it. Rich, thick, the twinge of malt and hops and something almost butterscotchish. "I had been saving this for a special occasion." Asgardian ale.
~
Thor grunts as well, and once the pair manages to shift the stone, he crouches at the edge, peer into the hole. "It's always been Huginn." It's a matter of fact statement, and it no doubt exemplifies the elder brother's inability to negotiate. Of -course- he doesn't see it that way!
He rises only to get out of the way as he nods, pulling the box a little further up go allow Loki to get out of the hole, though he does offer a hand up. "I feel better knowing that you are in agreement," and it's an honest statement. "It warms me to know that we are working to the same end."
Ooh hoo, though! Thor's eyes alight, and a smile widens upon his face as he catches the sweet aroma of something that can only be…
"Don't tell me this has been here all this time," and he laughs, reaching to give a playful shove. "How many more of these casks are dotted along the countrysides where we wandered?"
~
Offering a small laugh of his own, Loki taps the keg with a short rap on the side and abruptly the spigot seems to appear on the side. "Seventeen in total are hidden about the world. You recall there was a shipment meant for Nidavellir?" A slightly bashful spread of his hands is given as if he were shrugging with his whole body as he accepts the blame for that age old incident.
He may have conjured the spout magically, but the two cups he produces come from inside his jacket and are remarkable contraptions of the time. Folding plastic cups that accordion out as he extracts one for Thor and one for himself. He pours himself a cupful, letting Thor serve himself. "So my tale," Loki looks to the side, takes a nice pull of the ale and makes an 'ahh' of satisfaction. "For the last century and some I have lived as several mortals. I came here at first in a fit of pique. You recall the celebration after Baldur's duel with the Svartalf… what was his name?"
Whether or not he gets an answer, Loki continues. "The celebration, words were said that were not entirely meant, nor thoughtless. I grew filled with ire. Normally I would simply get some terribly amusing if petty revenge. But I decided to leave it. For that night."
Spreading his hands, Loki goes on. "I found myself on Midgard. The last time I'd been here was oh… several hundred years before. In that time they'd made quite some changes. I was particularly interested in their motor vehicles, clever things. I raced them for a time. Yes, I know." His lip twitches, "Still. I took on a life of a mortal, lived as one, each day I awoke and told myself that today was the day I would return to Asgard. And each night I decided that I would give it one more day."
Looking helpless he offer a slow shrug. "Days turned to months to years." He shakes his head and seems less inclined to tell this as a story and more just recount his experience oh so vaguely.
~
Thus tapped, Thor reaches to take hold of the strange cup, and he can't help but play with the accordion-style drinking vessel. A soft 'huh' escapes the man, and he approaches again to pour. "Loki…" Still, he's not about to worry about it over much. So much time has passed, and when he takes that first swallow, he is in complete agreement, "Save some of this. My time on Midgard may be drawn out." Just in case. He can't even find his way to be disappointed in the 'harmless' tricks of his brother. It didn't cause inter-Realm wars and didn't kill anyone, but the information does make him laugh. "I'm glad I didn't know about it before."
Though, as the story begins, Thor empties his glass and listens. "I recall the banquet," he says softly, but it's obvious he doesn't recall Loki's response. Everyone was having fun, right? Harmless feast discussions, arguments?
He nods slowly, and as it comes to a middle, Thor gets a refill of his cup. "Midgard and her mortals are intriguing," is admitted readily. To hear of Loki racing, it gains a laugh from the elder of the boys and he nods, "There was a man with metal wings, flying. His name is Sam. I hope to find him again and ask him of his machine. They have grown clever."
Though now, Thor's tones turn teasing, "And do you find the women here worthy of your notice, brother? There are some that are remarkable. Perhaps one might find their way to settle your ways."
~
"Sit down, brother." Loki says this as he himself settles upon a smaller boulder that had once served as a cornerstone for either another building or the length of stone wall for that ancient monastery. He smiles ruefully as he looks towards Thor and says lightly, "I have lived several mortal lives while here, I am doing so now."
Perhaps his meaning isn't entirely clear until he adds, "I told you I was a driver. I then became a soldier. I fought in one of their wars…" There's a pause there and then he adds, "They do not wage war as we have. There is a…" His brow furrows, then he adds, "There is a lack of glory. There is a griminess to it. A butchery. They threw numbers untold, an entire generation of their children, into a… maelstrom of fire and bone and blood."
"I returned from that war, and I took one of them as a wife. I lived as a /farmer/ until she passed." He says that word sharply, as if trying to convince Thor that it's true. But then he shakes his head, "Right now I pretend to be a man known as Louis King, a mentor for the privileged young of this world. And I still go to bed each night, part of me expecting to return to Asgard the next day. Yet I do not."
~
Thor settles himself down, more leaning upon a rock than actually sitting on it, blue eyes cast upon his brother in the story told. Now, as Loki elaborates, his own visage grows a touch darker, a little more grim, and he nods slowly, "Thus Amora's words about the dark nature of this Realm." He's understanding a little better, but.. there needs to be something that gives it merit. "War is always thus, brother," is said softly. "Warriors, yes, but when desperation strikes?" He shakes his head and exhales in a sigh.
To hear of a marriage, however, Thor's brows rise, and immediately is interjected, "And you didn't think to invite me? To tell me?" Is he disappointed? Well, partially. They do live separate lives, after all. "Louis King," and Thor will remember it. "I understand your loss, brother," after all, he too 'lost' someone, but he's never been married. It's a little different for him.
"Then now you can stay with me. Here. And know that you have direction."
~
"But Thor, don't you see?" Loki takes another swallow of his ale and finishes that cup. "Your coming here, the nature of your presence, it solidifies it for me in some ways that our… your father… the differences between us." He reaches over slowly and slaps the side of the keg, causing the spigot to relocate with a faint flicker of eldritch energy, letting him refill his cup with an easy twist of the knob.
Looking back to the man he says, "I will do what I can to aid you. I'll even aid Amora in her return. But I cannot promise to you that I will return as well." He says this matter of factly, gesturing to the side as if it didn't truly matter.
There's a pause and he looks to the side, "Though I should tell you that in this case, at least in regards to your paramour, I do feel he may be right. Not about mortals as a whole. But for one to sit a throne in Asgard? I have a hard time imagining such."
~
Thor pushes off his rock to take another swallow as well once his brother's had some, and straightening up, he shakes his head. "No, I don't see it. We both have our place, brother. Our duties. And now that I find that we have found as much agreement if not more than in times past, how can you look at the differences?" He's honestly puzzled, and he takes a swallow of that sweet Asgardian ale.
"Then we will remain here." See? Easy decision as far as he is concerned. "We will remain here, and should our father come to reason, if you wish to remain, you may. It would please me to know that you were here." While he does catch the shift from 'our' to 'your', Thor makes a point to remain in the 'our' mode.
Now, however, in matters of his own heart, Thor begins his stalk back towards the ruin in order to lean. "She is no longer, Loki. Father had a set of trials for her, and those I could not aid her with. But I still care. I care enough for these mortals to aid them in their attemtps to become something better. Something greater, but they must wish to do it themselves." A mortal on the Throne.. and he chuckles, "She was more than suitable for such a position, brother."
~
A rough grin is seen on his lips, and perhaps it's a touch edged as he replies, "Thor." He says, as if trying to get through to the man. "I left however long ago, I married a mortal. I have not heard from Odin at all. You are gone for a day and want to marry a mortal, and he is beside himself." He opens a hand towards his brother, as if asking for him to take the answer from him, clearly seemingly making a self-evident point.
But then he lets it slip by as he presses on and accepts. "But very well, I am fine with this plan. We will exist here as we are, and however many years pass we will do as we can until whatever comes." His brow furrows, and then he looks to the side. "Hm, if Odin really wished to get us to return all he'd have to…"
Then, as if the thought disturbed him, Loki looks away abruptly as if something just occurred to him and it entirely didn't meet his liking.
~
"Brother, you cannot say that you have enjoyed living under our Father's eye. The things you've done, the places you've been.. all call out for privacy as you advanced for your gain. You wield the arts like no other I have ever known, or that I have seen in our history, Amora included. You have succeeded and you now live a life to your own desires. That is commendable. Desireable. Necessary." Thor shakes his head, and he can almost see the point, he can, but the older brother is a touch on the dense side… always has been.
There, the conciliation, and Thor's smile appears and is bright. "It will be as it always has, brother." His tones are happy, pleased, if not content. He's missed, whether because he wants to or is just not that empathetic, the turn away, but a moment later, Thor prods again, "Brother?"
~
Looking back at Thor, Loki frowns with furrowed brow. "What would cause us to rush back to Odin's side unmindful of our own qualms with the lay of our land?" For some reason his tone has sharpened. He shakes his head and frowns. "If Asgard was in danger. Or our mother." There is no 'your' in regards to Frigga. She is held in each of their hearts.
Yet that fact alone isn't enough to cause such trepidation. If Thor can make the leap, however, he might be just as disturbed as Loki seems to be. The idea of Odin perhaps generating such a crisis… would either of them be able to put it past him. A deep breath is taken, but then Loki seems to make his way past the concern through some internal rationalization.
"In any case, you arrive at an interesting time, brother. The mortals have been developing as a race. Their power has grown, not just their technology. Some of them have become empowered, able to match the gifts of some of Asgard… perhaps they are on their way to becoming our peers in the next thousand years."
~
"He wouldn't.." Thor shakes his head. He is making the leap, and immediately he's thinking almost the same thoughts as Loki is. "When I left, we were all at peace. Father has been pushing that since we were children." And their mother? It would be the one and only way that Odin could get them to return. "He would know that we would only return for the time until we were assured Mother was safe." Never mind Asgard. Still, it's a disquieting thought, and it brews in the back of his head.
Remarkably, the grey clouds that are over the waters and beyond rustle just a little in its echo.
Word of the point in time for Midgard has Thor's attention, though now it's divided. More concern. Heavy is the head that holds the crown to be? "I look forward to meeting more here. That 'Sam' who was flying with his metal wings seemed a good man."
~
"There is much to catch up on, and much to cover." Loki smiles a bit ruefully. "Rock and Roll music. Grace Kelly. Corvettes." The Asgardian's lip twitches a bit with amusement as he takes a deep breath. "But here, first let us finish this damnable barrel and then we'll try and get rid of the evidence somehow. Agreed?"
And as if he already had his answer, Loki downs another cup and refills it.