Kai's place. Small, in a bad part of a bad neighborhood. The door is surprisingly resilient and looks new. The murals on the walls are gorgeous, painted with an artist's hand. The place is cluttered, though. Housekeeping isn't his strong point. At the moment, Kai is making tea, a lovely Chai blend he got at Mrs. O'Riley's place. Curled up in one of the easy chairs is a little shiba-terrier dog, no more than twenty-five pounds.
*
Scarlett holds little fear of bad places. M-Town, the stews of Hell's Kitchen, there will always be places she doesn't belong. Part of being a counterculture queen means enduring the odd and the gritty to find where she belongs. Mrs. O'Riley's right to power is threatened only by the auburn-tressed bohemienne who regularly delivers rare teas and woeful news to the Sorcerer Supreme. Ask him one day where he received his lavender-shot blend from, after all.
The neat knock on the door, at least, suffices as a greeting without intruding too loudly.
*
The dog hops off the bed and trots to the door, barking like the world is ending. Someone's out there. Oh shit! Bark bark bark! Kai sets the teapot aside and goes over to answer the door, scooping the dog up and tucking it the crook of an arm. Bark! Kai grins as he sees who it is. "Come in! Don't mind Kevin. He's a coward." The dog whines and wiggles when faced with the person he was just barking at so ferociously. As for the elf, he looks tired around the eyes, a little more dim than usual, but his smile is genuine.
*
Bark, bark, and oh goodness, thrilled barking. That alone gives the Soul-Thief reason to brace and draw deep into the meditative cycles of breathing she practices for more than being at the forefront of every possible movement. Her smile blooms and remains affixed safely in the realm of welcoming and not strained; no canid entirely offers a threat, and wolf-princes count among friends. Thus, as the door opens, Kai will find Scarlett holding forth her offering: tea, baked chocolate yumminess, a bottle of good wine. Trust someone esteemed in things French to know where to obtain a decent bottle, this straight out of the Rhone Valley and saturated by the ancient vines of that eastern fringe where mountain and forest and Mediterranean collide. A white, unusual for someone who prefers her pinots.
"Kevin?" Of course the dog is Kevin. "He does strike me better than a Doug or a Marvin or Scott. Hello, Kevin!" Let's see if pupperoo recognizes his name. The gifts will be Kai's to worry about. "Good evening. You seem spent more than you ought to be, the essential lustre of you lost. It shouldn't be so at the waning of the moon."
*
The dog perks up, but it could just as easily be her tone of voice that appeals. He starts to wiggle harder and strain toward the redhead. Will she be his friend? Best day ever! Kai puts the dog down, and the dog bounces around, wuffing. Kai heads back to the kitchen to pour two mugs of tea. "These past few days have been a bear," he says. "The world is on the brink of war, and it's all my fault."
*
The dog has at least benefited from Scarlett's relative calm, the echoing corridors of her mind comparatively silent from their normal clamouring lamentations. Those secrets crawl and stay anchored down. "You singlehandedly brought us all to the threshold of nuclear war? I find that difficult to believe, and should that be the case, you have someone willing to try to help."
*
Kai says, "I had help." He puts the mugs of tea on a tray and brings them over to the coffee table. "This is Mrs. O'Riley's. I love this blend," he says. The dog wiggles his way around the house. He snaps up an old sock with a knot tied in it and shakes his head vigorously. Grr! Such a caution. "The man they're blaming for th bombing is a friend of mine. He was freed by Loki because I said I missed him. But then he left and his Mr. Hyde took over. Now the Yanks and Ruskies are at it, and it's a mess."
*
The business of assisting takes a front-row seat for Scarlett, and she slips into action wherever Kai might best need a pair of hands. Be that as it may, she might pour tea into the cups or run interference against Kevin excitedly jumping on the table seeking pets from his favourite person and the guest. A nod subtly shades her expression, braids in their foxfire wash stirring around her shoulders and upper back. "She has the most interesting of blends. Attempting to convince her to part with the finest of her recent concoctions is something of a pastime." The corner of her mouth slips higher, marking her cheek. The dog snapping around at the shadows on the wall remains at the periphery of awareness.
Stormy eyes slant upon the light elf, giving a measured response. "I see. And how was it Loki ended up removing someone from custody?"
*
Kevin does need managing. He's untrained and Kai doesn't seem to have any idea how to even begin. He's an excitable little dog, and those shadows know what they did. Kai takes his tea mug and curls up with it on the couch. Kevin finally hops up and settles down beside him. The elf is his person. He chose him himself. Kai pets him idly. "I'm not sure of the specifics," Kai says. "But he must have used magic."
*
Wiggly dog deserves at least a chance to seek something to burn off his energy. Scarlett curls her fingers around the sock, giving it a little shake. Tremors run up and down her left arm to allow canid joys to manifest, if he is so inclined to snatch the tossed toy out of the air. "I have rarely known him to pick locks. I contend the possibility may be there." The bohemienne pens a route for somewhere to sit with tea cup left for the moment, a certain thoughtful set to brow and mouth holding her very far away. "An Asgardian god of trickery releases a soldier accused of a massacre at the World's Fair. He escapes from capture. Had you or Loki anything to do with that, or is your part begun and ended in expressing a desire?"
*
Kevin sits, mesmerized. Then he abandons his person to pursue the sock. He hops about, snapping at it and growling ferociously. Kai watches him with a small, sad smile, poor depleted elf. "He hadn't done the massacre yet," Kai says. "He didn't do the massacre at all, but what matters is the Feds think he did." He rubs at his eyes, sighs, and says, "I just said I missed him and I was worried. But I should know to be careful what I wish for. He seeks to give me whatever I desire."
*
"The fact Captain America took a bullet to the throat speaks volumes, and that others saw him there will make any protest of defense the more difficult. Public opinion forms as a reaction of observation, and cements long before evidence comes together. You have not been through this before." Scarlett rests her hands within the sleeves of her diaphanous mandarin minidress, back straight and knees together. A sigh might be appropriate, but none comes, the skald depleted of such dolorous passions. "Not even the Feds. Now you outrun the media and the defensive forces already on a wicked footing since the president's assassination by, you realize, the self-same person who apparently had a hand in the release of another assassin."
*
"The press doesn't know," Kai says. "I don't think the people who had this cat are going to blab either, because think about how it makes them look." Though he does cast a worried gaze toward the door, as though half-expecting reporters or worse to bust through any moment. "My guilt is with mentioning missing him to Loki. My concern is how he couldn't have planted those bombs, and while the Feds are busy looking for him, the people who did do it have the free-and-clear to do it again. Loki and Bucky are both clever. They'll figure it out. The next victims of these terrorists don't have that going for them."
*
"The press had a photograph of Mr. Barnes. Any connection there can be made by certain individuals, and the press only needs one unverified source to jump all over it. A single metahuman, a loyal Soviet trying to point the finger of blame, and there may be troubles." Patient is the girl who has made the study of history and patterns her art, as much as she strives to master diplomacy across Nine Realms plus one. "I have not blamed Loki for this. The sheer amount of organization to attest to weapons on site, prepared to discharge, without notice of the authorities or visitors or staff. Magic would be an unlikely tool. Thus a secondary network and, realistically, options are limited."
*
Kai sighs quietly and says, "Yeah, that's another thing that's going to keep me up now." He curls up with his tea, huddling over the mug as he breathes in the steam. "I agree, but I also mean Bucky couldn't have done the bombing. The amount of planning and coordination would've taken months, and he's been isolated for weeks, no outside contact. When he goes all Mr. Hyde, he's not much of a talker anyway. It's like sending in a scalpel to do the job of a chain saw." He shrugs a shoulder, then. "Loki doesn't give a fig about blowing up fairs. He only nabbed Bucky because I wanted to see him."
*
"The logistics are simple enough. Moving things into place, I grant you, is difficult but not impossible with a few trucks. Possibly overnight, depending on the security on the vehicles. I know how he might do it, if I were him." Truer words never spoken. The faint tick of her gaze over the elf's shoulder may never reach the wall, instead seeking over configurations from the general layout of the World's Fair park in Queens. They have spent months assembling it, the general shape hardly any manner of surprise when brochures and newspapers documented the format to all the general public who could attend. "However, his ambitions did not lie in that direction. Even with the conditioning."
*
Kai nods and says, "Exactly. He's not the guy who bombs fairs. He's the guy who takes the shot and gets out of there. When he's being that guy. When he's in his right mind, the stuff he's done tortures him. He wants nothing more than to be himself again." He watches Kevin, who has gone under the coffee table to lay down. The little dog cheers him up a bit, though he's still rather solemn-eyed. "Luckily there are some people interested in the truth. You can never trust the Feds to get it right. The pigs aren't interested in help, they're interested in control."
*
"Be careful on your certainties, Kai. You hold a great deal of knowledge into the man, but not a complete picture." Those between phrases indicate more than they let on, and if he had the merest notion of what she conceals within the depths of her soul… The Soul-Thief refuses to speak on the business, and yet she leaves breadcrumbs for those wise enough to note their presence and follow. Tea will be reclaimed and drank then, lips put to the rim. "Who is interested in the truth? I do wish I had the missing piece of the puzzle, but for that, I need to find one of his superiors. Which may well be a hazard unto itself."
*
Kai glances at Rogue. "Maybe," he allows. He'll take a nibble at a crumb or two. "But even if he did it, he didn't do it alone. There are still people to look for. Because they'll do it again." He frowns into his tea, and he just seems so much smaller somehow when he's not sunshine and smiles. "I know one of the people trying to get him back. I don't know that I'd call her a superior. Anyway, the truth will come out." Of that he is certain. "I just hope it does before more people get killed."
*
Scarlett's fingertips skim around the cup, and curl in. The faintest chatter of their movements mark where rings or manicured nails meet the exterior. "Two matters. One, where he is. Two, who will strike. The possibility of defusing this lies at a much different level, though, and that…" Her smile is not a pretty thing, nor particularly wife. "Steve Rogers. Captain America himself. He may find it difficult to believe, but have you told him the facts you already know? I am loathe to bring myself to his scrutiny without just cause, but there is a factor there already that must be known. I know Bucky's thoughts, too."
*
Kai sits up, and his smile returns if fainter than usual. "I know Captain America," he says. "I told him, and he's giving it some thought." Which make Kai smile all the more. Someone like Captain America taking him seriously. He's quiet a moment, then admits, "I'm going to help him on this one. Hero-style. I can't say much more because I don't know much more, only that he says I can help make it right." He tilts his head then, studying Rogue anew. "You know Bucky?"
*
"You are well-connected for a man fresh come to the city," murmurs the redheaded bohemienne. Tea. The essential factor to finish a drink, taking in the liquid and allowing it to slip down her throat, percolating its way into the hidden depths of the soul. "Though unsurprising, really." The smile forms again, rare and fleeting. "Unusually social and friendly people leave their stamp. Are you helping the Captain or Mr. Barnes? Though in a way they could be considered one and the same. Yes. I know him."
*
Kai waves a hand and says, "I've been here for a little while." Not very long in Asgardian terms, certainly. He adds with a small smile, "But I do get around." He wiggles his fingers to capture Kevin's curiosity, and when the dog trots over, Kai pats his lap. The little dog climbs onto his lap, and Kai pets him idly. For as useless as the dog might be, he is good company. "One in the same," Kai says, "Though I guess Cap by name. Bucky's my friend. Cap's just… he's way cooler than I am."
*
"Still. An impressive connection. One of the most respected of civil servants, such as we have them." Getting around is a terrible way to describe it and the creasing of the smile deepens in curve and texture. The glittering light of it reaches her eyes, and Scarlett gives Kai a veiled look of open amusement at the appreciation for the dog. "Captain America is something of a living legend. I think we have a fair number of those about, however. Few with the character as the man with the shield. How did you come to know Bucky?"
*
Kai winks. Yeah, he said what he said. Though these days, his around-getting has been vastly curtailed. "For a square, Captain America's really swinging," he says. "I met Bucky in a bar. He was just this cat having a bad day, so I bought him a drink, told him if he needed a couch to crash on he could use mine." Because giving a deadly assassin one's address is a great idea. Kai looks down at Kevin, who gazes up at him with big brown eyes. Kai ruffles his ears, which gets him a wag. "I met the Winter Soldier the next day when I came home to him in my bathroom ransacking my first aid supplies. He nearly killed me."
*
"He is supposedly a very proper man. Genuine, though. A rarity to find someone that upright without the necessary stick." Scarlett raises the mug to touch her lips. The liquid brushes against the contour of her mouth, replenishing the lost heat. "One and the same. Yet not at all the same. Such a dichotomy in a man." Her fingertips curl firmer around the cup, and that leaves her positively thoughtful, observant in a sense. "You are clearly not dead. The victor, then."
*
"I gave him his gun and bullets back," Kai says, "and I guess he decided I wasn't worth shooting with them." He pauses, then perhaps realizes he might be burying the lead. "He was hurt," he explains. "When I got here. He pulled a gun in my face. He had a bullet wound that was bleeding pretty badly. I healed him, and while he was unconscious I took his gun and bullets away. However, I was exhausted, so when he woke up he had me by the neck and wanted to know where his stuff was." Kai scowls, and he flips one of Kevin's ears just to see it flop back and forth. Flip flip flip. Kevin wags. It's attention and he'll take it. "He scruffed me like a cat."
*
Well, that certainly constitutes decent news. "Better to use something else than a gun? Still. You and he are well." Scarlett dips her chin thoughtfully and eyes the teapot at a distance, somewhere back in the kitchen. "Would you care me to fetch you more hot water? No need to interrupt the pup, after all, when he is comfortable."
*
"That would be great," Kai says, and he offers up his teacup. The dog is why he doesn't have to get up? Sweet. This mutt's paying out. The mutt looks up at Scarlett and wags more. One ear perks, the other remains ever flopped down at the tip. "He's a good dog," Kai says, giving the dog a pat. "I can't believe someone just abandoned him. "In any case, it was a shaky start to a friendship, but I don't hold a grudge."
*
Sliding from the seat, Scarlett gracefully extends her legs and rises to her feet. Nothing would ever indicate that she hosts abilities beyond the norm, the movements calculated to withhold any hints of talents she has. Pouring water is hardly difficult, nor preparing more to boil as necessary. The time isn't great, and she can speak besides. "He is a fine hound indeed. And a fine friend. I am glad to see that you have discovered two souls in need of companionship."
*
Kai for his part is entirely at home letting someone else be entirely at home. He looks at his dog with pride, something Kevin has probably never seen before from any biped. "Did you hear that, boy? I'm not the only one who thinks so." The dog's tail wags double-time. Who could put such a loving creature on the street? "I like people," Kai says, "and dogs, and some cats though not the one that beat up poor Kevin here. I guess souls in need of love are the kind I'm drawn to."
*
A dance of the decorum, a practice of ritual. Pour water, carry pot, and glide across the floor to replenish the tea proper once steeped. She well knows the habits of certain Irish tea doyens, and probably counts as one herself. "A cat that molested your dog? Say not a cheetah or a wildcat from upstate?" Kevin earns himself a knowing look. Probably a raccoon disguised as a cat. That would seem most likely.
*
Kai nods solemnly and says, "A ferocious wild beast that didn't look at all like that mean calico from down the street." The moggie with a litter of kittens nearby, brooking no trespass in defense of her brood. Poor Kevin, he just wanted to smell them. Kai gives the dog another petting. Kevin rests his chin on Kai's knee, and his eyes drift closed. "Things are bad," Kai says, "in some ways. I worry about the terrorists, about Bucky. But life's not so bad when you can come home to someone who adores you without question. Did I tell you how I got him?"
*
The laughter lingering in her eyes slowly fades away, leaving behind a thoughtful measure of contemplation. It would not do to laugh. It would not do to crack a grin. And nor can Scarlett truly manifest it, the weight of the world closing in. "Ah. Yes. I thought poerhaps the reconciliation of powers might balance things, and yet I see that not to be the case. We divide the world along its seams rather than unite."
*
"We can make it right," Kai says. "I'm going to do whatever I can, and Cap will figure it out." He continues petting the sleeping dog on his lap. "We have to hope, right? Without hope, you just stop trying." He looks up at Scarlett and smiles faintly. "We unite with each other." This alone might be Kai's real superpower; in the face of explosions and assassination attempts, he doesn't stay without hope for long.