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The Asgardian prince has steadily gotten more bold at showing up to the embassy. For a time, he would disguise himself with illusion, but now, he just walks in, and though he's certain they are reporting on his movements, at least he's acceptable to be there. He has heard of a new gal around town, and to him, she is fresh in his mind, relatively speaking. He drifts through the hallways to try and find her about the place.
After having been recently introduced to the relative newness that is Midgard after a dual thousand years, it made more sense to watch the world go by from outside. Lady Stormrider, the acquisition from the realm of Valhalla and an old soul in comparison to the Prince she now guards as Shield-Maiden (though mind, she looks no younger than when she was whisked away to the vaunted mead-halls), stands at one of the windows in the main dining area. The glassy surface of the long wooden table reflects warm sunlight and hosts myriad bowls of nibble-snacks: fruits, nuts, these newfangled things called 'chips'. In the battle-mage's hand, a mug of water. She wears a long tunic overtop her mage-robes, all in appropriate hues of pale-blue, belted with finely-woven chain in silver. Her pale hair, nearly white, is braided back in one length.
Bootsteps cause her to glance over from the window and glacial-hued eyes rest upon the younger Prince of Midgard. She blinks and the frown is one of confusion, of a memory attempting to jog something from its depths.
"Be welcome to the Embassy," she finally says quietly, falling back on propriety when it's clear that she's not sure whom this person is in the end.
Loki glides towards her. He is clearly Asgardian, based on his attire, which is a dull green tunic with an unreasonable amount of folds and tucks, held prisoner by a leather vest and gauntlets, and boots with braided straps. "Why thank you." Thin lips curve into a sly smile and he folds his pale hands behind him as he approaches the beautiful woman at the window. His tone purrs low and deep in his throat. "I have been unwelcome for some time, and it is nice to be myself again in these walls, even if it is a poor substitute for the halls of Asgard and the golden palace. How are you finding Midgard?" Green eyes sweep up and down her form when he is near enough to the window to stop his paces.
Kelda's little frown only lessens when the other Asgardian joins her at the expanse of paned glass.
"Midgard is…a brilliantly differently place than last I encountered," she admits quietly, finally looking away from the younger Prince and back to the outside. Beyond the courtyard that surrounds the Embassy, life bustles on at the hectic pace of a metropolis rarely matched on this planet proper. "But — unwelcome? One of our people in this place? This seems counter to proper procedure," the woman says, her gaze resting on Loki again. "Forgive me if I seem forward, but I know you and I do not. I am Lady Kelda Stormrider, of his highness Prince Thor Odinson's retinue — Shield-Maiden. I was away for…some time." Her mild smile fades a little at the admission. All in all, she has a pale beauty about her, like the touch of spring still chilled by winter, all pastel and somewhat translucent.
"Yes…I heard you were about. I have been curious to meet you." Loki's smile grows a little broader and he leans against the window, his lithe frame giving off a playful aura as he delays introducing himself. "Lady Kelda Stormrider…an elegant name…and an appropriate woman for the retinue of brave Prince Thor…the mighty thunderer. The heir to the title Allfather, and the bright pride and joy of our beloved Odin." Black hair seems stiff and barely moves when he turns his head this way and that. "Can you think of no one who would be unwelcome here?"
The battle-mage can pick up on the subtle emphasis on certain words and gives the dark-haired Asgardian a wondering squint for all of a passing second.
Then it clicks. It was the body language at first, truly, that coy playfulness about the man and then — then the bounce along his expounding of her name and reason for presence.
No doubt he can see Kelda's eyes widen a tic even before she inclines her head and holds it, chin nearly tucked to her throat. "Your highness," she murmurs, risking a glance up through her pale lashes. "Unwelcome, I think this is an unkind word — tracked, yes, but…I remember similar circumstances when you were younger, within the palace proper. You were always a sly one."
Loki chuckles softly and lifts his chin once she figures it out. "Yes, you are right. Regardless…I am only sly, now, and a little mischievous." Loki winks at the woman and draws his hands out in front of him. "Do you know what the best thing I have found on Midgard?" He pauses a beat, but doesn't really wait for her answer before he answers, "Other Asgardians…and those from the realms. Truly…it feels like a vacation destination, rather than anything else. A place where Asgardians can have a little extra leeway. Have you been around my brother much?"
"I hadn't considered this to be a sojourn for myself, more of a means to educate myself as to the Worlds that your brother may visit, but…I suppose, in a way, you are right." Kelda glances over to see a double-decker bus drive by. It leaves her momentarily speechless until she realizes that Loki has an unanswered question still.
"His highness attended me upon arrival here, but then spoke of other needs to be addressed. I am left to my devices at this time." Another mild smile brings up the corners of her pale lips.
Loki makes a sudden snort sound at that. "That suits him just fine, does it? You are sent here…for ONE purpose, and he denies you it? You should become my guardian instead." He smiles broadly. "I would appreciate you…and not leave you wandering around on your own in a strange town, while I doted on the Enchantress. Come…I will take you out /right now/ and show you some sights."
"At this very moment?" Kelda looks the youngest Prince dead in the face, her water still untouched since the start of their meeting and held at her waist. "I…suppose I could attend you, your highness. I would be fulfilling the obligations of my duties to one member of the royal family, at least."
What a precious, low-key snark from her. She says it with utter sincerity as well.
Loki is suddenly propelled into action and he straightens himself up and offers a hand in the right direction. "Come…I will show you Ellis Island…" He offers, his hand extended to her. "Do you think we are both dressed for it? Not that I care…but you may. Stun too many people with your otherworldly loveliness and…who knows what they would do."
Kelda hesitates a moment, but then sets aside her water on a nearby sidetable pushed against the drapes and takes the offered hand.
"His highness is too kind," she says in a low voice, deflecting her gaze aside in a demure reaction. She follows beside him, her palm alit upon his as is proper conduction about the Embassy. "I do not think the people of this world will care overmuch for my current dress. I am not the Enchantress — I am the Shield-Maiden. I prefer my fashion to have practicality rather than visibility." Indeed, nothing improper shows on the woman other than a slightly low cut to the neck of her robe and the flash of a leanly-muscled leg on other side of the skirting, slit from thigh down on both sides to allow more freedom of movement.
Once he has her hand, he waits until she has set down her water, and finished her sentence, before he makes a swift motion with his hand and teleports the two of them to Ellis island. He has placed them in a fine little spot, out of the way, between some trees, where they won't overly startle the humans too much. "This…is a statue that the Midgardians are very proud of. I know…it is not as large as the one of Bor, but…it is metal at least."
Inhale in one place, exhale in another. Kelda sighs in surprise, her eyes rising up the greened hull of the Statue of Liberty until her chin is up-tilted.
"Not as large, no, but she does carry a sense of dignity not too unlike the one of our past king." Glancing to Loki, she gives him a bigger smile, an appreciative one. "Do you know of other places with architectural wonders such as this? My memories of this World are those of stone and wood, not of metal."
"Mine too were like that, but…such memories are a blessing, because those ancient sites are nearly gone. Instead of longhouses and tors built to honor them, they are overgrown and bathed in secrets. Only those who remember them from long ago could tell where they are now. And there are many things the modern Midgardians have built, but I think the most curious are probably these 'rides' called 'roller coasters'. This is something that we never invented, even in our past. Devices that go no where except around and around on a track, at a blazing speed. Entertainment. " Loki smiles and leads her on a little walk around the metal, green woman, so that they can see her at different angles.
"Roller coasters." The Lady Stormrider sounds out the words and nods to herself. Shifting her palm up to the inside of Loki's arm, indeed, they stroll about the little park surrounding the statue. The grass is well-kept and plush. The tourists, they grant the Asgardians a look or two, but no one seems to be brave enough to approach and ask why on earth someone's attempting to dress as such outside of a faire. "I would want to search out these memories of mine sometime, I think," she says quietly, her glacial-blues wandering out towards the harbor and its expanse of waters. "Stone is strong. I am certain many of the wonders we once knew still stand, yes?"
"The stones still stand, but nature has obscured them. You say you are missing memories? Or…that you wish to see what they look like now?" Loki asks to clarify. He'd had to make up a surprise, only to have it be the WRONG surprise.
The battle-mage thinks for a second.
"Both, actually," she admits in a soft voice. "I returned to this time and to Asgard with holes in the weaving of my memories. It was the manner of my retrieval, I believe. I was not able to be returned to the Golden City without troubles in my wake. I find that each new day brings a new revelation, but from time to time, I become jealous and impatient. I wondered if seeing the places I once knew might help bring to the fore what I've lost."
"Perhaps they will. I know of a Norn Pool, but that is dangerous. However, it did restore me, faster than waiting around. If you wish to go, I will escort you and watch over you." Loki offers the woman who is in a condition not unlike his own for a while.
"Oh, the Norn pools." Kelda shades her eyes as she squints at the far distance of the harbor's entrance, where it meets the sea. "I would…allow me to speak with your elder brother first on the matter. It is good to hear that you were restored of what ailed you as such, but I do have memories of the pools themselves being dangerous. I would not risk myself without knowing that his highness is safe in my absence. It would shine poorly upon the very reason I was beckoned back to Asgard." She gives him another mild smile, this one even somewhat sad.
A sigh from her. "Speaking as such, I should return to the Embassy, in the off-hand that your brother searches for me. I would not have him over-worried that I stepped on the black of the…streets? Roads? He warned me of them earlier."
With that, they return to the Embassy, sure to embark on another adventure soon enough — at least, an adventure to the Lady Stormrider, still so new to this World.