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On the steps of the Asgardian Embassy sits a young ljosalfar dressed like a Midgardian. He's smoking a cigarette, and he's got an open bottle of beer. Open containers aren't exactly encouraged by the law, but damn it, he's technically on Asgardian soil. There, he lounges, watching people walk by, as if daring someone to say something.
Surely no-one in this place would begrudge an elf his libations. Certainly not Balder, who arrives in a flash of light on the Embassy grounds. His landing may be a little bit rough, considering his lack of recent practice at this particular mode of transit, but he arrives in one piece, no worse for wear. Speaking of wear, he is clad in fairly typical Asgardian attire; leather armor, boots, carrying a sword. Definitely out of place for Midgard, but perhaps not so much for the Embassy itself. "Greetings!" He calls out to the elf, a smile rising to his face as his footsteps carry him forward in Kai's direction.
Kai's attention turns to the flash of light. It's definitely more interesting than squares giving him disapproving looks as they walk by. He tips down his shades as Balder appears, and his gaze tracks him feet to face. Then he smiles and sits up. "Hello!" he says, speaking the Old Norse of Asgard. "What's a nice Aesir like you doing on a planet like this?"
Surely Kai was not the only person to see the flash, and Balder's arrival. Any odd looks he may have gotten from the clueless mortals who would have witnessed the event are met with a friendly smile, but it is the elf Balder addresses directly. "One might ask the same of you, young elf," he says in a warm, jovial tone. "I am Balder, Odinson," the softly glowing man gives as an introduction. "Midgard has changed a good deal since I last set foot in this realm, I see. Are there many of your kind here, now?" Yes, Balder has a lot of catching up to do.
The witnesses are left to wonder; Kai has forgotten all about them in favor of the Asgardian Prince. "I'm avoiding personal responsibiity back home," he replies with a chipper, dimpled smile. He gets to his feet so that he can bow properly, cigarette in one hand, beer in the other. "Your Majesty. I am Hjuki Evyndirson, known in this realm as Kai. Never met another elf here. Just me." He looks around. "It's always changing. That's what I love about it. How long has it been for you?"
"Centuries, I'm afraid," Balder says. He gives a bit of a wave of his hand, dismissing the honorifics and the deference. "Simply Balder, please. I feel less a prince of late." He moves to stand beside Kai, and then sits on the steps, as the elf had been doing himself. "It is good to meet you, Kai," he says with a nod to the elf. "Responsibility can only be avoided for so long, in my experience. It finds us eventually, whether we run from it of our own accord, or we are kept from it by circumstances beyond our control." Balder watches the mortals as he speaks. "I wonder, how much do they know of us?"
Kai sits again, and he offers his beer to Balder. It's still mostly full, luckily enough. "You're more of a prince than I am," Kai says with a wry smile. When he's told responsibility can only be avoided so long, he ashes his cigarette and says, "All the more reason to enjoy these days while we have them." His gaze drifts to the street again. "Most of them have forgotten the old days, and they're good at telling themselves they never saw what they see, so we remain more or less a mystery."
Balder lets out a soft huff of air, and accepts the offered bottle. He regards it a moment, and then drinks. "It sounds as though Midgard hasn't changed as much as it appears, then." There's a smirk, then. A well-dressed man passes by, and Balder watches him for a few long seconds as he walks; Balder glows just slightly brighter for a moment, and his Asgardian attire is replaced by something a little more in line with the Midgardian fashion of the day. "Perhaps this will attract less attention." The outfit probably needs some tweaking, but it's pretty close to what the man who just passed was wearing. "Thank you for the drink, it was most welcome," he says, passing the bottle back to Kai.
Kai sits on the steps of the Asgardian Embassy with Balder, cigarette in one hand, passing a bottle of beer. Kai watches the same mortal walk by that Balder does, and he tips down his sunglasses, but briefly. "Good sense of style," he says agreeably. He takes the bottle back and has a swig. It's good beer. Life's too short for swill. "Do the other Princes know you're back?" he asks. "I'll probably see Loki later. I could tell him if you want."
"The Thunderer was the first to meet me when I returned to Asgard," Balder says, but the mention of Loki gives him pause for a moment. "I do not know if Loki knows of my return, but I would not be surprised. He always seemed to have a way of knowing that which others could not." He has some questions for Loki, actually. "How is it you know my brother?"
aaaand RIGHT as Balder mentions Thor, the God of Thunder practically bursts out of the Embassy! though of course, he's wearing more casual clothes and Stormbreaker is classicly disguised as an umbrella. Yes, Thunderstorms are now over head, but there is no rain or thunder as of yet. Just spooky clouds. Regardless, Thor seems to relax lightly as he lowers the hood of his jacket to reveal his face. "Kai, I see you've found my brother. Who should be -RESTING-." he says pointedly to Balder before he takes a seat on the steps with them, setting disguised-Stormbreaker on the ground next to him. What? Good luck to anyone trying to steal it. "What have I missed?"
Kai starts to reply to Balder, but then Thor appears! And Kai sits up straighter, a broad grin on his face. "Thor! Don't worry, we're resting. I've mastered the art of doing nothing, and I'm teaching him my ways." He stabs out his cigarette and flicks the butt to the street. Take that, squares. "I was just about to tell Balder that Loki and I are, er, rather close." He glances sidelong at Balder. There's no shame in the elf. "I'm his lover."
"I've spent more time than I care to 'resting' already, brother," Balder says, lifting his eyes to Thor as he admonishes his younger brother. His tone isn't one of anger by any means, but there's certainly some impatience there. Come on, the guy's been dead for hundreds of years, how much more rest does he need? Yes, the teleportation spell from Asgard to Midgard was a bit of a strain, but nothing's broken, so it's all good right? "That's very close," he says in response to Kai's revelation of his relationship with Loki. Strange, he had been given the impression that the God of Mischief was off searching for something. Perhaps he had found it. "If you see Loki before I do, please tell him I've returned. I should very much like to speak to him, in fact."
Thor seems to sigh lightly as he looks between the two of them, those blue eyes like a cold storm in and of itself, but he seems to yield (for once) to Balder. "Very well. But as soon as you are back in Asgard, it's training. No doubt you've gotten rusty." He narrows his eyes lightly before he looks to Kai. "Yes, it seems Loki fancies Elves. Who knew? Though, I suppose he's always had a thing for elves." Thor says like he didn't understand it. "Must be their festive nature." he teases Kai very lightly. Nevertheless, Thor looks to the street. "So then, what's next?"
"Just the one Elf as far as I know," Kai says. He grins at Thor. "I'm nothing if not festive." He then nods to Balder and says "I'll tell him when I see him." He takes another swig of beer and offers the bottle over again. With a grin, he says, "We're just hanging out, man. There's no what's next. I was just going to drink for awhile, then go home. This is what shirking responsibility is all about."
Balder gives Thor a nod, "Of course, brother." There's no argument; ignoring the fact that Thor is the heir apparent, he's also right. Balder has been out of the game too long. "Many thanks, my friend," he says to Kai, accepting the bottle and taking another drink from it. "I had intended to re-acquaint myself with Midgard, brother. It seems much has changed in the short time I've been away." Of course, 'short' is a relative term for the functionally immortal. Lots can happen in a few centuries. "If I'm to be of any help to you and Father, I will need to be familiar with the state of the realms, yes?"
Thor nods lightly to Kai and he shakes his head in amusement. "Fair point, that." His eyes look then to Balder with a small smile. "Good! Well, Loki's more the person to do historical tours, but I suppose I can gather you up one of these days and we can talk." he offers to his brother.
"I'll help out if I can," Kai says. "I've been living here for the past three centuries." Which, to look at the youth, would have to be most of his life. "This era has the best music. Best clothes were the 1940s, best wars were in the 1700s. We're also living in the era of the best soft pretzels, so it's a good time to be in New York. I'm sure Loki can fill you in on details."
Balder nods again, and takes one last drink from the beer bottle before standing and handing it back to Kai. "Pity I could not return to life sooner then," he says with a bit of a wry smirk. "It sounds as though Loki has a great many answers for me. I hope to see him again soon." Balder turns toward Thor. "In truth, the trip here took more out of me than I had thought it would. I should return to Asgard. No doubt Mother will be worried."
Thor looks to Balder "Why did you think I'm here?" He teases his younger brother lightly, before his eyes shift to Kai. "Good. You likely no more than I. I've been off and on for Midgard more than a few times. I only started really looking here within the last century or so." Ya know, give or take. A thousand years is a blink in the life of an Asgardian. He looks to the men before him and he yawns lightly, seems the Crown Prince was tired. "With that said…slumber calls my name. Brother, will you be coming home now or later?"
Kai takes a longer swig of his beer, then stretches. "I should be going home," he says. "So I can make food for your brother. I'll probably just bring him take out, because I can't cook." Poor Loki, he can only be subjected to macaroni and chesse from the box so many times. "Thor, always a pleasure, my friend, and Balder, it warms my heart to see you. I'll give Loki your regards."
"Now seems prudent. I would hate to keep Mother waiting," Balder says, stretching a little bit and looking up into the sky. "Kai, it was good to meet you. Give Loki my best," he says, bowing his head to the elf. "Brother, shall we?"
Thor nods, giving a little wave to Kai as Thor leads Balder back home. "We shall." and thus, the Asgardians and the Elf take their leave of each other, no doubt to meet again.