[ closed ]

[aeturnus]

who: Cain (aeturnus) & Loki (dothelokimotion)
what: Two oldbies meet up for lunch to maybe talk about magic, maybe talk about being stupid old
when: Day after this thread, June 27th
where: Some Italian-ish restaurant because Cain is biased
warnings: Currently N/A. Updates as necessary.

[ Cain, true to his word, scopes something out before he bugs Loki about meeting up. It isn't anything terribly fancy, nor is it Earth-based, but it has food that's close enough for him to figure it'll be good for lunch and while he's getting a seat and letting the staff know he's meeting someone on their lunch breaks, he texts Loki the location.

Really, a lot of his motivation is boredom. That's basically his biggest motivator here, boredom and curiosity, things that push him to get up and get out and talk to people and understand this new world. On the other hand... he wasn't lying about enjoying their conversations, and there's a certain attachment forming there that he's pretty sure Loki is in no place to accept right now. The god's demeanor is definitely not open for friendship out of the blue so he'll get them closer before dropping that bombshell maybe.

That's how you do it, right? ]

Comments

[dothelokimotion]

[ He tilts his head, acknowledging the fake name as he pulls up a chair, sliding in gracefully. ]

It is not terrible. Which is what I ask of any day.

[aeturnus]

[ Cain can respect the identity, and he hasn't heard news that Loki's started going by otherwise. It's not like he doesn't keep his own alternate name or anything. ]

My, how optimistic of you. Glad to hear it, though, your work seems like a place where things could go crazy any minute.

[dothelokimotion]

It keeps me entertained.

[ And keeps him in the loop in terms of magic and dangerous magic-users. He could handle the people in Gramarye right now and he knows it, but Loki doesn't want them to catch on. ]

How goes your magic studies? Did you successfully manage to tap into a source?

[aeturnus]

Tell me about it.

[ Keeping entertained is not as easy as most people think. Not for someone like Cain, anyway. ]

I did. Victor von Doom agreed to teach me—well, you know, younger me—although I think I caught him making a sign saying he doesn't take on students, too.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Doom again. Loki has mixed feelings but out of respect for his other self, he will rely on wariness foremost than anything else. ]

I teach a few lessons on cosmology. How magic and realms connect. It tends to go over mortal minds, I'm afraid.

[ But it's like Loki to teach something and have his students work themselves into a tizzy while he sips a martini. ]

[aeturnus]

[ In fairness, Loki's the one who suggested him first. There's something going on between Doom and some of the others who all seem to be from the same world (or close to), but it's hard to place. ]

Now that sounds like a class I'd like to take. Feeling up to one more student? [ Said jokingly, but he's at least partially serious. ] Since it's so relevant to our current situation and all.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Yes. Because Loki is an asshole. ]

Not so much, though I suppose I cannot deny its import. This place is cut off from other realms. Its only connection is the portal.

[aeturnus]

[ Aha. That's interesting to know. ]

But the portal is theoretically connected to everything? Or what might as well be everything.

[dothelokimotion]

Theoretically. Yggdrasil functions in the same way. The Bifrost is our ways of utilizing it.

The portal may be this world's Bifrost.

[aeturnus]

Which still makes it not so different from where you're from. Or is it?

Also, I heard from another source that the portal might have been alive at some point. Is that something you can confirm or deny?

[dothelokimotion]

[ He blinks. That was not an avenue he considered. ]

I . . . cannot say. I have never come across a sentient portal.

[aeturnus]

[ Yeah, it came as a surprise to Cain, too. The longer he's thought about it, though... ]

Might be worth looking into. If it's true, it could explain how it finds people based on feelings and why lately it's been grabbing people who aren't actually looking to escape, either.

[dothelokimotion]

It might.

[ His brow furrows. ]

And yet, anything alive with that much power . . . it would go mad.

[aeturnus]

Even if that was its one purpose?

[ It isn't contradictory in the slightest. Cain might be utterly unable to die but it's never made him feel overly powerful. Any power he's possessed has come from his own work, age only helping his perspective in those matters. ]

[dothelokimotion]

No purpose can override the powers of the universe.

[ Loki would know. He's fallen into the black caverns, the hollow moons. He's touched the emptiness where no light touches. He's walked with titans. Of course he went mad. Who wouldn't? ]

[aeturnus]

... I wonder if it was the only one?

[ Perhaps it's just the last one standing. A body that hasn't broken down to return to whatever cycle it belongs. There's a brief flicker of something like jealousy because he knows that there's a chance his age will become true power sometime in the future and that he's got far too much of it ahead of him to comprehend. He doesn't think about that part of his life too often, because that, certainly, is enough to make someone go crazy with fear. ]

Or might be now I'm the optimist.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki eyes him. ]

You're speaking of your circumstances. Unusual as they are, it is not the same as . . . the cosmic energies. They exist to rip you apart.

[aeturnus]

Right, little transparent of me there. Guess it's been on my mind.

[ Since he went back to the beginning. He shrugs, motions as if he's giving Loki the point. ]

Now it sounds like you're talking about yours. [ Not that he knows anything for certain, but tit for tat. ] If the portal had a psyche, though, I can't imagine you're on the wrong track.

[dothelokimotion]

I was.

[ His response is a little curt. The fall is one incident Loki cannot discuss with ease, no matter how he wishes to twist it. Too much occurred between the time he fell and Earth. ]

It would have to be a God. A god far greater than myself or my brother. And I have yet to see signs of anyone possessing that kind of power.

[aeturnus]

[ Tone speaks as much as words do and Cain lets it drop. Much like how he won't talk about Remus's death or the effects it's had on his life, not really, he knows a closed subject. ]

Maybe if there was anything like that, they've already left through the portal. Or hiding.

[dothelokimotion]

[ He snorts lightly. ]

That much power would bleed through. No one could hide that well. Their very steps would shake this place.

[aeturnus]

You'd know better than I would. I've heard mention of a war before, maybe that's got something to do with it.

[ Might be his next research project, nestled in between all the other pies he has his fingers in. ]

[dothelokimotion]

A war? Ah yes. That's what led to the creation of this place.

[ He had forgotten. Wars tend to be a blip on Loki's radar. ]

[aeturnus]

Exactly. War between the realities if I'm remembering right, so the portal and people involved would have to have had a pretty big starring role, right?

[dothelokimotion]

If they still exist. I was under the impression they haven't given it much thought.