Loki has really only seen this man drunk before now, or otherwise in casual celebration. This is an interesting difference in attitude and speed of thought, and curiosity about the man himself is a good diversion from his own melancholy. He blinks green eyes slowly at the speech, hums to himself and leans forward so both elbows rest on his knees.

"I thought the saying was the only certainty is death and taxes...but perhaps that's from another time period or another world."

"You seem to be suggesting a revelation such as I had might distort not just a man's sense of self but his sense of reality." Which isn't unfair, really. Had Loki found out he was an adopted peasant from Vanaheim, he'd have been upset but not devastated. Finding out you're an entirely different species is a little mind-bending.

"I think...my behavior bears out that conclusion. I certainly did not know who to trust at the time. Everything that came after more or less stems from that shock. One mistake leading to a fall too precipitous to belay."