saffron wind

[golden_anvil]

Not everyone walks calmly into the streets of the Nexus. Not everyone is so distracted as to not see when the stones shift and the shops and buildings aren’t quite the same. She’s staring down into a sketchbook in her hands and muttering to herself for a fair distance before it even occurs to her to look up. Light brown eyes peer out from a mess of dark curls pinned up around her shoulders. She purses her lips in some amount of confusion and looks to her left, her right, and finally turns about in a small circle.

This stocky stranger traces her gaze over the various buildings as she slowly closes the sketchbook and returns it to a satchel strung across her shoulder by a long strap. After a moment of taking in her surroundings, she nods quietly and sighs. She shifts two things strapped across her back and shoulders: a satchel bag and a large pole with one end wrapped up in cloth. In less than a minute, she has the bag slung around her shoulders and over her back in the style of a backpack. The pole finds it’s way into her hands, the covered end pointing upward as she turns in a slow circle.

“This is…different.” Her voice is soft and deep, but quickly taking on a worried tone. The pole rests in the crook of one arm as she gathers up her skirt to tie off around her waist. Her leather sandals gently hug her all the way up to her knees. “All right, I’ll bite. Who did I offend this time?”

Comments

[golden_anvil]

"Save your challenges for your brother. Your parenting skills are spoken of in high regard, but so is your gift for complete mischief." She can't help but grin at the thought, though.

"He's here?!" Lysandra practically bounces up in a burst of excitement. "And pottery! Oh, he's a man of tradition, he is. I'll have to bring him some kind of gift and see if he can't throw a bit of clay for a vase."

Her mind is buzzing with thoughts on the physics of pottery, but she tries to focus herself back to Loki. "Dad Loki. Aren't you all parents? I would think 'Ink' might be a more apt descriptor of how you are currently presenting to yourself."

[coldsong]

"Oh, but he knows me too well, he's no fun any more." Loki laughs softly. That last bit isn't true. Thor knowing him better actually makes him more fun, but Loki being the little brother he is, he's hesitant to admit that out loud.

At this point, Loki is satisfied that this particular Olympian means Prometheus no harm, and he smiles at her excitement. "Tradition and skill. I have quite a bit of his work in my home."

He shakes his head then. "Of the Lokis in the Nexus, I am the only one currently with children at home. One is childless thus far, I believe, and the other is actually older than I am, though he doesn't look it, and his history with family is complicated."

"I hope it's not a disappointment to you to hear that I have neither serpents, nor wolves, nor eight-legged horses amongst my offspring. The stories aren't all literally true, in my case. But I have four children, adopted from Asgard after a disaster befell their parents."

'Ink' seems to amuse him, and he looks down at his own black ensemble. "...I suppose I'm sporting a Gothic look today; that's fair. I'll see if I can't wear green next time I see you."

[golden_anvil]

"I have never not heard of a tale involving the two of you working together where Loki isn't having the best time." She's not going to call Loki a liar to his face, but she knows that siblings of their caliber aren't about to become bereft of entertainment among themselves.

"Wine might be the gift of choice until I can hand-make something in return for him. I know I'm a blacksmith by trade, but I was raised in the old ways of Greece. I can weave, sew, and make a damn fine tapestry with enough time."

Rather than disappointment, Lysandra finds herself feeling incredibly curious. She's known that the stories and the deity themselves are often very different things, but this borders into other worlds, or even universes. Not a surprise, but utterly fascinating.

"I want to speak to every last one of the men in this place who call themselves Loki. To have so many iterations of oneself in one place is to have entire lifetimes to commit to poetry. The Muses themselves would weep with joy at such a chance." She giggles a little at when he looks down. "You could wear the whole rainbow if it suits you. I'll not begrudge anyone to wear a color they are not feeling fond of."

[coldsong]

"A blacksmith that can also work with fiber...that's a wide skill-set. I ought to learn to do something with my hands, I suppose. I can make all sorts of things, from clothing to weaponry, but I use magic every time."

He considers a moment, then adds: "Although, I have gotten decent with baking cookies and with making popsicle stick constructions. That's a start."

He can also make macaroni and cheese from a box, with one hand holding a crying child to his chest to soothe them, while singing songs cribbed from the Muppets, all of which is its own kind of skill.

"Best of luck." He laughs a little at her enthusiasm. "Try the Viper's Pit. One of my alternates owns the place. You may find them as a man or a woman, depending on their mood, but welcoming either way."

"I wear white around Yule," he says with a shrug. "But green and black and gold tend to be my signature colors. My brother favors red and silver."

[golden_anvil]

"Quite! I've made bows, arrows, and quivers. There isn't anything I can't create if I have enough time to observe it and take it apart. Even food, as you've learned, is a matter of taking the right parts and putting them together in the right way."

Lysandra would delight to know such an experience has been Loki's to live through. She will always have a soft and tender spot in her heart for the true heroism and strength needed to be a parent.

"Viper's Pit. Dear me, that's a hell of a name. That kind of snake is well known for their wickedly bad tempers."

She smiles at hearing his traditions with clothes. "I suppose I'm rone to the color blue. Nothing to do with the flag of Greece at present. It's a very lovely color in specific shades and it makes me feel a touch more regal."