Goats? [ Dany puzzles at that, wondering where his words propose to take her. ] They are sly and foul-tempered creatures, bred for their milk and their hide.
[ And her children had not balked at seizing them from the herds that roamed the hinterlands, she does not doubt. Curious, she turns her head enough to watch the bright green of his eyes. ]
My brother was young once—very young. We had a sort of ... mm, defiant and petulant streak, you could say. One day, where the green hills met the pale blue sky, the light elves were displaying their prowess in the art of horsemanship. My brother, a bit of a bully and more jealous than naught, was observing them with a former self of mine. He thought that he would be better than the greatest elvish equestrian, so ... my young, peevish, former self said to him, "It takes a great man to break a stallion, but an even greater man to break those more headstrong and stubborn—why not those pair of mountain goats?"
Goats, of course, are sour in temperament and even more prideful. The two of them, also brothers, would not bow their head as long as the other remained standing.
[ a little, wistful smile settles on his lips. ]
Needless to say, it was a long, painful summer for Thor.
[ the memory is a good one, while it's littered with Loki's own pettiness, it's also replaced of warm memories of an uncooperative Thor. ]
He did it, eventually, he broke the goats as one would break a horse. Big goats, too—two, three times the size of Midgardian goes? Three, most likely, the two of them pull Thor's chariot and breathe fire on occasion. They're as hard-headed as he is.
[ The cave's shadows seem to recede from her face as the tale progresses, and when he tells her the summer was long and painful, a smile slips through the mask, knowing.
She giggles, the sound echoing like a short-lived cascade in the cave's depths. ]
Dragon-goats, why not? [ She pushes lightly at his shoulder with a playful hand, chiding, ] You baited him!
[ But there was no malice in the jape, and it is clear that Thor could have stopped whenever he wished. Perhaps he had liked being baited. ]
You are gods of different things, true ... but you are not so different, you and your brother.
[ they worked together in an odd sort of way, like two pieces turning trying to find the right way to fit together, only have done so recently. Thor had never fully understood him, but Loki had never wanted that, he had just craved Thor's trust. now, in a new body and a new role, it was easier to seek out the spaces in a life left behind. ]
He's a storm god. Storm means chaos. So, no, I suppose not, we're as alike as we are different. He has his moments where he meets me in capriciousness.
[ because he knows he's like this, oh, he definitely knows. ]
Though I've recently come to admire the earthly realms, he's done so for quite some time.
[ She has already permitted him to put his arm about her shoulders, and so Dany does something she has not tried since she was a little girl in need of a pillow, tipping her head lightly onto his shoulder. The movement is not fitting, but she tires of being regal. Why must she be a queen alone in his presence, when she has already allowed him to see her unfettered?
His armor does not serve as a very comfortable resting place, and so she doesn't lean; only savors the closeness. ]
His memories must be your solace, when no one else is near to remind you.
[ The love of a brother is a gift she will never have, an embrace she has never truly felt (Viserys had fed her, true, but he had never so much as held her when she was afraid). Still, she feels she would carry her ghosts with her, if ever she felt truly lost. ]
What do you admire now, that you shunned before? [ She's truly curious what he favors so much, that cannot be found in Asgard. ] Tell me that.
Edited (I REALLY, REALLY DIDN'T LIKE IT) 2016-08-15 07:10 (UTC)
[ Thor was solace, as much as he didn't realize it.
perhaps it had always been that way, through quarrel and promise, they had always kept themselves afloat somehow. there had been long years where they hadn't spoken, and somehow always managed to find each other again. Ahad had said that love and hate were close, and you could never hate someone so fiercely that you hadn't loved once.
Loki's bitterness had once leaked out into much of what he was. now, there were things details he learned to appreciate. ]
Song, varieties of breakfast meats, hot showers and artificially scented soap, up-to-date technology, selfies, smutty romance novels ... trivialities, you could say, as fleeting as the lives of those mortals upon Midgard. It was far away from what I knew, the Realm Eternal and divine design.
[ Does it, though? Dany puzzles at that for a moment. She is someone of grand dreams and sweeping, world-changing schemes. Trivialities are sweet, but they cannot give her what she wants.
Would I find joy in little things? She cannot remember the last time she stopped to admire beauty, or the spicy scent of oil. She cannot remember the last time she felt at peace enough to pause at all. ]
Yes ... you may be right.
[ The words are delivered slowly, ponderously, as though the idea cannot quite find its place in her mind. Still, she is not disbelieving.
Silence falls in the cave, difficult to notice amidst the howling that continues without. She looks up at him, squeezing the shoulder she's rested against with her hand. ]
You have a place of your own in these realms now. [ Perhaps more than he knows. Her tone is warm, her face almost gentle in their makeshift peace. ] Do not forget that.
[ it's not as if Loki isn't a force of nature in himself, the schemes that he has woven and delivered had called the end of Asgard countless times. his wars were waged against his father, his brother, Asgard itself, and now he had crawled up to claim the war in the face of what would-be destiny.
trivialities kept him sane, otherwise he waded further into a sea of selfish whims, threatening to drown himself. ]
I ... [ he trails off, not doubting her sincerity, but unsure if he really belongs anywhere. ] ... do hope so. I have a story to write.
[ Yes, Dany thinks, and mine is told in blood and fire. ]
You can, [ she tells him. ] You will. And so will I, we may pray.
[ His shoulder is hardened by armor and covered in a coat, but she presses a light kiss between her fingers there all the same. She wants to ask him to linger here with her, wishing to have more time before they join the cave he'd found before, but she knows it wouldn't be wise to strand herself away from the rest. Soon, she must carry a squidge of her own.
The fingers on his shoulder tighten, then let him go. ]
It's time you returned to your squidge. [ The reminder comes gently enough, but pointedly. ]
[ there are breathes of air taken between missions and in the time that's free to them. there's space, but there's action, as if there's always something else to do. Loki takes to it well, but he takes to new starts well, and he adapts well, so it's no surprise when something ends and another begins that he finds comfort in the space between.
her gentle coaxing gets a mock exasperated sigh, but he rises regardless, offering her a hand up. ]
I'm sure it'll be wailing in Ahad's ear soon enough. He'll have his annoyed face on, I'm certain. You'll be a pleasant surprise.
[ It occurs to her that Loki has burdened Ahad with his squidge more oft than not. ]
A common sight, I do not doubt. [ She gives him a little look, slight exasperation to go with her smile at the prospect of seeing the reluctant squidgekeeper again. ] We must relieve him of his duties.
[ She accepts his hand, and as she's pulled to dainty feet, a mild shower of sand falls to the cave floor, newly dislodged from her hair and clothing. ] Drogon, we are leaving, [ she calls softly, having no need of shouts in an echoing space. A soft hiss answers her, and then, hopeful to be rid of the dampness in the cave, a hush of leather stirring in the dark meets their ears. He soon emerges from around a corner, black wings floating easily to them over the cool air. ]
[ Loki makes an expression like he's absolutely and utterly innocent, but it doesn't really do well on his face, he really looks as scheming and nefarious as ever. Ahad had taken to the squidges, cradling the two of them around his arms. while Loki minded less than he had initially thought, he didn't quite trust himself to care for something that he could easily damage.
they still had a while to go before Bacon left his care. ]
Aye, aye ...
[ he relents to her, leading her off to where Ahad had huddled with the two inseparable squidges. ]
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no subject
[ And her children had not balked at seizing them from the herds that roamed the hinterlands, she does not doubt. Curious, she turns her head enough to watch the bright green of his eyes. ]
Why?
no subject
Goats, of course, are sour in temperament and even more prideful. The two of them, also brothers, would not bow their head as long as the other remained standing.
[ a little, wistful smile settles on his lips. ]
Needless to say, it was a long, painful summer for Thor.
[ the memory is a good one, while it's littered with Loki's own pettiness, it's also replaced of warm memories of an uncooperative Thor. ]
He did it, eventually, he broke the goats as one would break a horse. Big goats, too—two, three times the size of Midgardian goes? Three, most likely, the two of them pull Thor's chariot and breathe fire on occasion. They're as hard-headed as he is.
[ maybe it's just Thor that makes him happy. ]
no subject
She giggles, the sound echoing like a short-lived cascade in the cave's depths. ]
Dragon-goats, why not? [ She pushes lightly at his shoulder with a playful hand, chiding, ] You baited him!
[ But there was no malice in the jape, and it is clear that Thor could have stopped whenever he wished. Perhaps he had liked being baited. ]
You are gods of different things, true ... but you are not so different, you and your brother.
no subject
He's a storm god. Storm means chaos. So, no, I suppose not, we're as alike as we are different. He has his moments where he meets me in capriciousness.
[ because he knows he's like this, oh, he definitely knows. ]
Though I've recently come to admire the earthly realms, he's done so for quite some time.
no subject
His armor does not serve as a very comfortable resting place, and so she doesn't lean; only savors the closeness. ]
His memories must be your solace, when no one else is near to remind you.
[ The love of a brother is a gift she will never have, an embrace she has never truly felt (Viserys had fed her, true, but he had never so much as held her when she was afraid). Still, she feels she would carry her ghosts with her, if ever she felt truly lost. ]
What do you admire now, that you shunned before? [ She's truly curious what he favors so much, that cannot be found in Asgard. ] Tell me that.
no subject
perhaps it had always been that way, through quarrel and promise, they had always kept themselves afloat somehow. there had been long years where they hadn't spoken, and somehow always managed to find each other again. Ahad had said that love and hate were close, and you could never hate someone so fiercely that you hadn't loved once.
Loki's bitterness had once leaked out into much of what he was. now, there were things details he learned to appreciate. ]
Song, varieties of breakfast meats, hot showers and artificially scented soap, up-to-date technology, selfies, smutty romance novels ... trivialities, you could say, as fleeting as the lives of those mortals upon Midgard. It was far away from what I knew, the Realm Eternal and divine design.
[ a pause. ]
But that's it—that's what makes anything count.
no subject
Would I find joy in little things? She cannot remember the last time she stopped to admire beauty, or the spicy scent of oil. She cannot remember the last time she felt at peace enough to pause at all. ]
Yes ... you may be right.
[ The words are delivered slowly, ponderously, as though the idea cannot quite find its place in her mind. Still, she is not disbelieving.
Silence falls in the cave, difficult to notice amidst the howling that continues without. She looks up at him, squeezing the shoulder she's rested against with her hand. ]
You have a place of your own in these realms now. [ Perhaps more than he knows. Her tone is warm, her face almost gentle in their makeshift peace. ] Do not forget that.
no subject
trivialities kept him sane, otherwise he waded further into a sea of selfish whims, threatening to drown himself. ]
I ... [ he trails off, not doubting her sincerity, but unsure if he really belongs anywhere. ] ... do hope so. I have a story to write.
...
We all do. We should make it a good one.
no subject
You can, [ she tells him. ] You will. And so will I, we may pray.
[ His shoulder is hardened by armor and covered in a coat, but she presses a light kiss between her fingers there all the same. She wants to ask him to linger here with her, wishing to have more time before they join the cave he'd found before, but she knows it wouldn't be wise to strand herself away from the rest. Soon, she must carry a squidge of her own.
The fingers on his shoulder tighten, then let him go. ]
It's time you returned to your squidge. [ The reminder comes gently enough, but pointedly. ]
no subject
her gentle coaxing gets a mock exasperated sigh, but he rises regardless, offering her a hand up. ]
I'm sure it'll be wailing in Ahad's ear soon enough. He'll have his annoyed face on, I'm certain. You'll be a pleasant surprise.
no subject
A common sight, I do not doubt. [ She gives him a little look, slight exasperation to go with her smile at the prospect of seeing the reluctant squidgekeeper again. ] We must relieve him of his duties.
[ She accepts his hand, and as she's pulled to dainty feet, a mild shower of sand falls to the cave floor, newly dislodged from her hair and clothing. ] Drogon, we are leaving, [ she calls softly, having no need of shouts in an echoing space. A soft hiss answers her, and then, hopeful to be rid of the dampness in the cave, a hush of leather stirring in the dark meets their ears. He soon emerges from around a corner, black wings floating easily to them over the cool air. ]
no subject
they still had a while to go before Bacon left his care. ]
Aye, aye ...
[ he relents to her, leading her off to where Ahad had huddled with the two inseparable squidges. ]