He'll understand about Shuck. [Because in his head that's the only obvious peril here] He has to. He has to understand I couldn't say no to that. And I'll be careful and everything. Nico knows what he's doing, you heard him.
[ there's an exasperated sigh from the other side. ]
I'll make something quite clear—I'm a conniving, dirty liar and a no-good thief. I've been doing the Loki thing for a bit, and I know how this game is played. We can talk in circles, you can create gaps in time and holes in relationships, or you can tell me and I will not use other means necessary of finding out.
So, either you can tell me what you want me to know and know of what I know, or you can remain ignorant to it and make a guessing game of it when I do find out.
[...he tried. He tried so hard, got so far, and in the end he still should have known better than to fuck with a chaos god. There's a heavier sigh following and a shift that sounds like he's curling up on his bed in the spire before he starts talking.]
We started talking back in February. Just once. I put a call out on the lockets and locked part of it to our side, but their side could see the question I asked which was what they missed most. And Nico responded and told me he missed his friends and his half-sister, and then we were talking and...[There's a short pause.] He understands things, you know? His older sister died when he was younger sacrificing herself, too, and he gets what it's like having people think you're weird and avoiding you. He got it a lot faster than anybody else I've met here and we talked about some other stuff and I kinda knew who he was? He was part of the Seelie Shock Team that attacked the castle but he's admitted he feels bad about making that choice. He can summon an army of skeletons. It's actually really cool if it wasn't so damaging.
I didn't see him again until June at Treun and that was an accident. He was in the melee actually and...my betting pool sorta backfired on me, so I was running from some guys, ran into Nico, he shadowtraveled me out of trouble and we hung out in an abandoned shop for a long time and...I don't know. It was just...cool, I guess. Hanging out with somebody my age who got stuff and just not worrying about the whole war and talking about movies and history and everything. Nico was born in the 1930s or something but he was locked in a timesinking hotel for 70-something years. That doesn't matter to me. We're still the same age...and so after Treun I didn't see him again until August. Um. Thrall and I were in the Northlands for a while in July but I went back to the Station in August and found Nico and he wanted me to go with him to check out the festival of lights in Leathann and I said yes.
And...so we spent a week out there before the birthday party we threw for me and Jason. [Guiltguiltguilt.] And I saw him again after my birthday and he gave me something to keep in touch with him. [...] We've been talking a lot since then and right before Samhain he told me that he messed up really, really bad and had to apologize to Shuck. And I couldn't let him do it by himself. He needed the support. ["He needed me" is probably more what he wanted to say.] So we went to Shuck and you kinda know the rest.
[There's a very, very long pause.] ...he's my friend. I'm not going to turn back on him just because he's technically on the wrong side of everything. I don't know how much of it he agrees with anyway. [And then, with some fondness.] He needs more friends anyway. We both do.
Edited (using the right words would be good.) 2015-04-04 20:52 (UTC)
[ he listens carefully, letting Hiro fill the gaps that he doesn't have. the stories align, as he's tracked him to the same places. every time that he says something, he aligns it, makes sure Hiro's giving him the full story. when he's decided that Hiro's resigned enough that this is everything, he relents. ]
You've been busy.
[ Loki says, borderline unimpressed. he remembers all of this well—he accompanied his other self's journeys enough to know how much trouble a fourteen year old boy could get into in just a few months. ]
I'm not going to discourage you from your friendships, but you do realize that the reasons the Courts don't cross isn't merely because of ideal.
There's a reason we've only been hanging out in neutral territory. I'm being careful. And he's really cool about everything. [The cross-court problem he means]
...I didn't want to like him. And I do. And he's not used to having friends either so I'm not gonna bail on him.
So you think I should just stop seeing him and break that promise. [Accusatory. He doesn't like that idea but he's at least acknowledging that Loki has a point]
I'm learning about the Seelie side of things this way, too. [Sort of. They've mostly just been goofing off actually but it sounds good]
What I'm saying is that he may not be the one to get you hurt, it may be the other way around. Tell me what you think would happen if the Monarchs of our enemies found out that you two had been conspiring together? This is a war, with it comes no kindness.
Do I think that they may use him for vital information, or do you think he'll get punished? That depends on how much of a debbie downer you want to be.
So what do I do? [He can't promise he'll listen but it's definitely something to consider. Much like Nico not wanting Hiro to get hurt because of him? Feeling's mutual.] I don't know if his monarchs will find out.
That's the kicker, isn't it? [ he has a few answers to that one, none of them Hiro will like, most likely. ] Nor do you want him to slip, either. Not intentionally, of course, but it's possible.
We're both being really careful though. [Apparently stressing that factor will help in his logic.] The monarchs can't track every single one of us and...and if they really had a problem they should talk to Shuck since he's the one who decided to have us work together.
[But you're the one who decided to befriend the demigod, aren't you, Hiro?]
He won't slip. I know he won't. [He doesn't know that.]
Your record of being careful doesn't inspire much confidence.
[ he says, not with barbs but as a matter of fact. ]
You've already painted yourself as a target as the head of Research and Development, as soon as anyone who's anyone can get on their feet they'll find out.
I can't believe I have to say this, but you must be discreet, and you must think things through. This is no longer just your narrative, Hiro.
[Yeah, true. He can't argue and actually he feels slightly ashamed that he can't disagree with that. Jason's said the same thing before on both accounts and there's a slight sniff that's meant to be dismissive but not quite.]
As soon as I can, I'm going to find a way to hide my shard. Maybe I can talk to Morla when she comes back about keeping Nico safe. Something. I have to do something.
[And then, quietly.] ...I messed up. But I'm going to fix it. I'm going to make sure we're safe and that he is, too. But you can't tell Jason yet.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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The part where you've been putting yourself in obvious peril, most likely.
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[Lets just talk in circles...]
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I'll make something quite clear—I'm a conniving, dirty liar and a no-good thief. I've been doing the Loki thing for a bit, and I know how this game is played. We can talk in circles, you can create gaps in time and holes in relationships, or you can tell me and I will not use other means necessary of finding out.
So, either you can tell me what you want me to know and know of what I know, or you can remain ignorant to it and make a guessing game of it when I do find out.
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We started talking back in February. Just once. I put a call out on the lockets and locked part of it to our side, but their side could see the question I asked which was what they missed most. And Nico responded and told me he missed his friends and his half-sister, and then we were talking and...[There's a short pause.] He understands things, you know? His older sister died when he was younger sacrificing herself, too, and he gets what it's like having people think you're weird and avoiding you. He got it a lot faster than anybody else I've met here and we talked about some other stuff and I kinda knew who he was? He was part of the Seelie Shock Team that attacked the castle but he's admitted he feels bad about making that choice. He can summon an army of skeletons. It's actually really cool if it wasn't so damaging.
I didn't see him again until June at Treun and that was an accident. He was in the melee actually and...my betting pool sorta backfired on me, so I was running from some guys, ran into Nico, he shadowtraveled me out of trouble and we hung out in an abandoned shop for a long time and...I don't know. It was just...cool, I guess. Hanging out with somebody my age who got stuff and just not worrying about the whole war and talking about movies and history and everything. Nico was born in the 1930s or something but he was locked in a timesinking hotel for 70-something years. That doesn't matter to me. We're still the same age...and so after Treun I didn't see him again until August. Um. Thrall and I were in the Northlands for a while in July but I went back to the Station in August and found Nico and he wanted me to go with him to check out the festival of lights in Leathann and I said yes.
And...so we spent a week out there before the birthday party we threw for me and Jason. [Guiltguiltguilt.] And I saw him again after my birthday and he gave me something to keep in touch with him. [...] We've been talking a lot since then and right before Samhain he told me that he messed up really, really bad and had to apologize to Shuck. And I couldn't let him do it by himself. He needed the support. ["He needed me" is probably more what he wanted to say.] So we went to Shuck and you kinda know the rest.
[There's a very, very long pause.] ...he's my friend. I'm not going to turn back on him just because he's technically on the wrong side of everything. I don't know how much of it he agrees with anyway. [And then, with some fondness.] He needs more friends anyway. We both do.
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You've been busy.
[ Loki says, borderline unimpressed. he remembers all of this well—he accompanied his other self's journeys enough to know how much trouble a fourteen year old boy could get into in just a few months. ]
I'm not going to discourage you from your friendships, but you do realize that the reasons the Courts don't cross isn't merely because of ideal.
[ he tries to let that one sink in. ]
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...I didn't want to like him. And I do. And he's not used to having friends either so I'm not gonna bail on him.
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The Unseelie are missing for now, but there's no certainty as to when they'll return.
These are hot coals.
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I'm learning about the Seelie side of things this way, too. [Sort of. They've mostly just been goofing off actually but it sounds good]
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What I'm saying is that he may not be the one to get you hurt, it may be the other way around. Tell me what you think would happen if the Monarchs of our enemies found out that you two had been conspiring together? This is a war, with it comes no kindness.
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I...oh. [Give him a moment to think] ...how bad do you think they'd hurt him? There's gotta be a way around it.
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[But you're the one who decided to befriend the demigod, aren't you, Hiro?]
He won't slip. I know he won't. [He doesn't know that.]
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[ he says, not with barbs but as a matter of fact. ]
You've already painted yourself as a target as the head of Research and Development, as soon as anyone who's anyone can get on their feet they'll find out.
I can't believe I have to say this, but you must be discreet, and you must think things through. This is no longer just your narrative, Hiro.
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As soon as I can, I'm going to find a way to hide my shard. Maybe I can talk to Morla when she comes back about keeping Nico safe. Something. I have to do something.
[And then, quietly.] ...I messed up. But I'm going to fix it. I'm going to make sure we're safe and that he is, too. But you can't tell Jason yet.
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No!
[ and then quieter. ]
No, no—that's exactly what not to do. Don't mention this to Morla. Not until we're certain.
Hiro ...
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[Whoops. Okay. Let's not overreact about this, it's not as though it's the end of the world...
...oh. Wait.]
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