!magine wrote:Moonlights-Fantasy wrote:{"Long enough for what? Don't you dare start stalking my life, I have enough of that from H- err...my past job. Um, no. I don't intend to argue otherwise. Because that was not something I hid between the lines...but thanks. I'll use that next time it becomes relevant." Ayra smirked. When Loki made a surprised face, her own face brightened considerably. "I've done my research as of late, seeing as it might hold insiders and keys to unlocking some stuff. Maybe I'll tell you some stuff later...not sure I'm ready to share yet. Still sorting what is fiction and what could be real." At his curious tone it made her smile slyly. It would be fun holding such information and giving him bit by bit as time wore on. Such sadistic pleasures. Not really sadistic though... "When is it? Do not answer that, I don't wanna know..." She waved her hand in a dismissive way while shaking her head slightly. "Um, threatening? If not teasing that it...but I'd hope it's only teasing. No I cannot, but I intend to find a way to make it easier or at least make me feel more sure about myself when figuring out if you are teasing or lying." Ayra gave him a pointed look before smiling.
Clapping her hands together and then pointing an index finger at him she grinned "Best answer ever. I like the way you think, you keep reminding me of how your mind works in similarity to mine. Excellent." The hand she used to point at him she now held out palm up for a high-five while grinning. "Oh well, trust me. I can give up that amount of submission, but, I will find a way to sass you to death while submitting enough submission." Ayra returned his smile with a nod and smirk. "Not what I meant...but okay. My work always needs me to think smart. You can't work hard if you can't think smart first, this was a simple lesson and rule that I learned in both fields of work. Brain work is my forte, Master Sassy Pants." Amusement played across her facial features. "Failure is always an option, Loki. Always. Trust me...failure was the norm when training started." Her face quickly contorted to that of shock "Did...I...say that aloud? Nevermind nevermind forgetthatyouheardnothingAyradoesn'tsimplyfailyouheardnothing." She stuttered out in a quick mash-up of words while shaking her hands in front of her torso. "Awh what? Dangit. How do you convince the god of mischief to teach you something like magic...whatever. Good challenge. Erm." Facepalming with a huff she turned it into rubbing her face "This is going to be difficult." Resting her chin in the palms of her hands she studied his face before trailing off into thought, considering her options. Okay, options. She could manipulate, but he'd know she's trying that...so no. There was...can't believe this is an option...begging. Ayra would not stoop that low though, not yet. Maybe last chance type thing. She could blackmail. That was cruel though. Bargaining? That might work. She could offer up information about something about her that he was curious about...that might just work. "Hmmm, would you consider me offering up information about me, or a topic I know about, in exchange for you teaching me magic?" After speaking did she look at him briefly before averting her eyes seemingly lost in thought again.
His question caught her off-guard and her face probably showed it. Did she entertain that thought? Would he let her...die? Or would he protect her? Wait woah, not protect, more or less just having her back, right? So then why did that feel like she was trying to convince herself that? "Wouldn't you though?" She tilted her head and her eyebrows were contracted "Aren't I 'just another mortal' to you?" That peaked her curiosity greatly. The stonehearted monster just might have heart, contrary to popular belief. How strange... "Hmm, well then begging and kneeling might just be considered an option." She rolled her eyes "You aren't that attractive, Loki. Don't inflate your ego, now." A sly grin stole across her face and features.
Excitement stole across her whole body language. If they were going to record it on her phone, she would have this so long as it wasn't deleted. Mental note: When you get the video, quickly encrypt it and have it saved on a few different servers. That way if SQUEAKY or somebody manages to get ahold of her phone and deletes it she can back it up or have it saved somewhere else. Lovely...this would be very amusing for her and Loki. "Oooh who is SQUEAKY to be paired off with? I'm very curious." Sending Loki a small smirk she straightened her shoulders and looked around as if to make sure nobody was within hearing distance to them. "Love is in the air? Somebody best get me some disinfectant air spray, cause this Queen of Sass ain't fallin' in love today!" Ayra cracked into giggles. No, Ayra was certainly not about to fall in love. Love was overrated and not an emotion, but a conscience choice as she learned. A conscience choice she would not make and use every ounce of willpower to overcome.
"Being heartless is a difficult path to take. That's why I fell into my new line of work, but I still try to maintain my stone-heartedness, although it's difficult." It pained Ayra to have to keep up such an appearance, but she knew she was also failing at it. So long it's been since she's had to be cold-blooded and quite frankly, she was rusty. And she did not like the feeling, but she would have to if she was to not develop attachment or feelings, for anyone, whether it be friendship, something more, or something less. It hurt, yes, she wanted to be friends with everybody here, but if she formed attachments she wouldn't want to leave. Deep down she knew she would have to return to her home, so mentally she was screaming to make the best of it while it lasted before parting ways. But when the time came, if the time came, would she want to leave? Or would she stay and go off onto more adventures until she could no longer? Wait. She needed to thinking about her friends and family, her work, her future. But this future couldn't be bad, could it? Well yes, it could. They could have another run-in with an enemy and she could be seriously injured or worse, die. Did she want that? Everything is so confusing. It was like she was torn in half, and it probably showed on her face in that moment, but right now she couldn't keep her mask up to hide it, nor did she care. Right now she needed to sort her thoughts, her priorities, her life. "Any idea where the others are at? I kinda just ran blindly and didn't really pay attention where I was going." As she was making her way down the boulder she was mildly concerned that Loki had done the same, but she quickly dismissed the thought and concentrated on getting down the rocks without breaking her ankle. "I swear...I pick the most difficult places to go." Muttering lowly to herself she didn't really expect a comment from Loki, seeing as she was only voicing a thought.}
{"Long enough to know whether or not a statement sounds like you, and long enough not to find it the least bit surprising that you insist on arguing." Loki gave Ayra a calm but intense gaze before speaking on. "I don't need to stalk your life in order to get to know you. People tell me enough about themselves just by being around. The way they behave, what they say, or more importantly...what they
don't say.". Along with a pointed look came a teasing smirk while Loki took on a conspirational, low tone for the last couple words of the phrase. He'd noticed her tongue stumbling in a moment of shock. Of course Loki didn't know what she had intended to say, but he'd noticed it. "You think I'm like a locked treasure and your information is the key. Nice...but how about a little plot twist? The information, the results of your pretty little research are a treasure. You wish to open it, to make sense of it, to know what is truth and what is fiction. Right? But you need the key. And the key might be sitting right in front of you, now if only you would offer him a treasure to unlock." The god let out a small chuckle. "Teasingly threatening maybe? And it's the same thing like trying to decide between lies and truth...it might end in disaster." Loki shrugged, looking over to Ayra almost apologetically.
Honestly the god was surprised about the mortal's reaction to his horse comment, he'd expected some more arguing and bantering about horse training and force feeding horses sugar cubes, but...apparently not? He smiled and high-fived her, thinking that if her mind was in fact working this way then he very much approved of it. An amused snort escaped him when he tried to picture the scene - him teaching Ayra magic while she kept sassing him. "Why am I not even surprised you said this?" Loki smirked. "Believe it or not, my brother actually manages to work hard without working smart." The trickster chuckled and listened up as she talked about failure. "Wait what? The extraordinarily temperamental and determined mortal woman considers failure an option? Oh you have no idea how very much heard this,and I won't forget, and no I certainly won't pretend I didn't hear it." He grinned broadly and then titlted his head, listening well as she offered information in return for being taught magic. Depending on the exact topic, it sounded tempting...but..."Well, the problem is that you may offer me information now, which makes me see you as a mortal woman who is smart and knows how to haggle. Which is better than just 'some random mortal woman' but that doesn't automatically make you worthy of being my equal. Honestly I don't even know what I'm expecting of you. I guess as you suggested earlier, I'll have to find ways to prove I'm a god and you'll have to find ways to prove yourself worthy to be the equal of one." He nodded slowly as if to emphasize the words to himself.
Loki saw the surprise on her face as soon as he asked the question. Apparently he just made her think hard. Would he let her die? Or no? Maybe? Why? Why not? He could almost see the thoughts circling Ayra's head and waited patiently for her to sort through them. Finally he rubbed his chin and smirked. "It might satisfy you to know that I wouldn't. Right now you are just another mortal to me, I guess, albeit an amusing one. But I'm eager to see whether or not you can prove to be more than that." He held her gaze for a short moment before averting it. She was really just another mortal, wasn't she? For now.
Loki looked up at her and gigglesnorted. "Oh thank you very much for the compliment, how nice of you.", he said in an ironic tone. "But it wasn't my attractiveness I was referring to." Chuckling he gave her a teasing glance.
"Squeaky? Oooh I have someone in mind. A young, extremely pink loving young Asgardian scullion who is all about peace and harmony. And he thinks females belong in dresses, for the sake of good harmony. She will very much enjoy him." His grin was wicked as he gave Ayra a look full of mischief. "We won't be affected by all the love, trust me. And I have the feeling the others might like the idea of love just as much as you do."
Loki nodded quietly at Ayra's next words. "So your supposed heartlessness was job-related then?" This actually explained a lot. Training....yes. Some people were heartless by nature. Loki could name several good examples and didn't even need to leave the sphere of 'family'. Ayra? No, she wasn't like that for sure. She very much had a heart, even though she liked to pretend otherwise. Even when she did so the god still didn't doubt that it was all a facade she put up. After all he was an expert at that himself. And admittedly Ayra was normally good at it which suggested some intensive training in career terms. But if nothing else, her small gestures gave her away. An averted gaze, trying too hard to sass, an unsure twirling of a lock around her finger. Hearts were hard to suppress.
Right now though, Loki didn't need to reky on small gestures to see that the mortal was struggling with that exact problem. One could see it on her face what was going on inside, how unsettled and torn she was. And that unsettled him. What if she wouldn't be able to keep her heart under arrest in this certain matter? He would most likely end up hurting her, tearing her apart...consume her whole. Ayra's question finally dragged Loki out of these thoughts. "Um I think I'll be able to remember the general direction." Crawling after her while trying not to slip, he heard the mortal's muttered comment and attempted to cheer her up. "You mean you
conquer the most difficult places."}
{Ayra smiled slightly "Well then, it seems like you know me a tad better than I thought. Maybe I should start being careful with my words, because once you find out more about me, you might not want anything else to do with me..." Her smile faltered slightly and then she grinned mischievously. It was true though, if he happened to piece together her past, all the blood she had on her hands, he might not want much more to do with her. He could get caught in the middle of cross-fire if he wasn't careful around her. "Ahh, yes. You will probably find out more about me by the way I act or react, quite possibly what I don't say also..." Ayra tilted her head slightly and gave him a playful smile while her eye shone brightly. "Yes, but what if the treasure I hold is still in your future? That would be spoilers, and could create a paradox, change the fate of others and maybe even alter the outcome. So I think I might just need to keep it and sort it out and when I have some stuff picked, come to you when I feel like it's probably already happened and need help 'decoding' it." Lowly chuckling to herself she twisted a strand of hair between her fingers. "Oh it will most surely end in disaster, I can feel it. But, I like chaos and disaster." When he high-fived her she beamed over at him. At least he knew some Midgardian hand gestures. That was nice, at least she wasn't left hanging awkwardly and then had to teach him it. Very nice. As he let out an amused snort she tilted her head slightly before shaking it. Probably just an amusing thought of his. "Because I'm a type of predicable?" Ayra smirked and lifted a brow casually. "Are you serious? He really can? Wow...I am for once surprised." She leaned back slightly and grinned. "Ugh...yes. Failure is always an option, although it is not an option I've chosen often. You have no idea how much I want to brain-wash that memory out of your mind right now..." She huffed and rolled her eyes. Great, she just slipped up in front of Loki. He would not let her live this one down, probably. "Honestly, I'm not working on trying to be your equal right now, just trying to learn magic. But if you consider this to be working in my favor, then it looks like when I really start trying I will be slightly ahead in my game. Well, if magic is proven real, which it pretty much has been, you're one step closer to me believing you when you say you're a god." Ayra shifted and got comfortable and rested her hands on her knees.
When he rubbed his chin and told her that he wouldn't in fact let her die, it sent her mind spinning. "But why?" She voiced aloud before she could stop the thought from pushing through her lips, but still stuck to her words and gazed questioningly at him. "So you're just keeping me alive to see if I can achieve being your equal? And if I fail, then what? Are you going to kill me when you're done having your fun?" Her own questions made her start to doubt his motives and she felt like a cat bristling when faced with danger. She could trust him though, couldn't she? Not really, he was the god of
mischief and lies. For all she knew, she was just a form of entertainment to him, and that was not a nice thought to her. Not at all.
Ayra grinned and laughed lightly "Oh you're very much welcome, Sassy Pants." Her features were bright with amusement. "Oh of course not..." She sent him an equally teasing look before bursting into giggles.
As he started describing the Asgardian he had in mind for SQUEAKY she just couldn't hold back the laughter that tortured her and let it out. Just the mere thought of SQUEAKY in a dress was amusing, highly highly amusing. "Oh my gosh, you have no idea how much I love you for that idea!" She kept giggling for a moment after before collecting herself and stared back at him. "Good, because I don't like the idea of love. But the idea of the others having forced love...that is entertaining. Oh I'm sure they will. I can't wait to see Muninn's face. Gonna be priceless..." Her face contorted into that of sly mischief.
Ayra visibly winced before nodding slowly "Kinda...yeah..." Her voice sounded like she was disappointed with herself and avoided his gaze. "That's why I ended up escap- err leaving and went to become a vet." She shrugged her shoulders slightly while still avoiding his eyes. She felt slightly angry with herself that she even continued with the training of heartlessness, but then again, she didn't know it would affect her personality so much when she was through. Her friends and family even told her once she left and took up veterinary work that she was different. It hurt at first, yes, but she got over it quickly. Heck, she even still found use of it in hard times or when she was in tough situations, still though, she had changed. And not entirely for the better. Ayra shifted and pulled her knees to her chest before setting her chin on her knees while keeping her gaze locked on the boulder.
Ayra almost laughed at his comment "General direction? Oh gosh. This is going to be interesting..." For the time being, she focused on getting back and drown out the thoughts of attachment and feelings. Chuckling she shook her head "In some cases, trees on the other hand...not so much. I fall out of those more than I can conquer them..." Breaking into a small smile at the thought of the many times she's fallen out of trees amused her. She was not exactly one with nature... Taking careful steps down until she was close enough to the ground to jump, she jumped. When her feet hit the ground though, one of her feet landed in a sinkhole and she ungracefully fell to her hands and knees. Ayra started laughing though, yes, it hurt, but it would go away. She was more amused that she just fell in front of Loki in the most ungraceful way possible. Twisting her body she turned so she was now sitting on the ground while looking up at him. "Well, all I can say is...don't jump there." She pointed to where she just landed while laughing and then brushed her hands and knees off. "Once again, I have just proven I cannot be an elf."}
((Yay official post, finally XD Stupid laziness. Yeah but are we continuing the Skadi stuff...?))