Loki and Dejah

[mm_z]

Norse gods don't all live on Asgardia. A few of them live in New York.

And none of those Norse gods actually look like Norse gods. This particular one likes to hang out in expensive coffee shops and use their wifi to play World of Warcraft on his laptop.

He's not wearing his mail or horns today, but instead a rather ironic I ♥ Asgardia shirt. (He doesn't. He really, really doesn't.)

Comments

[dejah_thoris]

That gets her to look up from the page, her eyebrows raised.

"That is a heavy name to carry around. Mine's just an Edgar Rice Burroughs tribute."

[lokiofsassgaard]

Loki shrugs. "It does mean I get away with a bit more than I probably should. 'Oh, no, it's just Loki being Loki.'"

Rather like people get suspicious when he's not misbehaving.

[dejah_thoris]

"Well, I suppose there's an upside to that. If you want to look at it that way."

Her expression becomes more intent, and her hand is moving slower on the page.

[lokiofsassgaard]

Loki chuckles easily.

"It's a very good way to look at it," he agrees. "If I'd been called Thor, everyone would expect me to much more well-behaved, and where's the fun in that?"

He seems to reconsider this at the last moment.

"No, actually, he gets away with even more than I do, somehow."

[dejah_thoris]

An eyebrow flicks upward.

"You have a relative named Thor?"

[lokiofsassgaard]

"Big strapping blond chap. Last I heard, he was dating a woman called Sif."

The smirk on Loki's face does suggest that every word of it is, in fact, a massive lie.

[dejah_thoris]

Dejah snickers, and goes right back to drawing.

"So what do you do for a living? If I might be so bold."

[lokiofsassgaard]

"I work for my mother. She's a politician in Oklahoma, but I hate Oklahoma, so I live here instead."

It's actually the truth. In a way.

[dejah_thoris]

"Family business, hmm? Sounds like it's never dull."

[lokiofsassgaard]

"It's interesting enough," says Loki. He points at Dejah's sketchbook. "How long have you been doing this? In general, I mean. Not this specific drawing, obviously."

[dejah_thoris]

Her brow furrows at the question. "Art? Always, I suppose. As long as I can remember."

[lokiofsassgaard]

"Do you think you could teach me?" Loki asks.

Who knows? It might be a useful skill to have.

[dejah_thoris]

That makes the pencil stop.

She looks up at him, a sharp expression on her face. "You want me to teach you art? Or --" She waggles the pencil between her fingers, "to draw? Which?"

[lokiofsassgaard]

The expression she gets in response is rather telling. "Is there a difference?" Loki asks.

[dejah_thoris]

The sharpness fades from her expression, and she smiles. Politely.

"Well, yes. One is learning to walk, the other is learning to fly. Both useful, under the right circumstances."

[lokiofsassgaard]

Loki points to her sketchbook. "Well, I'd like to learn to do that. Anything else would be a bonus."

[dejah_thoris]

"If you're taking naughty stick figures to the next level, you want figure drawing as well as portraiture."

The corner of her mouth curls into a smirk as she says it.

[lokiofsassgaard]

Loki doesn't even bother to look embarrassed.

"That cold be fun," he says.

[dejah_thoris]

"It can," she agrees. She flips the page over, and draws a few rudimentary stick figures, these with actual proportion and rough anatomical features. "It starts simple. And then, the rest is practice practice practice."

She turns the page around and shows him two very intimately entwined stick figures. Nothing more than rated PG, but the impression is very clear.

[lokiofsassgaard]

"That's still way better than anything I can do," says Loki, pointing down at the sketchbook. "Leagues better."

[dejah_thoris]

She turns it back and tilts her head, frowning.

"I've never had a student before. I'm not sure I could teach you, actually."

[lokiofsassgaard]

"Is that because I'm that much of a lost cause, or you're just not sure how it's done?" Loki asks with a crooked smirk.

"I wouldn't ask you to do it for free, either. Nor do I know the going rate for art lessons, so I shall have to trust you to set a fair price."

The boy's got an original Jackson Pollock in his apartment. He's probably good for the cash.

[dejah_thoris]

Her brow furrows, and her gaze doesn't lift from the page. "No, I think -- everyone knows how to draw. They forget, when they grow up. When they learn how to see as adults. And I -- honestly, think my manager would blow a gasket if I charged you 'the going rate' for art lessons."

She looks up at him, her blue-eyed gaze keen.

"But if you want to come by the studio, hang out while I'm working, maybe bring pizza? I could sit you down with a sketchbook, give you some tips?"

[lokiofsassgaard]

Her words pique Loki's interest even more. "Well, now I'm wondering what the going rate is," he says.

Pizza in exchange for tips does sound like a fair trade, though.

"What day is best for you?"

[dejah_thoris]

She doesn't even address the question of money. Money is a thing other people worry about. That's why she has a business manager in the first place.

"What's today, Thursday? I have a thing up in Boston tomorrow. I should be back by Saturday morning. How's Sunday work?"

She's scribbling a number and and address in the corner of the page, tearing it off and handing it to him.