[Loki and Val] beach time!

[st_ratagem]

The increasing frequency of sunshine and warmth meant Loki spent slightly more time at the beach than he had before. It was true that he could make (or repair) nets anywhere, and the only one other than himself who was inclined to use them was the girl Moana, but it seemed... appropriate, at times, to work on nets near where they would be used.

Besides, he'd always found the ocean peaceful. Somehow solitude never seemed to turn into loneliness by the sea... or perhaps it did, but the loneliness didn't cut.

Regardless, it was far from unheard of for Loki to disappear from the immediate Inn grounds to go sit on the sandy beach with his projects. Despite the sunny near-summer weather and the increasing heat on the beach, he dressed more or less as he normally did; a long-sleeved buttoned shirt and slacks. His sole concession to the sunny beach was bare feet rather than shoes.

Comments

[st_ratagem]

Watching Valkyrie was always pleasure enough that Loki often had to put effort into being discreet (something he was sure he did only for his comfort, as she didn’t seem the type to mind) but at the moment he’d all but promised to watch. It had to be noted that watching her so clearly enjoying herself added to that pleasure, but not as much as having her back, when she slid out of the water nearby and reordered her hair so she could see.

He laughed and raised a hand, calling a ridiculous illusion of a Thor-like golden retriever dog, but egg-shaped, with no neck, and fins for feet into it. “What, like this?”

[st_allionofdoom]

"Oh Norns." A long-forgotten phrase she'd picked up from exposure to the king himself and she was reeling back with a baffled mixture of amusement and horror. "This one was blue. Looked a little bit less like an abomination."

[st_allionofdoom]

Valkyrie kept a bead on it as she went for the hefty bottle of water still nestled in the sand. “Spotted. White underbelly. Little flippers for its front feet.” She never had much of an appreciation, but she would have considered the original beast rather charming.

[st_ratagem]

Loki added spots and changed the front legs and paws to stubby flippers, then frowned slightly at some niggling recognition. Shorten the muzzle, round the head a little, make the coat thinner and slicker... “Oh, a kópr! A seal. I remember these, actually. Even if it hadn’t been too big for the tank, it would have annihilated the fish. And then demanded more.”

[st_allionofdoom]

“That’s the one.” Valkyrie clapped once, pleased with the mystery solved. Now that the animal was corrected, she was over taken by an urge to reach out and pet it. Beg it for a mount and a swim around on the waves if it were big enough, perhaps.

She missed having a mount.

“Edible?” Switching gears.

[st_ratagem]

“Yes, when there’s nothing better, at least a long time ago and much further north than here. I don’t know if the seals here would be the same beyond appearance.” Almost certainly the ones here wouldn’t need so much fat to keep warm. “They can’t be worse than kæstur hákarl, at least.”

[st_allionofdoom]

“You what?” She settled back down beside her liege.

[st_ratagem]

"Kæstur hákarl. Fermented shark, partially prepared in a shallow grave and then hung for months, only safe to eat once the skin has mostly rotted off." Loki leaned almost absently to kiss her shoulder. "Ancient humans thought that it was an appropriate birthday treat for Thor."

[st_allionofdoom]

Loki’s flare for words was regrettable in this case. Valkyrie’s throat tightened. “Tell me that wasn’t one of your suggestions.”

[st_ratagem]

"It absolutely was not. You know I don't care about food," she did, better than most, "but hákarl is the one exception, in that I actively hate it. If I could have talked the humans out of the association, I would have."

[st_allionofdoom]

Valkyrie suddenly snapped her fingers as she downed another drink. "Stark mentioned it. Suggested it for next year's celebration."

[st_ratagem]

"Shall we kill him? That would be preferable." Or just argue with him for half a year, perhaps.

[st_allionofdoom]

“If you try, I’m obliged to stop you. But you certainly may try.” Valkyrie said lightly. At least a few murder attempts would add some excitement.

[st_ratagem]

"If it's that or fermented shark, I may make the effort. You know Thor would just be charmed by the effort at being 'traditional'." No matter how disgusting and best left to history it was. "Of course, there's always a chance he'll forget on his own."

[st_allionofdoom]

“It still surprises me.” Was surprise the right word? Valkyrie pressed the metal to her cheek. “The marriage.”

[st_ratagem]

"Engagement, surely? Not a marriage quite yet." Loki aimed a briefly curious look at her, then waved a hand as if dismissing it. "Thor has a decided type and he's the romantic sort. I'm only surprised it took this long for him to agree to promise fidelity 'til death to some human or other."

[st_allionofdoom]

“Right. Though I imagined his betrothed to be somewhat less...neurotic.” She shrugged, watching the waves as she let her body dry. “More surprising is the thought of any of us slowing down enough for that sort of thing.”

[st_ratagem]

"Thor would never attach himself to anyone he didn't have to take care of and fret over." That was almost certainly why the hoped-for attachment to Lady Sif, when they were all young, had never materialized. Sif took care of herself. Had they gone that way, she would have loved Thor, but never needed him the way he wanted. "As for slowing down, this place is all slow. It's difficult not to slow down to match."

[st_allionofdoom]

“Mm...” Valkyrie’s eyes grew distant in that way they sometimes did. She parted her lips a hair to speak, but closed it. No use would come of that speculation. Not in here.

“That being said...I can see the appeal.”

[st_ratagem]

The moment of reminiscence was brief enough that Loki didn’t spare more than a moment wondering where she’d gone, even if he did reach out and brush fingertips through her hair as if moving it back from her face. “Of which part?”

[st_allionofdoom]

The soft crinkles around her eyes relaxed at his touch. “Both.” The marriage. The slowness.

[st_ratagem]

“Ah.” The slowness was... restful, it was true. Peaceful, even, and actual peace was hard to come by. It chafed every so often, but on the whole the appeal wasn’t difficult to see. “I always assumed I would either have an arranged political marriage or none at all. Mostly the latter, as time has gone on.”

[st_allionofdoom]

“During my sane years I put the idea off.” To say nothing of her alcohol-fueled Sakaarian self. She offered the water her prince’s way.

[st_ratagem]

A very small effort of will turned the horrifying dog-egg-fish sky blue for a second before Loki adjusted that to the more sensible dark blue that an ocean might breed into its predators. After some more consideration, he also merged the back legs with the dog tail to be more like a large thick fin, better for swimming.

It... looked like a different abomination. “You might need to be more descriptive, dearest.”