Time for a skeeball rematch?

[coldsong]

They've been coming to the arcade twice a week for a few weeks now, in the hopes of catching the child Loki there. Thus far, no luck, but the children are aware they have a mission, even if that mission quickly becomes secondary to them enjoying themselves in the games. Agnarr plays the least of them, and sometimes just hovers behind his sisters' shoulders to observe. The noise and lights overwhelm him a little, but a pair of headphones helps, and when he plays games of skill, his aim is excellent.

The girls, meanwhile, alternate between DDR and climbing games where Una can scramble up rope ladders and slide down poles. All Eindrid really wants to do is play in the ball pit, which is fine with Loki, because he can sit nearby and keep an eye on the entrance from there.

This strategy hasn't worked yet, and if the weather starts to get nicer they're going to have to try something else, because you cannot keep these children indoors in the spring. But there's a sliver of winter left yet, and they will be patient just a bit longer.

Comments

[lokilowkey]

It looked like patience won out in this case, as the older Loki was well-placed to see another child come strolling into the arcade. This one accompanied by a rather annoyed looking magpie rather than an adult, and even dressed in casual garb, was very noticeable as the small trickster that he was waiting for.

"Honestly Ikol, we've earned a break don't you think? And if everyone's going to be testy at me for things I didn't do, well I'm taking my impromptu break somewhere more reasonable."

[coldsong]

For the first time it occurs to him to wonder if there might be more than one child-Loki in the Nexus, and if there is, his twin won't want to let either of them go home, and this could turn into a very slippery slope. A slippery slope, off a cliff, into a valley full of Lokis.

How does he get into these kinds of existential puzzles?

He also notes with dismay that the bird is right there, which means it's likely to take some doing to separate them. Glancing up, he catches Agnarr's eye. The oldest son has already noticed their quarry, as it were, entering the building.

Loki stands and makes his way toward the child, while Agnarr goes to keep an eye on Eindrid's playing.

"I thought you might show up if we waited for you long enough," he says by way of greeting. "Where've you been of late?"

[lokilowkey]

The bird is more often than not, right there with the small Loki. Maybe not always so close in the Nexus, but at the moment he was perched on the boy's shoulder, giving the elder Loki the kind of side-eye that one could only get from a bird.

The child stopped when he spied the familiar adult, flashing him a bright, beaming grin. "On grand adventures in the name of Asgard! Was there something you needed my expert assistance with?"

Surely that was why the other Loki was waiting so breathlessly for his return!

[coldsong]

Loki raises an eyebrow at the bird, as if to suggest he should take it up with management if he has a problem. He smiles at the child, though, offering an armclasp. "I was promised a rematch, last time we were here," he reminds him.

"But no, I actually wanted you to meet my children. I'm sure they'll be interested in your grand adventures."

That's a pretty safe bet, actually. Even if he hadn't indicated to the older two children that they're meant to be trying to assist and protect the child Loki, they'd be fascinated.

[lokilowkey]

The younger Loki laughs as he grasps his companion's arm cheerfully, beaming up at him. "I'll defeat you in the arena of skeeball once more, I assure you!"

Unless the older Loki has been practicing, that is. Then it might be a closer bet.

"The grandest of adventures to be sure! Through clever trickery I brokered a peace to end a bitter war and ensure freedom for those who wished it!"

[coldsong]

He has been practicing, but it's still probably a lost cause unless he cheats. Which would be absurd. You don't cheat when you're playing against a child.

Besides, he'd know.

He raises an eyebrow at the description, a little skeptical because it sounds so straightforward and noble. Plausible, though. He beckons the child back toward the ball pit where Agnarr and Eindrid remain. There's a bench and a table there for parents to keep an eye on their playing offspring. "And who were the sides in this bitter war? Doesn't sound familiar to me, but your exploits and mine are bound to be different."

[lokilowkey]

And the small Loki would absolutely take the older cheating as a victory.

"A mysterious invasion!" Loki exclaimed as he followed along towards the table, Ikol hopping from the child's shoulder to a railing atop the ball pit's frame where he could see more of the place, though there was no way he still wasn't listening to the pair. "Avalon was being plagued by the appearance of strange, mechanical cities, and many of it's fae citizens were going missing. Being allied, they reached out to Asgard, and the All-Mothers in their infinite wisdom set me to the task."

[coldsong]

"Mechanical cities? I think your universe might be a little bit wilder than my own. Which is quite mad enough, I thought."

There's a brief flicker of energy as he calls out to the other children to come over from wherever they are in the arcade. "Loki, this is Agnarr, my oldest son, and my youngest is...actually, hold on."

He wades into the ball pit to retrieve Eindrid, who refuses to relinquish the red ball in his hands but otherwise comes along willingly. "Yes. And this is Ein. I've promised them all pizza, so if you want to join us, you may as well put in your order now."

Agnarr is silent, as per his usual, but his fingers spell out the word Avalon and he looks questioningly from one Loki to another.

[lokilowkey]

Loki found the children quite interesting, and admittedly was a bit amused by Eindrid's stubborn cling to the red ball in his grasp.

"Pizza? Yes good, a tale such as this certainly should be told over a feast, but pizza counts as I've found!" Ikol didn't agree, if the magpie's feather ruffle was any hint, but that wouldn't stop him mooching for bites.

"Avalon though, the realm of the Fair Folk! Reflective of Britain in a way, and it's tales and stories, mythological figures and the like. Quite the whimsical place, if not horribly dangerous at the same time!"

[coldsong]

Loki sets Eindrid on the bench and ruffles his hair. "We'll have to have one plain cheese for this one, but toppings on the other are negotiable. Except for anchovies and pineapple, none of them will eat those, and I...actually don't blame them."

He'd eat pineapple on pizza, actually, but it's not his favorite. Anyway!

Agnarr sits across from the child Loki, nodding his understanding and signing: I don't think we had that. I've heard fairy tales but I thought they were just stories.

Answering their parent's call, the girls come scampering through the crowd, hand in hand. They're a funny pair. Sometimes they're best friends, other times they squabble like cats and dogs. Maybe that's the nature of siblinghood. It's unusual for Sigrid to take point rather than letting Una run up and introduce herself first, but today she has a special interest, and she plops herself down next to the child Loki and offers her hand. "Hello! I'm Sigrid, and that's Una. Papa was hoping we could all be friends."

"What fairy tales?" Una asks Agnarr, having caught the tail end of his signing.

[lokilowkey]

"Pepperoni is the classic I believe? And quite good regardless!"

His attention was drawn by Agnarr, but before he could fly into his story, the girls returned to plunk down beside him, and he beamed at them, accepting Sigrid's hand in a enthusiastic armclasp. "A pleasure to meet you! I don't see why we couldn't be friends."

Ikol has other thoughts if the soundless scoff from him was any hint for anyone watching the bird. Loki paid him no mind however.

"Fairy stories though! Not as pretend as you may think, they actually give those of the Fae realm form and shape. They draw their strength from the tales and locales tied to them, which is why European mythoforms tend to be so prevalant- lots of old folk tales still circulating, and more importantly believed." He explained cheerily, unaware of the conversations that the older Loki had with his twin, how similarly they'd run in some ways. "But mysterious dangers were plaguing the Fair Folk, and I was called upon to see what could be done!"

[coldsong]

"Yes!" Sigrid is clearly thrilled by the handclasp. "We'll share our tickets with you if you want. Or we can all pool them together and get something big from the shop. After we play games, I mean, because you haven't had a chance yet."

The children are paying Ikol no mind, but the adult Loki is, and the scoff earns him a steely glance, a silent promise that interfering with his children will earn swift retribution. He'd rather not follow through, knowing what he knows about this bird, but nothing comes before the kids.

"Pepperoni it is," is all he says, blithely. "I'll go order. Lemonade, tea, or fruit punch?"

No soda pop, except for special occasions. He's convinced it's bad for their teeth, and it makes the two little ones impossible to manage anyway.

I've seen fairies here, Agnarr amends. Maybe they just hide better in our world.

"So what were the dangers like? Did you get to fight?" Una cuts right to the chase.

[lokilowkey]

"Coming together for the bigger prize sounds fun to me!" It wasn't often he got to play with children his own age, not with the Old Man's reputation hanging over his head, so he was quietly chuffed by the opportunity here.

Ikol didn't say a word at the moment while his little companion put in his request for lemonade, but the older Loki could likely see something weighing there, as if estimating how much of a problem he might be.

"Well there wasn't fighting happening yet- once it did, it would spiral to outright war and against an unknown enemy at that! Besides," He waved a hand blithely. "Straight battle is more Thor's domain. But like I was telling Loki, there were mysterious mechanical cities cropping up in Avalon, and quite a few denizens of the land were missing! So naturally it was up to me to get to the bottom of what was happening!"

[coldsong]

It's heartening how willing they are to play together. He knew his four would welcome most other children, but to see the child Loki respond in kind is...not quite a surprise, but definitely a relief. When he was little, he would have been more bossy or recalcitrant and tested his companions' patience, although being greeted with a request for storytelling and the attention that goes with it would have pleased him.

Meanwhile, as he steps away to order the food, he gives the bird a subtle glance out of the corner of his eye, a look like he's sizing him up in turn, but calculated to be fleeting and wary, as if he's hoping the bird won't notice.

He's hoping he will. Getting Ikol to try to outmaneuver him might be the best way to separate him from his charge.

"Oh." Una worries her lip. Her idea of glorious battle is a one-on-one, hero versus monsters sort of affair. All of the children know what war is like, and it's ugly.

"That sounds like a smart way to go about it." Sigrid nods. "Investigating and trying to figure things out. What did you do? Did you go to one of the cities?"

[lokilowkey]

Ikol did notice- Loki would certainly see a beady eye on him as he pretended at that wary glance. It was hard to say what the bird's thought was about it at the moment, but he clearly had the older Loki on his radar as Suspicious. He even went so far as to murmur something quiet to the child Loki, but he was immediately waved off with a soft scoff.

And he couldn't help but puff up a bit, pleased at Sigrid's agreement with the wisdom of his tactics, nodding enthusiastically. "I did indeed! I even went so far as to meet the leader of the mysterious cities, Mister Wilson."

"It turns out you see, that Avalon did not tell the Allmothers the whole of their tale of woe," Loki pointed out, lifting a finger for emphasis. "For these were no invaders! You see, the Otherworld, it mirrors the material world, and Wilson was created by the shift of the material world into the industrial age and more urban living, and the cities themselves were of Wilson's design, inhabited willingly by the 'missing' fae as a matter of fact! See he didn't think the ruler's current insistence on remaining rural and in the past was fair or just to the townsfolk, so wished to bring some modernity to the realm, in a charmingly steam-driven manner. But unfortunately, the rulers in Camelot currently outpowered the self-styled 'Manchester Gods' and so there was no chance they'd consider any sort of treaty or armistice while in a position of power."

Loki couldn't help but smile a bit, looking a bit smug and pleased with himself. "Naturally I had to do something very clever to even the playing field if we hoped for anything like a peaceable resolution!"