If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks...

[coldsong]

It's customary to have a Wake after the subject thereof dies. Even Loki knows that. But this is a special occasion. Ego-death is coming to his alternate, and the idea of letting him go off to perish alone, uncertain he will even be mourned, is too dark a proposition even for a flawed and callous person to contemplate.

That, and this Loki has been in a melancholy mood since speaking to the spirit of Frigga. He anticipates a dark choice of his own, sooner or later, and where the fates will send him after that, he can't know. Maybe oblivion, although even at that rate there may be worse places.

What's important right now is that no one dies unremembered. And honestly, any excuse for mischief a party. The first text rolls out to Harley, an innocent enough invitation to join them for milkshakes. Cricket is next, because it occurs to him that Cricket has plenty of liquor, which is good for a reckless celebration.

Things snowball from there.

As long as they don't destroy too much property, they'll call the night a success.

Comments

[chiron_survivor]

Adia arrives at the café, and she's not alone. There is a man with her, dark-haired and tight-lipped, wearing a nice suit. When he steps in and sees both Lokis at the corner table, he looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "There's more than one of him?"

"...oh. I guess so?"

"I don't like this," the man says flatly, but Adia shakes her head.

"He asked me to come here. We can stay for a little bit..."

The man sighs, but lets himself be led over. "If he starts asking me to solve puzzles, we're leaving."

[coldsong]

Loki more or less lights up when he catches sight of her. He's got no idea who Caspar is, and he almost doesn't care. Obviously he is someone of importance to her, which is fine, but it's Adia that Loki is focused on.

Which could be construed as very creepy, actually, but it's in no way lascivious. Just maybe inordinately interested.

He murmurs something to his alternate and rises to come greet her and her partner. "Hello! I'll buy you each a milkshake if you like. We're attempting to tie the cherry stems in a knot with our tongues. So far my success has been limited. Cricket thinks I'm biting them, but he is mistaken. I'm only folding them with my teeth, and that should not make them break."

Haha, Caspar, the puzzles tonight involve cherry stems.

"Also," his voice drops lower, and he glances at Adia uncertainly, "I encountered a stranger in the Nexus not long ago. Very tall, sharp teeth and hooves. I am not suggesting you seek him out. More the opposite. But if your rune gives you any warnings, they may be related to him. His name is Alastor."

And if he wasn't full of dark magic of some kind, Loki is the more deceived.

[chiron_survivor]

It's both flattering and intimidating to draw Loki's attention like that, enough to make her duck her gaze shyly, but she does smile for him, and her hands don't automatically start twisting at her scarf. Progress. "Hi, Loki. A milkshake sounds great, thank you. One for us to share, maybe? This is my boyfriend, Caspar. Caspar, this is Loki."

"A pleasure," Caspar says evenly. He wraps an arm around Adia's waist. It's blatant posturing, but the look on his face makes it clear that he knows that.

Talk of a dangerous stranger distracts them both. "Oh, no, I haven't met or sensed anyone like that." She pauses thoughtfully. "I did meet a creature named Venom. He has sharp teeth, but he's small and goopy and not magical, so far as I can tell."

Caspar looks at her like this is the first he's heard about it. Then looks at Loki again. If the God of Mischief is bothering to warn his girl of potential danger, perhaps he can tone down the wariness. At least overtly.

"Make sure the milkshake has two cherries," he offers, unprompted. "So we both get a shot at this stem-tying trick."

[coldsong]

He notes that progress, and while on some level he does enjoy being unnerving, it's probably better in the long run that they be on comfortable platonic terms. Plus, her companion is clearly being protective. Or proprietary. He gives them both a too-bright grin, but doesn't loom, and there's something warmer than usual in his eyes.

"Welcome, Caspar. You'll have to tell me what flavor you like. I favor peppermint, but everyone else seems to be getting chocolate and strawberry." There is no accounting for taste.

He raises an eyebrow at the description of Venom. He's met Eddie, in fact, but Venom didn't bother to chat with him so he doesn't have that clear an idea what he'd be looking for. "Small and goopy. I'll keep an eye out for that." Sounds potentially like a shapeshifter.

"And if you do pick up anything worth sharing, you know where to reach me," he adds to Adia. But that's all he feels needs to be said for the moment, and his expression lightens at Caspar's comment.

"It shall be done!" He laughs. "So far Harley owns the record. We'll see how the rest of us fare"

[chiron_survivor]

Oh, it's definitely both. He's already wary of gods who take an unnatural interest in Adia, but Loki has the additional qualities of being handsome, silver-tongued, and several inches taller than him. His concerns in that regard, however, appear to be unfounded, as she cuddles right up into that side embrace, a soft smile on her face that is for him alone.

"That's up to Adia," he says, in regards to flavors. "It's her milkshake, I'm just the lucky guy who gets to share it with her." He looks at her hopefully. "Although I wouldn't say no to coffee."

"Coffee sounds great," she agrees. "Ice Bear has so many flavors back there, it's impossible to choose sometimes. Loki, if you ever meet Venom, he likes chocolate a lot. And, um... people, too. But someone told him that he's only allowed to eat bad people and he responds well to redirection, so I wouldn't worry about it." As for the reminder of their deal, she nods earnestly. "Of course, I'll let you know as soon as possible." Via text, unless it's a true emergency. She can use the prayer hands emoji if that helps.

Mention of Harley gets a chuckle out of Caspar. "Of course she does," he says with genuine affection. "I think the best anyone else can hope for is a distant second."

[coldsong]

There are, in fact, gods who delight in homewrecking amongst mortals. Loki himself may not be above that, but even if it were possible, there's nothing to be gained by it here. He is charmed by Adia on the same level he was delighted by Jane Foster. She has every reason to distrust and/or fear him, but she has enough of a backbone not to let him get away with running over her roughshod.

Honestly, that's the kind of person he needs around him.

He's not sure what Caspar is like, but he's making a decent first impression thus far, and he approves of coffee-flavored ice cream. After honey, it's his second favorite. He slips past them to place the order, leaning against the counter to chat as they wait.

"A man-eating gooey monster that likes chocolate. Sounds par for the course for the Nexus." He gives her a mild nod, acknowledging her offer.

He also likes her because she's so useful helpful.

Caspar gets a grin for his reaction to the mention of Harley. He didn't realize they were good friends, but that's clearly the reaction of someone who knows her. "Well, I'm in second-to-last place at the moment, but I don't begrudge her the accolades."

[chiron_survivor]

Yep, there sure are. Like, practically an entire pantheon of them, where Adia's from. But that doesn't even cross her mind as something Loki might try, and once Caspar bears witness to Loki behaving himself, he also puts the thought aside.

Mostly. His posture relaxes, but he's not dropping that arm around her any time soon.

"He likes tater tots, too," she adds, not so much because she thinks it's important information, but because she finds it amusing. "But, anyway. Pretty typical for the Nexus, yes."

How funny that she doesn't sound the least bit scared of Venom. Well, he's not a god. That might be the difference.

"Only second-to-last?" Caspar asks, with a raised eyebrow. Harley is indeed a good friend of his. One of the few people he's willing to refer to as a friend at all. "Who's last? Or are you including anyone who can't do it at all?" He needs to know what the playing field is like before participating.

[coldsong]

Not here, not now. Although he might flirt with near anyone in the place once he starts drinking. That ought to be good and awkward.

"Tater tots," Loki repeats, and can't help but smirk. He knows exactly what they are, but there's something about the way humans name and rename things that's funny to observe. "Infant potatoes. I'll keep that in mind should I need an offering to propitiate the beast."

"Cricket's last," he deadpans. "He swallowed his cherry stem in the attempt and nearly choked on it. Since we can't verify what happened to it, we have to count it as a partial success. Anyone who can't do it at all doesn't make the list."

[chiron_survivor]

She almost tells him what tater tots are, specifically, but keeps her mouth shut at the last second, realizing that he knows and is merely expressing his amusement. Although she can't help but wonder if Thor knows about tater tots, also. She has a feeling he'd like them.

Her milkshake arrives, and Ice Bear has taken great care to make it look as delicious as it tastes. There is a cloud of whipped cream on top, along with a drizzling of sweetened coffee syrup and two bendy straws shaped into matching hearts. And, of course, the two requested cherries.

"That's setting the bar awfully low," Caspar remarks. "But okay." He plucks a cherry from the milkshake and offers it to Adia. "Ladies first. Please don't choke on the stem."

"No promises," she retorts, perhaps as a bit of revenge for Caspar not expressing any sympathy for Cricket. He nearly choked! But once she has the cherry chewed and swallowed, she is indeed very careful with the stem, rolling it carefully in her mouth while she tries to work out the logistics. If she bends it in the middle with her tongue, she can cross the ends... but no, she still needs to push one of those ends through the loop...

Caspar taps her on the shoulder. "Mmm?" she says, and he smiles at her, revealing the stem of his cherry that he has already tied into a neat little knot.

Adia grabs a napkin and spits out her mangled stem. "How'd you do that so fast?"

He shrugs and adds the tied stem to the refuse napkin. "I've had a lot of practice." He whispers something into her ear that makes her laugh, her cheeks turning as red as the the artificially colored cherries.

"That's not how that works," she protests, before adding, "Although you are very good at that." Now it's Caspar's turn to blush. She returns her gaze to Loki, trying to regain her composure. "Thank you for the milkshake, by the way."

[to_the_wolves]

Adia's entrance into the cafe almost goes unnoticed by Marie, who's huddled up near the back of the cafe with a glass of wine and a change of wardrobe. Gone are the usual suits and glasses, replaced by aviator sunglasses, contacts and a crushed velvet jacket with a few Pokemon stitched into it. Even her red hair is pulled back in a ponytail. She's here to observe this random party, nor be a part of it.

However, there's something magnetizing about Caspar Millen, and slowly Marie's eyes drift over to the entrance, spotting the loving couple. He should make her mad, but the feeling of confusion wells in her body. Both him and Adia have acted strangely around her before, so engaging them directly is futile.

Instead, she flags down Ice Bear and has him take two drinks over to the couple. Their usual, since Ice Bear knows these things. The only message the ursine is given is that if they ask who the drink is from to let them know. If the question never comes up, then she'll let it go.

Either way, there's a familiar polar bear approaching, a tray full of wonderful drinks and treats in his fuzzy paws.

[chiron_survivor]

The presence of gods in the café is distracting, and so Marie in her casual attire goes unnoticed for now. Ice Bear, however, is quick to get their attention. Adia smiles at him warmly, and Caspar looks equally glad to see him. "How's it going?" he asks his ursine pal.

"Are those for us?" Adia asks in surprise. They must be, chai latte is her favorite and Caspar almost always orders a macchiato. But the only just got here. "Who ordered these?"

[icebearforpresident]

"Good. Busy. Brothers are doing well." Ice Bear turns to a table, where Panda is huddled over a sketchpad, Grizz is playing wildly on a Nintendo Switch. Both of them are wearing knitted scarves from Ice Bear, which reminds the ursine that he needs to start knitting more gifts for Christmas.

"Ice Bear knows all. Sees all." This might sounds creepy, but there's a little smirk on his face, almost seeming proud about having this knowledge. As for Adia's question, Ice Bear puts his poker face back on. "A thank you for help received. Since one could not be given that Hallow's Eve. Ice Bear is just the messenger."

[chiron_survivor]

Adia takes a peek at the bear brothers and smiles brightly, making a mental note to say hi to them later when they aren't so engrossed in drawing or playing games. Caspar unconsciously sweats a little at the sight of the sketchpad. He likes Panda, but does not want to be stuck looking at the bear's art. He's running out of positive but not-actually-lying things to say about it!

Their attention returns to Ice Bear when he gives his answer. Caspar inwardly groans. Great, another riddle. But after a moment's thought, he realizes that it must be someone who was also there during the Seven Sisters incident.

"You may be the messenger, Ice Bear, but thank you for the drinks." She takes them off the tray, handing the macchiato to Caspar. Or trying to, anyway. Caspar's hand is balled up into a fist, his posture stiff and unyielding. She turns to look in the direction he's staring, and --

Oh. It's Marie. Adia bites her lip, then nudges Caspar. "Honey. Don't stare."

Caspar looks at her, and the tightness in his jaw fades. He sighs and takes the drink. "What the hell is her problem?" he mutters. He cannot possibly have made it more obvious that he wants nothing to do with her.

"She doesn't understand, Caspar..." She should have been honest with Marie all those weeks ago. Instead, she's created some sort of mystery when there should be none. "I'll talk to her, okay? And I'll make it clear that you want to be left alone."

Caspar pouts and looks away, but eventually relents with a small nod. "Be careful," he advises.

"I will," she says, and kisses his cheek. She smiles again at Ice Bear -- apologetically, she hadn't wanted to drag her friend into this mess -- and then walks over to Marie.

"Hi, Marie," she says quietly. "I didn't see you when I came in. Thank you for the drinks."

[icebearforpresident]

"Ice Bear does his best." But even the ursine is wondering if this kind gesture is overstepping his role. As if on cute, his ears wiggle just a bit, sensing and seeing Caspar's reaction. As if on cue, he nods, then gestures to the second floor stairwell. Lately, it's been necessary to keep security cameras on the floor, mainly to deter anyone from trying anything funny. Blame Katsuya's police nature on this one or Ice Bear's desire to spy on everyone. Regardless, while Adia goes off to talk, the polar bear is more than happy to guide Caspar upstairs so he can watch and listen in on the conversation.

Consider it a way to repay him for accidentally creation this awkward moment. It'll also keep Panda and Grizz off his back for a while.

As for Marie, a first glance should reveal her behavior is less than well, in comparison to the former times Adia has seen her. In fact, her posture and nursing a glass of wine with something sweet should look familiar, similar to the time Adia was in the Nexus having her own drunk moment. However, there's no cute animal videos to help break the ice, nor any visible tears. Instead, the red-haired woman seems a bit shocked that Adia actually came over to talk with her.

"Ms. Costas...I didn't mean to pry you away from your significant other. I just wanted to do something nice after the incident with Hunter. I'm sorry if the gesture came off the wrong way."

[chiron_survivor]

Caspar's gaze follows Ice Bear's gesture and he raises an eyebrow. He noticed the additional security cameras, so he has a fairly good idea of what his friend is suggesting. After a moment's hesitation, he nods and lets Ice Bear lead him up the stairs.

It's not that he doesn't trust Adia to try her best at smoothing things over. But Marie is another matter entirely. And anyway, he's not doing any good standing here and glaring in her general direction. "Thanks," he says to Ice Bear quietly. "And sorry for getting you involved in this nonsense."

Up close, Adia makes note of Marie's sad appearance and frowns softly to herself. Why is she here alone? Is there trouble between her and Jeff? The thought concerns her, but one thing at a time. "It's okay, Marie. I appreciate the gesture... and I appreciate what you did to help Hunter." She taps the empty chair at the table. "Can I talk to you for a little bit? There's something I need to tell you."

[to_the_wolves]

Ice Bear is such a nice bear that he doesn't mind helping out. Off goes the two serious business people, leaving the women to talk in 'private'.

Marie looks over at the chair, gesturing for Adia to sit, her attention going to the glass in front of her hesitantly. It's so hard to avoid those razor sharp glares Caspar was giving her earlier and she feels bad for eating up Adia's time. Without even realizing it, she's already adding to the other woman's statement, mostly trying to jump the gun out of worry or sadness.

"Go for it. Things can't get any worse lately, so you wouldn't be ruining my night. Losing people and lovers close to me, getting asked to step back from work...It's a cascade of affairs." Taking a sip of wine, she finally manages to stare over at Adia, still wearing those concealing glasses. "What's on your mind?"

[chiron_survivor]

Adia sits down, fussing with her scarf as she does so the ends don't get caught on the back of the chair. It gives her time to think, too, about what she's going to say, because she's unprepared. At least she's not as deer-in-the-headlights nervous as she was the last time they spoke, but it's almost a relief to her when Marie starts talking again.

Well, a relief up until it isn't. It sounds like she and Jeff broke up, or are at least on the rocks. The fact that she's been asked to ease up on her work, too, must be like salt in the wound. She bites her lip and looks down at her latte nervously. Will saying anything help, or will it only make Marie feel worse?

"I'm sorry... that sounds rough, and I really don't want to add onto your troubles. But you really deserve an explanation for my boyfriend's behavior." She tries to look Marie in the eyes, but with those sunglasses in the way, it's impossible. "It's... complicated, but long story short, an alternate of yours indirectly caused something terrible to happen to me... even though intellectually, he knows that you aren't the same person, he can't help but remember how close he came to losing me..."

It's not exactly the truth, but it's as close as she's willing to come right now. "Again, I'm sorry. And, for what it's worth, I don't hold any sort of grudge. I know you're not the same as her. And even if you were... she had her reasons for doing what she did." Adia had forgiven her long ago.

[smartass_captain]

Jim is likewise not here alone, though he will be when Adia and Caspar arrive on scene. It's incredibly hard to keep an eye on Felix during these kinds of things.

"You know, Caspar, I was just looking over this warp coefficient and I--" He cuts himself off with a chuckle. "Kidding. Good to see you guys again."

[chiron_survivor]

"Don't tease me like that," Caspar complains, an amiable smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. After all the magic and supernatural he's dealt with lately, he'd enjoy the science talk.

"Good to see you, too." Adia smiles warmly, shoulders relaxed. Parties aren't really her thing, but she can handle a smaller gathering of familiar faces. "You've met Loki? Or... one of them, anyway? I only know the older-looking one."

[smartass_captain]

Oh Caspar, Jim more than understands the discomfort. At least none of the new recruits are wearing your dead father's face amidst all their rippling pectorals. But Felix has new gods to conjure and play nice with, so of course Jim's along for the ride.

"Couldn't resist." He quips quietly to Caspar before taking a sip of his drink and turning his gaze toward Adia instead. "Mmh. Same. Though I suppose I've just met the younger one tonight." He's going to have to try really hard to not let himself get too drunk tonight. His tolerance has been shit ever since he stopped being dead.

"I wasn't aware this was a preferred method of ritual prayer but here we are."

[chiron_survivor]

If anyone here resembled one of the Final Five, his creators, he would be far more than discomforted. He's doing okay, for now. Crossroads Café is familiar territory, and he suspects that Katsuya and Ice Bear would clean house real quick if a genuine problem arose.

Also, Cricket gave him a jar of moonshine, and unlike the stuff on Atlantis, he's actually enjoying it. "Another time, then," he replies before taking another sip of the good stuff.

"Ritualized prayer?" Adia considers this, smiling a little in thought. "Well... I know some gods love a really good party in their name. Loki is part of the Norse pantheon, and they really like to have a good time." Flagons of mead and whole roasted ox good time.

[smartass_captain]

Katsuya does have a healthy does of diecide in his resume but for tonight he's mostly here to make sure no one's trying to get the kids here drunk and to make sure nothing gets destroyed amidst all the partying. Is that a dinosaur?! Excuse him.

Jim, meanwhile, is content with his glass of something incredibly bright blue while he watches the people flitting about the cafe.

"A joke, slightly. I have to wonder if Felix would call it that. Or if it's that far off from the truth. I don't know much about magic and gods, so it all seems equally ridiculous to me sometimes."

[chiron_survivor]

Adia doesn't know enough about Felix's pantheon to decide if Loki would be a familiar sort of god to him or not. She doesn't get a chance to speculate, because Caspar is raising his moonshine jar in a genuine toast to Jim.

"Yes, ridiculous Thank you. I thought I was the last person in the multiverse to believe that."

"Caspar." Adia's voice has dropped dramatically in volume, her gaze darting around her. "Seriously, we are at a party thrown by gods, this isn't the place to --"

"Sorry, sorry." Caspar mollifies her with a kiss on the cheek. "I'm just longing for a day in the Nexus that doesn't involve curses or vengeful goddesses. I'm sure Jim agrees with me. The other Jim certainly would."

[smartass_captain]

Well Nords do exist on Nirn in some fashion (which is still weird to Jim and he hasn't quite figured out how to feel about that) so it's definitely not out of the realm of possibility. Jim will meet that toast with a smile on his face before taking a sip of his own drink.

And he will be glad to have that drink to hide behind at the pause he gives while he listens to Caspar and Adia bicker amicably. The other Jim? Caspar's very likely not wrong, but...Well, best to not draw attention to it. It's an unsettling thought for Jim.

"It can all be a bit much, coming from a world with no gods to speak of. Feels like they're falling out of every closet these days."

[chiron_survivor]

Caspar's thinking specifically of Hunter's trial of the Seven Sisters, in this case. But he'll bet that by this point, both Jims have had their run-ins with the Divine. How can one not, around here?

And then Jim voices exactly what he's thinking and he can't help but chuckle wryly. Although some of that humor is lost when he thinks back to the Spring Revelry. "So long as one doesn't pop out of my wardrobe back home."

Adia looks away, feeling a trifle guilty. If a god were to somehow end up on Atlantis, it would likely be because of her. "Some of them are very nice," she says, in their defense. "The Nexus is probably a respite for them. Being a god is hard."