jewelsofasgard | Welcome to Asgard

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Welcome to Asgard

Who: Loki and anyone who is around (feel free to mingle)
Where: Asgard's Keep and surrounding lands
When: Say about a week's worth of time, July 19-26, pick a day
What: New people are beginning to arrive in Asgard in the wake of Loki's decision to ask Ebon Askavi. He's still not sure how he feels about this.
Warnings: Violence potential, please use trigger warnings and tag porn as applicable

Loki has only been back in Asgard for a few days, but he still can't shake the restlessness of having been gone. The keep doesn't feel safe to him, of course--it probably never will again--but Ebon Askavi had been frightening in its own right. The stress of the trip, of keeping himself in order and calm, has begun to take its toll.

And if he's done his job, new people will be arriving. He's anticipating that with a special sort of hope and horror mixed. The land must be healed. And he'll do whatever it takes to see that happen, even if it means kneeling to a Queen again. If he's lucky, maybe he won't survive the experience this time... so long as Asgard does. He'd knelt before the Lady of Ebon Askavi and... but it won't be her that's coming. If it was her, he'd almost be able to believe things would be all right.

But he'll just have to trust.

The keep is made as ready as it can be for visitors, cleaned and ready to be welcoming--as welcoming as anywhere can be in these troubled, untrusting times. Loki occupies himself in the gardens, though he studiously avoids the northern garden, and may disappear for some time in the western one. He also goes for long rides, watching for incursions from other territories, and waiting. Someone is just as likely to meet him on the road as they are in the keep.

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A smile, no overt fear. Interesting. He must suppose this male isn't from his territory. "Greetings to you as well," he drawls. "To whom do I speak--and to what purpose?"

And will this man try to play games about it?

That would indeed be a correct assumption.

"My name is Delta Moran." Using his sister's surname should be safe enough; if anyone had even heard of his family, that's the side he'd rather associate himself with, anyway. As for why he's here, he's not about to say a Black Widow told me to come after all the persecution, so he phrases his words carefully. "I am seeking employment as I am no longer needed at my former home. I have training as a librarian."

And that will either get him in the door or it won't. It should be the right thing to say, though, he hopes.

"And you think we have need of your services?" Loki drawls. Well actually, they do, very much so. The entire house is a mess. He's just trying to figure out how much this man actually knows, and how much he's hoping. "How much training have you?"

He doesn't offer his own name yet, a calculated bit of rudeness. Everything's a test, when it comes to interlopers in his territory.

"That is my hope," he admits. And, well, if they don't? There are plenty of other Territories that do. This one happened to be sufficiently far away from what he'd been running from. "I completed a full apprenticeship and have had preliminary training as a Court Steward, though I am afraid I have no practical experience in the latter." He's not even sure if there is a Court here, though he gets the impression there's not from the state of the land.

"A steward is not necessary as such at the moment, as there is no Queen." Stinking up the hallways with her presence, is a thought he manages to not voice. It's something he needs to not, knowing that they will have a queen, eventually.

He still dreads that thought. Well, perhaps an apprentice would be useful in light of his own no doubt inevitable demise. Though that would require a great deal of trust on his part, and this is but the first stage of many. On that, he will have to wait to see if this Delta Moran has any honor--and the right sort of it--left in him.

"On what terms did you leave your previous court, Prince Moran?" A reasonable enough question to ask. He doesn't really expect a straight answer.

He nods, having assumed as much - there were many places without Queens these days, at least without ones that serve openly. And no wonder. Either they were decent sorts who had already been deposed by Hayllian influence or weak enough to let their country be controlled through them.

At the question, he actually snorts to cover up the flash of grief under the answer. "The only Queen I have ever known to be worthy of the title was murdered before I was old enough to swear to her," he says in an even voice. "So I became a librarian instead." Librarians can seek employment elsewhere. What does he care for the status that comes with serving in a court?

"That, we have in common, it seems." He wishes he had been old enough to serve his mother. Maybe things would have gone differently. It's a well written mental path that he avoids now, however.

He considers, for a moment, if this is worth the risk, out if he ought to just send the strange male on his way. But they are struggling for staff; the wretch storm cut down the bad, and there had been precious little good left to clean up the mess.

"All right," he says. "You can have a trial as librarian, at the least." And he'll just be watching, very carefully. Very few can match against his own gray strength--and certainly not this one--but knows he is also not invulnerable in any way.

He blinks - that was easier than he thought it might be, but then, the advantage of wearing Summer-sky openly is that people are likely to see him as less of a threat. Even so, he doesn't make the offer of his service lightly.

"Thank you for the consideration, Prince. Forgive my ignorance, but I assume you do have sufficient authority to accept my offer?"

The other male hasn't introduced himself yet, after all.

Points for having kept his temper about it. Loki might be a bit over the nonsense warlord princes always throw around.

Loki smiles. "I do. I am Loki, son of the late Queen, Frigga. I watch over her lands in her stead."

Say what you will about him, but Delta's not aggressive. Enough of his brothers were for him to be thoroughly sick of the nonsense.

He bows again, this time to an acknowledged social superior as well as one with Jewels above his own--because even though Delta wears the Green as well, he certainly doesn't display it openly. Green is a threat in some circles. Summer-sky is not. "Then I am honored to meet you, Prince Loki. I hope to prove myself worthy of service to this land."

Loki accepts the bow with a proper little head tilt of his own. "You will, or you won't be here long," he says. "One of the servants will show you to a room. After you've settled, you may find me in the library."

Actually, he'll just be following Delta for the whole time, to watch him. Invisibly, of course. But he doesn't trust anything this easy.

Getting settled in to a room in the keep is suitably boring, as it happens, and except for a few sharp looks at various pieces of art or architecture Delta keeps himself subdued and calm to the invisible observer.

When he does make his way to the library, though, his posture changes tellingly; he can relax here and he knows it. Oh, there's work to be done--even a library in prime condition can use renewal of preservation spells and new works to add to the old, but here even the more mundane skills of reorganization, bookbinding, and repairing damaged texts will be much needed. That he can do, and it will give him the time he needs here to decide if he wants to stay for the long term or leave quietly once his initial work is done.

"Prince Loki?"

Loki has done his best with the library, but he hasn't had much time and it was a far worse mess before. Now, though, looking at it he feels a pang of both sorrow and embarrassment.

Amora had only liked books she though useful. Lorelei hadn't liked books at all. He'd hidden many, but they hadn't been in the nicest places.

Still, he has to be present now, and with a face that tells nothing. He steps out from between the shelves, pleasant and neutral. "Yes, Prince Moran. You see here the sad state of affairs in which we find ourselves."

But there's so much potential here--yes, even just in these few moments he has seen an idea of how much effort it will take to restore it, even improve it compared to what it was originally, but this is no sad, tiny room such as he'd seen in some other manors. Like the land itself, the library has been hurting for lack of care. Like the land, its flesh had been hurt but its bones were strong and unbroken.

Delta lets a smile slip onto his face. "I shall have my work cut out for me, I think. Is there a catalogue of contents or would it be best to start from scratch?"

It's the smile, of all things, that makes him hope. Not the sort of smile he'd expect from someone out to slyly play the game, if nothing else. Perhaps this Delta Moran is an exquisite liar, but as liars go, Loki is the best and difficult to fool. So that smile in all its honesty speaks volumes, of what this man might see beyond the immediate mess.

He does need men of vision around. Cautiously, he allows himself a tiny drop of hope. More than that might be poisonous. "I think it best that you start from scratch. Things have become exceptionally disordered from when last we had a librarian. You might well drive yourself mad with the vision of the past."

Oh, Delta has his secrets. Who doesn't? But the truth is that this kind of work is something he's immediately comfortable with, and helping to fix even one tear in the fabric of the land is something that appeals to him greatly. No matter that this isn't his home country - all of Terreille is the same realm. No work done here is in vain.

He nods, already seeing plans forming in his mind. "It will take some time. I think it would be best to give the shelves a thorough cleaning first, and then the books can be placed individually after they're entered into a catalogue. That will also give me opportunity to assess the condition of each and make a priority list for which are most in need of attention and which can wait. Would that be an acceptable plan?"

That is even better to hear--a solid plan, and from someone who sounds like he actually might know what he's doing. "That will do nicely," he says, allowing a note of his pleased surprise to creep into his voice. "Should you need materials purchased, you can come to me for money. There isn't much to spare right now, but the restoration of the library is quite important."

He notes the tone and smiles a bit more in return - it's a very good sign that he'll be welcome here, if he can deliver on his intentions. "To begin with, cleaning rags and a few buckets of soap and water. I will also require pens, ink, and paper to begin with catalogue work. No doubt glue for binding and leather and cloth for repairs will be necessary, but there will be no rush on that until the initial cleaning is complete."

Yes, he has his work cut out for him, and even having a basic plan in place has him thinking of how to proceed. Perhaps this is a place he can settle in to.

Loki makes mental note of these requirements. "One of the servants will provide you with cleaning supplies. I shall see to the rest."

Definitely hopefully now, he says, "I've a few more caches of books yet to recover, so you picky to be kept busy for some time."

Even more books? "Excellent. And are there any in here currently that you would like to set aside for immediate use, either yours or others? If so, I will make note of the number and catalogue them when they are returned." That way he'll be sure not to miss any.

Are there mostly novels? Histories? Books of Craft lore? Recipes? He's curious what kind of people live here, or have lived here. What kind of books are in the caches? And once there's an accurate list of what they do and do not have, what sorts of books will he be looking to acquire? These are all questions for later, but ones his curiosity brings up nonetheless.

"The ones I use most often... ah. I admit, I have sequestered them in my office. So you ought to stop by once you have organized your catalog so you might look at those." Because he's not letting those really precious ones out of his sight.

Well, and the even rarer tomes, he will wait until he sees if his hope is proven or not. "Take a look around, if you like, before I retreat to my own duties. See if anything else strikes you as an immediate need."

The books present in the library are a fair mix, with many novels and books of poetry. There are a few shelves of craft lore and more archaic books of knowledge, and those are also the most damaged, as if they've been stored away in a less than perfect place for a long time. (Loki hid them, for centuries.)

That will do nicely, and he nods at the suggestion. "If you plan to keep them in your office, they properly belong there rather than here," he points out. "But for reference it will be good to list them, in case someone is in need of their knowledge. In that case they must ask you rather than me."

As for other needs, he'll be sure to note them as soon as they occur to him, and he's already half distracted by the itch to look around, to start getting a true feel for the place. And, well, frankly that Prince Loki seems to be catching his excitement rather than dismissing it is a huge bonus. The feeling he has of being in the right place is growing stronger.

"I will. Thank you."

"I would prefer that, yes." Some, he refers to often. Some are just that important to him. He has no desire to make a distinction between the two at this time. His office is the only space he feels he can trust his control over. "But it is logical enough to note that they exist for the purposes of reference. If the need is great enough, I am certain some budding scholar will beard the dragon's den."

He's kind of joking. Kind of.

"Please, go have a look around. I shall wait."

Delta finds himself grinning a little at the thought. Dragons may or may not be real - reports from Kaeleer tended to be mixed - but being possessive over books is something he can relate to entirely. Training as a librarian is only one facet of his appreciation for the written word, after all.

"Thank you." And he does, continuing to inspect the library in full, occasionally taking notes down in a small journal. He'll have to get one dedicated exclusively to work at some point, but for now he finds it helpful to jot down some ideas and plans. Given some help in cleaning the place up, he should be able to start cataloging and restoring within the week.

Loki sits down on a scratched and dented desk, watching Delta at first as he moved among the books. Eventually, he has his attention taken up by a book of his own, and he soon curled up against one of the shelves, reading intently. In that moment, his guard drops noticeably, his interest avid and all cool distance gone.

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