[GP/EP] Check-in Day

[st_oneswidow]

The woodwinds in her collection were for noodling mostly, and the violin was for memory of her family, but when Curnen really wanted to play she turned again and again to her guitar. This would probably always be her best instrument. It was the first of the month, she’d been here over a year, and it was probably a check-in day. So she sat on the lawn with her instrument in her lap, sending out a subtle magic to call anyone stranded in their little world this way.

At one point, though, she set aside the guitar and turned her face to the sky. For just a few minutes she required a different kind of magic.

It had been a week now since Scanlan had vanished in the battle. And Pike, too, though Curnen honestly couldn’t have cared less about her going away if she tried. Still. The two of them were family to people very dear to her, people who missed them. And Scanlan had been her friend. You marked something like that with a song.

Of all the money that e'er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm that e'er I've done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all

It was a traditional Irish goodbye, a farewell to friends said with love, drinking, well wishes, and the hope of meeting again. She couldn’t think of a better one for the occasion. And as she sang she twined her magic into her voice in a new way, sending the song to any ears that needed it, ears of those who knew and missed the departed. Not all of them might understand it, not all of them knew what she was, but she didn’t particularly care about that right now. The song was more important than the hiding.

Once the last note had dissipated she picked up her guitar again and resumed her work. If there were anybody out there, they had to know where to go.

Comments

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

"A kitten. Riiiight." Bucky nodded his head. "Sometimes it might not be better that you survive." Sometimes, he thought to himself, it would be better if the other man won.

Stepping inside, Bucky unclipped his pack and shrugged it off his shoulders, setting it on one of the bed. The hat came next, reaching up to run a hand through his already messy hair, trying to eliminate some of the hat head that he was sure he had.

"Ghosts." Bucky turned and glanced around the room. "Huh. Will I know them?"

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

Loki raised an eyebrow, then turned into the black kitten and bounced to the other bed, where he turned back into himself sitting cross-legged and comfortable. (Again, assume the invitation, it was better than waiting.) Best to be clear that his lies were generally better than that. And it was better than openly acknowledging the truth of sometimes it might not be better to survive.

He believed that. Some days, still, he even believed it about himself. And it was hard to argue with the idea that the universe would have been better off had Odin just let the frost giant run die in that temple as he'd been left to do.

Ah well. If he was dead, he couldn't watch a one-armed man reorder his hair, could he? "I don't know, I haven't let mine get a word in before banishing them. I'm not really interested in anything the dead might have to say to me."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

Bucky jumped back, blinking as he stared at the kitten with wide eyes. He watched as Loki moved over to the other bed, then suddenly turned himself back into a human again. His mouth dropped open and he didn't even try to hide his stare. Yes, he was staring. With everything that he knew HYDRA could do, everything he knew about Red Skull, he still couldn't believe that magic was possible.

He did now.

"Too many dead in my wake," he muttered. Bucky moved over to the other bed and sat down. It was only then that he really took in the color scheme of the room. The red. The white. The blue. His eyes rolled and he looked over at Loki. "Will they let me re-decorate?" Not that he minded too much. It almost felt like Steve was there with him in the colors of the room. "I think they gave this room to the wrong soldier."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

Red, white, blue, and a soldier. The only one who fit that description that Loki knew of was Captain Rogers. (The few seconds he'd spent annoying Thor by playacting the Captain were still treasured hilarity to him.) There was nothing to say that they were from the same universe, he and metal-arm, but if they were?

They had at least one common frame of reference. Good to know. "Sadly, no. Not in any permanent way."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

Bucky shook his head, knowing the new person beside him would not get the reference. He frowned, turning to look over at him. Had he even given the man his name? Or got his? He wasn't exactly sure. His good hand reached up to scratch at his head as he tried to remember. "Just too, eh, much? In here..."

Bucky shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Loki. He didn't know his name, but he was struggling not to call him cat man in his head. Or kitten man. Some sort of superhero moniker. "How long have you been here, then?"

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

That wretched clinic and the hours per day three-quarters pretending to be some kind of healer were obviously doing something to him, because Loki’s instinct was to offer to help. Minds, he could handle. If he could twist them to his purpose, exploit fault lines until they cracked, he could surely smooth choppy mental waves or blunt sharp edges. Much closer to his actual expertise than the messy physical.

But he kept his mouth shut. Let me play with your brain was not initial-conversation appropriate. And the other man’s outright fear and anxiety seemed to be ebbing, ratcheted down to a simpler aura of wariness and uncertainty.

With some sparks of curiosity evident now. Good. Loki smiled. “A month now. Apparently long enough to forget my manners.” Not forgotten, just ignored when they weren’t useful. He offered a hand to shake, seemingly-thoughtlessly offering the hand that would ‘match’ with the metal. Either it would work out, the man thinking that to Loki the metal was inconsequential, or it would not. Interesting either way. “I’m Loki.”

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

Bucky sighed. Slowly, he rose to his feet and paced around the room, taking it all in. The colors. The two beds. It was as if the hotel was mocking him that Steve wasn't there beside him. He really hated it. He knew he couldn't lose his composure, especially after what happened with Stark, but he really hated it all the same.

The man there with him was one that he didn't know, wasn't even sure he could trust, but it was better than being alone. Wasn't it? He'd been on his own for so long that he wasn't sure he knew how to deal with anything else.

Looking over to Loki, he nodded his head slowly. "I... I have them, but they're a bit rusty," he said with an awkward smile. He watched as Loki lifted his hand to shake. Bucky did hesitate, before reaching his metal hand out and shaking Loki's. He made sure to keep his grip gentle and not squeeze too tightly, not wanting to hurt the man in front of him. Metal or not, it was better than being one handed. Bucky really didn't care too much anymore, long since passed the point of missing his own arm.

"I..." He paused. "I'm James Barnes. People call me Bucky. It's a nickname."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

He had a good smile, even if it really didn’t look at home on his face, and the only feeling about the arm was... concern? Ah, worry about hurting him. If Loki hadn’t already been sure his new friend (so to speak) had no idea who he was, that would have clinched it.

For the moment, Loki marked but ignored the new rise of tension. It wasn’t an immediate concern yet. “Which do you prefer?” ‘Bucky’ sounded like a small animal prone to chewing things, but there probably were worse names.

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

"I... I'm fine with Bucky. Really only he, er... Only one person really ever called me it. In the army, they did call me James." At least until Steve had showed up. He told the guys about his nickname. some had used it. Most had not. Either way, it was just a moniker. Hey you would also work just as well with him.

If Loki was reading Bucky or trying to see into his mind, Bucky wouldn't notice. There were feelings of trepidation in regards to the new person in his room. And fear. There also was love. He would never admit it outright, but he was glad that Steve wasn't here, trapped in this situation like he was. It wasn't fair to the soldier.

Nobody deserved the private hell Bucky would have to go through here or in his mind.

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

Only an idiot would have trusted Loki, even if you didn't know who he was. Without the rest of it - and he was entirely willing to admit that there was a lot of rest of it - he was still a random person who turned into cats and invited himself into the personal space of a stranger who was already rattled. Nothing about that exactly bred trust.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to be breeding specific mistrust either, and that was good enough. "Until and unless you find a preference, I'll stick with Bucky." If nothing else, the fact that it was the first one mentioned might indicate a less-than-conscious preference.

Loki uncurled his legs and hopped off the bed. "Your room and a drink was our deal, I believe, but not here. Come with me?"

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

It wasn't so much trust for Bucky. To him, it was more apprehension that was slowly dissipating the more he had conversations with Loki. Nobody would ever have his full trust, not even Steve Rogers, not after everything. It would take time to build up a report. And in Bucky's case, that would be a long, long time.

Still, the man had been kind, helped him. Not tried to shoot him into the wall. Really though, all things considered, Loki didn't seem too bad. And he turned into a cat. Who wouldn't want that in their life?

"A drink. Yes." Bucky nodded his head. "You did, uh... Back downstairs, I guess?"

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

"Upstairs, I think." Loki looked the man up and down speculatively, then nodded slightly. He wasn't usually in the habit of inviting other people into his space. Thor was always an exception, because keeping him out was impossible, and Stark had turned up once, but beyond that he'd taken a number of steps to ensure privacy.

A little time away from people and in a space that was not, in itself, stressful, might actually help Bucky. If nothing else, he'd find it easier to keep watch when there was no chance of having to be on guard against anyone but a god of mischief.

Not actually that reassuring, was it? Oh well! "My room has roof access via a balcony. Plenty of escape options, doesn't look like this," brief gesture around at the red, white, and blue, "and I believe I still have some liquor left over from my brother's last visit."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

"Up..." Bucky blinked, realizing just what was happening here. He wasn't really sure he wanted to go see the other man's room, but he also wasn't sure he was ready to go back downstairs either. At least up here, in the private, he knew he wouldn't run into Tony again? Really, he wouldn't have blamed Tony for running to the bar after their encounter.

Balcony? His eyes widened when Loki mentioned escape options. "Huh, okay." Perhaps he had more in common with the man than he had originally assumed. There was a slight smile, a crook of the lips and a glimmer of something that almost reached his eyes as he nodded in acquiescence. Bucky moved over to the door and opened it, stepping through and waiting for Loki to lead him up to the fourth floor.

"So," he murmured. "You, uh... You have a brother?" At least the man had family here and he wasn't alone. Some might have preferred that. Bucky still wasn't sure how he'd feel if Steve showed up here. Rogers was the closest thing he had to family. Even his faulty memory had told him that in not so many images.

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

"Thor," Loki confirmed, hiding the satisfaction of successful and well-judged temptation as he slipped out of the room and headed for the stairs. It had been the escape options that did it, as he'd half-suspected. They were among his favorite things about his room, after the space and the inoffensive décor. "I'm sure you'll meet him. You'll most likely like him. Everyone does."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

"Thor." The name meant nothing to Bucky, not really. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to know it, but it set off no alarm bells with him. There was no name recognition and no flash of face in his mind. A small shrug of his shoulders and he followed Loki up the stairs.

Of course, Loki had been correct. Bucky really was following just like Loki would like him to, without even realizing he was doing it. "Huh. Sounds like my friend, Steve." He tried to smile, but there was something sad in his eyes as he spoke. "Are you glad to have someone from your home here with you, at least?"

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

"It varies from moment to moment. Mostly yes, but sometimes I'm glad I have knives." That was perhaps slightly more honest than he generally wanted to be with other people, but Loki decided to stand by it. It was nothing more than Thor himself recognized as true. "He's not the only one from my world here, there are at least two others." One he'd met and one he hadn't yet.

And Steve, was it? Red, white, and blue. A soldier. He'd been suspicious, but this might be proof. "Or at least three, if your Steve's last name is Rogers. What a coincidence." It actually was, but it didn't hurt to sound like he did these things on purpose.

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

Bucky laughed, a small chuckle coming out, the first honest and real one he'd had in quite a while. He couldn't help but smile, imagining Loki flinging knives at this imaginary brother of his. If that didn't define sibling rivalry, he didn't know what would. Most siblings do fight, but with knives?

His smile faded when Loki kept talking. "Wait, what?" He swallowed, his good hand reaching out to press palm side against the wall. Three others were from his world. And Steve was one of them. Did that mean he was from Loki's world too? He froze staring at Loki in shock. Steve was here? "Uh... Huh. Um," he stammered. "Yes, that... That's his name."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

The laugh was a win. If someone like Bucky was comfortable enough to laugh, it represented progress. Or it meant he'd decided Loki was funny, which was an entirely different kind of win. People often forgot that 'funny' didn't mean 'not dangerous'.

At the slight noise and halted footsteps of the other man, Loki stopped and turned. He spared a glance for the hand on the wall, but otherwise didn't remark on it directly. If this was new information, good: better than being taken by surprise. "I haven't had a lot of direct contact with Captain Rogers myself, and unless he arrived at the same time you did, he's not one of them. There's my brother and a fellow by the name of Tony Stark. Or Iron Man, if you're willing to indulge him. And you for three. Again, allowing certain assumptions to stand as true."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

For Bucky, it was a small combination of them both. Loki had amused him. And while he wasn't sure that he was comfortable with the man beside him, it had been a start.

Until he said Steve's name.

"Four," he said softly. "I... I met a kid. He... He knew me. From the future, I think." His words were broken, stilted almost as he struggled to find the right words. "Fought me. Fought Steve. Fought for Tony..." Bucky shook his head slightly. Reluctantly, he lowered his hand from the wall and resumed moving forward with Loki. "He's here too. From... Our world, I guess." Even if Loki didn't know the kid, the kid had known him.

"Said there was a video... Of us fighting." He frowned. He still wasn't sure he wanted to see it. "I... I don't remember anything he said. From the future..." He glanced up at Loki. He really didn't know if he wanted to run into Steve or not. "Let... Let's go get that drink."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

"Four," Loki agreed pacifically, making a mental note to keep an eye out for this 'kid'. Not that it was a problem, but because he was curious. Anyone from the future might accidentally provide details that Thor wasn't inclined to talk about. Loki didn't need to know yet, but more information was never a bad thing.

"And yes, let's." He continued leading the way up to the fourth floor, where there weren't many rooms - the comparative isolation of the Sky Room was another bright spot, in Loki's view - and into the Sky Room itself.

The exit to the balcony, with the roof overhanging slightly, was obvious; he didn't bother to point it out. Instead he beelined for the little wall-nook by the bed to retrieve two small glasses and a bottle. Whiskey, probably. It likely didn't matter much. "Feel free to explore or what-have-you. I personally find the roof most calming."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

"With possibly more to come," he said softly. Bucky followed Loki up to his room, taking in everything that he saw, he also mapped out where to run if he felt the need to. This time, however, he didn't. The room was no different than his, Odd colors and layout. At least he didn't feel like he had to run just yet. The corners of his lips twitched and he made his way out to the balcony.

His head nodded in agreement. He can feel the feeling of calm as well. At least he was blessed that, with his gifts, he couldn't hear someone else's thoughts too.

"I..." He shook his head. He really didn't want to explore Loki's room either. It wasn't a safe house, it was his room. There should have been some small modicum of privacy. "Done enough for today," he murmured.

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

"Fair enough." There were enough different ways to translate that that Loki didn't bother. Instead, he poured a generous amount into each glass and made his way out to the balcony to offer one to his guest. "Last time I was imprisoned, it was a box with one glass wall. A sort of museum display, I felt. Humiliating, really." More than just being imprisoned, the sense of being on display had been aggravating. "Before that, a glass tube over a very long drop. I rather enjoy reminding myself that I can't actually see the walls of this one."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

Bucky nodded his head. "I was..." He shivered, the memory still one he did not like to recall. He glanced over at Loki, raising an eyebrow at him.

"HYDRA imprisoned me. Frozen. Take out to complete mission and then return. Wipe. No memory." His voice was soft, quiet as he told his tale. "Poked. Prodded. Wiped. Repeatedly." He hoped that his story was making sense, as he really didn't want to go into too much detail. He would, however, if he had to.

Bucky took the glass from Loki, staring down at the amber liquid. "Walls not seen, but at least there is more room to breathe."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ratagem]

That much alteration should have negated his usefulness to this HYDRA group long before. There was only so much any person's mind could bend and twist without breaking outright, as Loki knew very well. That Bucky had any discrete personality at all was genuinely impressive. But he just nodded; compliments were suspicious sorts of things, and he wasn't trying to crank that back up quite yet.

"Four hours in all directions, I'm not sure if anyone told you. Roughly a kilometer up, I've been told. Though of course I can't fly, so it's nothing to me." Loki sipped his drink, then continued. "All walls have holes and cracks somewhere. I intend to find them, in time."

Re: Bucky and Loki

[st_ranger]

Bucky sighed and stared out in front of him. HYDRA had used him their own personal weapon and asset. When the mission was over, he was taken care of and prepped for the next mission. He never remembered doing it. He'd been housed in ice so many times that it all blurred together, even now. He really was much stronger and more resilient than even he was aware of.

"It was mentioned." His hand trembled as he lifted his glass and took a sip. "Go out, come back. Go up, come back. Can't get far." Bucky shrugged his shoulders, looking over at Loki. "If they exist, you have to find them. Probably very remote." And yes, he was offering his help if Loki wanted it.