strangetrip | Quality Time (closed to Valkyrie)

Entry tags:

loki,
valkyrie

Quality Time (closed to Valkyrie)

One of the advantages, and there were several, of having other worlds constantly available was that trade became a very entertaining and useful way to pass time. The massive hides that Valkyrie so enjoyed delivering could be cured, cut down, used, yes... but they could also be cured and taken to the floating city, exchanged for new books, specialized medicines for the infirmary. The odd steam-focused world was good for metal and glass, and the weirdly short dwarves of the ancient world were very impressed with the potency of Asgardian liquor, meaning precious metals, gems, various cloths? All were accessible if you were willing to put the various kinds of work in.

The medicines of the floating city were what gave him the idea to evaluate the plant life of the ancient world, see if there might be something useful there. So he'd opted to accompany his fiancée on one of her hunting trips, albeit without any real intention to assist her in bringing down prey. Valkyrie didn't mind and didn't tease - they enjoyed each other's company whether or not they were occupied by the same project.

At the moment, Loki was inspecting a brilliant and oddly fleshy red flower. A succulent of some kind, perhaps, though the rest of the plant didn't look like one. Pretty, if too large to be readily decorative in the Inn. Valkyrie was nearby, but the question of whether the bright red was an indicator of poison or an eat-me invitation occupied him enough that he'd lost track of Valkyrie's movements.

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When you lived as long as Valkyrie did, hours were like minutes. She'd lost herself for days within the most adventuresome Otherworlds, throwing herself into whatever thrill. It used to be she did so without a thought to the future, but these days, the payoff was always eagerly anticipated.

While she was still nowhere to be seen, the flower trembled. In the broad-leaved bushes before her fiancé, a pair of round golden eyes the size of crystal balls bulged, appearing to stare right at him.

That, Loki noticed, but his only initial reaction was to meet the eyes, as if to stare them down. Most predators would just strike, so this was either not a predator or lacked confidence. Either way, well... he could always disappear or strike as needed. “This flower doesn’t have your name on it,” he informed the goggling yellow orbs.

The eyes rose from the brush to reveal themselves attached to a creature with a neck half the length of his body and a gaping maw of a beak framed by a massive and feathery frill. Its maw spread further as it hissed, revealing rows of stark white teeth stretching to its throat.

It cast a shadow over the flower as it brought its head down--only to harmlessly rest its beak upon the crown of Loki's head.

"Cute, isn't it?" Valkyrie's face emerged from the fine chest plumage, grinning widely.

"I'm not sure I'd use the word 'cute', but I won't object to you using it." Thankfully, beaky creatures tended not to slobber, and that was a point in the creature's favor. "Taming creatures instead of killing them, are we?"

"No, this one's dead, too." Lifting it, she presented its tanned hide she wore as a disguise. How she was able to manipulate the towering neck so deftly was a mystery. "It'd be fun for children, though, wouldn't it?"

“That’s more you.” He hadn’t entirely been looking forward to the prospective argument over whether or not toothy bird-lizards made good pets, so it was just as well his love hadn’t suddenly decided prey were friends, not food or fun. “Fun for someone, yes. Children, the one scaring them with the costume, or both.”

"Do you think the spider child would like this one?" She jostled it, making its plumage ruffle humorously. "Annie."

Who knew? Annie found Loki very comforting, and he was one of the least comforting people in any universe. She might well love a toothy lizard-bird. “It’s entirely possible! Especially if it’s stuffed and plushie.”

She smiled at the thought, filing that note away for later as she crouched to inspect the flower the man was so intrigued by. Its fat petals were almost the same shade as the lizard-bird's. "For your collection?"

“It’s either very poisonous or very not, and I’m not sure which.” Loki flashed her a smile. “I’m considering bringing one back and feeding it to Thor to find out which.”

Sparing him the 'obliged to cease assassination attempts' script, Valkyrie instead gave him a wry look and a kiss beneath his eye. "Missed him that much, did you?"

“Heavens no. He’s just the only one I currently feel comfortable possibly poisoning who also stands a solid chance surviving.” Loki tugged lightly on a lock of her hair. “I could feed it to you if you prefer, but I have conditioned my brother to see attempts on his life as affection.”

"If you frame it as a dare for His Majesty, I've no doubt it'd become a spectator sport." She passed him with a gentle headbutt. "Take it along."

He laughed briefly, caught her hand, and pressed a kiss into her palm before slicing the flower from its stem and stashing it over there. Technically the King of Asgard’s sworn defender should have discouraged possible murder attempts, but it seemed that as long as there was no true malice in play Valkyrie was willing to be understanding.

Besides, she might think it was funny. And the flower might not in fact be poisonous. “Hunted any other costume creatures?”

"Just him. I spent all day preparing his hide." Valkyrie wore the unfortunate beast like a gown, its tail features trailing behind her proudly. As Loki followed, she paused to lift it and place it upon his much taller frame. She appraised the way it sat, giving a little shrug of perhaps.

"Not quite your color. But you fill it well."

“Agreed, red isn’t really for me.” Loki inspected the arms of the lizard-bird, to evaluate its talons. “You did particularly fine work on this.”

Approaching, Valkyrie leaned into his front, admiring him regardless. "It's easy to lose track of time in here." It's good you have you for the ride this time.

She'd consumed the Otherworlds offerings like a dying woman, but found she quickly missed Loki's company. It was equally rewarding to see him cleverly flourish in his own way as they moved from place to place.

A part of her was certain she'd court grief for it, but it really was like making the god-forsaken inn their own.

Almost on reflex, Loki wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, more or less heedless of what the lizard-bird head was doing above them. What else was he supposed to do with Valkyrie leaning in like that? They'd both spent too long alone and/or solitary. Being apart now was much harder than it probably should have been. It was better, always, to be in the same world at least.

It probably meant something (and probably not an especially good something) that the Inn was labeled 'home' in his mind more and more frequently. "Fortunately, time isn't something we currently lack."

“I saw something that might interest you,” Valkyrie took his hand, guiding him towards a hill visible over the tree canopy. She gestured at an outcropping of rock mounted on the shady side. “Right up where that stump is.”

“All right.” With anyone else, he might have hung back a little bit, considering motivations and the likelihood of a vague ‘I want to show you something’ going very badly for him. With Brunnhilde, he just followed and climbed the rock formation she indicated. Even if there was some kind of trick, it would be entertaining.

"I'd put the bird away, for now."

Making it up in record time, her face screwed up as they passed into the side of the hill the sun didn't reach, the stump marking the transition. Rock steadily became moss and the air grew thicker with humidity and a musty scent. She waved a bit in front of her face and cleared a curtain of bearded lichens away to reveal a pillar--a very moist and very porous pillar. Valkyrie's eyes followed it up to where it steadily formed a brightly spotted gilled head, tall as two Thor's stacked on top of each other.

All in all, it was like something she'd have found in the Grandmaster's dungeon.

Putting the lizard-bird away was easy enough, and a good idea because it didn't breathe especially well. Since he was wearing it, it was just a matter of willing it gone.

Loki was glad it was when he was finally faced with by far the biggest mushroom he'd ever seen. He didn't recognize the type, either - it wasn't just a giant version of something familiar. "That is amazing."

"I landed on it during the chase." Valkyrie nodded upwards, satisfied with Loki's enthusiastic response. "If you don't want it, you could make some berserker somewhere very effective."

"Several berserkers, I should think." Maybe one giant berserker? No, even for that the mushroom might be too big. "Perhaps I won't test this one on Thor." No one needed a berserk Thor. At present. "But I'm definitely taking a piece home with us."

Before either of them could make good on harvesting the beastly fungus, she leaned over at knocked her head against his shoulder affectionately. What could she say? It was exceptionally endearing to watch the shrewd man’s eyes light up.

“You know...” She approached it, giving the slippery flesh a little prod. “Things have been coming back. Memories. The simpler ones. Weddings, too.”

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