took a wrong turn at albuquerque

[ofstories]

Loki can always appreciate the little nooks and crannies of existence, the in-between appealing to certain facets of his nature. How he found himself there wasn't so important as what he did there, and now he's sprawled in a comfortable lounge chair in the Forum. The shabby, shoeless god doesn't take long before he decides to put his own contribution out there.

"Let's set the stage, shall we?" he calls just before he leaps abruptly to his feet on the chair.

"Congratulations, you've won! You return from a great quest with the glory and the girl or boy or whatever you sought as yours. Hear the cheers of the crowd. Yay, you!" People near him might even hear that hypothetical jubilation briefly, an echoing illusion that fades as he waves it away. "Or maybe none of that, and you came out of it with a bit of personal satisfaction and a friend." (If one misplaced momentarily. Problematic, that.) "Things were going so well, and yet, right now, right now, you're waiting around for what comes after."

"You're as free as a bird, so..." He's made a switch to a more conversational tone as he drops back down into his seat. "What d'you reckon you'd do next? What story would you spin?"

Comments

[ofstories]

Loki quirks an eyebrow briefly, but otherwise remains composed. "Does the quiet give what happened some meaning?"

[kitty_of_light]

"...In its way," C'taqa agrees, looking up from the knife. "It gives me the time to think about what's happened more closely."

[ofstories]

"That's valuable, or dangerous. Which is up to you, of course, but it's perhaps an uneasy precipice." He's vague, but it's entirely on purpose. "Do you seek wisdom or destruction? What you tell yourself may not be true."

[kitty_of_light]

Well, C'taqa is kind of used to vague, so he's not too fussed.

"I know. I'm...trying to get better about using the opinions of those around me, too. There are times you just can't rely on only your own mind."

[ofstories]

"And times when there's no end of value to when you can't trust yourself." That, at least, is said sympathetically. He appreciates the complexity of such times. "Tricky, that, but worth the effort to determine which it is."

[kitty_of_light]

That, at least, they are in agreement about. "That's why I make the effort."

He shakes himself a little, offers a slight smile. "I don't think I've seen you around. Name's C'taqa. Well met."

[ofstories]

"I am Loki, a storyteller gone astray," he returns with a casual flair, seeming to shake off the brief turn towards the somber. "Well met, indeed. From where do you hail? I think I may've not yet seen your race."

This is possibly entirely rude, but Loki was only a polished diplomat when he wanted something.

[kitty_of_light]

"Eorzea," C'taqa replies, apparently not finding Loki entirely rude. Or at all rude, for that matter. "I'm a Miqo'te."