10706/Respect the library!

Respect the library!
Date of Scene:	09 April 2022
Location:	New York Public Library
Synopsis:	Loki only gets part of what he'd gone to the library to retrieve. The other, Rien has in her possession...
Cast of Characters:	Loki, Rien D'Arqueness

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Loki has posed:
Yet another fundraising 'event' at the Library. It has several over the course of the spring and summer in anticipation of the dry spell of winter; and it starts all over again. This time, a black tie event is being given in order to show off the various early collections of antiquity: the early Latin of Rome, the Etruscans, and the Norse, complete with treatises on how runes, Elder Futhark, might have evolved from both the Latin letter forms //and// the Etruscans. Both were along the same geographical area, and both have echoes within the seemingly scrawled letters.

Within the gala, there is a finely dressed gentleman, suit and tie, dark hair slicked back and has a cane as something of an affectation. Green eyes search out the audience, the individual players in this particular venue, and as a waiter goes by, he pulls a drink from off the tray. For any who might be sensitive to such a thing, the man //exudes// magic. Powerful magic.. and something a touch chaotic in nature.

Loki wanders the hall, looking in the occasional glass case where manuscripts are lit for display, all while listening to the droning of 'how good it is for everyone to be here and supporting the library in its eternal mission of housing information'. Minus the mourning for Alexandria; a fine lesson of never putting ones eggs in a single basket.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
The side rooms are being utilized for specific pieces of interest, but it means there are fewer guards, fewer security measures... and that is temptation that some can't resist.

While Loki is making his way around, moving down the hall, he can hear something of a scuffle coming from one of the side rooms. This isn't the sort of muffled thumping that comes from a slightly inebriated couple stumbling around. This is combat. These are sounds that Loki is entirely too familiar with. The question is.. is it the room he's interested in?

If he makes his way farther down, he'll feel an outpouring of magical energy. Not a burst from a blast, but a steady, bright beacon. He'll also hear a guttural snarl, animalistic and angry. The muffled thumps and crashes continue, then a fluently sworn curse in French before the voice switches over to English, "You thunderous fumbler, you almost destroyed a priceless artifact! That's it. Back to Hell with you, now!"

He can feel a gathering, a channeling of magic. Someone is opening a portal, presumably to Hell.

Loki has posed:
Loki's wandering, his attention more on a prize that he wants than anything going on in the grand room. It's the expelling of magic that gains the younger Prince's attention, and with a surreptitious glance at the main body, he wanders towards the 'excitement', the cane *click* clicking upon the marble floor.

It's a smile that appears upon his face; slow and sure. The scuffle a perfect way to mask anything that might mark his presence here.

*smash!!*

With a single stroke of that cane upon a glass case, it bursts into a million different fragments, allowing, then, the removal of the runic artefact from its spot. He lifts it to look at it closer before it is dropped into his pocket.

Oh look.. combat is getting closer to him. He's calm, cool, aloof, and not a little.. bored looking?

Hel. //That//, however, does gain his attention, and the last thing he wants is something coming out the opposite direction. His hand rises, the gesture looking as if it forms a barrier between himself and anything that might wish to come forth, even as he hisses,

"Have a care with that.." Maybe he's talking about that priceless artefact? Probably not.

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
There's another muffled thud, a curse, and then the wall in front of him explodes outward with a big, burly-looking creature with cloven feet, horns, claws and deep rose-madder tinted skin that radiates heat. And slamming that creature into the floor to crack the marble, is a short woman appearing to be in her mid-twenties with a thick mane of golden blonde hair and deep blue eyes and a snarl on her lips. A trio of bone claws glowing with magical energy extend from the back of her left hand, that same blue glow encircling her right fist as she perches on the best's chest and sneers into it's face.

"Really, Gul'aat, you should know better by now. The tablet is coming with me, and you are going back to Hell where you belong. Say hi to Lucifer for me. Tell him you failed. Again." Rien throws her hand out, letting that energy burst forth, creating a portal that Loki himself can look into, seeing... Hell. For Loki, it's reminiscent of Muspelheim. All rocky and heat and lava and fire. Grunting, Rien hefts the much larger creature up and bodily throws him through the portal. A snap fo the fingers closes it even as the creature is picking itself up with a cry of rage.

Turning back towards Loki, she looks him over, head to foot, then leans forward and plucks up a tablet from the floor that is tucked under one arm. Brushing hair back from her face, Rien props a hand on her hip, clad in a sleek black and silver set of armor that seems a mix between Asgardian and Amazonian. She glances past him, then back to him and her outfit shifts, changing into a sleek black gown with silver streaks and a clutch into which the tablet disappears. "I see I'm not the only one here with an agenda." The glowing claws are gone, slid back under the skin, but that aura of magic is still wrapped around her like a cloak, loud and proud.

Loki has posed:
People opening portals should be 'ware of things that are potentially seen and/or unleashed. The battle that rages before him, well, he gives cautious eye to, determining if such a small thing should require aid, or conversely, such a large creature should require aid.

It is in the vision of fire and brimstone, very much Surtr's realm that gives Loki the briefest hint that this was a battle best left to another. Enmity is fine, and the younger prince is more than willing to gain it, but for purpose. Not.. for this.

Once everything is done, and calm reigns once more of the now (more than) slightly wrecked area, Loki's own shield spell is pulled from existance, and he takes a step forward, his hand outstretched, his tones so very friendly.

"I'll have that now, thank you. It belongs to me."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
Lifting one brow towards him, Rien wears her own smile as she shakes her head, "I'm sorry, but I don't think that's going to happen. Besides..." she flicks a glance behind him, towards the smashed case, "you seem to have already acquired what you came for. This one is mine." Not that it's even visible at this point. Her smile widens a touch, "But you're more than welcome to stay here and explain all the damage and missing artifacts."

She flicks another glance around his shoulder, "My illusion is only going to last as long as I'm here, and I don't intend to stay here for much longer." Rien looks him over, "That said, if you'd like the opportunity to try and change my mind? You're welcome to join me." Her smile curves a little higher, "Otherwise, it's been a pleasure not meeting you, strange person asking for my tablet."

Stepping back, another tear opens behind her, this one showing what looks like a rooftop that looks down on the library. There's an excellent view to watch the inevtiable scurry of police and investigators.

Loki has posed:
"No," Loki repeats evenly. "That actually does belong to me. I wrote it 800 years ago." He smiles tightly, the humor not really reaching those green eyes. "You wouldn't understand it." He takes a step forward, his hand still outstretched.

He doesn't seem to care about those in the other room, now scurrying in all directions like the animals they are to him. "I need not explain anything to these mortals," Loki begins again, "And I would love to try and change your mind, but I simply haven't the time."

As the words build conversationally, there is something of a blueish tinge that appears, and from those fingers push a cold bolt, aimed for her feet in order to anchor the other magic caster's feet to the floor, if only for a couple of moments.

"All I care for is that script."

Rien D'Arqueness has posed:
"Oh, but I do. And that's nice, but it's mine now. If you wanted it, you should have fought the demon for it," Rien offers a tight smile towards him, that free hand starting to become limned in that light blue glow, though this time it crackles like flame. She blasts her own feet with it, the scent of burning skin adding to the mix. But even as it burns, it heals. The shoes are ruined and charred, but she steps barefoot back through the portal and onto the rooftop. "You're cute, but cute don't cut it. Bye."

Snapping her fingers, she closes the portal and turns to start moving across the the rooftop she stepped onto, the gown melting away back into the armor as she strides forward. The lack of shoes doesn't seem to be bothering her at all as she moves, bare feet against the concrete. The tablet reappears in her hands as she looks it over, then sighs, "Still trying to free the Truth, Gul'aat... not while I'm around."