2886/Ice Palace: Show Yourself

Ice Palace: Show Yourself
Date of Scene:	12 August 2020
Location:	Montauk Lighthouse
Synopsis:	Nessa meets Loki.
Cast of Characters:	Nessa Donovan, Loki

---

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Having water to work with has been key to practicing Nessa's magic lately. It meant a source of water she didn't have to create, just one she had to freeze and manipulate. Plus it was incredibly satisfying to freeze a wave. While she had tried a few spots in New York so far, just outside the Montauk Lighthouse was probably one of the more interesting ones. The piece of land jutting out towards the waves left plenty of open, empty space with the waves crashing nearby. Water was plentiful, space was plentiful, and there wasn't always a large crowd of people around. Bonus of being a bit more remote than a popular beach boardwalk.

She's chosen a spot near the water, perched up on the rocks where she has a good view, can move around, but also isn't in danger of just falling in. She stands, ungloved hands held out like she's conducting an orchestra, freezing the very crest of each wave in tiny icicles, letting them plunk down into the water like broken shards of glass.

Loki has posed:
The first element of something unusual and magical is a whisper of wings, as a beautiful sleek black crow circles with a spiral of soft glints in the air overhead, and then drops like an arrow, to alight near Nessa on a fence adjacent to her rocky perch.

It isn't a huge bird, it's no giant raven. The crow is silky black, though, and has a clear evidence of magic to it, to one such as Nessa that can sense magical presence. It's otherworldly.

The bird observes for now, calmly preening back through some feathers, glints of magic sparking off feathers as they catch different angles of light. It is almost as if it picks up the glass-like ice in the sheen of feathers.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
A bird? This close? Nessa knows a few mages who take similar forms, birds seem to be popular. Given its proximity, the sense of magic, and the way it feels it's obviously something different. She continues her icicle practice, the bird watched as she does so, but she abruptly stops when she notices the way the light plays off the bird. She's /very/ familiar with the shine of the sun on a perfect sheet of ice. Now the bird's got her attention.

"That's nice craftsmanship," she states in the direction of the bird. "It's the kind of thing to strive for."

Loki has posed:
The bird angles it's head at her, and clips its beak once. "Human mage," begins the bird, a little bit raspy, "You have attempted to summon Loki." It's matter of fact, and somewhat curious, as if suspecting she were crazy. It is in the same tone, perhaps, as one might ask if she was truly intending to eat sand when she fell on her face.

"You are fortunate that the eye of the god may fall upon you," continues the bird, lofty. "What makes you deserving?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Well, that's not /quite/ what she expected. But there's the bird, speaking about Loki. Nessa clears her throat a bit. "I was asked if I wanted to meet Loki. I said yes. I don't think that entails summoning. Summoning implies I somehow have power in the situation which I'm fairly certain I don't. I don't know everything about Loki, but I'm pretty sure about /that/." This messenger is an interesting choice, but she likes it enough to offer it a smile, looking down at her hands before continuing.

"I'm /not/ deserving. I've accomplished some things, helped some people, gotten stronger over time, but I'm certainly not on a scale where I think many people would take me seriously. But I'm curious and I like to learn and if he's stronger than Sorcerer Vega, I'd like to meet him. I don't think you can really get any better without knowing what's possible, even if it's not something you're likely to get to."

Loki has posed:
"Maybe not within a human lifetime, but some spells can add to that. Many of those 'immortality' attempts might twist you into a bizarre shadow of what you started out as, lower than a human, though," says Loki. He's directly there, having chosen the side opposite the bird -- such that if Nessa faces and is giving her attention to the bird, he'd end up to her opposite side.

Loki himself is otherwordly when he allows it: when he isn't blending in. It's very mild now, as he's in midgardian attire. Sleekly tailored blacks, with an overcoat with broad lapels. His black hair is mostly down, longish in loose curl to shoulder, the top pulled back with a bit of leather. He doesn't look much like the horned demigod that assaulted New York two years ago, lacking the armor, but there's enough there to see it. It's more like meeting the actor of some supervillain character: associated, but maybe not the same...

Loki is seated much as she is on a rock, long slim legs agile. He's observing her without actively looking right at her: more of a side-eye from emerald greens. "Humility might keep you alive long enough to find some /other/ way, though," adds Loki, in a teasing manner. He brushes some invisible lint from one knee, and regards her.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
To her credit, Nessa manages not to jump. She turns a bit, slowly, but her movements are careful. Not really out of fear or stiffness, but deliberation. She's aware of what she's doing mostly because she's fairly certain she needs to be. She doesn't look altogether surprised, but something entirely different. It's almost more of an expression of deep concentration, as if she were trying to figure something out with intensity. The look fades, though, and becomes more curious. "Good to know I have prospects for my future," she replies, her own tone slightly amused.

It's hard /not/ to be herself, even if she's not so certain her banter would be terribly healthy to do with Loki of all people. It's still there, though, below the surface. "You're certainly the right amount of impressive," she says. "Intimidating, but not so much that I'm running. It's a good look. It's powerful." It sounds genuine more than anything, the observations taken in with due seriousness.

Loki has posed:
"Yes. I travel around, dispensing wisdom," Loki says wryly. He's naturally snarky as well, it appears; but he also doesn't ring entirely of mocking /her/. More the situation. "I /do/ make an effort, and yet many don't appreciate the lessons until much later in life. I take the long view -- comparitively."

There's nothing hostile about Loki, though there's an edge of danger to most of it with him. Like a beautifully crafted weapon: it's still a weapon.

Loki seems aware of her stare but indifferent to it, but then subtly moves to muck with her: he conceals all of his magical presence. Which probably makes him a lot more creepy than if he'd done some big display, and proves he /noticed/. His sly smile shows it was entirely intentional. Loki's a master of subtle. "So you're one of Vega's? A shame about him."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"You take the long view because you have a lot more time than the rest of us," Nessa chuckles, just slightly. "I imagine it'd feel much more of a short view for you." Immortality isn't something she's thought long and hard about and she doesn't intend to think on too much of it now. Her eyes flash to him when he catches her trying to sense his magic and there's a sheepish look on her face, but it actually turns into a bit more of an amused smile.

When Vega is mentioned, she leans forward just slightly. "You know what happened?" It seems a silly question after she asks it, as he'd certainly have the ability to know such things, so instead she directs her line of questioning differently. "... will you tell me anything about what's happened?"

Loki has posed:
"What if," Loki proposes, spreading his hands open slowly, in a gesture of complete generosity, "You propose what you think might have happened, and I'll adjust you in the correct direction if you're off?" Loki suggests, with a sort of amused tolerance. He feels he's being entirely fair, it seems.

"Entertain me, and we'll see," Loki smiles, settling on his rock as if he were supremely comfortable. "Perhaps start around his decision to build ice castles all over the city in July, soaking up ambiant magic," Loki suggests keenly.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Not the most direct route to go, but anything for more information is something worth it. So Nessa goes for it. "Alright. Uh," she tries to gather her thoughts, hands moving in the air to sort of map out the points where the ice locations were located. "He seemed to be doing it originally for his students, but it feels like there was more to it. Places of power, items, something magical associated with each one. He certainly has more going on than I think he's told anyone. You don't just travel around with your own collection of mage students without a reason. It seems odd. So he wants help for something, I think."

She seems to think deeply for a moment. "He wasn't expecting what happened, he said, but he said it in a way that implied he wasn't expecting it /then/, not that he didn't expect it at all. He knew something would happen so he was preparing. Perhaps it was all to trap a demon or something? Whatever's under the ice palace wants to spread for... I don't know, it wants to take the power? What do creatures like that ever want? Power, I think." She turns her attention fully back to Loki, looking hopeful, searching for a clue that any of it is right.

Loki has posed:
"So," Loki says, languid, stretching slightly. He doesn't really even gesture, but there's magic there-- melting the rock, or warping it, making a more comfy spot. Which suggests, at least, that he'll stick around to answer her for some extent.

"Pray tell, /why/, in magic, would you collect a bunch of mages together? What sort of magic requires that?" Loki questions, as if he were boredly teaching a class. "/Ritual/ magic," he answers his own question.

"Usually to lock away or summon; you're on the right track with that. And since there's now, what, skeletons where there weren't skeletons, and a missing mage with a history of necromancy... Well. Did you help him summon them?" Loki 'wonders', emerald eyes on her keenly.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
There's a bit of an uncomfortable look on Nessa's face, her brow furrowed. Ritual magic makes sense, she agrees with that. "I practiced making constructs with ice, but never those in particular, never really something whole on my own." Still the /concept/ makes her worried. "So he meant to lock away but he summoned instead?" She suggests, though the suggestion is already one she doesn't like. "He had a history of necromancy, but he certainly didn't seem to want what happened there. So maybe that was his necromancy and he was trying to fix his own mistake?" The further she can get away from that suggestion of her helping summon them, the better.

She watches, expression still curious but mixed with something akin to a child looking to a parent for approval.

Loki has posed:
"Maybe he was trying to clean up after himself," Loki says, thoughtfully, as if he does know the answer but is going along with asking the questions to let her figure it out on her own. Loki's just slightly obnoxious about it, but does seem at least to be amused and chatty.

"Looks like something went out of control. Your own power can eat you, body and soul. I /do/ know that he's lost his body. Soul? Mmmm. Still around," Loki provides, with a fluttering gesture of long piano fingers towards the city.

"Feasting on the ice magic. Sort of interesting to watch." Loki looks at her more keenly, then. "You're all batteries to him, is what I think.... Give me your hand."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Cleaning up does seem plausible, and the mention of Sorcerer Vega's fate is a solid piece of evidence Nessa didn't have before. Rescuing a soul is not at all something she knew how to do. Perhaps an ice body to house him temporarily? A lot to think about, and she's thinking through them when she hears his request. Except it's not really a request.

There are all kinds of reasons giving Loki her hand is a bad idea. Nessa runs through them, tossing aside her usual thoughts of freezing someone quicky and just focusing on the fact that he'd just referred to her as a battery. Curiousity, though, was a driving factor, the fact that he'd listened so far, and she didn't want to accidentally piss him off caused her to comply. She raises an eyebrow as she extends her ungloved hand in his direction.

Loki has posed:
"If I were going to turn you into a roach, I wouldn't need your hand," Loki says serenely, flippant. Because those are normal sorts of jokes for a god that doesn't really care all THAT much about human wellbeing. Or he's teasing.

Loki rolls his eyes a little and reaches out to attempt to catch her hand by the wrist and draw it in, a skimming closer look down her wrist and at her palm. She may sense his magic use - and a thread of illusion in it that makes it hard to catch exactly what he's doing.

Instead of like one color of magic, it's a plaid, making it hard to pull apart. If she'd doubted this was Loki, the little magic use, subtle and complex, only points to that confirmation.

"You've been casting a spell of his," Loki says. It's not an accusation, more a statement. He's obviously fearless - or unaware - of her tendency to freeze by touch, as he's also barehanded.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Yeah, well, not many people ask me for my hand so it's a little weird if someone wants to hold it," Nessa says, as if /that/ were the reason for any hesitation. There's a tiny bit of amusement there. But regardless of the amusement, she's leaning forward to get a better look to try and figure out exactly what he's doing. While the subtle elements to what he's doing aren't something she can catch, there's certainly something there. He's poking at things related to the situation she's been caught up and she doesn't want to miss a thing.

Her gaze does go to his hand on her wrist, as if checking to make sure nothing's amiss, but she nods. "Yes," she agrees. "He did give me a spell." She can't deny that part. "I couldn't quite get it, though. Didn't come naturally the way most of my magic comes. The ice I do normally? It's more like breathing."

Loki has posed:
"Enfusing your life force into living ice constructs. Sound about right?" Loki asks. He'll continue to hold onto her wrist, though he stops using the magic he'd been up to. It had some mild scry quality to it, information gathering. Maybe something else. Like tasting an elaborate recipe when you are used to mac'n'cheese.

"Maybe giving up your life isn't something you find so easy?" Loki teases, lip lifting in a slight curl.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
There's certainly a bit of a scowl from Nessa at the suggestion that she's giving up her life force at all. But there's no disbelief in her expression. He might be tricky, but it didn't seem like lying about this served any sort of purpose for him. The trace of magic, though, just the slightest hint of something different and new lights up her eyes. She might like mac'n'cheese, but given the chance she'd go for whatever she could try.

"I might not like everything about my life all the time, but giving it up is certainly not something I want to do. I've got a little bit less than you to work with."

Loki has posed:
Loki lifts his hand away with a show of palm, like a magician showing that his hand is empty and clearly has no coins in sight. As if he didn't do anything.

Right.

"Just /interesting/ that he taught you that spell. That's what he /chose/. Life transfer. Mmmm. Any other ones, perhaps equally suicidal for you?" Loki wonders, amused. "Were I to teach ice..."

He considers that, looking skywards, mulling, it seems. "I'd have the student pick their area of interest."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa's hand is slowly retracted, her eyes on it as if she's not sure it's /her/ hand anymore before she lets her gaze move fully back to Loki. "Alright, alright, you win, I get it," she replies with a sigh, but it's equal parts defeated and amused, somehow. A weird mix. "I was tricked. I wanted a teacher, I got one. I wanted someone who was strong enough to really help me, to show me what I could do if I wanted it badly enough. So it was convenient that he showed up. I guess it didn't occur to me that he didn't ask. It was just the first time anyone's really given me that opportunity."

She watches him for a moment. "You're getting a kick out of rubbing it in, aren't you?"

Loki has posed:
Loki narrows his eyes at her, his head hooked to the side a small, subtle amount. "You were tricked. You know better now, eh? I guess you did get a teacher," Loki observes cutely. He flares his eyes at her, smile growing, and then laughs. It's not forced, it's a natural sounding laugh. He shakes his head, looking out to the sea, lips pursing a little as if to contain more laughter.

Of course the god of mischief would think this was entirely fun. His whole mythos circles around such things. "Come on then, you've earned it. What is it you want to learn?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Who better to point out a trick than you?" Nessa notes, unable to hide the half-smile that creeps up on her face. It's strange to fully mesh up someone laughing genuinely in front of her with someone who had certainly caused so much destruction before. That, it seems, is why she's curious. When he asks what she wants to learn, she can't contain a laugh.

"I have a feeling this is a trick," she points out. "But I'm also apparently bad at seeing them." There's a bit of a sigh, resigning herself to the question because she doesn't exactly know what he means by it. "I have spent a great deal of time trying to get rid of this... well, it's more that I lack control of it. Sometimes my touch becomes ice, but not always. But I think, barring that... I would want to learn to take away what I make. I can create ice, but I can't destroy it in any way."

Loki has posed:
"Dispel and reshape are two different things," Loki answers. "But it comes down to control." The crow has been sitting quietly behind Nessa, without doing anything other than preen its feathers. "I'd say... look at it like creating the tiniest snowflakes you can, not /destroying/ it. Magic doesn't just disappear, like any energy. It goes somewhere. Think about where it's going. What it's /becoming/. You already pull ice out of the world to make things. Make something different, that isn't harmful."

Loki's gotten bored, though, by his body language. "There's your snippet. I'll consider a favor owed to me," Loki says, cheeky.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa's certainly confused that it's not a trick, but it's only a flash of a second that she lets that cross her mind before she's genuinely listening to what he says. She's an attentive student, quick to take in what he's saying and the applications of it are running through her head even as he explains. "You make it sound so simple," she murmurs. "It probably is." It's just not a direction she'd been directed to before. And it applied to both the things she'd mentioned.

"Alright, you did give me something out of this, though I doubt I've got much to offer you if you call in a favor. I doubt you even need a battery." The last part is said with an amused smirk.

Loki has posed:
"It's not going to instantly cause what you want. But it's a start on that path. A lot of practice," Loki smirks, "of which I am not even slightly interested in observing, so start after I've left," Loki requires.

"Not to worry; it's on me to know what sort of favor later. Just enjoy the benefits for now. I'm not the devil, or Vega---, you won't lose your soul." A wink flashes, and a pull of lip.

"I don't even require homework... because I /do not care/. You improve yourself, or don't." It's up to her, entirely. "Probably stop trying to shorten your life by making ice squirrels, though," Loki mocks. He stretches leanly, and starts to get to his feet, while also... starting to become transparent. He's leaving, it seems...

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Oh yeah, I was fairly certain you didn't have the slightest interest in watching me practice," Nessa grins. "So yes, I'll wait until you leave." She's studying him, though, as if trying to read him. "I don't think my soul would be particularly interesting to you, so I'm not too worried about that. I'm not sure what I expected from you, but it's certainly not what I've seen."

There's a small grin. "Homework's overrated anyway. I prefer to do what I like." She doesn't rise to her feet when Loki does, her thoughts drifting elsewhere for just a brief moment. Why would an /ice fox/ ask about Loki?

Loki has posed:
"Fine. Be a good little mage, don't feed the necromancer," Loki snarks, with a point of finger. All around them, suddenly, the world twists into a strange, horror version of itself. The waves twist into evil brambles of black twisted magic: limbs of unknown numbers of undead bodies, not water. The rocks under them are skulls, bones, and creak. The ichor of death is everywhere, oppressive, squeezing.

And Loki is there, a beacon of slightly radiant godly power, and mildly transparent.

"It might be bad," Loki murmers. Suddenly all of it is gone, and she's back, alone on the rocks, though the crow is still there. It tilts its head and blinks at her sideways, as if judging.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa tenses, mostly because she's not sure what's going on. He was lord of tricks, though, so part of her guesses there's a trick involved, but it's not quite enough to entirely quell any discomfort and fear. When it finally ends, she rubs her arms as if warding off cold somehow (ironic). "Understatement of the century," she mutters. She glances sidelong to the crow, not entirely certain if it's Loki himself, but she tosses that thought aside. "Well, at least he knows how to make a dramatic exit..."