6138/Everybody needs a little time away

Everybody needs a little time away
Date of Scene:	05 May 2021
Location:	VIP Lounge - Hellfire Club
Synopsis:	So much better than a bar! Thea and Loki get a chance to talk, though they do keep checking the door on the off-chance Sif will arrive.
Cast of Characters:	Thea Queen, Loki

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Thea Queen has posed:
Go to Sweden they said..

It will be relaxing they said...

Because what were the odds of a festival celebrating the burning of witches in the old days to actually turn into a tragedy involving death Gods, unholy pagan rituals and Asgardians? Above 0 percent apparently. And not only that, it seems she had fallen into the scrutiny of the Goddess of War. Great.. And with her life going 100 miles per hour she really hadn't had a lot of time to just stop a moment and think about things. What happened. It was always a dangerous prospect for Thea. Thinking about things, or overthinking them. It led to dark paths. But if she didn't face those paths doesn't it mean she was hiding?

So here she is at the VIP lounge of the hellfire club, courtesy of being a legacy member from her late father along with her brother's current membership. Thea is sitting by the bar, dressed in an elegant long gown of a dark green color that fits snugly against her body, sleeveless and leaving her back open. Minimal jewelry adorns her along with black heels on her feet finishing the ensemble. One thing of note though is that there are no wounds on her anymore. And has it been enough days since the incidents in Sweden for a human to have healed so? Most likely not..

In front of her are a couple of drinks. One of an orange color, another of a clear color. Is she deciding which one to pick? Or is she waiting for someone?

Loki has posed:
There are moments when discretion is desired above all else, and there is really no other place MORE discreet than the Hellfire Club, with it's particular brand of clientele. It has served the Prince of Misch- Prince of Asgard well in times past, and continues to do so.

Loki does so enjoy wearing what he considers to be proper attire; one befitting his rank and station in life, and here allows him to do so. Granted, he is rarely seen without a suit and tie outside amongst Midgard's denizens, and is never seen without a touch of finery at 'home', in Asgard. As a result?

Loki enters the VIP lounge via the elevator, of course, his cane settled before him and held in a single hand, and he is greeted by a couple of the waitstaff that know him as 'Mr Anderson'. He is dressed in a well tailored black suit with collar, a crisp green shirt with darker green tie, and a silken handkerchief tucked into a top pocket. Clean, well shined black leather lace shoes finish the look, as well as the cane that seems to disappear, making the staff, at the very least, wonder if he'd actually had one at all when he entered.

In proper regal fashion, he inclines his head at the staff; acknowledgment but nothing more, but at one point before crossing the room, he whispers to one of the staff.

He's expecting someone, would they be so kind as to direct them to his table when they arrive and ask for him?

In the next moment, he's ready to search for //his// table, though a familiar form catches his eye; granted, there are many he does know here, but he hadn't actually counted on the young one to be here. Had he seen her before in these halls?

Loki shifts his direction and heads towards the bar before he stands before her, his hands moving casually into his pockets. He's composed after the momentary confusion; as if it had never appeared, and then dissipated.

"Your safe haven from my colleague, then? I shan't tell."

Thea Queen has posed:
Ah, perhaps not waiting for someone but simply deciding on which drink to take. At least considering how the two glasses are placed in front of the young Thea. This is the club of temptation after all. Maybe that's what she is doing. On the verge between heaven and hell.

A gentleman comes by, a whisper said in her way which is replied by a cintillating laughter and a, "Perhaps later." which for someone versed in bullshit actually means 'not in your lifetime'. But she inclines her head, all polite, then turning those blue eyes to watch the rest of the room.

Yes, this was familiar grounds. She owned these. The party life, the glamour. She had outgrown it for sure but .., it was still a comfortable place.

That very familiar tone brings her back to another reality though. One that happened very shortly ago. There is a pause, then a glance over her shoulder to the source before she finally turns to look fully at the man, "I do not believe there are havens safe from her." Is what she replies, a brow quirking up. She is certainly surprised at seeing him here, "This is a surprise." she confirms. "Even if you being a member does make some sense."

Loki has posed:
Loki's entire body twists as if taking in the entirety of the floor, perhaps the building before he rotates slightly back to the young lady in the seat. His expression is polite, reserved, though is that a hint of a gleam in those green eyes of his? Of mischief, perhaps?

"There are places where she does not tread, and this is one of them." His tones, however, sound as if there is something of a genuine-ness underneath them, if it's at all possible for this man. "She detests gowns and all sorts of courtly wear, though she does dance passibly." That last bit is said a touch airily, as if recalling some amusement of the past centuries, perhaps. "So, you are moderately safe here."

King's X?

Nope, Prince's X, as it were.

"I might add my surprise to your presence. I wasn't aware this was a place that you attended." Mind, he also wasn't in the practice of searching for what were essentially waifs from distant battles. "Well met, then."

A nodded gesture is given towards the two glasses that sit upon the bar before her, brows rising in quiet askance.

Thea Queen has posed:
The 'waif' in question regards Loki in a curious manner, taking in expression and gestures while he speaks, her own lips pressing to a thin, considering line. And like Loki her expression goes through traces of mischief the more he speaks of the Goddess. "So we have gone from safe haven to being .., moderately safe." this delivered with some amusement. "Now I am fully expecting her to burst through a door at any moment." a soft chuckle escaping her lips.

"But who knows, perhaps she will surprise you some day about what she can do or not, mmm? I have on good authority that courtly wear may be in season again.." A cocky little grin framing Thea's expression as she speaks. Almost as if she was in to some secret that she isn't sharing. Good Lord, is she daring to keep secrets from the Prince of Lies?!

As for being a place she visits, "Not as often as before. But as of late I have found myself .., drawn here.." Malcolm. Slade. "So here I am again.." the look to the glasses isn't missed and she wordlessly slides one towards Loki as if in offer. Apparently an invitation to seat, along with she having chosen which drink she will take! The orange one.

Hopefully it's the non-alcoholic one.

Loki has posed:
Loki actually chuckles at Thea's inferences, her train of thought that ends in the station of 'She'll be coming through the doors at any moment'. No, *bursting* through the doors. "There are no absolutes, no." He at least has the courtesy to shake his head to underscore, canting his tones to theatrical resignation. "But," is added, "I have it on good authority that she will not be coming through those doors within the next few moments." Actually, the chances are better than even that Sif is searching out Thor. Just to check in with the other Prince.

Brows rise at the hint, at the suggestion of secrets shared, and Loki lets out another soft laugh in the face of Thea's grin, at the same time taking the glasses from the bar and a gesture towards his table. "She is here now, her duties assigned. Unless my brother has chosen to wed without speaking to our Mother about it, there is no purpose to it." There, however, is the first reference to his family, and it's couched in somewhat distant-sounding terms.

"Join me."

The invitation to sit, obviously, is changed to Loki's invitation to join him at his table; so much better than standing at a bar, even though it does have a purpose. It simply doesn't serve his purpose at the moment.

"And speak with me regarding your trip to Sweden..." The words are spoken loftily, theatrically, though the look he gives her speaks of less public matters and more curiosity as to how she'd found her way in their path.

Thea Queen has posed:
"Very well, we meet in the middle then. Not bursting through now but an high possibility of a future occurrence." Again that knowing smile. What did Thea know?! But nope, she isn't telling. Instead a brow quirking with some curiosity at the talk of Thor and ..., marriage? That amuses her. "I'd hope he isn't prone to such fancies." the distant way in which Loki refers to family is noted though, it's familiar, similar to how she refers to her own family from time to time. Were their problems truly solved now?

With the voiced invitation though she appears to consider it a second before sliding out of her seat at the bar, hands adjusting her dress just so. "Do lead the way." fully expecting the Asgardian to have a table at the lounge.

The talk of Sweden brings a darker shade to her eyes though, she moving a bit along with Loki before finally speaking up, "Sweden was supposed to have been a way of taking my mind off life back in Starling City." her arms around her waist as if in a protective manner even if a sardonic grin comes to her expression. "Turns out life had other plans, mmm? Yet the question stands, what exactly happened there?" she really wasn't certain yet.

Loki has posed:
Loki inclines his head once more, a smile playing around the edges of his lips and he acquiesces, "'A high possibllity of a future occurrence.'" Though, he's pretty sure she wouldn't step foot in here, if she knew what sort of establishment it is.

With drinks in hand, Loki is certainly practiced in terms of gently and politely guiding another to a seat, in terms of social graces, that is. It comes with a natural ease; a man born of the purple, as it were, and lives and breathes such influences. "He should marry, but one that is fitting," read: one that isn't from Midgard. "He has his responsibilities, which he continues to shirk, playing at hero here."

Tsktsk.

Thea moves expertly in the dress; that hadn't gone without notice, of course. A pretty girl when not on the battlefield; too bad she isn't from Asgard.

Once the drinks are placed upon the table, Loki's hand gestures towards a seat and with practiced air, the pair are ready to be seated as the self-hug is noted. It's a protective gesture, he's certain.. locking herself in.

"It was supposed to be a holiday for me," Loki notes, his tones sounding a touch forlorn- it's all an act, of course. Conversation is to be had! He leans in as he sits, his words dropping to something a touch more conspiratorial. "They used to pray to us, for us to give good crops, good land, good battles. That," and with the single word, pulls all the stuff that actually happened into it, "should not have happened, and will be dealt with." So says Loki, Prince of Asgard?

Thea Queen has posed:
Thea does move with that natural ease as well. Of someone that is no newcomer to lead or being lead in such settings, grace following every step. It's one of those things her training was helping on, no longer allowing laziness, or some slouchiness, to invade her body anymore. Those days of wasting her life away were long gone, or were they?

The implication on the words 'one that is fitting' are understood by Thea. Uff, she had heard those words from her mother. To her, to her brother. It turns out her definition of fitting was a very narrow thing. Like Loki? Some amusement shows on her expression. "Truly, I didn't expect those words out of you..." a pause as she considers, ".. How should I call you?" they were in a public setting after all. Though soon enough she is back on the topic at hand. "You never seemed the one that tried to fit in, following your own path, so to say." is she talking about the attack in New York?

She eases herself to a seat, hands brushing down her sides to get that dress straight down her legs before one slips up over the other, crossed.

"And someone corrupted that festival.." a brief frown. "The .., figure that appeared in the end?" she still didn't know the name, "Seemed mostly as if she came *after* it was done, and not being the one responsible." at least that much she had gauged!

Loki has posed:
The grace and poise isn't lost on Loki, certainly. His eye is quick, keen and gauging the limits and limitations of all things that circle him. //This one will do...// At least for the time being.

Once seated and the drinks determined, Loki undoes a button on his jacket with a single motion of his hand as he takes up the glass with his other. He raises it first to take a sniff of it, his brow creases, and in the next second, sets it down once more with a tight smile that says, 'perhaps not'. Instead, he glances around the room before returning his emerald gaze to her own, "Here? Andersson. Edmund Andersson." The way he pronounces the last name is more reminiscent of the modern Icelandic, more than the Americanized/Anglicized 'Anderson'. Whomever 'Anders' may be!

Obviously, however, it most certainly isn't his name, and it's a trifle, a theatric that one could believe wouldn't pass a test, but everyone around more than honestly believes that Mr. Andersson sits at that table with a lovely young woman.

Loki shakes his head, and a soft *tsk* drops from his lips. "Really," and his head cants, "That really is farther from the truth than you could imagine." His lips tighten in the smile and the emotion that flickers past behind those eyes is there and gone, hinted at and disappearing to show the undercurrent of control. "I am a product of my upbringing. If anything, my brother is the one that is not following in the footsteps that our Father would like to see.. yet, he is the elder of us. He chooses to play here instead of doing that which is required." Loki leans forward, his tones dropping to a stage whisper, but the intent is clear, "There are so many other realms that require his attention, my attention, and so you ask, 'Then why are you here?'"

Loki leans back and exhales in an exhasperated sigh and finishes, "Because he is enamored with Midgard and would allow the other Realms to fall into fires."

The mention of the festival brings Loki back on course, however, and again, he picks up the glass, and instead of sniffing it again, takes a swallow before setting the glass down upon the table top. "Queen Hela, yes." That bit of the puzzle is put into place. "But, you are correct. The black fire was not her. It was another, and it was fortuitous that I was present, because if I wasn't?" It wouldn't have gone well.. at all.

"So," and here's something that somewhat changes the subject, "Where did you learn to fight, and is the Lady Sif going to be teaching you more?"

Thea Queen has posed:
"It's a martini." Thea tells Loki when he seems to set the drink aside. It's not something she does with her *own* drink. No. Instead she takes it to her lips for a sip. That orange color though ..., hard that it'd be anything alcoholic. In fact, would she be cheeky enough to be drinking natural orange juice at the Hellfire Club? This den of sin? Maybe she is on a tight regime who knows?!

"Mr. Andersson then.." Throat moving as she needs to make that extra work to pronounce it correctly. Yet she does so, not one to americanize the name. Besides, she was just in Sweden. How many Anderssons did she meet?

And she surely knows well how that goes, the pretense of being someone else. That small nod of hers is telling that she understands the need, even as a brow quirks at the emotion flickering on the man's gaze when she speaks of fitting in. She watches him, the mannerisms, that want to follow on a Father's footsteps. Had she misjudged? Wouldn't be the first time! "He is the elder, so he is the one that gets the attention." yes, she saw through 'something'. "But I would say there are a lot of fires to take out here..." case in point: Sweden.

"My selfish vein leads me to say I am happy he chose to be here, and you?" Is he putting Loki into that 'earth protector' types? Well, he did save a village. That counts for something in her book.

A name put to the Queen brings a nod out of Thea. She knows the name at least.., and reputation. "Goddess of Death." she murmurs, some worry on her brow. But like they had told her back in Sweden it was the kind of foe that was very much above her paygrade..

And finally that change of subject. On how she learned to fight. Ufff, where to start. With the truth of course. "The Green Arrow, he was the one that taught me. Then a few others around..." considering how she isn't so open on who those 'others' are it seems as if they might not be the 'heroic' types. That last question brings her to hesitate a moment. "I .., believe so. She placed her eye on me after that battle up on Sweden. She told me she eagerly awaits the moment I die.." one hand reaching up to her forehead and she letting out a sigh before she chuckles. "She can be a handful, can't she?"

Loki has posed:
Loki looks at the drink and repeats, "A martini, hmmm? A touch dry, but not bad." He's a wine drinker, himself, and rarely to excess. It's not often one finds the Trickster drunk and unruly; he has a great deal more self-control than that. In fact, the brothers really couldn't be more different. Big and burly and wiry and studious. Force, and finesse. Loud, and understated. Big hearted and compassionate to... well...

Ahem.

"He is the elder, yes." It's a statement that, on the outside, sounds devoid of emotion, but to that small circle he's let in (and has been burned by many, many, many times), it's so much more than that. No time in the sun, always in the shadows.. every action suspect, every motive questioned. After the trip to Sweden, he'd been brought forth before Odin and accused of trying to begin a war with Helheim.. even though he was in the right!

It stung.

"There are many fires here," Loki agrees, "but what do you know of Jotunheim? Muspelheim? The fact the elves look to dominate and search the jotun to their side? These are full realms that Asgard must contain. Here?" Loki's hand rises, palm up, and his fingers form a small starburst; a flash in the pan, as it were. "Leader upon leader fights with the other. One day, Midgard will be united, and then it will be able to find it's place. It is nothing in the span of history."

This is obviously someone who takes the LONG view of things! "I would that he actually takes his position seriously. If the saving of a town or the destruction of a town is what opens his eyes?" Loki shakes his head, and exhales in an exhasperated sigh, the sound sounding perhaps more genuine than intended.

"I walked here centuries ago. A millenia when I was young." Now, his voice lowers, his words are a hush. "I do understand, and I do what I can and what I will to help those who ask it of me." For old times' sake. Though he'd never get the credit...

It's an easy subject change, and he listens intently, watching her, watching her face, her mannerisms, that ghost of a smile tingeing his face. Loki chuckles soon after she finishes, and once again, nods once, and his hand rises to gesture to underline his words, "She will lead you to battle and not let you fall. But..." and the finger rises to poke at the air, "she is also not afraid of dying. And believes in the glory of Valhalla and her halls." And, while yes, they do indeed have access to them, and they ARE real... does one really want to die in battle? Really?

But the upshot to her question? Loki chuckles, the sound honest in his throat, "Yes. We have been friends since we were children." Even Princes need friends growing up!

Thea Queen has posed:
"That's how they should be had." Dry that is. Though what would Thea know?! Drinking that orange juice of hers... Pfffttt, not even some alcohol on hers. And she takes another sip from her own glass, a smile given after, "I would hope this is not the first time you had one. If it is then you have been missing out." and no one knows better how it feels to miss out on drinking a martini. Inner sigh.

"They always have their shiny eyes on the elder, don't they?" Oh, she knew well how it was. Being on the shadow, the screw-up. The family 'shame'. Sure, she helped in the choices she made. Certainly no innocent. Doesn't mean she wouldn't resent them. Which is perhaps why she finds some kinship to this one. Similar in some ways? Maybe.

But then those questions about knowledge on the nine realms. The answer is obvious when it comes, "Barely anything, besides what can be found in mythology books." she admits. And even then, she had never been one to study too formally. She mostly just used her smarts to overcome! Yet she is surprised with something, "An united earth? Sounds like a very utopic thing ... But given enough time I suppose.." and time for humans was such a fleeting thing.

"You miss those old times." An affirmation, not a question. "Is that why you are here?" she asks. "In midgard, not the club. Though it's a valid question too, what brings you to the club tonight?" curious, curious!

With Loki announcing they were friends since they were children she chuckles again, "That doesn't surprise me at all. You both seemed quite at ease with one another. In that way she always is with everyone." as for dying ... "I'd certainly prefer *not* to die just yet though. The hellfire club would miss this face around here, wouldn't you say?" her tone in jest, she lifting her chin just so as if showing herself on profile. But there's a teasing smirk on her lips.

Loki has posed:
Martini dryness so noted, and Loki lifts the glass with a touch of a 'salute' to the younger Queen. The glass is emptied before it's set back upon the table, and even though he sits with proper posture, it's reset to give him a little bit of distance, so room as it were.

A tight smile is given in response to the light that is always shone on the elder of children, the apples, the stars of youth and adulthood.. the one upon which all the hopes and dreams of the parents are hung, and the other? A spare.

He'd told Thor in a fit of rage and hurt that all he'd ever wanted was to be his brother's equal.

Loki looks around and his hand rises, signalling the waiter to come over. A glass of red wine and a fill of what the lady was having.

"I am here because my brother is incapable of locating someone on his own.. and his friends are equally as ineffectual." Loki's smile turns tight once more before he releases it and shrugs, the wine appearing upon the table seconds later. "He needs me, even if he hates the thought." As he considers the words, that tightness in his features relent and he raises his glass of wine. "I am here because Sif is not." That should be understandably the finishing statement on that!

"Now," and Loki sets his glass down once more and moves to stand up, the napkin set aside, and his jacket remaining open for the moment. A hand is placed, palm up in offrance, "To avoid any more questions, would you dance? I assure you, it's not like Sweden. Less raucous and decidedly less drunkenness." After all, it's Mr. Andersson that is asking...

Thea Queen has posed:
Having drained her own glass, and with the waiter coming on to get a new order it's indeed confirmed she was having a plain natural orange juice when she says the contents of her own drink when the waiter looks her way. A smile and off they go to get their drinks prepared!

Thea's attention stays on Loki though, listening, watching, learning more of this Prince of Lies. Is he lying to her? What would be the benefit though? Yet of course she knows he isn't showing everything. Who does anyway? Certainly not her! "Are we still waiting for her to burst through at any moment?" yet it's said in jest, understanding it as the finishing statement. And letting that subject lie. For now at least.

The invitation has Thea blink and then let out a soft laugh. Discreet enough that at least she isn't getting looks from other tables. But the merry does reach her eyes. "Is the world really prepared to handle us dancing again?" because of what happened that first time.. Though she does get up to her feet, one last sip from her renewed juice and stepping around that table, delicate hand taking Loki's. Deceptively delicate at least, as when she rests fingers on his there are some callouses there. Training.

"Though I am not sure about less raucous. Rumors say the hellfire club can turn quite loud too."