[ open + closed threads ]

[onedirectiony]

Who| Loki & Helena, Loki & Iskierka, Loki & Open
What| Loki newly arrives into the arena.
Where| Throughout the arena.
When| Through Week 5.
Warnings/Notes| Just add a note on when/where you'd like for it to happen [especially before or after Hellrena]. He'll be moving about the arena a lot.

Loki had just arrived into the middle of a death arena. He was told, essentially that it was kill or be killed. It didn't really please him. All that work, all of that progress, to keep himself from burning, and none of it even mattered. He was just prideful enough to admit that when faced with a life or death situation, he would always chose life. He didn't want to go through the process of reincarnating again. He was very fortunate this last time that Thor went through the effort to help bring him back, but he wouldn't get so lucky. He hadn't seen his brother since sneaking into Asgardia.

Since then, it had been a pretty nasty whirlwind of events leading him here. His redemption would have to be put on hold.

He wasn't putting any particular effort into keeping silent and sneaking about - he didn't care if he was found. Each step had a purpose, whether it was looking for weapons, people, and anything (or anyone) that he could use to keep himself safe. He'd do what they asked - kill. It was never particularly difficult for him.

Comments

LOKI & HELENA [ closed ]

[onedirectiony]

Upon spotting her, Loki decided to keep a distant eye on her. He had to decide if he would approach her or just let her go. He wasn't sure if she would be worth keeping her around, or if he should just end it quickly. He typically had months to plan things like this, but now - he had to it on the spot. He liked the time to calculate and plot. He knew that time was precious in a place where everyone was out to end everyone other person's life.

Loki got impatient quickly, though. So rather than spend his time stalking her, he'd just approach. He raised his voice, "Hey!" he said. He lifted his hands in surrender, so she would know that he didn't carry any weapons on himself. He was just as good at playing the lost and confused person as he was at playing the villain.

Lying was not only one of his many talents, it was the one he was most proficient at.

[thegirlwonder]

That meeting with Nasir had been all kinds of weird. First people she'd met here in the Arena, and they'd seemed off.

And violent.

Violent without making a move to hurt her.

Again. Weird.

So, she'd taken Nasir's advice and started looking for a weapon that wasn't a sock stuffed with marbles, wishing once again that she had her throwing talons with her. Or something similar.

Instead, Helena had managed to find a few rocks to stuff the sock with instead.

Rocks which had started tearing at the sock.

Cheap socks. This was never a problem at Mayfields', she thought, thinking of her favourite high-end department store.

A couple of times, Helena had thought that someone was stalking her, but every time she turned to look, there was no one.

And nothing.

So, when Loki yelled out his greeting to her, Helena visibly jumped before taking on a defensive posture, the sock held awkwardly in her hand.

She loosened up a little bit when she saw his hands were empty.

Also. Hey. Kind of cute. Unless there was some serious Monet action going on there in terms of distance versus looks.

"Uh. Hey." She looked as though she had lowered her guard, but she was still ready to move quick if she needed to. "What's...up?" Seriously, how was she meant to converse here when they were all supposed to be killing each other?

[onedirectiony]

He dropped his hands and approached her, seeing that she had lowered her guard. Good. He would much rather not get beaten with whatever was in those socks. Sure, he is used to getting hit in the face more than the average person from home, but it wasn't something you built up an immunity to.

"Hey," he lifted his hand up and waved. "I come in peace...I think that's what you're supposed to say." They were stuffed into a box where only one person would come out as a survivor.

Hopefully she would see the logic of having allies in a place like this, at least for a period of time.

[thegirlwonder]

"That usually does clarify things," Helena said. "Though it can also be used as a lie." She relaxed her stance the slightest, but still wasn't entirely trusting. For all she knew, he was going to stop in front of her and stab her when she went in for a handshake.

"I'm Helena," she said then. Because, well, whether he was going to work with her or against her, at least he should know her name, right?

[onedirectiony]

"Loki," he answered. He knew the name had plenty of things that went with it. he was alright with that, though. He didn't care if people thought him to be the person in mythology, because he most certainly was not. "It could be a lie. Sometime it isn't. For me, it isn't."

He showed her his hand to prove he didn't have a weapon on him, just so she knew.

[thegirlwonder]

"From Norse myth?" Helena was all-too aware of how stupid a question that was. After all, she knew Wonder Woman, who was inherently tied to Greek mythology. It wasn't as though she didn't believe him. "Or is that just, like, a family name?"

She reached up and tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear, watching as he came closer. She held up her hands, the sock dangling against her right arm. "Don't worry, I'm not going to smack you with it." Yet.

[onedirectiony]

"The one and only. Sort of. Myths are stories, I'm the real one...so it isn't like it is exactly the same thing." Loki sometimes disliked how he was in myths. It gave people a preconceived notion of who he was. Sure, a lot of the facts regarding his personality were at one point true. But not anymore for all of his efforts.

"Good, good. I'd prefer to not take any socks and rocks to the face. If avoidable." Sounded like it'd be painful. "I mean, obviously, I"m going to get hit in the face at some point." Preferably not in his first few days here.

[letthemburn]

Iskierka usually tended to assume that most people in the Arenas were familiar enough with the idea of being asked to kill. And if not, there's nothing to say that she can't correct their opinions of what's been meant. Especially when there's already been a handful of weeks in the Arena and the bodies are beginning to pile up.

Unlike Loki, however, she isn't making much of an effort to hide her presence. There's only so much sneaking a roughly horse-sized dragon can do, and the red of her scales makes it a little hard to hide in the fog as well. So she simply takes advantage of the fact that even now there aren't that many people who would dare to attack a dragon, and the fact that some people already have doesn't seem to be much on her mind.

(Which means she's not entirely expecting one to come, and she certainly hasn't noticed that she isn't quite as alone as might think, and thus might not be expecting an attack to be forthcoming.)

[onedirectiony]

His first thought was Cool! A dragon! then he realized how stupid it would be to attack it. Still, if he did, that would make for quite the show. He did know that he was being watched, after all. He makes sure that he has a rock, large enough to kill a human, tied up in the jacket he was given. He was willing to sacrifice some comfort for the fact that he had a weapon, as archaic as it was.

He stepped up towards her, the jacket (with the rock inside) over his shoulder. "You're awfully pretty, and if it were any other place, I wouldn't even consider this," he said, sighing.

Fighting her would be worth the risk.

[letthemburn]

It would make for a show, yes. Iskierka knows very well what Loki means to attempt and even despite the fact that she has died more than once in the Arenas she means to make it a proper fight. There's isn't even so much as a flicker of surprise as she draws herself up to her full height as she stares down this stranger who would dare to try to kill her.

"If it were any other place you would not be able to," she announces and it sounds very much like she means it. "But if you think you can manage, then you are free to try."

She still has her claws and her teeth and either of those ought to be weapon enough, when her would-be attacker doesn't seem to be armed in the slightest.

[onedirectiony]

Loki shrugged. "It would, at the very least, be way more interesting." Being at full power would make his life that more exciting. He looks her over, she really is a marvelous creature. Claws and teeth that would really do some serious damage if they got used on him. He'd have to practice caution and fight smart.

Of course, that was the best way for him. He'd rely on his natural strengths - like his own weight and speed to fight. He removed the bag from over his shoulder, holding it out in front of him. He wasn't near as armed for her. Which meant he would have to use the arena to his advantage.

[letthemburn]

It would be, at that. Especially given that anywhere else she'd have been her proper size and thus a good deal more imposing. But she isn't, and so they'll both have to make do with things being as they are. Still, she's never been one to back down from a fight and for all that she doesn't know what might be in that bag, she's not about to wait to find out.

Instead, she lunges at him, jaws snapping. If it's a fight he wants, than that's exactly what she'll give him, and she has no qualms about taking the first move.

[onedirectiony]

"Bad dragon," Loki said, jumping back and chuckling a little. She was feisty, but he was going to dodge the best he was able. He certainly didn't want to get bitten with those teeth. He didn't see himself lasting long with a wound inflicted from those.

He lifted up the rock and started swinging it towards her. The actions, at first, he knew would be predictable, but he needed to know how she moved.

[letthemburn]

Very predictable, yes. It might be the first time she's had a rock swung at her, but it's not the first time she's had to dodge a weapon, and if there's one advantage to it only being a rock is that there's significantly less of it to dodge. As such, it's all too easy for her to step neatly out of the way of the blow. Perhaps fortunately, she hasn't take to the air just yet, but her wings are half-spread all the same, most likely in an effort to make herself look bigger than she actually is.

Still, once she has successfully dodged the first attack, she's coming right back in to see if she can have better luck the second time around. After all, there's hardly any sense to not trying, and if she can keep Loki on the defensive maybe she'll have better luck.

[worldsaway]

Thor has seen enough of Loki in this Arena already, he thinks. They had sent him an imposter not a week ago, one who physically appeared to be Loki but was far too hollow and sickly to be the brother he knew. He was accustomed to trickery on Loki's part, but this deception struck a cord with him and eventually lead him to smother the false Loki with his jacket. The bloodcurdling scream it unleashed upon discovering the betrayal had made Thor certain it was not a choice made in vain. That was not his brother.

And so, when he sees the strange figure through the fog, his temper flares immediately. It's a strange Loki, not the one who followed him here originally, he's clearly younger. They mean to trick him, he's sure. His expression is one of absolute displeasure when his eyes bore through the fog at Loki, his fists clenched tightly as he weighs the pros and cons of just ending him now. It pains him, but he is tired of being trifled with.

[onedirectiony]

When Loki sees the large, broad figure in the fog, he has an idea as to who it is. Still, he takes slow, careful steps towards it. If it turned out it wasn't who he expected, then he didn't want to fall victim to some trick. It would be pretty shameful if the Lord of Lies was tricked so easily by some amateur humans running a death match. He watches the figure as he approaches, waiting to get close enough to know for sure that it is Thor before speaking.

He knew better than to think that Thor would want to kill him, so he felt safe enough approaching him. He lifted his hand up in greeting, and he wore a grin on his face.

"Woah, Thor, you're here, too?" he asked. His initial assumption that it was maybe some prank or punishment of the All-Mother's still stood. Thor's presence did not erase it, in fact, it may have backed up his theory. The last time they had met, they were both making efforts to break into Asgard.

[worldsaway]

Everything so far about this Loki is proving he isn't quite the same as the imposter they sent. He is smaller, far smaller, but he would not put it past them to send a brother rife with bittersweet memories in order to torment him.

There is no grin on Thor's face when he approaches, his eyes are boring into Loki and his hand reaches out to grab the front of his shirt, dragging him closer. He doesn't strike him or attempt to kill him, yet, he's looking appraisingly and almost desperately at him in the hopes this isn't another trap.

"Convince me that you are not another clever trick and I shall not strike you down." He's so charming.

[onedirectiony]

"I can't believe you just asked me if I'm a clever trick," Loki laughed. "Not sure how one goes about convincing you that I'm who I look like." He lifted both of his hands up in the air in surrender. This whole experience was very familiar, though. How many times did his brother grab him by the collar before laying into him?

"But I would appreciate you not striking me down." He never really imagined first meeting Thor in here would be like this.

[worldsaway]

Thor's brow creases and furrows as he considers it. It is a compelling logic, but not one he can truly understand. To the surprise of everyone, he unleashes him with no more than a small shove backward. The suspicion and anger is apparent, but it is not quite the rage he could be in at this moment.

"When did you come to be here?" He asks coldly, trying not to let onto any desperation or sadness that comes from seeing his brother again in such a way. He's both familiar and a stranger to him, and he doesn't much like how estranged he feels currently.

[onedirectiony]

"I just got here." Not long ago, at least. Days kind of blended together when you didn't spend much time sleeping at the fear of someone slitting your throat when you did. "I thought the All-mother did this to me, but you're here. So that idea is probably out."

No guarantees, though. "Don't look at me like a kicked puppy. I just saw you, like, five minutes before I got here. Remember?"

End of Week; Closed to Bucky & Clint

[onedirectiony]

Loki had spotted Clint Barton briefly when moving through the Arena quickly. With his powers returned to him, he found moving around the arena came more quickly, and he could make sure that he went unnoticed to him. Still, he wasn't so much stalking him as keeping an eye on him periodically. He had thought and considered what he wanted to do with the fact that Clint was here.

He had a couple of options.

He could leave it alone. (Loki, by his own admission, was not good at leaving things alone.) Or he could do something about it. This was life or death. All bets were off. So he decided that he would deal with it later on.

He would play this game the right way, though. He spent time with Bucky, who seemed different from the one he knew, mostly. A little more brainwashed and crazy. He decided to make his footsteps louder when he approached Clint this time. He was giving himself away and up to the man freely. Letting Clint know he was there was the first step of giving him the idea that Loki meant no harm.

[averager]

Clint was having a rough week. Rougher than usual. In his life, he'd run the gauntlet as far as elaborate villain schemes and evil plans for world domination went. But this... this was new. Not entirely new, but still new enough that Clint wasn't really sure how to proceed. He understood what he was supposed to do, but killing was the one thing Clint Barton absolutely would not do.

Which really put him in a jam.

Wasn't there a movie about something like this? Or a book or... something? An extremely lucid dream Clint had had in the past? Either way, he really wished he could remember how that went. Maybe it'd give him an idea how to proceed.

He immediately hears footsteps approaching from a distance, though his initial reaction to act as if he hasn't noticed yet. The element of surprise has always served him well, so no reason to give it up quite yet. But when he's sure the person approaching has gotten into his range, he quickly spins around, leveling the makeshift bow he'd managed to acquire.

"Hold it. Not another... oh, it's you," Clint frowned, recognizing the all-to-but-not-actually-that-familiar face. "Okay, this could be a good thing. I wouldn't mind shooting you."

[onedirectiony]

"As long as it isn't in the face," Loki answers quickly, "it's my money-maker." He moves to approach still, and as he got closer, he stopped and put his hands up to cover his face. "This is a mission of peace and justice. I'm one of the good guys, remember?" Of course, a couple of good deeds would definitely not be enough to erase his past, and definitely wouldn't undo the memories of those he has hurt.

He didn't think for a moment that Clint would buy it. No one trusted him (with good reason), but Loki didn't appear to have any weaponry, so he hoped that would help.

He hoped, just a bit, that Clint would understand that if he had intended to kill him, he probably would have already tried.

"Completely harmless."

Okay, so that was a lie.

[averager]

"Right. One of the good guys." The words drip with sarcasm as he parrots them, clearly not buying into that premise very much. The only thing Clint trusts about Loki is the fact that he can't trust him, regardless of what anyone else might say. Sure, he might be a "good guy" for now, but Clint's pretty sure that's just a temporary state of affairs.

Still, even Clint wouldn't shoot an unarmed man in the face. Even if that man is a lying, treacherous god liable to stab him in the back the second he turns around.

"I didn't realize you were here. This just keeps getting better and better..."

Though he pauses, considering that, before lowering his bow a bit. "Aren't you usually on the other side of the elaborate death traps?"

[onedirectiony]

Maybe he wasn't worth trusting, but he hadn't personally done Clint any harm since his reincarnation - at least not purposely (the important part, in Loki's opinion, was intent). In some ways, Clint was wrong, somewhere in Loki's mind he considered not making the man a target. In other ways, Clint was right. Loki was liable to stab him in the back the first second he turned his back.

Luckily, how this was going to work wouldn't require Clint to turn his back to Loki. In fact, he wanted him to keep his eyes on him.

"Listen, this is a bit elaborate for me. I'm not really into the whole overt murder scheme. My methods are way more delicate and planned. This takes an amateur."