chirpchirp | ♪1 audio ♯ action

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< what is this strange place? what is this? what is that? why is it not brown? or gold? or made of stone? what are these big green things above its head? what is that? where is the temple? wait, where is the buddy? >

♪? ♪♪ ♪~!!

< .....

no answer? try again and louder this time>

♪~~~~!

< hm...alone? okay, then time to find a new buddy! >

♪　♪　♪♪　♪~

[the traveler has appeared on the edge of town along the road. anyone in the surrounding buildings may have heard it chirping and calling out as it runs toward the town square. and anyone it encounters along the way will have a close to three foot tall red cloaked creature running circles around them.

ooc; an example of the tonal chirps can be found here on a youtube let's play]

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[Well, that certainly got a reaction. Apparently that's the way to go about communicating with this little... person? thing?

Yes, this is definitely bemusement he feels, watching the tiny little creature, half his height, running circles around him.

But no reaction to the words. So this is to be a puzzle indeed. He likes that.

No longer so concerned about dignity when there's something to think very hard at, he sinks down to sit on the ground. After a moment he points at himself and whistles something that sounds tonally like his name. He tilts his head again in obvious inquiry, then points at the Traveler.]

<whoa, this companion has legs coming out of its head area. ...doesn't that hurt? how does it move? OH, IT SANG AGAIN>

♪♪♪　♪　♪　♪～～～

[when loki sits down, the traveler sits down, too, going quiet and tilting its head at the taller man. are they meditating? is that why he wants to sit?]

[Hm.

Curious, Loki copies the tones of the Traveler's singing with perfect mimicry. He points at the Traveler again, the tip of his finger gently tapping its cloak.]

He's not sure if he's getting through here. But this is a challenge. He loves a challenge.

[the cloak glows a little when it's tapped and the traveler stands up, sending out a sound wave to charge up Loki's...."scarf". wherever it is]

♪

[Oh!

Loki is on his feet in an instant, wary as he senses... something.

But it's not hostile. He has no idea what it is, quite, and he's even more curious now.

He sinks back down to sitting, chin in hand for a moment as he contemplates what he just felt, how he might copy it with a bit of magic.

Well, why not. It was harmless.

He hums quietly to himself as he works out a little diagram on the ground, then turns his attention back to the Traveler.

He gently touche's the Traveler's cloak and once again, mimics the tone the Traveler made, this time adding in a bit of magic in a fair copy of what it felt like the little thing was trying to do.]

Edited 2012-09-15 00:42 (UTC)

< oh, what is that? what is it drawing? a little....pictures! a picture! >

♪♪ ♪

[the traveler is about to back up and try to mimic the picture when Loki touches its cloak. the scarf on its back lights up and the traveler trills, excited that this is, indeed, another traveler - albeit a funny looking one]

♪♪♪!

[And then it flaps its cloak and floats up into the sky, floating back down a moment later - the magic gone]

[Aha.

Well. So he can give the little creature a bit of magic so it can fly. Which is presumably what it tried to do for him. How friendly. How... cute.

Loki finds it very curious that he's not as immune to cute as he thought.]

You're a funny little thing, no mistaking.

[Still, he can't help but grin. And it's not the normal sort of grin he has on his face, where it's sly and smug. Rather, there's something startlingly boyish about this, pure and enthusiastic.

For the moment, he's forgotten everything else, even that he's out where other people can see. He does have a bad habit of getting caught up in things when he's interested.

But the magic discussion is really going to have to wait until they can actually, you know, talk. He casts around for a few pebbles, groups them up, and then counts them out using the same tones he employed to gain the creature's attention initially.

For good measure, he also counts them out loud, following the same pattern.]

One, two, three, four, five.

[Then he cocks his head in inquiry again, inviting the Traveler to count them in its own way.]

[She takes the long way around in her morning walks, and was just on her way back into the main village when she heard...whistling? And Loki. Curious and quiet Adele edged her way around a tree to peer through at the God of Mischief counting at a short red...person?]

[Yes, yes it is. Hello Adele, the traveler is way too engaged in its new non-cloaked buddy to notice, but it will run from pebble to pebble that Loki points out and chirp at them one at a time.]

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

< do the rocks do something? rocks, i know. i know rocks! there are lots of rocks in the desert>

♪♪♪ ♪ ♪ ♪~

[It looks back to Loki and then starts turning in circles, trying to find where they're supposed to go.]

[Loki cocks his head, noting the tonal variations for each number.

He lines the pebbles up again and counts them in perfect mimicry of the Traveler.]
♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

[Then he does a simple sum, one plus three equals four, then two plus three equals five for good measure. He cocks his head again, curious and eager for the Traveler to correct him and give him a bit more vocabulary.]

♪♪♪♪♪?

[Watching the little creature spin in circles, he can't help but laugh, another sound of unadulterated good humor that really should seem foreign coming from him. For just a few minutes, he's somehow managed to forget all of the bitterness, cynicism, and hatred that normally color how he sees the world.]

[Adele has no idea who the little red new feather is, but the chirping back and forth between them and Loki is almost, well. No. It is entirely adorable. She leans against the tree, grinning to herself at that burst of laughter. There was warmth in that beyond what she'd expect from a Trickster or a god of lies. This was sweet. Endearing, even, and her one regret is that she doesn't have a camera or her journal to record it.]

< WHOA WHAT IS THAT SOUND COMING FROM HIS HEAD.>

[The traveler stops when Loki laughs and peers up at him. That was a different sound. Something it's never heard before.]

♪? ♪♪

[Turning around it starts dragging its feet against the strange not!snow/sand, drawing lines in it to show:]

♥

[Loki actually looks kind of... stunned.

Stunned. Yes. That's the right word for it.

He sits back slightly, eyes gone wide, almost stricken.

Well, that probably doesn't mean the same thing for the little creatures, he tells himself. How silly. How pathetic that it would hurt like that, an odd sort of pain.

He leans forward a moment later and, feeling exceedingly foolish as he does it, draws his own little heart.]

♪♪?

[She can't quite see from this angle what had been drawn, or why it caused Loki to react in such a fashion. It's not something she'd expect to see on a man's face from something as simple as a drawing, let alone a god's. Part of her knows she should go. The rest of her remains curious.

She braces a hand against the tree and rises up on her toes as far as she can to see a three? No. A heart.]

!!

< yaaaaaaaaaaaay >

[the traveler runs in a circle and then draws another one next to Loki's before pressing up against his side.]

[He doesn't even know how to react any more.

He slumps back again, staring straight ahead as the Traveler presses against him.

This is not the sort of thing he should allow, really. He's never liked public displays of any kind. But he can't bring himself to push the little creature away. Doesn't want to, really.

There is something about the lack of language that makes this seem more real and honest. He can't lie in this moment. Can't be lied to, either, at least he doesn't feel even a hint of that suspicion.

He swallows hard, licks his lips, and rests a hand on the little creature's cloak again.]

♪

[This time, he gives it far more magic, though it leaves him feeling oddly dizzy.]

[This...isn't something she should be seeing. At first it was mindless and cute but there's something more going on here that she doesn't know enough to understand, and doesn't have the right to spy upon in such a manner. As careful as possible she lowers herself back down to the ground and starts to edge backwards. If she's quiet, they won't notice.]

[The glow is familiar, even if the source isn't. Power borrowed, flight gained. The borrowed strength will return to its owner once the traveler has used it, but for now, it is shared and the little creature keeps itself pressed close against its new travel companion. Maybe it's a little weird - with no cloak or scarf and strange wings - but it sings and it gives power and the traveler wants to go to the mountain with this new buddy.]

♪♬

[It sings back and then turns and sits in front of Loki, looking up at him. If the new travel buddy wants to meditate a bit, the traveler can do that. It's patient. It will wait to starts their journey. Since they are sitting so close, the glow on the traveler's cloak remains, lighting up glyphs on its scarf.]

[It's probably for the best that the little creature has moved away. Loki pats spot on his side with one hand, a sort of nervous gesture, as if he's expecting... expecting... what?

He doesn't know. Warmth?

He watches the little creature, gaze fastening on the glowing scarf. He can tell that's where the magic's gone, and that's another mystery he wishes to unravel. He reaches out and lightly traces the glowing pattern with one finger.

He wants to understand that, as well.

What happens now? Another question that he doesn't yet know how to ask, but somehow that answer seems even more important.

He looks back up at the little creature's face, the odd eyes.]

♪♬?

[He tilts his head, his entire body the question mark to a statement he has yet to decipher.]

[A little further back and she could take the side path to the plaza. Take the long way around and politely pretend she's never seen this.

Murphy and his law, however, had another idea entirely.

The exact moment when she'd need to be most silent is when her foot finds a twig. Cracks it neatly in half just as Loki finishes whistling to the little creature.

Merde.]

[It looks down when Loki traces the glyph on its scarf and wonders if Loki lost his scarf to one of the Stone Dragons. It happens sometimes, even to the most seasoned of travelers. Even this traveler was caught as recently as its last incarnation. It looks back to Loki when he chirps and then stands, ready to start the journey forward.

When there is a sound from behind.

Perking up, the traveler turns and trills in that direction. Maybe it's a cloth creature!]

♪　♪　♪　♪?

[Loki jerks to his feet at the sound of the twig snapping, because instinct tells him what it is - someone's been spying. He allowed himself to be foolishly caught up. Perhaps its his own fault, but he's always been much better at being angry with other people.

His expression goes cold, hard, and distant for a moment, though he manages to craft a polite smile when he catches sight of Adele. Better her, he supposes, than Stark or one of his vomitous little friends.

Loki nods acknowledgement to her as if this was his idea the entire time, as if he knew she was there and just had been politely ignoring her. He bends and carefully wipes out the little drawings in the dirt, scattering the pebbles he piled up.

He brushes the dust from his hand and turns to go.]

[Whatever this was- whatever it had been, she'd wrecked it. His guard was back up. Or the act had been put aside? She's never quite certain what to think of him, let alone now that she's seen this.

That burst of joy seemed so sincere. That aching loneliness couldn't have been feigned. Could it? To what end? Why would he let her see him like this, put on this act. To change how she saw him? Then why end it when he saw her?

Too many questions and not enough time to answer. She dips her head in turn, murmuring a faint apology.]

It wasn't my intention to intrude.

< whooooa there's another one? how is there another when I've already found my Other? >

[Confused, the traveler starts to walk toward Adele, wanting to check her out. It chirps once and then turns back to Loki, trying to encourage him to come check out this new thing. It doesn't understand the tension in the air.]

♪~?

[And yet you did. Loki manages to bite back that response before it escapes. It seems best to pretend that there was nothing to be intruded upon in the first place. And he has few enough cordial acquaintances that he should have some care for now.

He shrugs like it means nothing.]

Quite all right. I have business to which I should attend at any rate.

[He can't quite disguise the shadow of wariness that creeps in to his expression. He's not certain what he's expecting now, but he doubts it will be good. It was all like an invitation to to mock him, or something that could be used against him at a later time.

He watches the Traveler go to investigate Adele, for a moment jealous of its seemingly endless supply of innocent curiosity.

Knowing only how to count, he doesn't really understand the question, though he can guess. He doesn't know how to form an answer, either. All he can do is produce a tone of sad finality.]

♪

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[Action] (KAZE I HATE YOOOOOOU ;_;)

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