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[thecoolerloki]

 

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[rehandle]

Nox. Big helmet, black clothes. You'll see him if you don't already know him.

[thecoolerloki]

May I know why he's staying with us? Do you plan on adopting him?

[rehandle]

No I do not. He's here for the duration of some business.

[thecoolerloki]

What business? Or are you going to continue to give me increasingly vague answers?

[rehandle]

Probably.

[ But no, he should give him more than nothing. He'll only find out for himself otherwise. ]

We're investigating a death. There's a man in the basement and you might want to pack an overnight bag to keep around in case I need to get you out of here in a hurry.

[thecoolerloki]

There's a man in the basement.

[rehandle]

In the basement, yeah. Out of bounds in case you couldn't guess.

[thecoolerloki]

Am I allowed to know his name and the circumstances that led to him being in the basement?

[rehandle]

[ It occurs to him that he maybe hasn't yet learned how to balance the dual qualities of god and child. This might have been too much information, too casually shared. ]

Not yet, sorry.

If you'd rather be somewhere else I can arrange it.

[thecoolerloki]

Why freely tell me of one man and not the other?

Besides, I can arrange things too if I deem it necessary.

[rehandle]

[ Text isn't going to cut it anymore - he makes the quick portal-trip to the point closest to the pull of Loki's magic and steps through, careful to make sure they're home and unobserved before answering the question he'd been sent. ]

Because the man in the basement isn't here of his own free will. Knowing anything more is going to put you at greater risk than ignorance.

[thecoolerloki]

[He's just lying down in bed playing Splatoon, and was checking texts between matches, but ugh, now he has to stop. And it's an online game! His team is going to hate him!

Loki sits up, rolling his eyes as he turns his Switch off and puts it aside.]

Perhaps I don't agree with the notion of men being locked away against their will. What then?

[rehandle]

Then I'm going to have to ask you very politely to take that up with criminal justice systems the world over and in the meantime to withstand it while it's happening under this roof.

[ A sigh. ]

I'm not happy about it either, but it's already happened, and now it has to keep on happening for his safety and for ours. As soon as that changes he's free to go.

[thecoolerloki]

Hm.

[He restarts his game, deciding this actually isn't a conversation that requires full attention or eye contact. Not looking up, he says,]

I think I'll free him tomorrow, in that case.

[rehandle]

Oh, okay. Good luck with that.

[ A touch of humour tucks one corner of his mouth into a smirk that goes wasted on a Loki who's stopped paying him attention. ]

[thecoolerloki]

Luck won’t be needed. I’ve broken into and out of oh so many Asgardian prisons.

Do you believe yourself stronger than Odin, Stephen? Cleverer than Freyja?

[rehandle]

[ A lazy wave of his hand turns off the console, unconcerned with Loki's reputation amongst his teammates, and his tone stays light in spite of the words he chooses next. ]

If you can get that man out of that basement, I'll be equal parts impressed with your progress and disappointed with your decision.

Are we going to have a problem? I didn't tell you so you could make this into sport.

[thecoolerloki]

[Fine, he can do eye contact! He's glaring at Stephen now.]

My "progress" has little to do with it. You could completely lock off my magical abilities and make them as they once were, and I would still be capable of freeing him.

Why did you tell me? Lies of omission work better, for future reference.

[rehandle]

[ Yet another day to know he isn't cut out for parenting. But fine. He's said too much to protect him from the truth, and the truth now seems to be the only thing that's going to keep him from getting himself into the trouble Stephen's brought into this house.

The forced serenity melts away. Beneath it is tension, clear in the set of his brow. ]

The death we're investigating is the past ritualistic murder of a magic user by a cult that was once operating in the area. The man downstairs is where the vestiges of the magic leftover from that killing led us, a current member of that still-active cult, and when he wouldn't talk my choices were to bring him here or leave him to the mercy of other forces.

So he's here. And he'll stay here until we've traced their group beyond him and found a way to protect him from the consequences of being here. I told you because I've put you at risk, you were going to find that out one way or another, and I'd rather you had some prior sense of why there might be future urgency to get you out.

[ And because he's stressed: being reckless in pursuit of the greater good is a lot easier when you're only responsible for yourself. When you've got a kid two floors up from the danger he may or may not be a perfect target for, danger starts to actually feel dangerous. ]

So please. Keep out of the basement.

[ I don't want you any closer to this than you already are. ]

[thecoolerloki]

[His glare is replaced by a frown, more sincere than all his boasts.]

I want to help.

[He’s more hurt that Stephen wouldn’t consider that option, which to him is so obvious.]

[rehandle]

I know.

[ That's part of the problem - Loki isn't any better set up to be able to walk away from this than Stephen had been when Nox brought it to him. And at present time, it's not a risk he's willing to take. ]

But I don't know what we're up against. When I do, and if there's a way you can help without putting you in a line of fire you're not ready for, you'll be the first to know. Okay?

[thecoolerloki]

How am I any less ready than you are? I’ve outsmarted the Fear Gods themselves and yet suddenly a mere cult member is beyond me?

[rehandle]

The man in the basement isn't the problem. I don't know the scale of this, I don't know what they're trying to achieve, I only know one instance of what they're capable of.

I'm responsible for you. That is the agreement you stepped into when deciding to live under this roof, and when choosing to stay. I give you all the space that I can but fundamentally your wellbeing is mine to look out for. So until I'm able to properly assess the risk I will not get you involved, not through underestimation of you but lack of estimation of them.

I'm asking you to respect that.

[thecoolerloki]

So if I chose not to live here anymore, you would permit me to help?

[rehandle]

[ Too smart for anyone's good. ]

No. Legal fact of my guardianship of you aside, I'll care about your well-being wherever you are.

[ 🙃😬 Moving on. ]

I'll let you help when I deem it appropriate. Might be sooner rather than later, but you're going to have to be patient either way.