post mini-arena; backdated & open.

[onedirectiony]

Who| Loki + you
What| Some well deserved broken ribs landed him in the hospital - unhappily. Visitors, perhaps.
Where| Hospital.
When| Shortly after the Mini-Arena.
Warnings/Notes| It's Loki.



He almost - almost - felt bad for the hospital staff. They were making every honest attempt to care for him, but he didn't seem to want any part in it. Although he was pretty close to human while here (thanks to the removal of his skills), he didn't appreciate being treated as one. He had to stay and recover, or else he would be completely useless come the next arena. He wished he had some games on a cell phone - or something to do. He was just bored.

And when Loki was bored, it was dangerous. He was shifting from side to side in the bed, but every time he moved - he felt a pain in his chest (he seemed to forget that he broke his ribs, idiot). All this time allowed was for him to sit and plot and think about things. He went over the entire arena in his mind.

There was a long list of things that he probably would have changed now. He went into it with a goal to prove a point about getting shoved into an arena with a bunch of children...and failed horribly. Any point he was trying to make exploded into nothingness.

He didn't really expect anyone to come visit him. Not after his behavior in the arena, and not based on his relationship with anyone else who was here. So, a visitor would actually be a surprise to him.

Comments

[justoutrunyou]

And yet...someone did come to visit him.

Cassandra Marko had actually been here to visit someone else who had survived the arena and was in the hospital, but spotting one of the boys who had tried to kill her had set her to thinking.

He looked...lonely.

So she came back and tapped on the door, opening it and peering into the room cautiously.

[onedirectiony]

Much to his surprise, of course. She was definitely the last of all people that he expected to see. He hadn't been shy about his desire to murder her in the arena, nor had he hesitated for a moment in pursuing her.

He shifts his body to look towards the door. His attention was solidly on the girl there. He was quiet, but he was focused. Now, he was really wondering if she would actually walk in or continue past.

[justoutrunyou]

She almost did right in that moment. Her old streak of being a chicken welled up in her chest and insisted she make tracks right this instant! To stop herself she pretended to lean casually on his door frame when her hand was gripping it securely.

"So, was it worth it? Coming after me and getting knocked around by my tall friend?"

The battle between Loki and the Initiate had been a welcome surprise to Sandy and since she had missed most of it the first time (In the process of running away) She'd re-watched it on the recordings later.

[onedirectiony]

"Eh? What? You think he put me here?" Loki asked. Sure, the troll had gotten him in some ways, but certainly - the broken ribs the child had given him were what forced him into the hospital. "So yes, totally worth the attempt."

He looked at her and he sounded sincere, and he mostly was. This place was becoming tedious. Battle after battle after battle. No entertainment, no challenge. Just an endless cycle.

[justoutrunyou]

"It was a reasonable guess." She muttered wishing dearly that The Initiate had done much more to Loki then he already had.

"You can't beat them just by being willing to play the game the way they want." She tried to explain. "You're never going to beat them at their own game unless you prove you're better then who they think you are. And right now they think you're a selfish, proud jerk who would murder a kid just to get a few extra points that probably wouldn't help you much anyway."

After a minute she added "I figured you'd be better then that at least." She sounded disappointed surprisingly enough.

[onedirectiony]

"I think you have some serious misconceptions about me, kid." Loki was definitely amused. If anything, he was trying to join them. he definitely wasn't trying to prove he was better than they thought. Except maybe to prove he was better at being awful.

Loki was very much a 'join 'em, then stab them in the back later' type.This would prove most effective here in the Capitol.

"Not sure where you learned about me, but maybe consider getting the reading material edited."

[justoutrunyou]

That was enough to make her pout again and she had to fight the urge to find something to throw at him. How could he be so smug when he was in a hospital bed?

"All I know about you is from the history of my world. So I know that it's not the same as yours...probably. I mean..." She sighed rolling her eyes. "No one else from worlds like mine have been from my world so you're probably the same. The point is the name Loki usually means someone smart, someone with pride and someone who can go toe to toe with Thor and win. But I'm not getting any of that from you."

That last part was a lie. She still thought if he was sneaky enough he could pull a fast one on the God of Thunder who seemed haplessly helpless without his powers. He was strong and skilled sure but he kept dying the same as the rest of the tributes didn't he?

"So where exactly do I make the edits for down the line?"

[seestheman]

Clara knows that Loki's behavior in the Arena shouldn't have surprised her. He's a trickster god and known for being a dangerous, chaotic asshole in the legends she's read. Being capable of horrific acts comes with the territory. Those acts are also enough to make her consider not visiting him.

But there's something else there that drives her to do so. It's some sort of strange loyalty to him that compels her to come visit with a handheld gaming system that she has lying around her room from being part of their ad campaign and a bit of her chocolate stash. No one, even someone who's done some of the things he did in the Arena, should be forced to be stuck in bed with broken ribs and nothing to do.

Okay, that probably isn't true, but she's going to believe that enough to lead her into the hospital wing.

"Hey you. I brought some entertainment."

[onedirectiony]

He rolled over to face her when he heard her entering the room, he tried not to look right up at her at first. He knows that his behavior is reprehensible. Loki is like a moth to a flame of bad behavior, though. He is impulsively driven to do things that most people would consider unacceptable. Always proving that no matter how much he tries to be good, he always goes back to it. Recidivism was a trap that Loki inevitably fell into.

He shifts to sit up more properly. "Hey -- " Say the right thing. "Thanks." There's that flicker of vulnerability that seems through at times. "I didn't think you'd come." Or anyone.

[seestheman]

"Of course I'd come." Clara knows that she isn't quite at the point where she's able to say that she trusts him, but at the same time, he's one of hers, even if it's just through his relationship with Dave.

"I was going to try to sneak you some bacon, but I'm not sure if they'd be okay with me bringing it into a hospital setting." And she isn't really sure if he's deserving of it right now, considering his actions. Not that she'd say that aloud because that'd just be tactless of her. "I hope chocolate's a decent substitute for now."

It's small talk, but it's nicer than what she's afraid would come out of her mouth otherwise.

[onedirectiony]

"You didn't need to bring anything, I understand company is really enough." It seemed like the proper way to answer her. She had filled a role so easily for him. Clara was different from any of the other women in his life. She was genuinely kind and seemed good. It threw him.

"You talk like it's obvious, but it's really not." He moves his hand towards the chair in his room. Empty, and basically unused. It's fine to him, he's not particularly sensitive or hurt by the lack of people visiting him. "You can sit if you want. Not like I'd make you leave. Or even really could right now."

[seestheman]

"I wanted to. Who knows how long you're going to be stuck in here. You need something to entertain yourself," she says, giving him a fond smile.

"You..." She tries to figure out how to say it without losing it at him. He deserves it, honestly, but it's not what he needs right now. "You fucked up." That's putting it gently. "And you've probably already had people tear into you about it. You don't need that from me too." She sits down giving him a pointed look. "Even if you could, would you want me to?"

[onedirectiony]

"I don't know," Loki answers in a huff. And he doesn't. He doesn't enjoy being unsure about how he feels during a situation. He's typically confident, sure, and has a direction. He knows his plans and he goes through with them, regardless.

"I did because I didn't win," Loki says finally. "That's my biggest mistake." He watched her. "And people tearing into me about my choices isn't a new or unusual thing. I've been there done that for thousands of years."

[worldsaway]

Of course Thor would visit Loki. He'd been outraged by the Children's Arena, so much so that it had been difficult to control his temper. As ever, he needed to get by knowing that things would be much, much worse if he were to act out for the sake of his brother or any of the other children he cared for. Which was all of them, of course.

He knows better than to come empty handed, so when he strides into the room unannounced and uninvited, he sets a pudding cup and a spoon on the bedside table before taking a seat and drawing a small, handheld gaming device out of his pocket. He might have had to ask just what Loki would care about, and the answers were varied, but he's confident that he'll enjoy it. Not that he intends to give it to him so soon, even if it's beeping in a rather distressed manner.

"I do recall an agreement made prior regarding children." He points out, keeping his tone level.

[onedirectiony]

Loki was perfectly willing to have a reasonable (and completely not childish) conversation with Thor, should his brother have not mentioned the previous discussion. It was inevitable, though. Although he didn't expect any visitors, he knew - at his core - that Thor would eventually make an appearance, if for nothing more than to give Loki a look that always made him feel just a bit guilty.

"That's all there was, Thor," Loki said. "You may be trying to save everyone, but the only way I can stop killing people in the arenas is if I'm not put there anymore."

His eyebrows were furrowed, and his attention was focused on Thor entirely.

"As the Midgardians like to say - you can't win if you don't play."

[worldsaway]

Thor is willing to have a reasonable conversation, but he is not willing to dismiss this so quickly. There's something about this Loki, something that makes Thor feel like he can guide him better than he did the Loki who just recently arrived. He's given up on neither, of course, but interference is necessary when he feels like he might be heeded.

"That does not negate the conditions I put upon you." He says plainly, not choosing to become argumentative yet. He sets the game aside, on the table with Loki's pudding, so he can fold one leg over the other and lace his fingers over his knee.

"Some would say victory comes at a price." He adds, a brow raising. "And a victory paved with the bodies of others, with the bodies of children, is not an admirable one." Indignation is starting to slip into his tone, his brows furrowing as he returns that focused attention ten-fold.

[onedirectiony]

"May be it doesn't negate the conditions to you, but to me it was more than enough of a reason." His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "I know you think you're older and wiser." He so badly wanted to get into a fight with Thor about this. Even if he said he'd follow some of the rules his brother gave him - he knew that things would change as soon as those rules became inconvenient.

"I paid that price already, Thor. It's why I look like this." Okay, so that was only a little true. He didn't know how much Thor would believe.

"We're not going to get into this same-old fight. I'm going to make the choices I will make. I'm not seeking your approval."

[worldsaway]

Somehow this is both the attitude Thor expected and the attitude he was not prepared for. He knows Loki well enough not to be too surprised at the indignant and snide retorts, but that doesn't mean that Thor isn't going to visibly grow less impressed with him.

His expression darkens some, brows knitting together ever more. "I said nothing of my approval." His tone is as dark as his expression now. "I'm not asking you to act by my expectations, I am asking you to do what is right. Do what is good, Loki. There is nothing here worth the blood on your hands, victory will not free you from this prison and you are a fool if you believe it will."

[onedirectiony]

"Please, I know that nothing is going to get me home. What I'm doing there has long-since failed, I'm sure - so it doesn't even matter." If he truly had failed at home, then he would just be another of the All-Mother's prisoners. He'd be thinking of a plan and a way out. It didn't matter here.

"I don't do what is good, Thor. I fulfill my role and do exactly what I am meant to do. The only way to play the game is to try and win." The more the Capitol believed him to be someone who was putting sincere effort into it, the better. He wouldn't be considered a threat to them.

"I have my ways, you have yours. You're just going to have to deal with the fact that my way will get things done."

No hint of rebellion in his voice, but he fully intended to not let the Capitol continue what they were doing. The less closely they watched him, the better. He was no enemy to them by appearance.

[shenunigans]

Dave hasn't been avoiding Loki, even if they hadn't parted ways well in the Arena. He's sure the Capitol ate up that drama, but he's also pretty sure they aren't ready to see the ship sink. Quite frankly, Dave isn't either. Even if he doesn't like Loki like like like Loki it isn't like he doesn't like him at all. Jesus Christ, this is confusing. Whatever. Point is, he's a friend and he didn't stop being a friend just because he did a bunch of shit that pisses Dave off. Especially not when he's in hospital or whatever.

Still. That doesn't mean he can't be a little bit of a shit. Dave strolls in a little later into visiting hours, dumping his back pack on the floor and hopping onto the chair like he owns the place. He brings his knees up so he can rest his elbow on it, propping his chin on his hand so he can stare at Loki. Your move, bro.

[onedirectiony]

Loki rolls onto his side and faces Dave. Ow ow ow. He can feel those broken ribs. Nothing like being human here (it was the actual worst). Still, he wouldn't take back anything he did -- except maybe doing a better job at dodging to prevent the broken ribs. Everything right now was a little confusing. Loki was the type of person who acted how he felt benefited him immediately.

Yeah, he wasn't ready to stop this, either. After all, it had just barely started.

Was this the part where he apologized?

He didn't actually feel sorry.

"So," Loki started. What he wouldn't give to not have to have this conversation. "I'm going to guess you're pretty displeased with me right now, huh?"

[shenunigans]

Having no idea why Loki is here, he can't nag him to scoot his ass back flat on the bed and stop looking at him like someone punched his dick. He can only feel sincere sympathy for his discomfort, even if he's pissy at him for being an asshole.

He knows about Loki in various incarnations, it's hard not to let what he knows about them colour his view when he looks at the guy he came to be friends with. He hates it, he hates acting under preconceptions and he hates that he can't tell whether he's annoyed because he's surprised or annoyed because he isn't surprised.

"Of course not." He says flatly. "I'm a veritable ray of sunshine here to congratulate you on all your hard work. Good job, champ, shame about the whole losing thing."

[onedirectiony]

"Don't even," Loki said, he huffed a little. An act? Maybe. "I'm thousands of years old. You telling me you dislike my behavior isn't going to exactly hurt my precious feelings." Maybe that was part of the problem. Maybe Dave already understood that any concerns would fall on deaf ears. That Loki had no real interest in changing.

He was behaving exactly as he was supposed to. Filling that position he had so carefully been shoe-horned into.

[shenunigans]

"If you think I'm here to nag you, I think you might need to do a severe reevaluation of my character." He folds his arms over his chest, reclining slightly in his chair as he does. He tilts his chin upward upward almost challengingly, daring him to disagree.

"At least I know your dumb ass well enough to know that some halfhearted guilting is gonna go over like a math class for a space chimp. Besides, just because I acknowledge that you're in pursuit of a victory boner doesn't mean I can't waft in and make half-assed jokes about the fact that you lost to a bunch of kids."

At this point, he drops his arms down to root through his bag, pulling out a plastic container with a cupcake in it. It's maple flavoured with a rind of bacon perched majestically atop the icing.

[onedirectiony]

"Hah hah," Loki said. He rolled his eyes. "And nagging isn't the same thing as expressing dislike. If you started nagging me, I'd be forced to call you mother. And there's nothing particularly cute about that. Not that I'm judging if that's your kink."

Except he totally is judging.

"If that is what it looks like then you could possibly win an award for awesomeness."