asgardmeridiem | [OPEN LOG]

Entry tags:

[OPEN LOG]

Who: Jade + literally anyone
What: Jade bribing people into her restaurant with free things.
When: Day 355.
Where: The Highwind, in Heimdall's district.
Rating: PG-13 for language at most!

EDITED TO ADD: Also, totally feel free to threadjack and use this as a mingle log IF YOU WOULD LIKE ♥

[ It had worked once before, back in the heat of late summer in Asgard, so Jade was trying it again. She had dragged the sign out to the front of the store, right in the middle of the sidewalk, and written in huge letters:

free hot chocolate! :D
just come inside ♥

The temperature hadn't broken the sixty degree mark today - it was getting chilly fast. Both Orihime and Annabeth were gone, and the store was oddly quiet. Jade will be found keeping herself busy throughout the day with odd little chores when it's completely empty of customers - sweeping, dusting, and occasionally dozing in a booth near the door when the boredom becomes too much to bear. ]

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[He doesn't notice her studying him right away—but he does eventually. The weird thing about being in Asgard is that it's taught him to be less hesitant. Without the stability of his friends (in part because they had their own issues to deal with), he's settled into branching out.

So he approaches her, curious.]

Er ... hello.

[That's one of the funny things about this place - it's hard to be a stranger when they're all in the same boat. ... City. Alternate world and/or universe? Whatever.]

[Regardless, her eyebrows raise briefly when she sees him start to head her way, but the mild surprise is quickly replaced with a very welcoming smile. Her,]

Hello.

[Is cheerful enough and followed by a pause that, were she not smiling so sincerely, might seem more awkward than it already, by necessity, is. She at least doesn't let it last long.]

Are you having a nice time?

Edited 2013-11-13 07:08 (UTC)

Well, I've only just arrived, but I tend to enjoy it when I come here. Even if Jade's business practices could use some work. [Case in point, the plentiful amounts of hot chocolate being given out.] If you come here hungry, she'll give you pie.

[As it is, he doesn't see any reason to promote better ones, at least to someone else.]

[She nods her understanding, smile widening slightly.] I know what you mean. [She glances briefly at the other occupants of the restaurant - goodness, there are a lot of them - then back to him.] She's a very nice girl. Maybe not the best thing for making money, but... it's good advertisement, at least, isn't it?

[Hee.] If nothing else, at least some of them might feel obligated to come and visit again. [The easily guilt-tripped ones, anyway--] Or come because they want to see her. She seems to have made a lot of friends.

Honestly, it's a good thing that she's able to do this. [Harry doesn't go on into why, because it's been a rough month for a lot of people. If she doesn't know, then he isn't going to advertise Jade's plight to her. She can find out from someone else.

He decides to change the subject—or slightly. He doesn't know who she is, anyway.]

I'm Harry, by the way. And you are...?

[Her head tilts slightly. That's the unfortunate thing about Naminé - she's too quick to notice things for something like that to slip by her easily. It could be construed as a general sort of thing, but....]

[Her smile raises again at the introduction, head straightening.]

Naminé. It's nice to meet you, Harry. [She may have seen him around a little on the network, but that's not exactly the same thing. She lets it sit a moment, smiles warmly, then--]

Why wouldn't Jade be able to do this?

[It's more curious than anything, but there's an undercurrent of concern.]

And you as well, Naminé. [He could have just as easily launched into answering the second question, but he needed to give himself a chance to say something before he paused. It's less awkward that way.

Though when he speaks again, there's enough time that it's still awkward.]

And it's—we've been distracted lately. The whole lot of us.

[She doesn't seem to acknowledge the awkwardness - there's not a trace of impatience anywhere. (If he needs a moment, he needs a moment.) It's not until his answer that her expression changes slightly, grows thoughtful-- she considers him with a pause of her own.]

[She thinks of what happened not so long ago, that Jade was among those who lost themselves, that she remembers seeing the name of someone who was killed and noticing the correlation, because she knows Harry's last name from the network even if he didn't see fit to tell her it himself, and though she chooses not to assume that that particular incident has anything to do with it, she also chooses not to inquire further.]

I see. [And when she smiles again, it's a sympathetic sort of thing.] I'm very sorry about that. [She is, in fact, sorry - whoever that 'lot' includes, which may or may not be everyone. The sincerity is obvious.] I... suppose I shouldn't have asked. My mistake.

No, it's—it's really all right, Naminé. Honestly, I'd be surprised if she cared, but I'm the one who said something first.

[Harry's impressions of her thus far are that she's a very kind person. It's not surprising that he should find someone like that, and the fact that she's sharp is unavoidable. She is clever, which he had guessed from her just observing him, but she is nothing like he had guessed at first. She's her own person.

It's interesting for someone to make such an impression from the start, but she seems to be the type of person who's very good at that.]

Are you—have you been in Asgard very long, Naminé? [It's a weak subject change at best, he knows that.]

[There's a hint of relief in her expression, even if the apology sticks around.] Well, yes, but-- I know it's not polite to pry, and I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable, whether Jade would mind or not. It's just... hard not to worry, you know? She's a friend.

[Most anything she'd have to say about that would probably have to be taken with a grain of salt, given her own view of herself. But since she is more or less unaware that she's made an impression at all, she only smiles with a very quiet, kind sort of amusement at his attempt to change the subject, politely glosses over the fact that she's also clever enough to realize what he's doing, and takes his lead. (She approves of it well enough, anyway.)]

I have, actually. It's been almost a year now, by this world's reckoning. I guess that probably counts as a pretty long time. [Here, have a slightly larger smile.] What about you?

Right. Well, if you'd like to know, I suggest asking her—I'd be surprised if she kept the knowledge too close to herself. And it might be good to ask. She puts on a good face about these things.

[Harry knows she isn't having the easiest time, but neither of them have been particularly accomplished at speaking about it. Having someone else do it might help, and from the sounds of it, Naminé has the empathetic abilities to do what's necessary.

And what's necessary is be supportive.]

And I've been here a little over two months. I ... honestly can't imagine being here for a year or so.

[Her nod is slow, but firm. It's not hard to tell she understands.]

Of course. Thank you for the advice. [....] I think a lot of us probably do. Put on a brave face, I mean.

[Not to disparage the sentiment; rather, it just means that she knows a thing or two about needing someone to ask the right questions.]

[Her smile flickers larger, but so briefly it's almost like a single, soundless laugh.]

I couldn't, either, when I first got here. I'd never been anywhere for an entire year. I had no idea it would all last this long. [She considers him a moment, then,] But this place is full of surprises, I suppose. Maybe some day you'll have been here that long, too, and then you won't have to imagine anymore. I hope the city has been treating you well so far.

[Harry thinks about her words, and about the fact that many of them have been there for a while. He doesn't want to sound too confident, or even cocky, but the idea of being here for a year only means that he won't be solving this war problem. At the moment, he's too defiant to think that's possible.

It's a weird thought, too, because his parents are here. And he doesn't know what he should prefer: time with them or fighting this war. Actually, he knows what he prefers, but he doesn't like that the other half of it involves them being hurt, manipulated, and used in the process. That doesn't sound like a very good deal at all.]

I'm hoping that they won't have need of us after another ten months.

[Her lips press together at his answer, and it's not annoyance, or distaste - it's just... a quiet sort of wryness, and some things she does not say. But she smiles, a tiny curve of a thing, and says instead,]

I don't blame you. Many of us have important things waiting for us at home.

[And some of them already were home, just not the right one, not the one they could keep.]

Maybe they will, maybe they won't. I couldn't say. It seems like there's never a good end in sight, not really. Everything that's looked like one in the past has either been an illusion, or... the wrong ending.

[It's not that Harry hasn't been informed, but what she says strikes him as odd, if only because it's new information entirely. The fact that they thought this war was almost over is new to him. No one else has mentioned it, anyway, perhaps because they thought they were foolish.]

Why did it seem like an ending? ... Or a wrong one?

[-- Ah. As she thought, then; he hasn't heard.]

Well... one time, everything suddenly looked like it was alright again. Like the color had come back. We were told that everything was alright and we would be able to leave, and there was a gate left open for us. But it was all a trick by the other Loki, and the greyness came right back before long.

[That, however, was before the war really began in earnest. Still, close enough.]

And during the first real battle we experienced, [she must mean the Travellers as a whole] ... things began to look very dire. One of the gods had to-- I don't know if you've heard anything about the situation with Freyr, but he... blew himself up. By the sound of things, if he hadn't, it's possible we might have lost the war right then.

... I didn't realize the context that Freyr did that in.

[It makes a little more sense now. He's heard about these things so many times that it's very different to hear about it this way. It's his fault for not looking into that further, in part because it didn't matter.]

Why did the other Loki do that? I thought he was on our side.

Yes.... It-- didn't seem to be done lightly. I was inside the city, away from the front lines, so I never really saw how bad it was out there firsthand, but... I'm a healer, and I was helping the others at the time with everyone that could be brought back to us for medical attention. It was... overwhelming, how many people needed us.

[Long enough in the past, perhaps, that it's not quite as easy to put it all together and much less pressing to try.]

You know, I'm not sure. The god who made the announcement explaining the situation wasn't very clear about it, other than to say that it was a cruel joke. But-- he is the god of tricksters. Or one of the Lokis is, anyway. It might really have been a prank and nothing more.

[Albeit an ill-considered one.]

[Harry falls silent as he considers that. His opinion on the gods has lowered from when he first got there. He has always understood the necessary evil aspect of things, but he doesn't agree with their way of fighting this war. Viewing the way that they're being used just makes him wonder why they aren't doing anything about it, and it's made him eager to try to take matters into his own hands.

He knows not all of them are the same. Freyr is willing to make sacrifices, and that's part of why Harry was quick to respect him. But the others? The others are different.]

Let's hope that there aren't any other pranks like that on the horizon. [It's spoken finally and decisively. He doesn't speak further on the matter with Freyr. It's a war, and they're, so to speak, extremely expendable given the magic that ensures they come back.]

[She lets him have his silence, taking a moment to consider, too, her hot chocolate - a little less hot, now. She takes a sip, then raises her eyes again. Uncertain though she is what's on his mind, he seems a bit preoccupied with it, and she's not about to disturb him. She will, however, study him a little as she waits.]

[Her own opinion on the gods is... rather lukewarm. In that, too, her patience plays a part. (She's had worse captors.)]

Yes, let's. [Her agreement is wholehearted, but calm.] It was an awful thing to do. [For a variety of reasons.] But at least he seems to have calmed down. There hasn't been anything like that from him since. [....] Now that I think about it, the gods as a whole seem to have become more... [She hesitates a moment, trying to find the right word.] ... serious about things. Not the ones who came to the city a little while ago, but-- the ones that have always been here.

Were they more playful before?

[Harry thinks about that for a moment, realizing that there's been a lot going on since he first arrived.]

And ... er, do you think it has anything to do with having Freyr's soul back?

Well... 'playful' might have been one word to describe it. [Just a bit loosely. It shows in her tone.] Let's just say that some of them were more... prone to troublemaking. There also used to be parties more often, I think.

[Busy times, to be sure.]

Mm-- I'm not sure if it's that, exactly. Everyone seemed very happy about that, especially the natives. If I had to guess, I'd say it was more that everything got serious, with the attacks becoming more dangerous. Everyone's had to buckle down. The gods, too, I suppose.

I suppose I wouldn't be able to understand that. I've been here since things have been very serious.

[Harry thinks back to Thor's behavior when he first asked to stay. He's not stupid enough to believe that his request was granted, but it was still a part of a lot of his original decisions. He's gone out of his way to ensure that he can fight, anyway.]

Actually ... it's been since that earthquake. Thor was stressed, but I—er, I don't know what happened, except that it led to the spy escaping.

Things have changed. I'm a little sorry you didn't get to see how it was before.

[Not that she'd want to make him be here any longer than he'd choose to, himself, but that's not really what she meant.]

Yes... that whole situation was hard on everyone. [She sits back a little in her seat, adjusting her hold on her mug.] We're the ones who decided what to do with the spy, after all, and then it turned out that way. The gods hadn't let us make very many decisions before that one. I think... it made everything more frightening, knowing that something like that could happen, and that it might happen again.

Because of what happened afterward. I don't think the gods can really blame us for that.

[Harry still feels better knowing that everyone decided not to kill the spy. That the gods had apparently not been very good at keeping him captured was one thing, but Harry also has begun to doubt whether the gods even cared that everyone was poisoned afterward.]

And ... knowing war, there is a very good chance it will happen again.

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