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CHARACTERS: Miles Edgeworth (

jurisimpudent) and Loki Laufeyson (

falsehoods)
LOCATION: Media Library
WARNINGS: Loki is involved! Probably nothing will happen, though, will update if needed.
SUMMARY: A magical god speaks with a lawyer who thinks magic does not exist.
NOTES: N/A

Loki looked about with tired eyes as he walked into the library. Or "library". He had not ever seen a place quite like this...there were no books, no dusty corners or rows for him to curl up in. Disappointment dropped into his heart at this. He'd always felt comfortable around books. Growing up in Asgard he haunted the libraries. In many ways, they had become his place of safety. The books never mocked him or jeered at him or treated him with cruelty. They were quietly content to grant him their ancient wisdom while expecting nothing in return.

This library did not have that same feeling to it. It felt cold and sterile to him, and he was surprised at how much his breast ached for the Golden Halls once more. They were gone now. Asgard was rubble and existed nowhere other than in the memories of her people...if any of her people yet lived. Perhaps, for them, he'd truly brought about the change he'd desired.

...Loki had to get home. He could not continue like this. A trickster with no playground was no trickster at all. He had to return to the darkness of oblivion and, if he was lucky, someone would be able to guide him home. Home as an entirely new Loki. If not new, then he would remain in darkness.

He'd rather die than not change.

He'd rather be nothing.

His dark ruminations were interrupted when he felt a cold pain in his back from the knife wound. Willing it to heal was always an option but for now it was his first line of defense against the other Loki. He knew the landscape of his own heart well enough to know that no version of himself was to be trusted. There was nothing to gain from trying to form an alliance there. The heroes, though, with their bleeding hearts and blind optimism were far easier to manipulate. They could be the ones to defend him and help him find a way off this horrible metal box. He was willing to dance with them for as long as it benefited him to do so.

With that in mind, he turned his green eyes towards the door and waited for Edgeworth.

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Edgeworth waited a few minutes before departing his room, so that he would arrive at the library precisely at thirty minutes after his conversation with Loki. He usually preferred to be early; when one was early, after all, one had the advantage of the other feeling late, meaning one could press any vague feeling of remorse for the upper hand. When one arrived late, however, one appeared busier and more important, and that could be an advantage in its own way.

Especially against one such as Loki.

There was no question whatsoever as to which person in the library was the one whom he was meeting. The man's appearance and outfit were far from subtle. He entered and immediately approached him, without even searching, without considering, directly.

"Loki."

Loki turned towards Edgeworth with a slight limp. It was enough to show he'd been hurt-but not hurt badly. Never badly.

Who would believe a god could be incapacitated by a knife to the back?

His expression, however, was all smiles.

"Miles!"

He went into a sweeping bow, allowing himself to wince slightly. "Are you well? You seem nigh ready to croak!"

As he said this, he lifted a hand into the air, fingers raised in a simple cantrip. The room filled with the smell of ozone and heated metal as Loki focused on the spell, then released it in a burst at the lawyer, turning him into a frog.

Croak? Edgeworth wondered, frowning slightly in confusion. An odd turn of phrase -

And then suddenly something washed over him, and he was much, much smaller. And was seeing the world very differently.

But he could still feel anger. By God, he could feel anger. The very first thing he said - his facetious utterance, and the very first thing this idiot did - Even though Miles would have precisely no defense against being stepped on, his response was to hop furiously over to Loki, prepared to bite him. Or jump on him. Or somehow to get retribution.

Loki knelt down as the frog hopped angrily over to him.

"Be calm. 'Twas just a bit of fun."

He made a come-to-me gesture, removing the enchantment and allowing Edgeworth to return to normal, then backed up a step.

"I did keep my word. I promised not to turn you into a toad. There is a distinction."

And then he spread his hands.

"Please forgive the trick. You seemed very obstinate about not believing in magic and there is no teacher so great as experience."

Edgeworth staggered back, regaining his balance and adjusting to being human once more - and then nearly staggered once more from the sheer furious effort of not going over and striking this damned fool in the face at once. Somehow he managed. Somehow he kept hold of himself, though he clenched his fists and his jaw and went white about the lips.

"I will not forgive that," he snarled. "You've not - You will never again."

Loki folded his arms, giving Edgeworth a patient stare as he staggered and yelled and hollered like a buffoon.

"I'll not ever again what? ...Cast a spell on you?"

"Transform me by whatever mechanism you used," he responded, his glare venomous. He was not, however, so devoid of wits as to neglect to add, "Which was not, as a matter of course, magic."

"No, of course it was not."

Loki frowned a long-suffering frown and limped past Edgeworth to stand in the corner.

"'Twas my cosmic transmuter. I use the deviice to turn men into frogs."

Edited 2012-08-10 01:44 (UTC)

Edgeworth frowned - at him, and at his limp (affected, he decided, and most likely played up for sympathy), and at his entire manner.

"It is not my concern how you do it," he responded. "But the mere fact that you can do it does not make it magic, any more than my cell phone would be magic were I to go and show it to a caveman."

"A science you have no wot of," Loki lifted a hand to his chin thoughtfully.

"Maybe that is what magic is"

Another gesture and he lifted Edgeworth into the air and, slowly, gently, started to spin him.

"Either way, your disbelief does not prevent me from using it."

It was hard to suppress his instinctual grasp at the table to steady himself the moment he felt his feet leave the ground. But he did suppress it, and indeed cut a comparatively impressive figure as he crossed his arms and glared impassively.

"And did you ever hear me claim it did?"

He dipped a finger and settled Edgeworth down on top of the table.

"My point is that you now see some of what Loki can do. Call it magic, call it science, call it a side effect of life on this ship, I care not."

He lowered his hand from his chin.

"This is where my talents lie."

He kept the fact that he was incredibly strong, by human standards, to himself. For now, at least. It always paid to carry cards close to the chest.

And there, the facade of confidence dropped away for just a moment so that he could grip hard onto the table. He let out a long breath, then released his grip, satisfied that he was firmly down on the ground once more.

"Fine," he bit out. "You can make me float and turn me into a frog. Anything remotely useful?"

"Such rudeness."

Loki moved from where he stood.

"I offer my hand in aid and you but sneer at it. Who is your superior? I would speak with someone who has authority."

"I have no superior," he answered, lifting his head. He climbed off that table to stand on the ground, his feet planted, his expression defiant. Admittedly, that was because of the lack of social order rather than because of his own authority, but...No matter.

"If you wish to speak with someone, you speak with me."

Loki drew a breath and pulled his bloodstained cloak in closer to his body. Beneath the veil of black hair he stared at the floor, gathering his thoughts.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to not resort to old habits and kill this man.

"If I speak will I be heard?"

A meaningful glance.

"Or will you continue to patronize me?"

"I hear you already," Miles responded shortly. He crossed his arms for good measure. This self-righteous fool was so much like the other in his way - playing at tricks, playing at deceit, but prideful in fact. Convinced that argument was equivalent to disrespect.

"That you cannot deal with criticism is no fault of mine."

His lined face pulled into a scowl and he made a horizontal cutting gesture with the flat of his hand.

"You do not criticize. You believe in little and take your own ignorance for fact. You see no reason to believe in any truths beyond your own narrow sphere of experience. It is for this reason that I find you insufferable."

He curled his fingers around the fabric of his cloak.

"But I find myself in unfavorable circumstances and so am willing to cooperate with you. You, too, must cooperate with me, or this partnership will surely meet an unfortunate end."

"Partnership?" Edgeworth's brows lifted at that. Being turned into a frog was a shock; this was a surprise. He'd assumed this was nothing more than a grand fabrication so that Loki could amuse himself - but if he was genuinely willing...

"And tell me this." By his tone, he wasn't saying no; he was challenging. "Why would I cooperate with someone who's done what you just did? And who casually deems me insufferable?"

"I did what I did because I had intended to prove a point. It seems that my point has fallen on deaf ears."

He scowled slightly. Loki did not want to cooperate with this simpleton, but the people on this ship had him at a disadvantage. He had no idea where he was and no way to escape and return to familiar territory. Sure, he could kill everyone on board, but what then? What if he could not control this vessel? He could be left floating alone until the end of his infinite days. No...for now, at least, he'd have to play along.

"You will cooperate with me because it never hurts to have a god on your side," saying this he snapped his fingers and conjured a small ball of fire into his palm. With a wave of his free hand, the flame turned into a bird and fluttered out of the room.

The bird was a construct and would vanish before long, but Loki did not need to mention that. While he was a god of many talents, he could not create life.

Miles, though, just scowled. His eyes nevertheless followed that bird as it winged out of the room.

"I do not believe in gods," he answered, his gaze returning to Loki. "I will cooperate with you, Mr. Loki, when you demonstrate your good intent."

He crossed his arms.

"I do not care about power. I care about what you can do for the people on-board." And, irritably, he added, "Turning them into frogs doesn't strike me as helpful."

Loki crossed his arms back.

"You may not believe in gods but that does not change the fact that one stands before you. Your vessel has me at a disadvantage."

He gestured at the room, and the corridors beyond it.

"I know not where I am or wherefore I came to be here. So Loki offers his hand to those with more experience in these matters. I bear no ill will to you or you allies. I wish only to return whence I came."

And sleep...

He allowed his expression to soften, showing vulnerability to coax Edgeworth into trusting him.

"I will not give you a full display of my power. Such displays are often vulgar and I've no desire to throw my strength about like some mindless barbarian. I think, even if I were to show you, you would still not trust me. You seem determined to think ill of me. Surely being turned momentarily into a frog is not the worst thing that has happened to you."

Edited 2012-08-13 01:04 (UTC)

There was a brief, bitter frown at the worst thing that has happened to you, but he banished it nearly at once to glare resolutely at Loki. "And like I said, I give no regard to power. Prove your good intentions. Not your ability to transform others into frogs, not your capacity for producing fire: your willingness to help."

That soft expression was a step in the right direction, yes, but it also could be feigned. So Miles scowled at in in response, to see if it broke.

"Demonstrate your ability to help. Do not merely offer: produce a positive impact on the lives of the people on this ship. And then I will trust you."

Loki noticed the frown but did not comment on it.

"I have walked these halls for less than a day," he spoke softly and slowly, as if he were speaking to a child which, in his mind, he was.

"I come to you asking what I can do to help and you say you cannot answer me until I perform a helpful deed. Do you not see the fallacy here?"

He folded his arms.

"Perhaps I made an error in judgment and all is well. If that is the case I shall return to my chambers and meditate until this ship reaches her destination."

"I don't say I can't answer," Edgeworth bites out. "And you never asked what you could do to help. You said you could help, I asked how, you promised to demonstrate and then transformed me into an amphibian."

Edgeworth crossed his arms and drew himself up taller and scowled even more deeply.

"I'm beginning to suspect you're simply seeking to be difficult."

Loki turned away with a snarl. Of course he was being difficult, but he was the God of Mischief. Millenia of prophecy had cursed him to be this way. What was Edgeworth's excuse?

"And how strange it is that the Norse Lord of Mischief should have the gall to be difficult!"

He lifted a hand and hooked a finger tipped with a perfectly manicured black nail at Edgeworth. His voice came in a low rumble.

"I may be difficult but you, mortal, are obtuse! Your lust for argument blinds your senses. You are arguing with a sorcerer that magic does not exist! You answer questions with accusations! Is it a conversation you want? Or a debate?"

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