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[ He thought it was an otherwise secluded little clearing in the gardens, but he's also easy to see once you come around the hedge. He's dropped his cloak under a little tree, and pushed his his sweater up to his elbows; his hands and arms are fully tattooed, more can be seen around his throat. He is dressed in all black and standing out against the winter snow, a black vulture looking creature stands out in the bare tree.

He's overheated from exertion, and what he's practicing becomes obvious enough when he snaps his fingers. His hair changes color to start white and the tattoos disappear off of his body. At his feet, a puddle of black liquid that wasn't there before begins to bubble. Something forms itself, a mass of black tar and rock and metal. The golem gets as big as a large human and then... stops.

V winces, breathing heavily with his head stooped. The golem lingers a moment longer and then lacking anything to do, melts back into nothingness and disappears. The vulture up in the tree speaks to the summoner: ]

You ready to take a break yet, or are you gonna keep doing it until you pass out?

( While the town centres offer the illusion of warmth—taverns, markets, the smell of hot food on the air—the outskirts are wretchedly cold, painted in swathes of grey and brown against a dirty horizon. Still, Loki has no real qualms with winter beyond the inconvenience of ice and snow, and today he's chosen to take himself for a little walk through the gardens to stretch his legs before heading home.

It isn't long before he happens across a curious sight: a man standing in the middle of a small clearing, being carefully watched by something that closely resembles a vulture. Closely resembles, because Loki has been around strange magics for long enough to know when something isn't entirely what it seems. He melts into invisibility behind an illusion in the hopes that he won't interrupt whatever's happening.

... Ah, and there it is. The man's tattoos vanish from his body, and—reform into a dark, heaving puddle? Something appears to be trying to crawl out of it, or perhaps even trying to form itself from the strange ichor, and Loki watches closely as it grows, and grows, before reaching what appears to be its limit. It's disappearance causes the vulture to speak up (suspicious confirmed), at which point Loki decides to step out from behind the illusion in a shimmer of emerald. )

Having trouble?

( Said mildly, as he pulls back the hood of his dark winter cloak. Loki stands nonchalantly at the edge of the clearing and lets his gaze flit from the man to the bird, then back to the man, who certainly seems a little worse for wear after expending his energy like that. He must be a beginner, an over-achiever, or a fool. )

Summoning rituals can take their toll. I'd listen to your friend, if you aren't yet strong enough to bear it.

( Loki gestures towards the vulture with a wave and an easy smile. )

( When Loki leaves his lesson with Rick it's with a singed sleeve, a broken phial, and a face as dark as thunder. The man is obviously a genius when it comes to potion-making but his slovenly habits lend themselves to chaos—and not the kind of chaos that Loki likes to encourage in others. Their session had ended when their work had gone up in flames, causing Loki to spit a tirade of insults at his tutor, who had drunkenly (and quite dismissively) shouted him out with claims that he'd be back.

The worst part is, he's right. Loki has already learned a great deal under his tutelage, and he likes that the man has no discernible morals when it comes to what he will and won't teach.

As such, he's in a foul mood when he throws himself back out onto the streets of Kyst, his hood pulled up and his cloak flapping behind him as he strides through the mud-trampled snow. He needs to head towards the market to purchase some supplies before he heads home; possibly not the best idea, considering he's as likely to snap as not at this point, but he's running out of tea leaves, wine, and bread, and needs all three for a satisfactory supper.

He's rounding a corner at a brisk pace when he walks straight into—ah, Dante, which has him staggering for a moment before managing to right himself. Immediately, he lifts a gloved finger to stop the other man before he opens his mouth: )

No—not a word. I'm in no mood to deal with you today, Dante.

[ V is a little startled, but when he looks up his expression mostly that of strain. The vulture comes down from the tree to land on V's shoulder. He looks much too large for the lanky summoner to comfortably support, except he doesn't actually weigh much of anything; made of magic and all. ]

Who's this joker?

[ It's a rhetorical question, if Griffon doesn't know then neither does V. ]

I was hoping, with a little effort, I might summon it as comfortably as I would in my own world. But it seems even blessings have their limitations.

Pity.

( He ignores the vulture and gestures to the spot where the golem had melted back into nothing. The summoning must've had something to do with the man's tattoos (perhaps they represent the spell?) and he's ... interested, to say the least. )

I'd quite liked to have seen the finished product.

( Loki can understand the man's frustrations: when he'd arrived a handful of weeks ago his own magic had been significantly depleted, and it's only recently that he's decided to stop taking it personally. There's nothing quite like attempting spellwork—or indeed, a ritual—and having it come to nothing. )

It's for protection, I take it?

( The attempted golem, the rude vulture ... it's unclear which one he means. )

[the raised finger causes dante to take a step back and put his hands up in front of himself, as if to say that whatever loki is trying to accuse him of, he is absolutely innocent of—he's practically an angel!]

What crawled up your ass this morning?

[obviously, it's almost like loki wanting to get dante to stop is just fuel for the devil hunter to just try and pick at the scabs of the other man's dwindling patience. dante just so happened to be walking around kyst after reaching a satisfactory meeting with his new information broker, happy to scout out this general area for his own personal knowledge of what is where and who does what. this plan, obviously, has taken a detour at his running into loki.]

[annoyingly, dante puts a hand forward and grabs at the top of loki's hood, tugging it back, mocking, really.]

Really building up on the dramatics, aren't ya.

Edited 2020-01-07 00:02 (UTC)

[ He swallows heavily, nodding his head. When the golem had dissolved, all the pigments had returned to V's hair and his arms. Obvious enough, isn't it. ]

As you can see [ hands spread in a deprecating gesture of self-mockery ] my strength leaves something to be desired. I have familiars that are able to fight on my behalf.

[ He shakes the bird off his shoulder, stooping to collect his fur-lined cape and pull it back on. ]

Even when I could summon Nightmare, it's a difficult entity to maintain. I can't tolerate it as a 'finished product' as it were.

Whatever, I can pick up that big fuck's slack.

Edited 2020-01-07 00:06 (UTC)

( It's unwise to touch Loki when he's got his back up like a pissed-off panther. His mouth twists angrily when Dante reaches for his hood and pulls it back off his head; in close quarters Loki is fast—centuries of training with his knives—and it's no effort at all to snap Dante's arm back and conjure a sleek dagger in a shimmer of emerald. Building up on the dramatics, is he? )

Oh, you have no idea.

( The blade barely has time to catch the light before it sinks in deep between the other man's ribs. Loki exhales shortly, his free hand fisting in the front of Dante's jacket to keep him held in place, and honestly? They're just lucky the street is quiet. Superior healing capabilities or no, stabbing someone in broad daylight is usually frowned upon. )

... Just leave.

( His words are venomous and cold. Loki twists the blade until he can feel the edge of it bite into the bone; only then does he pull it out, blood dripping from the tip of his dagger as he glares at Dante. May as well burn the rest of this bridge while he's at it, right? After all, this is what he does when he's in the middle of a mood swing: he takes it out on people who don't deserve it until he's completely alone again. As far as plans go, it's foolproof. )

Go on, you've already wasted more than enough of my time.

[dante feels like he should have expected loki to react in one way or another, but he didn't expect the sharp blade pushing into his skin and connecting to bone. for all that he can heal quickly, dante is still in many ways human. he lets out a wheeze of pain, looking down and seeing the blood pool into the hands that he's brought up towards it.]

[way to catch him off guard.]

[it's never without pain really, and when loki pulls the blade out it hurts even more. dante takes a few steps back to stare at the other in mild disbelief, the rupture within stings, but his demonic powers have already started stitching up the damage.]

—son of a bitch.

[with a heavy huff of air exhaled through his lips, dante but shrugs his shoulders and straightens his back, the wound already mended despite the blood and tear on his clothes.]

That make you feel better?

[there is no aggression from his part. one, two steps forward towards loki, arms spread out.]

You can take another stab at it if you want.

( It doesn't make Loki feel better. In truth it doesn't make him feel anything other than briefly superior in the moment, but it never lasts very long when it's the aftermath of a reflexive lash of anger. He'd fully expected Dante to either attack or dismiss him, not to take a few steps forwards once he'd recovered, and Loki lifts the dagger in warning to press the tip against the side of the other man's throat as he approaches. )

Don't tempt me.

( Eyes narrowing, Loki pushes the blade into his skin as though fully intending to sink it in again—

But then he relents, dismissing the dagger with another shimmer and lowering his arm. Now that he's had a moment to recover himself the urgency of his anger has ebbed somewhat; he feels irritable and exasperated, yes, but no longer to ready to stab Dante full of holes. He folds his arms across his chest as he looks him up and down, begrudgingly pleased to see that the devil in him as dealt with the damage already. )

... I did tell you that I wasn't in the mood.

( He raises an eyebrow. )

Why are you still here? I just stabbed you, Dante. Accelerated healing or no, I'd still take offence.

[his eyes are steady on loki when the blade pushes against his throat, and dante stills, waiting for the next move. annoyingly enough, dante's bravado keeps him in place and keeps his heart calm, wherein others would already be pleading for mercy or for reasoning from loki's behalf.]

[and then the blade is gone, and dante barely catches himself rolling his eyes before he settles his hands at his hips, chin tilted up.]

If I got offended every time someone put something through me, I'd be leading a very angry life.

[an easy shrug follows the statement, and then he points at the center of his forehead.]

One chick put two bullets in my head when we first met. [taptap] Closest thing to a friend I've got to this day.

[then there's the easy smile that dante always happens to conjure on his features.]

Someone has to keep you from hurting innocent bystanders. And, anyway, far as I see it, you owe me. [he points over at his... torn clothes. thanks.]

Edited 2020-01-07 01:50 (UTC)

( None of this is unfolding in the way it usually would. There's part of Loki that wants to object from the deviation against the norm: it's always much easier when he can count on people to reach with violence, when he can lean into his worst self, because it means he he can twist any potential introspection into spite and anger that he blame on everyone else. Dante, though, is oddly persistent, even when their previous encounters would suggest he couldn't give less of a shit about anything, and Loki just rolls his eyes as he explains that this sort of thing is a regular occurrence in his life.

Surprise, surprise. )

... Innocent bystanders are usually less resilient.

( He agrees dryly, aware that their tiff is now drawing the attention of nosey passer-bys. Thank goodness Dante's already healed, and that Loki had the foresight to get rid of the dagger. It'd be a little difficult to explain should anyone choose to stop and intervene. )

Although I hardly think I owe you anything. I warned you to keep out of my way—you're the one who chose to ignore me.

( His finger and thumb pinch the bridge of his nose as a frown wrinkles his brow. Shaking Dante off in the traditional sense obviously isn't going to work, which means he may as well resign himself to his company for a little while longer. )

I need wine, among other things. You can join me if you like, although I can't promise you won't end up with a dagger in your side again.

Edited 2020-01-07 12:01 (UTC)

( So, the thing is called Nightmare. A little on the nose for Loki's tastes, it's true, but then another sorcerer's familiars are only a real concern of his when they're attacking him. He watches the way the man moves as he stoops for his cloak and briefly wonders whether he's sick—but then if he was, why not tap into his magic to come up with some kind of cure?

Perhaps there's more to it than that. With magic, there often is. )

For your own sake, I hope the rest of them aren't as opinionated as this one.

( Loki raises an eyebrow at the bird, although there's an amused little smirk touching the corners of his lips already. Other sorcerers are always a source of interest to him, especially when their powers are so very different to his own, and it would be remiss of Loki to see this as anything other than a gift-wrapped opportunity. )

I am Loki, of Asgard.

( Who, among other things, has decided to brush up on his alchemical magic and potion-making. Perhaps he could come up with something that will provide the man with temporary relief from his weakness. )

Would you tell me about the nature of your ailment? There might be something I can do to help.

( The "for a price" should go without saying. Loki is pale, sharp, and dressed entirely in ground-skimming black; it's fairly obvious he isn't the type to offer assistance out of the goodness of his heart. )

I was created this way.

[ He doesn't normally say that quite so bluntly, but it wouldn't be incorrect to say he's in a little bit of a mood. ]

No potion is going to make me whole. [ Hhh. He adds belatedly, ] But thank you, Loki.

And who the hell are you calling 'opinionated' like that's a problem? I got my own fuckin' mind, and nobody can stop me!

[ The demon spreads its wings, giving a crackle of electricity. It's mostly for show though, he doesn't actually direct any of it at the man. ]

( There's a lot to consider in V's brief explanation. Perhaps he's a creature of magic himself if his "creation" includes a magical defect—but it's the idea of being made whole that sticks with Loki, if only because that's quite an unusual thing to say. He can't help but wonder what part of him might be missing. )

Perhaps not, but there might be something that can temporarily energise you so that you might have better luck with your summoning.

( His gaze flits to the bird a moment later. )

And as for you, I'm sure you're right. The unstoppable, electric vulture, opinions all his own. ( But he chuckles lightly, his intent clearly just to poke a little light fun. ) Do you have a name as well?

( If not Nightmare, then perhaps Darknesss? Vengeance? Kevin? )

[ He's not terribly unstoppable, Dante defeated him ages ago. ]

This is Griffon. You can call me V.

[ He never says that it's his name, only that it's what he's called and what he'll answer to. Technically he didn't have a name at all, one of the perks of not being born like a normal person. ]

I am interested in anything that might save my life.

[ Because he's not a stupid boy. ]

I save your life all the time!

You barely gave me a chance to get to the actually listening to you part!

[this is logical reasoning and dante won't have anyone tell him it isn't. besides, it's not like his intent was to go and find loki and keep him company; their paths just so happened to cross on this fine day, is all.]

[and so, with as much as an easy lopsided smile and a shrug of his shoulders, dante welcomes the idea of a little friendly walk for wine. it's on his way to nonchalantly scoping out the area, so it's not too out of his way.]

If this is a case for wine, then you've really fallen victim to having a shit day. For a moment I thought that stabbing me would have made you feel better.

Edited 2020-01-07 20:12 (UTC)

Wine to take home, not wine to have now.

( Loki clarifies, sliding Dante a withering look as they head towards the market. The fact that he's probably going to have a glass when he gets in is neither here nor there, because yes, he's absolutely fallen victim to having a shit day. Here's hoping he'll get some proper studying done when he gets in, just so that it needn't be considered a total write-off. )

And I suppose stabbing you did take the edge off, if nothing else.

( Didn't make him feel better, but it tamped down his anger into a more manageable form of irritation. )

Although if I really wanted to feel better I'd have gone back to get rid of my tutor. The man's worse than you, if you can imagine it.

( But would you look at that, there's the beginnings of an amused little smirk pulling at the corners of Loki's lips. Good job, Dante! )

[no real surprises there! dante has a way of making the grumpiest of people not mind his presence or just overall feel better. there's evidence in both lady and even vergil giving in at some point or another to the goofier devil hunter's presence.]

[it's a skill.]

[and so to the market they head, dante wiping at his hands on the black of his shirt.]

Sounds like competition to me. What, are you going to school now?

[???]

Then it's a pleasure to meet both of you.

( V. As far as names go he's heard better, but then he supposes that's none of his business. He looks at the man steadily as he ponders his words, before deciding to just rip the metaphorical bandage off and see what happens. )

Are you dying?

( He did say he's interested in anything that can save his life, after all, which suggests that it's in some kind of moderate danger. That he'd expend his energy on summoning if so suggests ... desperation? Denial? Loki can't be sure, but it must be important if he's willing to do it anyway. )

Please. I'm a little old for that.

( Said curtly, because there's no way that basement could be considered a formal establishment of education. He waves a hand dismissively. )

But I was offered the opportunity to expand my skills in potion-making and alchemy, which I've accepted.

( The fact that he's learning a lot is unfortunately overshadowed by Rick, his crackpot tutor. The letter had claimed he was "eccentric", which Loki now understands to be not so much a kindness as a flat-out lie. )

What are you doing in Kyst, anyway?

( Looking for pizza joints? )

[ Not anymore. The magic of this world is holding him together, but send him back where he came from and watch him crumble to pieces like a porcelain doll. V's smirk is bitter. ]

I am human. Aren't I dying a little bit every day?

[ But that wasn't the question. ]

I know my limits, and they require me to think ahead. Sooner or later I expect my mortality to be a problem in this war.

I'll say. [a deadpan look towards loki. potion-making and alchemy? sounds boring. but then again, dante has never had to rely on anything like "magic" to handle his business; inherently having his father's blood coursing through him do give him an edge of advantage that he tries to make the most out of.]

Well, if that's what you're into.

[and with a wave of his now slightly-less-bloodied hand, dante muses over the question a moment.]

You know, just having a look around, see if Kyst's any good for opening up a shop.

( The blood on Dante's hands catches his eye as he waves it, and Loki rolls his eyes before flitting a surge of green towards the sticky red mess. It disappears in an instant, followed by neat stitching that mends the slit in Dante's shirt, which he's only doing because he'd rather not be seen wandering around with a man who looks a mess.

There. Now he definitely doesn't own him anything. )

A shop?

( Loki raises an eyebrow. )

And what exactly is it you're planning on selling?

[dante sees this and he stops just to marvel at how clean and stitched up he looks right after the matter.]

Buddy!

[you make him feel like a new man, how nice of loki!]

[loki sure is full of questions, as always, but at this point it just feels like the norm. dante simply pushes thumb to his chest to make show that he means himself.]

I'm selling myself. What else?

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