Princely Knowledge and Camaraderie

[littlerubyred]

Ruby wasn't sure whether or not it was hotel policy to give out the room numbers of their guests, but she was friendly enough with the clerk on the desk at her time of asking, and finding out where she could find Loki the most quickly and easily hadn't been too terribly hard. She wasn't sure whether or not she would be welcomed by Loki when she knocked on his door, as while he'd been unfailingly kind and gentlemanly to her when they'd interacted elsewhere in the hotel, that was a good deal different than being taken by surprise in his room. Still, she was hopeful.

She'd thought long and hard about who to approach with the two problems that were currently dominating her attention, and while she was friendly with many people in the Nexus, the idea of approaching them with things that were both private and frightening was a little unnerving. She'd almost spilled her guts to Fiona the night before after finishing up a shift, but had bit her tongue at the last moment for some unknown reason. She'd ultimately decided to go to Loki as she had to figure that being as otherworldly as he was, he might have a more substantial wealth of knowledge concerning the disturbing dreams she'd been having. And, being someone who presumably had a penis, he might have a little more insight on what the hell was going on with Graham as well.

She knocked on his door twice, both loud enough to be heard within, and waited. When the door swung open, she smiled brightly. "Hey handsome," she said. "Can I bother you for a minute?"

Comments

[littlerubyred]

"And you give wonderful hugs," Ruby said as she worked at wiping away the lip print she'd left behind. Much like her, his skin was so pale that almost every color stood out stark against it. It was often a problem she had when she smeared her own lipstick doing something or other, and while every tube of red lipstick she owned claimed it wouldn't kiss off, she hadn't found a single one that wouldn't yet.

At his words about the lip print improving his countenance, she laughed and dropped her hand to his shoulder for a gentle squeeze. "Remember that conversation we once had about girls getting jealous over me telling you how handsome you are? Imagine those same girls seeing me walk out of your room with red lipstick smeared all around. " She gave a dramatic shudder. "I would, however, be willing to risk their wrath if you'd like to go with me for lunch. I know you don't like to eat much, but I could buy you a few drinks while I eat. All friendly like, of course."

[thelostprince]

"Despite anything I say that may sound self-effacing, I assure you, you needn't keep complimenting me so zealously," he said. He put his hand on top of hers where it lay against his shoulder, but only for a moment. He felt that for the time being they'd indulged in enough contact.

"I'd be happy to go for lunch," he said. He might have considered changing back into something a bit more armoured, but he would only have done so had he made the long decision to leave his room of his own volition. Spur of the moment invitations didn't garner quite that much consideration.

[littlerubyred]

"I'm not complimenting you," she said, then amended, "well, at least not that last time. That was just a fact, young Loki-son. Tall guys with nice arms usually give super fabulous hugs, so I guess that's just your lot in life." She grinned at him and dropped her hands to slide them into the back pockets of her bright red shorts, feeling much better about things now that she'd at least spoken of them to someone else. She wasn't sure how much had been cleared up, exactly, but it was at least a bit more proper footing to continue on.

"Fabulous!" She said when he agreed to go with her for lunch. "Now that I've talked your ear off about my boring shit, you can tell me what's been up with you lately. If you'd like to, of course." Loki was private and tended to only speak of specific things if she asked specific questions, but he did have the sort of voice and thought processes that made listening to him fascinating.

[thelostprince]

"Well, if you say I'm good at it, I will trust your judgment," Loki replied. She was so boisterous, even after coming to him with her troubles. Was she just not someone to soak in her own emotions, or was this something indicative of her species? (And, after she had spoken to him of being a wolf, he had to wonder now what, exactly, her species was).

Still, it suggested a strength he liked. Loki did not like to be around fragile things, for a variety of reasons, simply because he could not figure out which reason was the real one. Did he not trust himself around them, or did they remind him of himself? Both? Neither? "We can talk about whatever you like," he said, with an idle smile, holding his arm out so that he may escort her, in that friendly, courtly way he had never been able to pull off with anyone back home. And he liked that about her, too.