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[whose_son_am_i]

Settling in. Open to All

Living Quarters--room 042. Loki was...less than pleased by the items he'd been given, or that he had only a single room. It was better than the dormitories though, and he had made do with far less before. Still, the house robes...Red and Black, while nice, were not his colors.

His mind was already turning with the beginnings of plans. First priority was to learn the magic of this world. Apparently it was more effective than his own, and that annoyed him greatly. So learn this world's magic, get the lay of the land so to speak. Learn more about the major powers. Survive.

Find him in the common hall of the living Quarters, the Library checking books, or checking out Makerion Keep--since he is "House Ka". Feel free to mistake him for a different house with his green, gold, and black outfit however.

Personal Business--closed to Roisin Murphy

While settling in, Loki had not forgotten he'd agreed to help someone here. Roisin had managed to find most of the loopholes, while bargaining with him, and he was pleased. It was always more fun to work with clever people. Besides which, he truly did want to help her for now. Learning more about her unwilling passenger was necessary for his own purposes. Could the demon be friend or foe? How much of a threat was he?

The first step to doing all of this, would be learning more about how the demon was bound. Which meant taking a look at her tattoos. Sketching them, analyzing the way the magic wove through them--he could tell the general pattern, but not the details of the weaving yet. If the spells were 'clothes' she wore, he could tell the clothing was meant to protect and contain, like a coat-keeping body heat in. But the 'how' it kept the body heat in was what he was missing.

So he'll be looking for Rosh, while also learning his way around the campus.

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[whose_son_am_i]

His grin only grew as she answered him. "Oh I knew I liked you, Clever Baker." It was said almost affectionately. As for her other question... "I think you should ask, provided you have the time. Apparently they've accepted student-teachers before as well." Which had interested him, and had him pondering what he could offer to teach. It would help provide him more insight and an 'in' to the workings of the school, if nothing else.

"Although that does remind me. I would like to get sketches of your tattoos. You aren't in a dorm are you?"

[protectiveink]

Rosh shook her head at that. "Thank th' gods, no. Bad enough I got white robes. Gonna be hell to keep 'em clean."

But he had a point with the rest, and she nodded. "Not sure about student teachin', only 'cause I don't know all th' particulars of my specialty. I read a lot, and taught myself a lot, but helpin' someone else with it...that an' if I get frustrated, could be bad. An' they'd have to give me a lot of supplies an' a place tae teach. And it could get messy. Still, I'll consider it."

To get back to the point, though. "I'm in the livin' quarters. Room 665. It ain't lavish, but it's a bed an' a desk an' a chair I didn't have to buy myself."

[whose_son_am_i]

"It's something I plan to look into." There was mischief in his eyes and grin. The idea of him teaching was....interesting.

"I'm also in the living quarters. Room 042. It's far less than what I'm used to, but also more than I've had in other cases." If anything it vaguely reminded him of his cell in Asgard's dungeons. Just less....white. "I'm also not bothering with the robes. Red is not my color."

[protectiveink]

"Ye say it's not, but I'd call ye on that. I think ye'd look jus' fine in red--but now, yer preferences? Ye dinnae like red? That, I'll buy, fer certain sure."

She thought a moment. "Well, least it ain't a terrible walk ta get from one to th' other. Also, I'm thinkin' that maybe I shouldn't bother with robes, but...they din't bring me wardrobe here either, so either way I'm kinda down to two outfits." Sure, she could do laundry, and would, but that was a lot of work.

"So...what do ye need to do 'bout my tattoos anyway?"

[whose_son_am_i]

Her remark had him giving a slow blink, along with a little scoff-laughing. But he was flattered by the compliment all the same. "I suspect there will be occasions they will try to force me to wear my house robes. Maybe I'll let them succeed once or twice."

One of the perks of being a shapeshifter with magic was having whatever wardrobe he wanted. He would comment, but then she's back to the more important topic.

"Well, unless you'd like to spend copious amounts of time in my company in a state of undress while I study them, I need to make drawings of them." An eyebrow is raised as he speaks, and the smile is teasing.

[protectiveink]

Rosh almost facepalmed at that. "Anyone. Forcin' ye to do anything ye really dinnae wanna do. I don't see it. Snap yer fingers or some such, an ye go from lookin' like yer a Ka student to a Gekronus Maius one in a breath. Go on an' pull the other one while yer at it. Though if ye're gonna acquiesce, I'd wait fer winnin' the Colormarch. So ye c'n show all the others how 'tis done, aye?"

And then she snorted. "Gonna have tae do it at least once. An' what if ye don't get the details right th' first time? I may not be thrilled about it, but we're gonna do it right, no?" She might have her hackles raised just a bit because he is teasing, but Roisin also isn't about to back down now.

[whose_son_am_i]

"I should be insulted you assume I need to snap my fingers." Loki shot back gamely, crossing his arms. Not at all upset. Her snort simply made that eyebrow arch once more. "You bargained well, and my goal does align with yours. Mistakes in magic can be quite dire, so I do plan to do this right."

[protectiveink]

"It was jus' a thought. Like a magician sayin' 'Presto!'. Ye dinnae need it, but the very idea? 'Tis ingrained in my subconscious!"

At first, her tone was teasing, but Rosh went serious quickly. "Aye. Well, I tried ta bargain well. Results remain ta be seen, but if somethin' goes wrong, I'm layin' th' blame on the demon."

On one hand, she knew he wanted to be out, but he didn't give a single shit about how he got there. Nor did Haage particularly care about who got hurt along the way. "I mostly went about repeatin' things I knew worked. Didn't really want to wake up permanently stuck with Haage gallivantin' around as me, ye know?"

[whose_son_am_i]

"And what would be some tells, should he go gallivanting around as you?" Loki was quick to ask. Best to have the information ahead of time to be prepared for the worst.

"As I said before, I can read enough of the pattern to tell the purpose of the spell. The particular weavings and threads that go into stating its purpose, how it is done, and so on are lost. Hence, sketches. So that I can both study them and experiment if needed with those, rather than yourself."

[protectiveink]

"These days? 'E tries to take 'is own shape. Part bull, part man, with th' wings of a gryphon. At least when 'e gets shoved back in I go back ta bein' me." And she wasn't really aware when Haage took over. "Th' longer he's been in, th' less subtle he's gotten."

Rosh wasn't sure if it was just frustration--he was old, after all, but Haagenti wasn't used to being imprisoned. Oh, conjured and made demands of? That was par for the course, but he hadn't had any freedom for decade or so, and that had to gall. Probably why he kept up running commentary in the back of her head.

"Okay. That...sounds safe enough, at least. So when d'ye want to start? As soon as possible after classes? Or after orientin' ourselves on campus?"

[whose_son_am_i]

"I leave that to your preference, Rosh." Loki replied. "It may surprise some, but I plan to be quite the diligent student here, and adding studying your work on top of my own will not tax me."

A decade was at once a blink in the eye to beings as old as he and Haage. But being imprisoned....that had to gall. Especially for one of high rank as Haage supposedly was. Loki could well understand the demon's motivations to provoke, to test boundaries. To start looking for cracks in his prison.

[protectiveink]

She snorted at that. "Does nae surprise me that ye'd be an avid student. They've piqued yer curiosity, an' so tae me that's a given." And, adding with a huff, "I'm certain my...condition has, too, so."

Thinking for a moment, she shrugs. "I mean I'm sure ye'd like tae start as soon as possible, an' me too. If only tae get it over with. I haven't even seen a doctor fer anythin' in a decade. Disrobin' fer anyone's a little..."

Disconcerting? Embarrassing? Both? More than that? Yeah. All of the above, but Roisin only shrugs again. Even more embarrassing is the fact that Loki isn't exactly hard on the eyes, either...

[whose_son_am_i]

"Then it's a good thing it shall be private." His grin turned mischievous. "If it would help your comfort, I could disrobe too. You wouldn't be alone that way."

[protectiveink]

"Hell no! You ought ta be keepin' yer mind on yer drawin'...not...not anythin' else!" But he could probably see the blush creeping up her cheeks.

"I didna agree to you takin' yer clothes off. That ain't part of our agreement! No! No way!"

And then she clamped her mouth shut, well aware to continue to be a yelling, angry Irishwoman could only create a scene. One she didn't wamt.

[whose_son_am_i]

Loki was grinning at her response, and laughing softly. It turned into full-on-chuckling when Rosh clamped up. Give him a moment, okay?

"If it helps, I am teasing you Rosh." Hopefully it would soothe her ire some. He said it gently too. "You are the one who called me one of the original boundary pushers."

[protectiveink]

Rosh thought she knew he was, but...

"It's jus' hard dealin' with this shit. I mean. I ain't tryin' tae belittle anythin' ye went through." She knew he'd been through Stuff, whether he wanted to talk about it or not. Rosh wouldn't assume, but...some of the signs were there. That was all.

"But ye probably know. It ain't you. It's me. An' I know that's cheap, but I really dunno how else ta put it." Not that she was going to try to get out of it. It wasn't just anyone who offered to try to help, after all.

[whose_son_am_i]

"Relax, Rosh." Reaching out to poke her shoulder gently too. "I truly am just teasing. Especially in relationships of that nature, I refuse to let sentiment get involved. Besides, we have a bargain. To a degree, that does place you under my protection as well." Casual was his preference, and for all his teasing he truly wasn't looking at Rosh for anything intimate.

Nor was he actively looking for any kind of relationship either, beyond what they had already. That of his helping her with her problem of Haage. He was teasing because it was fun, and she had left herself open to it.

[protectiveink]

Rosh wasn't looking for anything like that. Mostly because of Haagenti himself. She had no objection to the idea of such, but having a demon as an unasked-for third party?

No. No. Just no.

She grumbled a bit, but Rosh did seem mollified as Loki poked her shoulder. "I oughtta get used to bein' knocked down like a set o' pins if I set myself up fer it. Just ain't used to being teased." Father Ildie had always been a bit more gentle. But hey, maybe that was because of his age. She hadn't thought of that. Sure, Loki was centuries older, but that wasn't old for a god.

Right?

[whose_son_am_i]

"You don't do it very often." Loki offered her, with a small smile. "I'll cooperate, and even behave, when I'm drawing. I'll need to concentrate anyways on getting the sigils as exactly copied as I can. And again, it's your discretion when we start, although the sooner I have sketches the sooner I can start my study."

[protectiveink]

Rosh shrugged, then. "Nae doin' anythin' now. I'll eat when I'm hungry. An' as yer drawin' I'll let ye know which ones were th' originals, an' which I had copies made of." Not that it wasn't fairly obvious, with the stylistic differences, but if Loki was going out of his way to help her, he ought to have as much of her help in turn as she could give him.

"Couldn't replicate the ink used, but I had 'em put holy water an' herbs an' some Easter palm ash in the newest ones. Figured I could use all the help I could get."

[whose_son_am_i]

"You can make notes in your own time, if that would help you remember, how and what you did and what was used. More information is useful." Loki paused for a moment, gave a slow blink, and then turned blue-green eyes on Rosh. "I...could add to your bindings, if you wanted."

Another If.

"Think about it. I won't until I understand more about what's been done already. But I could." Loki was confident he could. "For now though, I plan to be the most diligent student. And find out how much this teacher tolerates questions." Mischief was back in blue-green eyes and that hint of smirk. "After classes, come to my room. It's less of a walk for you I think."

[protectiveink]

"Aye, I'll do that." Come to his room, in any case. She might be a bit panicked when she does, but Loki had promised to help. Rosh just had to get over herself.

That was the hard part.

Still, there'd be a knock on his door a little while after classes were done for the day. And while Rosh looks a bit ill at ease, she's going to see all this through.

Though at least part of it will necessitate going to town and looking at apothecary shops. She can't guarantee anything that exists here will duplicate what she'd used in her tattoo ink, after all.

[whose_son_am_i]

Her knock was answered promptly, and Loki gestured her to enter with a little half-bow. Almost courtly. It was...a sparse room, probably not unlike her own. But clearly he'd done some redecorating--or at least some modifying of his own. Perhaps it was all just an illusion.

The bed was draped in soft golds and browns, but neatly made. It showed off the sheen of the wood nicely. Likewise, the desk and accompanying chair looked polished to a shine, with a sumptuous cushion in a flattering dark green. The 'lamp' had most definitely been 'magicked' differently. Now it was a golden pillar with an open bowl of flame flickering in it. The wardrobe was darker wood than the other furniture, but likewise glowed warmly. Books were already stacked in small piles, along with sheaves of paper and quills.

Last, on the bed itself was a 3' long dark green snake. Coiled as if in naptime, it raised its head and regarded the newcomer with dark eyes. Tongue flickering out twice to scent the air.

Likewise, Loki himself looked more casual. Gone was the lightly-armored leather overcoat, in favor of a greenish-black high-necked tunic and black trousers with his boots. "Take the chair for now."

[protectiveink]

"What, ye goin' tae interview me for a job or somethin'?" Rosh quipped, but the silly banter was more to make herself at ease. The snake didn't bother her--indeed, before she went to take the proffered chair, she moved over to the side of the bed, inclined her head to the serpent, and offered it a hand so it could get a better measure of her, if it were so inclined.

"Gimme a mo', makin' the acquaintance of yer familiar. I left EnEx ta roam, 'e's probably happier doin' that. Even if I might have ta fish him from a canal before I get back tae my room."

Not that she hadn't taken in Loki's quarters with wide eyes. Fancy. It was super fancy, and she was now glad that she hadn't brought him down to her own rooms. Rosh wouldn't be much more than ashamed.

[whose_son_am_i]

"Not for a job no, although I do have questions I'd like you to answer." Loki let his hands join behind his back, standing at a casual, almost at-ease, stance as he tilted his head and watched her. "What kind of familiar do you have?"

Einar slithered slightly closer, tongue flicking at the offered hand. Dark reptilian eyes looked to hold her gaze, before the snake drew back and up. But not in a striking motion. Instead Einar inclined his head lower, almost in imitation of a bow, as best he could.

"That's Einar. We are....getting used to one another." Loki informed, while Einar turned just enough, to flick his tongue out at the demigod.