Lonely Sorcerer
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
~William Shakespeare: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Loki Laufeyson was used to being alone. In truth, he preferred to be so, unlike his adoptive brother, Thor Odinson, who seemed to thrive on attention. Cast out and exiled from his home of Asgard, the trickster god found himself staring over an open meadow and was surprised to discover that something felt off. Someone was watching him. Without turning around, Loki reached out with his senses, trying to feel if any sort of threat was posed; there was none. Satisfied with this discovery, he rotated on the spot and found himself face to face with a girl. She looked to be no more than 3 winters old. Her large brown eyes were stretched wide with apparent puzzlement.
"Fell from ifu." She stated matter-of-factly. The meaning of her words was lost on the trickster until she pointed at the streaks of clouds in the sky above. "Ifu." She repeated.
"Ah." Understanding dawned on Loki and he couldn't help but smile. He always did like children. They were blunt, smart, and much more observant than adults gave them credit for. "Technically, I flew through the ifu." He corrected while still grinning slightly. Shrugging, the toddler began weaving flowers from the meadow through her chestnut curls.
"Atla! Where are you?!" A woman's voice broke the companionable silence Loki had been enjoying with the girl. Jumping up, the girl in question (who Loki assumed was called Atla, based on her reaction to the name being called) glanced around as if trying to find a place to hide.
"Atla, I don't have time for hide and seek! I was supposed to be at the Oracle ages ago!" A woman burst into the clearing where Loki and Atla had been sitting just as Atla found a hiding place and scurried up a tree with a speed that left Loki impressed. "Who are you?" The words burst out of the woman's mouth and she quickly slapped a hand over her lips as if she could shove them back down her throat.
"I am Loki." He nodded politely. No matter where he was, no matter his true bloodlines, Frigga had raised him to be courteous to all.
Stormy grey eyes still narrowed in suspicion, the woman responded. "My name is Eira Larensdaughter. You are not a native of this planet. How did you come to Galifrea?"
"Ah. Is that the name of this world?" Loki observed his fingernails as he pondered how to respond. As he looked the woman in front of him over, he had to admit she was rather beautiful. Her tanned heart shaped face was framed by hair as black as night with navy blue streaks in it, and her pale pink lips were pursed, but despite this Loki could detect smile lines around her mouth. She was medium height, maybe a couple inches shorter than Loki himself and wore clothes that would have been scoffed at back on his home of Asgard. She wore grey body armor over a form fitting maroon shirt and black pants with grey boots. Looking down, Loki suddenly caught sight of a sword handle sticking out from its sheath that was around Eira's thin waist. Reacting on instinct he drew his scepter and Eira drew her sword, the blade glinting in the afternoon suns as she held it to his neck.
"Who are you?! And Where. Is. My. Sister?"