"So, this is the man?"

The guards entered the Great Hall, their leather and armour clinking and shuffling to a halt, letting silence take the hall before the All Fathers voice boomed out over them.

"The Skraeling."

He sat in the golden throne, as the situation called for such formal procedures: the AEsirs prefer to be seen, from the very first meeting, at the highest of order, respected and powerful in every way. He was now robed in rich and expensive armour, made for presentation rather than battle, but was just the same in the matters of looking mighty, the makings of a feared ruler.

The man in question was surrounded by the remaining guard, looking just as dark and forbidding as ever, and perhaps, if the thought was allowed, amused. The word 'forbidding' is used for the simple fact that it was clear- from the tilt of his chin to the glitter in his eyes- that he planned to reveal nothing.

"Yes, All Father." Heimdallr responded stiffly. He moved to the front of the guard to face Odin, straightening to his height, grinding his teeth, obviously unhappy with whatever the situation bore. "This is then man who fell from the sky in a burning ship, the man I spoke of to you before."

"Yes, I realize that. And why, I ask, does he appear to be a prisoner rather than a guest? I expected more of you, Heimdallr." Odin spoke gruffly. He may have continued if Loki had not come striding into the room, stooping in a bow, right arm crossed his chest as he advanced towards the middle of the room, stopping in front of the cluster of soldiers. He was now dressed in his leather and emerald dress clothes and they floated around him elegantly, the leather flapping about his legs, gold extenuating his every feature.

"Father," he began "I heard of a foreigner in our lands. I hope I am not too late. I came as quickly as I could." His voice had rang out across the room with what the guards and Odin would have mistaken for concerned sincerity, but the moment it touched the Skrealing's ears he knew. Immediately he stood taller and a small smile painted his sly lips: this was Prince Loki, God of Mischief, and he did not come out of concern for his people and Asgard. No, he came for he was curious and he craved knowledge, for you can do incredible things with knowledge. Knowledge is… fun.

A burning need to talk to this AEsir grasped the man and suddenly he wanted Loki to know just who he was, to tell him, just him. But before the man could act on such desires, he reeled himself back in, composing himself for the interrogation to come, returning to his cold mask as Odin responded to Loki.

"Yes, my son. You heard correct. You are not too late; the man stands behind you." Odin spoke with the tone of a father, if not a bit annoyed. It was not in their manners to be interrupted as such, but they all knew that there was no stopping Loki, and though they would have normally punished such behaviour, they let it pass, far too gone in themselves to care for the AEsir.

Loki turned his head marginally and looked at the standing guard from the corner of his eyes, the green catching sight of the man, assessing him momentarily, interest piquing, before turning front again.

"And does this man have a name?" he asked.

Heimdallr rocked forwards to answer Loki's question, opening his mouth to say that this man refused to tell them anything before he had been brought to the All Father, but he did not have the chance. The deep, resonating voice of the foreigner came from behind Loki, causing him to turn around.

"My name is Khan Noonein Singh. I come from Midgard and I would appreciate it if your people would unhand me."

"So you do have a name, Skraeling?" Thor announced boldly as he strode into the hall, carrying the body of the deceased soldier. Khan twisted his head to look at the AEsir who just walked in and smirked as he caught sight of the man in his arms. Thor turned to the nearest guard, one of many that adorned the fiery hall and thrust the body at him.

"Take him to the infirmary." he demanded in hushed tones. "He is void of life, so prepare him for the services. Alert his family." The guard took the man in his arms and made his way out of the Hall, his feet making the only noise in the space until he passed through the doors.

"And why have we lost a man?" Odin asked harshly.

"This 'guest' took his life, Father. And I must admit, quite impressively." Thor admitted.

"Impressively… Do elaborate, dear brother." Loki cut in with a savage smile. He turned towards Thor, arms crossed in front of his chest, his emerald eyes flickering towards Khan.

"Oh, you'll like this, Loki." Thor started, a smile blossoming under his beard. "He managed to break out of two of our best men's grip, knock them unconscious with one single blow, and then proceeded to grab the dead man by the head and swing him around it, snapping it. It was rather incredible to see."

Loki raised an eyebrow, impressed just the same. He nodded as the All Father and Thor began to talk about his brother's account of the event and Loki rolled his eyes, letting their rambling drown into background noise to him. He turned around to face the front of the room again, wanting to leave and go back to his room, perhaps wait until he could have a moment to ask the man about himself at a later date while he was down in the prisons. He weighed the options, shifting his weight, emerald eyes looking at Khan every so often, lingering longer with every glance.

Khan never seemed to return the glances, standing straight and stock still. But this time, as his emerald gaze flickered back to the man, Khan was staring him down, his piercing eyes halting the room.

Though the room had, in reality, continued on, it had been quieted, the merry conversation between his brother and father was muted, the movements slowed, the guard stillness even more so. Loki could not bring himself to blink, captivated by the Skraeling, for if he had thought that this man was great from afar, it was nothing compared to how he was up close. He was perhaps four meters away from where the guard circled Khan and yet he felt as though he had been speared to the spot by his gaze, his eyes a burning mixture of green and blue and grey, ebony hair a tangled mess upon his head, leaking a fierce and deadly calm, set to strike at a moments notice.

Loki observed that this is how he was always; masking his on edge-ness, ready for anything. Ah, yes, this was a man he could admire, this was a man of brutal deconstruction.

Silently, he twisted his hands at his sides subtly, and for real, the room slowed, paused. This was a type of magic reserved for battles in an attempt to buy time, a magic he had little practice with, so he had perhaps half a minute before the room began again. Swiftly, he pushed past the guard and stood face to face with Khan, his fiery gaze still fixed to the spot where Loki had just been. He circled the frozen man, taking in every inch of him; the way he held his head, the angle of his chin, how he held his hands behind his back, the intensity of his eyes and the colours that were swirled in them, the bow of his lips.

Slowly, the room began to come back to motion, signalling Loki's return to his spot. Moments before the room resumed pace, Loki situated himself back in his spot, though perhaps in not the same position. But truthfully, who would notice? To Loki's dismay, as he looked up to the front of the golden Hall where Thor and Odin still talked, he could see the All Father narrow his eyes as he looked at his raven haired son, suspicious. Wonderful.

"Loki." The All Father called.

"Yes, Father?" Loki responded, calling on an air innocence and attention as he lifting his chin, widening his eyes.

"Do you have anything to say on the matter of this Skraeling?" he asked, examining the God of Mischief through narrowed eyes

Loki smiled and shifted his feet.

"I am intrigued. I must admit: Khan is a rather interesting mortal. Quite unlike the others." As he said this, he spared a glance at the man and noticed him tense.

"Oh, brother, do not go comparing him to the other mortals! He gave me quite the speech." Thor remarked, giving a throaty chuckle. "'I am nothing like those other 'midgardians you have happened upon.'' he said, mimicking Khan. 'I am different. Much like you, Mr. Odinson.' There is more, but it is quite the mouthful. He's got quite the way with words, I must say." Thor finished, a smile of arrogance on his face.

Loki wanted to get closer again, but knowing that Odin had noticed his last little indulgence, he knew that he was being watched.

So instead, he moved closer as though he were examining the foreigner, circling the guard- Khans head following- head tilted, lips pursed, as he looked at Khan, his face painted with assessment and masking his blatant curiosity.

"What did you do on Midgard, Khan?" he asked silkily, stopping at the front of the troop, looking Khan head on. His eyes snapped briefly to guards, signalling them to move. And so they did, abrupt and professional, shrinking back and creating an opening, a space between Loki and Khan. A small look of amusement swept over his face as he lifted his chin, considering the question. Obviously deciding the question was a safe one, he parted his lips to talk.

"I worked in the United Federation of Planets." He narrowed his eyes and looked about the room, an uneasy feeling in his gut when he realized he had considered telling the throne of his truth. "That is all."

Thor scoffed and walked up to where Loki stood, positioning himself beside his brother.

"I find that difficult to believe. You just fell out of the sky in a burning starship from who knows where, in ways I do not even believe I could fathom." At this Loki rolled his eyes, muttering slyly 'what a shock' and eliciting quite the glare from his brother. Thor continued with his eyes on Loki briefly before turning back. "I would say that has a much larger story to it then what you are trying to perceive to us."

"Perhaps that is true. But I do believe that I am a guest in need of your courtesy and aid and if I should find that I am not provided with such… Well I suppose that you may find I am capable of more than just a grand entrance."

Silence filled the hall for several beats before Odin exhaled in an irritated fashion.

"Take him to a chamber. Post a guard outside." He demanded to the soldiers before turning on the man in question. "You are welcome to join us for the feast later tonight if you so wish, Khan Noonien Singh."

Khan nodded coldly towards him as the guard turned, directing him through the doors. As they headed towards the elaborate archway, his eyes caught Loki's once more, winking at him cheekily before disappearing around the corner of the door.

And so it is here that Loki, never one for simpler emotions, found himself exquisitely intrigued with this bizarre man. But he knew as he swept down the corridor in a guard's helmeted form, that it was his fierce curiosity which led him to the foreigner's- or would you rather say prisoner's- door, sending away the post with a silent nod, and pausing outside the door, his shimmering magic faltering slightly as he took in an excited breath, hand on the door. Collecting himself he shoved it open and strode into the room, greeted by the back of a warrior and his voice, which was a breath away from being a dragons.

"I was hoping I would have to pleasure of truly meeting you soon." Khan said clearly, dangerously, as he turned around to face the mask of the intruder.

"Prince Loki." He spun the words into the air with a smirk.