thisavrou_log | I Already Know You're Dangerous

I Already Know You're Dangerous

Who: Clara & Loki
When: After Daisy's network post calling Loki dangerous.
Where: Planetside at one of the restaurants on the beach.
What: Basically they're meeting up after Clara's offer to go to dinner.
Warnings: None yet, will update as needed.

[ As promised Loki actually showed up early. It isn't so much he is eager to see her, Valhalla no, he just has time to kill enjoying the spoils of unlimited credits and nursing wounds from attacks prior. Clara's company presented itself as less of a headache than what had transpired on the MIDs. He hadn't taken her intent to be involved in his plans seriously in the slightest, but light conversation may very well soothe his "sulking and petulant" ego from pursuing Daisy any further--then again their conversation had the possibility of making his antics worse.

As far as Loki was concerned, Daisy's fate was sealed so long as he could get his hands on enough information regarding what took place in New York. He didn't doubt she had exaggerated on his mounted war effort but who's to say.

He bothered to dress fairly nice for warm weather. His aim wasn't to impress Clara, but rather he was enjoying the spoils of what he could buy on this planet's shopping district. Normal clothes were a lot more comfortable than his armor, what with his bruised and cracked ribs, so in that he could tolerate mortal clothing.

The less pressure and weight he put on his wounds the better. ]

So where, exactly, is this seaside diner that's caught your eye?

[ As of yet he hasn't seen her, but short teleportation will make it easy to find her now that he knows her aura well enough from dancing. ]

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[ Will she? He selfishly hopes so if she can manage better than she looks now; radiant and a vision much like Wanda showcasing her dresses she bought in the shopping district. He can't really decide who looks better. ]

I'll keep that in mind.

[ And there she goes leading him like the audacious person he has learned she is. Should he let a woman have so much control? He hasn't decided just yet. He's inclined to trust her judgement if only from Frigga's display of independent nature. ]

What makes you think I haven't been here the whole time? [ Sure, the MIDs reached this far but he hasn't been on the ship since they docked. Loki wasn't one to pass up the opportunity to spoil himself silly, especially after what he saw of Odin from his last memory before appearing here. Shopping and playing at being the casual tourist was cathartic in its own way. He had no intent to staying cooped up on the Moira if he didn't have to. ]

I've had my fair share of indulgence and you should do the same.

[ He did book the biggest room available underneath the ocean. Why not? They said he could. ]

What makes you think I haven't been?

[Chuckling, she glances down at one of her new dresses. She's done so much shopping that it really should be considered a crime if she does any more, and has really gone all out on indulging in all the experiences the area has to offer.]

I'm staying at the hotel with the underwater rooms. Which is a good thing, since your accuser is one of my roommates and I'm not sure we'd get on well after my response to her.

[Carefully, she glances up at him out of the corner of her eye. It's a bit difficult to do with the way they're hurrying along, which causes her to stumble and have to grip hold of him tighter in order to keep from toppling over. After that, she slows down, but doesn't give up the lead.]

Have you actually run into her in person yet?

[ An escapading time traveller spending their time on this planet? He couldn't imagine. He thought it might be too much of a cakewalk to her, but from the sounds of it they're in the same hotel though he doesn't let her know as much. ]

I've heard it's a lovely view. [ As for Daisy. . .] Oh, have you gone and defended my honor?

[ He doubts it, but why not toy with Clara? ]

I have. [ He grimaces, but chuckles when she stumbles. Do try to keep pace with your own enthusiasm, Clara. ]

I can't say I want the pleasure of meeting her again. [ Which is a lie. He wants to provoke her and on camera at that. Let the microcosm of the Moira see just how dangerous Daisy really is. He doesn't care what happens afterward with all this talk of his supposed slights. ]

You may find her too impulsive and equally dangerous for your tastes. [ Or so he hopes. Daisy can fend for herself with all her supposed allies. He can keep Clara and Wanda, can't he? ]

She has quite the seismic personality, as it were.

Don't worry, I haven't attempted to defend your honor. You can do that all on your own.

[Her cheeks are still a little red because she's embarrassed by her stumbling, but she's grateful he didn't do anything more than chuckle when she tripped over her own feet. She's not generally a clumsy person, so any little slip up makes her feel ridiculous.

Luckily, his dangling hints about Daisy makes her focus in on that, to the point she's digging in her heels so they both stop walking and she can lean in and whisper,]

I've already seen her admit she has a special power she can use to keep you in line if she wants to.

[Yes, she's been looking in on conversations. She's incredibly nosy like that.]

Trying to turn me against her is pointless. Just the same as her trying to turn me against you is. I can form my own opinions about people based on what I've seen them do here.

So she thinks.

[ Her stopping catches his attention but not in a bad way. Clara is. . .confusing. Not because she chooses to make her own assessments of the world but. . .well maybe that is the case. Loki hasn't decided if he understands why anyone might bother. It's easier to be a sleep lead to slaughter in terms of opinion and he's found most people would rather accept what someone else decides to spout than actually think for themselves. ]

And what makes you think you'll see anything different than what she mentioned?

[She doesn't say anything at first, but gives him a long look that says she sees plenty of different things about him over what was mentioned over the MID. Unsure if he'll even get what that look means, she tries explaining.]

I see more to you than what was mentioned. Why wouldn't she be any different?

[She's most definitely someone who comes to conclusions for herself, and is too stubborn to do any different. It makes her more impossible than most other people, but she likes to think that's just part of her charm. For some people, anyway.]

Why else do you think I'd ask you to dinner?

[Smirking, she turns on her heel and keeps walking, keeping her hand on his. ]

[ She is quite impossible; impossibly impulsive, reckless, and curious. Her look only provokes and equal look of accusation from him. Who knows where her interests lie. For all Loki knows Clara just likes spinning fairytale scenarios in her own mind where people aren't as she expects, or is told, they will be. ]

You're an impossible woman who doesn't take no for an answer.

[ Close enough. ]

Why else would you ask a supposed war criminal to dinner?

[ If only he knew about the Doctor.

Maybe Clara doesn't realize it, or she does considering how bold she acts, but her irreverence and attitude keep him in good spirits. She might remind him of the good things in the universe. Unpredictable anomalies that are fun when provoked or produce different results than the standard, boring normality of what one comes to learn from an impossibly long life. ]

Is it my treat or yours on unlimited credits? [ Like it matters, but in principle it does if his smirk means anything with her taking the lead yet again. ]

We're splitting the cost. [She easily retorts, not looking up at him so he can't easily see the smile on her face.] I told you that you'd know when it was a date.

[There's a light chuckle that comes out a little flat, because he's just gone and called her an impossible woman. It reminds her so much of the Doctor that her heart aches, and her energy seems to deplete a little as she thinks of it.]

The man I travel with, my best friend, he calls me his impossible girl. Thank you for noticing I'm a woman.

[She turns it into a joke and she smiles a little, giving his hand a squeeze.]

That same man also happens to be a war criminal on his own planet as well as countless others, so I don't think you being a war criminal in only two places is all that impressive of an issue.

Excuse me for trying to be a gentleman.

[ It doesn't have to be a date for him to pay with their equally unlimited credits. What's treating a person worming their way into his life despite his abrasive nature? ]

Woman or girl, I fail to find a difference in strength of personality.

[ Even if she seems deflated by his response what he says he believes wholeheartedly. But that comes with having women who don't take anything they don't want to regardless of age in his life. ]

I'll tell you when I'm trying to impress you. [ Though it's comforting to know he won't have to dance around preconceived convictions. ] I'm sorry you've been yanked away from him. I do know what it's like to lose a friend.

[ If his ever growing hatred of Thor is anything to go by. This may be one of the only times she ever hears him apologize for anything. Enjoy it while you can, Clara. ]

You're trying to impress me.

[She counters with a laugh and a grin that's most definitely flirtatious, trying to make light of the fact he's apologized over the loss of the Doctor. She doesn't like feeling vulnerable in front of others, and if they continue talking about that particular subject she's going to feel very much so.]

And you can be a gentleman because I wouldn't mind this being a date. Assuming you were interested and wanted to impress me.

[The grin becomes a little more knowing, because if he mentioned a strength of personality then he clearly sees her as someone strong and capable. Which goes a long way in impressing her (leave it to an egomaniac like her to be impressed by someone being impressed by her personality).

They're not too far off from their location at this point, and she reserves any other teasing for when they're actually seated. She doesn't want to provoke him and make him leave before they ever get there.]

[ She had no idea what it looks like when Loki actually wants to impress someone yet here she is accusing him of as much. How cute. His actions more so testing her boundaries and if she falls into the same endless list of mindless individuals who can't form their own opinion.

So far, she has proven she doesn't fit the bill. In that he doesn't mind inflating her ego more than he ought to. But perhaps pride seeks pride in that regard. He doesn't appreciate people who can't hold their own, or at the very least, appear to do so. ]

Then why not enjoy yourself?

[ Once they're seated in the restaurant he seems to relax in the chair, a little more in his element without her stringing him along by way of their hands, and capable of detaching from the situation when he thinks his motives can't be easily picked apart. ]

Are you going to tell me why you choose dinner of all things to draw me out after a minor hiccup on the ship's communication network?

[ Because honestly. Did she think he couldn't handle himself even if he unnecessarily provoked quite a few people just for the sake of having a bit of fun? They're so easily worked into a tizzy over trivial matters. To him, war is normal. Honor is earned through that same effort, as is potentially dying for one's own realm if that were the case. It's a concept burned into every Asgardian. Violence is just the way of the universe and not necessarily looked down upon as Midgardians often like to think. ]

[Sitting up with perfect posture across from him, Clara folds her arms against the end of the table and smiles over at him. She thinks he's foolish for not realizing, for thinking this is entirely about the announcement about him over the network.]

It seemed like a good opportunity to get to know you better. And I couldn't very well ask you to dance again, could I?

[Her eyes make contact with his, and she holds it for a few moments, only glancing away once a waiter arrives at the table to bring them some water. She orders a bottle of red wine for the both of them, before paying full attention to Loki once again.]

So this is me, enjoying myself. And also telling you that I know you can fend for yourself, but I wish you wouldn't put yourself in a corner so shortly after arriving. We're not going to be on this planet forever, and the ship has such limited space.

[She's worried about what he's going to wind up doing, and what will happen to him in the process, but can't bring herself to come out and actually say that. He'd laugh at her or be insulted, and then his amusement would make her angry and it wouldn't end well at all.]

You should be focusing on enjoying yourself, not picking a fight with a human girl.

[ What else could it be? Foolishness isn't what guides his assumption, rather, he believes she has other interests to indulge in other than sitting at a dinner table with him. In that he is both egotistical and filled with a self-hatred he can't control. ]

You could. I don't see why I'd refuse.

[ Technically he didn't put himself in that corner. He was fully enjoying being able to have random pleasant encounters in order to forget his conversation with Odin and then reality came crashing back down. Daisy was just a buzz kill waiting to happen after a myriad of purchases, extravagance, and Loki spoiling himself silly. He just refuses to let it show too much that he doesn't have the same escapist step in his walk when he did just as he arrived to enjoy a temporary paradise. ]

So taking a human girl on a not-date is better? [ And oh is his tone sardonic. ] How I spend my time is no concern of yours even if you aim is to get to know me better. [ Which will be hard on her part. At one glance he shows the shades of a killer everyone accused him of being and at another point he's completely amicable enough to take to dinner. Clara underestimates just how compartmentalized someone's personality can be after thousands of years to construct several facades for different occasions. ]

And I deplore you choice of words, Clara. She posted her warning and I only retaliated.

[He's got her there, on her choice of words, and her nostrils flare as she clamps her jaw shut. She wants to protest her word choice was just fine, but knows she'd be lying. So she doesn't protest what he says and instead gives him an apologetic glance.]

Remember what I said about my mouth going solo?

[Luckily, the waiter arrives just then with the bottle of wine and two glasses, and Clara's quiet until they've been poured and are left alone once again.]

My friend, the one I mentioned before? He's well over a thousand. Possibly double or triple that, even. I'm so used to being a carer for someone like him that I forget not everyone needs someone like me in their life.

[She thinks that Loki does need someone to keep an eye on him though, but she's smart enough not to say that out loud. Instead, she takes a sip of wine.]

[ Oh dear, has he made her angry? Good. She deserves it for misconstructing the situation. However he seems to just eat up her apologetic glance, equally quiet as the waiter pops back up with their wine.

It's debatable whether he does need someone like her. Frigga tempered his rage as long as she could, as best she could, by keeping his mind busy and offering her own approval of his achievements. Frigga probably never anticipated that wouldn't be enough in his eyes. She was wrong, of course. He cared for her more than she thought and equally bends to people who have traits just the same as her own. ]

I don't need anyone. [ It's an empty phrase he spouts, one full of self-righteousness. Rather, he doesn't trust anyone to understand how deep his scars run. He also doesn't trust them to take those scars seriously. ] But I do enjoy company from time to time. Should I be looking after you what with you having a space available?

[She's quiet for a few moments as she looks him over, trying to figure him out a little more. She can't tell if he's toying with her or being honest. In the end, she decides that it doesn't really matter. He reminded her too much of the Doctor at his darkest, when he needed her the most. He was fortunate that she wasn't likely to give in easily, not when she already had set her mind to being around him.]

I don't think I'd complain, if you chose to look after me.

[Slowly, a smile tugs up at the corners of her mouth.]

I've been known to get into trouble from time to time.

[Or incredibly often, if her recent experience is anything to go by.]

[ Only in her moment of silence does he choose to indulge in the wine poured. It's better than what Asgard has to offer, at least in terms of taste, but not in terms of the buzz wine could give a person. Such is having a biological system that could withstand even the deadliest poison. ]

I might consider it.

[ In fact he already is, but not in the way of looking after her. Clara is her own puzzle to solve. Either a stupid woman too romanced by a man or someone who could actually understand his way of thinking. ]

Oh don't let your too, too sullied flesh melt, Ms. Clara of Blackwood.

[ If she gets the reference maybe he'll believe she is well learned. ]

Trouble and you don't mix. [ Sarcastic as always. ] I think you just like to think you can solve problems.

[She laughs a little, nose wrinkling up as she fixes him with a look]

Are you trying to say I've got a Hamlet complex? Don't worry, I won't give any soliloquies about wishing I was dead.

[Only teasing, she laughs once more, this time louder and brighter. When others glance over at their table, she puts a hand over her mouth, muffling the sound.]

Shakespeare, though. [Picking up her wine glass, she raises it to him. Because she's an English major that's attempting to become an English literature teacher, and can't ever get enough references to wonderful written works.]

And for your information, I don't just like to think I can solve problems. I know I can solve them. It's just that sometimes I happen to get in over my head and near death experiences tend to find me.

[Shrug.]

[ Do think outside the box. She is implying she gets into trouble, and therefore is sullied no matter where he steals the line from. Maybe he takes some personal pleasure in her confining her thinking to simplicity rather than what the line really means. ]

You should meet him. [ As she is a time traveller and all. He just got to live through Shakespeare's time and may have taken on an illusion or five to see the original plays in production sneaking between realms. ]

Wishing for death is very different from wishing for the adrenaline that brings us all near such an occurrence.

[ As for her ability to solve: ]

Some situations are unsolvable. [ And doesn't he know it for all the cleverness between the two of them. He sips again from his glass but casts his gaze down toward the menu. ] Arrogance just makes the two of us think we can still cheat fate, don't you think?

And what's to say we can't? Or that the thrill of near death experiences is a bad thing?

[It's a good thing one of them is looking at the menu, as the waiter is standing there and awkwardly waiting to take their order. Neither of them have noticed with their paying so close attention to one another. He clears his throat, and Clara glances up at him. Her cheeks turn red and she glances down at her menu as well, quickly ordering something without paying it much attention at all.

After Loki's ordered as well, the exasperated waiter leaves.]

I know that I look young, and everyone thinks I'm sweet and simple little Clara. But I'm not sweet or little on the inside, and I'm definitely not as simple as my pretty face makes everyone who turns their head think I am. Anyone who underestimates me deserves whatever comes to them.

[She looks innocent and sweet, she knows, and for the most part she is a good person. She tries to do the right thing, as long as it suits keeping the Doctor alive. But she's someone who's so often influenced by her own ego and need for a thrill that there's a darker side to her, one that will do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. She'd betray the Doctor himself if it came down to it, if there was something she wanted badly enough. The fact that it feels like Loki is mocking her and placing her into the category of someone who's a foolish pretty girl is infuriating.]

If only we could. [ And the drawl in his voice is intoxicatingly lustful over the idea. Cheating fate would be appropriate for him, but as he's learned he won't. ] I never implied it was bad, just that it's different.

[ 'Sweet' and 'simple' aren't the adjectives he would use. But honestly isn't she foolish? Assuming that every aged being might have even the slightest thing in common, or that age weathers people the same is a fool's errand. The Doctor chose to save the universe and various other species within it.

Loki, if he ever sees his later days, will choose the opposite.

The waiter's discomfort doesn't bother him in the slightest and if the man has to wait for Loki to choose after clearing his throat it's on purpose. As if a prince will ever be told to rush. ]

There you go throwing me into the same category as everyone else when you demand I distinguish you from them. [ Tsk, tsk and he even wags a finger at her before reaching for his glass again. ] Let me tell you something, sweet and simple little Clara, [ And he smirks. ] I don't underestimate you. I think you're too young, and too bold, and too brash to understand life seldom deviates no matter how much force is applied to make it go the way we want.

[ Another honest statement shielded by his own smarmy expression. ]

Believing you can change fate is one thing. Knowing it's impossible is something else.

Edited 2016-06-08 02:04 (UTC)

[Thinking he was attempting to provoke her on purpose, she looked him over with a sulking glare. It drove her mad, not knowing if he was just toying with her or was pushing her for some sort of purpose, and the tension it created frustrated her as it made her attracted to him when she currently wanted to slap him.

So she sits silent, allowing her frustration to course through her, until she's left with a strong desire to turn this conversation around on him.]

You sound like you want to be disappointed by what happens so you can feel vindicated. The future isn't written in stone. There is no such thing as fate. You have to take control over things yourself, and make them bend to your will.

[And there it is, right there, Clara's ultimate goal in life. To have control over everything, or at least as much as possible. Having control puts her at ease, like she was when they met dancing. Losing control, like she has in this conversation, makes her feel on edge and snappy. She's a control freak, but at least she doesn't bother denying it.]

[ If she's feeling frustrated, she finally managed to provoke a reaction he didn't mean to give her. ]

Shouldn't I feel vindicated? [ He sounds disgusted. ] Past, present, or future I've never had any control over what happens regardless of how much I try.

[ He sat back in his chair, lowering his voice. ]

And you are ever so innocent if you think knowing my future is what has me disappointed. [ Now he's lying. He knows it as soon as he says it. Daisy just cemented that nothing went well after his conversation with Odin. Somehow, some way, he went from living in the shade of Thor's greatness to completely homicidal. Shouldn't that scare any normal person? Worst of all, even if he still can't fathom how earth fits in, he can already guess what thought process pushed him that far.

It honestly scares him he might be right and this talk of everyone on the Moira being concerned with getting back to their owns worlds? Well, Daisy ever so publically made him crave for the exact opposite.

But rather than be scared, why not prove them right? That's his control. Because he has the choice to let it happen and it somehow feels liberating--and yet altogether crushing--the expectations he has to live up to are set very low already. He can just toy with people as he pleases and it'll never be outside the jurisdiction of what he'll supposedly become. ]

Edited 2016-06-08 07:43 (UTC)

I don't think that I am. I think that you're bothered because someone is holding you accountable for something that happens in the future. Something that can still be changed.

[She doesn't want to argue with him, doesn't want to be cross. And since she feels like she's dangerously close to becoming cross, she downs the rest of her glass of wine and pours herself another. Instead of drinking it, she stares at the red liquid inside as she moves her glass so that it sloshes around in a circle.]

I want it to change, for your sake.

[It's said quietly, thoughtfully. And then she glances up at him, studying his face. Like he's a puzzle she's trying to solve.]

Enough of that. It doesn't matter what happens back in some version of Earth, what matters is what happens here. How much longer do you think we'll be stationed on this planet?

[ He was half tempted to reach over to take the glass from her hand but one glass isn't going to kill her. Deciding whether or not things can change really isn't on his mind when it's already happened for others. The idea behind it all is enough to give him a headache.

His expression could be considered neutral, but she may be able to pick up on the touch of jadedness there in his eyes. None of what's happening is what he needed after being ripped from his own world and thrown into another. ]

Probably an entire month, if not longer given what I've found on the MIDs. [ Actually, a lot of what his other self and Wanda spoke about made more sense given the system the Moira chose to dock in. Violent offenses are. . .frequent. Well, frequent enough that the Captains are worried.

He dropped his gaze from hers in favor of the wine. All the pleasures in the world and he can't find it in himself to relax anymore. How very fitting. ]

But I only caught mention of two deaths. I wager there were more since we all have unlimited credits. [ Talking business comes across as a little mechanical on his part, but it's easier than arguing with her over something they'll never agree on. ]

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