CLOSED.

[selfimage]

CHARACTERS: Wylan & Loki
DATE: Sometime after the hospital infiltration.
WARNINGS: All Woodhurst-related warnings. Will update if there's anything else.
SUMMARY: First meetings.


it's probably not safe anywhere

[ it's been chaos since Loki had returned.

it's the way Loki usually likes it. factors are always better when he's the one producing the chaos, but there's a comfort amid the urgency of ALASTAIR's mission. there's unfortunate pieces, those certain aspects of it that force him to act, but in a way, that's how he likes it. he was never one to find solace in mundanity, nor were those that accompanied him.

after speaking with Ahad, he's doing what he does best: snooping. as a student already registered at the university, he has free reign of the campus. his handy-dandy student ID makes sure no one asks him too many questions, and his boots help to get into the harder-to-reach places that are deliberately off limits to the student body. there are people absent with the sickness in full swing, leaving it more difficult not to look suspicious. antsy, Loki finally settles on the library, walking the aisles of books and pulling out random texts by their spines for divine inspection.

there aren't many people there, so whoever is there manages to catch his attention. so, he stares carelessly. ]

Comments

[wyvil]

[If one thing in Wylan's life had been different, he would've been a university student. He was certainly prepped from a young age to grow into that life. But he hadn't, do to a large personal failing or a small thing that he could easily overcome, depending on who you asked. He still manages to fit in easily on the university campus, blending in with the other students, almost to the point of invisibility. He's grateful for that.

Wylan is also no stranger to libraries even if they always make him slightly uncomfortable. He's trying to find books that might help Sonia and her quest for a cure, but he has no clue where to start his search, and he wanders the stacks seemingly aimlessly, barely even acknowledging the titles of the books written on their spine. Occasionally, he'll stop, pull out a book, flip to a random page, and put it back on the shelf with a small sigh of frustration. When he notices Loki watching him, his shoulders hunch slightly as he continues down the row of books, hoping he can escape back to near invisibility.]

[selfimage]

[ it's a little obvious, at least for someone like him.

to announce his presence, Loki slides into the table across from him with an easy lounge. he's all long limbs and a knowing little smile, leaning his elbow on the flat of the table and giving Wylan the once over.

then, he makes a little bit of an assumption. ]

Hello. You're new. [ he says behind laughing green eyes and a face that only looks good with the expression of scheming painted across it. ]

[wyvil]

[Wylan shifts under Loki's gaze and assumption, twisting the strap of the satchel that hangs off one shoulder. He takes in Loki's easy lounge, the scheming expression, they're familiar, though Loki isn't. They remind Wylan of his closest friends, but those friends brought a whole lot of trouble into his life. He honestly hopes this meeting will be less eventful.]

I... Yes? [After a month, he's not sure if he still qualifies as new, but he certainly feels that way.]

[selfimage]

Is that a question?

[ and now he's just poking a little fun at him.

perhaps it was the simple way that Loki was able to pick up on newbies, or how he could sniff out a mark. either way, he grabs one of the books that Wylan is looking at, uncaring about how it may look to him, and opens it to a random page to examine its contents. ]

[wyvil]

[Wylan doesn't exactly seem amused. He straightens when Loki opens the book to a page of familiar looking chemistry equations. His methodical search of the shelves has led him to the books he wants. If only he can get Loki to give him the book back and leave him in peace to find more. His just resists reaching out a hand to snatch the book back.]

That depends on what you consider new. I've been here a few weeks. [The "but I still feel new" goes unspoken, but it's very obvious that he's far from settled in to his new home.]

[selfimage]

[ Wylan's non-amusement only seems to fuel two things: 1) Loki seems to get more curious and 2) it only makes him all the more animated. Loki waves the book a bit more, watching Wylan watch him, as if he were waiting for him to pounce. ]

Then I should follow that up with a question: have you settled in?

[ he wonders if anyone ever settles in. ]

[wyvil]

[He doesn't pounce, but he does reach up in an attempt to grab the book back from Loki. It's an obvious reach and success is unlikely.]

Not at all. I feel like there's so much I have to learn...

[selfimage]

And much that you will. Is this your first multiversal jaunt?

[ Wylan succeeds in grabbing the book, but Loki keeps good hold of it. he holds onto it, black finger nails gripping the spine. he's stronger than he looks. ]

[wyvil]

[Wylan doesn't try to pull the book from Loki's grip, just keeps one hand on it, ready to take it back whenever he becomes distracted. Or Wylan could be the one distracted, his eyes widening at Loki's question.]

It's not your first?

[selfimage]

No.

[ there's a pause while he examines Wylan's expression, and then continues smoothly. nothing really seems to jar him. ]

I have traversed the mayflies that lay at the outer edge, little unformed ideas that are short lived and desperate to survive.

[wyvil]

[Wylan's grip on the book loosens, his arm dropping as he listens intently to Loki. He's no stranger to traveling himself, but this sounds... Different. Wylan can't help but feel like his own difficulty with adjusting to Woodhurst must seem ridiculous to Loki.]

Wow. How did those places compare to here?

[selfimage]

[ far different.

Loki makes adjustments where ever he is, and he's irritatingly good at it. blending and becoming part of the world that he's in, it's the perk of being a shapeshifter. ]

They're different, depending. Some are only half-formed ideas, fleeting, only alive for mere moments. Others are solid, as if they've been thoroughly thought through.

[wyvil]

[The book is almost forgotten as Loki continues. His arm drops as he tries to piece together what sort of place Loki's describing. He's definitely not out of questions yet.]

How many places like the first one are there? How did you find them?

[selfimage]

[ it's a good way to entice someone while gauging just what they're like. Loki lowers the book on to the table, tipping it back on the spine with a dark nailed finger. ]

Oh, I don't know. The multiverse doesn't work in the kind limitations that mortals can perceive. Think of it more in terms of probability, and less in terms of solid numbers. As for finding them, it's just knowing where to look, I suppose.

[wyvil]

[Wylan still keeps an eye on the book, planning on taking it when Loki tires of it, and he suspects he will. Someone who has seen so much can't be too excited by a fairly basic chemistry book, right?]

Is it something like one out of every hundred places you visit? One out of every thousand? Those are very different odds.

[Sorry Loki, he likes numbers.]

[selfimage]

[ he pauses and looks over his shoulder, giving Wylan a long suffering sigh. ]

The probabilities change with those ideas—the like ideas. It's about resonance. The universe likes patterns, things that are the same, much like having an old routine.

[wyvil]

[Sorry, Loki. Wylan seems determined to stay on this line of questioning, his book almost forgotten as he absorbs what Loki is telling him.]

The universe like patterns? I never thought of that.

[selfimage]

Who do you think are the ones to reinforce those patterns?

[ kind of. there's no way that Loki can explain it without making it a Thing, so he settles for something a little bit simpler. it's not really for Wylan's sake as much as it's for his own. ]

Concepts, ideas, form—there's a level of expectation.

[wyvil]

That's amazing... [Wylan trails off, lost in his own thoughts, thinking of all the patterns that must be out there. He'd always thought he'd never know enough about, well, anything, but the thought of the whole universe consisting of patterns gives him some hope that he'll be able to understand more.]

[selfimage]

And far moreso from here on out.

[ he says with a hint of a smile on his face. ]