By the lake

[reindeer_games]

Loki has mostly been keeping to the area around the lake since his escape from that damnable cage. The few times he has ventured back indoors have been met with conflict and anger, so it is much safer to remain outside.

Not only safer for himself, but for his children in the lake. It will still be some time before they hatch and become able to defend themselves, so for now, Loki keeps watch out for any who may wish to do them harm. He saw no predators that might do so within the lake, but it is not those within the lake he fears. The father of his children is more than capable of frightening off any curious fish that may wander too close for comfort.

Loki has made many enemies in his time, and there are few he would trust not to harm his children. It is those for which Loki keeps a vigilant eye, prepared to do what it takes to keep them away from what is his.

Comments

[areyoumyjolly]

"That big fellow is fun!" Tamara says; she regards the squid as something like a big old tame lion.

"Yes, that'll work. Of course he will. I'll tell him slowly that I mean no harm to his squiddies. He doesn't know many mermaids yet."

[reindeer_games]

"That could be very easily remedied," Loki says simply.

[areyoumyjolly]

"He knows me," Tamara says, looking at him askance -- what does he mean?

Should she bring in more of her sisters? Would he help her with that?

[reindeer_games]

Loki tires of this crouch he's in, and sits down on the damp ground instead. He cares not what should happen to his coat or trousers. They are merely an illusion and will only become messed if he desires them to do so.

"Are you the only one of your kind in this lake?" he asks.

[areyoumyjolly]

"The only one who comes here," she says. "The lake connects to my home, Whitecap Bay, and there's a lot of my sisters living there too, and our spawn in the kelp gardens there. But I'm the only one who comes here. The surface people threatened me in case I should catch and eat one of them, but if they come down and threaten the squiddie eggs, it's their own fault. Isn't it?"

Beat.

"I could of course get some spawn and raise them here and then there's more of us, and the surface people are going to shut up."

[reindeer_games]

"I have designs after this place," Loki says. "When it is mine, you and your sisters shall never need worry of the surface people again."

He did say she would be rewarded for her duty to his children.

[areyoumyjolly]

She leans on a stone near the shore, and smiles up at him winsomely. "Finally, somebody here after my own heart!"

[reindeer_games]

"I have been wronged by these people as well," says Loki. "They would place me in a cage and destroy my children if they should have their way."

[areyoumyjolly]

"Destroy your children?" She shakes her head.

"What kind of total barbarian would do that?"

[reindeer_games]

"The sort of barbarians that rule this world and place innocent people in cages."

He's pretty sure he's got her on his side for good, now.

[areyoumyjolly]

"Why did they place you in a cage?" she asks.

"They sometimes steal mermaids, back home, and carry them away in barrels, never to be seen again."

[reindeer_games]

"Because I tried to show them how wrong they are about so many things," Loki says. "But I escaped, and now they search for me and would destroy my children if they found them. My children are innocent in this, but these people care not for these things. The sins of the father are the sins of the son to these people."

And he sounds like he believes every last word of it.

[areyoumyjolly]

"They will not get at them!" Tamara declares. "Perhaps I ought to bring a few of my sisters after all if they try. And if they can't come through, at least some spawn so there will be mermaids later."

She does believe him -- she has finally found somebody who is on her side!

[reindeer_games]

"You asked me earlier if I could take on fins and scales," Loki says.

It's a question he answers by stepping up onto a large, nearby rock and letting himself fall into the water. When he resurfaces, he is wearing nothing at all, and has taken on an overall (albeit, male) appearance to match Tamara's.

[areyoumyjolly]

"You can!" she says, laughing with delight. "And very handsomely so!"

She swims back into the deeper water, and beckons at him...

[reindeer_games]

He laughs right along with her and dives into the depths after her. This form is one that is not familiar to him, being half man and half fish, and it takes him a few minutes to truly learn how to make it work. But once he does, he's able to keep up with her with ease.

[areyoumyjolly]

And she is so not seriously trying to escape.-