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[favoriteanalyst]

Crystal, In Person, Mail, Gifts, etc.

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[favoriteanalyst]

No? [Not the way that he sees it. He's pretty sure plenty of others are. So, y'know, perspectives could be skewed.] I'd ask if you are, but I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that.

[icasm]

We might surprise one another.

Turn around; I'm taking you to lunch.

[ He'll find Loki standing there, crystal in one hand, the other raised in greeting. ]

[favoriteanalyst]

[He suppresses a sigh, just barely, when turning around. Mobius looks tired, but frankly, that's been a default for a while.]

Hi. That's a thing most people tend to say first. This mean you're overdoing it and realized you need a meal?

[icasm]

[ Loki makes a face - a sort of grimace, really - and weighs a hand back and forth like scales. ]

Seemed likely that if I'd suddenly realized my last meal was before the sun rose today, that dragging you out wouldn't be remiss. Hi.

[favoriteanalyst]

Andraste's tits. [grumblegrumble] At least you realized it at all. Fine, let's see what's getting cooked up in the courtyard.

Unless you were gonna treat me somewhere in the city.

[icasm]

Of course I am. [ Was that really a question? ] Because otherwise you would simply allow yourself to become distracted much too soon by my measure.

[ He offers Mobius his arm and inclines his head towards the docks. ]

[favoriteanalyst]

That doesn't seem a little gaudy to you? [Because it seems that way to him. Hrmph.] Guess the business still standing still could use some coin. Business hasn't come to a crashing halt.

[icasm]

Gaudy implies flaunting or a display of some kind, and that is not the sort of thing I have in mind for today.

[ Somewhere quiet. Neither popular with the incredibly rich nor a showy touristy sort of spot. Run by locals who could use the coin, just like everyone else. ]

Livelihoods to support, either way. Best if everyone is seen helping everyone else as best they can, instead of minding only their own.

[favoriteanalyst]

Is that what you think I'm doing, minding only my own?

[Maybe he's more tired than he thought, letting that snap out without a moment of hesitation.]

Okay. Lunch. On you. Wherever you see fit.

[icasm]

Not at all. [ Tiny, tiny eyebrow raise. ] Primarily I was making the argument that members of Riftwatch seen in the city spending coin or being amongst people in general probably wouldn't be a bad thing. It wasn't meant to be an indictment of any kind.

[ You gonna take his arm here, Mobius, or stride off and leave him hanging? ]

[favoriteanalyst]

...Sure. [He's skeptical of all of that. But resigned. Because it's Loki. For better or worse, it's Loki.] Fine. Sorry.

[icasm]

Nothing to apologize for. [ A man is allowed to be irritable or even irritated at Loki. Mobius, a man he cares for, is granted even more grace than that and Loki is determined to Not Take It Personally either way.

He's well aware that Mobius has plenty of reason to be stressed. ] But you're forgiven anyway.

[favoriteanalyst]

[He scrubs his face with a hand.] I'm not overdoing it, [insisting.] But it's appreciated. C'mon, or we might miss the boat.

[icasm]

Alright, alright.

[ Loki takes the arm he'd crooked for Mobius and, instead, slings it over the other man's shoulders. No escaping now, you've said you'll go Mobius and Loki will not let you back on this island until you look less...

Well. Haggard is the first word that comes to Loki's mind, honestly, but he doubts he looks much better on the well-rested end of things.

Either way. To the docks, to the ferry, to Kirkwall proper, and then Loki gest them a ride to a series of buildings in Hightown... several of them turned to rubble, but those that remain have their windows open. [

[favoriteanalyst]

[It isn't that all the affection between them has evaporated or anything. It's just been kind of difficult. Between everything happening, and Loki trying to slide back into place as though he'd been there all along, like neither of them changed when both of them very clearly have. Hard to know where he stands with the supposed god, or vice versa.

Though it's still very telling that the first moment Loki got, he went out west in search of Mobius, specifically.

The ride up into Hightown is winding, taking some backroads and side streets to avoid the worst of the damage. Strange to ride past it rather than be in the thick of it helping. Honestly, strange to be here at all. He hasn't done all too much visiting this way ever since Loki disappeared, and he tries to live frugally enough. But Loki likes a certain lifestyle, and Mobius will not comment on it (right now) (yet).]

[icasm]

[ The ride is quiet, and Loki is well aware that of the two of them Mobius appears more... somewhere between uncomfortable and out of place, despite the fact that he'd be considered the closer to a hometown man than Loki would by nearly anyone who'd bother having an opinion on it.

But there's nothing like where they're headed in Lowtown, as far as Loki knows, and so. Amongst the wealthier set they must go.

He watches Mobius, a little. Not so much as to be off-putting, he hopes. Smiles when Mobius makes eye contact.

They have to go around the building - something like a spa, or at least it used to be - to find the entrance and the proprietors, who are hosting and feeding construction workers and painters covered in debris from repairs, plus a variety of other non-wealthy service professionals... all lined up encircling a buffet-style set of tables loaded heavily with food.

This is where the people who work in Hightown but don't live in Hightown tend to go. ]

They take the leftovers to the clinics in Lowtown after the kitchen closes, [ He tells Mobius after they're seated, tucked away at a table with mismatched chairs, in the corner of a courtyard. ]

[favoriteanalyst]

Okay, I'll admit it. [With a spread of his hands.] It's not what I was expecting. [From Hightown, and from Loki, honestly.] It's nice. Kind.

How is the house, anyway? [He...has no idea if Loki's gone back there, actually.] Did it survive unscathed?

[icasm]

Glad to bring about a pleasant surprise, [ Loki says with a bit of a smile, dipping bread into sauce. ] Thought you'd appreciate the work ethic here.

[ At the question his eyebrows bob a little. ] Alexandrie's apartments. Unscathed, fortunately, at least from anything requiring major repair.

Her husband's estates, however... [ He shakes his head a little. ] Not so fortunate.

[favoriteanalyst]

[It would probably come off as extremely rude to suggest he doesn't give a flying fuck about her husband's estates. So he'll only think it very vehemently and stuff some food in his mouth. Which means the only truly viable thing to come out of his mouth is:] Oh? [Or a sound that otherwise vaguely denotes acknowledgement or even perhaps mild interest.]

[icasm]

It means a lot to her. He's been missing for some time. [ These two statements are more Loki thinking aloud than actively trying to start a conversation about it; subconsciously he is aware that Mobius made interested!noise and might not even know Alexandrie in the first place.

Wait. Does he know her? ]

Have you met Alexandrie, by chance?

[favoriteanalyst]

[Far be it for him to suggest it's impossible for those who go missing in wartime to come back alive and well. But he's stepped into a bit of this weird mudpit that's the Lokis and the wife-girlfriend before, so he should probably not open his mouth on the matter.]

Briefly.

[icasm]

Good.

[ And then Loki blinks and remembers that this particular topic of the triangle that is him and Alexandrie D'Asgard and Loki D'Asgard is all a bit weird for a lot of people from here, and probably hasn't stopped being a bit weird, even for Mobius.

There's a pause. It could be awkward, but Loki just kind of tilts his head at Mobius and smiles a little. ]

Tell me of what you're excited about, with the rebuilding.

[favoriteanalyst]

[He raises his head from his food, brow furrowed, eyes squinting in confusion.]

Excited about?

[icasm]

I know that it's a lot of work, [ And it's a good thing that he knows, seeing as how he's been there and helping via getting his hands dirty just like most of everyone else, ] especially with the nearly everyone sleeping outdoors bit, but...

[ He spreads his hands a little. ]

One of the few benefits of destruction is the opportunity to rebuild, repurpose, renew. Is there anything you're hoping will come of that, with the Gallows?

[favoriteanalyst]

[It's most certainly an interesting angle for Loki to take. Like most things he says or does, it surprises Mobius.]

Can't say I've thought about doing anything different. Maybe if anyone has suggestions.