I've got my gym shorts and my flippy floppies

[bornagoddess]

It was a beautiful day. A beautiful, outdoors-worthy kind of day. And it was completely due to the fact that Sif was once again a woman. She hadn't gone to find one of her new female friends for clothes yet, or gone back home to get her own gear, and so Sif was sporting the same diminutive training garb Natasha had lent her weeks ago. However, this time she had paired the clothes with some peculiar shoewear, platforms that held onto the feet by a simple strap between your big toe and the rest - the lady at the shop had called them 'flip flops'. Egged on by her so casual attire, Sif had gone outside instead of heading for the training room, to walk the grounds and catch some sunlight.

With this wonderful day it was even fitting that her clothes exposed some of her midriff and calves. Her hair was flowing uncharacteristically lose behind her back and Sif more glided than walked through the grass. Really it was all relief. While she had enjoyed herself as a man Sif had began to wonder if she would never go back to who she really was, who she felt like. Even despite the embarrassment of having had her pants drop in front of strangers, and her top cover very little of her breasts, Sif had not felt so good in weeks. And, apparently, it was a feeling meant to last.

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[thelostprince]

She was very politely trying to tell him that there was madness ahead, and he looked at her for a moment, because while he had been made aware of that, through Thor, he hadn't truly considered it. But to have a second voice add to that meant it was something he had to take into account. Of course, maybe everyone was mistaken; genius, after all, could often be mistaken for insanity. But genius and insanity could often exist along and feed of of one another, as well.

"Well, I'm glad you're not about to pander to my male vanity and give me a long and exhaustive account of how you will wait for me here, pining away in the halls," he said, teasingly. "As for your questioning, maybe that's the point of the hotel. It forces one to consider life and all that comes with it. Perhaps that is why it revealed itself to you when it did."

While they were no longer touching, really, they were still close; they had canted themselves towards one another during their discourse, and he noticed now that he was close enough to smell what had to be a mixture of her skin, whatever she washed her hair with, and just the faintest tint of sweat. Her eyelashes were not just dark and smudged, as they appeared at a respectful distance, but an artful array of lashes. He was reminded, suddenly, of something she had said, which he had ignored at the moment in favour of everything else.

"Do you really think I have a pretty face?" he asked, teasingly, with a sly grin.

[bornagoddess]

The mere exercise of imagining herself in tears, disheveled and pining through the halls of the hotel brought Sif close to actual tears - of laughter, mind you. The nerves were to blame by such an effusive reaction, to be sure, but all the same the giggling took a while to subside. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Sif shook her head. "Somehow I doubt you would find that pleasant. I like to think your fondness for me, however little, is somewhat attached to who I truly am." And who she truly was, was the opposite of someone who pined. Why even now it was easy to pine for Thor, whom she had seen only hours before, witnessing upclose how his mind was thoroughly wrapped up in Jane Foster and his love for her. And it was easy to pine for Loki when he left to meet a destiny Sif could only fear however little she knew of it. "You mean it has a reason for pulling us here when it does? That is less scientific than Jemma Simmons - or indeed Jane Foster - will like, I'd wager."

Their closeness had not gone unnoticed by Sif, and it was why her head was turned slightly to the side, eyes never quite hitting anywhere on Loki's face once the more intense bit of their conversation had ended and she had caught herself. She did not remember having been this close to him in all their lives, this able to see every little detail of his face. Sif noticed how much younger it looked now than the last time she had seen him, despite so little time passing. It was remarkable how there was so much more light as well. And upon realizing this, Sif found herself observing Loki in earnest despite her face being turned away. His question broke what spell she felt herself under, and, mouth coming open in something of a disbelieving grin, Sif snickered.

"Thank the Allfather your priorities are still intact, Loki, else you would have asked that sooner." She finally turned her face fully to him, locking eyes with his. Her grin had gone from disbelief to a slyness only slightly less accomplished than his. "Why do you care what I think of your face?"

[thelostprince]

"Perhaps," Loki allowed. He had met Simmons only once, and Foster, well. He tried to keep his interaction with her low, though he sometimes failed at that. She irritated him in more than a few ways.

He could only imagine how Midgardian scientists might view his opinion on the matter, but they were so solidly based in their own visions he didn't think they could grasp the almost sensitive nature of the universe, the way it could move and react to those who occupied it. Relics had personalities, and focused magic could behave, reacting to thousands upon thousands of external stimuli. Could their destinies be something so chilling as a weave of particles, triggering a chain of reactions that ended with a wormhole? An interesting prospect.

"Why," he said, girlishly, placing his hand against his cheek in a coy maidenly way, as if he could not bear her admiring scrutiny. "Because you have such good taste, Lady Sif."

[bornagoddess]

Despite Sif's curiosity on the nature of this place, and unsatisfied as it went still, she was not going to be the one losing time and sleep over it simply because she had no real skill to do so and come up with anything concrete from the effort. She knew little of science and magic, even less in practical terms, and her meddling in it sounded like an exercise in frustration. On that she deferred to the scientists from all realms - and the sorcerers too.

Watching Loki's whole performance caused Sif to widen her eyes, a distinct look of disbelief upon them as well as her open mouth. Very soon the corners of her lips were curving up of their own volition and Sif had closed her eyes, shaking her head. "If you blush I shall advise you to take up farce as your career and be done with it." She said, a palm coming to lay against her forehead. She looked at Loki again, still amused, and rolled her eyes before replying, "I told you you're quite appealing if one likes that sort of thing."

[thelostprince]

"I don't think I have enough blood to muster up a blush," Loki said, starting to grin as well. "More's the pity." Despite that suggestion, though, it was already understood by many that farce was Loki's main occupation. It was understandable, but certainly not entirely true. Loki could be trustworthy; it was just harder to see when he was.

"You have told me that, yes, but the term 'pretty face' certainly wasn't in use by then," he pointed out. "I don't think it's ever been in use before you pulled it up. Unless Ruby said it to me once, very fast; that's her type of terminology." He tipped his head to the side, eyebrows raised. "Perhaps she's rubbing off on you."

[bornagoddess]

"I am sure if you were truly committed you could make yourself blush with magic." Sif grumbled in jest. She wasn't sure of any of that, in truth, but it seemed like the kind of thing magic could take care of.

Here they now were dissecting the terms in which certain expressions had been used by her, and while Loki spoke Sif rolled her eyes and set her jaw, but her heart wasn't truly in it. She chuckled in dismissal of his suggestion. "Oh I doubt it. Perhaps it was said to make a point in a situation of exasperation on my part." She said, wide eyed as though it had been the obvious meaning behind it. With an amused smile Sif leaned in closer, voice purposefully becoming huskier. "Or perhaps you do have a pretty face after all, and I can no longer hide that I think so."

[thelostprince]

"I guess I'm not committed, then," Loki replied, smirking. Truly, he didn't think Sif would take much after Ruby at all - then again, she might. Away from the austerity of Asgard, he thought Sif might benefit from that, and not just because Ruby was a woman and Loki knew very well Sif didn't have many of those as friends. Loki himself had benefitted, he felt, from many of his interactions in the hotel. Possibly for worse - there was no way in knowing just yet - but hopefully for the better. Sif seemed more inclined to speak with him, at any rate.

When her voice dropped in tone a few levels, he gave her a look, his mouth twitching in a smile. It was a nice sound, of course, but he wasn't entirely certain Sif ought to go around speaking like that. It would probably get her the wrong sort of attention. "Ah, now you're being cruel," he said. "A trait I never thought to associate with you."

[bornagoddess]

It was one thing to cherish somebody's company, which Sif did Ruby's, and another to be influenced by their behaviour. Not only was Sif not easily influenced, but she had not spent enough time with Ruby to adopt her mannerisms, of speech or otherwise. It was true, however, that she had bbeen in dire need of female friendships when she had arrived here, and both Ruby and Natasha had proven precious in that regard. Perhaps her generally pleasant disposition nowadays was something they had helped achieve.

Loki's look was exactly the reaction Sif had been looking for, and she was pleased to see it on his face. She was not sure whether he was being serious or not, but she hoped so, since she considered herself many things but cruel was not one of them. Without changing her tone other than giving it an ever so slight hint of amusement, Sif's eyes widened. "How, pray tell, am I being cruel?"

[thelostprince]

When she kept going with it, Loki had to admit he found it entertaining, though he shook his head. "You know how some animals have sharper hearing than us, and may take note of a particular sound that drives them to distraction?" he asked, his grin wide and teasing. "Your voice like that is a torment for men. Perhaps I'm wrong, and you've spent too much time around Lorelei, not Ruby."

Though naturally, if there was someone Sif was unlike, it was Lorelei. Loki couldn't say he was particularly fond of her, himself. If he was feeling cruel, though - which he was not - he would have suggested Sif had tried those talents out on Thor awhile back, and she might have gotten somewhere. But she wouldn't take it well. Actually, she might punch him. "Perhaps you spoke like that accidentally around Fandral, when first you met," he suggested, instead. "But that would be thinking too highly of him."

[bornagoddess]

Sif had to admit - but wouldn't - that she was not following this comparison to animals, and wondered if he was comparing himself to an animal with sharper hearing or herself to a particularly distracting sound. Amusement washed over her face at the comparison nonetheless, and she was about to say something when Loki equated her own little jest to Lorelei's personal brand of manipulative sorcery. Sif's face fell into a deep frown then. She had never forgotten how Lorelei had taken her love away from her, even if it had been centuries ago, and it was a wound threatening to reopen now that she had fought the sorceress not so long ago. "You know that is not something I like to toy with. I am not manipulating you or making you lose your mind, I was merely joking."

Attempting to put the thoughts of Lorelei behind her, Sif tried for a smile at the mention of Fandral's misguided advances. "I do not recall how we met, but I remember well the first time he attempted his baser tricks on my person. I think he was purposefully egged on by one of you." She said, giving him a pointed look. "I had been minding my own business at the time, he was inebriated, and he attempted to speak suggestively in my ear while wrapping an arm tightly around my waist. I ended up headbutting him. And my voice had nothing to do with any of it."

[thelostprince]

The smile he was giving her softened a bit, when he sensed he had struck a nerve. He was well aware that normally he would not care, especially with their other friends present; with just her, though, he knew he had to make sure he didn't land too strong of a sting. "I know," he said. "I was joking as well. You are most unlike her. I think I have more in common with her than you do."

"If I egged him on, it was only because I wanted to see him fail," he said, regarding Fandral. The memory made him laugh; at least he had never had the foolishness to bother Sif in such a way. Though maybe that was because, after awhile, Sif had ceased to be just any woman he found lovely to look at, and had become someone much more focused than that. Which was a shame; his hesitance was likely what kept the distance between them going for so long. "It was a dream come true, and a most impressive headbutt."

[bornagoddess]

Sif had not been expecting anything alike admittance of bad taste on Loki's part, so it was a pleasant surprise when it did come. While at the moment, as he was now, Sif couldn't quite see where Loki was similar to Lorelei other than the obvious sorcery, she thought back - or forward? - to the sceptre he had wielded and pointed at men's hearts to make them do his bidding. It was eerily similar, then, to Lorelei's own power; only he needed a weapon as vessel where she did not. The notion only contributed to upsetting Sif further, and she looked away while inhaling sharply. "I suppose you do."

Seeing Loki laugh at long gone times forced a smile into Sif's face, albeit a tight one. "What if he hadn't, then? What if I had succumbed to his advances like many do?" She asked, amused by the scenario. It wasn't that Fandral was not a pleasant sort to look at, it was that him and his admirers did a great job to never, ever let you forget it. And while Sif appreciated straightforwardness she did not like things to be shoved down her throat at every chance. Nevermind the fact that she viewed the Three as her equals and had worked very hard to have them view her as such, and so she had never entertained any such thoughts about any of them. They were her comrades, brothers in arms. When you spent so much time with someone as they did with each other certain charms tended to get lost forever. "I know. I left his nose bleeding and he would not speak to me for a week on account of the shame and for ruining his doublet. I told him if he had stopped when I first stated he should none of that would have happened."

[thelostprince]

Loki was a far different creature from Lorelei - that he knew of, anyway. Sif's agreement made him wonder if this was another one of those instances where she was referring to something in the future that he didn't know about, or if she was simply thinking of the penchant for sorcery they both shared. He didn't know and he did not care to press for details. He was done with that part of their conversation, unless she wanted to tell him something specific to warn him away. And he didn't think she would.

"What do you mean, what if he hadn't?" Loki asked. "Some battles are lost before they are ever fought, and it is a fool's journey to start them. In no way would you have fallen for his advances, and I had an inkling of that then, and knowledge of that now. So I don't see the point in entertaining some impossible fantasy situation where you suddenly transform from Lady Sif into someone else entirely." He tipped his head to the side, expression teasing. "If he didn't know how to get blood out of his more expensive clothes before then, he certainly does now. I don't think he had the courage to give it to a washerwoman."

[bornagoddess]

It had been simply an amusing supposition, a fantasy scenario with no basis on reality, but as Sif was about to remark on that Loki kept going and she found herself stumped for words as he went on. He seemed staggeringly sure of Sif as a person, who she was and how she responded to certain things. She did not know whether that was heartwarming or disconcerting. Having Loki, of all people, know her remarkably well could have its dangers. Not to mention, his adamant refusal to entertain the possibility was odd at best. "Well." She finally managed, eyebrows raised as she fought the urge to smile more softly than usual. "You seem very certain and unwavering about who I am. I am...flattered?" Sif tilted her head, eyes narrowed as she assessed whether that really was the word. "Even if all you did with that certainty was cause Fandral a bloody nose for your amusement."

Not as if there was anything else she expected him to do with it. Sif couldn't even think of anything else. "Oh I'm sure he did and added a completely fabricated sob story about how he saved a child from being eaten by a bilgesnipe, or some such." Sif shrugged. "In any case, we have been friends ever since. I think I left it quite clear what our relationship could and could not be."

[thelostprince]

"Perhaps I just had a more firm grasp on the realities of Fandral's talents," Loki replied, idly, still smirking. "Anyone else might have seen the headbutt coming, but thought that, perhaps, surely there was no way Fandral could fail... maybe I'm just negative." He tipped his head to the side as he looked at her, like a cat ascertaining a playmate. "Then again I think it was just obvious that you were a woman of more elegant tastes. I don't think sweet words or lusty, male-driven promises are the keys to your heart." And, while he figured compliments may help open the doors to her bedchamber, so to speak, he was also relatively sure that that was something Sif decided upon beforehand. She wasn't a woman to be swayed, in fondness and in attraction. He supposed it was a good sign, then, that she decided to be friends with him at all. "You were clear enough for Fandral, I think."

About the laundry, he laughed. "That is true. I confess to having done something like that myself, once or twice, where my own blood in my clothing was concerned. I'm under the impression there was a royal edict going out not to break a prince's nose, though," he added. "I was pummelled practically everywhere else when it came to sparring. It's just as well." As Sif was utterly aware, of course. She landed a good number of those blows in training.

[bornagoddess]

The hint of disappointment forming in the back of Sif's mind as Loki clarified that it had not really been about her or knowing her well at all threatened to make her outright angry. She ought not to be disappointed by such a thing - it was stupid and unbecoming and stupider yet. Biting her bottom lip Sif chastised herself for such a reaction, though she attempted not to let it show.

"Right. Of course that's what it was." She replied, attempting not to sound too bitter. Sif was not sure that she was a woman of more elegant tastes or simply more pragmatic than most, and thus not susceptible to the elaborate (yet transparent) way Fandral did things. Not to mention the fact that she had never been the least bit attracted to the man, of course. And while Loki was right in his assumptions as to how to reach her heart, Sif could not come up with firm ways in which to achieve it. "I don't think there are any clear keys to my heart." Sif blurted out, more as a musing than a clear reply to what Loki had said. Now she wondered, and in wondering she was again confronted by how different the men whom she had given her heart - or part of it - to were. With ease she could list honour among the things she treasured, but then Loki wasn't that known for being honourable and yet... This was an exercise in frustration, Sif concluded with an eyeroll and a deep sigh.

The subject had turned a bit lighter again, and Sif found her smile creeping back into her features. It was eerie how conversations about bloodying someone's clothes got her in good spirits, but that was something better left unexamined. "Unlike certain other soldiers I never felt the obligation to go easy on either of Odin's sons. You would learn nothing if I had." She replied with a smirk.