Dinner for Loki/Coldsong

[malcolmeffect]

It was a promise that he meant to keep, dinner for Loki. He had offered on multiple occasions and something had come up for one or the other of them. After Loki was gone so long, Ian felt the push to keep to what he said this time. After all the nudging to wear more color, Ian let Kelly go shopping with him and pick out the suit for the evening. The color was not his preference but unsurprising from his daughter.

He had dropped her off with Mrs Murphy this morning and busied himself with preparing food. As promised he made food from Kelly's mother's ethnic heritage. Thiéboudienne and Bassi Salte with Bissap to drink. The Tapalapa bread he bought though because he never picked up how to make it. While the food, which was mostly slow cooked, went about itself Ian dressed and set the table. Loki would show up soon and the dishes were out on the table. Senegalese cuisine was served shared. There were no small personal plates. Everything was shared and eaten from spoon or bread for the most part.

Comments

[coldsong]

Loki appears to have opted for a bold choice of outfit this evening, not necessarily because of the color choice, which is the green she so favors, but because of the clingy, semi-sheer design of the dress. Loki never wears short skirts; she prefers long flowing lines that accentuate her height and grace; but there are other ways to show off.

She had considered bringing wine, but because Thor is on the wagon, and she knows Ian has his struggles, she thought better of introducing temptation. Instead, when she arrives at the door, she has a box of expensive chocolates, and a small bouquet of sleek black calla lilies tied with a silk ribbon. She knocks to announce her presence, but then teleports easily inside the front door and waits for him to come to her.

[malcolmeffect]

Ian hears the knock and heads for the door, slow because in his own apartment he rarely carries his cane. Then he hears the footsteps on the wood floor and starts laughing while calling into the other room.

"Knocking is for answering the door. You could by pass knocking if..." He comes in the room and is gobsmacked. He wasn't sure what he was expecting Loki to look like as a woman. Beautiful of course but it threw him off.

It takes a breath before he smiles and laughs but this one is far more nerves than humor. However, his usual charisma comes back in spades. "Aren't you mysteriously beautiful... and you've brought chocolates."

He crosses the room to her and just shakes his head. "I've bought you flowers too. If I had known I would have bought a bigger vase so we could mingle them together at the dinner table."

He takes her hand first and kisses the fingers because, well if he is Prince Loki, then this is a princess but his smile is flirtatious and sly.

[coldsong]

"I thought it would be more polite to announce my presence somehow," she calls back, sounding amused, "rather than sneak up behind you. I may be the god of mischief but I do try not to give heart attacks to the people I'm fond of."

The pause when he sees her is a surprise. She's aware she cleans up well, and of course her clothing was carefully selected, but he's so very urbane, she wasn't expecting to break his stride. In the space of time between his pause and when he laughs, a bright grin appears on her face, but she ducks her head slightly, pretending to be demure. (He probably knows better).

"You like the dress, then?" She moves to meet him. "I'm not used to seeing you in purple, but I quite like it. You look very handsome."

The accent and cadence of her speech is the same in this form, but the vocal tones are higher and a little softer. Likewise, the body language between her male form and this one is almost identical, but something about this shape makes it come across as more coquettish than troublemaking. "People don't buy men flowers often enough," she asserts, and lets him kiss her hand, then leans in to kiss him softly on the cheek.

[malcolmeffect]

"When you live with children the chaotic happens so often your heart gets used to it." He has to answer after that pause. There are many reasons for the pause from the mundane idea that humans are not as used to people looking this different to a true admiration of her beauty. The demure though gets him laughing again.

"It is mischievous enough to suit you." The nearly sheer sides and pieces are tantalizing which is probably the god's intention. "Kelly. She.. uh.. said I couldn't go on a date looking bland so we went shopping."

Her love of purple on full display though he doesn't mind it as much since it is darker and muted in tone. The kiss to the cheek brightens his smile and he turns to offer one in return but he hasn't let go of her hand either. He hates admitting it but he is more comfortable being affectionate with Loki's female form even when he knows it was the male form that he was originally attracted to. She would no doubt appreciate the internal chaos that caused for Ian.

"I do appreciate them." Politeness alone isn't responsible for him taking a long look at them. "They're sleek Elliptic Paraboloids. It's an elegant shape."

Unlike most people, Ian saw shape long before color and probably further fueled his black and white palette choices in most things. He's also watching the mannerisms and the hints of the masculine Loki remaining in this new shape. As for the flowers he had waiting Jade Tiger Lenten Roses and Ghost fern fronds that were already on the table.

[coldsong]

"You say that," Loki tells him, "but you needed a moment to catch your breath just then." The tone of her voice isn't teasing. Rather, she sounds deeply pleased by it all. It doesn't matter so much to her whether part of the impact was the strangeness. She is still Loki.

"Kelly is a wonderful child, and has excellent taste, but I wouldn't say you look bland in all-black either." She closes her eyes briefly at the kiss and sighs contentedly. Affection is affection, to her; she's already noticed he's more comfortable touching her in this form, and takes no offense at that. She is always Loki, and she is willing to be patient with him in the face of what is probably a strange and novel experience.

She catches sight of the flowers belatedly and brightens a little. "Hellebores," she guesses. "It's the season for them, isn't it? They bloom early. I don't think I've ever seen them as cut flowers, though. They're lovely."

[malcolmeffect]

Ian laughs nervously. "Uh.. that was not that type of surprise."

Strangeness aside, Ian has always been more attracted to the female form, thought the affection and lure of the god was enough to have him step away from that comfort zone in so many ways. Returning to familiar interactions left less pressure and uncertainty. It also lowered some of the barriers Ian naturally erected when he wasn't entirely sure of himself.

"The time she has spent with Harley has exaggerated her brazenness." Ian is not at all disappointed the influence. Kelly had come out of her shell even more in the time that Harley was around but those thoughts were for another time.

"Yes, and ghost ferns." His mood lifting when he notices they are well received after he had mulled over cases of flowers in the shop earlier. "They're symbolic of life stepping out of the darkness of a death-like state in human religions."

Ian might be an Atheist but symbolism was interesting and he knew it matter to others. "Appropriate, and they were in the right color. You should take them with you when you go."

[coldsong]

She gives him a warm smile and chooses not to harass him further about his feelings regarding her various forms right now. Loki is learning that sometimes she needs to push a little more with people, or at least express herself more definitively, but right now beginning the evening on a sweet note is more important. She reaches up to run her fingers through his hair, once, a gesture of pure affection.

The comment about Kelly makes her laugh. "Good! Harley is a force of nature, and Kelly will be, as well. Maybe we should all take our whole gaggle of children somewhere fun sometime. Coney Island, or a water park, perhaps, once it warms up. One with innocent thrills and not scares." Which she knows might be a bit of a challenge for Ian to get around, but that's what having two other adults there is for.

But these thoughts can also wait for another time, too. Tonight is mostly for them, though a parent never exists in a vacuum without thoughts about their children. Turning toward the table, Loki laces her fingers through his lightly and sighs, admiring the blooms. "They're the perfect colors. I didn't know the symbolism. My mother used to have white ones in her garden, though, when I was young."

"I'd love to take them. You know, I already asked Thor to advise me on my garden this year, but if you've got suggestions, there's still time to make them before we plant."