etrayalogs | you are alive; so live (closed and open)

Entry tags:

you are alive; so live (closed and open)

WHO: Hob Gadling + others
WHEN: Between missions Dec - Jan
WHERE: Various
WHAT: Various encounters and catching up
NOTES\WARNINGS: None but will mark threads. Hob has just returned from a canon update.

Closed threads but open Wildcard. Any encounters are welcome. Just start a thread at any Etraya location or DM for plotting.

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Hob is still getting himself reoriented to Etraya, but the apartments aren't hard to find, and he does remember where Loki lives. Although Loki seems put-out at him, which Hob can understand, he hopes to somehow smooth things over with the god who means so much to him.

Loki said he'd return home in an hour, but Hob ends up at his door waiting for him. He did knock, just in case Loki was actually home and was simply delaying their reunion. However, with no response, he's left to linger in the hallway, pacing back and forth on occasion and looking up and down the hall, anticipating Loki's arrival.

Hob looks a bit disoriented and disheveled. He keeps raking his fingers back through his hair in an anxious way as he waits. His hair is cut differently, shorter than when he was last in Etraya, and the beard on his face is a new addition. He has so much to tell Loki about what happened while he was away.

Although Hob hadn't expected to meet someone from a past time period, he's happy to assist Mizu with learning about 17th century England if he can. Being a history professor back home, it's hard to pass up the opportunity to talk about it, especially when it involves a moment and place he remembers. It could be their versions of Earth are different, and maybe Mizu won't even remember any of this one day when he returns to his world and time, but learning couldn't do any harm. It's not like they have a lot to do between missions.

After sending a text that he was ready to meet, Hob went to the library at the agreed time. Arriving a bit early, he scours the shelves for a few books, which are brought over to a table for their use. He's flipping through one of them as he waits for Mizu to join him.

The week that Hob has been gone has been like torture to Loki. It's been a very long time since he felt like this, but after giving up everything to save the multiverse, Loki is now hyper-aware of what it is like to lose people he cares about so when he couldn't find Hob upon their return, his mind had gone to worst case scenario.

He'd been rocked by a multitude of emotions like he hasn't experienced in a long time and he feels ashamed that he clearly hasn't grown as much as he'd thought. That first night when he'd realized Hob wasn't around he'd thought he'd been left behind accidentally like the people they had gone to rescue. Then he thought maybe he was here but avoiding him. Or he hadn't wanted to come back. Or he had found a way home and had just left Loki. All of this combined to make Loki feel scared, hurt and abandoned. A combination that Loki has never been good at handling so when Hob suddenly reappeared, as much as he wanted to run to him, he also became overwhelmed by anger.

He kind of hates himself for that. Hob likely didn't deserve how Loki treated him when he saw his message, but Loki has never been good at thinking first when he's upset.

But in the end, he couldn't cut him out either. Loki needs to know what happened, why Hob left him and if it turns out that Hob just is done with him, he'll just have to find a way to deal with that.

Loki has barely been sleeping since Hob disappeared, which likely hasn't helped matters, but he hopes it's not too apparent as he makes his way back home to meet up with Hob. He could use his magic to make himself look better, but just the idea of trying that feels exhausting to him. As he makes his way down the hallway towards his apartment door, he almost doesn't recognize the man standing outside his door, but it is undoubted Hob. Loki has the urge to pull him into his arms, especially with how distraught he looks, but Loki has to remind himself that he has no idea what Hob even wants. Or doesn't want.

Without a word, Loki unlocks the door and motions for Hob to follow. For once in his life, he feels speechless.

After the eternity of a week, it is finally time to meet with the person from close to her own time, to meet with someone who'd been in London close to the time she needs to go there. She suspects he gets out of it something not entirely different from her, if anything—the chance to talk with someone else of their own time. Of this time. Mizu may be from across the world, but he'll get to speak of his home to someone who cares immensely. It makes her feel better to know what he might get out of it because someone helping her for nothing in return, getting nothing from it, cannot be trusted.

She arrives precisely on time, having taken time in the passing days to locate the library and get some sense of it. Having seen a painting of Hob on the tool they all use to send letters back and forth (and to read each other's mail, what remains an unusual feature, like a ledger they all can read), Mizu recognizes the man. She approaches directly and makes a small bow in greeting, as she's used to, but also offers her hand in the English style.

"Hello, I am Mizu." As though there'd be any question.

When Hob finally spots Loki coming down the hall, he stops his pacing and stands dead in his tracks. He's just staring at Loki, a little wide eyed. When some hair falls over the right side of his face, he quickly pushes it back with one hand as Loki makes his approach.

The god doesn't look very happy to see him. Has he fucked this up completely? All over some mismanaged words?

Once the door is opened and he's invited inside, Hob steps over the threshold, giving Loki some space as he turns to gaze at him again.

"You're even more handsome than I remembered." It still feels like it's been a year for Hob, even if only a week has passed in Etraya. No matter how messy Loki thinks he looks, Hob thinks he's stunning. He's feeling a mix of emotions he's trying to sort through right now.

It's strange coming to Etraya where there are missions and dangers, but it must be even more stressful when the city itself is modern and so different from one's own time period. Hob had the benefit of progressing through history, year after year. Were he plopped down somewhere hundreds of years later, he knows how anxious he would feel.

Not that Mizu seems anxious at all. As Mizu approaches, Hob gets to his feet to greet him. The small bow is returned in a quick, if a bit clumsy gesture, and then the hand is taken with a smile and given a friendly shake.

"Pleased to meet you. Hob Gadling. Sorry to make you wait. I had just returned to Etraya from my home world and had to sort through some things."

Clasping hands with a stranger feels unnatural, but Mizu supposes it's best to get used to such customs here, where any misstep on her part will stand out less. The smile also feels strange, but she's gotten used to the inclination to show teeth in Folkmore.

"Ah, so you spoke of not remembering Etraya from experience, rather than any explanation generally provided to those who ask," Mizu notes. It's worth knowing, but it's not enough to deter her from her path, nor her determination to bring what she's learned in Folkmore and now Etraya back so that she can seek her revenge more easily.

"Your absence must have been distressing for those who care about you. By contrast, I am a stranger, so you're already doing me a favor to meet at all." Mizu may care more about her goals than the well being of anyone in Gadling's life, but she knows the same cannot be said of him. "We may come from opposite sides of the world, but it is a pleasure to meet someone from about the same time period."

Hob doesn't expect Mizu to conform to his customs, but he appreciates the gesture and tries to respectfully return it. Given the task ahead of Mizu, though, learning to blend will certainly help in 17th century England.

"Yes, it's hard to believe I didn't remember any of my time here now that I'm back. It was as if I never left home at all." As for it being distressing, Hob nods with a soft crease to his brow. One person in particular was very upset at his disappearance. Loki can be a bit dramatic when his emotions are heightened, but Hob hopes things have settled between them.

"Please, I'm happy to help. My contributions in this world are limited. I'm not a fighter or a hero, and I don't cast magic or slay monsters. The only thing I'm good at is living, so if my life can help yours, I'll feel as though I've done something."

Hob gestures to the table so Mizu can take a seat, if he'd like. Hob reclaims the chair he was using and seats himself. "So, did you have any questions you wanted to start with?"

An aggravating idea and one Mizu refuses to accept belongs to her. She remembers meeting Vergil in Auriel and the hesitation they each had out of concern the other might not remember them. The idea she could go back to her life, none the wiser and as though none of the past years have happened, well, that's fine for other people. It's not for her. It goes far beyond the hesitation she felt and the consideration of whether or not to let Fowler live a while longer, while he had use. Though that can be washed away readily by meetings with this man. No reason to keep Fowler alive, it's a good feeling.

In Folkmore, it might not have mattered as much not to be a fighter or a hero or make any such contributions. The fox spirit showed her interest in the potential of everyday people. In Etraya, however, they represent their worlds and those worlds' chance of survival. It makes sense to feel like there should be a greater contribution than being a common person living a normal life. A lower class person simply trying to survive. It's not Mizu's place to make him feel like he matters, but she's glad that helping her makes him feel better. It means he might help repeatedly. Surely she cannot learn everything in a single day.

Mizu sits across from Hob and considers what is most important. Blending in matters, but it opens up a wide range of topics that will take a long time to cover. Should Hob leave again (or Mizu), she needs to focus on the most vital pieces of information.

"What are the best ways to track someone down in London?" Mizu asks. "My fathers were rich twenty years ago, and it seems likely they remain wealthy, so tracking down a merchant is of most interest to me. However, I acknowledge my information about them is incredibly limited. So broader advice is also welcome."

It's actually rather difficult for Loki to not simply turn and draw Hob into an embrace. He's not sure he's ever missed someone quite so badly before, but apparently he's still ready to believe that people have abandoned him at a moments notice and he can't seem to ignore the voice in the back of his head telling him that Hob has only returned to him because it was against his will. He doesn't really want to be here with him. He wants to be wherever he was for the last week.

Or longer. Hob looks different and somehow more handsome, though Loki isn't sure if that's because of how much he's missed him or just that he apparently likes Hob with a beard. Possibly both. But that's a sidetrack that Loki is desperately trying not to go down.

"Pfft, please. I know what I look like. You are not the one who is a known liar in this," he gestures between them, "whatever this is. Now why don't you stop trying to flatter me and tell me whatever it is you're here to tell me. What, did you fail at leaving? Echo manage to drag you back and you figure, what the hel? Might as well see if Loki is still gullible?"

Loki, of course, believes none of this, but he never could keep his mouth shut when he's feeling hurt and betrayed. He doesn't know what happened, or where Hob has been, all he knows is that he was abandoned without some much as a word and it hurts.

Hob is a helpful person in general, so he'd be willing to assist even if he had the powers of a dream lord in Etraya. Plus, it gives him the opportunity to talk to someone new, which often leads to new experiences of some kind, even if that simply lands him a friendly chat about the past.

As Mizu explains what he's thinking, Hob nods a few times and sorts through a couple of the books, pulling a large one from the stack and opening it up. He begins to flip pages, which are full of maps. "Maps have changed over the years, but I remember the districts well enough." Once he finds a map of London, he turns the book around for Mizu to look at.

"So, this river is the Thames. All ships enter from the ocean, on this side, and travel directly into the city. This includes you, if you're sailing into London, and any merchant ships. The boundaries of the river have been moved over the years, but the geography is mostly the same."

His finger slides from the river to an area north of the bank. "There's a few different places a successful merchant might live. If he's still doing business, a lot of them live in any of these northern districts. Houses are bigger but they’re still in the city, so they’ve got close neighbors. Pretty much wall to wall. He'd have enough room for some servants and a garden if he lived here. If he's not actively running a business anymore or just likes to spread out, he might live further out of the city for more land. That would make it a bit harder to narrow down.”

Hob watches Loki, his expression shifting between confusion and hurt, and yeah, maybe even a little pissed that Loki would accuse him of such things. He knows Loki doesn't mean what he says. It's just some defense mechanism in case his worst fears are actually true, but Hob also thinks Loki should know better. Know him better.

"Loki, I never tried to leave. You know we can't control that. I thought I was coming back to Etraya with you, and then I... I wasn't. Do you really think I would do that to you? That I'm the kind of person who would?"

After knowing him for so long, Loki had to realize that Hob would not have left him willingly. And he'd never do so without warning or a parting word, at the very least.

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you are alive; so live (closed and open)

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