9653/Asgard's Requiem: Feast of Survivors

Asgard's Requiem: Feast of Survivors
Date of Scene:	19 October 2019
Location:	Palace, Asgard
Synopsis:	Asgardians hold a celebratory feast for the return of Asgard.
Cast of Characters:	Loki, Thor, Sif
Tinyplot:	Asgard's Requiem

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Loki has posed:
The gardens aren't as Sif, Thor, or any other Asgardian will remember them; they originally, before Ragnarok, were quiet and peaceful.

They are now a centerpiece of the feast, covered in decorations, magical ones primarily, such as floating candles, long sweeping carpets of beautiful silky blue and white cloth, magical illusory animals flitting here and there chasing butterflies. Several magical crystals are set up on stone pedestals, casting elaborate light displays that illuminate everything into a very grand, festive manner. Benches are covered in drapes and cushions, and magical food is set out, never to go bad.

The decorations are not only in the gardens, though they started there: they are now throughout the palace, the huge spires of the golden castle is decorated with shimmering magic that towers above the grand city of Asgard. Fireworks explode throughout the steets below, an echo of the grandeur that the castle has become.

Feast tables are laden, the palace full of gathered Asgardians, here to celebrate the rebirth of not only their palace or city, but of hope.

Thor has posed:
Naturally, Thor was at the head of the table...as King, that was his place. But he made sure Loki got the seat of honor for this particular feast, which was at his right. His oldest friend Sif was seated at his left. Under the circumstances, this surprised nobody.

And then, because nobody could eat till the King gave leave, Thor had to start it off. "Come, eat, drink, and be merry, for Asgard is restored!"

So, with a cheer from the crowd, the feasting began...and would probably go on for quite a long time. Asgardian had appetites after all!

Sif has posed:
The day of the city-wide feast is here and Sif cannot remember, not in recent times, seeing so much joy. It is simple and it is radiant, like the decorations; the people of Asgard themselves might as well be glowing as brightly, deep within their mead mugs and enjoying every moment of return to a place once marked off as a dream left in the dust.

Of course everyone's in finery, from those proud to labor and upwards through the echelon to the Court itself and then those attending it. Sif, seated to Thor's left, is already at least one tankard into her enjoyment -- the call was given by Thor, after all. Rather than her silvery armor and battle-leathers, she's...

...in a dress. It's a creation unto itself. With a corseted waist and demure swathes of silk looping about her neck to frame her collarbones, the rest of it disappears beneath the table; it's long enough to reach her booted ankles with a slit up its side for functionality. The fabric itself?

It seems to play with the light. Is it steel-grey? Silvery-grey? No, wait -- as she moves, subtle designs come out upon it in conflicting hues: one moment, red and gold and fiery, as the phoenix might glow -- the next, cool and calm in teals and light violets. It never stays the same, not for a single moment. Sif seems...content to wear the dress. For once.

"This is wonderful," she comments to both brothers as she turns to look at them. "It feels of //home//."

Loki has posed:
Loki is dressed with a sleek golden and jade decadence, as befits a prince, let alone one in such honor. There is no shame in mage-robes, considering his recent use of magic, and what it has brought to the city, and Loki is soaking in the prestige. He has forgone any black, any shadow of the funeral state of Asgard's history swept out of sight and out of mind.

Loki's expression and posture is that of a preening peacock at the table, head held high, fingers loosely toying with the stem on his wine glass as Thor grants the feast permission to begin in full swing. Loki takes his cue as well, gesturing pointedly across at the musicians, that begin with the variety that Loki picked out. The songs of choice are powerful and uplifting, not somber or slow. Loki and his entertainment: always very specific.

An incline and fleeting smile is shown towards Sif, as well as a flicker of magic, as he sends an illusionary little squirrel-critter over her booted toes, playful smirk making it clear it was, indeed, Loki. "Is now not a good time for 'I told you I could do it?'" Loki grins.

Thor has posed:
And then, he had a speech to make. Because the King had to do that kind of thing. "You know why we are gathered here today, the restoration of Asgard. I have seen the light in your eyes return. I have seen hope return to many hearts. I have seen ailments and overdrinking gradually disappear among many. I have seen warriors fighter harder. Craftsmen inspired to make new things. Musicians compose new tunes. Everyone is more themselves than they have been in a long time."

And then, it's time to turn to the man who made all that possible. That man was seated at his right. "And so...we all owe gratitude to Loki. He was known from the beginning for being clever, but I don't think any of us truly appreciated just how clever he actually is. It is he who made this restoration possible, and gave us all our true home back. We did not guess that life could come from you, for an entire realm. But thus it is. We see it all around us. Thus, on behalf of Asgard and all my people, please accept our gratitude."

And there was great cheering through all the feast. And more than a few faces seem to be a little guilty even as they cheer, for they were the ones who now keenly remember not being the kindest beings to Loki out there. Nobody likes to eat Crow, but when it yields such fantastic results, crow must be eaten.

Thor rises for the applause, and Asgard rises with him, and it's now a standing ovation from everybody. Not a single soul was found sitting down amongst the crowd.

Loki has posed:
Loki had started to look slightly bored with the commentary as Thor began his speech, in his usual 'better than thou' posture that Loki tends to take in public settings where Thor is the center of attention. He had leaned back in his chair a little, fiddling with the edge of his place setting, eyes sliding to other guests, such as Sif's dress.

That is, until he is mentioned by name in a positive way. And Loki doesn't really know what to do with it. He blinks, alert, looking at Thor with apparent disbelief, and then around. His fingers slowly continue to move near his place setting, but there's some deer-in-headlights coming from Loki, for certain. What reality is this? And where's the trap?

Loki always looks for the trap, and sends a 'what the hell?' glance across at Sif. Loki's looking for where the mockery is, but he can't find it, and it's confusing the hell out of him.

And now everyone is //standing up all around him//, and he jerks his head back a little, smile awkward, before his recovery kicks in. It's then that he grins, attempting to own it. He stays seated, but lifts his hands in a mock humility (he's seen others be humble), in a 'be seated' gesture, and an 'aw shucks' bat of hand, smiling. For whatever reason, he hasn't hidden the flame of heat in his cheeks: probably just being thrown so far off of his game! If he'd been ready for it, there would have been peacocking or strutting, no doubt: this was an honest reaction, from the god of lies.

Sif has posed:
Feeling the very lightest touch upon her toes, Sif starts up in her seat slightly. It's the smile upon the Trickster's face which gives away the intent; the Valkyrie leans out to one side in order to pluck up the fall of gossamer tablecloth.

Indeed, a small starlit squirrel, perches upon one boot, flicking its tail and ears and now sitting upright upon its haunches to consider her in turn. Clever magic.

"I do not believe anyone would stop you, Loki," fires she back across the way with a grin, in high spirits and probably...a little buzzed at this point on the local spirits. Seeing Thor gather himself, however, the Princess shoots Loki a knowing look and then puts on a mask of polite innocence.

The speech is well-crafted and hits home. Sif rises along with everyone else and her clapping is softer if no less in agreement.

"Well done," she mouths towards Loki before grinning. Then she picks up her stein and lifts it, her voice suddenly parade-ground volume:

"A toast to he who brought us home! To Loki!"

And now there's REALLY some drinking going on.

Sif sits down once more in a refined manner despite the amount of ale she's had and even makes to brush her dress's skirting flat.

Thor has posed:
Thor takes that up right quick, and joins the toast. "To Loki! To the Homebringer!"

And the crowd echoes, "To Loki! To the Homebringer!"

And now there's the sounds of even more people getting inebriated at different rates, since the good asgardian ale is flowing quite freely.

But Loki more than just the Prince of Asgard and the homebringer. He's also Thor's brother. Okay, adopted, but brother in all but blood regardless. Thor, in his 'big brother' sort of way, tosses his arm around his rather stunned looking younger brother, and adds, on a quiet, personal level, "Never forget you will always be my brother, and I love you for who you are." The word love is not thrown around lightly on Asgard...even Odin almost never used it for his children. He really probably should've used it more, but that's his flaw. But...Thor's been around Midgard a lot, and he's a little more in tune with that word.

And then he lets his brother go, and returns to managing the feast...and downing his fair share of ale!

Loki has posed:
Sif mouthing encouragement helps, though it doesn't look like it does. Loki gives her a slight raspberry and smirk. Which means, pretty clearly, Loki is recovering from whatever stunned place he'd been put into. He's fully able to participate in accepting the toast, with a laugh, and a sleek grin most often found on Loki's face. All shreds of being surprised or confused are gone, quickly as that.

While Loki is drinking, it is not nearly of the volume of anyone around him: it would not do to drop his guard when everyone is looking at him, of course, and become inebriated! Too much could be at stake for the controlled mage.

"How many ales have you already had?" Loki teases Thor by means of deflection, sly as ever. If the compliments and sign of love did strike home, Loki's not going to show it in front of al these people! Still, he didn't actually physically struggle out of the arm flung around him, which means a vast amount in Loki-language. He heard.

"Homebringer isn't too bad," Loki opines in admission, beginning to eat: but mostly continue to look around. Loki's marinating in praise of those around him.

Sif has posed:
Sif smiles to herself to see the affection on display between the brothers. Good, she seems to nod to herself, before turning her attention to her own plate, ignored until now. Another deep sip of her ale wets her mouth after the grand shouting overtop the already heavily-partying gathering.

"Enough only to make an Einherjar tipsy, he has many more to go! Don't you DARE let us down now, Thor!" the Valkyrie says with a grin. "Unless you would rather have a repeat of that instance about...eight-hundred years back when I was the last Warrior standing and you were beneath the table? That would not do at all, would it?"

Her arch smile twinkles in her glacially-blue eyes as she affects an air now. Whether or not it's a true tale or a bluff remains to be seen.

The point was, clearly, drink more ale.

Thor has posed:
How many ales has he had? "Not enough!" And to that effect, more ale was had!

More ale was passed around by all.

But it doesn't stop there. The craftsmen of Asgard seemed to have been preparing for this, and there's actually a line of people bringing Loki gifts. There's a fine set of daggers from one, a new helmet from another, armor from another, goblets and jewelry from still others. Presenting their finest craftsmanship to the prince...just to thank him for having their home back.

And at Sif's challenge, "You're on, milady. May she who has to be carried to bed first cry enough!" He said she most deliberately, clearly planning on winning this one. Lots of competition around here, even if it's a drinking contest!

Loki has posed:
Loki collects the gifts, distracted by that fully: in fact, some magic is on display as he creates a mighty, beautiful table for all of the gifts to be displayed on, just to one side of the feasting tables. That's necessary, of course.

Each gift is looked at with appreciation and princely response of dignity, and then placed on the table like a glittering tower of awards. Perhaps to Loki that is what it is: and the 'best' gifts are given places of most honor. The pies or whatever from the lowborn are stacked towards the back....

Sif has posed:
"I had no idea you'd set aside your manhood this evening, your highness," Sif fires back before laughing into her mug of mead. She'd finished the contents before her parrying comment to his claim and takes a moment to gleefully thank one of the stewards stopping by with a hefty container akin to a pitcher.

"Thank you kindly, Oswit, may your evening be as fruitful as your bedmates!"

Someone's filter apparently disappears as the number of tankards increases.

"Loki! What finery." The Princess sets her elbow on the table and her chin on her palm as she considers the offerings. "I think...the daggers are best," floats the opinion with a firm nod. Sif's cheeks are beginning to flush from drink.

Thor has posed:
Thor grins, "Set aside? It would not be the first time you've found out the hard way where it went!" Referencing past relationships, even if there's not one going on at the moment. And down goes more tankards of ale! Gonna win gonna win! And, maybe the filter's kinda off here too, though Thor is sincere most of the time to begin with.

To be fair, the pies Loki were given WAS in fact the best work of the bakers. They just weren't in the right profession to be making permanent gifts that last. The same is true of the steaks and sweets and other edibles.

His cheeks are a little redder from alcohol, but he's holding it well. It will take considerably more before he drops.

Loki has posed:
"Were they from you?" Loki parries Sif in return with a smirk over his wine glass, before continuing into his food. He's interrupted again with another gift: something Loki is fine with. Adoration always comes before actually eating, doesn't it?

The following gift is a hand-carved stone chess set, with all of the pieces depicting different gods. Loki himself appears to have the Bishop slot in the group as his likeness, the pieces clearly exhibiting his characteristic horned helmet, which does not seem to offend the mischief god at all. A pawn, that would have been a deadly choice!

The look that Loki gives Thor when he mentions the physical history with Sif over the meal, well, that could melt paint off a wall. The expression slides to Sif, then, watchful of how she reacts. The minstrels switch songs, and Loki suddenly levels a devilishly evil look over at Sif. "Now that you've had a number of drinks, is it very terrible of me to request a dance?" he asks her, prankish amusement evident, already standing.

Sif has posed:
Distracted from an immediate retort to Thor by Loki's question, the Valkyrie blinks at the Trickster and then laughs. "No. You would have gotten something more formidable than for use of cleaning your teeth at the table."

She blinks, however, surprised at the request. Taken off-guard more than once now, it seems, in her drink. However, that's a challenge leveled at her, and the Valkyrie has a terrible time standing down from challenges. The rest of her mead is tossed back and then she rises to her feet, remarkably...steady despite the number of tankards in her system.

"It is terrible of you and I accept," she replies in a voice solemn enough to merit the idea of beginning a duel -- clearly in good humor, however, given she still wears a smile about the corners of her lips.

To Thor, she says, "Do not let me down with your mead steins, hmm? I might tell Volstagg you were sleeping at your post!" Another laugh follows.

Thor has posed:
Thor catches Loki's death glare...and then catches the way Sif's looking at Loki, and...hmmm. They couldn't possibly be...but then, he is 'Homebringer' now. Was that enough? Or did this start before that? Thor knew he was terrible about reading writing on the wall, but...he feels like he should've seen this coming.

Or, ya know, he's had more ale than he thought, and it's catching up with the King.

Still, even if Loki were clever enough to hide his feelings, Sif is likely to be a great deal more obvious, at the very least, she used to be pretty damn obvious with him back in the day...he should learn plenty by the type of dancing they do and how they hold each other.

Well...he won't announce this one, other than, "Play on, minstrels!" But now Thor is watching for signs of what he thinks he might be looking at. Congratulations will be due them both if it is real.

Loki has posed:
As it would be gauche to allow the Prince to suffer dancing without others also joining in, there's a bunch of activity as other dancers move to join them. Sensing the need to truly impress, the minstrels bring it up a notch.

Loki does draw Sif with him by the hand smoothly. There's no tells in Loki's movement: Loki's elusive as ever, but he does comment very quietly to Sif as he draws her into the dance, a smirk on his mouth, "I'm enjoying this." Whether it is the confused look he can feel from Thor, or something else entirely, such as Sif's amazingly beautiful dress may be entirely unclear: the way Loki likes things. Muddled and mysterious!

The dance continues, as does the feast, and Loki's mood only seems to continue to stay positive, pleasant, and present: he doesn't sneak out, as he so usually does, from such events.

The feast, therefore, could certainly be considered a success, on that alone!