10067/An Overdue Conversation

An Overdue Conversation
Date of Scene:	17 November 2019
Location:	Jean's Office - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Jean discusses with Loki the breach of their agreement, and the two arrive at a renewed understanding, where one may call on the other as need be, and students are to be kept safe.
Cast of Characters:	Loki, Phoenix

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Loki has posed:
The great effort of magic to protect the school included a large attack on it: demons, ice giants, and other planar beings moved against the spell's casting. Avengers, X-Men, mages such as Dr. Strange, and students alike, all came together to make the spell happen. Not only those people were in attendance, though: towards the end, as those present started to flag, two more Asgardians showed up to support the effort: Sif, the battle-maiden, with a small army of magical automotons .... and Loki himself. Loki flitted around the battlefield, his contributions a little harder to find, but he did, in fact, create Sif's automotons, and saved Dani.

But now, as the fighters come inside the mansion, Loki's presence creates an uncomfortable tension: one he seems amused by, at least on the surface. With a quick word, it is prudent indeed to pull him aside: in this case, to speak with Ms. Grey. He does not seem battle-weary in the slightest, dressed in his full regalia, he actually lends more to the terrifying. This is the mage that nearly took New York by force, in very similar attire.

Phoenix has posed:
While Jean Grey wasn't physically seen in the battle ground, Phoenix was actually very much involved as an astral presence. So she happened to be very much aware of Loki's support, which lead Jean to invite him to her office after everything was once again under control. Still, she didn't look very happy while they made the relatively silent walk to her office.

Once they are in her office, away from prying eyes and ears, Jean turns to look at Loki, and takes a deep breath. She recognizes his royal Asgardian regalia, as does most people in the state of New York, at the very least. "We clearly need to have words, but I would ask, before you say anything...is your manner of dress a threat?" Naturally, the first image that royal attire would evoke in her mind is Loki leading the charge over New York, above all else.

Loki has posed:
"A threat to your foes on your front lawn battle," Loki answers serenely. He takes one of the chairs whether or not Jean offers it, as if it were a personal throne, and then with an easy gesture of left hand, his attire shifts: it melts away into a modern black business suit, though it lacks a tie. It's sleek and slim in black, with a dark, rich purple collared shirt a little bit open, under the suit jacket. Bits of gold still linger, though he lacks his helmet or the rest of the regalia.

With a spread of both hands outwards and self-satisfied look, his smile reads as compromisingly smug. "I have offered no threat upon your school at any time."

Phoenix has posed:
"It's lovely to think you do more than just be a threat to my students," Jean quips a quick remainder to why she's not been very friendly, or showering him with smiles, "but it was nice of you to lend a hand, knowing I'm probably not too happy with you." She doesn't bother to create any separation by sitting behind her desk, inside she moves to sit in one of the chairs reserved for guests, sitting next to Loki, seeing how he already helped himself before she could extend an invitation to sit. "One of my students nearly dying is beyond no threat in my book...but I'm sure there's an explanation?" Jean offers room for what she expects will come.

Loki has posed:
"There is. Your student did not nearly die," Loki says smoothly, lifting one leg to rest the ankle across the other knee, steepling his fingers together. He clears his throat, eyes moving as if to recall some fond memory.

"Injured, I arrived in the area outside of your school. I requested assistance with my wounds. I was brought inside, and your healers offered their gifts. At no time did I do anything other than bleed," Loki says, tongue silver, but without air of any lie. Not that Loki gets caught in lies very often.

"I did not allow anyone to kill themselves; in fact, I checked in on the healers to be certain of it, and even offered favor as recompense. I hardly see how you are angry: you should be proud of your allies and students for their heroic natures."

Phoenix has posed:
"That's not the impression I got from Dr. McCoy," Jean retorts sharply, not at all caring for wordplay over the entire affair with Shannon and Loki. Something that made her have a difficult conversation with Professor Xavier.

"What could have possibly injured a god, is what I'd like to know," Jean asks in full sincerity, as she turns to look directly into Loki's eyes, as if there was any assurance at all he wouldn't lie under a direct discriminating gaze. "That gift you offered, was shattered by Dr. Strange, and our very own Magik confirmed it was bad news...more like a spy tool than anything..."

Loki has posed:
Loki doesn't seem to mind any of her sharpness, his smile remains cool and relaxed. No offense is taken, it seems, at least not yet. Which may suggest he is well aware he is spinning things, even if he isn't actually lying from his perspective.

"I was not in a state to reject healing; though I would agree a student giving aid was not what I had in mind. Nor did she actually do much," Loki admits.

"What caused the injury? Ressurecting the realm of Asgard from the ashes. I think we can /all/ suffer a little for so important a cause." Loki clears his throat, but moves to the last point, "It allowed her to speak to me to gain her reward for her help. Even a phone is a 'spy device' with how suspicious it seems you are."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean, much thanks to Dr. Strange, has an idea of how slick and dangerous words are when they come from Loki's mouth, it's like he weaponized a vocabulry, so she's very alert when sharing a conversation with him.

"At least we can agree on that much," Jean notes in regards to Loki accepting he likely shouldn't have used a student to heal, but what he says next makes her freeze. The ressurection of a realm of all things, seems to have a strange effect on her, as if it sits very unpleasantly within her, disturbing her at some level. "You have the power to do such a thing...?" The way she looks slightly surprised at her own question, may suggest she's not entirely certain there's reason to question a god over such an ability, and yet, something within her nearly scoffs at the thought. "A phone has no magical properties, however, we more or less understand it. Your magic is beyond all of our understanding," Jean manages to flatter at the same time she cements how appropriate is her suspicion. Just don't tell Magik she said something of the sort.

Loki has posed:
"Glad to agree!" Loki says, charming, with brief social mirroring: showing smoothly how much they do agree with more than just words. His posture adjusted a hair. Loki's very, very good at this. And he's subtle.

"I'm not doing tours of Asgard. If you want one, you may ask Lady Sif; she has come to assist in your school's well-being. She is also one of Thor's most trusted friends and confidants, should my words not persuade you of the truth," Loki offers, with another move of hands to show how open he is about everything. His manner is coaxing: so easy to just go along with his narrative.

"Then I will not offer magical communication further. I am willing to oblige; I just did not see a problem with a simple thing such as that. Will you do me the favor of telling your student she will not receive any favors from me for her heroism, per your requirement?" Loki asks. "As I will not initiate contact with her. I /do/ seek to get along, as I hope I have demonstrated again, today."

Phoenix has posed:
"I must admit visiting a Godly Realm does pique my interest," Jean shares, and in all honesty, who wouldn't be thrilled at a chance to visit a place that was thought to be nothing but myth over the years. Amazing how the ancient Norse happened to strike a sembalance of truth in their Eddas. "I would likely feel safer with Lady Sif," Jean concurs on that much, "if only because she's another woman, though I trust much more capable than I am," Jean has no problem admitting that much. After all, being Asgardian would make Sif a god, and she expected they have loads of advantages over mortals.

"Don't twist my words around," Jean says with a frown, "I did not say don't reward the student, I said don't use it to have the means to spy on my school. My students. My friends. Okay? Can't you give her a magical device that will only draw your attention to her on activation? You're an all powerful god, you brought Asgard back from ruin, I'm sure this feat is a mere triviality..." turns out Jean can also do wordplay, even if to a lesser degree, few can exchange wordly blows at Loki's level.

Loki has posed:
Loki's laugh is relaxed, warm even. He isn't upset: there's something else going on, mood-wise, perhaps, to keep him mellow. The slight body language related to Sif may serve a brief window into that: a private smile when she is discussed. "She is god of War," Loki lets Jean know, as if it were an incidental thing.

"It is trivial," Loki agrees. He considers Jean, then softly smiles. "It is done." He taps his fingers lightly on the edge of the chair armrests. "Does anything else weigh heavy on your heart with me? I have other trivial matters to do as well?"

Phoenix has posed:
"Oh...God of War? So you have women incharge of War? Asgardian Gods are nowhere near as sexist as the God of Christianty, good to know," Jean grins at Loki, clearly rather liking this tidbit. The Greeks after all had their Ares, and Romans their Mars, a woman God of War was a lovely change of pace.

"Well, we did have an agreement, and whether intentionally or not, directly or indirectly, you broke the trust I put in you. I'm not sure how you would view such a thing done against you, but it is not trivial to me..." Jean makes the statement as if to refocus on the fact Loki certainly gave her reason to be displeased. "You can go back to your godly dealings, just please, have respect that this is a place of learning, and note we are not looking to endanger our students...ok?"

Loki has posed:
"I'm actually not all that interested in your school, to be honest," Loki says, shrugging his shoulders as she brings up that 'broken agreement' thing, and makes her plea. "I did not think it agreement breaking to seek /aid/ from your facility. I now know that you hold me in that light. I will consider my saving Dani's life today the final time I will offer aid, as well?" Loki asks, with his usual slippery words.

Phoenix has posed:
There's a there and gone again, barely lasting more than a second flicker of a flame across Jean's pupils, that Loki may or may not be keen enough to notice when he makes light of her words. Jean for her part doesn't seem any different at all, though her tone changes for a brief moment when she urges, "do not take me for a fool." Just the one sentence, before her tone returns to normal, as if nothing just happened, to the point she herself doesn't quite seem to be aware of the words she just spoken.

"I appreciate your help, we all do, but I don't buy for a second that you have no interest in my school, because I remember Jeremy Larkin, and I've seen him before the Shadow King revealed himself..." she offers a reminder that regardless of what she knows or doesn't know about his aims, she knows he's been around before she knew who he was.

"Let us stay on amicable terms, but let's do it direct and openly, I prefer clarity, if it pleases you," Jean somehow both makes a demand and a plea at the same time, making it seem more a request than a demand, but she hopes to appeal at the very least to the point of not burning bridges. Even if Dr. Strange might advice her to burn this particular bridge.

Loki has posed:
The swell of power as a rebuttal gains Loki's stare, but how he feels about it is hidden. Loki's expression is a mask of smugness. "Things change," Loki answers, as for the interest in the school. Which may not be far off: if Loki really wanted to be in the school, he probably would have at least tried it! Or maybe he has been, and just remained uncaught?

"Asgard has been far more worthy of my time," Loki says, lofty. There's no lie in it, only bragging. Humans are nothing compared to Asgard: and for once, it might work in the humans' favor.

"For now, I have chosen to assist in keeping your school safe. Do not mark me as an enemy, and that will continue," Loki says smoothly. "Now then, I /am/ busy. Enjoy your celebration," Loki bids: and begins to fade out, as he enacts magic to pull him out of the school.

Phoenix has posed:
"I can understand that much," Jean says to Loki with a smile, taking no offense at the obvious. Naturally, his own godly realm would take precedence over all Earthly matters, or so she would expect things to be.

Jean's hand extends towards Loki, a friendly gesture, looking to shake over the words, "than let it be so, you may call on us, we may call on you, but we will try to stay out of each other's way if possible, as neither of us truly needs a distraction. You with Earthly matters, and us with Godly matters, agreed to that much?"

But Loki's exit is far more dramatic, leaving Jean's hand hanging, but she's not upset about it. Rather she just sighs in relief and goes to sit at her desk to do her administrative work. Conversing with a god, specificly a God of Mischief, is never a relaxing affair, and she's just glad nothing amiss took place. Or so she thinks.