bionicstaringmachine

[ She can't say she's surprised, after all that advice about knives. But not having your mind as your own, and for a long time? That's just horrible. She doesn't even know this person and she already feels for him. ]

I guess I shouldn't complain about Father not wanting me to leave the woods.

[ Mind control magic being freely used out there? Yikes. ]

My father is Loki, Prince of Asgard. The Trickster, the Sly One, the God of Mischief, Father of the Sea-Thread, the Wolf-sire, the Hound of the Roaring Sea of Corpses of the Ale-Gefn.

[ She can go on, really. Her father has a whole list of titles. ]

It's not something that happens a lot, unless you're certain people.

[ He's talking about how this type of thing happens to Avengers and Avengers adjacent people more often than they probably like to admit ( more than once is already too much ). Or if it were conditioned into you because you had no other choice. ]

Your dad is Thor's brother?

WHY do people always do that? Why do you have to be someone's anything when you have perfectly good names and titles yourself?

[ Choosing to call herself Tiny Trickster is one thing. But Loki's daughter? Fenrir's sister? The Ironwoods' Most Wonderful Spinster? ]

It's like joining the Avengers but everyone calls you Captain America's dog.

[ To be fair, the only Avengers she knows are Cap and Thor. ]

You’re talking to the guy who’s also known as Cap’s Best Friend.

[ He knows Sharon meant that to be a pain in the ass, but from that display on Steve’s behalf at the Smithsonian, it wasn’t entirely off the mark. ]

And I’ve at least met Thor, even if I didn’t really talk much to the guy.

For what it’s worth, I didn’t mean any offense by it. I’m not really part of the Avengers so I don’t know much outside the little bit I was there for and what I’ve been told or read about.

[ And he was part of the reason they had that rift between them, but he’s not gonna mention that. ]

Seriously?

[ She was just joking. Mostly. Oops. ]

I didn't mean any offense by it, either. It's just... brothers can sometimes cast really dark shadows, and we'd like to be our own person, you know? I'm the youngest of four. My brothers are all [ Weird. Monstrous. Literal monsters. Er. ] talented. I'm not.

[ Oh no, she's having a pity party with a stranger. It's easier to be honest like this though, strangely enough. ]

Seriously. That or the Winter Solider. But the Smithsonian’s more about me being his best friend, making me sound like some kind of hero.

[ May as well air it all out, right? Between who her dad and uncle are, she might even know more than he does half the time. ]

Sounds like something my siblings would’ve said, if they were around still. But it was a different time back then, I had to do my fair share in taking care of all of them.

So older siblings don’t always gotta be so bad, shadows or not.

You don't think you're a hero because of the murder?

And what's the Smithsonian?

[ She has no concept of geography beyond the Ironwoods. And Asgard somewhere out there beyond a rainbow. ]

Well, Fen did get me a phone. Maybe older brothers aren't always so bad.

[ Okay, her curiosity is piqued. She has to know more about this Bucky, Cap's Best Friend, or the Winter Soldier. But she can't ask her father. Loki's not exactly keen about her meeting boys (or girls) outside of the family. ]

Back then, maybe? I did what I was supposed to. I went to war, fought to try and stop the bad guys. Then the bad guys made me into one of 'em for a while. Now I just do what I can, when I can.

It's a museum. They like to keep old stuff there.

[ Now he is being funny, making a joke at his own expense about being an old man because of the exhibit for his best friend being in one and how he was a feature in it as well. He doesn't even know how old Hel is in comparison to himself, but he was raise with some manners not to ask that kind of thing. ]

Or he's the good one out of the three.

"Bad" and "good" is sometimes just a matter of perspective though. [ Her father is definitely not bad. Just misunderstood. ] You sound like a good guy.

But I might need to let Garmr give you a sniff test to be sure.

[ Now she is being funny. He seems to get it. Even if she doesn't get the "old" jokes... yet. ]

Where is the Smithsonian? I've never traveled outside of the woods. [ Except Asgard, but even then that's not official. She'd snuck over there when her father had been drunk out of his mind, but nobody's supposed to know so she doesn't talk about it. ]

And if he bites me? That could mean he thinks I'm "bad" or just that he's lookin' for his next meal, after you said you had to threaten him with a steak knife.

[ His is a joke as well, even if she can't see the slight upturn to his lips into a smirk. And he won't argue about the "good" and "bad" labels that get thrown around because he's slowly coming to terms with the fact that people might actually view him as a little heroic but then he waits for the other shoe to drop and for them to look at him in horror when they realize what he used to do. It's a daily struggle, but it's getting better the more he tries to integrate himself into the world. ]

Sounds like you need to leave the woods, see some things. It's in D.C. - Washington. I don't know where these woods are you're at, but it's about five hours from here in Brooklyn.

Guess we'll have to find out which of that you are. If you're a bad guy or you just smell nice.

[ Wait, is this flirting? ]

I think I can ask my brother for my address, he goes out into the world more. But I don't think he or my other brothers or my parents will allow me to leave. [ It's a long story. ] Do you have transportation?

I think I smell nice enough, but I don't get a lot of people close enough to me to tell me otherwise. I'll have to hope he doesn't go and rip my other arm off, I don't think the Wakandans will gimme another one right now.

[ The comment about him smelling nice, it kind of gets away from him and he's reminded of how out of practice he is when it comes to flirting, even if that had been the aim. He really does hope her dog doesn't decide to make a meal out of him though. He's sure that will only give Sam more ammunition to give him shit, probably stating that his people skills are so terrible that even a dog doesn't wanna deal with him. ]

I have a motorcycle. But I could probably rent a car or borrow something. [ He actually means borrow, not liberate a vehicle from somewhere with the intent to return it later. ] They couldn't be convinced to give you a temporary discharge? Or would this be like breaking you outta jail?

You only have one arm? [ And he's like, an Avenger? Fighting and all that? ] That's so cool.

[ Oh no, he's offering to break her out. He sounds perfect. ]

More like rescuing a princess from a tower guarded by a dragon in a forest in the middle of nowhere. [ While all that is true, to a certain degree, she hastily adds so he doesn't get some inflated idea about her: ] But an ugly, scary princess.

[ Yes, she's normally this self-deprecating. ]

I have two arms, just one of 'em is a prosthetic.

[ That's the simplest way to explain his vibranium arm without getting too far into it. If they actually meet in person, maybe he'll give up more of the tale then or maybe she won't care. So far it's just nice to talk to someone where it feels kind of normal in spite of the both of them being not all that normal themselves. ]

Sounds like something I've read in a book. You've gotta be shitting me about the dragon, unless these woods are far enough out of the way people haven't noticed it yet.

You don't sound like an ugly, scary princess.

[ She actually has to take a moment to text her brother how she could look things up on her phone because she's not familiar with prosthetics. Then she gently starts to pry him about museums, in a careful, roundabout way to determine where her location is in reference to the Smithsonian. She's stubborn like that when she wants to get something done.

In the meantime: ] That's weird. I like it.

[ Hey, normal is boring! ]

Okay, fine. He's actually a giant snake, and he doesn't breathe fire, but he likes to pretend he does because that scares humans. His venom is more lethal than fire though. Thor's afraid of him because there's some prophecy that he's going to kill him someday.

[ Has she mentioned that the giant snake is also her brother? Not the one who gave her the phone, but another one. And their eldest is a horse. ]

I look like a scary, ugly princess. But I'll wear a disguise when we go out, so I don't make it weird.

Thanks. This one's a lot nicer than the ones I had before.

[ It's easier to say that, than the self deprecating thing about how she might not like it so much if she saw it in person. Sometimes people thought it was cool, other times not. He'll let her reserve her final judgment when ( if? ) they actually meet face to face. ]

Good thing I'm not scared of snakes.

Is the snake part of what's keeping you in the woods?

[ This was a jailbreak after all, so he wonders if that is just part of the measures to keep her from venturing out or if it was just something that was living in the woods. ]

Doubt you'd make it weird. Most people are paying attention to what's going on in their own world to notice other people that are around 'em anyway.

Ha, no. I can outsmart them all if I wanted to. [ The giant snake, the giant wolf, the giants, the wolves, even her parents. Even Odin. ] I just...

[ There's a long pause. Just those dots. Typing... ]

I'm human shaped, but I don't look like you. I'm marked by death. And humans hate ugly things.

[ She's never really admitted that to anyone. Even to herself, she'd always chalked it up to her parents not permitting her to leave because her presence might anger Odin. But deep down, this is the reason why she's never left the woods. She's not sure she can take being rejected by the world. ]

[ Bucky's used to not talking a lot, being the guy who sits there and stares, listening. Texting isn't any different. So he lets the typing dots do what they need to because so far Hel's one of the only people outside of those he knows through Steve, been court mandated to talk to or been on a list for him to set things right with ( there's probably others, but those are the main categories he has to go with ), that he's talked to and he's finding that he...enjoys talking to her? Even if it's through text and not even face to face. ]

I've noticed not a lot has changed in the past several decades that people can be assholes sometimes, but I dunno, some of 'em surprise you from time to time.

And some can have a little bit of "ugly" that they hide from everyone else too.

[ A beat, a pause, since he doesn't really know what "marked by death" means but he knows what can get people looking: ]

If I keep my vibranium arm uncovered they'll pay more attention to that than they would you.

You would do that?

I mean, you don't have to, I have magic and I can hide my face. But that's really kind of you.

[ Maybe he's lying? There's no way for her to tell. This texting thing is so limited. But if he is, truly, Captain America's best friend, then he must at least be a decent human. He certainly sounds like one. ]

Yeah. I'm used to people staring if they realize who I am or if they notice the arm. It stands out a lot.

[ When what he used to do relied heavily on him being quick, efficient, gone as unnoticed as possible - blending in isn't difficult for him but he also knows the ways to bring attention to himself all the same. Someone expressing gratitude to him is still different, even if he isn't as dazed by it as he was before. While she's unaware of it, he nods a little because he doesn't want to call attention to it and instead decides to make it sound like she has options now. ]

Now you can decide if you wanna use your magic or not.

Are you famous because of your arm or because you're an Avenger?

[ What? He'd just so casually said that people recognize him enough that he can shield her from unwanted attention.

Which he's continuously being so kind about. Now she really wants to meet him. ]

Okay. What else will we need? Aside from knives. Snacks?

I’m not an Avenger. [ He stands by this, that he’ll get involved and do things if it turns out Sam ( or other Avengers adjacent persons ) needs him or he gets wind of something going on near him but he’s not an Avenger. ] And I’m not famous but sometimes I get recognized.

[ People who spent a lot of time looking at that display in the Smithsonian or pay attention to history, mostly but he’s not trying to get into all that right now. ]

What kind of snacks do you like?

[ Not an Avenger is... good? Her father might be less opposed to her hanging out with him. Although leaving the Ironwoods to go on a roadtrip with him doesn't make a very good first impression. Should she tell him her father might turn him into a frog if they get caught?? ]

Just a funny man with a funny arm then.

Chocolate and berries. Mostly berries, it's easy to get a lot of that around here. But there must be all kinds of snacks out there.

You think I'm funny? Or do you mean different?

[ He doesn't really need the answer, she's still talking to him and that means she's not put off by him yet. He can see if meeting her in person does the trick on that or not. ]

Those aren't bad choices. I guess it depends on the chocolate, since there's a lot out there. Meat, cheese and chips are easy to get for snacks.

I think you're funny. And nice. And different, but that's okay. I'm different.

[ She's thinking that too, so they're even? ]

Even human meat?

[ SHE'S JOKING she doesn't eat human meat but okay she can mess with him a little, she can't help it. ]

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