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[dothelokimotion]

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[scythias]

Not even here?

( she knows a little about uneven odds but things have been pretty equal while here. )

[dothelokimotion]

What is "here"? This is just a place. We live our days from moment to moment.

[scythias]

Maybe it's just me but I've found that the playing field here is a little more even than it would be elsewhere.

( but maybe that's just her. )

[dothelokimotion]

[ his jaw tightens. ]

Until they leave. Until they forget.

[scythias]

That's not giving them a lot of credit.

( she looks at him steadily. )

You really think that?

[dothelokimotion]

There is no worse death than being forgotten. And I've seen it happen many times in this place.

[scythias]

I'm sure you have.

( hell, she's seen it happen too. )

Do those you spend time with here know you're expecting that?

[dothelokimotion]

I think we're all aware of it to some degree.

[scythias]

Perhaps.

( she thinks she's more aware of her own mortality than anything else. )

But my time might be finite now. And I'm choosing to believe in this place and my friends.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki hums. ]

I have very little to believe in. And it changes from moment to moment.

[scythias]

So, what do you believe in here?

( she's curious. )

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki falls quiet for a brief moment. ]

I believe in myself. It's all I have left these days.

[scythias]

( she nods. )

And what do you think of the people here? Do you believe in them?

[dothelokimotion]

Believe in what, precisely?

What can people do here?

[scythias]

What do they have to do besides be here, Loki?

( they were here and they wanted to be around him. )

What are you hoping people can do here?

[dothelokimotion]

[ but is it enough? it never seems to be. everything here is so gossamer, liker butterfly wings. a heartbeat.

you'll never be ready, he told thor once. loki was never ready. and now he readies himself for the end, over and over. the anomaly has a chokehold on his life. ]

Leave a mark, I suppose.

[scythias]

And you don't think anyone has?

( she smiles gently at him. )

[dothelokimotion]

I think when you're the only one left holding them . . . it doesn't feel real.

[scythias]

For me, I think it makes it more real. More special.

( because she knows that they can slip away quicker than she would like. )

[dothelokimotion]

It's never felt that way to me.

[ probably because it feels like losing and loki is too used to losing. ]

[scythias]

I get that.

( she wishes it felt different for him but she understands where he's coming from. )

And it takes a long time to change a way of thinking.

[dothelokimotion]

It's harder, I think, when you spend time around mortals. Loss isn't . . . common among Gods.

[scythias]

Have I ever told you about me?

( about exactly what she is. )

[dothelokimotion]

[ quietly. ]

In pieces. I know you are long-lived. But your heart remains human.

[scythias]

I don't think there's ever been a name for what I am.

( she's been called a god but she knows she's not. )

I've lived over six thousand years. Some have called me a god or immortalt but I'm not.