"I prefer my companions to be witty and intelligent generally." Which didn't mean he hadn't had drunken misadventures. "I don't like being bored, basically."
"So you said before, but I don't believe it." Her home life might be quiet, but her job likely made up for it. And quiet and uneventful did not always equal boring. They'd both admitted to enjoying long baths, or reading a great deal.
That had both brows shooting up, and he went quiet. His eyes, as Eric, were brown but she knew that look by now. Loki was studying her, assessing and measuring and deciding how he wanted to answer. If he answered. "Not yet." He finally said softly, but there was something in his expression... He was being entirely honest, and trying to be certain she knew that.
Somewhat safer, but he's quiet again while thinking. "I....don't hate my brother." Not that one could tell given all the times they'd fought and he'd stabbed the other. Even until very recently, Loki acted like he wanted nothing to do with his brother. "It's very complicated." Again, an entirely honest answer.
"Families are complicated even here, and when you're not royal. I can't imagine the sibling rivalry though, there had to be a lot of one upping each other."
She had been similar with her older sister, always feeling the need to have better grades, to practice skills more. To earn a bit more affection.
"You're putting it politely." With half of his mouth quirked up in a faint smirk. "Why go into surgery? Into the medical field at all?" She was given some time to answer, as the waitstaff approached. Pouring their wine, then leaving the bottle. Not long after the first part of their meal would arrive.
She is. And she waits for the staff to leave before she answers.
"I always loved science. I was the one girl who was eager to dissect a frog in class. And I worked really hard on my grades so it just sort of made sense to go to med school. Surgery was what I fell in love with when I got there. I enjoy that my patients are quiet during the hardest parts of my job." She smiles, "and maybe I like knives a bit."
"All the more reason to teach you how to use one then." A pause. "And you like helping people. Both for your own reasons but also for no personal benefit whatsoever." He's smiling again though, a soft little one that isn't just polite.
"I can understand that motivation." That had been... He'd wanted so badly to prove himself capable and worthy of the throne. Even after ruling in secret for 4 years, he still didn't necessarily feel worthy of it. It rankled inside him, and Loki often didn't like analyzing those thoughts.
"Where would you travel, if you could go anywhere?" A safer question, but he found himself genuinely curious about her answer. Earth's borders had been vastly expanded in the last few years. What might've seemed out of reach before was within reach now.
Once more, she's given time to form her answer as the first part of their food is brought out.
The food is set before them and she is briefly distracted by the smell of it before she can answer him.
"There are so many places on Earth that I've never been to. Like Australia, I've never seen a kangaroo that wasn't in a zoo. And off world travel didn't really seem like something I'd ever be able to do."
"Why not?" He was making a mental note later to look up more about Australia, and what a Kangaroo was. He *loathed* not knowing something that seemed so simple.
"You should eat." Is what he said for now, with a little mental nudge. Contradictory to his words, he held his wine glass up to hers. "To interesting encounters?"
All while he was seriously considering the question, and if he wanted to answer. How he WOULD even answer that.
She feels that prod and gives him a pointed look before raising her glass to his.
"Interesting encounters."
She's not surprised he tried to influence her at dinner, it was a great time to try to catch her off guard. She will sip her wine and then start to eat though
His expression in return is entirely unapologetic. She gets an approving gesture of his head, somewhere between a bow and a nod. He'll also follow his own words, starting to eat. The presentation was certainly worth the price-tag, even though Loki wasn't actually paying for any of it.
"I think I'd be doing something similar to what I do now."
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