whose_son_am_i | Meme-shenanigans and Continuations.

Loki didn't flinch when she prodded near the wound, but it was clear he didn't exactly enjoy the touch either. At least from his expression. But then, he had mentioned it felt tender still. "I do remember telling you that if we could stop the bleeding, I'd just need rest."

"Being told is different from seeing it in action." Her hands don't linger, she's separated this into professional mode.

"Can probably remove the stitches tomorrow."

It probably was different seeing it in action, true.

"Another chance to try and kill me hmm? Since you'll be using a scalpel?" That teasing grin was back, as Loki pulled his shirt back down.

"I'll be using scissors. Which could also be used for stabbing, bit more work than a scalpel."

Teasing about murder is surprising light with him, and it amuses her to no end. She's sure he knows she wouldn't be able to actually kill him even if she wanted.

"Messier too, but you'd get more leverage depending on the kind of wound." She would have to make a concentrated effort to kill him, and they both knew it. Then again, Asgardians could be reasonably bloodthirsty in the right situations and he had been raised an Asgardian. "Besides, I said I'd bleed all over your couch next time."

"Shit. That would make it much harder to cover up, I'd never be able to move a blood-soaked couch out of here unnoticed."

She fakes a dramatic sigh.

"Guess you'll be alive to tell the tale of me saving your life."

"My scheme is working then." He says with a chuckle, before moving to retrieve what was left of his apple. "You have the day off...when did you want to start learning about how to shield yourself better?"

"You are clever." She nods with a laugh.

"Whenever you feel up to it. I don't know how draining it is for you."

"Oh this isn't even that clever." She had a very nice laugh, and Loki enjoyed teasing her.

"It won't be draining for me, but it will be exhausting for you." He said, serious once more. "You'll be doing a lot of mental work."

She nods. "I'm used to exhausting. I'm willing to try."

She's often mentally exhausted at the end of the day, at least today and tomorrow see her with no real work to be done.

"Then I suggest you find yourself a comfy position, and start meditating. As I said, you want to know your own mind as much as possible, and the first step is also being aware of how your own energy flows through you."

Which also meant he should finish his apple.

"Okay." She nods and shuts her laptop to go over to the sofa to sit, neat and cross-legged while she calms and focuses her mind. It's more difficult with someone around but she's still able to do so.

At least he's quiet, aside from finishing his apple, while she sets up. Getting them both glasses too--juice for her, wine for him. She'd given him permission to rummage, after all.

"First, start by focusing on your breathing. As you breathe in and out, imagine it bringing energy with it. Try to feel how that energy flows through you. What makes up 'Dr. Christine Palmer' in space and energy." All hints of teasing are gone, and his voice is steady. Patient even.

She's doing her usual routine of focusing on her breathing.

His voice has changed, it's almosy calming, a silky warmth wrapping around her thoughts as she focuses on her being right down to the core.

Loki was nothing if not prideful, and he planned to do this *right*. His pride would not let him sabotage this. Whether she realized it or not, Dr. Christine Palmer had moved in his mind to something that was to be watched. A rare truly kind person--and Loki liked his rarities and secrets.

"You need to start by knowing how 'you' feel, in the metaphysical sense. Once you feel you have that, imagine yourself surrounded by a bubble. A strong but flexible bubble. Let me know when you have that image, and I'll test you."

She is probably a sort of rarity, it's true. Though she knows plenty of kind people.

She let's his voice guide her, to paint the picture in her mind of a bubble made of the same shimmer as his magic. He's sure to break right through but hopefully she will provide at least a little resistance.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Glasses placed nearby her and him, Loki moved to come stand in front of her. "Good. Resist me."

And he moved to nudge her again. A mental suggestion that she stand up. Nothing harmful, but a clear order and thought that weren't her own.

If she were properly centered, then she should be able to resist--since he wasn't suggesting very hard. This was the equivalent of a light poke testing the water's surface.

Edited 2021-08-16 12:04 (UTC)

It's helpful that she knows what she's feeling for, that thought that presses into her mind that isn't hers. She can see it in her minds eye, a wisp of green. Her legs twitch but she doesn't move.

In fact she lets her bubble push back, to see if she can reach him, to press closer to his mind.

Loki let a pleased smirk come to his face. Oh yes, he definitely could learn to like this one. There was no bubble for his mind, were she able to reach it anyways. Instead he simply wasn't 'there'--hiding his presence just as skillfully as he could do in the physical world.

"I said, you should stand up." A harder nudge this time. Poking the bubble in a different spot.

Of course he wasn't there, he's been doing this for ages.

Resisting is more difficult this time, it feels like a physical fight to keep her muscles just as they are. Physicallly her body tenses, it wants to obey but her mind fights it.

"I don't want to."

"Good." Loki nodded in satisfaction. "Imagine that desire, that force with which you want to resist, reinforcing your bubble."

No nudges or suggestions then. "That bubble is the bare minimum of a shield. Eventually you want to layer it, or find other ways of shielding. But imagine that bubble constantly surrounding your mind. Keeping out thoughts and suggestions that are not your own." A pause, and he moved to sit back down in the arm-chair across the room. "It will take practice, before it becomes second nature."

She takes all the tension in her body and uses it to build up her bubble, relaxing her body as the color deepens in her mind. Slowly she opens her eyes, it takes a moment for her vision to adjust and then she chuckles.

"Ah, you found my wine." She smiles at him. "Can you feel me the way I feel you when you're trying to get in my head?"

"In what way do you mean?" Loki needed clarification. If she had been trying to reach out, then he hadn't noticed. She would need far more practice, and to build up her own reserves of energy, to find his presence. "And you should walk to your kitchen." That last statement was another nudge. A stronger suggestion, testing her to see if she were still guarding herself.

He planned to throw little tests at her like that throughout the day, as she'd need to improve her shielding until it was unconscious and reflexive.

"When you're suggesting something it's like I can feel you there." She stretches and moves to stand.

"Like that. I didn't catch at first but I can feel it's not me."

She doesn't expect to be able to walk into his mind, he's been shielding himself for a thousand years.

"I just wondered if you felt me prodding around trying to find you."

"I could not. You'll need far more practice and energy to be able to find me." Better she know the truth of it. "I'm also not trying to be subtle in my suggestions. If I wanted, I could tailor them more to be like your own thoughts and make my presence less obvious. That comes from studying people however, and being able to blend in and adapt."

Bringing up that glass of wine, and taking a drink.

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