And above all, Loki was...welcoming? Kind? Seto smiled at him, spurred by his relief at how warm he felt to lean on Loki's arm, briefly brushing against him affectionately.
"I'll take you up on that challenge sometime. I'm usually reading at the library between shifts...and I still owe you a game of wits, right?"
"That's what Riddle games can be." Loki agreed, squeezing Kaiba's shoulder gently in acknowledgement and affection. "How are the Library shifts going? Also, please feel free to have a seat." Removing his hand to gesture to the made-up bed (with lots of blankets and pillows) or the comfy reading chair."
"The idea of riddle contests and similar go back very far."
Seto sat on the bed, feeling more comfortable here than before. He folded his hands in front of him as he thought on his library work.
"It's not as bad as I expected. Most people are quiet, and Puck isn't bad company. And speaking of riddles, over the past while I've been thinking that the library could use some expansion. If we had a game room, it could be a community gathering place that's calmer than some of the ones we have already"
He tapped his knee as he thought. "I'm saving my shards to wish for a few different games. Boards, cards, puzzles."
"Thinking back to you and your brother's dream, hmm?" Loki sounded approving though. Which he was. "Let me know if you want some help with shards. I'm willing to donate to the cause."
Seto nods, reaching up to squeeze his locket. "It's a lot smaller scale than the theme park. But...night clubs aren't my scene. I wanted to build a quieter place for people to socialize."
"I've never actually been to a night club, although Klaus intends to take me sometime." Loki commented with some amusement. "In this type of town and era, most people socialize at the tavern or market. So you'll have to work to bring something 'new' in."
Kaiba laughed softly as he pictured Loki in a night club. Honestly, the god of mischief would probably be a better fit than most people.
"No, I'll start small. Take over a corner of a room at the library first. If I can gather enough interest, then I'll work on building my own space. I just thought Mokuba and the other kids around his age could use a space.
"That'll be one of my next shopping trips, looking for games from home," Seto nods to himself. If he could gather games from other worlds, it could truly be a library.
"But there are more important things to spend shards on. Maybe I should wear armor if things are going to hunt me."
"Only because things are going to hunt you?" Loki asked with a raised eyebrow. He'd actually already been thinking about it for the younger man he'd taken on as protege. Even if neither he nor Kaiba expected him to be in prolonged battles, they were in a medieval world and it was likely trouble would find Kaiba. Better he have at least some basic armor, much as Loki also believed it better the other know how to fight. Even if he viewed that latter skill as the more important.
"When I'm strong enough, I'll be more proactive in fights. But yes," he nodded. "I would've been shredded like tissue paper if those teeth had caught me."
It was too close. "I know it'll be harder to move and I'll have to build more muscle to compensate."
"It shouldn't be harder to move in per se. That's often a sign of ill-fit and ill-maintenance." Loki pointed out as he regarded the other. "Do you know what kind of armor would suit you, even?"
"I don't really know. If I'm using a throwing knife and always trying to create space...lightweight and smaller is better, right? To hide more easily."
He'd known some guys who really like leather, and he had his metal arm bands, but that was about the extent of his experience.
Loki was quiet while Seto thought, and could see his reasoning. But this had also likely never come up for the other before. He'd lead a dangerous life but it was in a different way than Loki had. "And if you can't hide but have to fight? What kind of style will you be wanting to use in fighting? I know your hand to hand is solid enough for your age and level of training."
"Do not be 'honorable'. If you can not overpower it, strike however you can, aim to do damage and do what you must to stay alive." Which is not necessarily how a normal Asgardian might advise Kaiba. But Loki wasn't exactly a 'normal' Asgardian in so many ways.
"I will. I've had to escape desperate spots before," Seto promised, and he knew he'd have to fight dirty again in the future. There were people he didn't want to leave.
"...yes. I know you know far more than me about this stuff."
"I was raised a prince in a more martially-minded society, that for all our advancements also bear similarities to this realm we find ourselves in now. Had you been in a different era in your world, you might be more familiar too." Just pointing that out.
"Now, what I recommend is you go for something similar to what I wear, but with your own tastes and customization. I actually have two sets of armor here, and will be showing you a third and explaining why I think they would be good guides for you. You'll be using daggers and knives, much like I do, and only hand-to-hand when you need to or it's convenient to blend in with the knife-fighting. That's much of what I do, hence why I'm recommending similar to my own." Laying out his reasoning. "Questions or comments?"
"Comfort is a malleable term. Your armor should be comfortable enough that you can wear it all day and all night if need be. But that is mostly achieved by good fit and material that suits, as it does depend on the type of armor." Loki got to his feet.
"You recall what I was wearing earlier, or shall I show you again?"
"I am sorry about that." Loki murmured. "It's a combination of leather and light-mail. Easy to move in and fight in, and different from my brother's own or the warriors three, or Lady Sif." Loki let a shimmer of green was over him, placing in an outfit that Kaiba had seen before. If he remembered, from when they first met. "This is also armor, in that it's entirely leather, and I have indeed fought in it. The other is more suited for a winter climate, which is why I wished for it to be returned."
Loki turned his head a bit, then back to face Kaiba with a wry smile. "The cape is optional, really. There is one more variation I would show you, mostly because I will suggest we model any you look into after it."
Seto waved a hand with a little smile. It was all fine. "It's in the past, we lived. I've had worse."
And then he took in the next set of armor with a wild smile. "I like that...but I've always liked a dramatic silhouette. The flared coats are more my thing."
That made Loki laugh. "Funny you should say that." HE replied with a wink.
There was another shift of green over his form, putting him in yet another form of armor. "This is probably the look that I am most infamous for, especially with my helm and cape."
Seto nodded approvingly, taking mental note. "I prefer silvers and blues, but...I can work with something similar. But I wonder if the cape might be slight overkill."
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2024-02-17 02:58 am (UTC)"I'll take you up on that challenge sometime. I'm usually reading at the library between shifts...and I still owe you a game of wits, right?"
no subject
Date: 2024-02-18 02:13 am (UTC)"The idea of riddle contests and similar go back very far."
no subject
Date: 2024-02-18 02:55 am (UTC)"It's not as bad as I expected. Most people are quiet, and Puck isn't bad company. And speaking of riddles, over the past while I've been thinking that the library could use some expansion. If we had a game room, it could be a community gathering place that's calmer than some of the ones we have already"
He tapped his knee as he thought. "I'm saving my shards to wish for a few different games. Boards, cards, puzzles."
no subject
Date: 2024-02-18 03:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-19 03:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-19 04:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-22 03:03 am (UTC)"No, I'll start small. Take over a corner of a room at the library first. If I can gather enough interest, then I'll work on building my own space. I just thought Mokuba and the other kids around his age could use a space.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-22 03:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-23 02:57 am (UTC)"But there are more important things to spend shards on. Maybe I should wear armor if things are going to hunt me."
no subject
Date: 2024-02-23 03:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-23 04:16 am (UTC)It was too close. "I know it'll be harder to move and I'll have to build more muscle to compensate."
no subject
Date: 2024-02-23 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-24 01:42 am (UTC)"I don't really know. If I'm using a throwing knife and always trying to create space...lightweight and smaller is better, right? To hide more easily."
He'd known some guys who really like leather, and he had his metal arm bands, but that was about the extent of his experience.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-24 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-24 01:55 am (UTC)"Use the knife to disable it. Hit the eyes, maybe. Claw my way out any way I can if I have to...hand strike, knee. Depends how I'm caught."
no subject
Date: 2024-02-24 01:57 am (UTC)"Would you like my advice and input?"
no subject
Date: 2024-02-24 02:04 am (UTC)"...yes. I know you know far more than me about this stuff."
no subject
Date: 2024-02-24 02:08 am (UTC)"Now, what I recommend is you go for something similar to what I wear, but with your own tastes and customization. I actually have two sets of armor here, and will be showing you a third and explaining why I think they would be good guides for you. You'll be using daggers and knives, much like I do, and only hand-to-hand when you need to or it's convenient to blend in with the knife-fighting. That's much of what I do, hence why I'm recommending similar to my own." Laying out his reasoning. "Questions or comments?"
no subject
Date: 2024-02-25 02:11 am (UTC)"Is comfort something you have to consider with all day wear?"
no subject
Date: 2024-02-27 01:04 am (UTC)"You recall what I was wearing earlier, or shall I show you again?"
no subject
Date: 2024-03-01 04:27 am (UTC)"I remember. Felt how sharp it was," he snorted softly. "Not that I can count on my enemies to clumsily crash into me at high speeds."
no subject
Date: 2024-03-01 04:36 am (UTC)Loki turned his head a bit, then back to face Kaiba with a wry smile. "The cape is optional, really. There is one more variation I would show you, mostly because I will suggest we model any you look into after it."
no subject
Date: 2024-03-03 03:01 am (UTC)And then he took in the next set of armor with a wild smile. "I like that...but I've always liked a dramatic silhouette. The flared coats are more my thing."
no subject
Date: 2024-03-03 03:35 am (UTC)There was another shift of green over his form, putting him in yet another form of armor. "This is probably the look that I am most infamous for, especially with my helm and cape."
no subject
Date: 2024-03-04 03:21 am (UTC)A fond, gentle tease.
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