Well That's Interesting ... [OPEN]

[Anonymous]

“And I thought I told you to take it easy …”

Loki was dragged away from the fringes of sleep. Astrophel had sensed his consciousness groggily rising and coaxed him away from it with a surprisingly soft echo. He tried to find his centre, his focus, so that he might reply to his dragon. His head was throbbing, pain washing over him, the waves carrying him further away from where he wanted to be. He clawed his way back.

“I am now,” he struggled to respond.

Eyes still closed, he placed a hand over his forehead. He searched for that oasis of energy in his mind, digging for magic. He ventured forward without even knowing what he was trying to achieve. Relieve the hangover, yes. But where to start? Even as he retreated into his own body, sensing its functions, he grew more aware of the toxins. It made him feel even worse. Excess of acetaldehyde in his system. Maybe he could help his liver out, force it to remove the chemical faster. Though if he forced the two needed enzyme reactions then he’d really be quite weak- it would result in the liver being unable to supply glucose to the-

Sod it, I’m hurting too badly. Loki began the healing process, feeling magic insinuate itself into his body. It felt odd, like crystals growing in his blood. But it was cleansing. The headache receded. Within ten minutes, he was finished. And was ready to go back to sleep off his hard work. But he needed to pee. With shaking, tired limbs, he groggily tried to move-

Clang!

He cracked one eye open. Handcuffs to the bars on the bedstead, one wrist suspended by it. Well shit. Whose brilliant idea was that? Probably his. Not that he could remember what the hell he had been up to the other night. He looked around, eyes squinting in defence against the light flowing into his room. Yep. It was definitely in his room. Hiss. A sound from inside his head. It took him a while to pinpoint it, suspecting it to be the tap in his bathroom. It took him a while to realise Astrophel was laughing at him, and making the effort for the laugh to translate into a sound within his head. Loki ignored his dragon, looking around for the key.

Nowhere to be seen. Of course, Astrophel would shut up now and refuse to help where possible. Because this was a good lesson. And it was too damn funny to him to watch him struggle like this. Great for him. Evidently dragons had nothing better to do.

He was stuck in his bedroom. Telekinesis would be pretty handy right now, then he’d be able to pick the lock mechanism. No such luck for him. Last night must have been fun … given that he was oh so very naked at present. Either that or someone had waited until he was wasted enough to be tricked into this. Then that someone was going to die.

There was nothing for it. Loki sat up and yanked on the handcuffs one last time to find them strong. He’d really have to do it, which was a little embarrassing. He shut his eyes and concentrated, sending out a psychic shout to any Pilot that so happened to be passing.

“Requesting assistance for the relief of rather compromising situation. No qualifications required. Room 798 Block 2. Apply within.”

Perhaps some good might come of this- his saviour might be hot. Hot, and possibly plural. Hot saviours. One could only hope.

[Anonymous]

Ooop almost stepped on that one. Gah jump it!

Satori's eyes were on the floor as she walked down the hallway. At the moment she was playing that game all kids seem to play when they're younger. Don't step on the crack or you'll break...someone's back. Without a mother to speak of it was somewhat pointless, but it wasted more time. Her tennis shoes squeaked as she hopped passed a couple cracks. She liked to say you break a Dragon's back, but Lanty normally took offense when she actually stepped on a crack.

She was dressed up in her running gear at the moment, a pair of baggy short that came midway down her thigh and a sports bra. Normally people weren't up this earlier to see her dressed as scantily as she ever did in public. It was one of those days, those boring...boring days. She had a large pile of paperwork to go through but she just couldn't bring herself to do it yet. So running was a much better and more interesting option. It actually challenged her body. Adrenaline was a great way to start the day.

She hopped over a couple more, her ponytail hitting between her shoulders then stopped dead with another squeak as a voice hit her mind. A compromising situation eh? She didn't recognize the mental voice or the apartment number, but it was there right next to her. She looked at the door as if willing to see what was inside. She crossed over to the door put a hand on it and it opened sliding into the wall. She leaned her head in not seeing anyone.

She walked into the front room not seeing anyone and continued to look around. She'd never been in this apartment before, she wondered which one of the Pilot's had gotten themselves into a situation in the comfort of their own home. She walked along some more still not seeing anyone.

"Did someone need some help?" Then she found the bedroom. Her face went red immediately her eyes on the floor.

Oh my. She talked to the floor for a moment.

"Um, well certainly is compromising isn't it?" She walked over towards the bed and looked at the person's face instead of...anywhere...els e that might be...showing. Her face turned even more red as she got closer. Her cheeks felt hot against her skin.

"I'm Satori," She held out a hand then pulled it back realizing he couldn't really shake it. "Sorry, um...so how'd you end up here?" She kicked herself mentally, she sounded scared like she had never even seen man parts before! It wasn't that upsetting, just somewhat embarrassing.

Oh my.

[Anonymous]

It could not be denied, killing trolls, orcs, mutant sheep or any other strange creatures you could think of was awesome. Being a pilot had its perks. Sure video games were nice but there was just something satisfying about actually punching a troll in the face, even if was only a hologram. And it was for this reason that Latona was returning from the Holographic Simulator this early in the morning. It was one of her morning rituals, other pilots liked the gym, she liked the virtual video game…which it pretty much was.

     She wasn’t far from arriving back at her apartment when she heard a telepathic message coming from one of the nearby rooms. ‘Compromising Situation’…what could that mean? Curious she headed in the direction the psychic message had come from. Considering it was a fellow pilot this could be any number of mishaps, perhaps even an amusing one.

     When she reached the door she found it unlocked, that was irresponsible. Disregarding this, she stepped inside but didn’t see anyone immediately. However upon entering the bedroom she found Satori. Then noticed the naked man lying on the bed. In what was probably reaching the speed of sound, Latona’s wing was up over her eyes with a loud ‘fwph’ sound.

     Okay…naked person who she didn’t recognise. And in the brief glimpse she had gotten, he appeared to be handcuffed to the bed.

     “…I never took you for a dominatrix, Satori.”

[Anonymous]

Liv only did the early-to-rise thing for one reason: hair care.

Well, hair care and nervous jitters that'd only gotten worse the longer he'd been a Pilot.  The longer he'd had those f-f-fucking dreams dreams and far, far too much to do with things large and scaly and Networked.  He leaned into his mirror, humming something high-pitched under his breath, running a comb through his hair, and thinking about the possibilities of blue dye.  He'd stuck with red since he'd been a Pilot, and predictability was... dangerous.  Trademarks were okay, give people a little something to catch hold of, like hair.  

No, predictability was good for a few things.  People befriended predictable people.  That might indeed be the definition of friendship, trust, and things like that: people could count on you to act the way they'd come to expect.  Hm.  Won't never trust yourself, Livlet, because you always need something else to tell you who you arrre.  Liv pursed his lips and leaned in toward his reflection, vest hanging loose and unbuttoned, and blinked at himself, working his sleep-stiff jaw back and forth.  As per predictable, perhaps he'd go and do the bowl bandit thing today, though he'd begun to feel a little odd about Kit.  She had a bit of a loner forcefield around her; it made ordinary interactions confusing and just... sad, distant, cut off.  Probably he shouldn't.  He didn't have time for the befriending-cute-wounded-creatures thing, Gabe could do it but Liv would just fuck it all up.

Hmph.  

He blew a breath up through his forelock and straightened, tucking in poking bits of pocket.  He ran the brush through his hair one last time, thinking, hey, there are bowlless breakfast options.  He made sure his terminal was shut down and started for the door, pondering the cafeteria's choices.  Wandering down the corridor to the elevators, he started work on his vest buttons and thought, indeed, like quiche or some sort of frittata or--

The fuck?  Liv jumped backwards, fingers flying off the button they'd been worrying.  What--    

The psychic distress call had set all his nerves and muscles jumping.  He relaxed only warily once he'd sorted who it was.  Low-key Loki.  Riight, no coffee for Liv today.  Still, the fuck?  Not really an ordinary wakeup call.  Idiot.  Compromising situation indeed and then that little Brynism, no qualifications required, smart, smart, attention-seeking bastard, well, now he was just curious, yeah. Right.  Okay.  Juuust curious.

Loki's room was just one level down.  Liv took the elevator and composed himself.  By the time he'd made it to the Pilot's room he'd settled into vague curiosity.  This could be interesting.  Fucking mornings.  

Whoooa.  

Nice.

"... Okay, Lokay, I'll bite," he said, leaning against the doorframe and sticking his free hand in his pocket.  He eyed the naked Pilot stretched out on the bed.  "Is this your way of requisitioning a foursome, or has Satori been getting a little too..."  He glanced her way, but frankly Satori seemed as puzzled as he was.  "... Marshal... on you?"

[Anonymous]

He wasn’t expecting rescue so quickly. Loki breathed a sigh of relief that was cut short abruptly when it registered the voice was very feminine. He glanced down at himself and his fears were allayed- if he did say so himself; he had nothing to be ashamed of. “Yeah! I’m in here!” he directed and soon enough the door swung inwards. A woman stepped in, pleasingly underdressed. Lucky day? This wasn’t turning out so bad. He was impressed by her determination to only look at his face. How very polite.

“Well, goooood morning to you, Satori-”

Of course, he had sent out the call on the pretence that there weren’t a lot of Pilots about. It was early in the morning. He had hoped he would only have to deal with one person. Anything more was far too much work, especially in his position. Heh. Position. Bad thoughts.  Though they were quickly wiped from his conscious by the arrival of another Pilot. What were the odds? Because now Loki was faced with a crippling dilemma- two people had now witnessed this. Word travelled fast, efficiency bred by increasing number of potential speakers. He was usually shameless, but to have people know that he had been caught out was too much to bear. It took a large dent out of his infallibility. His mood turned sour in an instant.

Wasn’t aided by the winged chic shielding her eyes. Uncontrollable indignation followed. What was there not to like? He tugged on his restraints for the benefit of the sound- metal against metal always sounded angry. Calm down, calm down. The situation was still salvageable, if he could just manoeuvre is correctly. If he could just proposition it correctly and just manage to keep the air free of innuendo induced awkwardness-

Ah fuck. His eyes narrowed at the winged woman. Bitch was cramping his style. Not to mention the situation would have been a lot easier, and pleasurable, if Satori were the dominatrix. At least then he knew she would have the keys. He considered telling her that it wasn’t what it looked like but, frankly, that would have been bollocks. It was exactly what it looked like. Him naked and stuck in handcuffs. There wasn’t an excuse fantastical enough to make it any less innocence. Lamely, he managed a sardonic, “No,” as a means of protest. Explaining that he woke up like this was likely to provoke more questions than answers, something he believed he didn’t have the patience for presently. And he’d rather keep his mouth shut than look like a grumpy dick.

He should probably stop using the word ‘dick’ in his thoughts too. Wasn’t appropriate to the situation.

A bit of diplomacy was in order. “Thanks for answering,” he started, straining a smile. It hurt his cheeks. “I got a bit-”

A third set of footsteps and he was interrupted once again. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. Probably by the worst person possible, what’s more. The teasing would be incessant and was unlikely to fade away in  the near future. Also, the carriers of this entertaining story had risen to three. Loki sent a cold stare at Liv, hoping beyond hope that the other man would take it as an indication that now was really not the time. He had his retort ready. Do you think I would have burnt my bridges, Liv? Though in that sentence, he would have pushed how painfully helpless he was into everyone’s full attention. He didn’t know about the others but, when he was confronted by weakness he felt and instinctive need to exploit it.

He laced his words with sarcasm instead as a defence. “Oh, you know me Liv,” he drawled lazily. “I would have made a lot more effort if I wanted that.” That’s it. Act calm. He reminded himself that acting was what he was meant to be good at. And he would have to be nice to these people if he wanted out. The pressure on his bladder was increasing and begging for a bottle in which to relieve himself might just dash away what little dignity he managed to retain.

“Now, I would really appreciate it if someone would help me out of these. I don’t know where the keys are, but I’m sure one of you delightful persons has the intelligence and the means to open them, right?” he said pleasantly, voice clear of all enmity. “I’d be eternally in your debt.”

“You’re not in much of a position to be making requests so imperiously-”

“Shut it, Astrophel!”

And thus his dragon stamped out the little hope he had that someone possessed a streak of altruism that would let him walk away from this experience unscathed. He bit his lip in apprehension.

[Anonymous]

Satori couldn't keep the blush for crawling her cheeks. She did manage a smile passed it though at...

"And you would be?" She started to pull on the handcuffs as she asked but nothing really seemed to happen. Well he certainly got himself stuck didn't he? She pulled once more then let go of them. She was about to go in psychically, use that attention to detail Marshal had taught her when...Latona walked in. Oh he really should have retracted the invitation.

People already talked bad about Satori on the blog from her associations, assuming things. She looked from herself to...she still didn't know his name. Well, this was certainly and odd situation to find them in.

Dominatrix?!

Oh this could not end well for Satori at all. Being the first one here, no matter what story they came up with...she'd also be suspected. Not that she hadn't done some handcuff play in her time or anything...then Liv. Oh Lord, perfect. And he was referencing to Marshal, she was about to bluster up and try to say something back but really was far too distracted, and she couldn't say that Marshal had never handcuffed her.

"Always assume me the sex fiend, that's alright with me." The blush was retreating and she was more focused on trying to get the guy out. She squinted at the cuffs. "You know, the girl...or guy whatever, probably left you like this for a reason." Satori winked at him as she pulled at the cuffs again. "And probably didn't leave the keys." Another pull, and turning the cuffs and her head to view the keyhole. "Maybe we should cut the chain then figure the rest out later?" She tried to access the part of her mind that could allow for those quick precise movements of a surgeon, she was still developing all those tricks Marshal had taught her. This was a situation that required them but she couldn't quite get them out.

She started to think about using her tail to break them, but wasn't sure it would work. She never had to break out of handcuffs before. As she looked at the man's wrists in the metal she shook her head. She wouldn't be putting herself in handcuffs again for a long time after this. She would have just died if she was in his position.

Position, that's a bad word. Her eyes squinted closed for a moment. Well this was just not healthy.

[Anonymous]

She assumed Satori had answered the distress call as well, since she didn’t seem the type to be fucking the first pilot who came along, even if she had slept with Marshal. And considering she had lost Wulf not that long ago, Latona doubted that she would be bedding someone so soon, she had known Satori a while and she wasn’t like that.

     No, this guy was simply an idiot. Who would get themselves in such a situation anyway? You’d think if he had to use handcuffs he’d at least make sure he knew where the keys were, or better yet have a spare set. He was certainly paying for his stupidity though, first Satori had come, then herself and now some other pilot. She couldn’t be sure but she suspected it was the ‘Eternal Candidate’ Livos Sulo. The legend that he was. Though perhaps that was too grand a title.  And yep, she was correct. Naked guy seemed to know him.

     Said naked guy started struggling, obviously he didn’t like her comment. Anyone in the room had free reign to mock him though. And him alone with Satori, and with being hand cuffed did look very suspicious. Satori was actually blushing.

     “Well you being here first and all, does look suspicious, Satori.”

     She agreed with her statement about the naked man being put in the handcuffs for a reason though, maybe he pissed off the wrong woman…or man, most likely a pilot if they got into the Citadel. There were more imaginative ways to torment someone though. Unless of course, they foresaw a likely rescue attempt and the gossip that was sure to follow. Then it was a genius way to torment someone.

     Satori seemed sympathetic however, so perhaps not likely to tell anyone, Latona herself didn’t really talk to other pilots, at least not ones who would care so that left Sulo. Him she wasn’t sure about, but if his reputation and comments on the blog were anything to go by then he would tell everyone. And then there were the dragons, silently watching the proceedings…Well she doubted her’s would be, he was probably still asleep and probably wouldn’t care.

     She watched as Satori investigated the handcuffs, you would think with a tail like her’s, it would be easy. Still…Latona sent a tendril of thought to the lock on the handcuffs. A simple lock, could easily be snapped in two with a pair of shears, or picked with a hair clip. Or of course with telekinesis.

     With a quick turn of the psychic tendril, the lock clicked and the handcuffs fell open.

     “Why couldn’t you do that yourself?”

[Anonymous]

Liv took a few slow, swinging steps into Loki's room.  The girls might be shy about ogling him, but he wasn't, not that staring would make the vain man all that uncomfortable.  He'd probably enjoy it.  Some people, honestly.  Liv stopped a few feet away from the foot of the bed and looked down at Loki, wrinkling his nose.  Mocking Loki: worth it, even if he felt a little awkward around the two women, which might read in his body language.  He just wasn't used to their company, and those old pesky trust issues.  Well, he could predict a few things.

For example.  Of course Latona would take it upon herself to fix things.  She just didn't see the boundless opportunity.

"Some of us can't," Liv told the winged Pilot, as the handcuffs fell away.  There weren't many Pilots incapable of telekinesis--usually it was all part and parcel, and he knew all too well that telepathy was really only a subtle kind of telekinesis anyway--but there were a few, those whose abilities were too naturally rarefied to accommodate gross movement.  Liv was one of them.  Loki was another.  

Sometimes Liv almost bought into the whole long-lost brothers idiocy, because damn, they had a lot in common.  Of course he was much more intelligent and attractive, and, well... he glanced down and smirked.  Not that he was one to compare.  Oh, wait, he was.  Would he be embarrassed in Loki's place?  Probably, probably just because of the ineffectuality; Liv hated to feel trapped.  

"So, Loki--"  Liv folded his arms, blocking the man's escape route.  Satori was still up by the head of the bed.  "I don't think we're that surprised at the why or the how, but I know I'm asking myself who would be willing to go this far to humiliate you?  I mean.  There are easier ways."  He tilted his head to one side and eyed Loki again.

[shinigamikitsune]

Callista had been up for a while. Sleep was not something that she needed much of. Usually around four hours of meditation and she would be good for the next day. So it was no surprise that she had been on her way to the infirmary when she sensed the distress call. Within seconds she placed the mental voice. Loki Rasmussen - One of her medics.

At first she was going to leave him there, after all he still had more then enough time to hang tight for a few hours before his shift started. However, when Rift mentioned something about handcuffs and an audience, she sighed deeply. Pausing in her trek, she rubbed her temple. Certain that she was probably going to regret turning back to check on Loki, she did so anyways.

Arriving at his room, she discovered that Loki had already been freed, though still quite naked. A quick glance to the rescuers, she instictively took in their conditions and whom they were. Her mind already set for work, so with each name also came the attached medical file pulled up in her mind.

Satori - The woman had a slight blush, and she seemed as though she had been thinking of a way to help Loki out.

Lotona - Also seeming to have been effected by the naked male form before her, and asking a rather stupid question. One would think by now she'd have realized that not all of the Pilots had the same levels of proficiency within the different classes of psycic abilities.

Livos - As usual he looked as though he was figuring out how to rile things up a little more, and most likely emberass the hell out of Loki in the process... and if he was on his game this early in the morning, he'd find a way to drag Satori and Lotona into it as well.

She cleared her throat a little in order to catch their attentions. "As commendable as it is for the lot of you to have responded to Pilot Rasmussen's distress call so quickly, I do not believe that he is bound to reveal to you how he arrived in such a situation... if he even remembers how, that is." It wouldn't be the first time that one of the Pilot's had found themselves in a simular situation, usually with the aid off too much alcohol or narcautics.

[Anonymous]

He was saved from having to give his name by the constant interjections from the winged woman. Loki as thankful for it- if he could hold out till the end then they would only be able to tell of a nameless Pilot getting into this situation. Though that was perhaps wishful thinking. He was sure Liv was absolutely loving this, the bastard. He concentrated on the wall opposite rather than looking at any of them, especially with a scantily clad Satori leaning over to examine the cuffs. Because he didn’t want his body betraying him and making this even more scandalous than it already was.

Then again, was there such thing as a scandal in Haviah?

The handcuffs suddenly opened, following a sardonic comment from winged woman, who was really starting to grate at his nerves. “I can’t-”

“Some of us can’t.”

“What he said,” Loki sighed, rubbing his wrists, adorned with red welts. He’d rather have his mage abilities than telekinesis anyway. Healing come in awfully handy. He stretched out languidly on the bed, in all his naked glory, to undo the knots and kinks (hehe, kinks) of last night’s sleep. His shoulders and neck clicked. He was about to stand up and procure some underwear when Liv, being characteristically difficult, blocked his passage. He sat on the edge of his bed and looked up at him, frowning at his crossed arms. Assertive stance- and he was not liking this arrangement. That is, Liv being higher than him. Loki gritted his teeth, and deferred not to answer, preparing to tell him to shove off-

The cold tone of Pilot Royal Callista Sterling provoked absolute horror in him. His hand shot out and grabbed the sheets that he pooled at the foot of his bed, covering himself. He didn’t blush, he did the reverse. He was sure he could feel the colour draining out of him into non-existence. The formality was more cripplingly embarrassing than anything. Her addressing him as Pilot Rasmussen was the equivalent of an ice cube up the arse. And this did not look good considering he had work in a couple of hours- he did not want to look irresponsible. He’d very much like a promotion in the course of the next few years.

“Yes. Right. Well,” Loki struggled. He coughed. Shit, shit, shit- “Pilot Sterling has it right. In every way. So thank you for your assistance and promptness.” Not so much you, Liv. He got up and brushed past Sulo, holding the sheet securely over his hips as  he moved.  “I won’t require anything else. I’ll make it up to you-”

He reached the drawers and opened the top draw where he kept his underwear. To his surprise, he found it empty. The next one similarly. And the other-

He wondered what he had done to make someone hate him that much? With a knotted jaw and an ache in his temple, Loki shut the draws. No clothes. All he found was a little piece of paper with an imprint in lipstick upon it. He crunched it in his hand and threw it towards the bin where it thudded against the rim and onto the floor. Great. He could hardly ask the women in the room to help him in this situation, he didn’t know if they could. Unless they had the clothes of ex-lover’s stored away somewhere. And he certainly wasn’t going to put himself in debt with Liv, even if they were practically the same size … and even if he did rather like some of his waistcoats.

So he didn’t ask for help right away. He was on the precipice of despair and needed to claw himself away first. He leaned against the drawers and rose a hand to his face. “It seems they’ve been thorough,” he said weakly.

That hissing again. Astrophel was laughing. His hands balled into fists.

[Anonymous]

Satori looked back at Latona as she felt a tendril move through the room. She had wanted to make a comment about it looking suspicious but gave up when the handcuffs unlocked and the other Pilot...well he was stretching and moving, and her eyes were just all over him. She couldn't help it! A Woman has needs after all, and hers hadn't been met in quite awhile now, at least by anyone other than herself.

Then Liv, well his profession was just to make things worse. He blocked...Loki's, a name with the...uh...face...y eah, path and then Loki just sat up on the edge of the bed, still...not...cloth ed. She moved back a bit but she found her knee was still running into him. There wasn't that much room after all. She felt warmth crawl up from where they were making contact and moved her knee away from him feeling more self conscious, than she had before.

His room was turning into a party. Callista! Satori's eyes went wide, a Royal busting up the party. Satori's eyes averted from Callista's and away from Loki as much as possible. She suddenly felt like a scolded child, like she had been caught in boy's cabin at camp. Loki stood up and she backed up a little but was still brushed by him. It was like a regular orgy in here, or at least it looked like it. Though this group? It would be an odd one for an orgy.

 STOP thinking about sex.

She sighed in her own mind and watched quietly not sure what to say as Loki moved around the room and found his drawers...to be empty. Her eyes went wide.

"Damn...some one really doesn't like you...at all."

[Anonymous]

"What a surprise," Liv said.  "I mean you're usually so lovable, Loke."

He let the twitch in the muscle near his mouth grow into a smirk, and stepped in behind Loki, who'd settled against the dresser in a posture of abject despair.  Loki did tend to get histrionic, even if he tried to cover it with a sort of suave veneer.  Liv wanted to crack it.  Might not, in front of Loki's boss, but then, Callista was not that scary.  

He reached up to ruffle Loki's hair and ran one finger down his spine, aware that the overly familiar gesture would bug the hell out of Loki.  Why?  Because Liv was Liv, eternal candidate and general failure, and Loki wouldn't want anyone to think he had too much to do with Liv Sulo, their sparring aside.  

Kind of pathetic, but sometimes Liv just had to show up near someone to humiliate him.  

He kept a hand on Loki's tense back and craned to look at the slip of paper he'd found in the drawer.  Loki twitched a little at his touch, but obviously recalled at some point that a movement would dislodge his sheet.

"We-e-ell," Liv drawled, stretching the syllables like clay around his tongue.  He  was having fun with the teasing, even if Loki would hate him afterwards.  He sort of hoped he wouldn't.  He also hoped Callista, Satori, and Latona wouldn't find him too creepy.  They couldn't know just how friendly he and Loki really were, beneath the surface.  Way, way beneath the surface, somewhere.  Probably.

"I guess this is the part where you ask to get into my pants.  Again."  

Okay, over the line into creepy, there, but it didn't matter, it'd been funny to say that.  And satisfying to say it in front of an audience.

[shinigamikitsune]

If Liv thought that she wasn`t that scary, it was only because that he hadn`t yet seen her when she could be. Of course there really hadn`t been any real reason for that side of her to emerge lately. These young pups were still too green to have been able to see her in the glory days of when she was on the front lines of the war. She`d been more then effective as a Battle Medic on the front lines, having spent a good portion of her life training for battle and combat, and actually being involved with, before she was ever thrown into the candidacey. That had probably been one of the shortest candidacies on record.

It was better to save that particular side of herself for later, when it would be truly needed. For now, the Momma Bear personality worked best for the most part.

Callista noticed the hints of Satori`s reactions towards Loki`s nude body, and it reminded her that it was nearly time to schedual the mandatory 3 month physical for everybody. It was mostly a preventative thing, but that`s the way it should be. Since she`d taken over as Head of the Infirmary, there hadn`t been cases of std`s running rampant, or some sort of disease putting the pilots out of commission until they`d fought off the infections. With the way that the current pilots where... either completely absitenant or going at it like bunnies... she intended to keep her preventative methods in place.

Focusing her attention back at the situation at hand, it quickly turned from bad to worse. She persed her lips slightly, seeing that Loki`s cloths had been taken. This was a prank she would expect to see within the candidates, not within the pilots. Whomever was responcible for this was going to be in serious trouble once they were found.

She kept an eye on Liv as the pyro slid in to rile Loki up a bit. Normaly she`d scold him for it, but luckily for Liv, today she was directing her distain for whomever had set her former candidate up in such a situation.

Then Liv went over the line.

Callista sighed and rolled her eyes, her typical reaction for when Liv ventured too far over the line. It also meant that he was on the verge of not escaping with a lollipop this time.

She stepped forward and swatted Liv away from the mortified Loki. "Enough Liv. You can continue to harass him later if you feel the need, but this is not the time for your brand of taunting." Callista shifted to slip her lab jacket off of her shoulders and moved to drape it around Loki for the time being. Being a 6'0" tall, well endowed woman, the jacket was more then capable of covering the younger male.

It wasn't often that people were able to see her without a lab jacket on. The shirt she had worn underneath it today was a halter top style with the torso being more like a soft leather corset. This only gave way to show off the tattoo's on her back, which were of fsix dragons.

The top two were on her shoulder blades and mirrored each other perfectly, both mostly black in color with blood red eyes and red highlights, though the one on the left seemed to look a little more wilder, while the one on the right seemed more conservative. Below the one on the left and set a little more towards her spince was one that was mostly red in color with green eyes, it was also a different style then the two above it. Next to it, on the right side of her spine was another different styled dragon, this one being red as well, though with blue eyes and black high lights. The final two dragons were set more towards the outside of her back and lower down still. Though they were of the same style, they didn't mirror each other as the top two did. The one on the left was mostly purple with green eyes and blue highlights, while the one on the right was deep blue with blue eyes and black highlights.

While these tattoo's didn't seem out of place at first glance, they were something she'd had long before becoming a candidate, and the reason for them had never been revealed.

With Loki somewhat dressed for now, she continued with what she was saying. "While this situation might seem harmless enough, I will not turn a blind eye to such a childish and malicious prank. The person or persons responcible for this will be discovered and punished severely. So if any of you have any information on whom the culprits are, now would be the best time to tell me."

[Anonymous]

Oh Liv. Just. Fuck. Off.

He was so sickeningly vulnerable. Couldn’t disguise the shiver when Liv touched him, or the red running across his skin. It nullified the seriousness of his scowl. If dropping his sheet and beating the shit out of Liv wouldn’t exacerbate his failing reputation even more, he would do so. Thoroughly.

There was relief mingled with further embarrassment when his former mentor came to the rescue. She made Liv go away but he felt more than a little emasculated by the gesture. He reluctantly accepted the coat, since he couldn’t refuse it anyway, and found himself even more uncomfortable. Now he looked even more incongruous and ridiculous. At least when he was naked it was a coherent idea. Not to mention it sort of forced him into a meek pose- arms crossed around his chest to keep the coat closed.

And the white accentuated his blush He didn’t blush. Not in public. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His freckles were disappearing. Fuck.

Now would be the time to kick everyone out. Except Callista was talking. A lot. It was agonising. Loki could feel his jaw aching with tension. Though with her threat, he reckoned that maybe it was Liv.

Fine, Liv being overtly sexual wasn’t out of the ordinary but he seemed far far too pleased at the current situation. Well, he’d be like that normally but there was no hint of surprise when he entered.

Plus the lipstick seemed like a Sulo thing to do. A real kick in the teeth. And he had the feeling he’d be the most likely to steal Loki’s clothes. Out of jealously. Flattering, maybe, but he needed those.

Even if he wasn’t sure, Liv deserved it.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t put it past Pilot Sulo to be behind something of this nature,” Loki announced coldly.

[Anonymous]

Satori watched Liv scooting closer to Loki, teasing him, taunting him. She arched a brow at the back and forth. Was there some sort of odd...tension between them? She looked back to Loki for a minute, a blush coloring his cheeks. Her eyes went just a tiny bit wider. Well, that's interesting, very strange. She knew they had some sort of weird friendship thing. It never really seemed like that though, it seemed....mean.

She took a step back as Callista moved in saving Loki from Liv. She wanted to hug Loki he looked so just mortified, which was certainly the correct response in this situation. She felt like she should leave maybe. Then Callista started talking...and didn't stop. Satori felt the natural reaction to roll her eyes. Lord, she reminded Satori of a Mama Bear alright. One that was going to drive all her kids crazy.

Satori crossed her arms listening to Callista. Sometimes people just made her feel like being problematic when they asked questions like that. If they had any idea wouldn't they have said it by now? All those Pilot Royals, well a chunk of them. They were so...snooty? She wasn't sure that was the right word but it was what came to mind. She felt like she was a scolded child.

Then Loki answered her. He must have been accustomed to the way Callista spoke.

"I have to say it Liv but it does seem you-ish. I really have no idea though."

[Anonymous]

Liv's eyes flew open in exaggerated dismay, which soon became real dismay.  He lifted his hands helplessly, palms out, and shook his head.  

"Don't look at me.  I have standards."

He practically spat the last word at Loki, then took a mincing step back, folding his arms across his chest in an unconscious mirror of the other Pilot.  Loki was angry.  Liv had learned to recognize his anger, and this was pretty intense.  He felt wrong-footed.  Sure, he messed with Loki a lot.  Sure, Satori could only know him by reputation (and she had at least apologized for her judgment anyway, so there).  

But Loki didn't have to look at him like that.  

Liv stopped himself and sniffed,  adjusting his shoulders, hands tucked up into his armpits.  When he was upset he tended to set things on fire, and keeping his hands flat against some surface did something to prevent that, though he hadn't quite worked out how.  He crafted a carefully petulant look, with his lip sticking out, and turned it from Satori, to Loki (whose glare made his teeth hurt, so he hurried by), to Callista.  She was all Pilot Royal.  With tattoos, apparently.  

Huh.  

It took him some further blinking to recover his composure.  Why should he feel hurt that they thought he'd pull something like this?  Loki was just being an ass.  Hm, maybe he felt bad that he hadn't been the one to think of the prank, or... insecure that he couldn't have managed it, or... oh, whatever.

"...Look, if it had been me," he concluded, shifting his weight from one leg to the other and speaking as though he'd reached the end of a convincing proof, "I'd have given him a terrible haircut, too.  Eh?"  He gestured to Loki, who looked embarrassed, spitefully angry, and pretty stupid in the lab coat, but about as well-coiffed as usual.

[shinigamikitsune]

Callista looked them over. These young pilots could be rather cranky first thing in the morning. If she was really feeling vicious she could admonish them and assign them some sort of punishment... but it really was too early in the morning for that.

"While this might appear to be something that Pilot Sulo would possibly be responsible for, it's not exactly his style." Though she wouldn't rule out him at least being an accomplice to whomever was behind it.

"There's not much more that can be done at the moment so I advice that you continue about your duties this morning. I'll be collecting reports about this incident later on from your dragons." Callista always preferred to go over visual reports rather then just verbal. It was interesting to see the way things played out from various vantage points.

"Loki, I would like you to arrive half an hour before your shift so that I may speak with you." She'd given him modesty for the moment, and he should have enough time between now and then to find some clothing. If not, he could borrow some scrubs for the day.

She turned her gaze to Liv. "Also, Liv, if you start harassing him before I am completely out of earshot, then you can come with him down to the infirmary as well."

Her attention was given to Satori for a moment. The female Pilot was not unknown to her, even if they didn't come into contact much outside of the infirmary. Out of everybody in the room Satori was probably the least likely to cause trouble... and Callista was including herself in that as well. She gave the female a nod. "Satori..." Then turned to leave the room.