Meeting A Thief (Tag: Loki)

Truth be told, Kayley knew it was probably stupid to go into Wolfswood.  After all, the last time she had come here, she had run into a pack of direwolves, and a woman that lived with them.  It had been a close encounter, and Kayley knew that she had been lucky to escape without a scratch.  But, the temptation to explore the place was just too great.  And Kayley's new source of entertainment these days was exploring, whether it was the sands of Dorne or the shipyards on the White Harbor.  Besides, she had been progressing well with her fighting lessons.  Surely, she could defend herself against anything that came across her way, right?  That was what she told herself as she rode through the woods, looking for anything interesting.  Her horse seemed more nervous than she was.  No doubt it remembered the encounter with the direwolves too.  Kayley just hoped they wouldn't run into them again.

A content sigh left the thief's lips, currently comfortably seated on one of the many branches of the tree he had decided to take a nap in. Sometimes he guessed, it was good thing he was so small and barely weighted anything, made it so much easier to find these spots and not risking falling off.
He leaned back, resting the back of his head against the tree and closing his eyes. He had felt that urge to get away from the big cities again, and ended up travelling a little further than he really needed too. But, as much as he missed the peacefulness of the forests, he had apparently missed the north too. He did of course enjoy the warmer climate, but if eh really had to choose he preferred the cold. ...reminded him of home.

His green eyes opened as he heard a few branches and sticks snap, and lazily turned his gaze down towards the ground. A girl who was surely around his age, taking a stroll around the woods by herself... Not exactly the smartest he'd say. But hey, who was he to talk right?
He gave the girl a quick look over from his spot, but decided it wasn't worth robbing anything. He was more than fine for the moment.
He chuckled quitely to himself as he noticed the hourse being more wary than the girl was. He whitsled, gaining their attention. Once he ahd the girl's eyes on him, he merely agve a small wave, smirking down at the two. "Lovely day for a stroll through the woods," he said casully. "Hoping something would find you~?"

Kayley's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a loud whistle.  And it didn't belong to a bird.  She glanced up to see that it was a boy, maybe around her age, seated in one of the trees.  He didn't look like he was from Winterfell.  Maybe he was traveling?  He could be one of those wandering minstrels.  Kayley had seen them stop at Winterfell more than once to provide some entertainment.  But her musings were cut short when she realized the boy had asked her a question.  "You could say that," she said.  "Exciting things happen all over.  I hope to see some of them."

Loki quirked an eyebrow at her answear, slightly amused by as he hadn't exactly been expecting the reason to be something like that. Well then, he always enjoyed people with a sense for adventure, stupid ideas or not. "In these woods?" he titled his head, smirk still intact. "Guess you're in the right place then.  Lot's of 'exciting' things happening here from what I've heard." And seen, he mentaly added to himself.

Kayley gave a little laugh.  "You got that right.  Find some direwolves last time we were here, didn't we boy?"  She smiled at her horse and patted its neck, although it didn't seem to want to think about that day.  "So, what are you doing around here?" she asked the boy.  Was he looking for some adventure too?

"Direwolves?" the theif repated amused, and a little intruged. "And that wasn't enough to keep you away huh," he chuckled, shifting a little in his seat so he could easier look down at her, his legs now freely wobbling over the tree branch. He gave a lazy shrugg at her question, casually glancing towards the way she ahd come from. "Taking a break from civilisation."

Kayley shrugged.  "What can I say?  I feel like direwolves a part of me.  Quite a few notable Starks had them as pets."  Heck, Kayley wouldn't mind getting one if she could.  Direwolves were always so fierce and protective and loyal.  Maybe she should talk to her father about trying to get one.  She wondered what the boy meant when he said "taking a break from civilization."  Did something bad happen?  Was he on the run from somebody?  She was curious to know, but didn't want to act terribly nosy.  She did that sometimes when she was curious about a person, and more often than not, she ended up asking questions that were too personal.  "Do you...take breaks from civilization often?" she asked, glancing up at him.

His green eyes focused back on the girl, this time with a more intruged smile. "You're a Stark?" he asked, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward slightly. "What a pleasure to meet you then," he smirked, giving a small bow with his neck. When younger, he had always felt a little jealous of the pets more than few Starks has been known to have. Who wouldn't think a direwolfe would be cool to have as a companion? ....well, he could list down a few.
His smirk falterd slightly at the girl's question, but didn't look neither offended or botherd by it. Instead he looked a little thoughtful. "Happens now and then," he shrugged. She was curious, that was easy to tell, but apparently afraid to overstep the boundaries with personal questions. "It's more peaceful out in the wilderness."

"Oh come on, there's no need for that.  Not here," Kayley said when Loki gave a little bow.  At public events, sure, bowing was expected.  But she didn't like to make people do it when nobody else was around.  It was one of the many ways in which Kayley was kind.  Or maybe it was just a weird quirk.  She didn't really know.  She nodded in agreement when Loki said it was more peaceful out here.  "Yeah.  Almost seems kind of untouched, you know?  Like, sure, castles and keeps are majestic looking, but when you come across a place where there's nothing but trees...it makes things a lot quieter."

Loki gave her an amused look at this, but just chuckled instead and leaned back against the tree again. "Well ok then, though I did it more out of old habbit," he shrugged. Either the young Stark here was a little kinder, or she just wasn't too found of courtesy.
He hummed when she agreed with him, getting a little far off look in his eyes at what she said. He never thought castles and such were anythign special, even back when he used to live in such places. They were big yes, and the Queen's palace was nothing but impressive when it came to it's size. But that was it really, nothing else. "Mountanis are majestic and indestructible, castles are boring and breakable," he scoffed.

Kayley glanced up.  Loki obviously didn't seem too fond of big buildings.  "Winterfell's not too bad," she said.  "Sure, seeing a gray sky all the time can get a little boring, and some of the servants can be idiots.  But it's fun when it snows a little bit.  And if we have some interesting people over, then that can liven things up a bit."  Kayley felt like she was liking home a lot more now that she had Amelia teaching her how to sword-fight.  Sure, Kayley still took trips sometimes.  But she was always eager to return home when she knew she had a new lesson waiting for her.

The small teen glanced back down at the girl again, his expression unreadable and pretty much blank this time. "I'm sure it's not," he merely shrugged, leaning a little backwards against the tree again. It's not like he's been at Winterfell afterall, so he couldn't judge. Although, now that the topic was up.... he wouldn't mind a little roadtrip over there.
With that idea settled in mind, he moved and suddenly jumped down from the branch, landing softly a few feets away from Kayley and her hourse. "So, which way is the fastest back to civilisation?" he asked brightly.

Loki's face seemed a little dead-pan while she was talking.  Kayley wondered what he was thinking.  He seemed very unreadable.  But, his expression soon changed to one that was a little happier as he hopped off the tree.  "Um...back that way.  The path leads right out of the forest and to a divergent.  East will take you to the White Harbor and Bear Island.  North will take you to the Dreadfort and Winterfell."  She paused for a moment before asking "Wanna come with me back to Winterfell?  My parents wouldn't mind me bringing a guest and I'm sure they'd love to hear about your travels."  Kayley's parents were always hospitable, and she was sure they wouldn't mind her bringing Loki along.  Sure, he seemed a little mysterious, but Kayley hoped she could find out more about him.

Loki patiently litsend to her directions, mentally counting down in his head until she asked the question he had been expecting. So he had guessed right then, the girl was friendy and hospitable. Really a shame people like her was so ahrd to un into. At her kind offer, Loki gave her a sweet and grateful smile. "I'd love too, thank you my lady," he grinned teasingly, turning his focus to her hourse. "Hello there gorgeous~," he cooed at it, gently patting it's muzzle before looking back up at the girl. "So, what am I allowed to call you m'lady?" he winked up at her. "I'm Loki, in case you're wondering," he said casually, going back to cooing with her horse.

Kayley gave a little laugh.  "Well, aren't you a proper gentleman?" she teased back.  She was sure spending a night at Winterfell would do Loki some good.  He probably needed a nice roof over his head and some good food.  Traveling around constantly couldn't be easy.  Even Kayley, who loved to see new places, returned home eventually.  Her horse gave a little toss of its head at Loki's touch.  It obviously liked being complimented.  "Kayley will do for now," she replied.  "Although the others will probably expect you to call me Lady Stark or whatever once we get there, so you can go with that once we get back to the castle."  While Kayley wasn't particular about formalities, she knew other people were, and she just wanted to make sure Loki didn't get into trouble by addressing her too casually or something.

Loki chuckled at the girl when she teased back, really glad how relaxed she seem to be with everything. How good for them both really, sicne Loki at the moment really wasn't feeling like spending time with anymore stuck-up's. "I am many things, but a 'gentleman' I'm not so sure of though," he snorted. "A couple of hours or so with me, and you'll see why", he winked.

Kayley glanced up at that.  She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  Sure, not everyone was a perfect lady or gentleman, but the last thing she wanted was for things to go bad.  "You've been pretty gentlemanly so far," was all she said in response.

Loki snickerd to himself, giving the girl's hourse one last petting. "I'm good when it comes to first impressions's then-" he half joked, but got cut off by a low, grumbling sound from his own stomach. He pouted, and cast a small glance down at himself. "....hush you."

Loki's stomach growled awfully loudly.  Kayley wondered when was the last time he ate.  She knew travelers didn't get to eat as much as lords and ladies did.  "We'd better hurry back and get some food in you.  Don't want your stomach digesting itself," she said.

((Wanna continue this over in Winterfell?))

((sure^^ would you mind starting the topic? ))

((No problem.  Here's the link: https://reignoffireandice.forumotion.com/t471-an-unusual-house-guest-tag-loki#6025))