citynet | Backdated to late Nov. 28 | text; un: Constantine

can I talk about watching your ass or am I in enough trouble with Gadling already

[ She should. Probably call him. Or, consider this, what if she pretended nothing in the past forty-eight hours happened instead of calling him. Anyway, why's he mad at her? It's not fair. ]

Keep an eye on him for me, will you

I don’t know. Is he the jealous type? He hasn’t shown such a side to me yet, but I suppose it is possible.

I will keep an eye on him, but I think you should speak with him as well. He is only upset because he is worried about you. Which I cannot fault him for. I would not be happy if something happened to you either. I know you do not do well with feelings, and normally I would agree with you on that front, but as I am trying to be better about these things I think I must say it.

Speak with him.

[ wow just gonna put her on blast with the truth, Loki? And she thought they were friends. ]

but there's no reason to be worried for me I didn't get hurt And if I get hurt it's nobody's fault but mine

[ She tosses her phone down and presses the heels of her hands to her eyes. The absolute exhaustion of the day before has receded, though she still feels a little bit hollowed out.

God, she and Kit must have had this fight four times -- properly fought about it, not just let it fade to the background. The "you're always haring off after trouble" fight, the "I don't want anything to happen to you" fight, the "you're not invincible" fight. But Kit left her because something happened to them, because Jo's stupid sodding mouth got them in trouble, not because Jo got hurt herself. Just like she didn't get hurt this time.

It's never her who gets hurt.

She groans and picks up the phone again. ]

I'm sorry if I scared him

[Look, just because he’s the god of lies, doesn’t mean he doesn’t use the truth when he needs to.]

That is hardly how these things work. It does not matter that you were not hurt. The fear comes from the possibility, and I assume from the likelihood that you would do similar things again therefore increasing the chances that next time, you would be hurt. I do not believe he, or anyone, would think it was their fault if you had been hurt. They simply want you to try and avoid it when you can. And, I hate to say it, but you could have. It would not have taken any time for you to contact me with your device to come help you as you went after him. I would like you to remember that for next time.

[Because Loki was no fool, he knew something like this would happen again. His own aim is not to stop her, but rather to give her back up when the time came. He’s no stranger to battle and is positive he could ensure her safety in such situations.]

It is not me you need to say that to.

he said as much, loki He told me he didn't want my body on his conscience And

[ And what? There's no follow-up text for a bit, while Johanna swears at her apartment walls about immortals who think she owes them something, who think they know better that her, so that she doesn't swear at her friend who's been fool enough to give her good advice. ]

He was upset. You know how deeply he cares for his friends. I cannot and will not speak for him, but I can imagine saying much worse myself in a similar position.

[Loki waits with about as much patience as he can muster (which really isn’t much). This is why he prefers in person, or at least video or audio calls. It’s much easier to get a prompt response.]

Miss. Constantine, if you do not continue, I will be forced to come to your apartment and speak to you in person. [He may not know exactly where she actually lives, but he is confident he can find it.]

I wish you wouldn't call me miss when we've gone down on each other I'll talk to him happy?

Oh no? Well, that is good to know. I shall call you that whenever I need to make a point then, shall I?

And good. I am sure he would like to hear from you.

I would say yes, I am content with this outcome. Now, are you truly okay? I do hope you don’t take this badly, but I would not be surprised if you were not being truthful, though I suppose I could be projecting.

[Loki is, after all, fully aware of his own tendencies to lie in such situations.]

[ The video that comes through shows Johanna, sitting on her couch wrapped in a blanket, and though her face is a little more drawn with fatigue than normal, she does in fact appear to be unhurt. Well. Physically unhurt. She looks pretty upset. ]

Proof of fucking life. Will you drop it.

[When Loki’s image comes through he’s smirking knowingly.]

I did not ask if you were alive, my dear. But thank you none-the-less. I do understand that you do not wish to speak of whatever happened, but if you should change your mind, which I suggest, know I have heard and done so much worse. Not that it needs to be me you speak with.

[It just so happens that Loki is intimately aware of how wrong things can go when you keep things bottled up.]

I don't appreciate being managed. Or lectured like, like a kid who skipped class! Fuck's sake, I've been doing magic since I was old enough to skip class! Someone could've died last night if I hadn't shown up and you tell me it was a mistake for me to go out there.

[ Welp. Sure isn't bottled. ]

You've got one thing right. I'll do it again. I'm not going to sit on my hands while this City fucks with us.

Is someone managing you? The last I knew, offering advice was hardly managing anything. At the risk of sounding as if I am lecturing you though, I have been doing magic since before your bloodline existed. I do know what it’s like to overdo it. And I never said it was a mistake for you to go. In fact, I believe I quite clearly stated that I only wished you had asked me to come with you.

[He sighs, but it’s with fondness. He might actually be enjoying her anger, if only because it reminds him so much of himself. It is nice to find a kindred spirit.]

Yes, you will. And you should, with me by your side.

Do you have any idea how patronizing that sounds! And I suppose Hob would thank me for putting you in harm's way, would he? How would you take it if I'd brought him along with me?

Oh? Is patronizing off the table? I must have misunderstood when you said something similar to me.

I do not know how Robert would react. I am sure he would worry, which is normal, but I also know how much I can handle alone, and I hope he does as well. Even I have worked with others to accomplish a common goal. As for you bringing him, I suppose it would depend on what you needed him for. I know he is trained as a soldier so if he was immediately available and you needed him to use one of those guns or plot a battle, then I could understand why you might ask.

However, if you dragged him along with no plan and no back up when running headlong into a known dangerous situation, then you and I would have words. Much like we are now due to you doing just that.

Due to me--!

[ Constantine breaks off and pinches the bridge of her nose. ]

You don't know what I can handle.

[ Not a terribly strong argument when she started the conversation off admitting that fighting isn't her specialty, to be sure, but that doesn't mean she's helpless. ]

You've made your point.

[It’s very hard for Loki not to smirk. He knows he’s made a good point.]

No, I suppose I do not. But I also know that most who survive battle did so because they had others with them watching their back. With these things, there is always strength in numbers.

[When she concedes his point, he lets his smirk show fully.]

Excellent. Now that we have agreed on that point, I have a favour to ask. When you are feeling up to it, would you consider telling me what did happen? I would like to now what worked against the beast and how your magic succeeded. Perhaps with some of this information we can prevent this from happening again.

[ Dry: ] I agreed you made your point.

[ That point being, as she currently sees it, that she isn't capable of handling something without a chaperone.

Heaven forbid she say something as vulnerable as I feel like you don't trust me, though, or This is the first time since I got here I didn't feel totally helpless so let me have this. And she certainly can't say something like I thought someone I know was going to tear me to shreds and it was terrifying and I'm furious and sad and now my friend is angry with me so my feelings are a little fucked up right now at this point in the conversation.

Better to get out of the call. Consider the good points he does have later. Figure out what to say to Hob that isn't apologizing for something she's not sorry for. She's so tired. ]

Sure. When I'm feeling up to it.

[Loki sighs, no longer trying to put on any front. He knows he’s offended her and he feels badly about it. It actually hadn’t been his intention.]

My apologies Johanna. I truly only meant to thank you and offer my aid in the future. I’m afraid I’m not very used to situations like this, where I’m actually bothered by what might happen to someone.

[The ‘that I care about’ part he leaves off. Loki of all people knows how saying something like that will go over at this point. Now he just has to worry that he’s already done enough damage.]

Please let me know when you are available. Your time is much appreciated.

[ Seeing him drop the front soothes her ruffled feathers slightly; so does the unspoken part, maybe especially because it's unspoken. She tugs the blanket around herself a little more and sighs in turn. ]

You -- Loki, I'm--

[ What does she even want to say here? ]

It's good of you to be bothered. Really. But can't you trust me to just maybe know what I'm doing?

Does being worried mean I don’t think you know what you’re doing? [It’s an honest question. He’s not really considered that before but he can see her point.]

I truly did not mean to infer that you do not know your own craft, but knowing what you’re doing does not mean you cannot get hurt.

We're having words because I went [ air quotes ] "running headlong into a dangerous situation with no plan and no back up," apparently.

[Loki looks thoughtful for a moment.] I can see no fault in that phrasing. Is that not what you did? I am not saying you should not have done all you could to help, nor that you aren’t fully capable of helping, but you did run into a dangerous situation with no plan and no back up.

[ She scoffs. ]

I didn't have a plan. News to me. I have a distinct memory of coming up with plans.

[ This is technically true, insofar as while she was jogging through the streets listening for snarling or howling, she was coming up with several ideas for what to do. Distract the wolf, like she'd done at the outset, and lead it somewhere else. Weaken it, so it'd do less damage. Send it to sleep. Try to reach Chandler, wherever he was behind those yellow eyes.

None of them were particularly good plans, and they all went out the window when she finally found the wolf, but she's sticking to her guns on the technicalities here. Her pride is too brittle to do otherwise. ]

Should I have run them by Hob for approval while he was bleeding all over the floor?

No backup, fine. [ She blows out a breath and slumps back. ] Yes. Fine.

Oh? Then please, tell me your plan. You know, I used to plan battles for my brother and his friends. I’m quite good at it myself and do love to hear of others. [Yes, he sounds a little snippy because no, he does not believe her. Good plans never come at the drop of a hat while you’re running through the streets after your prey. Loki knows all about making plans on the fly and having them fail.

He stiffens at the mention of Hob’s injuries. He knows she didn’t actually let him bleed out all over the floor, but that doesn’t stop the image from coming to his mind. When he speaks, his voice is hard as he clearly tries to retain his emotions. Something he has never been good at.] I do hope you don’t mean to say that in addition to running off into a dangerous situation with no plan, that you also did it while Robert lay bleeding out?

[He raises an eyebrow looking at her through the camera, his back stiff and his face as blank as he can make it, though there is a swirl of emotion in his blue eyes. Some anger, some annoyance and a whole lot of fear. If she’d meant to hurt him with that image, she was successful.]

--What? No, Jesus, Loki, I got Morpheus to help him. I didn't leave until I knew he had help.

[ It's only now, as she sees Loki's sudden stiff posture, that it occurs to her that she maybe should have called Loki at that point, too. It simply hadn't occurred to her in the panic of the moment -- and if it had, she probably would have judged that she wants to deal with Morpheus' displeasure less than she does Loki's.

Would've been easy to think that at the time. Less easy to think of it now, facing down Loki's anger, even through a screen. ]

Edited 2023-12-07 00:47 (UTC)

Backdated to late Nov. 28 | text; un: Constantine

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