067 [Voice]

[mountain_sage]

[Saleh returns home with so many emotions raging within him. His recent encounter with Garrosh Hellscream revealed that an inevitable battle may be afoot, although what they would fight is still unknown. The plan to recruit everyone in the enclosure as soldiers and simply break out of the barrier and control the entire world is an absolutely ludicrous plan. But no matter what, Garrosh would not be persuaded. Saleh has to stop this somehow, but obviously he can't do it alone. And since talking him out of it had been ineffective, Saleh fears that the village would respond by fighting Garrosh, and that's not what he wants either. If there's only one thing that Saleh knows about Garrosh Hellscream, it's that he is not someone that the village needs as an enemy.]

[Saleh opens his journal, pondering a setup. A setup that would need to be worded very carefully.]

I've...a question. If an opportunity were to arise...would you fight for a chance to return home? How far would you be willing to go? Is there anything you would not be willing to do, even if it means remaining trapped here?

[The emotions are very evident in his voice, particularly doubt and fear.]

Comments

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

For a chance to get out of this shimmering teapot of humiliation and be on my way? There is very little I would not do.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

...I see. I appreciate your honesty.

[Perhaps he'd better keep track of the answers he gets. Saleh grabs the nearest sheet of paper and writes Loki's name in the "willing to fight" category.]

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

Though I tend to think fighting is the preferred solution for people who aren't terribly clever. There are often better ways to accomplish what needs to be done.

[He smiles thinly.]

Though not always.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

Yes...seeing as we can't even reach our enemies from within the enclosure, fighting would be an impossible solution.

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

[Loki snorts.]

You asked what I'd be willing to do, not what was currently within the realm of possibility.

If you want to put it like that, all I'm willing to do is drink tea and work maths.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

Hmm. So if fighting were impossible, you wouldn't know what else to do.

[Surely drinking tea would lead them nowhere.]

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

[Smirk.]

Tea, maths, and helping you clean out your ears.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

[Frown.]

I heard you. But tea and maths would be unproductive in regards to escaping this place.

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

You're obviously not acquainted with the right sort of maths.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

Really?

[Almost suspicious of that comment.]

What sort of maths do you speak of then?

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

Everything is ultimately defined by maths.

Redefine something, and the mortals prefer to call that magic.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

I see...

[At least he knows a little something about magic, at least from his own world. Other types of magic, he's not so familiar with.]

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

And thus. Tea and maths.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

Well, when you come up with your solution, I would hear it.

[Maybe Loki would have a non-violent solution to the conflict in Saleh's mind, but the question was whether Loki could be trusted.]

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

Would you.

What I truly require is more data.

[He rests his chin in his hand.]

And who has you so a-flutter, by the by?

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

"A-flutter"? I do not know what you mean...

[It sounds like an expression for being in love, as Gerik would put it, but love is nowhere near Saleh's mind right now.]

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

Nervous.

[Sigh. No one appreciates dry sarcasm for the art it is.]

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

[There's a long pause. The only way he's going to know Loki's stance is to go ahead and tell him everything.]

...Do you know someone named Garrosh Hellscream?

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

[Loki's response is a tricksterly giggle and a grin.

...safe answer is probably a yes.]

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

[Well, that wasn't a response he was expecting. Yet Saleh's tone and expression remain unchanged.]

...I'll take that as a yes...

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

[Loki hides his grin behind his hand for a moment.]

Oh, he's just adorable isn't he?

Kind of like watching a puppy fall down the stairs.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

He is the farthest thing from adorable...

[He is not seeing your humor, Loki, nope.]

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

[Grin.]

And if you poke him, he practically explodes.

[Video]

[mountain_sage]

He "explodes" even if you don't poke him.

[He reaches for the back of his neck, rubbing it.]

[Video]

[complicatedliar]

Oh dear. Was he cranky at you?

[Chinhands.]