lt_safe_house | Rose starts work

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Rose starts work

Date: April 11, 2003
Status: Public - Complete
Setting: The hallways
Summary: Rose starts working by cleaning the hallways

Her first night here hadn't been too bad and Rose reckoned she should start earning money. So she used the existing supplies, namely a bucket with water and a cleaning solution and a mop, to scrub the hallway floors, starting on the ground floor and moving upstairs. She wanted to do this properly. No use in getting fired her first day...

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Loki was bored - a feeling that he very much disliked. He was sitting in his room, considering, planning, and yearning for some action. Any kind of action would be fine.

Well, it would hardly come find him here, he figured.

Getting up, he grabbed a sleeveless t-shirt that hung over the back of his chair and put it on. Almost a week after his violent encounter with the other Loki, his arms still looked scratched, but no longer as if they'd been attacked with hot knives.

Trying to decide where to go, he opened his door --

--and almost walked into a water bucket.

Rose's fine ears had heard footsteps approach the door but she'd been so vigorously scrubbing the floor that she'd all but forgotton about the water bucket still standing practically in front of said door.

When the man exiting the room nearly walked into the bucket, she wiped her forehead on her forearm and then the slightly sweaty palm of her right hand on her jeans before she cautiously approached the man.

When the faint smell of fire hit her nostrils, her hackles rose and she sniffed the air more. That.. that 'man' smelled of fire! He didn't smell of human, but of fire! Her eyes widened a bit and she stopped her approach maybe two feet away from him, eyeing him with caution.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir. I didn't realise the bucket was practically blocking your door."

"It's okay," Loki said, taking in the woman's appearance. Girl, rather, he thought. She couldn't be more than nineteen.

"I wasn't aware there was a cleaning woman in the house. I thought people would just miracle any dirt away like that..." he waved his hand. If she had any inkling of the kind of people living here she'd understand. If not, he could always claim he had made a joke.

"I only got here yesterday. I asked for a job and was hired as a kind of chambermaid. If you want your room cleaned, sir, just put a sign on your door. I won't enter private rooms that don't have a sign on the door."

He seemed to assume that anyone in this house just knew that the residents weren't very human. Well, probably everyone in this house does that little fact...

"But if you'd rather miracle away any dirt in your room, that's your choice. I'm Rose, by the way."

"I'm not the god of cleaning," Loki said, chuckling. He extended a Hand. "Call me Loki."

Young she might be, but she was pretty, too. And he had been feeling bored. He had not expected to find diversion right in front of his door, though!

"So, erm... have you been working long today?" He gestured at the floor behind her, where she had cleaned already. "I guess it's been a while since the last time someone did any proper sweeping or other cleaning here."

Rose took the offered hand carefully but with a firm grip. She let go again quickly though, not wanting to touch someone smelling of fire for longer than necessary.

"Nice to meet you, Loki. And I started working after a quick breakfast, beginning with the ground floor hallways, working my way upstairs."

She hesitated only for a moment before she continued.

"Adam told me, that he had some rather unusual residents. Gods, demons, angels and so on. What category do you fit in?"

"I'm a Jötunn", Loki said. So the girl didn't know his name, and his reputation had not preceded him to where she was from.

"I think it's time you took a break. It's been quite a while since breakfast."

"What is a Jötunn?"

Roses curiosity was piqued. Well, when wasn't it? She cocked her head in a questioning way.

"And what would I do for a break here?"

The rest of the hallway could wait until later, she decided. She'd made good progress with the cleaning up until now and she would scrub the rest of the floor later.

"Join me for a glass of mead?" Loki asked jovially and offered her his less badly scratched arm. Maybe he should've put on long sleeves after all.

"I guess these days people translate Jötunn as 'giant'."

Rose eyed Loki's arm curiously. Did he get in a fight with one of the mythological beasts here to get those scratches? She didn't take his arm as she could still smell the fire.

"Thank you for the offer. I've never tried mead, normally I just drink water."

She grabbed the water bucket and smiled at Loki

"I'll need fresh water anyway to finish the rest of the hallways, might as well take it downstairs.

So... you don't look much like a giant. Are you able to change your form?"

"Well," Loki said, "I said they were called giants, not that they are giants. You could refer to me as a god if you wanted. Nature-spirit will also do, though some of my extended kinsfolk would certainly take offence at that."

"A god? What do you and your followers believe in?"

A Nature-spirit didn't sound too bad to Rose. She would have preferred to smell earth or water though. Fire reminded her of the burning barn and what happened before.

She made her way down the stairs, intending to dispose of the dirty water and topack away the cleaning supplies before she entered the bar.

"I rarely ask my 'followers' what they believe," Loki said. "I personally believe that I'm a lucky man today, getting to spend time with a pretty girl like that."

Rose chose to ignore that comment. In her pack she might have roughly ruffled the hair of the male and told him to stop the nonsense but she wasn't that familiar with Loki. And he wasn't wer.

"What is this mead made of?" Rose asked as soon as she had put bucket and mop away and was heading to the bar.

"It's honeywine," Loki said as he headed towards the bar. "A traditional beverage for my folk. these days, they make it in different versions, with apple added, or more or less sweet. Noting tastes quite as good as the real thing, though."

Rose entered the bar and then waited for Loki to follow her.

"Honeywine? I think I'll just have a glass of water. I'm not used to alcohol."

And she certainly didn't want to find out what alcohol would do to her self-control. Maybe that Nature-spirit wouldn't think that werewolves were dark and dangerous creatures but one never knew. Besides, word could go back to those angels and other gods, if one of the residents found out about her secret. Better be safe than sorry...

Loki rolled his eyes. "No one's drinking anymore these days!" he complained. Then he wanted to know: "Bar or a table? What do you prefer?"

"Both sound fine to me." Rose answered. "Let's just sit at the bar. That's where the drinks are after all..."

"As you say," Loki said, walked right up to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools. "Barkeep! The usual for me. And something... nice for the lady, please. She's with me."

He didn't think it was quite the polite thing to do to let her pay her own bill after inviting her to join him...

Rose inwardly chuckled at being called a lady. What would he call me if he knew? she wondered.

"Thank you. Just a big glass of water for me, please." she said after she'd sat down on the stool to Loki's right.

"So," Loki said, turning around to face his companion. "What brings you to this village? Your accent isn't a local one, is it?"

"I was wandering the country and needed a job to make some money. This house looked as if the owners might need a chambermaid."

Rose shrugged.

"And no, it isn't. I'm from Canada."

"What does a young girl from Canada do on this island then?" he wanted to know. "Did you travel a lot?"

"No, I didn't travel much yet."

Rose shrugged.

"I was visiting some distant relatives and decided I wanted to see a bit more of this island before I return. And now I'm here."

"Your family doesn't support you?" Loki asked, making his voice sympathetic.

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