A Quiet Night (Loki)

He would sit quietly on a rock outside of the blizzard zone of the guild bundle in his jacket and winter wear that he used to climb the mountain before. Unlike before he didn’t have his scarf covering his face as he kept golden eyes closed for a moment as he listened to the area around him, trying to get acquainted with the place that was new to him. As he sat there meditating for a before the fire he had created, he would hear the soft crunch of foot falls and open his eyes to see one of the wolves of the mountain had come near.

The wolf would pause for a bit and stare at him with intense blue eyes before blinking and coming closer to rest on the opposite side of the fire. Not minding the extra company the mercenary would close his eyes again and begin to meditate and listen to the area once more over the crackle and pop of the warm fire.

The wolf in question was a large black wolf with one blue eye and one golden eye. As the red-head approached the area the wolf would lift its head to look at him watching him with calm eyes as he eyed; however, it would not move from its spot. Regardless of that there would be silence for a while as the mercenary continued to mediate for a while longer.

He knew from the sounds he heard that he had a guest, but who would come this way outside of a lost traveler was beyond him. After all, he thought himself the only one strange enough to wander about or stay outside at night. In any case, the silence wouldn’t last too long as the eye on his forehead opened and after a bit of narrowing it would look on the red head there. Keeping his normal eyes closed, the mercenary would speak.

“Ah. The one who study with me. What are you doing out here at such a time?” he would ask as the golden eye continued to watch him with a narrow untrusting gaze. Something odd considering the body of the mercenary was calm and his voice non-threatening. Did that eye perhaps signal something else or was the mercenary simply showing his true feelings through said eye?

“Walks are often nice,” the mercenary would say with as a small smile crossed his face. He would reopen his eyes a bit and look over at the other as the eye on his head seemed to relax, reverting to a neutral stare once more. He quietly observed the other for a few seconds before gesturing to a space near the fire. “Would you like to join us, Mr…?” he would trail off there as he realized the first time he didn’t really get his name. Weather or not the other humored him and gave a name or not, time would tell. In any case, he would eventually break any silence between them with a question of his own. “Is studying your favorite thing to do?” he would ask as he tilted his head at the other wondering what was on the other’s mind as he stared out at the landscape.

“So you don’t like having nothing to do?” the mercenary would ask as he shifted a bit in his spot to unfold his legs for the time being. Having nothing could do could seem like a waste of time, but at the same time nothing time meant that one could relax and air out the head a bit too. When it came to choices, Deshi did like to move around, but finding a comfortable space to sit and think was also good in the man’s eyes. It kept up a balance of business and peace that seemed to work for the mercenary most of the time. That aside, though it would seem that the other had provided his name and moved in closer despite not sitting. The white haired man would hum before nodding a bit. “Deshitana or Deshi,” he would respond back finding it only fair to give his name too. As for the response back to the research question…

The mercenary would give a light hum to that one as he lifted a hand to his chin. “They say knowledge is power, but also pain, so I am not too sure if knowledge alone makes one successful.” A person could know everything and anything, but if all did was know, but not know how to execute would that make them successful? Would they be able to succeed? He had to wonder, but wouldn’t stay in his thoughts for too long as he heard the question. Looking back over at the other he would open his mouth to respond. “I was just curious is all.”

“That is understandable,” the mercenary would say with a light nod. He supposed everything that one did needed to have some purpose to it or else there would be no need to do said thing. He could also understand that each person had their own ways of giving things purpose too. Regardless of this, he wouldn’t dive too much into this topic in the end. He didn’t see a point in that. Just like he didn’t see a point in giving more than a nod of acknowledgement to the short statement he received in regards to his name. As for that question…

“Knowledge in its pure form is indeed harmless, if it is just ordinary knowledge one seeks; however, there is other knowledge in the world of the forbidden kind that can cause harm to those not prepared to handle the impact of it. That is the sort of knowledge that can harm, regardless of how strong one’s will may be. That and greed of the substance can make it painful to. Can you imagine to always want and want knowledge even after you gained all the knowledge you can? That would bring suffering from having it and always desiring more.” He would say, giving an example that hopefully explained how knowledge could be painful. Though how well that worked he would simply have to wait and see.

“I can agree it is a good stepping stone in most cases, but in others even knowing cannot prepare one for some things.” Sometimes one had to go in blind and just face what was there, learning from the experience versus what was known. So could one be well prepared all the time? Probably not. In any case to the next question, he would sigh a bit that one being a double edged sword. He debated about how much he wanted to tell the other as he looked into the fire for a few moments before opening his mouth. “I am interested in the research for personal reason. Just as I am interested in the weapon making component of the guild. I did not choose this place at random to call home.”