One Man's Trash... [Loki x Astrid]

[NicTheDjinn]

Astrid straightened up as the handmaiden tightened the corset around her slim, but muscular torso. She was Asgardian, and therefor was no stranger to elaborate clothing, so it wasn't uncomfortable. It had just... been a while since she had worn anything of the sort. The dress itself was actually quite breathtaking. It was a sea foam green, that fell to the floor in loose skirts. When she moved it seemed to undulate with each step, giving the impression she was walking through water. From her shoulders, there was a thin, sheer, gauzy material that fell to the floor as well, two individual wisps that spanned the length of her shoulder to the base of her neck. It was the same color as the dress. Over the actual corset was a silver breastplate that was now being fixed to her figure, then came the silver bracers on her arms. Those went up to about mid-forearm, and silver flats completed the ensemble, though those couldn't even be seen until she walked.



Her hair and makeup had already been completed, her long, pale blond hair tied up in an intricate mess of braids at the back of her head. Toward the base of her head, the braids formed a make shift hair tie, where the rest of her hair fell loose to about her mid back, the actual length of it being shortened by the hairstyle. Her makeup consisted of green eye shadow with silver accents, and black eyeliner for a dramatic look that also made her green-hazel eyes stand out.



Once she was done being tied into her dress, she made her way to her employer to tell the other woman that she was ready. She was the woman's bodyguard, even though she didn't look the part. After fleeing Asgard, she had found her way to Sakaar, where she proceeded to rescue the woman from a group of thugs. The woman hired her on the spot as a bodyguard. Normally, Astrid dressed quite plainly, having no desire to stand out. And that's how she normally looked on the job too, when they were just going shopping or for a walk, or if she had business to attend to. But when the woman had a party to attend... it was a different story. She wanted her "exotic" bodyguard to stand out, so Asttrid had to deal with this every time she went to a party. Which was... more times than she cared to think about.



"Oh, you look absolutely marvelous!" The Lady Seraph exclaimed upon seeing her. The woman was middle aged, and her skin was as white as freshly fallen snow. Her hair was a white to match, and her eyes were a bright blue. Most of her race of people looked this way, the only natural variations being those of eye color. Some do dye their hair different colors too, which helped her discern people in the beginning. Her own dress was a deep purple with golden accents.



Astrid did her best to offer a small smile back. Smiling had been hard for her ever since she had fled Asgard. "As do you, Lady Seraph." The woman had tried to get her to drop the 'Lady' Honorific from her name, but had since given up when it became obvious that Astrid insisted on using it. She couldn't help it; back where she came from everyone in a position of power was either 'Lady' or 'Lord'. It was too deeply engrained in her to get her to stop using it.



"Now that we're both ready, we can get going. We'll be just in time to be fashionably late." Lady Seraph smiled at her, then turned to leave, beckoning Astrid to follow.



It didn't take long for the Asgardian to tire of the party. When she had first arrived, she scanned the area for immediate threats, finding comfort in the weight of her condensed spear hanging from her hip. With the push of a button it would extend to it's full length, the blade would fold out of the hidden grooves in the side, and come together at the tip. There were no immediate threats to be had, however, and so the Asgardian had found a spot in the room where she could still keep an eye on Lady Seraph.



A servant passed by with a tray of drinks, and Astrid grabbed one as he passed. It was some sort of red liquid in a martini glass. A couple of drink wouldn't affect her fighting if it was needed; she could hold her alcohol. Again: Asgardian. She glanced down at the arm holding the drink, and stared at the partially obscured tattoo on her forearm. The mark of the Valkyrie; a long gone sect of elite warriors back home in Asgard. When she had first arrived, she had tried to hide it, not wanting her survival to get back to Hella. But, it soon became apparent that no one here knew what it was, nor did they care. So, by now, she didn't mind if it was visible or not. The bracers that she was wearing covered about half of it. She took a sip of her drink, and quickly found her employer again in the crowd. Unfortunately she was stuck here till Lady Seraph got bored.

[NicTheDjinn]

Life hadn't gone the way he'd thought it would... At any point in his life, really. Time and again, unexpected things derailed his plans and this had certainly been quite the turn of events. With that said, it was far from the worst turn he'd had to face. Though arriving had been distressing, he'd quickly found that he'd been dropped into the most ideal environment he could have been. A world that revolved around status and entertainment! He was well within his element and felt more at home than he ever had. Now all he had to do was climb his way up from the bottom of the social ladder. For someone like him, it was child's play.

Though he had little choice but to struggle along when he first arrived, his social status climbed with each new conversation. It was only a matter of time before he had enough of standing to strike deals among the residents and that's when he finally took off, quickly becoming the man to go to if you needed something found. That something could be anything from goods, to people, to services. He didn't particularly care what it was, he now had an intricate social web he could access at any time. He lived comfortably soon enough, but he didn't stop there. He'd never been one to settle for... "Comfortable".

"Lavish" had a much nicer ring to it and he had that soon enough as well! Thanks to his growing popularity, he was invited to more and more exclusive parties and clubs, spreading his influence over even these inner circles. It was only a matter of time till he was rubbing elbows with the most elite of the elite. He did contemplate trying to take over the whole place, but... No... No, not now. Perhaps not ever. While everything in him yearned for power and control, he also didn't want to stick his neck too far out, just in case. Sure he wasn't being the most subtle already, but he was being very careful.

Today was another day and a new day presented new oportunity. No rest for the wicked as they say... On the menu was a party, just a social event, but several big names would be there so he, of course, had to make an appearance. He looked through his clothes, thinking hard on what might be best to wear, given the event and current trends... He would, of course, wear his signature green and black pallet, but that didn't narrow his choices much at all. In the end, he selected a deep green jerkin with a loose-fitting, black long-sleeved shirt, black leather pants, and matching boots. Looking himself over in the mirror, he scrutinized the fit, adding a set of deep green bracers and a wide golden necklace. That's better. With that, he made sure his hair was perfect then he was out the door to hopefully expand his network, but even if he didn't, he'd enjoy excellent food and drink.

Already he could feel the tension of his work easing off his shoulders as soon as he stepped in through the doors. This was his livelihood, sure, but there was little that felt better than doing what you loved for a living. To start he migrated to the table set with all sorts of good, sampling many things as he idly chatted, waiting to see who would show as well as aiming to fill his greedy stomach with food.

While he boasted a good tolerance for drink, he knew himself and his lifestyle well. You looked more relaxed and welcoming sipping at a drink which meant that he would be drinking steadily for the entire party. He was also well aware of how fond he was of drinking and hyper-aware of the fact he was overly honest with his thoughts when particularly drunk. This was not a good thing when you harbored as much bitter jealousy and anger inside as he did... This meant he needed to drink plenty while also not drinking too much. It was a very delicate balance... A stomach full of food helped. Thankfully he was just as fond of eating as he was of drinking.

Stomach feeling nice and full, drink in hand, someone finally caught his eye. It was... Jarring, honestly. Like the reverse of the uncanny valley effect. Rather than being just slightly off and feeling horribly wrong, this woman was just different than all the rest, but in all the best ways. Why...? What was it about her that had his senses so hyper-aware of her...? Well, his instincts were usually pretty reliable so he decided to feel things out a bit. "I don't think I've ever seen her before... Do you know who that woman over there is. The one in the light green dress?" He'd made it a habit to chat up some of the local gossips to start the party and sure enough it hadn't failed him this time. A body guard... That explained her perfect physic... It also explained why her corset hugged perfectly without making her look like some kind of wasp. There was muscle hidden under there. Gods she was perfect. The icing on the cake was who she was hired to mind. He was sure a woman of her misteress' stature would be a find addition to his network, be it as client or source. He'd find out which soon enough.

Having all the excuse that he really needed, he excused himself, taking a touch of pleasure in the giggles he left behind him. They were making assumptions about why he'd asked about her and then approached. For once, they weren't entirely off base. It had been some time since he'd approached a woman because he found her attractive. He approached plenty of attractive people all the time, but it was never because they were attractive. While the ulterior motive was still there, it was actually more of an excuse to justify approaching her rather than the main reason for doing so. The small amount of nerves was a pleasant change, but he approached with all the confidence he naturally exuded offering her his famously charming smile. "Hail, friend." Ugh, 'heil ok sæl' was such a hard habit to break even now... "Or... I hope that we might be. You looked a little lonely over here by yourself, I thought you might enjoy a little company."