❅
Send me a ❅ to see what my muse would get your’s for Christmas.
Old, wooden floorboards groaned in protest, as pressure was put upon them. While the noise was soft, it was more than enough to alert the god of a presence within the room. He had been sleeping; his eyes still fixed shut, as the girl padded down the stairs. Loki didn’t have to open them to know who it was; her light, careful footsteps were a dead giveaway. A mischievous smile began to tug at the corners of his lips. She just couldn’t stay away.
”Why are you here?” Loki asked, opening his eyes lazily, green hues set upon the small girl’s silhouette. “It’s Christmas,” she replied meekly, stepping closer towards him. She wasn’t afraid, not really, though his piercing gaze did make her slightly uncomfortable. “No one should be alone on Christmas. It’s not much, but I made you a plate. I had to sneak it, otherwise Anya would’ve thrown a fit.” As she passed the plate to the man, she couldn’t help but notice the confusion plastered across his face. “Do your people not celebrate Christmas? Or do you not know what ham is?” she questioned curiously. Loki snorted, rolling his eyes at her comment. “I know what ham is,” he replied, shifting in his chair, to better position himself to eat. Being chained down, made even the simplest task, an obnoxious one.
”You don’t celebrate Christmas?” Ezra asked again, attempting to uncover the reason behind the look of confusion. “I don’t even know what that is,” he replied nonchalantly, eyes fixed determinedly onto the plate of food in front of him, as it teetered dangerously upon his knee. “You don’t know what Christmas is?" she gasped, eyes blinking rapidly in shock. Loki’s only response to her was a brief ‘look’ to get across his point of ‘what did I just say’. "Oh, well then, you’re in for a treat!" she chirped, turning away from the other.
The small blonde darted to the other side of the basement, grabbing an old chair that had been retired to the dark, dingy space. She ignored Loki’s sighs, as she pulled the piece of furniture up in front of him, plopping down to straddle the back of it. “So really it’s more of a religious holiday, than anything, but I’m going to skip over that part and get straight to the fun stuff. Christmas is also about giving, showing appreciation and merriment — hence the whole ‘Merry Christmas’ thing. We also have this tradition — or tale — about a jolly old man named Saint Nick, or as we called him as kids — Santa Claus. He’s basically a big teddy bear of a man with a stark white beard and hair, who dresses in a red, fur trimmed suit and delivers presents, via a sleigh and flying deer, to good people while they sleep. It’s supposed to be really fun as a kid, I won’t get into all the details — because there’s a lot — but apparently if you leave cookies and a glass of milk for him, you get better stuff…or something. I don’t know. —Here, I have a picture.”
Loki’s brow raised, his attention fully taken off his plate of food now. He leaned in, as girl unfolded out in front of him, looking at the depiction of the character she’d just described to him. “So you’re telling me this man, that is clearly too large to fit down a chimney, somehow manages to get himself down it anyway — in the dead of night while everyone in the household is sleeping, mind you — and gives children gifts?” “Basically, yeah,” Ezra nodded, a small, bright smile crossing her face. Loki snorted, pulling back from the piece of paper, pretending to be disinterested when he really wasn’t. “Interesting. And I thought our fairytales were odd.” Ezra laughed lightly, giving the god another small nod. “Yeah I guess it’s kinda weird when you put it that way. I don’t know, it sounds fun though — at least when you’re a kid. I never really had a real Christmas, so I wouldn’t know. This year was my first — at least with other people. My sister and I were always on the move, so I kinda skipped out on the whole Santa Claus deal…and now I’m too old to know better, you know? But hey, we did give eachother gifts…kinda.” Another dramatic, drawn out sigh escaped Loki then, his head tilting back to display his impatience. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy her company…he just didn’t want to hear about her ‘past’. Besides, the longer she talked with him, the more she may start to think they were friends, and Loki certainly didn’t need that.
The girl immediately went quiet in response to his actions. Had she really been rambling? She couldn’t tell. This was the first time in months she’d actually had a full conversation with someone other than her cats. Pink tinged her cheeks, as she scrambled off the chair, shuffling forward only to take the empty plate from the man’s lap. Emerald eyes watched her every movement, narrowing as the all-to-familiar somber look returned to her face. Loki frowned then, displeased with the reaction he’d gotten out of her. He didn’t know why, but her sullen face bothered him more than it should — enough to make him want to actually do something about it.
”Ezra,” Loki called after the girl, as she turned to make her way back upstairs, empty plate in hand. The small blonde froze, though refused to turn and face him. It was strange hearing him speak her name… “Would you come here a second?” The girl’s eyes narrowed, giving the god a half glance over her shoulder. “Please?" The small girl sighed, pulling away from the staircase to stand in front of him yet again. He must be getting really desperate now, seeing as this was obviously just another ploy — a poorly masked one at that. "What?" she huffed, refusing to look him in the face. "Could you reach into the inner pocket of my —" "Do you really think I’m that gullible, Loki? Come on…” Ezra interrupted, placing her hands firmly on her hips. “I know I’m not my sister, but I can —” “No tricks, no lies. Not this time.” Loki replied, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Scouts honor — or whatever you mortals say…” Ezra sighed, giving it a moment before nodding silently. This was a bad idea, and she knew it. Her sister would absolutely kill her if she saw what she was about to do.
Reaching out towards the god, the blonde fumbled with the pocket a bit, before she was able to pull out it’s contents. Her eyes went wide, not in shock, but in disbelief. Here, in her hand was a small, leather-bound book. While it appeared to be an ordinary novel, upon further inspection, the cover was littered with foreign decor, not to mention it also had a rather unheard of title, as well. An Asgardian book.
”My mother gave it to me when I was just a boy,” Loki went on, gesturing towards the small book. “I’ve read it, what has to be, a hundred times over now. I really have no more use of it. Consider it your’s, if you’d like.” Ezra blinked, mouth completely agape. “Oh my god…are you sure?" she breathed, clasping the book to her chest, trying not to sound too excited about it. "Yes, please. By all means," he stated firmly, emerald hues taking note of the brightness returning to her face. "It’ll give you a bit of insight on what our fairytales are like. From what I remember there are quite a few good ones in that book.” Ezra beamed at him, unable to stop herself as she shuffled over to him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight-yet-quick embrace. “Thank you,” she whispered, continuing to hold the book to her chest. “I feel like a jerk, I wish I had something to give you in return.” “Food and good company was more than enough,” Loki replied, settling back down into the chair. “— More than I’ve had in a long time. Now go. Before your sister thinks I killed you or something…” Ezra nodded, flashing the god one last smile, before scampering back up the stairs, leaving him alone to his thoughts. A smile, however faint it may have been, could be seen on his face, as he closed his eyes, allowing sleep to take him once more.