VIII

                                    

                                          
Loki can't register their surroundings once they land because he's immediately pulled behind a brick wall. Byleistr looks a little sheepish.
"I forgot we... can't really walk around looking like this."
Loki stares at him blankly for a moment, not understanding his words for a moment. And then he realizes that Midgardians look like Asgardians. They didn't have blue skin or red eyes.
"Oh, right."
"Can you change your appearance?"
Loki points at himself and smirks, "Shapeshifter."
"Right," Byleistr nods, "It's easy to forget. You don't do it much."
"I have no reason to."
"Neither did I. Come on."
Loki watches as his brother runs a hand through his short and scruffy hair, the pitch black color lightening into a dark brown. The blue and white vanishes from his skin, melting into a pale tan. The red in his scleras change into white and his irises turn into an ocean-like blue-green. When he smiles, his teeth aren't as sharp.
"I know, I'm attractive in all forms."
Loki closes his mouth that he hadn't realized was hanging open, "Sorry-- Er-- I'm just unused to it."
Byleistr nods knowingly. Loki busies himself with changing form, looking down at his pale hands. He hasn't been in this form for some time. He feels... apprehensive. Hopefully, he doesn't come across any mirrors.
"And the clothes," Byleistr motions at his own, which have been changed as well. 
He wears a white collared shirt and a brown leather jacket over it, with plain black trousers and brown leather shoes. Loki puts on an illusion to make his clothes look the same, except his shirt is green and the jacket and shoes are black.
"Wow, Loki, you make a pretty decent Midgardian," Byleistr smirks.
"Oh, piss off," Loki says, making a face and trying to shove him away. The only thing he succeeds in is having his hair ruffled.
"Come on, then." 
He takes his brother's hand and leads him out from behind the wall. They're in a semi-populated area, mostly stores and houses some way down the road. They come out of an alleyway right next to what seems to be a diner. Byleistr opens the door and they both step inside.
The inside is a little dark, the only light coming from the windows at the front and multicolored lights on the walls. There are interesting looking machines around and there are some groups of people at the tables. 
Music floats through the air and Loki notices the platform to the side where a couple people stand. They sing happily to the music that plays on the speakers, bouncing on their feet and making extravagant gestures with their hands. They aren't professionals, since they keep breaking into fits of laughter, but they seem to be having fun. 
Byleistr pulls Loki to sit with him at one of the tables, between a group of men and two women chatting loudly.
"So?"
"So?" Loki echoes, not understanding the question.
"What do you think?" Byleistr asks eagerly.
"I don't know, I've been here for five minutes," Loki says, "It is interesting. Last I visited, the people worshiped me for parlor tricks."
"Well, now they'd probably call their authorities on you for witchcraft."
Loki's eyes widen.
"Well, they like making advancements," Byleistr explains, "They do experiments to see how things work. They inspect plants and animals to advance their medicine and machinery. If they caught wind of us, we'd most likely end up on a table to be dissected."