“I thought I had made my dislike of you quite clear,” he stated, the calmness transforming into something else, bristling with not-quite hostility, yet lacking in any warmth or kindness. The air crackled subtly around him, a warning to her: get too close, she would be harmed, and badly.
“It’s a free beach,” she said peaceably, wading a few steps out into the waves. “If it makes you feel better you can make more water animals to attack me.” She looked over her shoulder and grinned, almost daring him to take offense at her good mood.
Her presence grated on him, her good mood and laughter irritated his nerves. “I could drown you,” he threatened, and the raw energy in the air crackled louder for a moment before it simply stopped. Loki turned away, deciding at that moment that she was not worth his time and attention. He started back up the beach, intending to leave her there. As she had said, it was a free beach.
“And I could set you on fire,” she called after him. Tapping his irritation, she built a phoenix and sent it swirling around his retreating form. “Or we could come to a truce. I’m sure you don’t normally run away from mere mortals.”