Ever since she moved into her new apartment, L.L. had been talking about painting. Bucky knew it, Loki knew it, James knew it, basically everyone knew it by this point, but she still hadn't started the project. Not for lack of trying; there were just so many color choices to choose from. So instead of continuing to pour over all the paint swatches scattered all over her coffee table, she decided to take some initiative and at least start getting supplies. So she went out to get the basics: paint brushes, a roller, painters' tape, tarp, etc. The paint itself would have to wait until later.
L.L. wasn't out for very long, a couple hours at most. When she finally got home, she opened the door and immediately stopped, the door still propped open by her body. Something felt off. She couldn't explain what, exactly; it was just a feeling. Perhaps it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Bucky's alarms hadn't gone off nor did her wards indicated any disruption. And, most important of all, her pendant hadn't pinched her to warn of danger. Granted, the warning usually occurred just before the danger struck, so there was a chance danger was lurking about it. That wouldn't explain both her technological and magical alarms not going off, though.
She shook her head and entered into the apartment, closing the door and locking it behind her. She was just being paranoid. It was when she went to put her bag onto the kitchen counter that she noticed a shadowed figure sitting still in her living room. Her magical shield immediately went up, her senses on alert and body instinctively going into a defensive position.
The figure could easily be Loki, she told herself, but she wasn't buying it. Why would he just sit there in the dark and not say a thing even as she was staring right at him? That wasn't like him.
"Who's there?" She asked, her fingers twitching in anticipation for a conflict. "Step into the light slowly. No sudden moves."