Making his way through the halls, Loki’s thoughts kept him distracted enough that the sound of the woman's voice was almost jarring, even as quiet as it was, and his initial response to her greeting was an icy - “Is it?” before he could quite reign it in.
A half-second’s pause, and he stopped walking, expression shifting to something between embarrassed and apologetic. He was a prince, a king, he wasn’t meant to be sniping at passerby and acting for all the world like a petulant child simply because he wasn’t in the best of moods. Not here, not with strangers who, here, were in a similar situation as he.
“Ah. My apologies, my lady. I did not intend to be… rude.” He cannot afford to offend, here. He cannot afford enemies. Not until he knows who his true enemies are, at least.
[OOC: So sorry for the delayed response, it's been a bit of a week. <3!]