Loki Odinson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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ax_main2018-11-27 08:44 pm
ax_trickster) wrote in ax_main2018-11-27 08:44 pm
Entry tags:
Cal & Loki: Yorkland Day 4
Cal comes back to visit Loki’s cave and to check on his stowaway.
Cal found the stairs with the same ease as the first time, but no cat was waiting for him at the bottom, this time. And the hallway looked way different. No need to get light out either, this time, but mostly because the farther in he went, the more fucked up the hallway looked. Bright, spinning colors, and shapes that evolved one into the other. Fucking flowers on the floor, their smell bursting strong with each of Cal's step crushing them under his boots. It was all disorienting as fuck, and made Cal wonder whether someone (Loki, of course) had slipped him something. Maybe something in the air? This felt like a trip and a half, and it wasn't long before Cal was only moving forward by leaning a hand against the wall for support, because the entire hallway felt like it was spinning.
And then, mercifully, he reached a door that led to the same vast room he had found Loki in last time. No falling required this time, apparently, which Cal was very thankful about. He thought he might actually have puked, otherwise.
Instead, he forced his knees to keep it together long enough to reach the table where tea and a chessboard were laid out, so he could drop into a chair, and look around for the big-ass black and green dragon. "That was not fun!" he called out.
It wasn’t the dragon, but the cat, that jumped onto the table to greet him. “Fun to watch, less fun to experience,” the cat said. The voice was clearly Loki’s. “You’re back. Do you bring good tidings, or did you decide to attack a dragon after all?”
"I was hoping you'd have good tidings," Cal replied, still looking a little pale from that hallway, even as he eyed the cat. "Is Alix safely away?"
“Alix is safely away, starting a new life. If you’re trying to collect money from his father at all I’d do it today. Tomorrow he’ll find himself inclined to forget this whole incident happened.” His fluffy tail batted at the teapot lightly. “Mint tea? To settle your stomach?” He offered sweetly.
"If you think he's paying me anything while I didn't manage to get his son back, think again," Cal remarked somberly. He eyed the teapot, and then the cat again. "Anything in it?"
The cat chuffed. “Tea. I’m not a fairy. You can eat and drink freely here.” He slunk down to the other side of the table. “You can also tell me your name this time, since we skipped introductions earlier this week.”
Cal still wasn't sure he wanted to risk it, even if the mage had been helping out Alix. He didn't trust Loki. "Cal. Rankin. Why didn't you make his father disinclined to look for him in the first place?"
First and last. Loki was impressed that Cal volunteered both pieces of information. “Alix was very specific about how it was handled.” In other words, do not damage. “For the best outcome, it took extra work. The difference between magic and meddling I suppose.”
"So now he's gone, you'll do as you wanted in the first place?" Cal asked, still a little confused.
“So now that he’s gone I’ll hold to the words of my bargain,” Loki said crossly. “His father will be compelled to let this lie, but no harm will come to him. There’s an art to the balance. Finding lost children isn’t your usual deal, is it? Did you get no bigger offers for dragon scales this week?”
Cal still didn't get why the bastard couldn't have been compelled earlier in the process, which would have saved him a whole lot of time and energy. But he was distracted from his confusion by Loki clearly knowing shit about him. He frowned over at the cat, then shook his head. "I was taking some time off, actually," he replied, purposefully casual about it. Yeah, he collected monster parts for a living, and he was talking to a sometimes-dragon. This wasn't a landmine of a conversation at all. "Until I heard a kid had been abducted."
“You said you weren’t a hero.” Loki stretched out in front of the chess board, paws kneading against the tablecloth.
"Wanting to help out a kid doesn't make you a hero, just someone halfway decent," Cal pointed out, watching Loki behave like, well, a cat. It was very realistic.
“I will take that statement under advisement,” Loki hummed. “Would you say your job is unglamorous then? In it for the hard work, less so the adrenaline and riches?”
Cal leveled a very confused look on the cat, then gestured between them, to indicate their interaction. "What is this? Get To Know A Dragon-Slayer Day?"
He sat up and held Cal’s gaze. “I don’t let many into my home. Opportunity.”
"So why did you?" Cal asked, shifting on the chair to face the cat more squarely, now that he'd recovered from that fucking hallway. "Twice?"
“Curiosity. You have a certain je ne sais quois.”
"Says the dragon-cat," Cal remarked wryly. He did wonder what Loki's original form was. "You're not even a little bit tempted to kill me?" That was a first, when it came to dragons and him.
“Don’t correct the rumors, but contrary to belief murder is not one of my favorite past times,” Loki answered dryly. “What do I get from killing you? Are you planning on killing me?”
"I can tell you I wouldn't try it on my own," Cal replied. "Contrary to belief, I don't have a death wish." He paused, then added, "But, no. Not unless you were into murder."
"Smart boy." Loki clearly saw him as no threat, because he licked a paw and started smoothing down the fur behind his ear. "So no death wish. Any general wishes?"
Cal smiled at that question. Now everything made sense. Loki was after another one of his famous bargains. "Sorry, no."
“That content with you lot in life, hm?” He glanced idly at Cal between swipes of his paw.
"That certain there's nothing I want enough to make a deal with you," Cal replied, with a half smile. It was a good smile; it invited people to not look further than what he said. Even he believed it, half the time.
Loki clearly didn’t believe it. There was a wicked amusement in his gaze. He finished straightening his mane before speaking again. “Even so, what draws a person to a life of monster hunting? There were no other hobbies you thought of pursuing?”
Hobby. Right. "I knit, in my time off," Cal deadpanned. "What's your original form?" Hey, personal fucking question for personal fucking question.
Loki’s shadow spread longer behind him, closer to a panther than a house cat. “That is worth far more than your hobbies. Do you have a smaller question? Or a bigger answer?”
"What do you think?" Cal didn't quite ask, and pushed to his feet. When asked a question he didn't want to answer, he asked one in return. When Loki was asked a question he didn't want to answer, he turned to threatening shadows. To each their own, but Cal had no specific reason to stay down here. "Too much to hope that the hallway won't be as bad on the way out?"
Loki sighed. He wrapped his tail around himself. The shadow didn’t shrink, but the tail in the shadow flickered uncomfortably. Little did Cal know that he’d picked a sensitive subject. The only reason Loki could walk freely above ground was few knew he original form. Even hosting guests in his cave, he took on other human shapes. “The exit is always easier. It’s not worth the effort hindering the way.”
Cal headed for the door, but he paused when he reached it, and turned around to face Loki. "There's ever another Alix you could use some help with? I'd rather make money doing that than tracking down monsters." He wasn't sure Loki would ever come to him, but it was worth saying.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Cal Rankin.”
Cal nodded acknowledgment, then turned and slipped through the door, back the way he'd come.
Cal found the stairs with the same ease as the first time, but no cat was waiting for him at the bottom, this time. And the hallway looked way different. No need to get light out either, this time, but mostly because the farther in he went, the more fucked up the hallway looked. Bright, spinning colors, and shapes that evolved one into the other. Fucking flowers on the floor, their smell bursting strong with each of Cal's step crushing them under his boots. It was all disorienting as fuck, and made Cal wonder whether someone (Loki, of course) had slipped him something. Maybe something in the air? This felt like a trip and a half, and it wasn't long before Cal was only moving forward by leaning a hand against the wall for support, because the entire hallway felt like it was spinning.
And then, mercifully, he reached a door that led to the same vast room he had found Loki in last time. No falling required this time, apparently, which Cal was very thankful about. He thought he might actually have puked, otherwise.
Instead, he forced his knees to keep it together long enough to reach the table where tea and a chessboard were laid out, so he could drop into a chair, and look around for the big-ass black and green dragon. "That was not fun!" he called out.
It wasn’t the dragon, but the cat, that jumped onto the table to greet him. “Fun to watch, less fun to experience,” the cat said. The voice was clearly Loki’s. “You’re back. Do you bring good tidings, or did you decide to attack a dragon after all?”
"I was hoping you'd have good tidings," Cal replied, still looking a little pale from that hallway, even as he eyed the cat. "Is Alix safely away?"
“Alix is safely away, starting a new life. If you’re trying to collect money from his father at all I’d do it today. Tomorrow he’ll find himself inclined to forget this whole incident happened.” His fluffy tail batted at the teapot lightly. “Mint tea? To settle your stomach?” He offered sweetly.
"If you think he's paying me anything while I didn't manage to get his son back, think again," Cal remarked somberly. He eyed the teapot, and then the cat again. "Anything in it?"
The cat chuffed. “Tea. I’m not a fairy. You can eat and drink freely here.” He slunk down to the other side of the table. “You can also tell me your name this time, since we skipped introductions earlier this week.”
Cal still wasn't sure he wanted to risk it, even if the mage had been helping out Alix. He didn't trust Loki. "Cal. Rankin. Why didn't you make his father disinclined to look for him in the first place?"
First and last. Loki was impressed that Cal volunteered both pieces of information. “Alix was very specific about how it was handled.” In other words, do not damage. “For the best outcome, it took extra work. The difference between magic and meddling I suppose.”
"So now he's gone, you'll do as you wanted in the first place?" Cal asked, still a little confused.
“So now that he’s gone I’ll hold to the words of my bargain,” Loki said crossly. “His father will be compelled to let this lie, but no harm will come to him. There’s an art to the balance. Finding lost children isn’t your usual deal, is it? Did you get no bigger offers for dragon scales this week?”
Cal still didn't get why the bastard couldn't have been compelled earlier in the process, which would have saved him a whole lot of time and energy. But he was distracted from his confusion by Loki clearly knowing shit about him. He frowned over at the cat, then shook his head. "I was taking some time off, actually," he replied, purposefully casual about it. Yeah, he collected monster parts for a living, and he was talking to a sometimes-dragon. This wasn't a landmine of a conversation at all. "Until I heard a kid had been abducted."
“You said you weren’t a hero.” Loki stretched out in front of the chess board, paws kneading against the tablecloth.
"Wanting to help out a kid doesn't make you a hero, just someone halfway decent," Cal pointed out, watching Loki behave like, well, a cat. It was very realistic.
“I will take that statement under advisement,” Loki hummed. “Would you say your job is unglamorous then? In it for the hard work, less so the adrenaline and riches?”
Cal leveled a very confused look on the cat, then gestured between them, to indicate their interaction. "What is this? Get To Know A Dragon-Slayer Day?"
He sat up and held Cal’s gaze. “I don’t let many into my home. Opportunity.”
"So why did you?" Cal asked, shifting on the chair to face the cat more squarely, now that he'd recovered from that fucking hallway. "Twice?"
“Curiosity. You have a certain je ne sais quois.”
"Says the dragon-cat," Cal remarked wryly. He did wonder what Loki's original form was. "You're not even a little bit tempted to kill me?" That was a first, when it came to dragons and him.
“Don’t correct the rumors, but contrary to belief murder is not one of my favorite past times,” Loki answered dryly. “What do I get from killing you? Are you planning on killing me?”
"I can tell you I wouldn't try it on my own," Cal replied. "Contrary to belief, I don't have a death wish." He paused, then added, "But, no. Not unless you were into murder."
"Smart boy." Loki clearly saw him as no threat, because he licked a paw and started smoothing down the fur behind his ear. "So no death wish. Any general wishes?"
Cal smiled at that question. Now everything made sense. Loki was after another one of his famous bargains. "Sorry, no."
“That content with you lot in life, hm?” He glanced idly at Cal between swipes of his paw.
"That certain there's nothing I want enough to make a deal with you," Cal replied, with a half smile. It was a good smile; it invited people to not look further than what he said. Even he believed it, half the time.
Loki clearly didn’t believe it. There was a wicked amusement in his gaze. He finished straightening his mane before speaking again. “Even so, what draws a person to a life of monster hunting? There were no other hobbies you thought of pursuing?”
Hobby. Right. "I knit, in my time off," Cal deadpanned. "What's your original form?" Hey, personal fucking question for personal fucking question.
Loki’s shadow spread longer behind him, closer to a panther than a house cat. “That is worth far more than your hobbies. Do you have a smaller question? Or a bigger answer?”
"What do you think?" Cal didn't quite ask, and pushed to his feet. When asked a question he didn't want to answer, he asked one in return. When Loki was asked a question he didn't want to answer, he turned to threatening shadows. To each their own, but Cal had no specific reason to stay down here. "Too much to hope that the hallway won't be as bad on the way out?"
Loki sighed. He wrapped his tail around himself. The shadow didn’t shrink, but the tail in the shadow flickered uncomfortably. Little did Cal know that he’d picked a sensitive subject. The only reason Loki could walk freely above ground was few knew he original form. Even hosting guests in his cave, he took on other human shapes. “The exit is always easier. It’s not worth the effort hindering the way.”
Cal headed for the door, but he paused when he reached it, and turned around to face Loki. "There's ever another Alix you could use some help with? I'd rather make money doing that than tracking down monsters." He wasn't sure Loki would ever come to him, but it was worth saying.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Cal Rankin.”
Cal nodded acknowledgment, then turned and slipped through the door, back the way he'd come.
no subject
Caleb can't believe you haven't told him you're friends with a dragon, Cal.
no subject
Also they aren't friends, Cal says. Acquaintances that don't kill or eat each other.
no subject
And, yes, Caleb would definitely scowl, especially since he went back!