(no subject)

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Date: March 28, 2003
Status: Public (Loki, Gabriel, Aziraphale - Complete)
Setting: Manor garden
Summary: ... Actually just randomly posting something hoping somebody wants to play with Loki.


Okay, his trout shape did not like the manor pond. If he'd taken a moment to think about it, he'd have known before he'd tried it. Trouts belonged in flowing water. He should have tried to become a goldfish instead, but the trout was his most familiar fish shape and it had been a spontaneous decision.

He hastily returned to human shape, crawled out of the water and lay gasping and wet next to the pond.

Comments

Mind if Gabriel walks in? (Or rather, outside?)

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel stretched, smiling at the warm sunlight on his face. He loved books, but there was only so much time you could spend inside a library on a day like this. Then again, he loved nature in general, and considered rain, mist and sunshine equally good weather.

He frowned at the sight of something next to the pond. Gabriel had good eyesight, like most angels, and it looked like... Loki, lying next to the pond, gasping and wet. Concerned, he was at the side of the Norse god in an instant.

"Loki? Are you alright? Did you fall in?"

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki blinked up at Gabriel with slight surprise.

"Fall? Oh no, I was just experimenting with something that didn't turn out quite right. Good morning by the way. Are both cats still well?"

[cattygabriel]

"Good morning to you too. And yes, both cats are well and happy." Gabriel tilted his head. "Experimenting with what?"

He extended a hand to help Loki up.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki considered both the question and the hand, then with a mental shrug decided to take both. The information wasn't particularly useful after all and their deal with Adam should stop Gabriel from doing him serious harm. As for a minor injury or indignity, well, one had to take risks, if one wanted to gain anything - though Loki wasn't entirely sure what there might be to gain from playing nice with Judeo-Christian gods, yet.

"I was trying to find out whether my trout shape would enjoy the pond. Turns out it's too small and shallow. The toad was much happier with it."

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel had half-expected Loki to spurn his offer of help, so he was mildly but pleasantly surprised when the Norse god allowed him to pull him up.

"That's interesting. What other animals can you shapeshift into?"

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki stared at Gabriel in surprise. He didn't know?

"Why all of them," he replied after waiting maybe just a heartbeat too long to cover his reaction. "Provided that I know enough about them to get the shape right, of course. More familiar shapes come more easily."

[cattygabriel]

"Oh." Gabriel had tried to research the Norse pantheon, but there were conflicting accounts of Loki, and he wasn't sure how much this Loki differed from the original. He wondered why Loki had paused before answering; did he expect Gabriel to have researched him? "Does that include animals like unicorns, gryphons or dragons?"

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

That was a more interesting question. Should he answer this honestly? No, better to leave it open.

"I've never met a unicorn or gryphon," he said with a shrug. "I'd love to, though. They are fascinating creatures. Do you know any?"

[cattygabriel]

"I've seen a couple, a long time ago," Gabriel smiled. "They are indeed fascinating. You're avoiding the question about dragons, though."

If Loki could indeed turn into a dragon, would he humour the archangel by giving a demonstration? Gabriel hoped so, but he was aware that Loki didn't fully trust him yet, and inwardly shrugged. It was his own fault.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Well, Gabriel could look that up easily enough, so Loki shrugged.

"Haven't you ever heard the tale of Siegfried and Fafnir? Any Jotun can do that. It just tends to be very inconvenient what with the size, being cold-blooded and the humans' tendency to send you knights in armour before you've even settled in."

[cattygabriel]

"Siegfried...? Oh. You mean Sigurd?" Gabriel had indeed read the legend, but he hadn't connected it to Loki. He spread his hands. "Well, there are no knights in armour here, so..." He paused, excitement vying with wariness. Was it polite to simply ask a Jotun to shapeshift for you? Or would Loki simply take it the wrong way?

"Could I see your dragon shape?" he finished, rather fast.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"Sigfried, Sigurd, Sivard, whatever," Loki said with another shrug. "It's all the same guy and he wasn't all that impressive, if you ask me. Just had a bit of luck and lots of magic."

Loki eyed the manor grounds thoughtfully for a moment, considered the weather. He'd already made one badly considered shift today and while he did have the strength for more than one by now the dragon had always been exhausting. Then again it wasn't that cold and he could burn down a tree or something to warm himself.

He took a few steps away from the pond, closed his eyes and concentrated on getting large and scaly with strong clawed paws. Her weight shifted and she slid forward to stand on all four feet.

Her left front paw sank into something wet and cold prompting her to open her eyes with a startled "Phruh?". Had she stepped into a puddle?

Oh no, it was the pond. She should have stepped further to the right.

Loki turned her head and lowered it towards Gabriel with a soft snort.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel's breath caught as Loki shifted, form flowing into that of a large, majestic dragon straight out of the Edda; if Sigurd had turned up with his sword, if a ship full of Viking warriors had appeared, nothing would have seemed out of place. Gabriel felt as though he was in a Norse legend.

Light glinted off the dragon's scales, and Gabriel moved back as one clawed foot stepped into the pond, splashing some water out.

The dragon turned his - her, something told him it was a her - head towards him, and he found himself transfixed by the huge, ancient, intelligent gaze. Slowly, tentatively, he raised a hand to her snout, hovering just above a smooth scale, silently asking permission.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

She sniffed the foreign god carefully. There might be trouble, if she pushed him over, though it might also be a lot of fun. She wondered how durable Judeo-Christian gods were.

Then she lifted her paw out of the pond, gave it a good shake and finally gently butted her nose against the offered hand. Human hands were a bit small, but Loki always loved a good petting.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel stifled a laugh as she sniffed him; it was ticklish. He stroked the shiny scales, rubbing along the bridge of her snout, amazed at how small his own hand looked against her head.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, that felt good! Loki lowered her head a little more, closed her eyes and hissed with pleasure.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel laughed, stroking a little higher. Who knew that a contented dragon would act like a contented cat?

He hoped nobody looked outside and got a shock, though.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Very carefully Loki lowered herself onto her belly to give the little god better access. Maybe Gabriel wasn't all bad after all. Surely nobody who liked cats, had wings and could pet like this could be entirely mean.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel smiled; dragon-Loki really was behaving like a cat. He shifted to lightly scratch the smooth, warm scaly cheek, the way he would for a cat (albeit with slightly more force than with a cat) before resuming rubbing her snout.

"I'd ask about breathing fire, but I doubt Ms Hodges would be very happy if we destroyed the grounds," he murmured.

Humans had always been fascinated by dragons, and looking at Loki, it was easy to see why.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki didn't feel like breathing fire at the moment anyway. She was much too comfortable and sleepy. She tilted her head a bit inviting Gabriel to scratch under her chin and rumbled her appreciation.

There was something she ought to ask Gabriel, but to do so she'd have to shift back to her human shape. She couldn't form English words with her split tongue.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel scratched under her chin, laughing softly at the appreciative rumble. "You know, you're like a very large and scaly cat, behaviour-wise."

He tilted his head, remembering other dragon legends he had read. "Can you speak, as a dragon? In any language?"

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki opened her eyes again and regarded Gabriel through the one closer to him. He was a bit too close to focus on clearly.

Concentrating very hard she formed the words 'Like this.' in her native tongue. It came out sounding something like: "Phrssch Rcks."

Was that close enough? She looked at Gabriel expectantly.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale had organised his bottles of wine, only to discover that one of the newer bottles had come with a light blue ribbon that reminded him of the eyes of that young kitten which had adopted Gabriel. Earl Grey. Thinking of how fetching the adorable thing would look with a bow, Aziraphale had taken it to the library, only to find that he hadn't been there.

Aziraphale had traced Gabriel out to the gardens. And found he was... talking to, to something large...

Aziraphale walked until he could clearly see that what Gabriel was speaking to was in fact a dragon, and he vaguely wondered if Crowley had laced his coffee with something illegal again. For lack of anything better to do, he stopped on the lawn, bow in his hands, and stared.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel blinked. "Um, was that dragon language?"

He wondered if eye contact was polite or not, and settled for looking at her snout, when he sensed another presence nearing and turned.

"Aziraphael! Hello." Oh dear. The Principality looked rather stunned.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

"Hello Gabriel," Aziraphale said, hoping Gabriel could hear him but not really being able to be much louder out of fear of getting eaten. It would be a terrible start to the day. Besides, the obvious question, what is a dragon doing here?, seemed too obvious to voice aloud.

[cattygabriel]

Forget stunned, he looked outright terrified. Gabriel laughed, continuing to pet Loki.

"You've already met Loki, haven't you?"

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

"Oh," said Aziraphale, not sure what else to say.

Figuring that any sort of animosity Loki might feel for him could be deflected by Gabriel if need be, and making a mental note to tread a little more cautiously should he ever run into the pseudo-Norse god alone, Aziraphale started taking small steps forward. No need to get attacked if it could be avoided, after all.

"How... peculiar. He can turn into a dragon? Er, rhetorical question. I see that."

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Dragon language? She shook her head at Gabriel wondering how to indicate that dragons didn't actually have a language in the human sense of the word, but then another Judeo-Christian arrived on the scene and this one Loki had no intention to amuse with cute shape shifting tricks.

She abruptly lifted her head, turned it in Aziraphale's direction and growled, this time not in pleasure.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

In truth, Aziraphale had located Loki's name on the List of People He Oughtn't Even Bother With, directly below animal tormenters and right above people insistent on buying his books. As a result, he didn't bat an eyelash at the display of aggression, and he didn't feel the familiar pang of being disliked that he usually did.

But of course he had walked into a private conversation, and it wouldn't be fair to Gabriel to put him in the middle of an argument he had no part of, and so Aziraphale bit his tongue and held out the ribbon to Gabriel. "I saw this and thought of young Earl Grey - his eyes, specifically - and thought of how fetching he would look with it on. Would you like it?" He looked at the Loki-dragon square in the eye when he said, "I'll be on my way shortly."

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel sighed at Loki's growl and Aziraphael's tone. Evidently they hadn't made up yet.

"He would, although I hope he doesn't shred it first. Thank you," he accepted the ribbon, smiling. "Before you go on your way, though, don't you have something else to say?"

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale figured that Gabriel wouldn't have said that had Gabriel not thought Aziraphale did, in fact, have something to say. He resisted his own sigh of disapproval before saying quite politely, "I apologize for interrupting your, ah, show-and-tell. If you'll excuse me...?" He turned to leave.

No need to drag this out more than strictly necessary. It was difficult to avoid the pseudo-Norse god when one walked out and stood next to him, after all.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. Show-and-tell? "I don't require an apology, but I believe you owe Loki one?"

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki sniffed the ribbon very cautiously. She didn't think the kitten would appreciate it much, but it didn't smell harmful. It certainly wasn't worth shifting back to inform Gabriel how girly ribbonss were.

So she just settled for swishing her tail casually in Aziraphale's direction.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

"That apology was to both of you. You were having a conversation, a show-and-tell of Mr. Loki's powers, and I apologize for interrupting it." He formally bowed to his superior and nodded his head to the dragon. "Hopefully Earl Grey doesn't protest the ribbon, but even if he does, it's not as if I'll be horribly offended. Kittens will be kittens."

The irksome part of all this was that usually Aziraphale could use "a lunch date" as an excuse, after which he would go find Crowley. Gabriel, who was apparently more inquisitive (and meddlesome Aziraphale noted sourly) than he had given him credit for, wouldn't accept such a thing.

[cattygabriel]

He really was good at evasion. Gabriel inclined his head. "Kittens will be kittens, indeed." And we are going to have a Talk about evasion soon, he thought.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki turned her head towards Aziraphale and snorted. Setting another god on fire probably constituted a violation of the deal with Sister Mary and the mysterious Adam, but she was sorely tempted. Maybe she could fake a cough and claim it was an accident?

She didn't need or want an apology from the bossy little Judeo-Christian. She couldn't stand him and that was that.

[stillnotfallen.livejournal.com]

Aziraphale nodded again, and he could sense Gabriel's displeasure (not to mention Loki's, but that was hardly a surprise).

Honestly, what was with Gabriel's insistence that Aziraphale apologize to Loki? It wasn't as if the pseudo-Norse god would care about such a thing, nor as if Aziraphale was the only one in the wrong. The whole situation was absurd, trite, and worth no one's time. To be honest, from what very little conversation Loki and Aziraphale had had, Aziraphale didn't care whether Loki liked or even tolerated him at all. Aziraphale, after all, didn't like children, godlike or no.

"If you'll excuse me then," he demurred, turning to walk back into the Manor. He needed some tea to calm his nerves.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel shrugged apologetically at Loki when Aziraphael walked away; he would have apologised for Aziraphael, but by now it was rather obvious that neither Loki nor Aziraphael even wanted an apology.

"Well, scaly kitten, I feel guilty for keeping you on the ground. Would you like to go flying?"

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki's head snapped back towards Gabriel in surprise. She hadn't considered flight at all until now. It drew attention and required a lot of strength so was best avoided.

It was tempting to stretch her wings again, but at the same time she felt too tired and comfortable. After a moment of consideration and a measuring glance at the sky, she shook her head at Gabriel, yawned in explanation and stretched out in the grass.

Maybe some more patting, a nice nap and then she'd change back to her human shape and read a book in her hammock. Yes, that sounded like a plan.

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel laughed. "Definitely a scaly cat. I think I see why you liked my cats so much. Birds of a feather."

He lightly scratched along Loki's snout, humming softly.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki 'purred' some more and leaned into the touch. The humming sounded good, too. Before she knew it her eyelids slid closed and she was asleep.