lt_safe_house | Another Loki arrives

Entry tags:

Another Loki arrives

Date: April 1, 2003, early evening
Status: Public
Setting: Just outside Tadfield Manor
Summary: Loki (II) arrives (complete)

The world had changed while he had been out of the game. The time he had spent in chains had felt like an eternity to Loki, and when he re-emerged into the world, he was no longer sure if that was really just his perception of it.

Asgard seemed a bad place for him to turn up right then, alone and without anyone to go to battle with him. He considered different options and finally settled on Midgard. That was the place where he would start to gather both intelligence and support. To renew old acquaintances and to make new ones. To take revenge on the ones that had wronged him and his children…

A bitter taste rose to his mouth when he thought of it. Midgard it would be, and then on, on to gather an army that would outdo prophecy. As far as he was concerned, prophecy could hardly be written in stone. If he went about it smartly, maybe he could turn the tide in his favour. Maybe Ragnarök wouldn't even mean his death them. He had deserved some good luck after these last decades or millennia or whatever it had been. He had not counted, and no one had ever been very specific about dates where the doom of the gods was concerned.

So Midgard it would be for the beginning, a place with inhabitants that were easily influenced and convinced of a cause…

For a little while, he seriously wondered whether someone had gone ahead and started Ragnarök without him. Nothing was as he remembered it. The last time he had visited Midgard before his imprisonment, people had ridden horses, brandished swords and warhammers and yelled "Thor" and "Odin" when they rode into battle. Warriors had been revered, not locked away apart from the others. He could not help but grin at the thought of how it must gall both Thor and his sons to see that.

Thinking of them, where were they anyway? Travelling the world, he realized that there was certainly no shortage of priests and prophets, but most of them were affiliated with some deity or other that he had never even heard about. It probably didn't matter – it just put him before a completely different problem. People were always better supporters when they believed in the cause they supported. These people seemed to have forgotten that there was such a thing as Ragnarök, let alone that it might happen within their lifetime.

Then, after some weeks of aimless wandering, in the middle of one of those incredibly big towns his path crossed that of something – or someone – he had no longer expected to find: A warrior in full battle-gear was walking down the street, ambling towards some goal without any obvious haste. No one seemed to take special notice of him, either. Intrigued, Loki followed the stranger. Where there was one, there might be more. Not wanting to draw too much attention, he took the first opportune moment to change into a shape that was less easily visible.

When he found the clothes of the warrior to be clean and utterly free of any mortal fleas, suspicion started to dawn on him. He stayed with his warrior until they entered some place where he could see larger numbers of people in proper cloths instead of the silly things he had seen almost exclusively during his recent travels. Then he left the man and found a quiet corner to change.

An hour later, he had relieved some unsuspecting person of her money-purse, acquired a mead-horn someplace and savoured the first mead since he had regained his freedom. Mead, at least, had not changed as much as people had. His suspicion was quickly confirmed. While these people made him feel a little more at home, they were only pretending. Any remaining plans of going ahead quickly with ending the world evaporated. He needed to find his place in this changed world first, it seemed, and establish himself again as a power.

He went back to letting himself drift, going wherever chance brought him, learning what he could, never staying in one place for long.

Right now, his path hat brought him to what they now called England, and, more precisely, to a small town that looked to him as if it could have been just about anywhere in this world. He was feeling more "right" today than he had for a long time, and he was not quite sure whether it was the time or the place that caused it. Since it was getting late, he contemplated his options. He could find a place to spend the night or move on to the next town, which would be nothing different from this one, and then the next... Nights outside were still pretty cool at this time of the year, and he had had some rather unpleasant experiences while wearing different shapes these last few weeks. Well, if this town had a hotel or hostel or something, maybe he could spend not only the night but even a few days like any other person, listening, talking and maybe finding a kindred spirit. He almost laughed at the thought, but decided to act on it anyway.

The hotel, as he found out, was somewhat over-sized for the town. Good for him. If they had that many visitors, there would be lots of people with nothing better to do than to talk and be talked to. He stood at the gates for a minute or two, watching the building and the grounds silently. Then he shouldered the holdall that kept whatever all that he had considered worth keeping with him instead of acquiring anew each time he needed it, quickly checked how much the wallet held that he was currently carrying, opened the gates and walked towards the entrance of the building.

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Something about the new arrival felt ... strange. He was clearly a god and he felt Norse even though Loki was sure he'd never seen him before. What was even worse was that he couldn't identify him by the feeling either. It felt familiar, so very familiar, and yet it matched no god Loki knew.

Loki flew down from his perch in a tree and shifted back to his human shape just in time for the landing. This time, he noticed with satisfaction, he'd managed almost as elegantly as he used to do before his illness.

"Hi there!" he greeted the familiar stranger. "Can I help you?"

The sudden appearance of the shape changer that reverted to human form almost in mid-air starled Loki slightly, though he covered it up quickly. Looking the other man up and down, he decided that something about him was familiar... He quickly went over the natural shapeshifters he knew, as well as over those that used objects to change their appearance. After all, just because he hadn't seen the other one quickly tuck away a cloak of feathers, that didn't mean that there hadn't been one. He had not expected to see a bird turn man after all, and still be looking at the house.
he curled his lips in something that was barely more smile than grin, and answered: "Maybe. I'd been thinking of staying the night. I've heard this is a hotel." Though, he added silently, it looked rather different from all of those hotels that he had seen or frequented since he his escape. None of them had had strangely-familiar flying porters either...

Loki smiled back widely. He didn't quite trust this odd feeling of not-recognission. Playing friendly was the best strategy, if you didn't know where you stood with somebody.

"Yep, and they even have a special offer for our kind. As long as we don't damage the town, people or fellow guests with our powers we get free rooms. Just tell Sister Mary at reception that you're here as Adam's guest."

In the back of his mind he kept running through the list of Norse gods and half-gods, but none of them fit. Could this be some Vanir's more recent bastard? He felt much too old for that.

"Why would I want to damage them?" Loki asked. "Wait, I'll take that back - who ARE these fellow guests?" After all there were a few people he would have liked to damage very much at the moment. A little more careful, he added: "And define 'our kind', please?"

Loki shrugged.

"Well, there is this hero who accidentally shot me and one of the other guests likes to eat people." He didn't want to give the Sphinx away to a stranger. She was a sort of friend and a cool beast. "Mostly we've got gods here, but also some personifications, heroes and monsters. And cats. Do you like cats?"

Should he introduce himself? If the other didn't reciprocate, it would put him at a serious disadvantage, especially with someone Norse.

"What gods?" Loki asked suspiciously. Had he accidentally stumbled upon the place where they hid? If so, far away from here would have been a healthier place for him to stay. "And no, I'm not particularly fond of cats."
Then, just because he felt like it, he decided to take a risk. After all, risks were there to be taken, and they made life more exciting.
"By the way", he said, making his tone light and conversational, "my name's Loki."

"Well, mostly Ju ..." Loki started and then it sank in and suddenly everything made sense and yet didn't at all.

He'd told Daniel that he'd never met himself before, had thought that it might be interesting, but somehow he'd never thought it was really possible and for a moment the whole universe seemed to have changed, and he could no longer trust in the laws of nature.

Then Loki took another breath, accepted the situation and the world tilted back into place.

"You're me!" he exclaimed happily. "That's why you feel so familiar! Are you English me, then? Or European me? I'm American ... us, I guess."

"Excuse me?" Loki said.

For a moment, he doubted the other man's sanity. Then his own. Then he considered the possibilities.

"Icelandic", he said, as much to humor the other one as because a plan started to take shape in his brain. No matter if the other one believed himself to be Loki or if he truly was another ... aspect? version? ... of himself, he was powerful. A good ally to have, especially if he felt similarly about certain gods.

"I also just spent some millennia imprisoned in a cave, which was not exactly the most comfortable place to be, considering that there was also this snake... Sound familiar to you? By the way," he added with a grin, "is that your natural hair color or did you have it dyed?"

He indicated his own hair, which was only showed red highlights when the sun touched it.

Loki grinned. "Sure do. Odin took his time coming back to get me out, too. But then he always does that. 'Oh Loki, I need an inside man for this grift. Nobody does it quite as well as you. Besides, I don't really trust anybody else. You know they always mess things up. Only you can do this. Sure I'll get you out as soon as it's over.' And then I end up waiting for months. Seriously, why do I always fall for him? I should know better by now. I do! But ... he's Odin, you know ..."

He almost missed Icelandic Loki's next question over his tirade.

"Yep, always been red always will be. Don't you like it?"

In fact, he wasn't sure he was entirely comfortable with having a blond other self. What other differences might there be?

"You said you don't like cats," he remembered. "How can you not like cats, if you're me? I love them."

"He never bothered to come for me," Loki stated drily. And you bet he couldn't trust me now either, he added silently. Somehow, though, he had a feeling that the other one had a somewhat better relationship with that particular god... Ah well, after all he had been released by him.

"He wasn't afraid you'd end the world then and there?" he asked instead. "And what happened to this place anyway? Really! I'm out of the game for a few thousand years and the world goes crazy. Where's this person who accidentally shot you, though? I've wanted to handle a firearm since I saw them for the first time. They're not very publicly available though, it seems. Though I guess I wouldn't need a weapon if I wanted 'firearms'." He grinned.

"And apart from that, I can not like cats because I'm me, and not you. The red hair is okay, but it's too obvious for my taste."

"When did that shooting thing happen? I thought you just said people weren't supposed to harm each other here." He realised that, if he wanted answers, talking at a speed that kept his opposite from getting in a word edgewise was not the very best of ideas. He raised his palms in an apologetic gesture.

"Sorry. My bad. Your turn now. I shut up."

"He didn't?" That was a bit shocking. "Well, he got me out. Didn't give me the kids back, though." His face turned cold for a moment and he pressed his lips together tightly showing off the scars from when the dwarfs had sewn them shut.

"Only brother I have, though. And worry about me ending the world? Ha! We actually tried to do it together once. Didn't turn out too great, but then it's kind of nice the world's still here, you know. It was rather boring to be dead even though it was just for a short time."

What else had the other him asked? Oh right.

"I haven't seen the hero lately, but if you want a gun, you're probably better off asking War anyway. The hero shot me with an arrow of all things."

"And I like the red hair. The Americans expect it of me, I guess, and it's not so obvious these days. The majority of humans don't believe in us anymore and even those who do don't expect us to show up in person." He grinned. "Makes it a bit hard to get enough belief, but also opens up so many opportunities. I like this time with all its technology and possibilities."

"The shooting was an accident. He was aiming at a bush, I think, and I happened to walk by behind it in fox-shape. Do you like foxes, if you don't like cats? And do you have fire-powers, too? For some reason the humans decided I'm a fire-god."

"He didn't", Loki agreed. He barely resisted the urge of raising his hand and touching the matching scars around his own lips. "And does that mean that, in your book, a brother who's not even blood-family is worth more than your own sons? I personally am quite content if I never have to see any of them again, except maybe on the opposite side of a battlefield."

He watched the other one carefully, trying to see if that had been a bad thing to say.

"I guess you should be glad that it was just an arrow. A bullet might have been a bit more deadly." He sighed. "I liked the old world. This one is fine, I guess, but it takes some getting used to. As for fire..." He held his hand palm up, and let a tiny flame spring from it. To him, it feld only comfortably warm in the chilly evening. "Yes", he said. "I have some power over fire."

He quickly closed his hand over the flame, snuffing it out. "I do like foxes, but I, personally, do not change into one. Where did that ability come from? And what cloak are you using for the bird?"

Loki sighed. "He's the only family I have left. Him and Sleipnir. I ... Most of the time I try not to think about it. Sometimes I go looking for my children, to try and fetch them back. Maybe someday I'll find them."

And then what? How would Odin react, if he showed up with Fenrir by his side one day?

"It was just a leg wound. Wouldn't have killed me either way. And I just change, there is no cloak. The Aesir may need cloaks to change, but I am not Aesir. Not by birth, at least."

How was it possible that this other Loki didn't have the ability to shape shift?

"You need a cloak for every animal you want to turn into, then?"

"Well, you should know where your - my - our daughter is! It's not like she's very likely to run off somewhere. Whereas Sleipnir... he's more Odin's now than mine, I fear. Probably really embarrassed about his heritage, too."

He shook himself, as if he could shake off the emotions that came with the mention of his children,lost one way or another.

"I change into flea, fly, horse, salmon or eagle. For anything else, I am subject to the same restrictions as the Æsir. Unless you cound switching genders. I can do that - and I'm functional both ways. That wasn't an eagle in that tree, though!"

"Well yes, I know where Hel is, but getting her back here, that's a different problem. Someday I'll figure it out. Sleipnir's Odin's yes, but as long as I am on good terms with Odin ..." He shrugged. Sleipnir had never seemed embarrassed to see him and he obviously loved a good run with his mother.

"That was a sparrow," he explained wondering whether the other him hadn't known or just not found it worth mentioning. Surely everybody knew such a common bird. Right? "So, you can't do a cat either? Or a wolf?"

"Neither cat nor wolf, though my son is one. Wolf, not cat, of course. Wouldn't've known what to do with a cat-child! And do remember, please, that I am not on good terms with Odin."

He looked around, wondering if any other shape-shifters hid in the garden - and if the other Loki would consider himself superior due to the differences in their powers. He would find out sooner or later, he assumed.

"And why would you change into a sparrow anyway? They're like... mice with wings. They also tend to be eaten by the cats you love so much. You also change without ripping your clothes, I noticed. That is - neat."

Loki shrugged.

"Not so different from a wolf-child, probably," he said. "Except for the claws."

He was a little worried that he and this strange other him might not get along in the long run. Not liking Odin, not liking cats and now he had something against mice and sparrows, too?

"They're practical when you need a flier that will blend in. Few people pay any attention to sparrows. Today I was just practising, though. I'm currently going through my repertoire of shapes to re-familiarise myself with the ones I haven't used in a while."

He wasn't ready to tell his other self about the cancer or his promise to help the Sphinx in her quest.

"Let's find you a room, though. You can choose any that is free." He gestured invitingly towards the manor door. "I even know where Sister Mary keeps the keys, if she isn't around."

"Sure", Loki agreed, lifting his bag again. "What kind of rooms do they have here? Are they... allocated, or can you actually choose?"

He started walking towards the house again. "Any other rules that I should know about? What about those keys, can anyone take them if they need one?"

He stopped again and turned to face the other, making his face as open and honest as he could. "And I guess you're right about the sparrow. It being able to blend in and all." He sighed. "I guess I'm a little jealous, being limited to fly and eagle when I want to take to the air. They are both extremes, I'd say." He wondered if the other one, who claimed to be Loki as well, would catch on to the untruth in that statement, as he once more faced the building.

"You can choose," Loki said. "As long as they're free. The biggest rooms are on the first floor, the third floor has the prettiest, though, and the best views. I almost took one of those just for the view."

He thought about further rules for a while.

"Don't damage the people, don't damage the town. You've got to pay for food and drink," he stated finally. "I just grabbed a key off the hook when a friend arrived once and nobody said anything about it, but she had the right to a room according to the rules. I don't think you can just take as many as you like."

He hadn't been kicked out of his attic hideout, yet, but then he wasn't sure Sister Mary knew he'd claimed it for himself. She probably never went up there.

He thought his other self looked just a touch too honest when he spoke about flying, but it wasn't important right now. He filed the information away for later.

"Are you sure you can't turn into other animals?" he asked. "Or have you simply nevr tried? Maybe I could teach you."

"I'm pretty damn sure", he answered. "Though you could try to teach me. I'm just not sure it'd do much good. And do both of us a favor and don't turn sparrow in front of my beak. It might be quite too much to ask an eagle not to damage a sparrow..."

He was quite sure that he wouldn't be able to turn into something else than the animals he had named, but then again, it would be a good way of actually getting to know the extent of the other's powers.

"As for rooms - is there something with large windows? I rather dislike small, closed spaces these days."

Loki considered that. "You probably won't like the third floor then. Let's see what's still left on the first."

He knew a number of people had moved in since he'd looked at all the available rooms when he'd arrived and the renovations might have progressed as well. Maybe he should have kept up to date more. He knew where Aziraphale, Crowley, Ishtar, War and Gabriel lived, but hadn't even asked the Sphinx for her room number.

"Come on," he said leading the other Loki right past the surprised Sister Mary at reception.

Loki followed, wondering what to expect. He winked at the woman at the reception as they went past her. He also remembered something else.

"Did you say Sister Mary?" he asked. "We're not in a nunnery though, right?"

As far as he understood it, nuns of the current creeds sounded terribly boring for a man to be around. He also wondered if having a ground-floor room was all that good an idea...

"I've reconsidered", he said. "Let's start higher up, if you don't mind. In case I want to go flying in eagle-shape, that'd give me a better starting point."

A room that wasn't on the ground floor was also far less likely to turn into a trap if the wrong people found him here. He would have more of a chance to fly to freedom from where it was less easy to block the windows.

Loki laughed.

"Let's start in the middle then, shall we?" he suggested. "The second floor has some nice rooms that are neither too low nor too small." Though he thought he'd be able to fly out of his first floor window just fine, if he wanted to.

He led his other self up the stairs past the first floor landing and on to the second.

"She's a former nun as far as I managed to find out. The locals are just used to calling her Sister Mary and she's used to answering to it. And this place seems to have some Judeo-Christian history, too. There's a chapel upstairs. Satanic, though, and drowning in dust. Nobody seems to care much about it, not even the Judeo-Christion gods of either side."

"Oh." Now that was a new idea. He had thought he had understood this Christian stuff - but obviously, he'd been mistaken there. "I had the impression that it was a single god they believed in!

He did realize that the other one took him up one flight higher than he had expected. He mentally shook his head at himself. That was exactly what came of trying to outsmart yourself. He decided not to comment on it, though. He higher up, the better, if he had to escape through the air one day. Eagles were pretty heavy for a bird, and better at gliding than at flying. It was difficult to get away quickly of he could not launch himself into the wind. Of course the other one would have no such problems, considering that he could turn into as small and agile a bird as he wanted.

"I never understood the need to have a temple or chapel or priests... They only get in the way."

"Oh, don't tell me you fell for it as well! You've never met one of their lesser gods, have you? They feel like gods, they have powers like gods. They are gods," Loki's voice kept rising during the tirade and by now he was almost shouting. "Their head god's just not allowing them the 'privilege' of calling themselves that. Egomaniac bastard!"

He opened a door at random and luckily the room was fee. "So this is the room size up here. Comfortable or would you prefer something bigger, or smaller but higher?"

"Well, priests can be quite practical, if you need your faith spread and temples keep the faithful together. Of course, if you have fellow gods with priests and temples that spread belief in you for you, that's even better." He winked at himself. It was rather cool to be able to do that without a mirror.

Another Loki arrives

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