(no subject)

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Date: April 5, 2003
Status: Public (Loki, Loki II, Gabriel - Complete)
Setting: Loki's Room, Bar
Summary: Oh, no! Loki's medicine is gone!


Loki was pleased to notice that he had felt much better all day. It seemed that he was finally recovering. Hopefully if he continued to obey the doctor's orders exactly and always took his medicine, he'd soon be well enough to permanently return to America. Interesting as England was, he still missed his friends and family in America. This was another Loki's land.

He slipped one hand into his backpack feeling blindly for his pills. Ah, there the box was. He pulled it out, slightly surprised to find it much lighter than it was supposed to be.

His first reaction was to assume that the bottle had slipped out, but both ends of the box were closed.

Right, so he must have forgotten it in the bathroom. But no, it wasn't there either. Wherever else could he have left it?

Loki rushed back into his room, checked the bedside table, tore open all the drawers and turned over his backpack. Nothing. In a last desperate hope he tore open the cupboard doors, but of course it was completely empty.

His medicine was gone and he needed it!

Unfortunately he couldn't just go and buy another bottle. It was a prescription drug. His only option if he didn't find his pills tonight was to go to London tomorrow and get a new prescription from his doctor - who would not be pleased to find out that he'd lost a bottle he'd been meant to keep safely locked up.

And what effect would this have on his recovery? Would it slow it down? Cause a relapse?

Unwilling to sit around and worry Loki rushed out of his room, slammed the door closed behind him and went downstairs into the bar sorely tempted to bury his worries in alcohol.

Comments

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"You don't know him," Loki lied. "And I'm supposed to bring him the medicine, not keep it for him. I admit referring to it as mine was in accurate, so let me restate: Hey, that's supposed to be in my keeping and you had no business taking it. Give it back!"

He held out his hand to himself.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"The name!" Loki growled.

He made no move to surrender the bottle. Instead, he grabbed his other self with his free hand and forced him to face him.

Staring down at him, he said: "Say it. Look me in the eye and tell me - tell me it's not you. Tell me you don't have this thing and I'm in no danger of catching it either. Damn you - since when does Loki tell untruths?"

He was breathing heavily now. He wished, hoped that the other one would deny it, and that he'd not see a lie in his eyes then. He wanted it to be that way. Otherwise... things would become difficult.

Genetic disposition, the librarian had said. You couldn't get closer, genetially, than being the same person, could you?

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"Is private!" Loki returned in the same tone.

"No," Loki said, forcing himself to stay relaxed and not assume a defensive stance. "It's not me."

Had his other self never been called Loki Lie-Smith? Maybe they were more different than he'd thought after all. Perhaps they had nothing in common anymore except their name.

He looked himself in the eyes forcing himself not to blink, to believe his own words completely, trust that he wouldn't harm himself, not over something as silly as this.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Without letting go of his other self, Loki put the bottle into the pocket of his jacket and closed the button over it with one hand.

His voice was low and icy as he spoke. "Liar." Contempt seeping from every syllable, he went on: "Miserable, wretched little liar! Is this what you've become? Or have you always been like that? Have you never stood in Ægir's hall and tossed their lies back into their faces?"

Staring down at the redhead, he watched for the other's reaction. "You're a shame for the name you bear. You disgust me."

With that, he released him and turned pointedly away, gesturing to the bartender for another refill.

[cattygabriel]

The tension in the air was almost tangible, and Gabriel shifted uncomfortably on his bar stool. He was a little confused, too; wasn't Loki also known as Loki Lie-Smith? Of all the people he could think of who would scorn liars, Loki - whichever country he came from - would not have been on that list.

And why was Loki lying about his illness, anyway? It was hardly something one could help.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Several possible replies flashed through Loki's mind, but he suppressed them. Now was not the time to chide himself for uncreative honesty. It would be admitting to the lie and in consequence admitting to being sick and weak.

"If you choose not to trust yourself," he said instead while calmly straightening his shirt. "That is your problem, but I do need that bottle back. It's prescription medicine, you see, and not so easy to replace."

"You, on the other hand, have no use for it. So how about you give it back and I'll give you something useful instead?" He wasn't sure what he had to offer, but maybe it'd come to him or maybe the other him would make a request.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Loki turned, livid. His hand shot out and, with a loud snap, left a reddening print on the other one's cheek. "Trying to bribe me now, are you?" He asked. "How about the truth in exchange for the bottle?" His lips curled into a cruel grin. "Besides - I may not have any use for it now, but I might tomorrow. Or the day after. If you got it, I'm likely to get it, right, Librarian?"

[cattygabriel]

Gabriel set his glass down and sighed. Whatever chances he had had of simply being an objective observer in the background waved jauntily at him before jumping out of the window.

"Genetic predisposition does affect your chances of developing leukaemia, and as you're two different versions of the same god, your genes are probably highly similar if not the same. But I'm hardly an expert."

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Gabriel's explanation came too late, however. Without stopping to think about what either of the other beings was saying Loki launched himself at himself, his right hand aiming at the other him's throat while the left secretly grabbed for the pocket that held his medicine.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

...which was exactly why Loki had taken the trouble to button it.

He whipped up his left arm to block the other's attack and grabbed for the wrist belonging to the hand that had reached for his pocket with his right hand.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Seeing that he had no chance of reaching the pocket at the moment Loki pulled back that hand to avoid capture and threw all his weight into the other attack. The other Loki's arm prevented him from reaching his throat, but maybe he could unbalance him.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Thrown somewhat off-balance, Loki staggered back and into Gabriel. What had the librarian been drinking? Red wine? Oh, it wouldn look just lovely on his white robes.

Without apologising, Loki went into a fighting stance, feet planted at shoulder width, hands lifted before him, the left lower than the right, fingers slightly curled but not closed. ready to intercept an attack or attack himself. Unarmed combat had never been his favorite pastime, but he was certainly not above a barroom brawl.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

He was still not in fighting form, Loki realised when he dropped to the floor without the other self being pulled down with him.

This was bad. He had to get up before the other one kicked him, but that would land him straight in front of awaiting fist.

Only one way out: Loki rolled sidewards and jumped up slightly to the left of his other self.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Loki turned to face the other one. He wasn't going to hit a weaker opponent... yet.

"Had enough?" he asked.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"Never!" Loki shot back without hesitation and sprang at him again.

It wasn't a smart move, he was fully aware of that, but he'd started this fight and giving up would be cowardly. Odin would despise him, if he did. And surely he would despise himself as well.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Loki stepped aside to evade his other self, then tried to sweep the legs out from under him to send him down again.

What would that Adam have to say about a barroom fight? Was it part of "harming others"? Was harming himself included in that anyway?

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki easily evaded his leg and stopped once again facing himself one hand resting on the back of a chair.

"That was much too obvious," he stated. "You'll have to do better than that to trick me."

He might be weakened from his long illness, but he still was far from a novice at barroom fighting.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

"What?" Loki asked, "Are you going to throw that chair at me?"

He stood poised, waiting for the attack.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"Throw?" Loki said with a nasty smile. "Oh no, I don't think so. You see," He lifted the chair. "If I threw it," He took a step closer to his opponent. "I'd be weaponless again."

He swung the chair.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

This was just what he had needed. No one could fault him for defending himself, after all! Chairs were wood and wood burned. The chair was old, dry. It wanted to burn. All it needed was an excuse.

He gave it one, starting the flames right around the other Loki's hands, as at the same time he backed away from the angry god, placing himself farther away from the bar and thus better able to maneuver any subsequent attack. He would have started it under them, but then he'd have had to work to keep it going, what with there being not much oxygen between hand and wood...

Fool! he chided himself as soon as he had done it. If that was another Loki, he would be able to control that fire. And he'd certainly not be hurt by it.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki yelped in surprise and threw the burning chair away without attempting to control the fire. Instead he shifted almost on instinct. He didn't need to make a conscious choice of shape, didn't need to remember that the bear was too big to move freely in the bar, the eagle wasn't suitable for indoors use ... He simply shifted and the next moment a wolf darted forward sharp fangs aiming for the other Loki's right arm.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

Things went fast. Loki spared half a thought to put out the fire before anything else caught. He hated to deny it food and freedom, but it couldn't be helped and there was no time to be gentle about it either.

He had experience with wolves. His son was a wolf. Fenrir would have dwarved the wolf not jumping at him. He wondered why the other one had not made his shape larger, if he could shift into any animal he liked. Or did he have to stick to their natural characteristics? If so, good to know.

He avoided the snapping teeth and buried his hand in the soft fur at the wolf's throat to keep it at a distance. With his free hand, he sharply smacked the animal's sensitive nose.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki yelped, but now was not the time to give in to pain. She snapped upward at her enemy's fingers, then pulled back and dove under his arms at his legs.

[norseloki.livejournal.com]

The teeth grazed his hand, and he thought they might have drawn blood, but he didn't take the time to look.

He jumped out of the way to evading the renewed attack, then aimed the tip of his boot at the wolf's side. Not exactly a very noble move, but well...

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

The kick was expected. Loki evaded it with a sudden jump at the other leg which had to hold still while its partner was raised. Her fangs caught hold and closed down.