Lower Tadfield Safehouse

"And when will that be?" He noted the other Loki's stance. "I'm not going to fight either of you, but I will step in if both of you don't step back."

He knelt, looking at the cougar. "We already know you have leukaemia, Loki, but we're giving you the benefit of the doubt. Your defensiveness rather proves it, though. Now would you please change back? Unless you both want to lose your free rooms, of course."

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"Look," Loki told Gabriel, "If you don't mind - I'd really rather lose my free rooms due to my fire than due to his shape-shifting."

This may not have been the best of moments to quibble over linguistic details, but being filled with fire that way made him feel a bit light-headed - it was rather similar to being drunk.

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Loki screamed in a mixture of outrage and fear when his tail caught fire and lashed out at himself even harder.

Gabriel's intervention made him hesitate in his attacks, but his only reply was a snarl.

Benefit of the doubt? So the Judeo-Christian wouldn't just despise him for his weakness, he actually considered his cancer a crime? There had to be a way to disprove him, but the only thing he could think of attempting was fast talking his way out.

To talk he had to be human, though and that would require him to shift and he had two reasons not to do that. The first and more important was that he was getting tired. His strength had lasted surprisingly long today and permitted a lot more shifts than he'd thought he could manage without collapsing, but now he was beginning to feel the strain. The next shift would probably cause him to collapse confirming Gabriel's andLoki's suspicions.

The other reason was that this shape was better equipped for the fight in case the other tried to burn him again. This he could even admit to, if anyone asked for an explanation.

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Since the librarian seemed to be keeping the cat in check, Loki spared a moment to let some fire lick at the threads that held the sleeves of his jacket to its body. The shreds the claws had made of them would only hamper him if the fight went into another round.

The sad remains of his sleeves separated from the rest of the jacket, and he shoock them off. The scratches in his arms were not exactly shallow, but they were not bleeding, just as the bite in his leg no longer was. The intense heat he had been using had effectively cauterized the wounds. At least he would not run any risk of slipping in his own blood.

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Gabriel rolled his eyes at the snarl. "You know, I'm not so sure why you're so defensive. People can't help falling ill, though I'm curious as to how it happened to someone like you. But your other self would like to know if he's in danger as well, and I fail to see what you have to hide."

He turned at the rustle of cloth and winced at the sight of the cauterised wounds. "I can heal those," he offered. His gaze flickered back to the cougar. "And I can heal your injuries too, once you're back in human shape, unless you'd rather I heal them now."

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"Don't bother," Loki said. "They're well-deserved and honorably gotten, and they're not exactly life-threatening. You may just as well leave them be."

The truth of the matter was that he did not wish to be touched by the librarian's power - anyone's power, really, but his own.

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Loki hissed at himself, the latest demonstration of fire power appearing as a threat to him.

Gabriel on the other hand ... He wasn't sure where he stood with the Judeo-Christian. He was clearly involved in starting this debacle and he also knew about Loki's nightmares, neither of which Loki particularly welcomed. On the other hand he hadn't harmed him, yet, took good care of his cats and had petted Loki before.

Besides his tail was still smoldering.

Not taking his eyes off himself Loki turned to bring his rear end into Gabriel's reach.

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It was highly unlikely the other one would jump at him like that. That made it quite safe to leave the place he was standing in right now. With deliberate casualness, taking care to walk evenly in spite of his injured leg, Loki rounded the counter and rummaged behind it for a bottle and a new glass. In a worst case scenario, the bar would also make for some protection.

"You know," he drawled as he poured himself a glass of whiskey, the first thing he had gotten his hands on, "you could just switch back into a talk-able shape, rather than wasting the boy's power. Your human shape doesn't even have a tail."

He was still feeling somewhat giddy from the fire inside. Maybe adding alcohol to that wasn't the best of ideas, but - what the heck.

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Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Boy? I'm probably older than you are, though when I was created Time wasn't even a concept yet. If you like I could choose to look like a wrinkled sage instead."

He reached out to the smouldering tail, sending a burst of soothing power into it first so that he could run his fingers lightly over the burn without it stinging too much. The burns glowed faintly for a moment before disappearing.

"Better?"

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Crossing his mangled arms over his chest, Loki leaned back against the bar furniture behind him.

"Don't bet on it," he cautioned. "I'm ancient. Much older than most of those that call themselves the Æsir. Why do you think Odin called me brother? I'm fire to his air and Hœnirä's spirit. We walked the world long before the name of your God was ever spoken among men for the first time. Long before there were men to speak of anything at all."

Maybe it was not the best time to argue religion or history, though, he realized.

"So maybe we better not argue about our respective ages, unless we can find some scientest to, what do they call it? carbon-date? both of us?"

He had no idea if that could even be done with living things, and truth be told, he didn't care. He quite simply liked the sound of it.

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"And I watched as the blueprints for Earth were drawn up, and as far as I can tell we do not need belief to sustain us."

Gabriel laughed. "I'm not sure carbon-dating works on humans, or beings that look human. But yes, let's not argue about that."

He awkwardly stroked cougar-Loki's back. "Do you want to change back now?"

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"You do realize that Asgard is not Earth, do you?" Loki asked.

Then he looked down onto his counterpart and grimaced. Turning into animal shape was one thing. Permitting himself to be petted by a librarian with wings was quite another. "Now change back already,you sad excuse for a deity. I'm not going to hurt you for lying to me."

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Loki leaned into the touch. The other didn't seem to be about to attack again and this felt quite pleasant. He could allow himself to relax a little, though he still wasn't about to risk shifting.

Yes, the others already despised him anyway, but maybe there still was away to talk himself out of this as long as he didn't prove them right by collapsing.

He took an awkward step backwards and leaned against Gabriel's leg. The Judeo-Christian liked cats, after all. Maybe that was the key to getting out of this mess.

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Loki rolled his eyes at the other's reaction.

"Hello-o?" he said. "You're a grown cougar right now, not some cute little kitty. If I'd known your dignity sat in your tail, I would've scorched another part of your body!"

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If a cougar could grin ... Loki did his best to produce a credible meow, though.

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"I suggest you either switch back into human, or give that cat a human voice box so we can talk," Loki said. "Because you're not leaving this reoom before we have talked. Here - I'll even pour you a drink."

He rummaged behind the counter a bit more, until he found a bottle with some fruit juice, and poured a generous glass.

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"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression you were not born in Asgard? And yes, I do realise that it is distinct from Midgard. My own home is not on Earth." He was sure that there was no way that Asgard could be older than Heaven, but he also knew that pursuing the issue was probably not the wisest course.

He was rather surprised by the cougar's acting like Earl Grey, and knelt to tickle it under the chin experimentally. "Why exactly are you so defensive about being ill?" he asked softly. "I doubt it was something you could help. We just want more information so that we can decide whether or not your counterpart is in danger as well."

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"Sure," Loki agreed. "Would've been difficult, too. I was there when it was created out of Ymir's eyebrows. But yeah - Loki Farbauta sonr, that's me. Conceived of Fárbauti, born of Laufey. They were jǫtunn, older than the Æsir."

He perched on the edge of the countertop to take some weight off of his bitten leg, then regonsidered and swung his legs over the counter so that he was sitting on it, facing the others.

"Their names, they translate as 'lighting' and 'tree', you know. What do you get if you pair those two?"

He rolled his eyes as he saw Gabriel tickle the cougar under the chin. "Stop that," he said, much sharper than the rest, which had been said in a rather casual manner. "You're spoiling him. I'd appreciate it if you at least waited with that until I know what I'm in for here."

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Gabriel noted his posture. "Are you sure you don't want me to heal that for you?"

He tilted his head, considering. "Besides you? A smoking, charred tree stump?"

Gabriel pulled his fingers back. "Well, he didn't seem to be responding very well to violence." It was in his nature; he was, after all, the Angel of Mercy.

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"Wildfire, that's what you get," Loki said, then he warned: "And keep your fingers off of me. And your powers, too. I'll be fine."

He groped for the bottle of red wine the barman had left in easy reach in case the angel wanted a refill, and filled up Gabriel's glass again. "Here. Have a drink. But first, lock that door. Maybe he'll turn back if we refuse to acknowledge him while in animal shape. You can continue petting him once he's turned back."

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Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "I won't hurt you. But fine."

He went to the bar counter and took the glass, seating himself on the bar stool again. "Thank you. And... why would I pet him in human form?"

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"I didn't exactly see you lock that door," Loki stated neutrally.

"And why would it matter what skin he wears? There's the same being inside."

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Loki mewed a complaint when Gabriel left him. And here he'd thought for just one moment that maybe he could risk turning back as long as he kept sitting on the floor and leaning against Gabriel until he'd regained his strength enough not to betray his weakness. Of course ...

He turned to inspect his formerly scorched tail tip. It looked as perfectly healthy as it felt. Gabriel clearly was good for more than just petting.

The cougar yawned, stretched out luxuriously on the floor and then turned into the human, now lying casually on his side head propped up on one hand.

"Alright, so what do you want other than to burn my poor fur off?" He'd offered the idiot a deal before. Had the power demonstration really been necessary?

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"How about an answer?" Loki asked. "How about the truth?"

He indicated the fruit juice glass. "There, I even poured you a drink."

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