Part Four
Loki's POV
My muscles felt leaden, my head pounded and every nerve ending in my body seemed to be screaming, but my only thought was for her.
"Cara," I rasped, trying desperately to open eyes that wanted to remain closed.
"Hush, Loki, you're safe now." Frigga took my hand and I squeezed it gently.
"Cara was there. She protected me. She's hurt."
"She brought you back here, to us."
"Is she "
"She's fine," she reassured me, and I relaxed slightly. "She wouldn't let us treat her, so I gave her some of the healing potion you made and left her resting in your rooms."
Now I knew I needed to get to her, to make sure she really was all right. The potion was good, but it couldn't work a miracle.
"She's very special, isn't she?" Frigga asked as I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the healing table. "Loki! You need to rest!" she admonished me.
"I'd rather rest in my own bed than on this hard surface." I was about to jump down but Frigga stood in front of me, blocking my path.
"All right, all right, just let Eir take a final look at you, then I'll escort you back to your rooms." "Mother "
"Loki, I must insist. Cara is fine, I assure you."
I realised that cooperating would likely get me discharged quicker, so I allowed her to fetch Eir and waited patiently while she examined me. I was advised to have complete bedrest for 24 hours and to take things very easy for at least two weeks, then finally I was released and Frigga escorted me back to my room.
My left leg, the one I had intended to injure, still throbbed but I knew from past experience that it would heal without any problems, providing I was careful.
It was still dark out.
"How long was I unconscious?" I asked.
"Fourteen hours."
Cara must have been so worried.
"What were you doing in the forest?" Frigga asked me. The journey was taking in interminably long time due to my sore leg.
"I was hunting."
"Bilgesnipe?"
"Well I was thinking more along the lines of a stag, maybe a quarlo. I didn't plan on coming across a bilgesnipe and its mother."
Well, the latter part was true. Why didn't I account for there being an older bilgesnipe in the area? Well that was simple, because I was an idiot, because I didn't do my homework properly, because I was so keen to find a way for Cara to join me that I got as sloppy as Thor.
"And why was Cara there?"
"I'm not sure," I remembered my well-rehearsed story, only now it had far more truth than originally intended. "She's been following me sometimes, when I venture into the woods. I hardly ever see her but I think the potion I gave her had side effects in that it imbibed her with a little magic, so I can feel her when she's close. You've probably noticed."
"I have. So tell me what happened?"
"I happened across a young bilgesnipe first and thought I could handle its aggression with few problems, until its mother appeared. I believed myself a dead man, until Cara showed up. Somehow she got the attention of the younger one and in turn, its parent. The rest of the encounter is fuzzy, but I remember her looking down at me. She must have come back here for help."
"She carried you back here herself," Frigga said, but her tone was hard to decipher. Part of me wanted to ask if she knew what Cara was, but the larger part of me wanted to go on believing that my plan would work, that we could be together, in some fashion.
"How?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Your baldric was under your arms and she dragged you by the end of that strap. Surely you remember that, you must have helped her?"
I couldn't suddenly change my story.
"After the attack was over, I don't remember much of anything. Snatches, snapshots, I'm not sure what's real and what's a dream."
"Well, she brought you back here and straight to my door."
"But if she knew to do that, the potion must have enhanced her intelligence somehow. It's possible that it healed any damaged neural connections. Or perhaps created new ones."
"Perhaps," Frigga smiled. "She's very brave."
"I've never met another creature like her," I said honestly.
"I think it's safe to say we can't return her to the wild now."
"No?" I was genuinely surprised by her words, I was expecting to have to do a lot more convincing. I was also a little fearful, wondering if she knew the truth.
"Obviously the potion you gave her has enhanced her natural abilities in some ways, and you have clearly forged a strong bond with each other. No, as long as she wants to stay, it would be cruel to send her away."
"Father won't allow such a thing," I scoffed, sounding just a little downhearted.
"Oh, I don't know. There is a tradition, you know, for practitioners of magic to have a familiar."
"I recall reading something like that. That was an age ago though."
"Not quite that long, but yes, the practice has fallen out of favour. In truth though, few people, even sorcerers knew what it meant to have a true familiar, they just kept pets to enhance their image." "You mean ?"
"That the familiar chooses the sorcerer, not the other way around. For whatever reason, Cara has chosen you, Loki, and that is a gift that not even Odin dare defy."
I wasn't so sure about that, but having mother on my side would certainly help my cause.
"Of course, you will have to train her, we can't have a wild animal wandering the halls, snacking on servants and small children," she teased me.
"Oh, I don't know, I can think of a few people I wouldn't mind feeding to her."
"Aah, your sense of humour is returning," Frigga smiled. "Now I know you're going to be all right."
I smiled in reply.
"I'll arrange for a late breakfast to be sent to your room and I'll come by at lunchtime," Frigga said as we entered my rooms. "I'll keep visitors away today but I'm sure everyone will want to see you tomorrow."
"Thank you, Mother."
I turned and embraced her, pulling away when I heard a whimper. Looking towards the source of the noise, I saw Cara limping from the bedroom, her fur matted with blood and other debris. She tried her best to run on three legs but she looked exhausted.
"Cara," My heart seemed to swell painfully as I recalled that she got into this state protecting me and I got down on one knee (the good one) as she approached. "Thank you," I said, putting my arms around her and tangling my fingers in her silky soft fur, as she rested her head on my shoulder.
I wanted to say more but to her but I couldn't with Frigga still in the room.
"Well, I'll leave you two alone to sleep. I'll have a servant ready to attend to you in the morning so please try and obey Eir."
"I will, mother," I assured her, leaning away from Cara and stroking her flank, trying to show rather than state my affection.
Cara looked at me, then laid her head in my palm in what I assume was a show of gratitude. It was such a simple gesture but at the same time, so meaningful. She clearly didn't hold my misjudgement against me, despite it being my fault she was hurt.
I was the one who should be grateful, not the other way around.
"And don't worry about Cara," Frigga said as she moved towards my door. "I'll talk to Odin and make sure she can stay."
"Thank you, mother."
Frigga left and I placed a tender kiss on Cara's forehead, which she answered by nuzzling me. "Now, let's see what we can do for you," I said, limping over to my desk where I brewed my various potions. Cara bit my coat and tugged, trying to drag me towards the bedroom.
"In a moment, love."
She tugged harder.
"I've been healed but you haven't, so you either drag me away, kicking and screaming, or I'm making this potion for you."
She huffed but let go of my coat and sat down to watch me. Once I had collected the ingredients I needed, I sat down too; my leg really wasn't up to much yet.
"I've revised the formula since you were last here," I explained, "and I think it will be much more effective."
Cara made a noise that sounded like a chuff of approval and rested her head on the desk.
"Have you tried changing?" I asked.
She blinked twice, 'no'.
"Then I suggest you don't for now. People will be in and out at inopportune moments for the next few days and it will look suspicious if I have the door locked. Besides, you need all your energy for healing." I looked up from the potion. "Do you mind?"
She blinked twice.
I finished the mixture and poured a dose into a bowl for her and while she lapped it up, I bottled the rest then retrieved a topical healing cream from the shelves.
Together we limped into the bedroom, looking quite a mess, I'm sure, and I urged Cara up onto the bed, not caring if the sheets got dirty. She sat patiently while I gently applied the cream to her various wounds and scrapes, flinching only occasionally when I found a deeper wound.
"Most should be healed by tomorrow," I explained. "Superficially at least, and with minimal scarring. The deeper ones will take longer but you should be fine in under a week."
I moved onto the scrapes on her muzzle where she had fallen from the tree, and in between applying the cream I kept looking into her beautiful blue eyes, wondering that this majestic creature had got these injuries protecting me.
Once I had finished, I held her gaze.
"I should have listened to you, I'm sorry." I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you, Cara, I think I owe you my life." Cara replied by sticking her tongue out and licking my neck.
I smiled and we both settled down to rest, Cara placed her head on my abdomen, her right front paw on my thigh, and my hand came to rest on her shoulder, lightly stroking her midnight black fur as I wondered what I had done to deserve having a creature this magnificent in my life.
The weight of her head was oddly reassuring and as she began to purr softly, I smiled.
"Goodnight, darling."
In reply, she extended the claws on her right paw just enough to be felt, before withdrawing them. With any luck, we would both be feeling a good deal better by morning.
Cara's Point of View
The first day with Loki was very quiet, with visits only from servants bringing meals or when summoned, and one visit from Frigga, both to see how we were doing and to tell Loki that Odin had agreed for me to become his familiar, providing I wasn't held captive at all so that if I ever wished to leave, I was free to do so.
She then offered to escort me outside so that Loki could rest.
Loki assured her that he could do it but Frigga was insistent, so I found myself following the Queen out to her gardens. I ducked behind a bush while she waited by the door and when I returned, she gave me an enigmatic smile.
"You're very clever for an animal," she told me, "Which is not unusual. Modesty however... well, I've never come across that before."
My heart pounded as I wondered if she knew the truth but I couldn't tell from her tone or her smile if she was just talking aloud, or if she was talking to me.
"Come on," she said, turning and heading back inside. "Loki will be getting anxious."
We walked in silence for a while, her footsteps echoing softly off the corridors.
"I think you'll be very good for Loki," she suddenly proclaimed.
I wondered if she meant as a pet, or as a lover. It was a good job I was in cat form and didn't feel much fear because as a person, I would probably have been hyperventilating and passing out by now.
"He's a good man but he's so often overshadowed by his brother. I'm glad he's found something of his own."
I eyed her warily, unsure what to make of her words.
If she knew I was a shapeshifter, why was she letting me hide in my animal form? Why not demand to meet me and ask why I was here? What Queen would allow a shapeshifter to freely roam the halls of the palace, and be alone with her, if she didn't know the shifters agenda? It was madness, and Frigga seemed very sensible to me.
No, she must not know the truth. There was a sister at the orphanage who used to talk aloud, she said it helped her to order her thoughts, so perhaps Frigga did the same thing.
Loki seemed relieved when we got back and I hopped up on the bed.
"You shouldn't let her sleep with you," Frigga chided. "It sets a bad precedent."
"Once we're both recovered, I'll buy her a proper bed, mother. In the meantime, while I'm virtually immobile, I want her close."
"Very well," she smiled.
Her words relaxed me because if she knew I was a shifter, she wouldn't even think of getting an animal bed, because she would know I would share Loki's.
She went on to explain that I would also need to be trained and as soon as Loki was feeling better, she suggested he should visit the kennels for some training tips.
I would have rolled my eyes if I could have; trained like a dog! Ha!
Instead I simply huffed and let my head fall sideways onto Loki's legs.
Frigga smiled at my antics but once she had gone, Loki warned me about appearing too intelligent, repeating his warning about anyone discovering my true nature.
I let out a low growl, my way of apologising, and butted my head against him, asking for forgiveness.
He scratched behind my ears so I knew he wasn't mad at me.
The next day Loki remained in bed for all but the necessities but we had a procession of visitors to keep us entertained. First came Thor, then one by one Loki's warrior friends visited, next an old tutor he still seemed friendly with, followed by an under librarian. I was careful to either flinch away from or growl at anyone who tried to pet me, my reaction depending on how enthusiastic they were.
After lunch Loki received a string of visits from three young women, bearing gifts of some description. I realised that like Vanir society, Aesir society must conduct business in the mornings, and social visits in the afternoon. I vividly remember being told that as a young woman, we could never receive or make social calls before early afternoon.
Of course, I flouted that rule when visiting my married friends from the orphanage after we left, mostly because they didn't want to risk me running into their other friends, thus my visits were always referred to as business. Considering that I worked as a cleaner at the church, it was hard to imagine what business people thought I might have had with them. I slowly came to resent their treatment of me more and more and by the time I left on my travels, I hadn't visited any of them in five years, not even when they had sent a note requesting I go and see them.
I did sometimes wonder if Loki would come to treat me with the same sense of shame that my friends had showed, but if that was true why was he pushing for more? And yes, I did have to hide while in the palace, but I genuinely believe it's for my own good. Were the Jotun not the enemies of Asgard, I was fairly certain that Loki would enjoy showing me off; he often seemed proud of me.
I pretended to doze beside Loki but I was actually listening intently to his conversations with these women, allowing my insecurities to come to the fore. At times Loki seemed a little uncomfortable with their presence but much like his mother, he was hard to read.
The first woman was a pretty blonde who seemed hopeful and slightly infatuated with Loki, but clearly had no real relationship with him. Blushing, she left after delivering some chocolates and making awkward small talk for five minutes.
The next lady was bolder and as soon as she saw me lying next to Loki, she headed straight for me.
"Oh my word, is this your new familiar? They told me you had a cat but I didn't realise it was a panther. He's so pretty, I "
She was irritating. I raised my head and growled at her, partly because Loki had warned me to keep my distance from people, but mostly because she was annoying. And maybe I was jealous.
Loki soothed her when she looked crestfallen that I wouldn't let her pet me.
" She 's a jaguar, not a panther and she's familiar, not a pet, Maroli. Leave her to rest and come talk to me instead."
He sounded so solicitous and I couldn't help but think that if Loki chose this girl, he wouldn't have to hide her.
I slumped back to the bed and pouted until she left.
"There's no need for you to get huffy," Loki said once we were alone again, reaching out to stroke me. "She's a sweet girl so I'm kind to her, but she is just a girl. You have nothing to fear from her."
The next and thankfully, final female visitor of the day, was older, very classy and judging from the jewels she was draped in, filthy rich. Her name was Lady Dush. I hated her on sight and growled from the moment the servant showed her in.
She was beautiful, well mannered, well educated, well bred and in short, she was Loki's equal, something I could never be.
I was well mannered and educated, but they didn't come less well bred than me and I had nothing to my name. Even the few meagre possessions I had managed to accumulate were in the forest, and who knew if they would still be there when I went back.
I eventually got tired of hearing them flirt and jumped off the bed, ignoring Loki's calls as I headed through to his living area and curled up on the plush rug in front of the fire.
When she finally left half an hour later, Loki limped out and sat behind me, on the couch.
"You have nothing to fear from her, you know." He said softly.
I begged to differ but it's exceptionally hard to argue with someone when you can't talk.
"She pursued Thor initially," he went onto explain. "She intends to marry for money and status, not love, so when she failed to capture his attention, she turned her attentions to me."
I huffed.
"Yes, I led her on a little, but such false women deserve it, I think. I have no interest in my brother's castoffs, even before I met you, darling. I enjoy toying with her, that's all."
I was slightly appeased but she still seemed like a threat to me, and my animal instincts could not be appeased with words. Not that I was about to challenge her to a fight (although I took comfort in the fact that I could certainly beat her if I wanted to).
I heard his slight hiss of discomfort as he got onto the floor behind me but I didn't turn to him. He came and lay behind me, almost spooning me, and stroked a hand down my flank.
"Besides, she is as cold as an ice sculpture," he brought his lips to my ear, "and I like women with a little fire," he purred.
I twisted my head to glare at him and growled. I did not appreciate being aroused when I wasn't able to satisfy those desires.
"There she is," he smirked.
Fine, if he wanted to turn a jaguar on, then that's what he would get. I sprang to my feet, twisting in mid-air and bit his tunic, easily shredding it as I tossed my head from side to side. I grabbed another mouthful and did the same. It was just a thin indoor garment, so it was already in rags.
Loki's expression was oddly proud, with perhaps just a touch of fear. With a soft growl, I pulled the drawstring on his pants.
He reached out and sent a blast of magic towards the door and I heard the lock slide into place.
"It's safe," he assured me, so I changed into my person form, jumping on him, kissing and biting his lips while I tried to push his pants off his hips.
Loki wasn't having any of it though and he sat up, returning my rough treatment. I fought harder, not to escape, just to be in charge. I was still in cat mode to be honest, and I had never felt such primal, primitive passion before.
My fingers curled and my nails scratched down his back, hard enough to draw blood. Lithe fucker that he is though, Loki was able to reach behind himself and quickly caught my wrists before I could do too much damage. Wrapping his arms around me, he pinned my wrists together in the small of my back, easily holding both in one of his large hands.
I showed my displeasure by biting down on his shoulder and he yelled, then we began to struggle as he tried to turn me onto all fours. I fought with everything I had, wriggling, kicking and snapping at any body part that came close enough, but he eventually won.
He kept my neck pressed to the floor with one hand and his other still held my wrists. His knees were between mine so his dick was pressed into my crack and after a slight adjustment, he was sliding his cock along the length of my slit, rubbing my clit with each thrust.
He leaned over my back, further restricting me, and growled into my ear.
"You're so fucking wet, love. You want this, don't you?"
As if my trying to push my hips back into his, wriggling with what little room I had to try and catch his dick in my cunt wasn't enough of a clue.
"Tell me!" he commanded, tightening his hold on my neck and wrists.
"I love it," I admitted. "Now are we going to play all day, or are you going to fuck me?"
Apparently those were the magic words and he slid into me with one smooth motion, stretching me tightly, filling me. I let out a guttural moan.
As he thrust into me I kept fighting, but I wasn't trying to get away, I just wanted more. I needed him to force me, even though I wanted this. Big cats don't make love, the females are claimed by the most dominant male but in order to ensure he is strong enough to protect her and any cubs from other males, she fights him, tooth and claw.
I was trapped in that instinct now and Loki was proving himself more than worthy of being my protector.
I let out some kind of inhuman shriek as I felt my climax approaching.
I don't know if he knew how felines behaved or if it was just instinct, but Loki moved his hand from my neck and leaning down, replaced it with his teeth, biting down on the flesh where my neck met my shoulder, stopping just short of drawing blood.
I screamed as I came, my sheath clamping down on his cock in the most powerful orgasm I'd had to date. Loki managed a few more thrusts that to me, felt even tighter than usual, then he spilled his seed in me.
He collapsed on top of me, releasing my wrists but possessively wrapping his arms around my waist as he turned up both onto our sides.
"Mine," he growled.
I didn't have the strength to agree but he was right, and we both knew it.
The next day we ventured out and looked around the castle. Although he had some pain, Loki could walk well enough, and he insisted on leaving his rooms, claiming that looking at the same four walls was driving him insane.
He was still under strict orders not to fight for at least a week though, and Frigga had warned him that if he injured the same knee again too soon, it may never heal properly.
As long as he could get around though, Loki didn't seem too bothered by that restriction and explained to me that he could still practice with his throwing daggers and his sorcery thus, unlike many of the other warriors who relied only on weapons, he wouldn't actually be very hindered by his inability to engage in physical combat.
Other than the odd twinge in my side, I felt fine physically; my leg wasn't nearly so severely damaged as Loki's had been, I just had a sprain, plus Loki was right, his cream had healed all my wounds with hardly any scarring. He still put the cream on the site where I was skewered by an antler, as that was going to scar but Loki assured me the applying the cream would help a lot. It wasn't very visible when I was in cat form but as a person, it was rather ugly and had puckered the skin slightly on the right side of my abdomen.
Loki took me all around about half of the castle that first morning, and that wasn't including the servants' rooms, the living quarters (other than the wing his family lived in) or the restricted areas, such as the armoury and weapons vault. The place was huge, probably the same size as a small town, so to properly explore everywhere would probably have taken a week.
We joined his friends for lunch in the warriors dining hall. The palace actually had nearly 50 various dining halls, with separate ones for warriors, the Einherjar (that's the king's guard to you and me), the regular infantry, a few different ones for the various types of servants, then there were the official ones, those for the nobility, then royalty, plus each wing had a small communal dining hall for the residents of that wing and of course, there were ones saved for official banquets, three different halls in total, depending on the size and type of event being held.
Having helped run the orphanage, where we had rotas and we all had to help in some way, mostly with cooking, cleaning and laundry, I was eager to see how the servants' areas worked, because it must run like a military operation to take care of so many people. Loki had said we couldn't go down there and disturb them but I was a cat and rules like that don't apply to animals, so I was sure I could wander down there at some point and poke around.
Not yet though. I noticed that most people still gave me a wide berth, and I could understand why, I looked like a wild animal, so I would wait until my presence here was normal before taking off on my own.
I watched as Loki ate, but none of the food was coming my way, so I laid on the floor behind him and with a heavy sigh, laid my head on my paws. I hadn't eaten since this morning and changing into my feline form had taken a lot of my energy, so I was feeling hungry now. Not starving, I could easily go a week as a cat without eating, but the delicious smells were making me salivate, which wasn't helping.
"Someone feels left out," Fandral said, turning in his seat to look down at me.
I chuffed in reply and he held his hand out towards me.
"I'd be careful," Loki cautioned. "She might eat your hand."
I glared at Loki's back as Fandral withdrew his hand and the conversation at the table carried on for a few minutes. Then I smelt food very close and looked up to see Fandral discreetly holding a whole sausage out behind him. I looked to Loki, who was busy chatting with Thor on the opposite side of the table, and slid forward enough to snatch the nibble from the blonde man. I kept my beady eye on him and a few minutes later, a whole chicken breast came my way. I quickly licked his hand in thanks before accepting it.
That was my lot for now as the group soon broke up and went their separate ways.
After lunch we headed to the training ground. The fighting went on in the morning but in the afternoon, it was given over to lessons, so people could brush up on weaknesses they noticed that morning.
Fandral was there, teaching sword skills to some of the infantry, and Sif was teaching another group unarmed combat. Considering that most of the men she was teaching were twice her size, she took them down with ease.
Loki asked someone to help him set up a target, a mannequin made of cork on a solid metal base, and he pinned, a series of small lengths of ribbon to them, mostly over key attack points, such as major arteries and nerve bundles.
He then placed a chair perpendicular to the target, rather than straight on, and began to throw his daggers. His accuracy was uncanny, even at such a strange angle and although he was sitting still due to his leg, I was still impressed with his accuracy.
Once he had run out of daggers he went and pulled them out, then moved the chair further back, adding ten feet or so to the distance, and facing the opposite way to before.
While he threw, I looked around and spotted a basket full of throwing knives, probably for others to practice with. I approached and saw that they were not nearly as nice nor as sharp as Loki's were, then I upended the basket with a paw and carried it back, placing it behind Loki.
Once he was finished, he made to get up again but I blocked his path and gave a soft, short growl.
Loki tilted his head in confusion but didn't move, so I retrieved the basket and approached the mannequin. I bit the dagger handles and they slipped out easily enough, then I placed them in the basket. I had to rear up on my hind legs to reach the higher ones, but the base was sturdy and I was able to achieve it.
As I turned around to carry the basket back to Loki, I saw that he was smiling at me.
"Good girl," he said, scratching behind my ears as I placed the basket at his feet.
"Well done, Loki." We looked over to see Fandral smiling at us, his class watching too. "I didn't expect you to be able to train her so quickly."
"She has a few magical enhancements," Loki said, which wasn't a lie, I was a magical being. "And she chose me, don't forget, she wants to learn."
We continued like that for another hour or so and by the end, Loki was lying on the ground to throw his daggers.
For dinner that evening, we joined the family in their dining room, the communal one for their wing, and this was the first time I had met Odin.
Loki had warned me that he would be there, so I was on guard from the moment we entered as I knew how dangerous he could be to me.
"So this is the beast, hmm?" he said, casting his beady eye over me. "Well, bring her here, let me get a good look at her."
Loki walked over to his father but I stayed a few feet behind. Odin and Frigga were sat at opposite ends of a table that could seat up to six, although only 4 places were set and the chairs either side were clearly for Loki and Thor.
"Come closer," Odin urged me, gesturing with his hand for me to step forward.
I slowly advanced but my hackles were raised and I was growling softly.
"I thought you were training her to be safe?" Odin raised an eyebrow at Loki.
"She's only been here a few days, father, and she's still recovering from her injuries."
"Leave her be, Odin," Frigga spoke up. "She's Loki's familiar, not yours and she probably senses your magic, which often makes animals skittish."
"She doesn't seem to mind Loki's power."
"Loki found her when she was sick," Frigga reminded him. "Otherwise I'm sure she would have been wary of him too."
"Perhaps you're right." He turned back to the table and looked at Loki as he took a seat. "She's a fine looking animal."
"Thank you, father."
I sat beside Loki, between him and Frigga.
"I would say you chose well," Odin continued, "but if she chose you, then she is the lucky one."
"Who's lucky?" asked Thor as he entered.
"We were just talking about Cara," Frigga explained.
"Ah, well yes, it's exceptionally lucky, if you're into keeping pets." He took a seat opposite and I laid on the ground, stretching out just enough to reach Thor's shoes. I gently tugged on the laces until each was undone, hoping he might trip over them when he left.
To my surprise the laces then glowed green and the very ends knotted themselves to their opposite number.
I sat up and looked up at Loki, who winked at me and handed me a fish stick covered in breadcrumbs.
"Loki, don't be so unhygienic," Frigga chided.
"My apologies, mother."
"Why don't you send her back to your room while we eat."
"She hasn't caused any trouble at other meals."
"I can't help what you get up to when I'm not around, but it's unsanitary to feed a cat from the table and I won't have you doing so in my presence. Send her to your room, please. " Her tone brooked no argument and Loki gently ordered me to return to his quarters.
I wasn't at all sorry to be leaving to be honest, I was too frightened of Odin to want to stay.
