Disclaimer: I only own Alyss and Oliver

Chapter Four: Observations

=Loki=

Loki sat in the truck as they drove, watching the girl next to him. She had long dark brown hair that reached just passed the top of her legs, with about a foot of the end dyes shades of blue shifted from deepest midnight to bright sky. Her body was slender but curvy, the look watered down by the blue jeans and loose black shirt she wore. On the shirt read in white letters "Of course I'm out of my mind! It's dark and scary in there…". Her skin was tanned, obviously from the fact she spent so much time in the sun. But her eyes…her eyes were the thing that intrigued him the most. It's actually what stood out to him the most when they first "met", when he thought he was dreaming. The left eye was a deep sapphire blue with the other was a mild chocolate brown. In all his long life, he'd never seen eyes like that.

The boy, Oliver, wasn't too interesting. Short spiked black hair, pale blue eyes with glasses and a bit pale and very thin. What was interesting was how these two seemed to act. They squabbled like brother and sister, though Loki knew better than to think they were related. Maybe they grew up together. Either way, he'd find out.

As they drove, he watched Alyss while she drove, trying to come up with a way she could be of use to him. She was small, young, maybe in her early twenties, and very nervous by the looks of it. Didn't look terribly bright either though she was quite attractive. He might try to trick her into give him a place to stay for the time being while he figured things out. Yes, that sounded like a good idea.

Finally, they arrived at a small two story house on what looked to be the outskirts of town. The god wrinkled his nose at the sight. White paint was peeling everywhere from all the wind and the screen door on the side was swinging open. As Alyss parked her car into the covered carport, Loki could hear an insistent barking and looked to see a massive dog bound out of the house and stop right at her door. He could have sworn it was a wolf but he knew better. Mortals could never tame wolves and keep them as pets. It was impossible. But when he stepped out of the truck and followed Alyss and Oliver into the house, he could see that it was a wolf. Or at least looked like one.

"How did you tame a wolf?" He asked, following them into was looked like a little kitchen. The girl turned back.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean Fenris?" She asked, gesturing to the canine at her heels. "He's only part wolf. Not sure what else he is but I'd guess husky or something since he looks like a wolf,"

"Fenris?" Loki asked.

"Yeah," She said with a sheepish smile as she led him into the living room. Oliver was rummaging around in the fridge. "He's named after the giant wolf from Norse mythology and Loki's one of my favourite gods, so," She shrugged and gestured to and armchair for him to sit.

He couldn't help the small bit of pride he felt when she said that. I am her favourite? It took all he had not to smirk at the idea. "I see," He said simply.

She gave him another sheepish smile as she sat down as well. "Yeah, I'm a geek. Ask me nearly any question on mythology and I'll most likely know it. If not, I can find it," Her smile became a little more genuine at the before it went back to being nervous. "So…Will you be heading off anywhere? Friends, family?"

Here it comes. He looked thoughtful, like he was really thinking about her question. "I'm not sure. I don't really have any that I could go to,"

Alyss bit her lip and nodded, looking down at the wolf lying at her feet. The beast looked up at her with a pleading look, which made her smile. It seemed like she found confidence in the creature's eyes because she looked back up at Loki and said "If you want, you could crash here,"

He did a double take. "Excuse me?"

The sheepish and shy look came back into her eyes. "Look, you need a place to stay and I've needed a roommate for a while. You can leave whenever you want. I won't make you stay if you don't want to,"

He just stared at her for a while. Was this girl suicidal, openly inviting him to stay in her home? She hardly knew anything about him and if he remembered correctly, she barely even knew his name. Loki carefully thought over her offer. It's was exactly what he wanted but it all seemed to perfect. He didn't even need to use his usual persuasions to convince her. The girl came up with it all on her own, no influence from him. But he really wasn't in a position to turn down such an offer.

The god smile with what looked like genuine gratitude. "I would appreciate that. Thank you,"

The girl looked surprised. "Great! Oh, I didn't catch your name before. All I got was an L, sorry,"

He nodded like it was understandable. "You can call me Loki,"

Something flashed in her eyes but it went away too quickly for him to really care. "Ah, interesting name. Parent's enthusiasts?"

He nodded. "Very, particularly Norse mythology,"

"I see…" The girl smiled slightly again, the sheepish look never leaving her eyes. The phone rang on an end table near the stairs, which made Alyss literally hop up and get it.

"Hello? Tomas! Hi, what's up? Again? Oh dear god…" She held the phone in one hand and had her hand on her hip, tapping her first two fingers in irritation. "Are you serious? Great…Yeah, I'll be there but I'd better be getting overtime for this!" She hung up the phone with an annoying sigh. Running a hand through her long hair she growled to herself. Loki could barely make out the words "fucking bitch" under all the hissing she was doing. Some of the words didn't even sound English. Alyss finished her rant then looked over at Loki then at Oliver who was leaning against the doorway of the kitchen.

"Lemme guess, Trish bailed again?" He said, looking like this wasn't something new.

Alyss nodded. "I don't know why Tomas keeps her around," She sighed before turning to Loki. "Sorry, I've gotten head to work. One of my coworkers hasn't come in and it's the busy time with all the college students. Ollie can show you around,"

"Why me?" whined the boy in question.

"You practically live here. Who else can show him around while I'm busting my ass?"

Oliver frowned but didn't argue further as Alyss went out the door, Fenris on her heel. They could hear her consol the dog and tell him he can't come before the door slammed shut. The revving of an engine clued them that she was gone. Oliver took off his glasses and cleaned them with his shirt before putting them back on. "Perfect," he sighed.

"Where does she work?" Loki asked, curious.

"A little café close to the college. It's around lunch time so there'll probably be a ton of students there,"

"Why does she work at something she doesn't enjoy?"

"Oh, she enjoys it, she just doesn't like having to take up slack from the other waitresses. Can't say I blame her. Alyss is the first person her boss asks for because she actually pulls through. I've hardly seen her take a sick day,"

"I see," Loki said, looking about the room a little more. There wasn't much that spoke of who this girl was, except from a bookshelf tucked off to the side. He stood up and went to go take a look at it.

"Hey, want anything?" Oliver asked. "There's soda and stuff. Sorry but there's no beer or anything like that. Alyss isn't much of a drinker,"

"Soda would be fine, thank you," The god nodded as the boy retreated back into the kitchen. He observed the shelves and noticed it was filled with little figurines and such, mostly teddy bears and Halloween theme knick-knacks. Tucked in the corner was a small picture of a man and a woman holding a child that was perhaps five or six years old.

"Oh, that's her mom and dad,"

He turned to see Oliver standing behind him with a can in each hand. The boy handed him one and opened his own, looking back at the picture. The god took the can gladly and opened his as well before taking a sip. Curious drink. It was sweet and had a strange texture to it that he somewhat liked.

Loki took another sip before nodding to the picture. "Where are they?"

"Dead,"

His eyes widened at how blunt Oliver was. "Oh,"

The boy shrugged. "Yeah, I never met them but Alyss was really close to them. Died in a fire when she was thirteen, poor kid,"

"I see. When did you meet Alyss?"

"Couple years ago when she came here for college. Before that I think she was staying with an aunt in New York,"

"Why'd she leave?"

Oliver shrugged again. "Said she had boyfriend troubles. Nothing big. Well, that's how she put it. But when I talked to her aunt about it, turns out the guy was some real asshole. Real nice and caring at first but then showed his true colours after a few months. They had one bad fight that turned physical and she broke it off with him. Guy's a real mental case, wouldn't leave her alone so she packed up and moved here,"

"Why here of all places?"

Another shrug. "Probably because it's so far from New York and so different. I mean, sure NYC is great an all but I like it here much better myself. So does Alyss. Over there it's busy, busy, busy. Here, you can slow down and actually breathe, when you let yourself. Unlike Alyss,"

Loki smiled with Oliver and took another sip of his soda. This was all very interesting. "She won't slow down,"

Oliver laughed. "Nope, not one bit. If it's not work, it's school. If it's not that, it's what even little project she'd got going on here. I mean, she's better than she used to be but still, that girl does not know when to sit down and chill. But she's a good roommate, don't worry about that. Gives you your privacy when you need it but always willing to help out when it's right,"

"I see,"

The boy nodded and drained his soda. "C'mon, let's give you the grand tour,"

Oliver showed Loki around the house. Besides the kitchen and living room, there were two bedrooms. One was turned into Alyss' study and the other was the guest bedroom with a bathroom attached to it. Another smaller bathroom was down the hall. When Loki asked where Alyss slept, Oliver pointed to the ceiling and showed him the door to the attic.

"Why there?"

Oliver shrugged. "Dunno. Likes the space I guess. She's got a million books too, so she needs the room,"

Loki nodded. Oliver showed him the basement, which was pretty bare except for several boxes. "I think she wanted to turn this place into a recreational room or something. Just finding the time and the supplies is a bitch,"

The god nodded again, taking in all the information he was gaining. This girl Alyss was an interesting character. She didn't seem home enough to keep the house terribly clean, though wasn't careless enough to leave it a total mess either. Floor needed a bit of a sweep, some dusting could be done but it's was actually quite cozy.

When the tour was done, Loki and Oliver had relocated to the living room and sat on the couch. The wolfdog, Fenris, who must have been waiting at the back door for Alyss and finally giving up, had come in as well sat himself at Loki's feet, resting his head on his knee. The god reached out a hand and scratched the top of the canine's head, which seemed to make him happy.

Oliver let out a small chuckle. "Well, consider yourself part of the family now,"

Loki gave him a confused look. "Why do you say that?

The boy nodded to the wolf. "Fen has this weird thing with people. Alyss says it's an animal thing, particularly wolves. They can sense, or at least he can, whether someone's decent or not. One time, I brought this girl over and he didn't like her from the get go," The boy let out another laugh. "Man, you should've seen it. Fen was growling and barking up a storm, sometimes making a sound that was close to both. She's all freaked out and threatening to call the cops on the dog – excuse me, wolf, Alyss hates it when I call Fenris a dog. Anyway, so the girl's standing at the door, she calls the police and both Alyss or still in the house, Fen hasn't moved from his spot in front of her. Girl's saying Fen lunged at her and all this crap, Alyss and me are denying it and the cops get a little suspicious. They know Alyss and Fen. Hell, everyone knows Fenris since he gets a walk around town all the time and hardly anyone's really seen a wolfdog. So they search her and find weed and crap in her pocket. Turns out the bitch was a big druggie and Fen sniffed the crap on her. You can't get nothing passed this pup," Oliver grinned and patted Fenris on the head.

Loki nodded at the story, turning his gaze at the wolf. "Has anything else like that happened before?"

Oliver nodded. "Yep, anytime someone comes around that's a bit sketchy, Fenris won't even let 'em through the door. One time some idiot tried to break in and got tackled by this guy. That's why Alyss' lock is broken. Anyway, I'm sleep on the couch, get woken up by this huge commotion and call 911. Moment the cops come on the scene, Fen get's off the guy. Didn't even need to bit him. Then again, why would he? Anybody would've gotten the crap scared outta them if this giant wolf tackles them and is sitting there growling in their face,"

Loki smiled at the image that came to mind. "So I have no worries about a burglary?"

Oliver shook his head with a smile. "Nope, not at all,"

The god looked down at the wolf and patted his head. Fenris looked up at him with his amber eyes. There was something about them that seemed off. They didn't look truly accepting. No, no. It was more like he was being tolerated. Like it was waiting for a reason not to trust him.

"What would happen if he was given a reason not to trust me?" Loki asked, sounding the right kind of curious.

Oliver looked down at Fenris. "Well, never seen that happen but I really don't think that would be a good idea. Actually, that's a fate I wouldn't even wish on my worse enemy,"

"Why is that?"

"Because if Fen has allowed you in here and you prove him wrong about trusting you, you're dead meat. Literally,"

Author's Note: Hello! Another chapter completed :D I hope you all enjoyed this! I've always been a fan of wolves and have the honour of working with them at a wildlife rehabilitation and education center. So all that makes Fenris is based on what I've learned from there. Sadly, I don't have a wolfdog myself but I hope to get one in the near future. They're so sweet and very loyal to their families.

Special Thanks to: Izzzzie for being the first to review this story :d Thank you very much and I hope you continue to enjoy this.

I hope you guys enjoyed this! Please review!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now