Loki and Hermione got in the restaurant. After sharing that adventure, they seemed to get on a lot better and she knew that she had been seen with him, so she could do nothing but keep on helping Loki.
They had a nice evening, chatting about this and that.
«Are you really saying that you have never ridden a horse?» Loki asked, amused.
«No, I find the idea of relying the safety of my spine on such a big animal quite frightening»
«But they're peaceful beings and, as you humans say, they wouldn't hurt a fly!»
«I believe you, but in any way I'm not very... athletic» she said, blushing.
Loki frowned, thoughtfully «Do you have fields for horses here on Midgard?»
She looked at him suspiciously «You mean maneges? Of course we do, but... what do you have in mind?»
The day after, they went to the manege and Loki chose the most docile horse for the girl.
Getting on the animal wasn't a big deal, but Hermione was frightened to loose its control.
Loki, however, rode at her side, telling her what to do.
Suddenly a shot, probably a hunter's, echoed in the air.
Both of the horses, frightened, got upset.
As Loki, experienced already, managed to calm his down, Hermione's began to run.
« Pull the reins! Pull the reins! » Loki shouted, but she seemed to be too scared to do anything.
Loki catched her up fast and managed to stop the animal. He looked at Hermione, mortified. The girl blushed: she had been unable to handle the situation and she hated it.
« Are you alright? » he asked, sincerely worried and Hermione groaned, still shocked.
Loki moved on the other horse, in front of the girl, still holding the reins of his one.
They went back riding slowly. The return trip was calm, but Hermione held Loki firmly, her head on his back, afraid for the animal to get upset again.
When they arrived, Loki got off the horse and helped a hesitant Hermione to get off too. She, however, was too willing to move away from it, so she jumped off with too much impetuosity and fell on him. As she realized she had fallen on Loki, she jumped away, her face livid for the shame of being such a failure.
« I knew it wouldn't have been a good idea. » she mumbled.
Loki began to laugh softly, then louder and louder.
Hermione looked at him with her eyes wide open « What is it? What? »
« You manage to make me escape without a scratch from a secret organization with tons of armed soldiers like the Shield, you even "robbed" them and you can't get off a horse?! » he said, still laughing.
Hermione glared at him, but she couldn't help laughing along.
The morning after, Loki woke up, feeling a weight on his chest. He opened his eyes and found before him a red cat which was definitely overweight and its flat face gave it a perpetually angry expression.
He jumped on his feet, throwing away the cat, which screamed with disappointment.
Hermione ran in the room.
« Crookshanks! » she shouted as she picked the cat up and hugged it.
« What's that? »
« It's my cat. » Hermione answered, caring only about filling a bowl with nibbles.
« Cat? When I was a kid I once morphed a frog with a hairy dog and what came out of it could have been called "cat" way more easily than that thing with paws. »
Hermione snorted, used to the criticism towards her poor cat and got back to the pile of books and notes from which she had emerged before.
The cat began to crunch angrily its nibbles, then it rose its head and hissed at Loki, who, annoyed, hissed back at it.
Hermione watched the scene with disbelief, then she bursted into laughter.
« Here's what happens when you make a cat and an alien prince meet. »
