Loki sleeps in the next morning. When he awakes, it is to the smell of bacon and the loud barking of the two dogs. As Loki stretches on the couch, he notices one of the cats watching him, its white-tipped tail twitching slowly.
Loki greets Luna with a "Hello" as he walks past her, the cat staring at him warily.
When Loki walks into the kitchen, he is met by Sunrise pointing to a plate on the table. Loki sits and eats slowly, watching Sunrise finish cooking the bacon and place most of it on a plate for the two dogs, who quiet their barking to wolf down the crispy meat. The rest of the bacon lands on Loki's plate and he nods gratefully at Sunrise.
"Did you sleep well?" Sunrise asks as she sits in front of her own food.
"Do you ask out of courtesy or because you care to know," Loki replies, placing the tiniest bit of stress on 'care' in remembrance of their conversation last night.
Loki stares at Sunrise, trying to figure out if he had imagined the four tiny words that Sunrise had spoken the night before. She gives no signal that she does when she shrugs noncommittally and returns to her food. In fact, had Loki not been so adept at reading people, he would not have noticed the slight flaring of her nostrils and the tiny intake of breath.
The rest of their meal is silent except for the sounds of cutlery clinking against plates and the occasional whimper from the dogs. Sunrise finishes first and puts her plate in the sink, turning to talk to Loki when he stands to do the same.
"Today's Saturday," she begins, drawing Loki's attention. "That means I do a big house clean-up; dusting and vacuuming and all that jazz."
Loki stares at her slowly. "I'll stay out of your way," he replies, walking towards the living room.
Sunrise stops him, reaching out to brush against his arm before pulling away swiftly, causing Loki to stare at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You're going to help, mister," she states, cocking a hip and folding her arms together.
"Really, is that so?" Loki smirks disbelievingly.
"Yeah, it is. You're not exactly paying rent, so you can at least help clean up after yourself. Since you've probably never done any actual cleaning, you can clean all of the animals' stuff," Sunrise states, ignoring Loki's slowly forming glare. "That means I need you to give both the dogs a bath, and clean Oblivion's tack and stuff like that. I'll give you a list," She finishes, walking towards the study.
Loki follows, glaring carefully at the back of her head.
"And what makes you think I will do any of these things?"
Sunrise turns suddenly, almost causing Loki to crash into her and smirks.
"Because if you don't, I might end up too busy to make lunch and dinner. Of course, if you want to go hungry, be my guest!" Sunrise smiles widely and walks into her study.
She returns a moment later with a list of chores and hands it to Loki, smiling.
"If you need help with anything, just ask."
Loki scowls as she walks away, swaying slightly as she begins to hum an unfamiliar tune.
Loki looks down at the list, reading all the chores. There weren't many, about five or six, but they looked completely unfamiliar and Loki had no idea how to do any of them. Looking up at the direction Sunrise had gone, Loki pondered going to ask her to explain. Shaking his head angrily, Loki told himself that he needed no help from anyone for anything.
Loki looked at the list again and decided to start with the one that sounded easiest- bathing the dogs. Loki already knew how the bath worked- Sunrise had shown him that the day after he'd arrived, claiming that he 'smelled like the wrong end of a skunk' (whatever that is). Loki turned the knobs and began to fill the bath. Once it had reached an acceptable height, he turned the faucet off and went to find one of the dogs.
Lupa was curled up on the rug in the living room when Loki found her, the god pausing to wonder how he was supposed to get the dog into the bathroom. Lupa lifts her heavy head to stare at Loki curiously as the god begins to march towards her. Loki leans down and grasps Lupa by her collar, the dog yelping as he begins to drag her to the bathroom.
Loki manages to drag the struggling husky to the door of the bathroom before she yelps and wriggles free of his grasp. Sunrise races over at the sound of the commotion and stares at Lupa, who runs to hide behind the woman's legs, her tail dragging to the floor.
"What the hell is going on here?" Sunrise exclaims, staring at Loki in bewilderment.
Loki scowls at her before answering coolly, "I am trying to do what you told me to. Is there a problem with that?"
"Yeah, you're scaring the crap out of my dog!" Sunrise exclaims without malice.
Sunrise smiles and walks toward Loki, leaving Lupa to run for some other hiding place. Sunrise walks into the bathroom, Loki glaring at her all the while, and begins to laugh.
Loki's glare intensifies as Sunrise beckons him into the bathroom. He walks in to find her standing next to the tub. Loki remains silent, choosing instead to glare heavily at Sunrise, expecting her to shift uncomfortably and curling his lip the tiniest bit when she continues to seem oblivious.
Finally, Sunrise herself breaks the silence, saying, "When you're bathing a dog, you don't fill the tub up."
"Then what, pray tell, do you do, Oh Knowledgeable One?" Loki asks mockingly, feeling secretly foolish.
"Step one: Lure the dog of choice into the bathtub with a treat. Step two: It's more of a shower than a bath, really. I'm not actually sure why we call it a bath," Sunrise states, tilting her head slightly and furrowing her brow in thought.
Sunrise bends down next to the tub and pulls the plug out of it, allowing the water to begin swirling down. Unbeknownst to her, Loki begins to smirk as he notices her position bent over the side of the bath, legs lifted into the air and swaying slightly, and takes a step towards her.
Sunrise lets out an almighty shriek as Loki scoops her up by grabbing underneath her legs and stomach and dumps her into the still-draining bathtub. She emerges from beneath the water and glares at the god of mischief while he chuckles at her soaked appearance.
Sunrise scowls at Loki and climbs out with as much dignity as she could muster. Loki stops laughing and looks at her warily as Sunrise steps closer. Loki flinches as Sunrise leaps at him and wraps her arms around him in a massive hug. Loki squirms away and Sunrise lets him go, laughing wildly at the irritated expression on his face.
"That's what you get for dumping me underwater," Sunrise laughs. Then, she pouts playfully and plucks at her soaked t-shirt and mutters, "I hate wet clothes."
"And you think that I do not?" Loki grumbles, glaring at Sunrise.
"Why don't you go change your clothes, Loki. I'm gonna go do the same," Sunrise says, still smiling broadly before disappearing into her room with a towel from the rack on the wall.
Loki watches her leave, his glare lessening as he grabs another towel and moves to change his clothes. By the time Sunrise emerges from her room, Loki is dry and waiting.
When she returns, Sunrise has produced a bone-shaped dog treat from somewhere and hands it to Loki. He glowers at it before leaving the room to find a dog. Sunrise follows after him and shows him how to wave the treat in the air and coo at Dusk until the dog follows blindly.
While Loki 'bathed' the dog, Sunrise stood nearby to show him where the shampoo was (under the sink) and how to direct the shower head so that the soap and water didn't get in the dog's eyes.
Once Dusk is released, Sunrise returns to her own chores while Loki hunts down Lupa. Soon after, music filters through the house from a boom box that Sunrise keeps in the corner of the living room. The sound of rushing water momentarily drowns out the music, but when Loki turns the shower off, another sound is layered on top of the soft country music.
Lupa whimpers at the door and Loki opens it to let the wet dog race out into the cottage. Loki follows behind the dog to see Sunrise dusting a bookshelf, singing along with the tenor of the country singer. Lupa's barking interrupts Sunrise and she twists to look down at the dripping dog.
Sunrise laughs and takes a step back, shooing at Lupa playfully. "Go join your mate outside, Lupa; you're soaked!"
The dog yaps happily and races down the hallway slipping out through the one-way dog door to join Dusk outside.
Loki speaks up then, "Sometimes, I think those animals understand you, Sunrise."
Sunrise scoffs and looks at Loki, a sparkle in her eye. "It's because they do, Loki. Animals understand a lot more than we give them credit for."
Loki smirks and shakes his head as Sunrise goes back to dusting, not singing this time, but humming gently and swaying her hips in time with the music. After a second of staring, Loki turns to follow the dogs outside to the stables to check off the next chore on his infernal list.
Over an hour later, Loki returns to the house to find Sunrise standing outside it with a basket and Dusk laying at her feet. As he approaches, Loki raises an eyebrow and Sunrise smiles in response.
"You worked hard today," she begins. "I thought you might enjoy exploring the forest so that you don't get lost in it anymore."
"I do not get lost," Loki replies with a playful grin.
Sunrise laughs, throwing her head back slightly and smiling broadly. "In any case, I feel like having a picnic. What do you say, Loki?" She asks, holding the basket up.
Loki smiles, nodding his acquiescence. Sunrise smiles and grabs Loki's hand impulsively, pulling him after her as she heads towards the forest, calling for Dusk and Lupa to follow them.
Sunrise leads them along a deer trail, continuing to grasp Loki's hand as though she's forgotten it's there. As the woman maneuvers them through the forest, Loki glances at their joined hands, feeling uncomfortable for a moment before he smiles inwardly, appreciating the human contact, even if he refuses to admit that fact to anyone, including himself.
Sunrise yelps as she trips over an upturned stone and Loki is pulled from his thoughts as his grip tightens around her hand and he pulls her back up towards him. Sunrise stares up at Loki with wide eyes, her mouth parted as she gulps in panicked breaths to lower her heartrate.
"Are you alright?"
Sunrise nods and backs away from Loki. "I'm fine, I was just startled for a second there. Thanks for not letting me fall," She adds, almost as an afterthought.
Loki nods, examining her to make sure that she truly is fine, despite her words of assurance. Sunrise starts moving along the trail again, waving Loki to follow.
"Come on, it's just around this bend," she calls over her shoulder.
Loki follows his feet stepping lightly and his hand feeling oddly empty. As they round the bend, Loki pauses staring at the sight while Sunrise continues moving forward.
It's a clearing, the trees bordering it as if they are afraid or unwilling to grow in this place. A small brook trickles along the far edges, several trees dipping their roots in, the way a child will kick off its shoes and dip its toes in the water, squealing madly. Smooth stones line the bottom of the crystal clear brook, and wildflowers line the edges. The grass in the clearing is long and soft and a bright green that shimmers in the sunlight.
Sunrise sits down on the grass and waves Loki over, not speaking, as though to say a word would break the magic of this place. Loki sits next to her on the grass. Dusk comes over and lays his head on Loki's lap, content to watch his mate run along the perimeter of the clearing and play in the water, barking joyously.
Sunrise hands a sandwich that she has pulled out of the basket to Loki and grabs another for herself. She places the basket between the two of them and opens it to show Loki what else she has packed for their picnic. A bag of chips and a Tupperware container of fruit lay next to a couple bottles of water and a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Loki stares at the latter, wondering when she possibly could have had time to make those.
Sunrise sees him staring and smiles with a hint of mischief glittering in her eyes. Loki takes a bite out of his sandwich and his eyes widen when he tastes meat. He turns to stare at Sunrise and she shrugs noncommittally, turning back to her own food. The two continue to eat their food, neither saying a word, simply reveling in the serenity of the forest clearing and the comfort of the other's company.
They eat leisurely, barely making it back to the cottage before the world has turned completely dark. No words are exchanged as Sunrise puts the basket in the newly cleaned kitchen and Loki lays down on the sofa. Sunrise glances back at Loki as she leaves the room. The god stares back at her and she ducks her head and turns off the light.
Sunrise utters words, her voice low and raspy with a combination of sleepiness and underuse, "Goodnight, Loki. Thank you for your help."
Loki waits until she is gone to reply, "You're welcome."
AN: I missed another week. I am so sorry. Updates might end up slowing down to every two weeks. I'm trying, but new schools are really effing hard to adjust to, no matter how many times you're at one. :) Anyway, this chapter is mostly filler and bonding, but next chapter, the excitement starts picking up! :) We're going to find out more about Sunrise's past! :) Once again, please review, I really like knowing that people are actually reading this story. Thanks!
