Warnings/Disclaimer: Some minor cursing, otherwise the same as in the first chapter.
A convoluted tangle of smells greeted her as the man opened the door to the truck and re-clipped the leash to her collar, she jumped down gracefully, small puffs of dust rising up from where her paws hit the ground. The man started to walk away from the truck, shutting the door sharply behind them. The collar tugged in accordance with the pull on the leash and reluctantly she began to follow him. As apologetic as he had seemed, it didn't mean she felt any better about doing this. She'd been in the pound before, but now she would have higher security on her because she had killed someone. Not to mention the vet check-ups every time she got brought in weren't exactly enjoyable either.
Ahead of them a gate creaked open followed by a series of aqua colored doors interspersed with dirty cracked linoleum. All sorts of greetings accompanied each set of doors, some exuberant and barked madly from the excitable part of the kennels with unfriendly stares and turned backs from the other half. The officer opened a door to an empty kennel and led her inside, he deftly unclipped the leash and backed out. The wire mesh door was shut with quick efficiency and he gave her one more sad look before walking back down the row of cages to the lobby. At his exit the cacophony of voices slowly died down until the dog across from her could finally speak and be heard clearly, the rest of them listening intently. The pretty golden retriever looked at her for a long time before finally seeming to come up with an appropriate question,
"You're no dog, so what are you?" She asked nervously, paws dancing as she fidgeted. Cerberus sighed, the first question asked by other canines was always something along this line.
"Cerberus, Hellhound extraordinaire, Former Guardian to the Gates of Hell," she stated, "Someone you don't want to mess with," she added after seeing the mean looking English Mastiff farther down who likely was the Alpha in this kennel. This seemed to throw the all of them off for a few minutes as they tried to puzzle out her answer, most of them not likely to have encountered anything supernatural before.
Luckily for her they were stopped from asking anymore pointless questions, well pointless to her anyway, by the entrance of another human. Cerberus eyed the young blonde warily as she approached the end of the row where she and the retriever were located. So it begins, she thought as her cage door was opened and the girl entered with a sugary sweet voice and delicious smelling treats in her pocket. Leash hanging from her hands which was soon attached to the metal ring on the collar. Cerberus gave the Mastiff a superior look as she and the girl reached the far door leading to the lobby, the girl stopped to unlock the door and Cerberus took the time to read the Mastiffs information,
"Just watch Mr. Macho, I'll be out of here by morning, free to run the streets and my own life. You'll be stuck here until you get an attitude adjustment judging by that nice green clipboard with your life story." He let out a deep growl in response causing the girl to cast a nervous look at the large dog before she lead Cerberus out into the main lobby. They took an abrupt right just before the reception desk and headed down a well-lit hallway where the floor and walls were better kept. A wood door creaked open and they entered the dreaded examination room. Cerberus blinked at the security officer standing next to who was obviously the veterinarian. There was something off about him- and he seemed to be staring at her just as intently.
Her observation though was cut off abruptly as she was lifted up onto the table by the girl. The leash was held in a firm hand and they all looked at her warily, Cerberus supposed being a killer meant extra security protocol had to be carried out around her. How….Annoying. As if sensing her thoughts the security guard stepped forward,
"Here Margaret, I know you've got a lot of other stuff to do, Mary here and I can handle her." He said to the girl, Margaret, who had lifted her up on the table. Margaret looked relieved, flashing the man a bright smile she quickly left the room through the old wooden door which the two of them had entered just a minute previously. The vet, Mary, rolled her eyes at the manipulation,
"You'll have all the volunteers eating out of your hand by the end of the week, maybe even the day, if you continue on like this Steve." She commented as she started to leaf through the information provided to her by the officers who had brought Cerberus in. She frowned and looked down at something, turning to Steve she asked,
"Can you watch her for a second? I forgot something for one of the tests in my office." She smiled gratefully at his nod and quickly exited. Cerberus knowing she wouldn't have much time quickly focused her sight on the mans aura. She almost shut her eyes again at the near blinding rainbow of colors that assaulted her retina. The only thing she had seen brighter was an angel's grace. He seemed to notice her problem, and miraculously the colors dimmed only to leave Cerberus confused. Everything in his aura and soul pointed towards a very powerful trickster, except, while that seemed to be the main body and identity of his powers there were fragments of something else shimmering in and out of view.
"What are you?" they asked at the same time, he quirked an eyebrow at her,
"You first Fuzzy" he said, lips twitching slightly. She growled slightly and snapped her teeth at him for the title. The return of the veterinarian stopped her from replying though, a talking dog would make the most hardened animal worker question their sanity. He chuckled at her disgruntled expression,
"Don't worry Fuzzy we'll get a chance to talk more later, I'm your prison guard tonight." He whispered arrogantly. She bristled again at the nickname and growled, causing the vet to look at her in slight bewilderment
"What did you do to her?" she asked suspiciously and didn't quite look like she believed Steve at his proclamation of 'nothing! Who do you take me for?'. The rest of the examination went rather smoothly, though with quite a few raised eyebrows at the scars on her neck and legs that her thick fur had helped to hide until it got wet in the customary bath. The sight of them even caused Steves', though she doubted that was his actual name, eyes to flicker briefly in sympathy. The tedious process was done with fairly quickly though, and she did feel better after the bath got most of the road dust and grime off of her.
Instead of being lead back to the main kennel though, she and Steve, meandered back to a quieter area of the shelter into a room that had a thick metal door with a small glass window near the top. He whistled slightly as he juggled her leash along with the various keys on the clip at his belt. Short fingers deftly picked out the right key in short order though, it slid into the lock with ease and the bolts in the door turned. He opened the door, holding it and gesturing for her to enter with a mocking bow. She glared at him, if she was guaranteed of them being alone she would have flung the scathing reply that lay just behind her lips. She entered the room without fuss though, having learned well of how to pick her battles. Once the door was shut Steve thankfully didn't try to usher her into one of the menacing heavy duty cages that lined one wall. He simply pulled out a chair for himself and gestured for her to sit. She looked at the chair in the room with distrust, just because he knew of Cerberus didn't mean he-whatever he was- knew of all her tricks, or more specifically her forms.
She spotted an old raggedy dog bed in a corner though and moved to drag it over. The second she bit down on a corner though she immediately regretted the decision as various emotions washed over her as well as the images of hundreds of dogs. Terror, Anger, Killing-Rage, Joy, it was certainly a whirlwind that had her dropping the bed almost immediately and walking back towards Steve faking nonchalance. He seemed to have noticed though, and his next comment had her throwing all of her estimations of who he could be out the window, normal-er supernatural beings- didn't have that sort of knowledge.
"Mhmm," he hummed slightly fingers drumming on the table, "That touch sensory thing can sure be a bitch huh Fluffy?" She sat carefully on the floor and shot an irritated look up at him,
"Could you cut it out with the nicknames Mr. Mystery Man?" she asked, in a surprisingly calm voice. Whoever he was, he did pick to emulate a trickster who lived to irritate and humiliate people. Showing her irritation would only mean that he would win. He let out a long laugh at that,
"Why should I when even the great Cerberus can't even figure out who I am?" She rolled her eyes slightly at the dramatic flair he added before considering her reply. She took another look at his aura, it still read the same with the same dazzlingly brilliant flashes of something in between his brilliant green trickster persona.
"I'd say Trickster, hell I'd even go far enough to say Loki himself, but no matter what you portray, you're no Trickster." She mused, staring further and longer, trying to figure it out. When she did come back to herself it was to notice that is expression had turned deadly serious.
"I don't know what you're talking about Fuzzy." He murmured, they had a staring match for an indeterminable amount of time before he gave an irritated sigh seeing that she wasn't just going to forget what she had seen. She always had been partial to puzzles, and he was the most interesting thing she had come across in a long time. He seemed about to make some comment to that effect when she cut in,
"Give me a week." She blurted immediately regretting the rashness of her actions, pissing off something that could hide itself this well and had the personality of a Trickster was almost on par with following a single angel into Hell itself to free a single soul. In her defense, her last rash act had ended rather well with her being free to walk about Earth and not chained in agony next to a Gate. He stared at her though she couldn't pin down the exact emotion that flickered across his face before he replied,
"Want to repeat yourself in clearer terms?" He asked carefully,
"Give me one week to figure out who you are, If it's big and macho important I won't tell a soul, I swear. You're just the most interesting puzzle I've seen in centuries-" She rambled, cutting herself off before she made a fool of herself. He seemed to find her eagerness entertaining despite the seriousness of the conversation because he laughed, not chuckled, full out belly laughed until he had tears running down his face. If he hadn't been laughing at her she would have felt quite accomplished for making a—even supposed Trickster—Laugh so hard. He eventually calmed down enough to reply though,
"You're saying that you want to follow me around for a week, just to try and figure out what I am, you do realize most others would be running away in fear?" he asked, and at her slightly cautious nod he started to laugh again, though managed to catch himself quickly this time,
"Cerberus it appears should have been created a feline instead of a canine. You are aware that curiosity killed the cat my dear?" He asked turning suddenly serious at the last part. She looked at him warily,
"Not like I haven't seen my fair share of death, I've lived long enough to know that its boring to live safe and in a bubble. I think I'd rather take the risk thank you very much Not-Loki." She stated, gaining confidence with each word she spoke. They sat in silence for a long stretch as he mulled over her words, trying to decide how serious she was, and if it could hurt him. He reached a decision after what seemed to be ages,
"Very well Cerberus, you may tail me for one week, and one week only. At the end of the time if you haven't discovered who I am, you leave and keep your trap shut about whatever suspicions you've come up with. If at the end of the week, you have discovered who I am, well we'll see how much I like you at that point to see the result of that situation shan't we?" He asked, a slightly feral grin crossing his features with the threat. Wondering what in Hades name she had gotten herself into she reluctantly nodded her agreement and felt the magic of the contract, thankfully not as slimy feeling as the contract with Hell, snap into place on her person. The bond wasn't anything physical but there would be slight to severe consequences if she broke it, depending on how exactly she broke it.
AN:/ So sorry, I realize it's been almost a month since y'all had an update. My mistake, I'm just having a really hard time writing chapter 13. Thought you guys might appreciate this though. Feedback? Loved it? Hated it? Wondering what the heck is going on? Let me know. Have a great rest of the week! -Robin