Bet you weren't expecting an update today! :D We talked for a little and settled on every-three-days for an update schedule, so it'll change days but will be faster overall. Next update will be on Wednesday! :D

And, well, this is largely because of something ELSE I'm super excited to post in the very near future. :D But also because we're both kind of eager to share what we have for this story. Either way, it's win/win!

Also...introducing a less familiar Trickster than you might know, but we think you'll like him.

Enochian is spoken like this.

Chapter 3

There weren't many spells that actually hid things from an archangel's senses, but Gabriel had to admit that whatever Odin had done…

Well, he'd been all over Norway and every other place in Europe that the Norse had ever held sacred, and there had been absolutely nothing.

If Odin was still alive – Gabriel cut short that line of thinking. He'd settle for knowing that Odin was probably really glad that he was dead right now.

Coming to a stop in the middle of an ancient höll that had broken down and was nothing but craggy stones, Gabriel scowled at the energy saturating the ground. He could feel it moving, but there was no connection like there had been when he'd been at his height as Loki, fully tuned in to that kind of power. This had been a place Odin occasionally liked to come to, and Gabriel felt no qualms in further destroying its remnants.

By the time he was done, there was no sign that there had been anything dedicated to the Norse gods on that spot, and the only energy in the ground was that of Gabriel's Grace.

It wasn't really keeping a low profile, but there was enough hatred between angels and pagans that someone could come up with the excuse that a volatile angel had had a temper tantrum here. An angel that hadn't been called Loki for ages.

Taking one last look at the area, Gabriel took off, meaning to do another sweep of everything he'd already gone through. It was possible that Fenris was in one of the other realms, but Jormungandr was down here; it was likely that the Æsir had put more than one of his kids on Earth.

Gabriel. Rhodey's prayer caught Gabriel's attention immediately, but there was no hint of danger associated with it. Sam and Dean are going on a hunt here, and we're going with them. They say it's a trickster and that it should be an easy hunt. I don't really think so, but it's not like they care. Natasha and Barnes finagled their way onto it, and I'm going so that they don't get themselves into trouble.

There weren't any further details - probably because Rhodey didn't know anymore - but Gabriel didn't think Castiel would be so ignorant.

Finding Castiel via the Host was simple, and it was even simpler to send him a private message. Yo, Castiel. They're hunting a trickster?

Gabriel. Castiel didn't sound surprised to hear from him. From what I've found, it is a trickster. It hasn't killed anyone yet, but there have been quite a few incidents that caught Sam's attention.

It hasn't killed anybody at all? That was...really weird.

No.

It wasn't like all tricksters ended up killing the people they played tricks on, but deaths were usually par for the course. That a trickster had managed to avoid killing at all was absolutely bizarre, and it didn't sit right with him.

Are you with them?

Dean insisted on handling this by themselves. I was called elsewhere.

Gabriel received the vague sense of Castiel sitting in a meeting and wished him luck. I'll check on them.

Castiel sent him back an affirmative before withdrawing to pay attention to an undoubtedly boring meeting.

It took barely a second before Gabriel was back in Kansas and where he sensed his friends. He didn't immediately take human form, instead investigating what Castiel had already done.

There was definitely trickster magic in the area - any angel familiar with it could recognize it – but it was also…

Damn it.

It wasn't something Gabriel had anticipated this early on, but he'd also expected this particular trickster to be smarter than attracting the attention of the Winchester brothers.

So it might be completely coincidental, but Gabriel wasn't willing to bet a penny on that.

None of them were in the bunker, which meant that the group was already on their way into town. When Gabriel found them on one of the major roads, they'd clearly had some sort of heated discussion, since Dean was scowling blackly and James and Natasha seemed a bit too pleased with themselves. Rhodey had a resigned "why me?" expression that Gabriel was intimately familiar with, although he could tell that his friend was a bit excited.

He managed to land in between Rhodey and James, who both jumped in their seats; Rhodey even made a noise akin to a squeak. "I heard you have a trickster on your hands."

It was a testament to how many times Castiel must have done the same that Dean barely flinched. The Impala swerved slightly, but he immediately righted the car. "Do all of you take some perverse pleasure in doing this?" he demanded.

"I do," Gabriel said. "Can't say anything about what goes on in my sibs' heads, but probably not."

"Tony, you ass." Rhodey punched Gabriel in the shoulder, which was difficult in the limited space. "A little warning next time?"

"Don't do it at all next time," James insisted, wiggled uncomfortably in the cramped confines of the backseat.

"The trickster?" Dean prompted, eyes meeting Gabriel's in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah, uh, about that," Gabriel began. "This may be more than just the average hunt."

"Cas said it was a trickster."

"Castiel just looked at the magic. It's a trickster, but it's more like who you're hunting that matters." Gabriel shifted forward, knees bumping against the front seats. "For one, he's being really obvious, which means he's looking to lure someone in."

"What, like you?"

"Yeah, probably."

Natasha, seated in between the two Winchesters, twisted to look at him. "Did you know him?"

"Yes," Gabriel admitted. "I have no idea how he knew I was here, though."

"Fantastic," Dean grumbled. "We're dealing with one of your old friends, who probably has a grudge."

"Who is it?" Sam asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Coyote," Gabriel said. "No idea why he'd be in Kansas of all places."

"What's wrong with Kansas?" Dean demanded.

"Nothing, except for how it's literally in the middle of bumfuck, nowhere, and has none of the things he might find interesting. Even I got bored in places like here."

"Maybe he's just here for you," Natasha suggested.

"Maybe, but like I said, I don't know how he would have known I was here, considering I only got here like a day ago."

"So you're here to warn us off your old buddy?" Dean sounded vaguely disbelieving.

Gabriel inclined his head. "I would appreciate it if you didn't kill him, but I still want to know what he's doing here."

"The last time we tried approaching a trickster by not killing him, he stuck us in an idiot box and turned Sam into a car." Dean glared pointedly at Gabriel.

Gabriel just shrugged, not even remotely apologetic for what had been one of the best tricks of his career. "You got me in the end."

"You let us get to you," Sam said.

At first, but not at the end. Gabriel hadn't anticipated the brothers finding out that he wasn't really a trickster. "If Coyote's here because of me, he's not going to do anything to you. Not in the least because you boys have cultivated something of a reputation."

"There was that vampire that ran away before we could get to him," Sam said thoughtfully. "I thought I heard him apologizing and swearing he'd convert to veganism."

"Coyote isn't stupid." Gabriel sat back. "Or some lame vampire. If he's being that obvious around you two, then he's either been under a rock for the last several years or he's got something to say."

"I vote for the rock," Rhodey said.

Given what had happened at the Elysian, it wasn't entirely unlikely, except for the fact that Coyote had more pride than he did sense. "If he's got something to say, then we can ask. Just…be obvious."

"Even more obvious than we usually are?" Sam craned his neck to look at Gabriel, but Gabriel was already gone.

Flitting out of the car, he flew ahead into the town, cloaking himself. The brothers had a big enough group already with his friends, and he could catch Coyote off guard this way.

When the Impala rolled into town thirty minutes later, Gabriel was rather impressed at how obvious the brothers were being.

The Winchesters had faked him out the first time they'd met. He was curious to see if they could do it to Coyote, too.

The answer was probably yes, given their skills, but he was still interested in seeing how.

"So, first step?" Rhodey looked around, bouncing slightly on his feet.

"Ask questions," Sam said when Dean didn't answer.

Gabriel had never actually bothered to listen in whenever hunters did their snooping around, and he was regretting his choice to do so now. Just about the only interesting thing about the various interrogations was how awkward Dean and Sam were in response to the people recognizing their faces and falling over themselves in their eagerness to help.

Of course, the police were ultimately useless, since they already knew who they were up against – but if they pretended like they didn't, Coyote would assume they didn't.

Gabriel was watching, but he hadn't seen so much as a glimpse of Coyote - yet. He obviously found the police station just as boring. A small town like this didn't even have much of a crime rate (or much of anything at all, really).

Gabriel considered doing a sweep over the town to see if he could find Coyote. The other god's habits couldn't have changed much – then again, he'd dismantle whatever plan the Winchesters had, and he did want to see how that would play out.

"Nothing," Sam said, pulling at his jacket. He pulled a face. "How is it that they now know everything but absolutely nothing?"

"It's not demons," Dean grumbled. "Demons aren't so ridiculously obvious."

"And everyone's got anti-possession charms now," Sam pointed out. "The newest fad." He gestured vaguely in the direction of a storefront window that was advertising said charms along with promising holy water and garlic to ward off vampires.

"Didn't you say garlic doesn't work on vampires?" Natasha side-eyed the storefront.

"Like I said," Sam huffed.

"Hollywood." Dean said the word like it was a curse. "We should go somewhere more private. I hate being stared at all the time."

Since everyone on the street was trying (and failing) to stare discreetly at the brothers, they quickly headed to an area where they could hide among the shrubbery and pretend they were doing business.

Not that there was anything discreet about two virtual giants and three people that screamed military trying to hide in the middle of a park.

Gabriel didn't make an attempt to overhear their conversation – it was probably more
"frustratingly" wondering what was causing all the trouble in Lebanon, anyway. He was more interested in paying attention to the trickster magic in the area and where it was leading.

Coyote was good at hiding – had always been. It was that in addition to his status as a fellow trickster that had drawn Gabriel to him.

Still, there was something to be said for being intimately familiar with another god's tricks to the point that they couldn't hide anymore.

Anyone else wouldn't have thought twice about the middle-aged man casually sauntering towards the small group, but it was all too obvious to Gabriel what he really was.

Natasha had already glanced at him, but Gabriel could tell she'd dismissed his presence. Another thing tricksters were good at – appearing harmless.

It was a good thing he was there, or else he could think of a lot of things Coyote might have done.

"Let's be honest," Gabriel said, putting himself in between Coyote and the others when his old friend was only a few feet away. "You're never this clumsy unless it's on purpose."

Despite his different vessel, Coyote had no issues recognizing Gabriel. "Hello, Loki." The name sounded more like an insult than a greeting.

"Coyote." Gabriel folded his arms across his chest. "It's been a while."

Coyote mimicked Gabriel's stance. "One death and a resurrection later. What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Since when are you into tiny country towns?" Gabriel shot back. "You into druggies now? Speeding tickets?"

"It got your attention, didn't it?" Coyote scoffed.

"How did you even know I was here?"

"What happened to not telling about our methods?"

"Like we didn't already know how we did it," Gabriel retorted. That had been a running joke more than anything else.

Coyote didn't answer, but his attention wavered slightly, turning elsewhere…and that elsewhere was above their heads.

Despite himself, Gabriel looked up at the moon that was just out of human sight, narrowing in on a certain pagan that lived there. "Oh, come on." Rabbit, you pushover.

"What?" Dean demanded.

"As if you were ever going to tell me anything," Coyote said, ignoring Dean. "How else was I supposed to find out?"

"It's not like I was particularly eager to get you on my case," Gabriel huffed, eyes dropping back to Coyote. "And in case you didn't notice, I didn't tell anyone. It wasn't personal—"

"Oh, I'm taking this personally!" Coyote interrupted.

Gabriel glanced between his friends and Coyote. "So what – I was supposed to tell you and trust that you'd leave it at that? You don't like angels."

"Three hundred years we've known each other"—Rhodey made a choked noise but had the sense not to interrupt—"and you don't tell me?"

That…was not what he had expected. "Wait…are you upset about the angel thing or the fact that I didn't tell you?"

"Mostly the second part!" Coyote shouted. "Come on, Loki! I even told you about that time in 1618—"

"Everything you've done is embarrassing, that doesn't count," Gabriel said, half on automatic, because what the hell? He had definitely not expected Coyote to completely discard the angel issue.

"I thought we trusted each other." Coyote looked injured.

"I did – do." Gabriel dropped his arms to his sides. "But I was trying to keep it a secret. No one knew, Coyote."

"I can keep a secret!"

Gabriel just looked at him. "I have seen you try to keep a secret. You lasted for a week before you told someone."

"Fine," Coyote conceded grudgingly. "But you still owe me a damn explanation."

"That, I can do," Gabriel said. "It also didn't really require terrorizing a small town."

"I'm allowed to have fun," Coyote said, making it sound like a whine.

"No, this place isn't fun," Gabriel said. "It's boring. How did you not fall asleep?"

"If I fell asleep, I would've missed your arrival."

"Are we not stabbing anyone?" Sam asked from behind Gabriel.

"We didn't get the blood," Dean hissed.

"You're not stabbing anyone," Gabriel said, not bothering to turn around. "No blood necessary."

"On that note," Coyote said, "the Winchesters? Seriously?"

"They're not that bad when they're not trying to kill you," Gabriel told him. Coyote looked skeptical. "Really. Also, glad to hear that you didn't completely lose your mind and try to bait the Winchesters."

"Do I look like a moron to you?" Coyote rolled his eyes.

"That is entirely debatable."

"You can shut up."

"I thought you wanted me to explain." Gabriel couldn't help but grin.

Coyote scowled, though there was a slight twitch at his lips. "That was an insult, not an explanation."

"Welllll…" Gabriel rolled his shoulders, scratching the side of his neck. "I'm not entirely sure where you want me to begin."

"Do you have popcorn?" Natasha whispered.

"No!" Dean sounded scandalized.

"I could do with some," Rhodey admitted.

"Why aren't you worried?"

"It's Tony."

"I'm glad you're all so entertained by my life," Gabriel said, turning slightly towards them. "Are you going to stand there and watch?"

"Are you going to forbid us if we say yes?" Natasha asked back, batting her eyes.

"We could go somewhere else," Coyote said. "You owe me a drink or two."

"Since when?" Gabriel scoffed, turning back to him.

"Since V-E Day," Coyote said. "And don't pretend you paid me back for those, because you didn't."

"What – I did!"

"No, you didn't."

"Come on," Gabriel protested. "I know for a fact that I got you at least a few after then."

"Yeah, and I got you a few, you still owe me; let's just find a bar already."

"Fine." Gabriel snapped his fingers, dumping all of them into the nearest bar he located that wasn't too shabby. "Go find something fun to do," he told his friends, making little shooing motions with his hands. "Don't kill anyone," he said to the brothers.

"Oh, come on," Rhodey said, staggering only slightly before steadying. "I want to know how you ended up owing someone drinks for half a century."

"I'll tell you later."

"And then you won't tell me." Rhodey gave him a look. "You think I don't know you?"

"Beat me at Monopoly and I guarantee you that I'll tell you."

Rhodey snorted. "You are kidding, right? Make that poker."

"Done." Gabriel pointed to an empty table. "Now go shoo and talk about how bad garlic isn't for vampires."

Coyote watched Rhodey (and the others) reluctantly leave with a vaguely puzzled expression. "The hell are they?"

"Friends," Gabriel said. "I do have more than just you, y'know."

"I'm insulted at the implication that I'm not worth more than just one friend."

"Everything insults you if you want to be insulted by it. I need some friends who don't drive me crazy."

Coyote looked over to where Rhodey, Natasha, and James were now whispering and glancing back at Gabriel as if plotting something evil. "I see you found them."

"Compared to you, they're easy." Gabriel tapped on the bar, signaling the bartender for two drinks.

"I'm sure." Coyote gave the still hovering Winchester brothers a wide grin and waggled his eyebrows.

Sighing, Gabriel shot the Winchesters a look that told them they better be gone within five seconds. "Don't antagonize them. They're not that nice."

"Spoilsport," Coyote muttered as the Winchesters retreated, joining the other three at their table. "Are you gonna start explaining, or do I have to start announcing to the bar at large that there's an angel turned pagan in their midst?"

"As if they'd believe that. My sibs have been pretty clear on that whole 'pagans and angels don't mix' thing."

"Right." Coyote leaned his elbows on the bar, hands propping up his chin. "Siblings. Seriously, how does that work?"

"Honestly, Upstairs is a lot more fucked up than any of them would tell humans," Gabriel said. "I got tired of it."

Coyote grabbed the first drink the bartender slid down to them. "Which is why you decided to become a pagan? Was there ever even a Loki?"

"I am Loki," Gabriel said, a little more sharply than he'd meant to. "Pagan was the furthest I could be from an angel, but that doesn't mean the angel part cancelled out everything else, or else you would have known a lot sooner. Hell, if I hadn't been, no one would have thought I was in the first place."

"So you're saying you just turned into a god?"

"You out of anyone here should know how powerful belief is," Gabriel said, and Coyote paused.

"Belief doesn't start from nowhere," Coyote said.

Gabriel didn't respond immediately, running a finger through the moisture on his glass. It had been cold that particular day...and dark. He hadn't really felt it, but that Jötunn had, lost and alone as he was…

Gabriel had offered him a way out, had explained what it meant. He'd still been a little surprised when the Jötunn had accepted.

"Sometimes it does." Gabriel took a slow drink, restraining a grimace at the taste. "In any case, I was Loki. Still am. No one actually knew who I was, and I liked it that way."

"It must've been bad, if an angel was willing to actually become a pagan." Coyote's voice was noncommittal. "What happened?"

"You really want to know?" Gabriel asked dryly. "We could be as bad as Asgard, sometimes. I'm sure you've heard of Sodom and Gomorrah."

"Right. Your side's job, wasn't it? That was some awful business."

"Yeah." Gabriel hesitated, barely. "Kinda wish I hadn't needed to get personally involved with that one." But orders were orders.

"Hold up," Coyote said, eyes widening. "You – personally? I thought everyone was convinced that was archangel business."

Gabriel gave him a flat look, eyes glinting slightly.

"Oh," Coyote said, and then, "Shit, there's no way pagan magic was enough to hide that."

"Apparently, it was," Gabriel said.

"This is really just making me confused about how much you disliked Puritans, you know," Coyote told him.

"Oh, please. As if the Puritans were the epitome of a good Christian society."

"Aaannnd…you would know. Of course." Coyote took a long slug from his drink. Then, "So which one are you? Not the new one. Or Raphael. I heard Michael was the bigwig in charge of that so-called apocalypse a while back."

Gabriel scrunched up his face slightly at being compared to Michael. "None of the above. If I'd been in Michael's place, things would have gone a lot differently."

"Obviously not Lucifer." Coyote seemed to be on a roll. "That leaves…Gabriel."

"Spot on."

Coyote just raised his eyebrows. "I expect to know exactly what happened with Mary."

"Like you care that much about Biblical events."

"No, but...how did that work? What did you say? Everyone always portrays angels as so...stiff, and all the movies have you as being weird."

"The opposite of what I'm like now, you mean. Since when do you watch movies with archangels in them?"

"Since Hollywood's special effects have actually gotten somewhat decent and their angels are more human than supposedly angelic."

"Hollywood has a long way to go before they manage to portray accurate angels."

Coyote shrugged, grinning lopsidedly. "They can consult you guys now, right?"

Gabriel nursed another sip of his drink, then said, "You're taking this better than I expected."

"Please," Coyote said. "You're still the guy who went with me to Paris in 1860. I could blackmail you six ways to Sunday. I'm not scared of you or anything."

"We agreed never to bring up Paris again," Gabriel said, but relief was flooding him. If Coyote wasn't that upset with him (and more upset over the keeping secrets thing), then maybe this wasn't as difficult as he'd thought it would be.

"No, you suggested it, and I just nodded." Coyote tipped the glass in Gabriel's direction.

"Whatever. Paris was still your idea, not mine."

"You went with it." Coyote waved his glass around. "Paris aside, what are you doing here now? I thought you died."

"Technically, I did," Gabriel admitted. "Perks of having an omniscient and all-powerful Dad, I guess."

"So, this…" Coyote gestured at Gabriel's body. "Is because you were resurrected?"

"Yep." Gabriel waved for another drink. "Wouldn't really recommend it as a way to get a makeover."

Coyote squinted at him. "Are you taller?"

"Do you seriously pay that much attention to detail?"

"Hey, I notice things. It's hard not to when you spend enough time around someone."

"I would've thought you'd pay more attention to my face."

Coyote shrugged. "You've still got that same crazy grin. There's no difference."

"My grin is not crazy."

"It's generally the type of grin that precedes an excellent prank." Coyote nudged Gabriel's glass with his own. "And this whole thing – you being Loki? That was a prank that I should have known about."

"Obviously," Gabriel said dryly. "Only a trickster god would manage to prank at least an entire pantheon just by existing."

It wasn't like he'd planned on it being a prank. It had been a survival tactic that had turned out for the best.

At least until he'd been outed, anyway.

An idea occurred to Gabriel. "Speaking of pranks," he said, "how'd you like to help me seriously mess with Asgard?"

Coyote hummed noncommittally, swishing his drink around for several minutes. Then, in a casual tone, "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing too big…" Gabriel leaned back, pressing his hands onto the top of the counter. "Just some jail-breaking… You ever hear of my kids?"

It took a moment, and then Coyote grinned broadly. "No." He sounded gleeful. "This is what you came back for?"

"What do you think?" Gabriel leaned in. "You in?"

"Anything to mess with that dick Odin."

Gabriel paused, glancing askance. "You know he's dead, right?"

"Doesn't matter. They keep ravens. Any pantheon that actually thinks ravens are any good deserves to get messed with."

Coyote really hadn't changed. "Frigg probably still has those two around, anyway," Gabriel mused. "First step isn't breaking into Asgard or anything, but it will still majorly piss them off."

"Pissing them off is good," Coyote agreed. "Who are we going for first?"

"Fenris." That one wasn't in question.

"The wolf, okay." Coyote nodded. "D'you know where he is?"

"…I'm working on it."

A grin flashed across Coyote's face. "Let me know when you've got it."

Gabriel huffed, rubbing a hand over his face. "If you've got any ideas, I'm all ears. I've been all over Europe at this point."

"I thought there were nine realms. You haven't tried the other eight?"

"How well do you think me showing my face in any of those places would go?"

"Hilariously," Coyote said.

"For you, maybe." Gabriel rolled his eyes. "There's only so many he could be in, anyway. Asgard—"

"Obviously," Coyote interrupted.

Gabriel ignored him. "—and Vanaheim, maybe, they've always been close with Asgard. Jotunheim's a possibility, too, but anywhere else is nowhere near as likely unless Odin was being weirdly imaginative." Remembering what that book had said, Gabriel forced himself to breathe in slowly, flexing his fingers. "The myths don't have anything in them."

"You read your own mythology?"

"Shut up. Yes." It wasn't like any of the gods had told him where they stashed his kids. Probably because they thought he'd go off and start Ragnarok prematurely. Though…Michael's face if that had happened would have been hilarious.

"Are they even accurate?" Coyote asked skeptically.

"Mostly. Bits and pieces, but that's basically all that's left of the original stuff."

"No wonder hunters get the better of some of us." Coyote scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe if I go changing some of that stuff…"

"Like anyone would be able to track down anything on you even without you changing it." Gabriel was aware of exactly how few Native American legends had survived. "The most they're going to get is Wikipedia."

"Fair enough. It would've been too much effort, anyway."

Sobering, Gabriel dragged his glass across the counter, watching the moisture trails it left behind. "I'll see what I can find out in the other realms. If you can…maybe see what you can fish out around here."

"Or I could follow those guys back to their batcave and scope them out," Coyote suggested cheerfully, indicating the group that was shamelessly trying to eavesdrop and failing.

"How about you don't?"

"Hey, if they're crazy enough to be friends with you…"

"I'll introduce you later."

"Now?"

"Later."

"Like, in an hour, or—"

"How about when I'm sure that you're not going to inadvertently piss off the only two hunters who actually stand a chance at killing you?"

"I'm offended. You would let them?" Coyote peered into his glass. "Damn. I hope you actually have money."

"I have all the money."

"Teenager slang doesn't suit you." Coyote scrutinized him. "I think it's the goatee."

"I'm not shaving it." Gabriel pulled out his wallet and some cash, leaving it in plain view of the bartender. "And I'm rich."

"Lucky bastard."

"Yes to the first part, no to the second." Gabriel stood, waving briefly to his friends to let them know they were finished. Rhodey made a face and gestured to the food still in front of him. Gabriel responded with a similar face and flicked his fingers, boxing the food up.

"You are introducing me to them," Coyote told him, downing the last of his drink and Gabriel's before standing as well. "I have to meet the humans that just don't care."

"They've gotten used to it," Gabriel said. "My life has hardly gotten less weird. The humans here will get used to it, too."

"The increase in worshippers is nice," Coyote admitted. "It's a bit of a jarring boost."

"Is that what you were talking about this whole time?" Natasha asked as the two groups joined on their way to the door.

"Obviously not," Gabriel said. "We were also reminiscing fondly about all the shit we've pulled."

"The colonies," Coyote mused. "They were assholes."

"You've said that about almost everyone you've met," Gabriel reminded him.

"That's because for almost everyone I know it's true! And the colonies were really assholes for what they did. Even I keep my word."

"You mean what happened with the Native Americans?" Sam asked, hovering just several feet away as if unsure of his welcome.

"Like I said," Coyote said, "assholes."

"Sounds fair," Rhodey said. "Is your name actually Coyote, or is that just what he calls you?"

Coyote's grin was quicksilver. "What do you think?"

"I think he's trying to pull a fast one," Sam said. "You're a figure in Native American folklore, literally a mischievous trickster. But you're also called a Creator in one; in another you put the stars in the skies."

"Oh, I like the sound of this kid." Coyote was still grinning.

"You like anyone who flatters you," Gabriel said.

"It's not flattery if it's true."

"Half of that is Christian influence."

Coyote made a face at him. "So? I was still involved." He had his hands in his pockets, playing with whatever he kept in there.

"So you're Coyote," Rhodey concluded easily, looking slightly baffled by the conversation.

"Are you going to be helping out?" James asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Gods don't help," Dean muttered, lagging several feet behind Sam. "Not without a price."

"Most gods don't," Coyote said, grinning just a bit too sharply at Dean. "But Loki's a friend, and I like pulling a fast one over Asgard. This'll be fun."

"So...you're completely cool with who he is?" Rhodey sounded disbelieving. "From what Tony said, I thought there'd be more stabbing and less talking. And less drinking."

Coyote shot Gabriel a curious look before looking back at Rhodey. "I love pranks. What Loki did? The most epic prank ever. I'm just pissed he never told me."

"No one else will be as happy," Gabriel told Rhodey. "Coyote's special."

"Hell yes I am," Coyote said, preening.

"So there will likely be stabbing," Natasha noted.

"I'm not dying anytime soon," Gabriel said.

"It'll just be stabbing and maybe he'll keel over dramatically and pretend to be dead," Dean said. "He's good at that."

"You mean, my illusory people are good at that," Gabriel corrected him. "Seriously, Dean? You were dealing with a trickster and when the bed didn't vanish it never occurred to you that I might still be alive?"

"Okay," James said, "you've lost me."

"First time we met," Gabriel informed him, while Sam looked vaguely embarrassed. "Let's say I tried to bribe Dean-o with some lovely ladies and a nice bed so that he'd leave me alone. He didn't take the bait."

"And then that idiot box." Dean still looked rather unhappy at the memory.

"Oh, come on. That was great."

"I have got to hear this story later." Natasha looked intrigued. "How did you ever end up on the same side?"

"You remember the apocalypse I kept talking about back when you still thought I was insane?" Gabriel looked up at the sky. "I ended up being convinced to throw my lot in with the humans. Got killed. Resurrected. I blame him." He pointed at Dean.

"Dude!" Dean protested. "What did I do?"

"Gave me a kick in the ass. I did vote for running away. You voted no." Eyes closing briefly, Gabriel shook the memory away. "At least the message I left helped."

Sam made an indignant noise. "It was porn."

"Only the second half."

"He has a point," Dean conceded.

"Is this why you keep trying to convince us to do a porn video?" Rhodey asked Gabriel accusingly.

"That was once. And it was Bruce who brought up the idea, and James suggested it, too—"

"I said it was for charity!" James protested, but he was grinning.

"I'm not talking about porn with any of you in public," Sam said. "I'm regretting even mentioning that video."

"Did you keep it?" Gabriel asked.

"No." Dean sounded disgusted.

"Mostly because of the information it had," Sam admitted, and Dean shot him a betrayed look. "Couldn't risk it getting into anyone else's hands."

"Smart lad." Gabriel shot him a grin. Then, stopping and turning on his heel, he turned to the others. "I'll drop you back off at your ride. Coyote and I are going to check out what we can find with Fenris. We'll meet you back at the bunker."

He clapped a hand on Coyote's shoulder and whisked them both away.

It wasn't until the town had disappeared behind them that Rhodey asked Dean the question that had been bugging him ever since Tony had left. He didn't feel at all bad about bringing it up because he'd ask Tony the same thing once he came back and wasn't so worried about his kids.

"What happened with him?" Rhodey kept his tone even, free of accusation. "How come he said he was convinced to side with you?"

"You sure you want to be asking me that?" Dean's eyes went to his in the rearview mirror. "Thought you'd rather ask him."

"There're two sides to every story; I learned that much in my time in the Air Force. Besides, Tony's not too likely to share everything." He never had been the type, something always telling him not to trust.

"Sounds familiar," Dean said, sighing. "All right. We thought he was just a trickster the first time we met him – the Trickster, he said. Ended up thinking we'd killed him and left it at that. Then, about a year or so later, we met him again."

"It wasn't any better than the first time." Sam pulled a hand through his hair absentmindedly. "It was some kind of twisted version of Groundhog Day. Like the movie. I – it was just endless Tuesdays. And…he killed Dean off a different way each day. When I finally managed to catch him for good, he agreed to stop it. We didn't see him for a while after until Lucifer was out."

"That's when we figured out he wasn't really a trickster," Dean continued. "We got him to 'fess up, and he left us alone after that."

"Was that when that whole 'idiot box' thing happened?" There was no hint of what Natasha was thinking in her tone.

"He wanted us to 'play our roles,'" Sam said, mimicking Tony's voice. "Put us in what was basically fake TV shows to get us to play his 'game.' We didn't get what he wanted until we'd gone through a couple."

"He was for the apocalypse?"

"He wasn't pulling for either of them." Dean was frowning slightly. "But he said he just wanted it over with. I was all for ganking him when we found out it was the trickster, but Sam here thought we might be able to reason with him. Worst decision ever."

"It's not like he'd have stayed dead," Sam pointed out. "And he had us right where he wanted us." He glanced back at Rhodey. "We managed to trick him into a circle of holy fire, got him to tell us who he was. And what he was trying to do. Stuff like that." Sam paused. "He seemed like he had a lot of resentment built up."

"Let's not psychoanalyze the guy right now," Dean said. "I think we'd need, like, a fleet of therapists per angel. Anyway, after all that, he kept his distance. We didn't see him for a few months until the Elysian."

"Is that supposed to mean anything?" Natasha sounded a bit like she was grinning.

"It wasn't anything like paradise," Sam told her, snorting. "No, it was a hotel filled with gods that lured us there."

"We thought something weird was going on," Dean said, "but we couldn't find anything. Not until we snuck around a bit more. That's when we found out that the gods were wanting an end to the apocalypse and were using us as bargaining chips. And…" He made a clicking noise with his tongue. "He showed up as Loki. I dunno why he was there in the first place, but we convinced him to help us get out. Guess it helped that he knew we could out him and sic every single god in that place on him." He grinned mirthlessly. "And the pagans would've been pretty pissed to find out that he was an angel."

This wasn't really what Rhodey had expected. "That when he decided to help you?"

"No," Dean snorted, shaking his head. "I mean, he agreed to talk to the gods to get them working together to take down Lucifer, but that went bad the moment Kali outed him and tried to stab him. So, we thought he was dead."

"And he wasn't."

"Nope." Dean shrugged. "Fake angel blade. He faked it pretty well, though. I found him in here"—he gestured to the car—"trying to persuade me to make a getaway. I told him to man up and stick up to Lucifer already, then went back to see what we could do about the gods."

"Lucifer was already there by that point," Sam said, looking out the side window. "He killed all of them."

"Except for Kali." The corner of Dean's lips tilted up in a small smile. "He was about to, and Sam and I weren't doing much good, but then Gabriel showed up. He got us out of there, and…" He shrugged.

Rhodey couldn't say it, the words stuck in his throat, but Barnes did, voice flat. "He died."

"And he gave us what we needed to take down Lucifer for good." Dean shot a glance back at Rhodey. "We owe him for that, and what he did with the Leviathan. And back with Heaven." Sighing, Dean took the turn that would take them back to the bunker. "We owe him a lot."

A few minutes later, Natasha said, "We didn't know any of that."

"That he was a dick? He's still a dick, but he's someone who's on our side. Hell, he was the only archangel on our side."

Rhodey didn't say anything, eyes on the trees outside. He wasn't quite sure what to make of what he'd just learned, but he did know that he was going to ask Tony about it. Tony had never gone into detail, but there'd always been a lot of bitterness whenever he'd talked about dying here.

And Rhodey didn't think it was because he'd been talked into helping humans.

Dean seemed to read something of Rhodey's thoughts in his face. "Guess you weren't expecting to hear any of that. Hate to break it to you, but angels aren't really all that angelic."

Rhodey shook his head. "I knew that. I've known Tony for most of my life, and him becoming an angel didn't change him much. I just didn't know most of the details."

And he didn't think Dean knew most of them either.

"You know," Sam said after a moment of silence, "I never really thought of it - but what he did at the Mystery Spot makes a lot more sense now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean glanced over at his brother briefly.

"Well – you know what I was like after your deal came due. He must've known what would happen. I mean, I guess he thought if he could head off the seals breaking, the whole apocalypse thing wouldn't happen. Or we'd have another year or so, at least." Sam sounded contemplative.

"You sound pretty calm for someone who got trapped in an endless loop of your brother dying," Natasha said.

"It was a while ago," Sam said. "I understood how much I messed up a long time ago."

"How come he stopped that, anyway?" Dean asked. "Just 'cause you asked nicely?"

"He said he got bored."

Rhodey could tell Sam was holding something back, but didn't push – he wasn't sure he wanted to know any more than what he'd already been told.

Comment, please! We love hearing from you guys. :D

We do have a fancast for Coyote, if you're interested - Zahn McClarnon (who apparently has a recurring role on Longmire, if you've seen it).

The below is all from Alatar Maia, who knows a LOT about mythology in general:

If you're wondering who Coyote is, not just what he looks like, he's a Trickster from Native American mythology. It's kind of awkward to group all First Nations religions under one umbrella, since they were all distinct and had different variations of myths or just different ones completely, but Coyote is a recurring character across the country (He's called Coyote, btw, because he usually is one).

Either that, or there are a lot of Tricksters and people decided that Coyote had a lot of time on his hands and was all of them simultaneously (entirely possible, considering the course of human history and how people reconcile their religion with another people's separate religion without dismissing either as fake but that's too complicated to get into in the author's notes).

If you're looking for myths, has some pretty entertaining retellings on the 'Smorgasboard of Myths' page - just scroll down and look for the Native American tab. Coyote's not in all of them, but he's in at least a few.