With Griffin back and the heavy weight of an impending favor looming above her head, Kari was finding it difficult to concentrate at work for the rest of the day. In the end Prue had stopped her, too distracted to notice she was pouring ale into a warriors helmet and not his mug, and felt her forehead several times for signs of illness. She was quite well however, but that did not stop her from being sent to her room to rest like a small child. Really she should have been grateful for the time off but it only allowed room for more thinking.

That morning in the library was like a horrifying blur. Streams of words, insults and physicality that she was slowly coming to grips with being Loki's personality. He was the god of mischief, sure, but why did that mischief move so swiftly from playful to evil like a revolving door? Was he bad? Would Odin allow his son to be bad?

She was sitting on the floor in the centre of her room by now, sketching a picture of Heimdall to try and steady her thoughts. A nowhere crush as the guardian was, there was something comforting in that knowledge especially when tied with this 'persuasion' thing. She hadn't managed to accidentally 'persuade' Heimdall into anything over the past few months; not even talking more than a handful of syllables when she visited and boy did she want him to pay her attention.

Maybe it didn't work the way she thought it did? People had been using persuasion to accomplish all sorts of things for millennia in various manners - dressing sexy, presenting facts and bribery to name a few. Odin certainly did not seem any different from the time she first met him to post-persuasion or Prue. If she had managed to use it on Loki that morning then wouldn't he have been different after he got off her? He was definitely still a dick and all three seemed to have thought it was there idea with reasonably thought out plans during and after; whether they were good for her or not.

No, the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed she was actually changing these people. It was more like she had focused their attention on a single path already within their mind and they had then found how best to follow it. When she had attempted to do the same to Griffin, getting him through the corridors, he knew not where he was going and so there was no path for her to persuade him to take. Like a sultry vixen strolling up to a man at the bar, on some level he has to want it for the persuasion to work. Still, it was cruel to coax out of someone what he or she may not truly desire; Odin was right on the account it was a power that should never be cultivated.

That aside, how had she managed to alter her cat into a man? Even Loki had been surprised when she made the claim; she was incapable in his opinion and also her own. On the flipside of the same coin, how had he known so quickly what the counter would be without ever having looked at the original magic? He was always studying those damn books before he did flashy things. Had he had something to do with it? The possibility was certainly available what with her having eaves dropped on him and disrupted his spider fun prematurely. He had plenty of reason to prank her but again he had also helped her turn the man back to a cat as a favor with a price. What was real in this whole mess?

"Urgh." She groaned, pushing her latest Heimdall drawing away from her.

Over the next few weeks, Loki had begun ordering her around like his personal slave. He would stop her in the corridors and make her carry items, even small ones like a button he'd remove from his own clothing, to wherever he was heading – taking the longest route. She brought him lunch every afternoon to the library, though he never so much as looked at her let alone thanked her for the service. It was as if he was letting her know how much he already owned her and just how more degrading the favor would be. Whatever, she was making sure to lick something random on his plate before it ever reached him as a silent protest.

When what she knew as June finally reared its head around Kari was at least starting to get used to the oddities her life was surrounded by. Then again her good mood could also be justified by the fact she had a day off. Oh and it was her birthday.

She was up early today, despite not needing to be awake for anything important, but Fandral had been filling her head for the last couple of days with grand plans. She was excited, she couldn't help it; a real birthday with real family and she was going to get to eat in the dining hall tonight instead of serving. Finally a chance to openly eat that premium cuisine instead of sneaking the odd bit now and then.

When someone started knocking on her door, she did not think twice about opening it – it was probably her grandfather or Prue after all. Oh how she wished she had pretended not to be in. It was a steward; more importantly it was Loki's steward, mostly in charge of keeping his rooms in order as she had come to understand. The man was mostly deaf and often wore the expression of someone long since seen reality – either why Loki trusted him touching his things or the reason for his ailments. What did the god of mischief want so early and when she wasn't even working?

She kind of had to go, just in case but more importantly because the steward was blanking her over pronunciation of 'no'. A sense of guilt lead her in step behind the servant, he would probably get in trouble if she did not come with him – also, getting the chance to tell Loki to politely go fuck himself was not worth missing. Still, it was strange when they passed the library and kept going all the way to the prince's rooms. Hopefully he wasn't going to ask her to dress him or worse.

They entered the too big main room; exactly the same as she had last seen it when previously sneaking in to prank the mischief-maker and went passed the bedroom towards the bathroom. Why were they heading there? Oh god, he didn't want to make her wash him did he? She was grimacing when the steward paused, indicating she enter before he turned tail and left on other business. Should she? Perhaps, she surmised, he was plotting a prank in there.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Kari knocked on the door and waited for a response to enter. Steam billowed out at her the instant she opened the door, momentarily blinding her from what lay within. She entered, closed the door behind her and began wafting the stench of whatever he was bathing in away from her nose. Oh yes, he was bathing but at least he had the courtesy to be lying up to his chin in a misty grey colored water.

He paid her no mind at first, lying there in a pool big enough to take on two or three more people at once – lucky bastard. It almost appeared he had dosed off, eyes shut and features perfectly relaxed but it was not the case.

"I am not having a bath with you if that's what this is." Kari broke the silence.

Loki cracked open an eye, giving her an un-amused glance before suddenly moving. At first she was sure he was getting out, her gaze flickering in a swinging motion around the room and back to him again not knowing whether to avert her gaze. As the water around him subsided he was now sitting, torso on display but nothing more as he ran his hands through his hair several times to keep it from his eyes. She was allowed to look at this right? Not as good as shirtless Thor but wet Loki was nothing to scoff at either.

"I have a task for you." He indicated for her to pass him something, on the counter besides her, she obliging by tossing him a cloth and soap.

"Was that it?" This really was one of his wind-ups.

"No." Cloth foamed he had started rubbing himself down with it causing her to believe for a strange moment that this was possibly some sort of bizarre Loki-peep-show birthday present.

"Ok… what are you doing?"

"You are aware of what bathing is?"

"Yes, but why am I here whilst you're getting down with the bubbles?"

"Must I really repeat myself?" He shook his head, disbelieving before smirking – possibly noting the way she was now an interesting shade of pink. "I have a task for you. You owe me after all and I always collect on what is owed me."

He was done with his sudding and now pointing at a large jug just behind him. She obliged him again; muttering to herself as she walked across the room to retrieve the item then tittered closer to the bath to hold the jug out to him. He ignored it, eyebrows raised as if the suggestion he rinse himself were preposterous. Whatever, all she had to do was throw some water over him a few times and that would be the end of it – no more looming favor. She got in closer, crouching slightly as she dipped the jug at the far end of the bath then lifted it out of the water and poured it over him not managing to look him in the eyes. This was so degrading, even for Loki, but at least he was enjoying it – his expression was one of amusement.

"Alright fine, we're done no more favor ok." She shuddered slightly as she finally got to put the jug back in its spot.

"That was not my task." He was laughing, at her, as usual.

"I really hope you-" She caught herself before adding the drowning part to that sentence. "-get to the point soon, it's my day off."

"I am informed you are dining with us tonight." He stood, climbing out of the bath to grab a towel as she squeaked and threw herself to face the wall so as not to see anything more than the flash of butt just glimpsed. "I want you to get close to my brother during the evening, sit with him if you can and then you will slip this," he was next to her now, wrapped in a towel and pushing a vial into her hand, "into his drink. If you can convince him to drink it in one go that would be best. Thor will gladly accept any challenge if presented with the opportunity."

"Are you…" She couldn't stop staring at the tiny vial in her hand, so small, so dangerous looking. "Are you asking me to poison your own brother?"

"A sleeping remedy, I assure you."

"Uh-huh." She followed him out of the bathroom, heading towards his bedroom now. "Why do I find that so hard to believe, liar? Why would you even want to drug your own brother anyway?"

"It will be fun." He shrugged – as in shrugged off his towel.

"Oh god…" Kari turned suddenly more embarrassed than she had been in a very long time indeed. "Stop doing that, you're going to give me a heart attack."