neutral_omens | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Time: September 14, 2000
Place: The Library
Status: Private (Mictain, Loki, Uriel) -- Complete
Summary: Making sure of a thing or two.

Mictain didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. The god was known for tricking and lying and cheating, so he suspected he had a fairly good reason to suspect his motivations.

Normally it wouldn’t have bothered him, no matter what Loki was planning to do – he might have even found it amusing, especially if the target was one of the Heavenly Host. However, the one he was currently messing with was Uriel. And, because at the moment anything involving Uriel involved her baby as well, he wouldn’t let the god do anything like the things he was so known for.

Mictain didn’t know why he cared, really. Well, other than that the child was indeed a perfect excuse to laugh at the whole Host of Heaven and tell them to fuck off. If an archangel had a child with a Horseman, what was left of their standards? And he had Fallen for loving another angel. Well, let’s see how they would react once the brat was born. They could ignore him all they wanted, but they hardly could ignore a half-angel bastard being born to Uriel, could they?

Perhaps, he thought, he just had too little to do. He no more had to protect Raphael, and even Neville had wandered off soon after they’d come to the Manor. He suspected the imp was still around somewhere, but apparently he no more needed Mictain’s protection now that he was under Adam’s influence. Maybe he was just too used to protecting someone, and the as-of-yet unborn child was the best candidate around.

Nevertheless, the one Uriel spent most time with was Loki. And Mictain was determined to find out just what the god was after.

With this in mind, he ~~stalked~~ followed the god around for a moment. And then, when he was sure the god was in the library with nobody else around, he decided it was time for a confrontation.

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Uriel laughed a bit, shaking her head. "Look, Loki, it would be so much easier to believe if he had actually had that sword of his," she said, smiling. "But as far as I saw, it was nowhere in sight. However," she then said, smiling even more, "I think it's very sweet of you to try to protect me like that. Very Viking-like, too. I bet Odin would have done exactly the same." Although most probably with better results.

Loki sighed. He'd hoped to make her laugh at him, yes, but it still hurt. She was humouring him like a child.

"No, Odin wouldn't have done the same," he admitted. "Odin would have been cool and sovereign and have had his spear on hand. He definitely wouldn't have freaked out and gone all animal on that Mictain guy."

Odin would have won and assured that Mictain never came close to Uriel again. That's what Odin would have done. He was a pathetic replacement. Just the abandoned, sick little brother.

"Well, Odin isn't here," Uriel said. "You are here and that's what matters." She hugged him. "And if anybody's worth going 'all animal' on, it's Mictain. He rarely listens to common sense so maybe a bit of animal instincts are just what is needed. Besides," she then added, "Odin confronting Mictain would have probably ended up with a big, bloody fight that would have resulted with them both being thrown out of the Manor."

"So we'd have gone somewhere else," Loki said a little wistfully. "All of us together. Maybe Odin would even have taken us home to his hall and the baby could have been born there and grown up like a real Viking."

Yes, so it was just a daydream, but it was nice.

"I'd have taught the kid to ride on Sleipnir and it would have played with the wolves and grown strong and courageous."

"For the baby to be raised to be a Viking, you would have to accept the fact that I'm a Viking by adoption, too," Uriel pointed out. "And if Odin truly is going to come back for me and the baby, you will just have to survive until then to teach it to ride Sleipnir and grow strong and courageous. I'm going to teach it in the use of knives and perhaps a sword, but I fear that if you want it to master the use of a spear you will have to teach it yourself."

Loki looked her up and down. He'd rarely seen a woman who looked less like a Viking. Besides he'd be dead long before the baby was born.

"Yeah, you're right. It wouldn't have worked," he agreed. "It was nice to imagine, though."

"So let's keep imagining." Uriel smiled. "And maybe, one day, the reality will be even better than what we have imagined." She wouldn't let Loki die. She couldn't.

"Imagining's all good and fine, but it won't bring Odin back and it won't heal me and it most of all won't turn you into a proper Viking," he snapped. "Somewhere it's all gone wrong. This world's gone wrong and Shadow's all wrong and Thor ... Well, Thor's just gone and that's wrong, too."

He didn't really understand what he meant himself. Maybe if he thought about it he would, though.

"Yes, this world is wrong," Uriel said. "I'm an archangel. I am not supposed to be carrying a bastard child for a retired horseman who doesn't even love me. I'm not supposed to call Viking gods brothers. And I'm definitely not supposed to be happy because I suspect my child is not an angel. But I am. This world is all wrong -- but maybe it will be right for my child."

Maybe she was getting the hang of this whole "hope" thing. She had never been too good with it, but reassuring somebody depressed who wasn't herself was good practice.

"It's not right for us, though," Loki countered. "I used to hang out with Thor when Odin wasn't around, or sometimes one of the others. Even Frey, if it had to be. But now there's only Balder and he isn't really Balder and Shadow ... Shadow travels alone. He's not like the rest of us."

He stopped to think for a moment.

"Do you think John likes to travel?" What a ridiculous thought. John was human. He didn't need a god for a partner.

"I wouldn't know. He has spent quite a lot of time here, though, so I guess at least for now he is not about to travel anywhere. Besides," Uriel then added, "before you are travelling anywhere, you have to recover."

She was right of course. His next trip would lead him into his daughter's realm. Maybe he'd find Thor there. Not Odin, though and not Balder either.

He put his hands on Uriel's belly hoping to feel the baby kick. How he wished he could hold the little one itself!

Uriel smiled faintly as Loki settled his hands on her stomach. He might occasionally pretend he didn't care, but it was quite clear that he was indeed interested in the baby. She just hoped he would live to see it after it had been born, too.

Perhaps the baby realized it was being observed from the outside, because it decided to kick towards Loki's hands. If he didn't feel that, it was a wonder.

Loki smiled and gently patted the place where he'd felt the movement.

"Hello, little should-have-been-a-Viking," he told the baby earnestly. "Now you try and grow up strong and tough for your uncle Loki, you hear."

Of course the baby couldn't hear him and it'd probably be a tiny thing like its mother. Most likely Uriel would train it to be honest and quiet as well, but hopefully it would at least learn how to fight.

"I'm sure he will," Uriel said quietly. "And with some luck it'll even learn to lie like its uncle Loki." Of course, as an angel, she shouldn't have approved of lying. However, it would have been quite hypocritical not to want her child to learn to lie when she was purposefully trying to learn the skill herself. It would be useful to be able to lie, she suspected, and if it wasn't an angel, what would be the point of burdening it with pure angelic morals? Of course she wouldn't teach it to fight and rape and kill, as seemed to be acceptable according to the Viking moral code, but surely a little lie every now and then couldn't hurt anyone.

Loki smiled, but shook his head.

"Few people can, you know. It's a special talent. Even Odin's sons never got anywhere close." Though Odin was good at it.

He shouldn't think of Odin so much. It was better to concentrate on the baby.

"They were all excellent warriors, though and you do have a chance to be that, too," he told Uriel's belly.

"He definitely can be better than me, though," Uriel said. "And I don't doubt reaching your skill level would be nigh impossible, but at least I hope he won't be feeling nervous when he introduces himself by a fake name in the age of six thousand."

She then whacked Loki over the head -- very gently, though. She didn't want to really hurt him, after all. "If you think my child is not going to be a warrior, you are very, very wrong," she huffed. "And he will be excellent at it. I'll make sure about that."

"I said he had a chance, didn't I?" Loki pouted at her. Hadn't he been mistreated enough for one day?

"Aw, don't be like that." Uriel grinned. "I'm not sure whether I understand this family thing right, but as far as I know, little sisters' sole purpose of existence is to annoy their older brothers."

Loki thought about that.

"Not really," he decided after a moment. "Little sisters are there to be protected and to remind their brothers of their duty to protect and avenge family members. If they have no wife or mother they run their brothers' household. ... The Norse women rule the house you see, while the men are in charge of the fields. They have control of the key and they run everything when the men are away."

"If the little sister has no wife or mother, or if the brother doesn't?" asked Uriel, trying to cheer Loki up a bit. "Do please think before you speak. And since you have no household that I know of, nor is there anybody to be avenged, I have nothing else to do than annoy you. And as for the being protected part," she added, "well, if that's what got you biting Mictain..."

Loki rolled his eyes. "The brother of course. Little sisters can't have wives, they can only have husbands. And you do have something to do. You get to remind me of my duty to protect the family honour."

"Mictain? Is that what his name is?" He grinned at Uriel. "He tastes good."

"Oh, sorry." Uriel grinned. "I doubt you need reminding, though. You seem to remember it better than me -- when you are not convinced that you will die before you can do anything worthwhile to protect it.

"Mictain, yes. Formerly known as Michael. Even as an angel, he was dangerous, and I doubt that has changed to the better since his Fall. What business did you have with him, anyway? He's bad news. It's the best to just stay away from him."

Even as an angel, he was dangerous

Loki tilted his head. "Dangerous, eh? I think, I might come to like him." he decided. "Once he stops threatening me, that is."

"He threatened you?" Uriel frowned. "Well, not that that surprises me, but he usually does have his reasons, no matter how petty they may be. You still haven't told me just what you had to do with him, anyway. I'm not about to believe he came to the library just for some leisure reading." Under her breath, she added, "Sometimes I'm not entirely sure whether he can read at all."