(no subject)

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Time: September 23, 2000
Place: Hallway
Status: Public (Anyone, please?)
Summary: Bast is looking for Adam. She's failing miserably.


Bast is... annoyed. It's an unusual feeling for her, although silmilar ones such as confusion, for example, have become old friends of late.
She never realised how easy it was to get lost in this place.
She does have a mental map of it, of course, but it's feeds-with-snake's and therefore full of places that are too small for her to fit in this shape and areas that if it was an actual map would probably be marked 'here be dragones'. In short, the kitten doesn't know much. And it all looks so different at this level...
She knows where she's meant to be going, of course - overhearing Uriel's frequent directions at the front desk, back when she was in full cat-shape, and seeing the angel's rather impressive sketches for the same - but it's very difficult. Everything looks the same when your eyes don't really register colour, and the directions never included smells.
There's someone coming down the hallway towards her, and she stops them with a nevous Mrrp? //Excuse me? I'm bit lost. Could you possibly gimme a hand?//

Comments

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki jumped. He'd been listening for steps on his way back from the library, but Bast walked as silently as ... well, a cat. No big surprise actually.

He took a deep breath. The kitty wasn't an enemy either, though it was a little disappointing to see that she'd changed out of her most petable shape. She was so nice and warm and soft in her cat form.

"Ouch," he complained, though not very forcefully. "Can't you talk out loud like everybody else? I happen to have two hands free. Where would you like me to scratch?"

This shape might not be as petable as the other one, but it was still furry enough to be attractive.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Bast grinned briefly. She liked Loki. He had a tendency to remind her of a less neurotic and psycotic version Seth. Then she meowed and flicked her tail and ears, meaning Not unless you can speak cat - I've got the wrong vocal chords .

Then she cocked her head to one side. If the god could understand feline, which was unlikely, it would make things alot easier for both of them.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki did not understand feline, not in the way Pestilence spoke ratian at least, but he did like animals and had been a cat often enough to know what it felt like. He could interpret their behaviour at least as well as most human cat-owners.

And right now he'd offered a scratch and Bast hadn't given any sign of aversion. He cautiously stretched out his hand to see whether she'd hiss or duck away, if he tried to touch her cheek. Cats, he knew, liked to greet by rubbing their cheeks against you. As a bonus cat cheeks were wonderfully soft to the touch.

Plus anything that would distract Bast from realising that he didn't use to get headaches from mindspeak when they'd last met in America. That had been a long time ago, though. Maybe she wouldn't remember.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Smiling, Bast rubbed up against Loki's knuckles, purring. It was nice to find someone who knew about cats. Then she stepped away, watching him.

She didn't - really didn't - want to hurt him, knowing full well that it couldn't help whatever was making him sick - he stank of illness - but it was the only way to get him to understand. So she 'spoke' as gently as possible, the equivelent of a whisper. //I don't suppose you'd know anything about shapeshifting, would you?//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Ah, nice and soft! Oh how he loved cat fur!

The sudden spike of his headache quickly brought him back to the situation at hand, though.

"You're joking, right?" He couldn't believe she'd even ask such a question. "I know everything about shape shifting, of course. I ... I just can't at the moment, you see. It has something to do with the powers around here," he lied even though the kitty lived with Uriel and probably knew anyway. Then again Uriel had promised not to tell.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Belated memories of old stories made her realise how stupid her question sounded. She covered quickly with a brief purr-chuckle, but her tail lashed angrily. There was an almost audible snap. She was tired of being Miss Nice-Kitty.

//I thought you were good at lying? You stink of illness, Loki. If I can 'shift - although - I'm not much good at it, then you probably can when you're fit enough to. //She put an arm over his shoulder, and rubbed her cheek against his, hard enough to feel teeth under the skin. She'd forgotten what it was like to have the Sekhmet - the lioness part of her nature come out.

//Poor boy.// She hissed, eyes flashing as she sort out secrets. //Brother's left and pack's turned on you. Hrrrm? Sickness eating you up inside, but pride's making it worse. Ask and ye shall receive, but if you don't ask you shan't receive...//

Her lips drew back over her teeth as she stepped away, panting. //It's driving me insane. I can't stay like this. Help me.//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki stiffened. It wasn't the teeth, he liked things with fangs, but they were much more pleasant when they walked on four paws and didn't talk. Hybrid creatures like this, though, lost some of that animal charm and the things she knew! It was a much worse threat than teeth or claws ever could make and one he was no longer strong enough to respond to. No, he could not risk a fight with Bastet.

He ducked out of her grip.

"And how do you know it's not this place causing you to get stuck? You only have those three shapes, so perhaps it takes less for you to use those well traveled paths. I have thousands of shapes, but that means more of an effort in steering the shifting and I can't do it here."

"And why should I help you, even if I could?" he snapped. "Just go somewhere out of town and try shifting back to kitty there and leave me alone. Bet that'll solve your problem." He started to walk towards his room. Best get back in there and lock the door before anybody else caught him.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Bast shut her eyes and took a few deep breaths, planning to count to ten before going after Loki.

One nile-crocodile, two nile-crocodile, three - screw it. She never was much good at counting. A few steps and she was beside the god, tail dragging apologetically.

//I'm sorry.// She told him sincerly, giving him 'kitten eyes' for full effect. //I'm really, really, really sorry. I just - it's driving me insane. Completely. I'm scared of going the same way as Horus and I promised Uriel I wouldn't leave and I can't speak human like this or go after anyone and everytime I try to shift either way I just go back to this and it hurts...//

She slumped down against the wall, not even looking at him. //I can't stay like this.//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki hesitated. She was a really cute kitty when she was in what he considered her proper shape, but she knew his secret and she could tell others. He wasn't sure how to help her, though. If he'd been healthy, he could have demonstrated turning into a cat and compared notes, but shape changing normally wasn't a very conscious act for him. He couldn't imagine what Bast was doing wrong.

Unless maybe she was trying too hard?

"You don't have to go far," he offered. "I just don't know how far the manor's influence stretches. Maybe it's enough, if you just leave the grounds. Go for a walk, find a nice sunny patch, relax and change. If that doesn't work, you could take the bus to Upper Tadfield and change there, then come back."

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Despite herself, Bast giggled. It sounded like a hiccupy purr and had a slightly hysterical edge to it. //Can you just imagine the looks on the poor humans faces if I got on a bus like this? They'd either go mad, call the police or all get struck down by Sunnydale Syndrome! Hrrm...your advice sounds right though. Maybe I have been too jumpy. Any idea where I could borrow some clothes? Uri's got some, but they're all maternity wear.//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

She had a point there.

"Well, you could definitely take the bus back as a cat, but maybe it's better, if you ask somebody with a car to drive you," he suggested. "I know some people here have cars." Not John or Uriel, though. That much he was sure of and he wasn't going to send poor innocent Bast to Crowley.

"Or you could dress up as a very conservative Moslem woman. They hid their faces all the time." He smiled at the kitty his earlier fear almost forgotten. "As for clothes, just ask Uriel. She can conjure them. The only thing I could lend you is a spare t-shirt with oil paint stains."

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Bast stood up, stretching, and smiled back at Loki, able to grasp some sembelance of control now and feeling like she wouldn't attack anyone randomly...at least for a while. //Could I borrow the T-shirt? I don't wanna bother Uri. It seems all I seem to do is ask her conjure stuff, and after she gave me this collar...//

She fiddled with the bell on the soft gold leather band. //...it seems kinda rude to ask for more.//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki hesitated, but then gestured invitingly towards his door.

"If you're sure you want it," he said with a slight shrug. "It's very ... colourful, though. I've been meaning to ask Uriel to clean it for me. Can't seem to keep my clothes in order when Odin isn't around."

He was truly lucky that both his siblings were so good at cleaning spells.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Bast's smile widened gratefully. She tapped the side of her head. //Thanks. And colour shouldn't really be a probelm - don't see it too well with these eyes, anyway. //

She patted him on the arm. //And again, I'm really sorry for losing control on you there. But don't worry, really. I'm a goddess of secrets, not gossip. Lips zipped and key thrown away, see?//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"Yes, but others can see it just fine," Loki pointed out. "Odin always says I shouldn't run around with paint stains all over me."

When he wasn't trying to avoid attracting attention Loki didn't really get why, but Odin knew a lot more about proper dress than he did.

He gave Bast a sideward glance. No, he did not trust her to keep his secret, but ...

"Uriel and I have a deal, you know. I keep her secret and she keeps mine. Tell my secret to anyone and I have no more reason to keep hers. She tells me it could mean her death or that f her baby, if anybody finds out." It was an empty threat and Loki knew it. He had by now accepted that he couldn't bring himself to harm Uriel or her baby, though he wasn't going to tell Bast that part.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Bast nodded seriously, and raised a paw. //May all my fur or hair fall out and all my clothes disappear so I get hypothermia should harm ever come to you, uri, or Bran by my telling. On Ra I swear.//

Her tail twitched nervously at the last part. Her uncle-cousin wasn't generally lentient about these matters. Sure, he had died in american...but what if he was still elsewhere?

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

Loki raised an eyebrow at the wording and the twitch, but didn't say anything. He'd always appreciated a clever twist of words and the oath would hopefully fulfill its purpose, though that was dependent on how exactly you defined harm.

"Okay, come on in then," he invited holding the door open for her. "But watch your step. There are still some empty bottles on the floor. Odin's decorating."

He wondered whether the room would offend her sense of smell as well. He could no longer smell smoke when he entered, it, but he was used to the smell and her nose was much finer. And then there was the fact that he hadn't opened the window in days. Ah well, she only wanted a shirt after all.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

Bast refained from wrinkling her nose as she stepped over the threshold, the smell of stale smoke and old alcohol assaulting her senses.

//It's okay.// she told him, looking around, //been in about far worse places than this. Now, where's that shirt so I can get out of your hair? Also, you seen Crowley about anywhere? Demon, bit taller than me, black hair?//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"I didn't want to clean up, because ... Well, they're Odin's bottles and it's actually Odin's room. He might miss them when he returns." Yeah right.

"Anyway, the shirt's right here," Loki said opening his backpack. Bast's next question stopped him mid-digging, though. "Crowley? What do you want with that monster?"

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

//He's a monster?// Bast asked blankly, suprised, then shrugged. //Oh well. Seemed nice enough when I met him at the barbeque, and he takes good care of feeds-with-snake - uh, Chicago. So whatever he does that makes him a monster to you's out of my judgement, really. What does he do, drink blood or something?//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"He murders defenceless animals!" Loki complained rubbing his temples in the hope that that would at least make the headache more bearable. "First he threatened to burn Freki and Geri and then he told me he kills animals with a thought. He might have seemed nice when you were in almost human shape, but please don't go near him as a kitty."

Maybe he should go with her when she changed after all? The headache would be almost impossible to bear and he wasn't sure how far his strength would last, but anything was better than her going with Crowley.

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

//Right...and did you actually see him do any of this - er, horrible stuff?// Bast asked, ears twitching. She didn't ask that killing with a single thought sounded dead boring, or that setting fire to the wolves sounded really fun.

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"Not yet, luckily," Loki admitted. "But he's what the Judeo-Christians call a demon. It's their job to do terrible things. And he meant it, I know he did. Please kitty, be careful."

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

//Sure.// Bast grinned. // This kitten has claws, you know. I'm not totally defenceless - and please don't call me kitty.//

//Shirt,// She added, tail flicking upwards a little. // Then I can stop giving you a headache, yeah?//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I'd never be foolish enough to think any cat defenceless," Loki assured her. "But what can even the sharpest claws in the world do against one who can kill with a single thought? He'd kill you before you notice his attack. There are some terrible powers afoot in this building and some of them might well be more than any god can handle."

"Right, shirt." He pulled it out of the backpack and flung it at Bast wondering whether she'd actually stoop to wearing it.

Some oil paint stains might have been a slight understatement. According to Loki's memory it had once been a green t-shirt with a rather nice battle axe wielding barbarian on that could almost have been a Viking, though Loki of course knew the difference. Now green was probably the least represented colour on it and the barbarian was almost completely covered in random splashes of colour.

Loki shrugged. Bast probably wouldn't have liked the picture anyway. Most likely Uriel would have to miracle it off along with the paint, but he didn't think he'd miss it. Maybe he could even convince the not-god to put Sleipnir on there instead?

[first-catwoman.livejournal.com]

//And you reckon the kid - Adam, right? - would allow any of that sorta stuff? I havn't even spoken to him yet and I know that he wouldn't. // Bast shrugged, and almost absently batted the T-shirt out of the air, barely looking at it.

But she smiled. // Thanks. It's really annoying when people start thinking of cats as little fluffy things they can play with and then ignore when they get bored of them. Really puts a kink in my tail. //

She turned to go, adding over her shoulder, //And thanks for the T-shirt too. I owe you one, okay? See ya later, maybe.//

[leucemic-god.livejournal.com]

"He's another dangerous one. Claims he brought us all here and none of us ever noticed his influence. Do you realise what it would take to influence Odin all the way across the pond and not even let him notice? I don't trust that kid." No, he wasn't going to warn Bast away from Adam as well. He wanted to, but it wouldn't go over well. "And I don't like him," he added instead.

With Loki not trusting and not liking weren't necessarily connected in any way. Some of his best four legged friends weren't trustworthy in the least.