(Untitled)

[leucemic_god]

Date: March 14, 2003
Place: Manor Grounds
Status: Public (Loki, Phanuel - Complete)
Summary: Loki practises, but is distracted

Comments

[gilded_voice]

Phanuel checked once more that he'd got everything necessary before heading outside. He'd done what he could to check War's bow without using it; now it was time to test it out. He didn't think he'd want to use it that much himself, though- it was roughly his height, and he hadn't made much use of bows lately. He didn't think he'd be using this one much, either. Just long enough to test it.

He set up a target, put the bracer on, stepped back and aimed. The first release went badly, but that was his own fault. Phanuel retrieved the arrow before he could forget where it had fallen and aimed again. The release this time was better, but the arrow was decidedly off-target, falling into bushes rather than hitting the target. Phanuel muttered to himself and went after it.

[leucemic_god]

Loki was deep in thought barely paying any attention to where he going until there was a sudden hissing sound and the bush next to him shook as something long and fast shot through it and past him brushing his front leg.

For a heartbeat Loki just stared at the arrow that dove into the ground somewhere to his right and remained still, then he became aware of the stinging pain in his left leg.

He yelped. Mostly out of surprise and indignation, of course. He'd suffered worse wounds in his long existence. This was merely a scratch. But damn, the attempt to put weight on the paw hurt!

[gilded_voice]

Phanuel wasn't exactly being quiet as he went after the arrow, but he froze when he heard the yelp. "Oh, mercies," he muttered, and advanced more carefully. He spied the fox soon after, and stopped again, considering. A wild fox wasn't likely to let him near it- he didn't have any particular talent with animals, though he liked them well enough-, and it seemed doubtful that it would be tame. "Hey," he murmured, looking for the arrow. It didn't seem to be stuck in the fox, which was good- maybe it wasn't hurt too badly, or had just been surprised. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry."

[leucemic_god]

Loki glared at the man ... Or was that another Judeo-Christian god? He couldn't be sure. The being felt Judeo-Christian, but not as strongly as the other gods he'd met, but he didn't seem to be a human either, so probably not a priest.

Maybe a half-god or hero? He was practising archery which did seem like a very heroic thing to do.

He yipped and held out his paw accusingly, but didn't change back. After all heroes could get quite dangerous and shifting would exhaust him.

[gilded_voice]

Except that heroes probably tended to have aim a bit better than Phanuel's. Unless they were just starting or hadn't been doing so in a while, but that didn't seem to be talked about so much.

Phanuel stared at the fox for a moment. He was sure that that wasn't normal fox behaviour, unless there was something funny going on in the neighbourhood (which he rather doubted). Well, there were a number of foxes that turned up in various tales…

More importantly, it did seem to be hurt. Not badly, but still. "I'm very sorry about this," he said, patting his pockets- more for the look of it- then pulling out a roll of gauze. "I assure you, I wasn't aiming for you at all."

[leucemic_god]

Loki awkwardly hopped towards the stranger on three legs. He didn't seem to be of the fox hunting kind at least, but how would he react to a Norse god suddenly appearing in front of him?

He needed to talk to the hero, find out who he was. For that he needed to be human.

On the other hand the hero might be more inclined to give something away, if he thought Loki was merely a tame fox.

Getting back to the manor would be easier in human shape where he wouldn't need to use the injured limb to walk. Unless of course he could convince the hero to carry him ....

Loki whined and gently licked the hero's leg.

[gilded_voice]

Phanuel stared at the fox. He was sure that that really wasn't normal behaviour, even for the sort of foxes who appeared in tales. …well, most of the time. "Well," he said, rather at a loss. "It doesn't look too bad, but I'd imagine that that should be treated with some disinfectant, just in case. There's probably some up at the house." He considered. "Do you think you'd be able to walk there?"

[leucemic_god]

Loki whined some more and made a big show of limping a few steps, then let himself drop to the ground and looked pleadingly at the hero.

Surely the hero would feel sorry for him now and pick him up. Maybe he could even get some petting or scratching out of this?

[gilded_voice]

Apparently not, then. Or the fox didn't want to, which Phanuel didn't have a real problem with. Less chance of something getting in, then. "All right, all right." He tucked the roll away in a pocket and went to pick up the fox. Working out how to hold it in a reasonably dignified way was the worse part, he decided, and scratched behind one ear as apology.

[leucemic_god]

Loki leaned into the scratch closing his eyes in bliss. Ah, this was the life! All in all the hero seemed quite friendly and gentle, but one shouldn't trust strange Judeo-Christians at the very first meeting, should one?

He was determined to remain cautious ... while getting as many scratchings and pettings as possible out of this little accident.

[gilded_voice]

The fox seemed fairly comfortable, so Phanuel headed back to the house, and for the closest bathroom to the entrance that he knew of (on the assumption that the fox probably wouldn't want to stay inside too long). Once there, he took out a towel, laid it on the floor as best as he could with one hand, and put the fox down, offering another scratch before turning to the cupboard and looking for disinfectant and cotton buds. Finding them took only a few moments, but Phanuel thought that it might be worth adding a charm to help the scratch heal, in case the fox decided to leave immediately after the disinfectant. That done, he turned back to the fox and knelt down. "I'd just like to dab this on the scratch," he said. "It mught sting a bit, but I'm sure you can handle that."

[leucemic_god]

It was quite comfortable being carried, though the jostling whenever the hero needed a hand free was a little annoying. Loki protested being put down with a soft whine, but stayed on the towel obediently. He was a helpless injured animal after all.

The disinfectant from the bathroom worried him a little. Was the hero sure this was meant to be put on wounds and not just for cleaning the bathroom?

Of course he could handle a little stinging, but he wanted more pettings, so he put his snout on the hero's knee and whined.

[gilded_voice]

Phanuel patted the fox's head. "It's just to make sure it doesn't get infected," he said. "It'd be worse if it did, though I wonder…" He shook his head, and poured a little of the antiseptic onto the cotton bud, then reached for the left paw for a better angle at which he could dab it on.

[leucemic_god]

Loki understood that just fine, but hey, he could clean his own wound later, if the hero didn't do it. He couldn't pet himself.

He held out his paw obediently and did his best to look cute.

[gilded_voice]

Well, Phanuel had caused it, so he felt bound to do something, more or less. He dabbed the antiseptic onto the wound, and tried to keep as much of himself out of biting range as he could. Cute as the fox might be, it was still a fox.

[leucemic_god]

The antiseptic stung, but Loki had dealt with worse. He squirmed and whimpered for sympathy, though.

While it was very nice to be cared for, things weren't quite going according to plan, though. The hero still hadn't revealed anything other than his first aid skills and general animal-friendliness. Perhaps it would be best to just reveal himself and talk to him after all?