Nothing Left To Fear

24

Loki doesn't go to the mess when he shows up, he appears in Ellen's kitchen surrounded by cakes, chocolate fountains and milkshakes. Yet he still reaches into her cupboards for the mead she made on whim over a year ago. The first time he did this Ellen shot him, now she doesn't waste the ammo, just lifts one of the pastries he's brought with him and leaves the room to find Dean. Say what she will about the god, and she has- at length- he creates good cakes. His dog, Fenrisulfr, is a Jack Russell bitch that is so feed on cake and candy that she makes a sort of huffing wheeze when she moves, Ellen takes the dog with her, despite it's glares, knowing that this will be the only time it gets exercise. Loki might love the dog, but he really doesn't have the first idea how to take care of it.

She doesn't have to tell Dean, he sees the dog and makes that long suffering noise that always accompanies Loki's appearance, he is as regular as the tide the start of every month, sprawled out in the window seat in Ellen's kitchen, getting drunk on her mead. When he is pressed he says he comes here for someone to walk his little girl.

The dog waddles alongside Ellen shooting her the occasional stink eye as the few kids that seem ever present in the camp, hunter kids left somewhere safe and stable, scream and dive for the dog to play. Ellen has said more than once that the dog is welcome, it's her owner that she wants the hell out of here.

Dean limps up the incline to the old house, it's been two months but he's still leaning heavily on his cane. He'll bluster and the god will snark, eventually leave, his purpose with Dean, whatever it is, done for the month. Then he'll play with the children.

Dean goes in, settles himself down on Ellen's favourite kitchen chair, the one with the crochet blanket draped over the back, and accepts the coffee Castiel gives him. Cho is on alert and will be here as soon as he can, because Dean can rarely deal with Loki without back up. Although it's mostly to hold Dean back.

"So," Loki drawls, he has a sharp face marred by a semi perpetual smirk, "I hear you're looking for Gods, I'm wounded, here I am, regularly, why I'm like a member of the family, and you don't ask me."

Dean puts his coffee cup on the table, ignoring the large pile of sugar and butter cookies glistening on the plates in front of him. "And why do you think that is?" he asks.

"My winning charm?" the god pops a cocoa dusted bonbon into his mouth, chewing slowly, "my sparkling wit? my amazing good looks?"

"Your modesty?" Castiel adds darkly, before jumping up to sit on the kitchen counter, a thing that Ellen hates but he does regardless.

Loki washes the candy down with a mouthful of mead as Dean speaks. "You're a god of chaos and destruction, you are meant to destroy the world, to feed the sun to your," he takes a breath making his inflection sarcastic, "dog."

Loki laughs, "who better to help then?" his grin is razor sharp, "after all who has the most to lose if Azazel destroys the world than those of us who were meant to do it anyway?" He empties the glass of mead, "you westerners are so arrogant, which is also reason enough for me, nothing I like more than taking arrogant pricks down a peg or two, why frankly it's even in my job description."

"What do you want, Loki?" Dean's leg hurts, he's not in the mood for this, Loki likes to beat around the bush, to belabor the point just for mischief. "You show up to play with the kids, we all know that, you get them wired on sugar and then have them chase whichever form you think is best until they fall asleep where they stand, so why pretend hurt at being left out of the plans made by the grown ups?"

Loki laughs, "fine then, hang yourself on the tree for the All-father, but he's not nearly as much fun as me, there are lots of gods like me, agents of chaos." He carefully enunciates the words, shaping them deliberately. "Sure we don't have those altruistic reasons some of us have," he winks, "but we don't like being usurped any more than the God-Kings. I like humanity, it amuses me," he pours more mead into the glass, "if Azazel destroys the world then I won't have candy to eat and kids to torment, and how can I feed Fenrisulfr the sun if a demon," there is hate in that word, "pulls it down first? Ask the warrior gods, you might get an answer, ask the destroyer gods and you'll get your apocalypse on our terms, not His."

Loki stands up, sloughing off his denim jacket and then stretches his arms, "now, I am going to play tag with the munchkins, you know where I am when you change your mind." He leans forward and into an animal shape, a sort of were cat with no teeth or claws, large expressive green eyes in a black face that is almost draconic, and a long lashing tail. The kids scream with joy when they see him, and then jump all over him, this is why Dean doesn't ward against the God even though he's pretty sure he could, because Hunter brats don't get much, but they get this, and when he's gone, the sweet shop he's left behind.