The Witch's Familiar

Chapter 6

 You were plagued by nightmares that night. Your brain had helpfully decided that showing you every single possible negative outcome of your night at the club was the best way to deal with the situation.

Stupid brain.

So your dreams were filled with fear, death, and pain, and you couldn't wake.

Suddenly the dreamscape changed. You were sure you were still dreaming where there was a kiss on your forehead, soft cold lips gentle against your skin. You were extra sure you were dreaming the cool strong arms wrapping around you, holding you safely cradled against a cool chest while you slept. "Those men will not bother you ever again," a sweet honeyed male voice with a wonderful accent. Gods, your brain was doing a wonderful job creating this imaginary man... too bad this was a dream and he wasn't real. "Sleep, love. You're safe. nightmares cannot harm you while I am here." This was a dream already, but still, you listened to the words, relaxing further into a peaceful sleep.

*

When you woke there was, unsurprisingly, no sign of the imaginary man your brain had dreamed up during the night. There was a disheveled Lokitty in your arms who looked like he'd been squashed like a well-loved stuffed animal all night. You laughed and kissed the top of his head. "Sorry, Lokitty. Bad dreams. You should've just left when I started hugging you too tight," you reminded him as you sat up cross-legged on your bed, settling the cat in the circle of your legs. He mrowed indignantly, seeming grumpy that you'd even suggest that he leave. Typical cat would only leave when he decided he wanted to. You summoned a cat brush and began brushing out the mess Lokitty's fur had become. Nearly the second the brush touched him he turned into a purring melted puddle of happy cat. You smiled and brushed him much longer than he needed just to listen to his purrs.

Eventually you did have to stop. You had things to do today. "I'm going shopping after breakfast. You're welcome to come, unless you'd rather stay here and annoy Clint. I think he's working on the AC before summer hits. And of course, when Tony designed this place he made it so the only way to get to the AC for maintenance was through the air vents. I think he did that just to give Clint an excuse to be in there." You used magic to change into jeans and a t-shirt with your superhero logo on it, which was uncreatively your witch's hat.

Lokitty leapt lightly into your arms and you settled him on your shoulder. He licked your ear and you scratched behind his ears as you left the room to go find breakfast. You grinned when you made it downstairs and saw that the entire team had decided to wear their superhero logo shirts today. "Mrrt," grumbled the Lokitty when he saw them.

"What? Are you feeling left out?" you asked him as you set him on the table. You drew your wand from its usual hiding spot as a bracelet on your wrist and waved it over the cat. A moment later his golden horned helmet was on his head, shrank and modified to fit a cat head of course. You smirked and took a picture of him preening.

"Kid, I made pancakes!" Clint called from the kitchen.

"I am over 400 years older than you! I'm not a kid!" you called back, but went to the kitchen to get a plate of pancakes. Lokitty followed you meowing plaintively. "I know, I know. I think every single person here knows that pancakes are your favorite," you told him exasperated as you also grabbed his plate from Clint. "I have your plate right here. Hold your horses," you scolded the impatient fluffy god. "If you trip me, you won't get any," you grumbled at him as you had to fight the cat twining around your legs on the way back to the table. At least he'd vanished the helmet before he impaled your legs on the horns.

You set his plate next to yours. Clint had cut up his pancakes into kitty sized pieces for him. The team really had warmed up to Lokitty over the last few months. Loki was up on the table happily devouring pancakes a moment later.