The Witch's Familiar

Chapter 54

Loki continued to hold you cuddled close and protected to his chest. "Sure looks like a cat to me..." Loki commented innocently and scratched behind your ears, making you purr. "Sounds like a cat too," he added as he stepped further into the room where the team was standing and staring.

"Play nice, Lokitty," you scolded him in cat. You had a feeling you were going to very quickly miss having the ability to talk to the team. Human communication was not easy as a cat. At least you could talk to Loki and Thor. And Loki was doing everything in his power to make sure you were safe and comfortable. He'd promised to take care of you and he was keeping that promise.

He'd also proposed, which was something you were going to have to process at some point.

But you didn't have to process anything yet except that your friends were gathering around Loki and Thor and staring at you in Loki's arms. You mewed softly and curled tighter in Loki's grip. "Back off," Loki snarled at the team. They all stiffened at his tone and Loki had to work to get ahold of his temper and not kill the team. "And we will explain what happened,"

"Where is Y/N?" Stark demanded, always willing to step up to the battlefield wherever it presented itself.

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. Thor placed a hand on his shoulder to remind Loki to behave. Loki huffed at the behavior and shrugged out of Thor's grip. He went to sit on your favorite couch and set you gently on his lap. The team took their usual spots around the common room and looked at Loki and Thor expectantly. You curled in Loki's lap while he explained your entire trip to the team and your interactions with the Cursemonger. The team listened with rapt attention, hanging onto every detail to try to understand all of the magic that was involved.

"So... she's stuck like this?" Cap asked hesitantly. He hated when he felt out of the loop with modern things and discussing magic always made him feel even more out of the loop, despite that it wasn't a modern thing at all.

Loki inclined his head. "Until her soul heals from losing such a strong familiar and from the ordeal with the with hunters," he explained again. He tried to be patient with Cap, though you could see it was difficult on him. Patience wasn't one of Loki's virtues.

"And when will that be?" Clint asked stupidly.

You huffed and rolled your eyes. Loki petted you to calm you. "It will take as long as it takes," he replied gently. "And I will love and care for her every step of the way. Y/N will be my bride after all," Loki added with a smirk to get a rise out of the team. He'd left your engagement out of the original report.

"She'll be what?!?!" demanded the team and Loki grinned as he got to tell them all about how he had proposed and you said yes.

*

Loki took you to his own room that night so you could sleep curled up on one of his pillows. You were safe there and Loki petted you until you fell asleep.

The next morning, he agreed to take your classes at the Academy and showed up outside the wards with you perched on his shoulder. The staff let him in without question and he taught your classes with ease, explaining to the students what had happened to you. His lectures were mostly about the responsibilities witches had when they had a familiar and the power of the bond between them. He lectured on what the witch gained from the familiar, and vice versa. And he lectured on the after effects of that bond being broken.

It was a poignant lesson to all of the young students and one they took to heart. You saw it in their eyes, and felt it when they all came to pet you on their way out of the class.

At the end of the day, while Loki was walking out of the Academy so you could head home, you felt something that was so familiar. Almost a call, but not quite. A memory, an important feeling.

No. Not again. Not so soon.

It couldn't be.

You jumped down from Loki's shoulder. "Magelet?" Loki asked, concerned. You ignored him and ran after the pulling call. "Y/N!" Loki called and ran after you, which wasn't as easy as it sounded. You were small and there were quite a lot of students in the hallway.

Loki ducked and dodged them as he chased after you, determined not to lose you in the crowd. Some of the students laughed, but he ignored them. You were his priority.

You skidded to a halt in front of a room on the ground floor of the Academy. One with an outdoor access. You padded into the room, past the other cats, owls, ravens, the couple of dogs in the room.

None of them were the cause of that feeling.

None until you were standing in front of a podium. You looked up at a nest on top and stared in shock.

It couldn't be.

Not again.

There was no way.

But the shape of the egg was unmistakeable. As was the feel of its inhabitant.

Sera was here. And something about her still called to you, even being reborn.