"-Okay you two, that's more than enough." Johnny interrupted me about to compliment Isabelle for being so helpful, and I glared at him.

She cleared her throat primly. "Yes! Now, if you plan on contacting Loki, you can find her usually at her headquarters, in the south end of the city, or out about in the city proper."

"Her? Loki is male, isn't he?" Johnny asked.

She shook her head. "Not in this dimension. The gods mostly changed their physical appearances when they came to this realm. Hephaestus is also a woman."

I hummed slowly. "I see... well, as gods, they can choose any shape they please... not that it matters. Alright, we'll be going now. Thank you ever so much for your help, Miss Isabelle... you were most helpful. Though Oscar does take the cake at being simply , I'm sad to say." I teased gently.

She smiled, a small blush riding her cheekbones. "Yes... I'm happy to have been of service! Good luck, and if you need anything, I'm here!" She waved a little, and we walked out.

Johnny nudged my shoulder, chuckling, as the door closed behind us. "Lookit you! Already findin' plenty of women's that like the look of ye!"

I grinned. "Yeah, yeah. Says you, 'Mister Gyllenhaal'. Didja see how her eyes sparkled when you spoke to her? Hmph. Maybe it's because you're short, she clearly has a thing for that." I smirked at his blush, and Sadie glared at us both.

"You two stop that. It's no way for a man to behave. Now let's go get some rest at the Inn, and then tomorrow you'll apply for Loki's Familia." She huffed and grabbed us both, dragging us out of the guild, onto the street.

I blinked. "How the hell? We were on the second floor, right?"

"Optical illusion. You walked down a slope to get to that door." She snapped, clearly still annoyed.

"Awww don't be mad, Sadie! If Dotty isn't jealous, you shouldn't be." I reasoned.

Dotty looked over at me slowly from Sadie's shoulder, and blinked once, then simply stared.

"See? She's pissed, and so am I! You two-timing, no-good, annoying men!!!" Sadie grumbled.

I sighed. "For the last time... you don't have a claim to me, and Dotty has liked my girlfriends in the past, so clearly my getting a mate isn't a problem for her. So you can get over yourself." I poked Sadie's nose, and lifted Dotty onto my shoulder.

She wrapped her tail around me, and purred, kneading my shoulder.

Sadie huffed in annoyance, and we started walking again.

---

"I don't know if I expected the sun to be green, or there to be two moons, but I really felt like the world should be different here... yet it really isn't." I hummed.

Johnny nodded. "Yeah... it's just like being in a fairy-tale... magic and elves... I still can't get over my ears, man."

I chuckled. "Same." I tracked the movement of the sun as sunrise began, carefully counting the minutes before the morning bell.

"Trying to figure out the times? I asked Sadie. It's a 24 hour day, and a Seven Day Week, twelve months in a year." Johnny hummed.

I tsk'ed. "Thanks for that."

He chuckled. "If I wasn't here to ruin the fun, what fun would that be?"

I shook my head slowly. "Well, I'm going to go find a god to bless my soul." I crossed myself slowly, and he laughed raucously, slapping his knee as I grinned mischievously.

I grabbed the dagger that Sadie had lent me last night, and then stepped out of the small apartment/room we'd been given in the Inn that Apollo owned.

It was rather spacious, about 150 Square Feet, with two beds, a desk, and then a small bathroom area, with a toilet, a bathtub, and a sink, all surrounded by a thick curtain.

My walking at dawn didn't go unnoticed, I was sure, but I didn't care. I had nothing for anyone to steal, so it wasn't like anyone was going to rob me.

The Loki Familia was one of the biggest in the city, and so their headquarters was insultingly easy to find. The first time I saw a Harlequin, I stopped, and then shook my head, following the signs.

I stopped in front of the massive almost-Castle that had the Harlequin flags flying outside of it, and simply memorized it, for now.

The drawbridge was up, so there wasn't any way to cross the literal moat around it.

As if on cue, the bridge creaked, and slammed down, shaking the entire courtyard. I grinned, and stepped onto it, walking carefully around any cracks.

The planks under me cracked threateningly, and I leapt onto the solid wooden railing as the planks gave way, revealing crocodile-infested waters.

I reached the other side, and leapt off the railing, strolling forwards with a whistled tune upon my lips.

As I walked, I realized the traps were all, after the initial pitfall, meant to catch people who weren't walking straight towards the doors. In other words, sneaking around in Loki's garden wasn't really intelligent. Go figure.

So, I decided, if I walk straight forward, I will avoid almost all of the traps, as walking forward would be the most intelligent course.

But, also, this may be my audition into The Loki Familia... which would mean that the God of Tricks might not like someone who took the Straight and Narrow path...

I debated for a moment, and decided to simply avoid all the traps, but mark them out. That way, I proved that I knew were the traps were, and that I could avoid them, but I also proved I could go around them, should I chose to do so.

I walked down the straight path, and then worked my way back, leaving small likes of grass next to each tripwire, lever, pitfall, and, surprisingly enough, Bee Hives and Wasp Nests.

"Now that's evil." I chuckled, sitting on the front steps.

"Very interesting." A small, red-headed woman stood behind me, viewing the yard critically.

"Hello. I'm Xavier Dorian, and I'm looking to speak to Loki?" I held out a hand.

She smirked and shook my hand. "I see. I'll lead you to her, then."

"Great." I nodded, hiding my confusion. 'Does this woman think I don't realize she's Loki? Perhaps this is a trick... well, I'm not in the habit of ruining other people's tricks, so I'll play along...'

She lead me into the mansion, and up six flights of stairs, then into an office. She leapt into a tall, dark skinned woman's arms, and spoke loudly, not quite yelling. "Loooookiiiii we have a guest!!!"

The woman raised an eyebrow slowly, and then sighed, looking at me. "And you are?" She asked.

"Xavier Dorian... and you don't have to keep up the act, I was just trying not to ruin her fun." I smiled.

The smaller woman hummed and sat on the desk. "I see... you don't like messing with people?"

"I prefer people not to interfere with my own tricks, so I leave others to theirs, unless it interferes with me somehow." I shrugged.

She grinned evilly. "Perfect. I like him. You guys?"

I looked around, and saw a small blonde boy, two of the tall women with dark skin, a dwarf, two elves, and a blonde woman, who might be the boy's elder sister.

They each responded in a way that related their personalities, and I made sure to notice each one.

The boy simply nodded, going back to reading his book. His elder sister seemed to be interested, but faked apathy, shrugging. The dwarf grinned widely, speaking in a different language to the taller of the two elves, who smiled a little, and nodded. The smaller elf blushed, and covered her face, kicking the dwarf in his knee a few times to voice her displeasure.

The two tall women both laughed heartily, and spoke in the same language.

I hummed softly, and watched Loki instead, as I didn't understand what they were saying. Her body language was almost perfectly relaxed, but small things, like her fingertips twitching, or her toes moving up and down in a rhythm, revealed that she was antsy about something. Impatient, even.

She noticed me staring, and blinked. "Guys, he doesn't understand a thing you're saying."

They stopped speaking for a moment, and then the tall elf spoke in English. "My apologies, we assumed you knew Wood Elf."

"I am not from this Realm, and I only got here a week and a half ago, so the only language I know here is English. Sorry." I shrugged.

Loki perked up. "Oh? A Portal Traveller?"

"On accident. Someone opened a portal to a Killer Ant Nest south of here, from Midgard right near my house, and my friend was nearly killed by one of them. When I got him out, we realized we weren't in Kansas anymore." I smirked.

Loki grinned. "Interesting..."

"Sure. I'm actually in the city to find whoever cast the spell, and force them to do it again, so I can go home... or bring my home here, whichever works." I chuckled.

"You think you can force a goddess to do something?" The tall elf asked dubiously.

"A goddess cast that spell? How do you know?" I asked.

"Because only gods can access that type of magic. And I'm pretty sure it was Freya... she likes tricks as much as I." Loki hummed, kicking her feet childishly.

I sighed. "Okay, well, I suppose I could... ask nicely?"

She snorted. "Yeah, that's not how it works. Give up on that, kid, it's never going to happen. She's not allowed to use that magic at all, so helping you would reveal her threefold. That she cast it in the first place, that she was willing to cast it again, and then that she actually cast it... no, she'll never agree to that, and if she does, she's tricking you." Loki shook her head, her pony tail swinging gently.

I tsk'ed. "I see... so it was a forbidden magic... ha! What if I threatened her by saying I knew the words for the magic? And each spell is unique to its castor, right?" I grinned.

Her eyes widened slightly. "You heard the Spell being cast?"

"Yes." I nodded.

Her grin was the most sadistic, shit-eating grin I'd ever seen, in my entire existence. "I like you more and more, boy... now, what's everyone think? Should I contract him?"

They grouped together and spoke in that language again, occasionally looking at me, and I sat down in one of the many chairs along the walls of the massive office to wait.

They came to a consensus, and looked at Loki. The tall, green-haired elf sighed. "We are tied, lady Loki."

"There's seven of you, how are you tied?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Lefiya doesn't get a vote." She responded simply.

The little elf looked at her shoes, kicking them slowly.

Loki sighed. "Leave everything to me, huh? Fine. I say yes. I want this tricky boy in my Familia! Boy! Xavier Dorian, was it?"

"Yes ma'am." I nodded, standing.

"Come here, I don't bite." She grinned mischievously.

I hummed and walked over to her. "I very much doubt that, ma'am." I smiled.

She laughed and nodded. "Indeed. Now take off your shirt." She pulled out a small needle, and pricked her finger.

I nodded, removing my shirt in a simple movement, and tossing it onto the chair I'd been sitting in.

"Now for the serious part. Do you swear to serve my Familia in all things, and to never betray the trust of your Comrades, your Family?" She asked seriously.

I nodded. "I swear."

She placed a drop of blood on my forehead. "Do you swear to Honor my name, and allow none to tarnish it, so long as you still draw breath?" She asked.

"I swear."

She placed another on my heart. "Do you swear to Protect your Familia from all threats, and love them unconditionally?"

I smiled. "I swear."

She nodded, and turned me around. "I am warning you now. Brace yourself. This will hurt, Xavier Dorian."

Her finger touched my spine, and every single nerve in my body exploded, burning like a thousand needles were being shoved into every square-inch of my body.