Captive

Chapter Nineteen

"Huh?"

"Shadow slept with you for an hour and a half. She was all snuggled up with you, purring so loud I'm surprised you were able to sleep. It wasn't until ten minutes ago that she woke up and tried to wake you up too." Loki stops scratching Shadow and leans back. "She's quite fond of you. But rest assured, you aren't in danger of punishment, my dearest. I will never hurt you. Never."

You fiddle with your sleeve with your hand not petting Shadow, feeling Loki still watching you. "O-okay," you mutter, not knowing how else to respond. Shadow stands up and climbs between your legs and your chest, and you put your feet back on the floor to give her more room.

"I told you she's fond of you," Loki says with a soft laugh. You can't help but smile as you stroke one hand down Shadow's head to her bottom and use your other hand to scratch under her chin. Shadow closes her eyes and purrs loudly, making you smile wider. "As for what will happen to Shadow," Loki starts, tilting his head as he watches Shadow purr, "if she's lost and someone is looking for her, it is only natural that we return her as soon as possible. But if we can't find an owner, I see no reason to not keep her, if that is alright with you."

Your eyes widen as you look at Loki. "She can stay?" you ask, disbelieving.

Loki nods. "So long as she doesn't have an owner looking for her. I don't plan on holding anyone but you captive at the moment, not even a cat." You nod, silently hoping Shadow doesn't have an owner looking for her (despite knowing how awful that sounds). If Shadow stays, I won't be alone with Loki anymore. Sure, she's not sentient, so it's not perfect, but it's better than before. "I'm not going to use any magic on Shadow. I have found that magic can greatly confuse animals and do more harm than good. So between the two of us we need to make sure Shadow is fed. I fed her while you were asleep, and one of us can feed her again tonight. And I have set out a bowl of water for her that we need to keep filled." You nod. I will do anything to keep Shadow here. "I must warn you, I expect Shadow to be...clingy for a few weeks. She is in a scary new environment, but she seems to trust us. And since I may have to leave at any point, you could be subject to her clinginess quite often." Once again you nod. And I'll probably be clingy towards her, so this is a win-win situation.

Shadow turns her head away from your hand scratching her chin, so you put your hand down. She trusts you, and you don't want to break that trust by disrespecting her boundaries. Shadow inches forward on your lap, moving closer to Loki. You watch, wondering what she's up to. Loki looks down at her and Shadow stops moving, staring up at him. Loki smiles down at Shadow. "What are you up to now?" he asks with an amused tone. Loki looks away from Shadow, making his movement very noticeable. Shadow continues inching closer to Loki, close enough that she could rest her head on Loki's vambrace. Instead, she inches carefully into a different position, putting her head basically above Loki's hand. Then in an instant she swoops down and bites on the edge of Loki's vambrace, sticking her jaw underneath the vambrace.

Both you and Loki laugh as Shadow nibbles on Loki's vambrace. Loki keeps his arm rigid, allowing Shadow to play with it. "You put up quite a show, trying to not let us know what you were up to," you tell Shadow as she leans her head down against your thigh while still biting Loki's vambrace.

"Aren't you full of surprises?" Loki asks Shadow sweetly, gently petting her head. His hand brushes against your thigh with each pet. It's probably accidental, and would be hard to avoid, but it still sets you on edge. But you can't help but smile as Shadow purrs. "I wonder what you'll think of this," Loki says playfully as he stops petting Shadow. You watch as he undoes the buckles on his vambrace and slides his arm away from Shadow. She drops the vambrace onto Loki's lap and almost looks disappointed. But she stands up and walks off of your lap onto Loki's and does the same thing as before with his other vambrace, making you and Loki laugh.