be grateful

THE ATTACK ON NEW YORK, 2022.

"God's! You belong in a fetish zoo." The Raven haired man laughs loudly, giving a disbelieving look at the Avenger. He had only really seen the man from afar, and just thought he was wearing props or something- but they weren't. The Avenger in question was different than the rest, newer; one Loki hadn't seen nor heard of before (though he tried to keep away from the measly mortals who live on Midguard- so that could be why). He was strangely dog-like in appearance, mannerisms and even in the way he held himself. 

He looked.. Different in general. There were tattoos on the exposed parts of his thighs, and he had piercings. Two small, black spikes under his lips, and some in his odd, dog ear. 

It's not like he hadn't seen weirder creatures.. The Chitaru were a disturbing group. He'd just never seen a Midguardian hybrid. He felt himself- though he strongly discouraged it- getting curious about the being in front of him.

"I didn't know the 'avengers' took pathetic excuses for men- or do you consider yourself as part of the canine family?" He questions teasingly, shaking his head. This lowly thing wouldn't be able to stop him, he barely reaches to his shoulders. 

Loki grins, and looks Elliott up and down. The boys suit, though torn in some places, showed off great features. Elliott's build was broad and muscular, and even though he may be shorter than the most of the Avengers (not his fault they are all above 6 feet tall), he stood confidently. 

His grey-black ears flicked with annoyance, but he stayed rigid and prepared to attack. His tail stayed upright— a threat to the man in front of him. Loki didn't take it as a threat. He saw it as a way to tease the man.

"Where'd your collar go, mutt?" Loki sneers, raising his scepter in a threatening motion. This causes the shorter man to lower himself, prepared to spring any which way shall the threat attack him. 

"You're so original." Elliott scoffs. He slowly, ever so slowly inches forward as if a predator; he had that instinct flowing through his veins, so it only made sense to label the movement as such. His hand moved slowly to the gun holster on his thigh. 

"Put the scepter down," Elliott says softly, as if Loki was a deer that would flee at the thought of danger. Loki watched in interest as the boys ears flicked- catching the harsh noises of crashes from the Chitaru. 

Loki only laughed at his pathetic attempt at peace. He grinned at the primal stance the Avenger had taken. Squatted- not much- and one foot in front of the other, almost sideways. One hand stayed in front to block potential attacks, and the other rested on the holster.

"Look, sir," Elliott starts. "Its Loki- but I do appreciate your manners." Loki grins. 

"look, loki," Elliott growls, giving him a glare. The man had not shot him with his.. magic staff.. yet, so he kept his hand on his holster. He had know the man's name. Thor had told him. Thor talked fondly of his brother, so Elliott wanted to think that this wasn't him- that this was some random guy who happens to have the same name– who happens to have the same characteristics– who just so happens to be the exact same person Thor had called his brother. 

"I don't want to shoot the gun, Sir, it hurts my ears." Elliott says with a stoic face. He was not afraid, nor was he overjoyed he was face to face with the Asgardian man. If anything, he was a nuisance; a kid asking for your last piece of candy. 

But, Elliott too found his mind wandering to questions. Was this really Loki, from the Norse myths? The same, tricky god he had learnt about while he studied the mythology? Thor was... He was different. He didn't boast about how great of a god he is, and it's extremely easy to forget he's not from here. He also doesn't want to rule over the world. Infact- didn't he say he was Midguards protector? 

Curiosity showed in his eyes, and he knew it. You couldn't hide all those questions. Even as reasonable it is for Elliott to be skeptical, he feels like he's betraying Thor somehow. The man was great company, and in the boat ship thing- they had gotten along wonderfully. Thor had called him his favorite dog Miguardian (Elliott still didn't know if he should be offended or not).

"Still so professional!" Exclaims Loki condescendingly. "Ah, you are so polite." Loki smiles widely, as if hoping for the younger male to burst into a fit. He liked doing that, it was so funny to see the mortals thinking their feelings were that intense. 

He could show then intense. He would show them intense when he ruled over this foolish mortal land, and only when they begged for mercy would he give it. Those who stood out would get worse than intense, excruciating, maybe, if he felt like it. 

"I try, but its getting increasingly difficult when your wizard wand is pointing straight at my face." Elliott snaps, shifting his body so the holster wasn't visible for Loki any longer. There was a knife in his holster. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't like the noise of the gun.

Loki laughed, waving his scepter slightly. "Not a wizard wand, darling. It's something your feeble little dog brain would not understand." 

"Whatever it is, put it the fuck down," Elliott warned underneath his breath, slowly unsheathing the sleek metal dagger so it didn't make noise. He was skilled, and was confident in his hand to hand combat abilities.

Elliott knew he wasn't going to put it down, just like Thor didn't like putting down his hammer. It was like a part of him, so he assumed that Loki felt the same way. He noticed that the men were similar- even if he didn't want to. He didn't want a monster to be related to his friend. 

But.. Thor had told Elliott they weren't actually brothers when he had asked. Did it make it better or worse? They were brothers by heart only, but Loki didn't seem to reciprocate. Even though they grew up together- they weren't blood bound. There was no way you could force a bond between two brothers who don't want to be brothers. Elliott was sure Loki felt like a stranger to the man after all that time, he got that. He knew what that was like. 

Loki moved his scepter closer to Elliott's face and the shorter man took it as a que to defend himself. He quickly, but with perfect precision, hooked his dagger into a hitch in the blade and pulled it forward and to the side, just to get it away from his face.

"Feisty, hm?" Loki says slowly, a crueler glint forming in his eyes. Elliott unhooked his blade from the ridge in Loki's staff, and got into a defensive position. His gaze faltered when the light from outside flashed for a moment. 

Elliott took just a millisecond to gawk when Tony flies past the window with a space snake lizard fish. His mouth dropped open slightly, but he shook it off instantly. Tony was the airborne one, and Elliott was the beef. He was the brawn, stronger than captain America (even if it was only by a little bit, he took great pride in it). 

"you take Loki while the rest of us handle the space monsters." Tony had said. "I know you can keep him busy in there," 

He really wanted today to be mellow. He really, really did. But nothing ever really goes mellow for hero's, right? That's what he was now, a hero, saving people and stuff. He didn't want to be here, and he didn't care if he was being childish. He was about to sit down and read a really good book before all of this had started. 

Suddenly, Loki turned dramatically, swinging the sharp part of his scepter at the younger male, hoping to hit something vital. Elliott reacted quickly, ducking to get out of the way. He stood fully again, just the tiniest bit caught off guard. Tail close to body, he repeated to himself as Loki smirked at him. It was obvious what Loki was thinking, and he wasn't taking that risk, not today. No tail pulling for you, mister.

Loki swings his scepter again, and Elliott parry's the blow with his dagger. The shorter man steps back, and searches for a weak point. The god left his arms exposed as he swung the scepter, and it took more time for him to draw it back towards himself. The god jabbed his scepter at the Avenger this time, giving him a good fright as it narrowly misses his shoulder.

"I never did get your name, love," comments Loki, smiling widely as if it were a game. He grunts, smile turning fiercer as his blade connects with some skin on the man's bicep. The blade tears through not only the skin, but the suit the avenger was wearing. He giggles a bit, his gaze turning playful. Is this some.. childish quarreling to him? 

Thousands of peoples lives are at risk, and he's joking? He's really joking at a time like this? 

"Do you deserve it?" Elliott mutters grumpily, wincing slightly at the cut. How could he not care? Elliot blocks a blow with his dagger, eyes darting to where the hulk was a few buildings away. 

Elliott uses his free hand to grab the handle part of the staff, and he yanks it forward with such force that Loki looses his grip. Loki definitely wasn't used to that tactic, and he definitely wasn't used to this small of men having such.. Strength?

Elliott noted his confused expression, adding 'underestimates opponents' to his mental list of weaknesses. 

"Alright, now you've put magic glowy stick down, we can fight like men, and not like space Vikings." Elliott mutters, staying between Loki and his staff.

Loki blinks, looking confused. Although, Elliott knows he isn't because the slight twitching corner of his mouth. He can hear the footsteps behind him. His ears twitch, and perk to the steps behind him. 

Elliott paints a mental image in his head from sound alone, and he swings around and kicks his knee. Loki stumbles, now looking genuinely confused. 

"I'd prefer if you didn't," Elliott grins. He shifts into a defensive position again. He liked defense more than offense. You learned easier that way. Your opponent got tired before you did. 

"So you're a guard dog now?" Loki scoffs, eyes flicking from the man to his staff. Elliott was currently standing over it- ears attentive and eyes alert.

"Exactly. You don't need it. Or do you? I mean, what is the great big Loki without his staff?" Elliott is provoking him now, a good tactic in making your opponent loose control and focus on anger. Many opponents had used this on him, and most of them succeeded.

"That is positively adorable." Loki grins. crossing his arms and leaning back. He was no longer rigid and tense as Elliott was. 

"What's that one Midguard movie? The one with the white dog? That's what you currently resemble." Loki grins eyeing the wolf avenger up and down. 

"...bolt?" Elliott murmurs, keeping his guard up even if he's curious. Curiosity was normal, and didn't stray your attention from the task at hand, so he allowed himself to ask questions. 

This was weird. Loki was relaxed now, and didn't seem ready to fight. What was he doing? 

"Ah, yes, that cute little thing," Loki continues the smug smile playing on his lips. 

Elliott figured he was just trying to confuse him- and it was working. He was confused. Why was he talking about movies as if they were good friends? 

"Thor told me about you," Loki chimed, picking at some skin on his cuticle. "He's overly fond of you for reasons I cannot comprehend. Are you the Avengers pet or something?" 

Pet? Was he a pet? Did he look like a pet? Elliott felt some anger bubbling in his chest, but he forced it down.

"No, I'm not a pet." Elliott says calmly, letting his arms lower slightly. 

"You're sure? You take orders well, you're fighting a God because the man of iron told you too." Loki hums, looking up condescendingly.

Elliott gets more annoyed than angry now, but it's starting to surface. He was never really good at trying to hide his annoyance. He tended to say what was on his mind when it came to that sort of thing.

"It's my job to take orders well. Do you call kids pets because they do everything their told?" Elliott asks, gritting his teeth. Loki shrugged, trying to get a reaction out of the other man.

He was getting tired of the dialogue. Elliott didn't want to chat with him as if he was an old friend, he wanted to fight; that was his job. He wanted Loki to initiate the fight- no Loki had to initiate the fight because if Elliott moved, the taller man's weapon would be exposed. Loki knew that, and was playing the long game. 

Part of him wanted to get his gun, but he thought Thor would be upset at his brother dead. He would be devastated- he was when he died the first time. 

"Elliott, how's the big guy doin?" Stark asks in the little earpiece Elliott was forced to wear. He winced a little at the sudden loud tone, but responded. 

"He's being boring." Elliott says, giving a glance to the man. "Not attacking, I have his weapon." Elliott adds, focusing on the smirking god in front of him.

"Great, just keep him occupied till we can get em. Wish you could be down here. You'd love it. They kinda stink." Stark laughs. 

"I can smell them from up here." Elliott chuckles, catching Loki off guard. The dog boy was so serious, and now that he had smiled, Loki caught a glimpse of his teeth. Sharp and as if a dogs. 

Elliott turned his full focus onto the Raven haired man after his short talk with Tony. He was okay with guarding the staff, even if the task was menial. He did wish he could fight him, though. That would be more fun than sitting here and waiting. 

Loki walked over to sit down at the bar, only tearing is gaze away when he needed to read the bottles of liquor. Elliott definitely was getting bored now, and honestly wanted to let the man take his wand so he could fight him again (even if the first time wasn't even that eventful). 

"So, guard dog," Loki starts, pouring himself a drink. "What's your name? I think I'm deserving of it now." 

Elliott was deciding whether to tell him or not. What could he do with just a first name? 

"Elliott." The younger male said, keeping himself where he was. He wasn't going to let his guard down and let Loki gain his scepter back, even though he really wanted too. 

"Elliott," Loki murmurs, tasting the name of his tongue. He eyed the man up and down, watching as his tail flicked. He shrugged, and took a sip of what smelled to be whiskey. 

"Can you smell this from all the way over there?" Loki asked, sounding exasperated. He was swishing the liquid around in his glass. 

"Yep. Even over the smell of your disgusting smelling army of slimy space lizards." Elliott replied. He wasn't keeping his manners. Respectful people often got respect back, but in this case, he knew he wouldn't; so why should he try to be nice? This cocky bastard was 'too good' for him.

"You should be grateful I'm even bothering keeping you alive. I could kill you with a flick of my wrist." Loki sneers, glaring at the younger man.

'do it,' , Elliott thought to himself, getting more angered and annoyed by the second. 'do it and fight me the cowards way.' But even if he wanted to yell the words at him, he kept his mouth shut.

"I wonder.." Loki hummed, a spark flickering in his eyes, and again with that twitching on the corner of his lip. His fingers two against the rim of the glass. "Are you effected by dog whistles?" 

Elliott looked confused for a second before a high pitched sound met his ears. They flit down quickly as he grimaced and looked over to where the sound was coming from. It was another clone, indeed with a dog whistle. 

The noise wasn't painful for him, just uncomfortable, but it brought up memories he would rather have kept buried. His face took on a more frightened expression as he covered his ears to block out the sound. His guard was down, and he knew that Loki would take his scepter back. 

He tried to focus on the man smirking at the bar, but his head was getting confused with the unrelenting high pitched ringing in his ears. His breathing was getting heavier, and he bit his lower lip to keep it from trembling. 

Not again, not again, this can't be happening. Snap out of it! 

"stop it," Elliott growls, shaking his head. The shorter mans hands shook as he pressed his ears to his head in a feeble attempt at making the noise halt. "Stop making that noise!" 

The noise stopped after a few more seconds, and Elliott uncovered his ears. He watched the man, who now had his scepter, as he took a taunting sip of his drink. Elliott took a shaky breath in, and stared wide-eyed at the male at the bar. Well, he got what he was hoping for, Loki had his scepter. He also had a cheat with that dog whistle. 

This.. Wasn't how it was supposed to go.