"You see, I don't give a shit. I don't want to get back. I don't want to be here either. It isn't about my ego. You wouldn't get it if you tried to. You and your perfect lives."
Tallulah glared at him, "You don't know shit about me," she growled, "But if you want to stay out here and let the rest of us find the way back without you, then that's your stupid-ass choice."
With that, she turned on her heel and stalked back into the cabin.
He was still seething and upset, but he knew that 1) Alex wasn't going to apologize any time soon and 2) that it was more important to find an explanation for how they had got here.
So while Tallulah spoke to the resident asshole of the group, Colt took a deep breath and started looking around the cottage again. There had to be some kind of clue. The dust suggested that no one had been here in awhile, but the magic suggested that someone had. Magic didn't like to linger unless it was powerful.
That, or the entire cabin was made of magic.
He stared up at the ceiling.
What kind of person could leave a magical mark like this? Not a human. They didn't have the magical stamina. Their soul would get tired out if they tried casting something this big. Demons and the like were out of the question, too. They had more magic than most humans, sure, but still. It wasn't enough for something like this.
A god, then.
Yeah, that had to be it! A god would explain the ample magic, and the strangeness of this all. Council above, he was stupid for not thinking of that sooner!
It was worrying, considering he had been doing his best to avoid the gods since he had escaped his prison, but they'd have no idea that Colt Rian was-
"Oh, fuck," he said. He had just ranted about being one a few minutes ago! It wasn't hard to figure out who he was if you knew that he was in hiding and could change his appearance at will. And it wasn't like he had been subtle with this alter ego of his, either - it literally said his name in the letters on his jacket!
Why had he thought it was a good idea to put "Loki was here" right near his chest? This was why he was terrible at scheming on his own. There was a reason he needed a partner in crime!
"Fuck," he repeated, this time with a little more emphasis.
"I'm not the one who tried to start a fight," she shot back at him over her shoulder before vanishing into the cabin.
Her hair was still bristling, not yet allowing itself to lay flat in her state of irritation. She tried to smooth it down as she went over to Colt and sat in front of him, saying nothing just yet.
While Colt and Alex were busy acting like the immature children they were, Kiirion simply waited. He wasn't inside to see the altercation, but he certainly heard it, and Tallulah was doing the work of being a mediator. He was relieved when Alex went back in and apologized. Considering how quick either Alex or Colt were to being worked up with emotion, Kiirion kept his peace. Congratulating Alex on his humility wouldn't do much good.
If he hadn't been so busy hating himself for his own stupidity, he might have heard Alex's apology - and actually given a response. He did hear it, to some extent, but his mind was elsewhere.
He stared down at his hands with a look of seemingly permanent horror and worry on his face. How was he going to get out of this? He had messed up his investigation and hiding from the other gods. How stupid could he be?
"It's alright. Let's get the drama over with," he said and looked up at Colt saying, "By the way. I'm curious. You did imply that you are some kind of a god? It did seem like you were telling the truth. That's how I usually am when I'm ranting. In fact, I don't know anybody who can fake a rant..." He looked down again.
The conversation finally registered thanks to Kiirion's prodding. He glanced away from the cabin and over at Alex, somewhat in disbelief that Alex had apologized to him so quickly. Part of him wondered if this was all just some trick to get Tallulah off of his case; the other part of him was determined not to apologize back, seeing that he had been in the right when he got upset.
But it was probably best to tell the truth now.
He sighed.
With a snap of his fingers - because all good shapeshifters knew you had to shift your shape in style - his appearance shimmered. The transformation between appearances wasn't actually that nice looking, but a little extra spell here or there never hurt.
His black hair became auburn red, and his dark brown eyes became green. The coat was changed for a simple hoodie, and the watch was forgotten. The necklace was too. The combat boots remained, and the dark pants were replaced by jeans that were several shades lighter. He kept the messenger bag, too.
And last, but certainly not least, he looked a good chunk of years younger. He looked like he was just barely an adult - the five o'clock shadow and the very slight wrinkles had been lost in the transformation.
"Loki, god of trickery, mischief and all other forms of chaos, at your service," he said, giving a little bow.
"Shouldn't have apologized then..." Said Alex, his face plainer than a slab of silver. "So, are you behind this? So a maniac actually did summon us here for some kind of a sick joke?"
Kiirion watched as Colt shifted forms, either breaking or creating another illusion spell. Illusions were powerful magic. He was about to say something before idiocy rolled out of Alex's mouth.
Kiirion sighed.
"He's the god of trickery, not swamps," Kiirion said. "And were he behind this, I doubt he would've brought you here."
Kiirion's brows raised and a slow blink followed. He wasn't going to aggravate Alex any more than he already had.
"So, the swamp," he said, changing the subject. He turned to Tallulah, the only reasonable one of the group. "In the interest of finding a way out, perhaps we should look a little further than this hut."
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