It was a quick and admittedly not very well thought out decision that had completely disrupted your life this time. It hadn't been your fault that some idiot had gotten through security at your workplace with a giant scary gun. It wasn't your fault that you happened to be interning at Stark Industries. That was pure dumb luck.

It was admittedly your fault that you shoved Pepper Potts out of the way of the bullets.

You would heal. She would not have.

It was also admittedly your fault that you had turned into a wolf while you shoved her out of the way and torn the guy's throat out when she was safe.

That was definitely on you.

Which is how you found yourself in your current predicament of being carried in wolf form down to the bottom floor of the Avenger's tower by Ironman, slowly fighting through the drugs they'd shot you up with. It wasn't surprising that Ironman could carry you, even in wolf form. You were small for a werewolf, only about the same hundredish pounds of your human form, and he was in his suit. Your wounds had been bandaged and there was vet tape, that stuff that stuck to only itself, wrapped around your muzzle so you wouldn't bite anyone.

This was not turning out to be a good day.

You vaguely realized that this entire floor was filled with glass-walled prison cells.

This day was just getting better...

Ironman opened one of the cells and set you carefully inside, far from the door. He ignored your snarled protests. You understood that they thought you were dangerous. You were dangerous, but you still didn't appreciate the treatment.

"Stark!? I know you dislike me, but throwing an injured wolf in my cell is a bit extreme, even for you," a male voice yelled at Ironman in what would be a pleasing accent were he not so upset. You looked up and saw the slim raven-haired man who had jumped up from the bed in the cell. You recognized him from the news as Thor's brother Loki. He was angry and scared, though mostly angry.

"She's not a wolf," Ironman said from the outside of the cell as the door to the cell slid back shut behind him. You were locked in the cell with the angry Asgardian.

"Sure looks like a wolf from here," Loki snarled, eliciting a snarl in reply from you. He smelled of fear and anger and it was not making you any calmer when you were already injured and fighting through the haze of drugs.

"Until about an hour ago, she was one of my interns. She took those bullets saving Pepper's life. I can't leave her alone, but I have a PR nightmare to deal with. So you're going to make yourself useful while your brother is out of town. Take care of the injured wolf. If you somehow manage to get her to turn back into a human, you can both get out of this cell," Tony told him, then repeated the instruction to something called 'jarvis'. Loki looked thoughtful at the offer.

"Fine," he finally huffed.

"The responders drugged her to get her out of there. Good luck," with that, Ironman left to go deal with the PR nightmare of the shooter and the werewolf.

"Great. A drugged wolf. That makes this easier, Stark," Loki growled at Ironman's retreating back. You huffed at the Asgardian and settled yourself as comfortably as you could, though you snarled when Loki stepped closer to you. He was a stranger and obviously upset. His expression, mood, and posture all softened immediately. "Hush, love," he told you softly, his tone soothing. "I'm not going to hurt you," he added. You laid you head down on your paws to watch him. "It would have been nice had Stark bothered to tell me your name..." he grumped. You snorted in wolfish laughter. He grinned in reply. "So you are aware, then?"

You nodded once, then snarled as you ran a paw over the tape around your nose. You couldn't get the damn stuff to come off. "If you promise not to bite me, I will help you with that." His voice was almost amused. You nodded again emphatically and kept your head still while he carefully removed the vet tape, kneeling carefully beside you. When it was gone, you licked his hand in an automatic gesture of thanks. He stiffened in fear. You whined softly, hurt by his rejection, his automatic assumption that you were a monster. The fact that you were bleeding from at least three bullet wounds didn't help your mood either. You curled around yourself and laid your head on your tail, closing your eyes to try to ignore him for awhile.

"I'm sorry. You surprised me," he said quickly when he realized he'd hurt your feelings. You opened your eyes to look at him, but otherwise didn't move. Your hurt feelings had seemed to affect him more than he'd wanted to admit. He shifted to sit cross legged on the ground next to you. He seemed fascinated by you for some reason. "I promised to help you, and to be honest it is fascinating to meet a human who can turn into a wolf. I did not know that was possible. It is a choice, yes?" he asked conversationally. You nodded once and laid your head back down, exhausted. Healing was a lot of work. He looked you over thoughtfully. "Surely it must be better to heal in human form... especially as that would get you out of this cell... so there must be a reason you are still a wolf." He looked interested at the puzzle. "I assume that my just asking you to change back will not solve the problem," he mused, making you snort with laughter again. He smiled in reply, obviously glad he still had your attention and that you were still in a reasonable mood. "Which means I will need to figure out what the problem is and correct it. Preferably before you bleed out." You rolled your eyes at that. You were in no danger from bleeding out over a couple of lead bullets. There were also plenty of reasons why you didn't want to change back right now. You could tell that he wasn't going to leave you alone until he figured out the problem and got you to shift back.

"Any chance you can tell me?" he asked pleasantly. You pondered, but at least one of the answers was fairly straightforward, so you gave him a huge yawn before you laid your head back down. Shifting took a lot of energy on a good day. Shifting twice in such a short amount of time took more, especially with no food, even more especially with injuries.

"Well that is an easy fix. There are at least ten empty bedrooms in this place-" he stopped when you just gave him a look. You saw his eyes light up in realization. He was having fun with this puzzle. "But simple tiredness wouldn't be enough to stop you from being more comfortable..." he paused, considering. "Which means the magic involved in the change must be considerable." It wasn't the most apt description, but it would do, so you nodded, watching him with interest. It was amazing how fast he was catching on. "Which means you would be drained afterwards, at least enough that you do not want to be that vulnerable...Yes, I could see how you would not want to be vulnerable in a house full of strangers." You nodded, glad he was catching on.

You moved to lay your head more comfortably to sleep for awhile, but he started talking again. "Very well, then I will personally guarantee your safety," vowed the god of tricks and lies. You narrowed your eyes at him. That was supposed to be reassuring? "You're stuck with my company either way, love," he reminded you gently. "Yes, I may be the god of tricks, mischief, and lies, but I am not a monster." Those words resounded with you. You'd felt like a monster your entire life for having a wolf inside of you, for having to shift during the full moon, for all sorts of things you couldn't control, just because of your heritage. "I am not going to hurt you, and I will not allow any harm to come to you. Besides, it would be poor repayment for helping me escape a cell I do not belong in to allow harm to come to my rescuer," he added with a smile, earning another snort of laughter from you.

He was right, you didn't have much of a choice. You nodded once, somehow trusting the trickster. You saw his relief and his...hope? that someone had finally trusted in him. "Now will you change back?" he asked. You still hesitated and he waited patiently. You tentatively got to your feet and took the step forward necessary. You carefully took the sleeve of his tunic in your teeth, then dropped it an instant later, whining softly. He sat perfectly still and watched your actions carefully. "You want me to move?" he guessed first. You shook your head and whined again, looking away embarrassed. "Ah, of course," he commented, a flush on his cheeks that hadn't been there a moment before. He stood and stripped off his tunic, leaving him in a short-sleeved undershirt. He laid the tunic carefully on the bed and turned to look extremely interestedly out of the cell, also managing to stand in such a way that you would be shielded from the view of any passersby.

With more focus than usual, you began the painful shift back to human. It usually wasn't this painful, or took this long, but you were already injured, low on energy, hadn't eaten, and had been drugged. It usually only took a minute, less if you were in need like you had been saving Pepper. It took a lot longer this time. With effort, you made the change, panting when you were back in human form. You dove into Loki's tunic, grateful when it came halfway down your thighs. It was decent enough and way better than being naked. Shifting did not come with clothes. "It's safe now," you managed to tell him, leaning against the bed in the cell. It was too much effort to try to move. Keeping your eyes open was a chore. You'd used way too much energy shifting twice in an hour.

He turned with a smile on his face and a joke or teasing prepped, but his expression fell when he saw you. He rushed back to your side and knelt beside you. "Love?" he asked, concerned. You tried to smile reassuringly at him. You hated appearing weak.

"I'm fine," you told him softly. "It's just a lot of energy to shift forms. Doing it twice in such a short amount of time..." you shrugged, too exhausted to go into the details right now. You moved to use the bed to leverage yourself to your feet. Loki was standing and supporting you in an instant, lifting you to your feet before you could struggle up from the floor.

"I gave my word that I would take care of you," he told you softly when you tried to protest.

"I just need to lie down for a little bit. You said there were ten empty bedrooms, right? One of them has to have a bed where I can take a nap," you replied, trying to sound stronger than you were. Getting the males in your life riled or defensive had never been a good thing. You had the impression that Loki would be the same way and would have the same overprotective streak.

He swept you up into his arms, confirming your suspicions. "Yes, there is definitely a bed where you can take a nap, little wolf," he said softly while you spluttered a protest at him, trying to insist you didn't need to be carried like a child. "Of course you do not," he replied pleasantly. "I am quite aware that you are not a child. You are a brave, interesting lady who happens to be able to turn into a wolf. However, since you are also injured and under my protection, I am protecting you," he added equally pleasantly. You laughed at his obvious flattering and laid your head on his shoulder, accepting the help...this time. He strolled carefully through the now-open cell door. You hadn't noticed that it had opened. You must've been really out of it, or it had happened while you were shifting forms. You closed your eyes, trusting the Asgardian who had promised your safety.