Lockheed and Rachel (and Nathan)
Aug. 18th, 2005 09:50 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsLockheed and Rachel meet, and it does not go well. Not everyone in the mansion is thrilled about the newest arrival...
Lockheed was cranky. Also curious, of course, but mostly just cranky. There was a new resident in the school and it seemed everyone had gone completely nuts about whoever it was. He'd even heard his beloved Kitty say that the Rachel creature was 'the cutest thing on the planet' and that was just Not On. Nothing and no one could be cuter than Lockheed. It was in his contract. (He did not know what a contract was, he'd just heard someone on the magic picture box say it and it sounded neat to him.)
Lockheed had determined where the Rachel Creature lived - it hadn't been that hard, just retrace the trails of people inappropriately cooing about someone who was not him. It seemed the Rachel Creature never left it's den here in the home of the Talking No Talking man and one of the Blue Fur Pokey-Prodding man's female assistants (as Lockheed tended to think of the other three doctors) but that was ok. Lockheed was willing to meet the creature on it's own turf. And he was stealthy enough to get past the Talking No Talking man who was doing the computer-thing in the other room. So now he was perched on the railing of the Rachel Creature's crib, peering down at it.
Hmph. Definitely not cuter than Lockheed. It was all... small and squishy. Also sort of vaguely tasty looking. But if eating people and pets was off limits, eating the Rachel Creature would probably get him in trouble. It was so hard to be Lockheed.
Rachel eyed the new thing perching on the railing of the crib, more than a little suspicious about it. "Meh?" It felt odd. It had lights in its mind, just like people, but it looked very strange. And she wasn't entirely sure that it liked her. Didn't feel quite right. "Mneh," she pronounced, almost challengingly. Debating whether or not to start crying.
Oh ho! And the creature had stolen his chirping trick. So not on. No wonder everyone was fooled into thinking it was cute. But not Lockheed, oh no. "Meh," he chirped back, sounding most put out. "Meh."
Definitely didn't like the way it was thinking at her. Rachel made a derisive noise. "Meh. Meh!" she scolded, and then reached up with her little hands, grabbing at the waving appendage. Maybe it tasted better than the colorful thing's tail.
The shock took a few seconds to wear off before Lockheed could fully appreciate what was going on. The Rachel Creature was biting his tail. Well, gumming. But still. The Rachel Creature was Biting his tail. It was biting His tail. It was biting his TAIL! While yes, this was a change from everything else which thought that his nose was a chew toy, this was not actually an improvement.
Leeping off the edge of the crib, Lockheed took wing, pulling his tail from out of her reach. "Mrarh," he growled, unamused. If he wasn't allowed to eat it, it definitely wasnt't allowed to eat him.
#MEH!# Rachel projected at the thing angrily. It was an impressive telepathic projection, all things considered, and would have been more so if it hadn't been muffled by the psi-shielded nursery. She yanked with her mind at the waving appendage, trying to get it back down within reach.
The volume of her shout echoed in his mind, although Lockheed didn't realize it hadn't been out loud. He let out a shriek of his own at the pain as he flapped furiously to keep from falling out of the air, wobbling about the room as he fought the invisible force that was pulling on his tail. The Rachel Creature had Invisible Monster Guardians in it's lair! That was CHEATING!
"AAAAH!" Rachel wailed at the way the lights in the thing's mind suddenly went all bright and flashy and scary. #AAAAH! AAAAAH!# Instinctively, her mind snatched at some of the loose objects around in the nursery. The baby powder bottle - a particular favorite already for flinging, a few stuffed toys, one of the hanging things on the wall. She sent them at the thing, trying to drive it away. #AAAAAH! AAAAAH!#
There were limits to psi-shielding, and Nathan, who had already looked up frowning at the first muffled telepathic outburst and started to save the file he was working on, was out of his chair in a shot and into the nursery at the scream. "What the--" Flying objects, and a very clearly agitated little dragon, and his daughter shrieking at the top of her lungs, both mental and otherwise.
The sudden absence of a pull on his tail had sent Lockheed tumbling wing over nose through the air, so he was completely unprepared for the baby powder bottle that came flying towards him and whacked him on the side. Thankfully the cap was firmly attached, but the shock startled another shriek from the little dragon, who just managed to get his flying under control in time to dodge the incoming stuffed animals. These Invisible Monster Guardians did not play FAIR!
Nathan grimaced. Not cursing, definitely not cursing, he told himself, and gently removed all of the flying objects from his daughter's erratic telekinetic group. #Lockheed, settle down,# he projected at the dragon, and then picked up the crying baby, humming at her telepathically at the same time that he soothed the edges on her thoughts. "Shhh," he said aloud, rocking her. "It's okay, don't cry..."
#WAAAH! WAAAAH!#
The Invisible Monsters were no longer attacking, which was good. Lockheed heard Talking No Talking man's admonishment and the frustration in his tone and between that and the teeth grating wail echoing through his head, Lockheed couldn't take it. Diving to the ground he squirmed his way into the first available small surface - Rachel's dresser - and hunkered down, holding his tail tightly in his paws and sniffling. He wanted his Kitty...
Nathan sighed and kept soothing the baby until Rachel's screams died to whimpers and she started to relax, her little fists unclenching. #It's all right, Lockheed,# he sent more gently to the dragon. #You scared her, that's all. And she's just a baby.#
If it were possible, Lockheed would have curled up tighter yet. The thoughts running around in his head were chaotic and miserable, and now that Rachel's screaming had quieted it was possible to hear his little sniffles.
Nathan finally laid Rachel back in her crib, hovering over her until she drifted off to sleep, lulled by the patterns he was projecting at her. Handy thing, those. Only then did he turn, regarding the dragon under the dresser with a certain amount of sympathy. "Now," he said very softly, coming over and kneeling down. "Are you going to come out of there? So that we can go out of the room and make sure you're all soothed and petted too?"
Lockheed peered out at the man, sniffing a few more times before finally deciding that if he came out maybe nothing would get thrown at him, or pull his tail, or bite his nose, or yell at him. Maybe it would be ok. Maybe. He squirmed his way out from under the dresser, hunkering down at the base of it, the tail still gripped tightly in his paws rather reminiscent of a toddler's death grip on their blankie. Every inch of him exuded misery and uncertainty. But petting had been mentioned.
"Soothed and petted and possibly fed, too," Nathan mused. It had really been his fault, to get so caught up in what he was doing that he hadn't noticed the dragon sneaking into the room. He scooped Lockheed up as soon as he was far enough out from under the dresser to do so, and rose, striding out of the room and closing the door with a soft flicker of telekinesis. "You're just a baby too, really," he reminded Lockheed. "I think you scared each other but good." No real harm done, though.
Not a baby, the some what defensive, some what indignant thought flashed through Lockheed's mind, but he didn't let go of his tail, even as Nathan carried him out of the room. The idea of petting and food kind of helped, but he still wanted his Kitty. With the door to the room shut, locking the Rachel Creature and her Invisible Monster Guardians away, Lockheed relaxed a little, and much of his misery and all of his hesitation turned into one big pout.
"We'll find you something in the fridge," Nathan said soothingly, rubbing the little dragon's head, "and then call Kitty to come get you. How does that sound?"
Lockheed turned his head into the carress, brightening a little at the mention of Kitty. "Mrrr," he said, voice low. But it sounded like an agreement.
And Nathan would just fail to mention this to Moira, he decided very firmly. Since no one was hurt. He'd just make sure to clean up the nursery before she got back upstairs. "Chicken?" he asked Lockheed.
Lockheed considered it, burrowing his head into Nathan's shirt. yes, Chicken would be good.
Lockheed was cranky. Also curious, of course, but mostly just cranky. There was a new resident in the school and it seemed everyone had gone completely nuts about whoever it was. He'd even heard his beloved Kitty say that the Rachel creature was 'the cutest thing on the planet' and that was just Not On. Nothing and no one could be cuter than Lockheed. It was in his contract. (He did not know what a contract was, he'd just heard someone on the magic picture box say it and it sounded neat to him.)
Lockheed had determined where the Rachel Creature lived - it hadn't been that hard, just retrace the trails of people inappropriately cooing about someone who was not him. It seemed the Rachel Creature never left it's den here in the home of the Talking No Talking man and one of the Blue Fur Pokey-Prodding man's female assistants (as Lockheed tended to think of the other three doctors) but that was ok. Lockheed was willing to meet the creature on it's own turf. And he was stealthy enough to get past the Talking No Talking man who was doing the computer-thing in the other room. So now he was perched on the railing of the Rachel Creature's crib, peering down at it.
Hmph. Definitely not cuter than Lockheed. It was all... small and squishy. Also sort of vaguely tasty looking. But if eating people and pets was off limits, eating the Rachel Creature would probably get him in trouble. It was so hard to be Lockheed.
Rachel eyed the new thing perching on the railing of the crib, more than a little suspicious about it. "Meh?" It felt odd. It had lights in its mind, just like people, but it looked very strange. And she wasn't entirely sure that it liked her. Didn't feel quite right. "Mneh," she pronounced, almost challengingly. Debating whether or not to start crying.
Oh ho! And the creature had stolen his chirping trick. So not on. No wonder everyone was fooled into thinking it was cute. But not Lockheed, oh no. "Meh," he chirped back, sounding most put out. "Meh."
Definitely didn't like the way it was thinking at her. Rachel made a derisive noise. "Meh. Meh!" she scolded, and then reached up with her little hands, grabbing at the waving appendage. Maybe it tasted better than the colorful thing's tail.
The shock took a few seconds to wear off before Lockheed could fully appreciate what was going on. The Rachel Creature was biting his tail. Well, gumming. But still. The Rachel Creature was Biting his tail. It was biting His tail. It was biting his TAIL! While yes, this was a change from everything else which thought that his nose was a chew toy, this was not actually an improvement.
Leeping off the edge of the crib, Lockheed took wing, pulling his tail from out of her reach. "Mrarh," he growled, unamused. If he wasn't allowed to eat it, it definitely wasnt't allowed to eat him.
#MEH!# Rachel projected at the thing angrily. It was an impressive telepathic projection, all things considered, and would have been more so if it hadn't been muffled by the psi-shielded nursery. She yanked with her mind at the waving appendage, trying to get it back down within reach.
The volume of her shout echoed in his mind, although Lockheed didn't realize it hadn't been out loud. He let out a shriek of his own at the pain as he flapped furiously to keep from falling out of the air, wobbling about the room as he fought the invisible force that was pulling on his tail. The Rachel Creature had Invisible Monster Guardians in it's lair! That was CHEATING!
"AAAAH!" Rachel wailed at the way the lights in the thing's mind suddenly went all bright and flashy and scary. #AAAAH! AAAAAH!# Instinctively, her mind snatched at some of the loose objects around in the nursery. The baby powder bottle - a particular favorite already for flinging, a few stuffed toys, one of the hanging things on the wall. She sent them at the thing, trying to drive it away. #AAAAAH! AAAAAH!#
There were limits to psi-shielding, and Nathan, who had already looked up frowning at the first muffled telepathic outburst and started to save the file he was working on, was out of his chair in a shot and into the nursery at the scream. "What the--" Flying objects, and a very clearly agitated little dragon, and his daughter shrieking at the top of her lungs, both mental and otherwise.
The sudden absence of a pull on his tail had sent Lockheed tumbling wing over nose through the air, so he was completely unprepared for the baby powder bottle that came flying towards him and whacked him on the side. Thankfully the cap was firmly attached, but the shock startled another shriek from the little dragon, who just managed to get his flying under control in time to dodge the incoming stuffed animals. These Invisible Monster Guardians did not play FAIR!
Nathan grimaced. Not cursing, definitely not cursing, he told himself, and gently removed all of the flying objects from his daughter's erratic telekinetic group. #Lockheed, settle down,# he projected at the dragon, and then picked up the crying baby, humming at her telepathically at the same time that he soothed the edges on her thoughts. "Shhh," he said aloud, rocking her. "It's okay, don't cry..."
#WAAAH! WAAAAH!#
The Invisible Monsters were no longer attacking, which was good. Lockheed heard Talking No Talking man's admonishment and the frustration in his tone and between that and the teeth grating wail echoing through his head, Lockheed couldn't take it. Diving to the ground he squirmed his way into the first available small surface - Rachel's dresser - and hunkered down, holding his tail tightly in his paws and sniffling. He wanted his Kitty...
Nathan sighed and kept soothing the baby until Rachel's screams died to whimpers and she started to relax, her little fists unclenching. #It's all right, Lockheed,# he sent more gently to the dragon. #You scared her, that's all. And she's just a baby.#
If it were possible, Lockheed would have curled up tighter yet. The thoughts running around in his head were chaotic and miserable, and now that Rachel's screaming had quieted it was possible to hear his little sniffles.
Nathan finally laid Rachel back in her crib, hovering over her until she drifted off to sleep, lulled by the patterns he was projecting at her. Handy thing, those. Only then did he turn, regarding the dragon under the dresser with a certain amount of sympathy. "Now," he said very softly, coming over and kneeling down. "Are you going to come out of there? So that we can go out of the room and make sure you're all soothed and petted too?"
Lockheed peered out at the man, sniffing a few more times before finally deciding that if he came out maybe nothing would get thrown at him, or pull his tail, or bite his nose, or yell at him. Maybe it would be ok. Maybe. He squirmed his way out from under the dresser, hunkering down at the base of it, the tail still gripped tightly in his paws rather reminiscent of a toddler's death grip on their blankie. Every inch of him exuded misery and uncertainty. But petting had been mentioned.
"Soothed and petted and possibly fed, too," Nathan mused. It had really been his fault, to get so caught up in what he was doing that he hadn't noticed the dragon sneaking into the room. He scooped Lockheed up as soon as he was far enough out from under the dresser to do so, and rose, striding out of the room and closing the door with a soft flicker of telekinesis. "You're just a baby too, really," he reminded Lockheed. "I think you scared each other but good." No real harm done, though.
Not a baby, the some what defensive, some what indignant thought flashed through Lockheed's mind, but he didn't let go of his tail, even as Nathan carried him out of the room. The idea of petting and food kind of helped, but he still wanted his Kitty. With the door to the room shut, locking the Rachel Creature and her Invisible Monster Guardians away, Lockheed relaxed a little, and much of his misery and all of his hesitation turned into one big pout.
"We'll find you something in the fridge," Nathan said soothingly, rubbing the little dragon's head, "and then call Kitty to come get you. How does that sound?"
Lockheed turned his head into the carress, brightening a little at the mention of Kitty. "Mrrr," he said, voice low. But it sounded like an agreement.
And Nathan would just fail to mention this to Moira, he decided very firmly. Since no one was hurt. He'd just make sure to clean up the nursery before she got back upstairs. "Chicken?" he asked Lockheed.
Lockheed considered it, burrowing his head into Nathan's shirt. yes, Chicken would be good.
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no subject
Date: 2005-08-18 04:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-18 10:08 pm (UTC)And, see, if he tried to eat the baby, you'd have an excuse to throw him out of the room!
Not that, you know, he wouldn't already be dead...
no subject
Date: 2005-08-18 10:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-18 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-18 11:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-19 06:57 am (UTC)