2008-01-04: Shadow of Doubt

Starring:

Lachlan_icon.gif Daphne_icon.gif

Summary: Lachlan appears at Daphne's door and seeks help with learning the languages of beasts.

Date It Happened: 4 JANUARY 2008

Shadow of Doubt


Daphne's House

After many, many months of working at the zoo, Daphne's taken some time off. It's not relaxing, however - not only does she have a bazillion animals to take care of, but she took the time off to study for a few important tests she has coming up, to take some practise exams, and attempt to keep her life together. It's not near finals, but with the classes she's taking, she needs a flawless semester besides.

With Raptor perched on her shoulder, she's sitting in the kitchen with a book open on the table in front of her. One thing she's always hated was math, especially when it defies logic. Imaginary numbers? Wasn't there enough complication involved with just the real ones? Who wrote this, honestly, and what will it ever be used for?

"Your mom," Raptor says helpfully.

—-

Knock-knock-knock. Standing out in the snow is Lachlan, who's all bundled up for the obvious winter that is occurring outdoors. The man looks thinner than he once was and it would appear he hasn't slept much in weeks. Desperation has driven him here. Daphne can talk to other animals, and while Cass is helping him develop that gift, she's kinda pissed at him for the whole drug-lord affair — and she's been busy. And in times like this, having the ability to communicate with many other animals would be very beneficial to the Scot.

—-

"u has a company," Raptor says as the knock on the door reaches Daphne's ears.

Dumb bird.

Well, she could use the break, anyway. Pushing her chair back, slamming the book closed, she heads for the door. Since she's been home all day, she isn't exactly dressed for Company - a t-shirt and old sweats - but that's okay. She doesn't really expect anyone other than kids selling cookies or magazines. Looking out the window on the door yeilds other results, though. It's that Lachlan guy. The one who talks to dogs.

Pulling open the door, she says, "Hey," and sounds rather surprised. "Didn' think I'd see ya 'round. S'been awhile."

—-

Even though he's heard Daphne with her accent before, it's still something that takes a bit of getting-used-to. Lachlan blinks once at the greeting, but he recovers quickly and offers a weak smile. "Hey. Yeah, s'been a while. Ye got a minute?" He peers at the bird, almost as though expecting it to attack him or something. Like a camel.

—-

Well, at least there's one thing that can put Lachlan's mind a little more at ease.

<HEY COMPANY? There's someone here? Yay! We hardly ever have people anymore! Did he bring treats? Did he!?>

The Westie jumps up and rests her paws on Lachlan's knees, barking a couple times happily at the prospect of Someone New. "Rosie…" Daphne says, reaching down to grab the dog's collar and pull her away from the door. Raptor takes this opportunity to jump ship onto Lachlan's shoulder and stick her beak in his ear.

"BUG LAYS EGGS," Raptor says. Into Lachlan's ear.

"…Yeah. Yeah, I got a sec. Raptor's made a new friend, I see."

—-

Dogs are very relaxing to Lachlan, and he's quick to send happy signals of greeting to the Westie — followed by calming ones. Don't get too excited, there. The bird causes him to flinch a little, and not because she's squawking into his ear either. Lachlan's not used to birds. Killer pigeons are the closest he's come to bird-on-Lachlan interaction. He tries to remain calm and not flail, but he tenses quite a bit as he shuffles into the house. "Yeah, uh, I guess." Bird. "Was just, uh, wonderin' if ye've got, uh. Somethin' I can try ta talk ta tha's no' a dog." Not that he doesn't think Rosie is completely and utterly awesome.

—-

Rosie, in her turn, is quick to plop her wiggly butt right down on Lachlan's feet. <He likes me!> she says, and that's all the praise and devotion she needs. Treats would help, but only marginally at this point.

"Wonderin' if ye've got, uh," Raptor repeats. "Got uh. Got uh. Got uh." Then she barks. The little parrotlet is a lot smarter than she sounds. In fact, it's quite a feat for the small parrot to be able to say so much - most can't. Meanwhile, she grooms Lachlan's hair. Bird spit does wonders for dandruff.

"You've come to the right place," Daphne says, though she gives him a strange look. He's only showing up now? Maybe he's shy? Reaching for Raptor, Daphne manages to pry her off Lachlan's shoulder. "I've got lots of animals." Evidently - as an orange tabby appears, followed by a grey devon rex.

—-

It so happens that Lachlan does have treats, as it's his job to train dogs, and he likes dogs. Thus he carries around a couple in his pockets. So after Raptor has been taken off his shoulder (he still stares at her oddly), he absently fishes around in his pocket and withdraws a Milkbone biscuit, which is offered toward Rosie. It's peanut butter-flavored! "'Ve already got cats down a'righ'," he explains, eyeing the felines that have just joined them. "We got a cat an' I've been talkin' ta 'im a bit. But I was thinkin' somethin' else." He eyes the bird again. Could he talk to birds? He's never tried. Probably not.

—-

"She likes noms," Raptor provides helpfully, as Daphne places the bird back on her shoulder. Actually, birds are one of the easiest for Daphne to hear, because she works with them at the zoo most often. Cats are second, given that they were the first animal she ever heard. In any case, birds might be a reasonable step for Lachlan. They are, after all, intelligent, and it would be just mean to put him into the room with four ferrets in it. "Uhm. Hm," she says.

Not exactly your every day ordinary conversation. Pushing her hair back, she thinks for a moment, then comes up with the perfect solution. "You wanna go 'ave a seat in the kitchen? There's bottled water and stuff in the fridge if you want. I'm gonna put raptor away." She points the way, then headsdown the hall. Getting Raptor into her cage will be… interesting, to say the least.

—-

"Sure, yeah." Lachlan heads into the kitchen as offered, but he doesn't touch the fridge. He just settles himself into a chair quietly — and then curiously peers at the book on the table. And recoils. Ohgodit'smaths, horror.

—-

Suddenly, the math book leaps up and bites off Lachlan's face, and that is the end of the Scotsman, and he will never be seen again! AAAH. MATH KILLS.

Only none of that actually happens. A few minutes later, Daphne returns - minus the small green parrot, but now carrying a black lump of fur in her arms. She sets it down on the table, and the blob forms into a rabbit, who looks up curiously at Lachlan. The bunny's first thought is, <Who is this? Can I chew on it?> Rabbits happen to ask a lot of questions.

"This is shadow. He's pretty talkative. Might be a good place to start."

—-

Lachlan stares at the rabbit. Stares. Rabbit. Like cats (before he was capable of talking to them), he had let his dogs chase rabbits in the park and in various parts of Canada. This one is not like those rabbits, though, as it's a domestic one and also black. He's still a little less-than-sure about it, though, and reaches out a hand to let it sniff his fingers, as he would a dog or cat. It kinda looks like that chalupa— chinchilla that Molly had. "S'cute," he comments absently. Hard to tell if he actually means it; he sounds wary.

But as he had with the cat and with the practice sessions he'd had with Cass, he starts to focus on the rabbit and the area around the rabbit, trying to pick up a channel. What would a rabbit be thinking about? What would a rabbit's telepathic channel be like? It's surprisingly easy to find out, perhaps due to his earlier success with the chinchilla, perhaps with his practice with cats. Regardless, he manages to pick up the last question on the rabbit's mind, hazy and faint though it is to him — and he quickly withdraws his hand. No, you can't chew on it.

—-

As Shadow sniffs, he determines that this is one of those things that he can't chew on. A pity, too, though perhaps the fingernails— He reaches forward in an attempt to taste, before Lachlan pulls his hand away. Well, drat.

<Is he friendly? Is he friendly? Am I safe?> the rabbit asks, as Daphne attempts to reassure him by scratching the top of his head.

"He didn't bite you, did he? Sometimes he nibbles a bit, but he's not really a biter. He never really has been." To demonstrate, she holds out her own hand to the rabbit, and Shadow teethes on her fingers, too. Not enough to hurt, though.

<Can I poop here? Is there food? Do I hear a longrabbit? Can I play with the longrabbits?>

—-

"Nah, he dinna bite, but— " But he was thinking about it. Lachlan heard it. But just as easily as the connection was made, Lachlan finds it difficult to hold onto and the more he tries, the worse the buzzing gets in the back of his head. It finally punches out just as the thought of longrabbits enters into the equation, and he squeezes his eyes shut to ward off the headache that builds. "Wha's a longrabbit?" he asks as he pinches the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

—-

Shadow kind of stands up on his toes, looking over the edge of the table to see if he can find the source of what he heard.

"…Are you okay?" Daphne asks. Really, she kind of knows what he's going through. The sort of staticky jolt, the odd snippets of speech - she remembers them from when she was learning. Going to the fridge, she pulls out a bottle of cold water, setting it on the table for Lachlan. Shadow investigates.

"You heard him?" Daphne smiles, taking a seat at the table across from him. Nodding to the cats, she explains. "They kind of see everything as different kinds of rabbits," she says. "At least Shadow does. I guess it's easier for him to put together. He likes to play with the cats."

—-

Lachlan accepts the bottle gratefully, but instead of drinking from it, he puts it to his forehead with a grimace. "Yeah, I'm fine." Or he will be, anyway, with a bit of aspirin. "Yeah, I heard 'im. Just fer a bit, though, b'fore— " he gestures with his free hand to indicate his head. Headache. "Is no' dangerous fer 'im ta play with the cats?" He's no expert, but he remembers that bunnies and cats don't get along.

—-

With careful introduction, they actually get along really well. They also had Daphne around to help introduce them, and to reassure, which did wonders. Thus, she shakes her head to the question. "Y'ever try not to listen?" she asks, pulling Shadow toward her, cuddling the rabbit in her arms as he continues peering toward the edge of the table. Eventually, the orange tabby jumps up to touch noses with the rabbit.

"Like just— you already know you can hear them, right? Just opening your mind instead of tryin' t'push your way into theirs? S'kinna weird. If they know you can hear 'em, they 'ardly shut up. Might save y'some headaches."

—-

"Nah, I canna turn it off. Used ta be able ta turn it off, but," Lachlan pauses a moment and lowers the bottle again, rolling it between his hands on the table, "somethin' happened when I was wee an' it turned it on alla time. An' just fer dogs. Dinna even know I could hear anythin' else 'til I met ye an' started tryin' it m'self. But s'allus on fer dogs, still. Can turn it on an' off fer cats just fine, though."

—-

"I can't really shut them out, either. I just get used to it. I tried, though… I think that's kinna what opened the floodgates, so t'speak. Used to just be the cat, then animals a' the zoo. You… could spend more time at the zoo, maybe. Y'ever think o' gettin' a maintenance job there r' somethin'? Don't think there's any openings for animal handlers, but it'd put you close to the animals. Bet that'd help."

—-

Lachlan considers it a moment, then shakes his head. "Dunna think I'd have time. A'ready werk trainin' dogs an' the like." And he makes some good money with it, so it's not like he could just drop it. "But mebbe I could spend a bit o' time there anyway." He shrugs a little. "Allus hearin' dogs, but I can focus on just a couple o' 'em at a time, so s'no' overwhelmin'."

—-

"I think I could manage takin' you back to meet a couple of 'em," she says. Not inside the enclosures, but back near staff entrances, so he can get up close. As Shadow settles down a little, Daphne doesn't have to keep as powerful a hold on him.

<Am I safe? Can I nap? Can I nap here? Can I chew on a nap?>

In response, Daphne just pets the rabbit's head.

Looking over at Lachlan, she half-smiles. "Always kinna wondered why I could hear 'em all and you could only hear the dogs." Maybe it was the environment? Who really knows. Hm. "You know. Bears are sort of related t'dogs. Closer n' cats, anyway. There's some black bears at the zoo. Maybe if you start with somethin' kinna close to dogs, it might help a little?"

—-

"S'no' a bad idea." Something more like a dog would definitely be easier to pick up on. Besides, how cool would it be if he could talk to bears? Pretty damn cool, is what. Lachlan scratches at his jaw thoughtfully — then happens to glance at his watch. He starts to rise. "'Ve gotta get goin'. Promised Cass I'd be home soon." He extends a hand toward the rabbit to give it a tentative scritch on the head and between the ears.

—-

The bears are easy-going and friendly, besides. Most of them are, anyway. People think they're dumb with the way they lumber around, but they're geniuses. As Lachlan stands, Daphne does, too, and starts toward the door so she can let him out. "Wait, Lachlan," she says, as Shadow comments on the attention he's getting. "Why all of a sudden?"

—-

Lachlan hesitates a moment, then shrugs. "Dunno, just figured it'd be a good idea ta give it a shot," he mumbles. Yeah, that's not the whole truth, but he can't just come out and say, 'Well, it's because I quit dealing drugs recently and it's caused my former employers to come after me and my fiancee and I figured having a network of animal spies would be a good idea.' "S'helpful, y'know?"

—-

It's finally kind of catching up with her that she's got a strange man in her house, and she's in her pajamas. Okay, he's not strange, but he kind of took her by surprise a bit. "Well, you're welcome to come over any time. Just… You know. Call ahead." Smirking a little, she reaches for her math book and pulls a sheet of loose-leaf paper out. She's given her number to Lachlan before, but just in case he lost it… "And give me a call when you want to have a chat with the bears."

—-

Lachlan takes the paper with a grin — faint though it is, it's genuine and doesn't look like it's coming from a dead man. That's something. "Sure thing. 'll see ye 'round; take care o' yerself." And with that, he heads off into the cold, back toward home.

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