Wings
Title: Wings
Author: Anteros
Characters: Bush, Kennedy, Hornblower, Wellard
Rating: G
Warnings: Stupid, stupid, stupid Hornblower / LoTR Crossover Crackfic
Notes: I'm blaming gayalondiel for this one, although nodbear's not completely blameless. Gaya said "when someone new comes along and asks who pushed Captain Sawyer. Which is a worthy question (for the uninitiated, it's the equivalent of whether Balrogs have wings)". That resulted in a stupid plot bunny. gayalondiel m'dear, you can have this as a slightly belated birthday present. Everyone else might want to just ignore it. I'm going to pretend it never happened ;)
Lieutenant Bush found his quarry in the furthest recess of the hold. Not a place one would expect to find two lieutenants and a midshipman in the normal course of duty. Not unless they had something to hide. Bush's approach had been so silent that he was on them before they had time to scatter.
"Gentlemen?"
Wellard jumped up from the keg he'd been sitting on knocking it over and sending it rolling across the deck with a hollow clatter. Kennedy startled and shot a glance at the man crouched beside him. Only Hornblower remained impassive his face immediately assuming the mask like quality Bush had observed on previous occasions.
"Mr Bush?" Hornblower made the simple response sound like a polite but adamant challenge.
"I thought I might find you here," Bush faltered slightly in the face of Hornblower's implacable gaze. "I thought...I thought you might be able to tell me what happened the night the captain fell."
Kennedy, flicked another quick look at Hornblower. The 4th lieutenant's nervous glance convinced Bush he was on the right track and he steeled his nerve to ask the question he had come seeking an answer for.
"How did the captain fall down the hatchway, Mr Hornblower?"
"Mr Bush I am quite certain I know no more than I have already told you. I can only assume he missed his footing and lost his balance." It was stated as such a simple matter of fact that Bush was almost prepared to believe Hornblower. But still that mask like expression disturbed him.
"And you're quite sure..."
"The captain lost his footing and fell. I saw it" It was Wellard who had butted in. The boy was standing against the bulkhead, face pale, eyes wide as a rabbit's caught in the glare of a poachers lantern.
"I saw it. It caught his ankle."
Both Kennedy and Hornblower startled and for a moment Bush saw an expression of horror of disbelief flit across the 3rd lieutenant's face.
"Someone caught the captain's ankle Mr Wellard?" Bush tried to keep his voice steady.
"No, no, not someone, some thing." The boy was pale with terror. "It was like a shadow with flame flickering all around it, like a cat of fire."
"A what?" Now it was Bush's turn to assume the countenance of a startled rabbit. The bossun's beating had clearly addled the boy's wits.
Wellard was gasping for breath but appeared determined to continue. "A cat... a whip... it... it... caught the captain and dragged him over the edge."
"Mr Wellard are you telling me that someone dragged the captain down the hatchway with a cat?"
Wellard was blinking furiously, he looked as if he was about to cry.
"I couldn't see sir. It was so dark, and it's shadow reached out like two vast wings...."
"Wings? Wings Mr Wellard?" Bush was still gaping in astonishment when Hornblower stepped in.
"Wings indeed! Clearly Mr Wellard is not himself. The boy is startling at shadows. No doubt a result of Dr Clive's ministrations."
"But Horatio, Mr Wellard did say wings," Kennedy cut in.
"Nonsense Mr Kennedy, I do believe the boy's words were "like wings."
"But if it is a creature of shadow and its shadow is like wings then surely it indeed has wings. You are the master of logic Horatio you must see that is the case." Kennedy had set his jaw in that infernally stubborn line that Bush was all too familiar with.
"Really Archie, I see no logic whatsoever in your case. To say a thing is like wings does not in truth prove that a thing has wings."
"But Horatio..."
Bush left the arguing lieutenants in the hold where he had found them and stumbled back to his cabin. Nothing made any sense on this infernal ship. Clearly madness was not confined to the unfortunate captain. Bush collapsed onto his cot, overtaken by exhaustion and more than a little confusion.
He dreamed he was on a ship, sailing west, it was raining and as the rain-curtain rolled back he saw the shore and before him a far green country under a swift sunrise.
Bush woke with a start, the midshipman of the watch was pounding his cabin door, "Mr Bush, sir, lookout's sighted land". Bush struggled up from his cot. The entire crew might be mad as a bag of monkeys but at least they had reached Santa Domingo. Without the assistance of wings.
With profound apologies to Messrs. Tolkien and Forrester
Author: Anteros
Characters: Bush, Kennedy, Hornblower, Wellard
Rating: G
Warnings: Stupid, stupid, stupid Hornblower / LoTR Crossover Crackfic
Notes: I'm blaming gayalondiel for this one, although nodbear's not completely blameless. Gaya said "when someone new comes along and asks who pushed Captain Sawyer. Which is a worthy question (for the uninitiated, it's the equivalent of whether Balrogs have wings)". That resulted in a stupid plot bunny. gayalondiel m'dear, you can have this as a slightly belated birthday present. Everyone else might want to just ignore it. I'm going to pretend it never happened ;)
Lieutenant Bush found his quarry in the furthest recess of the hold. Not a place one would expect to find two lieutenants and a midshipman in the normal course of duty. Not unless they had something to hide. Bush's approach had been so silent that he was on them before they had time to scatter.
"Gentlemen?"
Wellard jumped up from the keg he'd been sitting on knocking it over and sending it rolling across the deck with a hollow clatter. Kennedy startled and shot a glance at the man crouched beside him. Only Hornblower remained impassive his face immediately assuming the mask like quality Bush had observed on previous occasions.
"Mr Bush?" Hornblower made the simple response sound like a polite but adamant challenge.
"I thought I might find you here," Bush faltered slightly in the face of Hornblower's implacable gaze. "I thought...I thought you might be able to tell me what happened the night the captain fell."
Kennedy, flicked another quick look at Hornblower. The 4th lieutenant's nervous glance convinced Bush he was on the right track and he steeled his nerve to ask the question he had come seeking an answer for.
"How did the captain fall down the hatchway, Mr Hornblower?"
"Mr Bush I am quite certain I know no more than I have already told you. I can only assume he missed his footing and lost his balance." It was stated as such a simple matter of fact that Bush was almost prepared to believe Hornblower. But still that mask like expression disturbed him.
"And you're quite sure..."
"The captain lost his footing and fell. I saw it" It was Wellard who had butted in. The boy was standing against the bulkhead, face pale, eyes wide as a rabbit's caught in the glare of a poachers lantern.
"I saw it. It caught his ankle."
Both Kennedy and Hornblower startled and for a moment Bush saw an expression of horror of disbelief flit across the 3rd lieutenant's face.
"Someone caught the captain's ankle Mr Wellard?" Bush tried to keep his voice steady.
"No, no, not someone, some thing." The boy was pale with terror. "It was like a shadow with flame flickering all around it, like a cat of fire."
"A what?" Now it was Bush's turn to assume the countenance of a startled rabbit. The bossun's beating had clearly addled the boy's wits.
Wellard was gasping for breath but appeared determined to continue. "A cat... a whip... it... it... caught the captain and dragged him over the edge."
"Mr Wellard are you telling me that someone dragged the captain down the hatchway with a cat?"
Wellard was blinking furiously, he looked as if he was about to cry.
"I couldn't see sir. It was so dark, and it's shadow reached out like two vast wings...."
"Wings? Wings Mr Wellard?" Bush was still gaping in astonishment when Hornblower stepped in.
"Wings indeed! Clearly Mr Wellard is not himself. The boy is startling at shadows. No doubt a result of Dr Clive's ministrations."
"But Horatio, Mr Wellard did say wings," Kennedy cut in.
"Nonsense Mr Kennedy, I do believe the boy's words were "like wings."
"But if it is a creature of shadow and its shadow is like wings then surely it indeed has wings. You are the master of logic Horatio you must see that is the case." Kennedy had set his jaw in that infernally stubborn line that Bush was all too familiar with.
"Really Archie, I see no logic whatsoever in your case. To say a thing is like wings does not in truth prove that a thing has wings."
"But Horatio..."
Bush left the arguing lieutenants in the hold where he had found them and stumbled back to his cabin. Nothing made any sense on this infernal ship. Clearly madness was not confined to the unfortunate captain. Bush collapsed onto his cot, overtaken by exhaustion and more than a little confusion.
He dreamed he was on a ship, sailing west, it was raining and as the rain-curtain rolled back he saw the shore and before him a far green country under a swift sunrise.
Bush woke with a start, the midshipman of the watch was pounding his cabin door, "Mr Bush, sir, lookout's sighted land". Bush struggled up from his cot. The entire crew might be mad as a bag of monkeys but at least they had reached Santa Domingo. Without the assistance of wings.
With profound apologies to Messrs. Tolkien and Forrester