Ficlet: Fluff And Kindness
Title: Fluff And Kindness
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Nosy.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: After a bad storm, Nosy checks the roof garden for damage and finds a new friend.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 177: Flutter at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
There were lots of advantages to being an all-weather Fluff, Nosy decided, slithering out into the roof garden one afternoon as a storm gradually blew itself out. The rain, mixed with hail, had been hammering down earlier, and though Nosy could have gone outside without getting drenched thanks to its newly water-resistant fur, the idea hadn’t been appealing. Just because it was weatherproof didn’t mean it had to test that fact at every opportunity. By now, however, the hail had stopped, and the rain was down to a light drizzle, although the wind continued to gust. Nosy liked wind.
Slinking across the decking outside the French windows, where the puddles were already drying in a brisk breeze, Nosy breathed the fresh, clean air, relishing the cool, damp scents it carried. There was nothing quite like the air after a storm; it was invigorating.
It hadn’t just come outside for some fresh air though. The storm had been violent, the worst Nosy had seen in all the time it had lived in this flat high above the ground, so it wanted to check for damage. Jack and Ianto grew many things up here: flowers, herbs, fruit, and vegetables. There was also a greenhouse, a shed, and a garden pond. With the wind, the pouring rain, and pea-sized pellets of ice bouncing off everything, there was every possibility that something might be broken and if that were the case then it should probably alert one of its human friends.
As it expected, some of the plants were looking battered, even flattened, but the greenhouse and shed appeared intact. The pond was overflowing a bit, which was hardly surprising, but the espalier fruit trees were fine.
Just as Nosy was turning to check the other end of the garden, it spotted a feeble flutter of movement against the retaining wall of one of the raised beds, and on investigation, found a small, bedraggled bird. It was a robin, cold and wet and dazed. Maybe it had been stunned by the hail.
Nosy moved closer, shielding the tiny creature from the wind, and hummed gently. The robin managed a weak chirp in reply and fluttered its damp wings, trying to shake the water from its feathers. It looked as though it had been bowled across the muddy ground. Nudging the bird with its snout, Nosy urged it closer, helping it upwards until it was nestled in the alien’s thick fur. Then the Fluff slithered inside, rubbing its underside clean on the mat just inside the door.
In the kitchen, Nosy found the food Ianto put out for the birds, and sprinkled suet pellets in its fur for its new friend. The warmth and the food soon seemed to help, the little robin perking up, fluttering its wings more strongly before starting to preen. Nosy hummed in satisfaction, relieved the bird was recovering. Once the wind dropped it could go back outside where it belonged, but for now Nosy would take good care of it.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Nosy.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: After a bad storm, Nosy checks the roof garden for damage and finds a new friend.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 177: Flutter at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
There were lots of advantages to being an all-weather Fluff, Nosy decided, slithering out into the roof garden one afternoon as a storm gradually blew itself out. The rain, mixed with hail, had been hammering down earlier, and though Nosy could have gone outside without getting drenched thanks to its newly water-resistant fur, the idea hadn’t been appealing. Just because it was weatherproof didn’t mean it had to test that fact at every opportunity. By now, however, the hail had stopped, and the rain was down to a light drizzle, although the wind continued to gust. Nosy liked wind.
Slinking across the decking outside the French windows, where the puddles were already drying in a brisk breeze, Nosy breathed the fresh, clean air, relishing the cool, damp scents it carried. There was nothing quite like the air after a storm; it was invigorating.
It hadn’t just come outside for some fresh air though. The storm had been violent, the worst Nosy had seen in all the time it had lived in this flat high above the ground, so it wanted to check for damage. Jack and Ianto grew many things up here: flowers, herbs, fruit, and vegetables. There was also a greenhouse, a shed, and a garden pond. With the wind, the pouring rain, and pea-sized pellets of ice bouncing off everything, there was every possibility that something might be broken and if that were the case then it should probably alert one of its human friends.
As it expected, some of the plants were looking battered, even flattened, but the greenhouse and shed appeared intact. The pond was overflowing a bit, which was hardly surprising, but the espalier fruit trees were fine.
Just as Nosy was turning to check the other end of the garden, it spotted a feeble flutter of movement against the retaining wall of one of the raised beds, and on investigation, found a small, bedraggled bird. It was a robin, cold and wet and dazed. Maybe it had been stunned by the hail.
Nosy moved closer, shielding the tiny creature from the wind, and hummed gently. The robin managed a weak chirp in reply and fluttered its damp wings, trying to shake the water from its feathers. It looked as though it had been bowled across the muddy ground. Nudging the bird with its snout, Nosy urged it closer, helping it upwards until it was nestled in the alien’s thick fur. Then the Fluff slithered inside, rubbing its underside clean on the mat just inside the door.
In the kitchen, Nosy found the food Ianto put out for the birds, and sprinkled suet pellets in its fur for its new friend. The warmth and the food soon seemed to help, the little robin perking up, fluttering its wings more strongly before starting to preen. Nosy hummed in satisfaction, relieved the bird was recovering. Once the wind dropped it could go back outside where it belonged, but for now Nosy would take good care of it.
The End