Ficlet from train trip the first (Hendricks/Gard)
In my request for prompts to write on the train, Binz asked for ‘Hendricks driving the Blue Beetle. For Reasons.’ Here’s a G-rated, no warnings required ficlet
“Shotgun.” Gard said, and moved to stand by the passenger side door of Dresden’s piebald vehicle.
“You like driving,” I said. It had been a strategic error to pick the keys out of Dresden’s abandoned coat; I should have waited for Gard to take them.
“Not in this instance.” She knocked on the roof of the car. “This contraption is held together at least partly by the wizard’s will. It would be a trespass to command it without his invitation.”
“He hasn’t invited me either,” I said, and unlocked the door.
“Ah, but we are bound by different rules, Nathan,” she smiled, and managed to make sliding into the car a graceful act. I had less luck, collapsing back onto a seat adjusted for Dresden’s stork like legs. I closed the door and immediately felt some sympathy for sardines. “How does Dresden cope in here? It must fold him in half.”
“It serves his purpose,” Gard said. “Try not to disparage his vessel.”
Vessel? There was a distinct possibility she was winding me up, but unless the car got referred to as a ‘steed’ or a ‘chariot’ over the course of the journey, I couldn’t know for sure. I turned the key in the ignition instead, and listened to the engine whine and stall.
Shit. We didn’t have time for this.
“You have slighted it,” Gard said.
I hadn’t. It was a car.
“You should make amends, Nathan.”
I glared at her, and tried to decode her expression to work out if that was a serious suggestion.
Before I could reach a conclusion, Gard leaned past me and set a hand on the steering wheel. “Your master needs our aid,” she said, “and you are our only conveyance. We mean him no harm, but if we are delayed, harm will befall him.”
I turned the key again, and the engine roared to life with more enthusiasm than I expected. Potentially coincidental, but I had no way of testing that.
“Right. Belt up,” I said, and set about racking up some speeding violations. Johnny could pay the tickets.
This entry was originally posted at http://grenegome.dreamwidth.org/16041.html. Please comment there using OpenID.