Hanging in the Window
Fandom: The Demon's Lexicon
Pairing: None
Spoilers: Kind of book 1, but not explicitly
Length: 623
Summary: 'Now there was a question hanging in the car like a very awkward air freshener...' -The Demon's Lexicon page 149 (UK proof)
Notes: None of the characters/world/setting belong to me. Inspired by the chatfish.
The air smelt of pine, a solid woody scent, which proved I was doing my job awesomely. There I was, hanging around (I’m practiced at that sort of thing) when He was back. I’d always liked ferrying around the Red-top. And now there were the Pink-top and the Yellow-top who were also nice. The boy more than the girl because he just sat quietly and breathed deeply of the pine-scented air. A satisfied customer.
He yanked the door open and slopped himself into the car beside Yellow-top. He was, of course, Black-top and Black-eyes and Black-scary-dark-smell. The other People didn’t notice the smell; no one can smell quite like an air freshener, because we have to know exactly how much scent to put out into the air. Black-top didn’t smell bad, as such, just... dark and different. I started pushing out more pine-fresh-happiness, unable to shake off the usual awkwardness I felt when Black-top was in the car. He made me feel as though I wasn’t doing my job properly.
He was in the car for two hours. Two hours at full Pine-goodness just to try and overpower the dark scent which never quite went away. Even when Yellow, Pink and Red got out for a time Black-top just stayed there in the back seat like he was mocking me. His eyes were fixed on me, black points boring into my marketable Christmas-tree shape.
I glared back, as best I could, but I don’t think it had the same effect and after a while I turned my back on him.
“I don’t see why we’re going to the city,” Yellow-top remarked and I seconded this comment. The city meant smog and smoke and even more pine-fresh scent and I had limited resources. If I ran out Red-top would throw me out and replace me with someone else. I didn’t like Black-top but I would rather be here than on a trash pile somewhere.
Luckily for me, this was one day when Red-top was completely on my side. Not only did he say he was driving out to Stonehenge in the countryside where there would be trees and I could cope easily with the smell but Black-top wasn’t going with them! He said it himself. “Nick can see illusions so he’ll be going into Salisbury.”
(They called Black-top ‘Nick.’ It was one of those strange, human things. Probably to distinguish him from Long-Black-Top-Blue-Eyes.) I was distracted from my happy musings, however, by a level of awkwardness descending on the whole car which ran through me right down to my Logo and hanging-string.
Pink-top was reaching for her door handle. That was good, that meant it would just be Yellow-top and Red-top and maybe they would get talking and decide to drive away together with the car (and me!) and never throw their air freshener away because they wouldn’t need it without Black-top and they could stay out of towns.
“I’ll take Jamie,” Black-top interrupted, grabbing Yellow-top and proving everything I’d ever thought about him being disturbing and violent. “You have Mae.”
This made Red-top grin foolishly (why couldn’t he have stood up for me for a change?) and he even managed to arrange a meeting point in an hour; any hopes of getting away from Black-top forever were dashed. Yellow-top’s mournful look suggested he might be on my side, but it was possible he just wanted to get away from Black-top. We agreed on that point.
Then we were driving away and I was finally able to relax now the dark-smell was gone. But it wasn't long before I began to cringe at Red-top’s terrible attempts to start flirting.
He should’ve just said he liked her brand name; that always worked well for me.
Pairing: None
Spoilers: Kind of book 1, but not explicitly
Length: 623
Summary: 'Now there was a question hanging in the car like a very awkward air freshener...' -The Demon's Lexicon page 149 (UK proof)
Notes: None of the characters/world/setting belong to me. Inspired by the chatfish.
The air smelt of pine, a solid woody scent, which proved I was doing my job awesomely. There I was, hanging around (I’m practiced at that sort of thing) when He was back. I’d always liked ferrying around the Red-top. And now there were the Pink-top and the Yellow-top who were also nice. The boy more than the girl because he just sat quietly and breathed deeply of the pine-scented air. A satisfied customer.
He yanked the door open and slopped himself into the car beside Yellow-top. He was, of course, Black-top and Black-eyes and Black-scary-dark-smell. The other People didn’t notice the smell; no one can smell quite like an air freshener, because we have to know exactly how much scent to put out into the air. Black-top didn’t smell bad, as such, just... dark and different. I started pushing out more pine-fresh-happiness, unable to shake off the usual awkwardness I felt when Black-top was in the car. He made me feel as though I wasn’t doing my job properly.
He was in the car for two hours. Two hours at full Pine-goodness just to try and overpower the dark scent which never quite went away. Even when Yellow, Pink and Red got out for a time Black-top just stayed there in the back seat like he was mocking me. His eyes were fixed on me, black points boring into my marketable Christmas-tree shape.
I glared back, as best I could, but I don’t think it had the same effect and after a while I turned my back on him.
“I don’t see why we’re going to the city,” Yellow-top remarked and I seconded this comment. The city meant smog and smoke and even more pine-fresh scent and I had limited resources. If I ran out Red-top would throw me out and replace me with someone else. I didn’t like Black-top but I would rather be here than on a trash pile somewhere.
Luckily for me, this was one day when Red-top was completely on my side. Not only did he say he was driving out to Stonehenge in the countryside where there would be trees and I could cope easily with the smell but Black-top wasn’t going with them! He said it himself. “Nick can see illusions so he’ll be going into Salisbury.”
(They called Black-top ‘Nick.’ It was one of those strange, human things. Probably to distinguish him from Long-Black-Top-Blue-Eyes.) I was distracted from my happy musings, however, by a level of awkwardness descending on the whole car which ran through me right down to my Logo and hanging-string.
Pink-top was reaching for her door handle. That was good, that meant it would just be Yellow-top and Red-top and maybe they would get talking and decide to drive away together with the car (and me!) and never throw their air freshener away because they wouldn’t need it without Black-top and they could stay out of towns.
“I’ll take Jamie,” Black-top interrupted, grabbing Yellow-top and proving everything I’d ever thought about him being disturbing and violent. “You have Mae.”
This made Red-top grin foolishly (why couldn’t he have stood up for me for a change?) and he even managed to arrange a meeting point in an hour; any hopes of getting away from Black-top forever were dashed. Yellow-top’s mournful look suggested he might be on my side, but it was possible he just wanted to get away from Black-top. We agreed on that point.
Then we were driving away and I was finally able to relax now the dark-smell was gone. But it wasn't long before I began to cringe at Red-top’s terrible attempts to start flirting.
He should’ve just said he liked her brand name; that always worked well for me.