Second verse, same as the first

[doyousmellfudge]

Claudia has taken to Warehouse 13 like a duck to water. She actually seems to enjoy doing inventory. That makes Artie a little suspicious. Not suspicious enough to actually put a stop to it yet, though. After all, the more busywork she does, the more time he can devote to his actual job of tracking down Artifacts

Comments

[claudiometer]

Hokay, so. Here's the Claudia. She's chillin'. Damn, that is a sweet Claudia, you might say--

...You know, up to the point where she realises that's sorta her boss. In the corner. With the snickerdoodles.
Jedi mind trick's not gonna work, so much, is it?

[doyousmellfudge]

There are many things Claudia Donovan is good at. Blending in with a crowd? Not one of them.

When Artie catches that telltale glint of streaked red hair out of the corner of his eye, he freezes, cookie halfway to his mouth.

[claudiometer]

...Yeah, Claudia's just gonna act casual, now. Maybe it;ll go better if she acts like it's nothing unusual, that they're both here?
:D?

[doyousmellfudge]

"Claudia."

Ms. Donovan hasn't known Artie very long, but she should recognize his you're-about-to-be-in-trouble voice.

[claudiometer]

ohhhh, she does. And her usual response to something like that? Dive into it headfirst.
"Dude, do you never mention the important things? Like a door to the restaurant at the end of the universe being right at hand?"

[doyousmellfudge]

"I did mention the important things. In this case, the important thing I mentioned was not to touch anything!" snaps Artie. "Did I not explicitly say that when you started working??"

[claudiometer]

"Yeah. And you'll notice that mostly I haven't." Exceptions being this and her repurposing project.
"And, you know, if you want people to leave it alone, maybe you shouldn't have labeled it Milliways. I probably would've left it alone if you hadn't."
Or at least thought long and hard about it. Even with this place, she has a Thing about interdimensional spaces.

[doyousmellfudge]

"'Mostly'?" Artie echoes. "'Mostly' doesn't cut it, Claudia. The rules exist for a reason, a good reason. People get hurt, or killed, or worse, if those rules aren't followed. Things do not get put in the Warehouse because they're friendly and safe to play with, you understand?"

[claudiometer]

"Yeah, I got that memo when I was ten, geezer."
Even if she didn't know it applied, quite yet, she got it all the same.

[doyousmellfudge]

Artie just gives her a Look. Clearly, she didn't fully grasp that message, because she's here.

[claudiometer]

"Aren't you the one who was calling me impulsive a few weeks ago?" Because, really, if he already knows she's not afraid of the risks, he shouldn't be all surprised when she goes and takes them.
"Besides, you're here, and I don't see you letting it sneak up on you if you can help it."
And if he's got a plate of cookies on hand.

[doyousmellfudge]

Surprised? Who said anything about being surprised? Disappointed, maybe.

"I am here because Mrs. Frederick ordered me to keep tabs on this place. What's your excuse?"

[claudiometer]

"Half the time? Trying to keep my nasal passages cleared so I can keep working. It's like nobody's heard of dusting in the last century."
She doesn't try to justify the other...... okay three-quarters.

[doyousmellfudge]

"Uh-huh." Artie totally believes you. Really. "And the other half?"

[claudiometer]

You gotta admit, it is usually closer than trekking all the way back up to the office.
...
...She can just glare at him instead of answering, right? Right.

[doyousmellfudge]

Artie pulls his glasses up and drags his hand over his face with a sigh. "Claudia, I realize that there are a lot of Artifacts in the Warehouse that seem tempting. But you need to realize that they're in the Warehouse because they're not toys to play with!"