Fic: The Way You Are (2/3)
The bags of groceries were still sitting where Scully had left them earlier, which meant that the ground beef and chicken thighs were now probably close to thawed. Mulder stood back and let Scully take the lead, and she did so, sniffing to find out which of the sacks on the counter contained the meat. After she located the correct one, she stretched up to the counter and - with a pang of regret for the carton of eggs and the jar of tomato sauce that were also in the bag - hooked her claws into it and pulled it onto the floor. It landed with a crash, and both she and Mulder drew back instinctively before investigating the results.
As Scully had predicted, it was frustratingly difficult to separate the meat from its plastic coverings without the aid of hands. Finally, though, they both managed it well enough, and soon every last bit of chicken and beef that she had purchased was gone. Almost as one, they moved to the shattered eggs and ate those as well, avoiding eggshell as much as possible. Even the spilled tomato sauce was finished off. When they had finished, Scully was still ravenous, and from the way Mulder was eying the other grocery sack, he was as well.
What else did you buy? Mulder asked. Anything else a carnivore might like?
Scully licked her teeth. Sadly, I don't think uncooked pasta really fits the bill, and neither does wine. She was glad that bottle hadn't been bagged with the meat. Or fruit, for that matter.
Mulder sat down, looking highly disappointed. Then he turned to the fridge. What about in there?
Well, Scully reflected, if we can get it open without bringing it down on top of us, then yes, there should be some more suitable food in there. She put her paw around the handle as best she could and pulled. Though it rocked ominously, the fridge stayed upright, and the door swung open.
Nice work, Scully, Mulder said admiringly. You must have been working out.
She didn't dignify that with a response, but instead got down to business. She pulled out a Tupperware container with a leftover stir-fry in it, a half turkey sandwich, and dug around for the bacon that was in the back. She had been saving it for a time when she felt like she could indulge. She even found some frozen ham that her mother had sent her a while back. Finally, Scully sat back and looked at the outcome of her foraging. She wasn't sure that it was enough - these bodies seemed to have an amazing appetite - but it would certainly fill them up more than they were right now. Thankfully, she hadn't even done too much harm to the inside of her fridge with her clumsy searching. A few knocked-over containers was hardly a mess at all. Now her kitchen floor, on the other hand...
I guess you're not so bad at hunting, yourself, Mulder remarked, bringing her back to the matter at hand. He pushed the bacon closer to himself. Scully, you've been holding out on me - I didn't know you even ever ate bacon!
That would be mine, Scully informed him coolly, growling slightly as she grabbed it from him. She might have been embarrassed by that if she weren't so hungry.
Fine, fine, Mulder said, pretending to be alarmed.
Between the two of them, Scully's food was consumed extraordinarily quickly. Scully had judged correctly: though she was still not completely sated after she'd eaten her portion, she felt much less ready to eat anything in sight. She reflected that she would definitely have to go shopping again as soon as possible... if it did become possible. She pushed that thought away.
Well, Mulder said, breaking the silence that had fallen while they started to clean themselves up, thanks for dinner, Scully.
Anytime, Mulder, Scully replied, giving the mental equivalent of a smile and knowing he could 'hear' it. She tried not to think about the fact that she was licking her paws and face clean. It was normal behavior for a cat, and it wasn't like she or Mulder would be able to use a napkin effectively.
Finally, she figured she was as finished as she was going to be, and looked up at Mulder. He yawned, showing off his impressive teeth, and blinked at her. I... kind of don't feel like I can do a lot of heavy thinking right now, Scully, he said apologetically.
Scully knew what he meant. She was feeling rather lethargic, as well. Mm, yeah, I guess we could both use a nap, she assented. She followed him out of the kitchen toward the couch.
I, uh, can take the couch, Mulder offered, unless you don't want cat hair on it.
Scully looked at the couch speculatively, wondering. I don't mind, Mulder, but... she trailed off. Uh, if you think that... being by yourself so long this morning caused you to start losing your sense of identity, maybe we... She found that she couldn't finish the sentence, and was almost thankful that she couldn't blush in this form.
She could sense Mulder's amusement, but he only said, That's thoughtful of you, Scully, but I don't think we'd both fit on the couch.
I didn't say it had to be the couch, Scully grumbled. She stalked off down the hall toward her bedroom, not bothering to look to see if he was following. In one smooth motion, she leaped onto her bed. As she was curling up, she felt Mulder leap up onto the other side of the mattress. She sighed. Maybe, she thought without much hope, when they woke up, they would be themselves again.
~~~~~~~~~
She opened her eyes. There was something wrong, something she was supposed to keep in mind, she knew, but she couldn't remember what it was. She looked around: no, the place she was in was familiar, that wasn't the problem. She didn't feel sick, though she was somewhat hungry, and she wasn't alone, because she could smell and feel her m-
Mulder! Scully whirled around to face him, her heart pounding.
He raised his head immediately. What's wrong, Scully?
I - I couldn't remember, couldn't even really think! she gasped. I woke up, and I wasn't...
Mulder closed the inches between them and rested his head on hers. Shh, it's all right. It all came back to you, didn't it?
She took a deep breath. Yes. Her heart rate was gradually returning to normal. That was... I'm glad you're here, Mulder.
Me, too, Scully, he said. They stayed close to each other, unmoving, for a few quiet moments. Then Mulder sighed, and reluctantly said, I guess we need to get down to business now, don't we?
In answer, Scully gently pulled away from him and turned to look at the clock. It was now close to 8:15, and for a second she was surprised at how well she could see without any lights on before she reasoned that leopards were most likely nocturnal. She turned back to Mulder. Well, I have to say that I don't really know where to start with this, Mulder. We've already established that neither of us have a clue as to what could have caused the transformation.
Yeah, that's- Mulder stopped abruptly. Wait.
What? Scully asked, sitting up. Did you remember something?
Sort of, he replied, sounding distracted. He walked across the bed and jumped off onto the floor next to her bedside table. She watched as he nosed around. I think... I think I remember something about right before I was sitting here waiting for you, when I was on my way to your apartment. I think someone did see me, and they wanted to be sure I saw them. He sighed in frustration. But I don't know who it was. I can't remember their face.
Don't push yourself, Scully advised, resting her head on her paws. Start slow. Was it a man or a woman?
Mulder paced around for a few more moments before he answered, I think it was a man. He was... tall, or at least he seemed that way. But I have no idea whether I know him, or would recognize him again. I wasn't human enough to focus on that kind of detail.
Well, it's still a start, Scully said, trying to infuse her tone with encouragement - though she privately agreed with his assessment that this was beginning to seem hopeless.
I wonder if a leopard has ever undergone regression hypnotherapy before. Mulder had stopped pacing, but he was still agitated. His tail threatened to sweep Scully's bedside table clean of everything on it, but before she could caution him not to knock over her lamp, he stopped himself, and looked at her with a muttered, Sorry.
So, whether or not the man that you saw is behind this, Scully continued, can you think of anyone who would - she paused, almost unwilling to put the thought into words, even though she couldn't deny the evidence of her own senses - have the capability to cause us to transform into leopards? And who has a grudge against one or both of us? Or were there any recent potential X-Files that had anything to do with this kind of a transformation?
Mulder considered for a few moments. Um, no, I don't think there have been any recent reports that came across my desk that had to do with transformation into animals. As for knowing someone who would have the capability to do this... well, we've come across witchcraft and voodoo before, Scully, but I can't think of any witch or voodoo priest that I've made angry recently - can you?
Scully tried to shrug, but it didn't quite work. No, not me - and though you're good at making people angry, I don't think voodoo priests or witches have been among those who you've pissed off in recent memory, Mulder. She 'heard' him smile at this. But if this is some kind of... spell, there still has to be a source, a cause that struck you, and then spread to me.
Which would seem to indicate that it was primarily aimed at me, Mulder remarked, though not necessarily. Though neither of them said it, they both were well aware of the possibility that striking at one of them could easily have been a method of attempting to hurt the other, if their enemy knew them at all.
Abruptly, the quiet of the apartment was shattered by the phone ringing. The sound was incredibly loud to Scully's newly sensitive ears, and by the fact that Mulder joined her in positively fleeing from the room to get farther away from the phone, she guessed he was affected similarly. They waited, crouching at a point equidistant from the phone out near the kitchen and the one in the bedroom, until the ringing finally stopped. Even as her ears started to recover from the onslaught, Scully recognized her mother's voice on the answering machine. She had called to confirm that she would be by the next morning to pick up her daughter and take her to Mass.
Scully's heart sank. They had only hours before this transformation would start to negatively affect more than just the two of them. She didn't want to cause her mother to go through the pain of her daughter being missing - again - since she very much doubted she and Mulder could convince anyone else that it was them in these bodies. They had no guarantee that anyone else would even be able to hear them telepathically.
She felt Mulder move closer to her. Back to business, Scully said briskly. We don't have much time.
Not that I think we can afford to just try to wait it out, Mulder said, but you know, it is possible that the change will just wear off by itself, depending on what caused it.
The look Scully gave him probably lost something in her current form. All she said was, I certainly wouldn't bet on it, with our luck.
Yeah, Mulder said. He sighed. Where were we?
Not very far along. Scully was silent for a moment. Do you think that if we went back to your apartment, we could possibly find some trace that you - didn't notice this morning?
Mulder considered, and answered, It's certainly possible. And I guess it's probably more constructive than just staying here talking, since we don't have any real theories so far.
Scully started back toward her room. Like you said, though, Mulder, we'll have to try to be careful that no one sees us. Struck by a sudden thought, she turned around and went back out of the room, stopping to pick up as much of her clothing from earlier as she could in her mouth and dropping it at the foot of her bed. Not only was it vaguely obscene to leave it there, she reasoned, but if they didn't solve this before outside investigations started, she didn't want to take the chance that the clothes might give investigators the idea that something violent had happened to her. Surprisingly, Mulder refrained from offering to help her with certain articles of clothing, which she had more than half-expected.
They were ready to leave. The two of them stopped underneath her window, and Mulder said, After you.
Scully put her front paws on the window ledge. She had never looked out this window with a view to climbing out before, and at first she was sure that she was going to make a fool of herself, or end up with broken limbs. However, her leopard instincts - while thankfully not in control of her mind like they had been when she'd awakened from her nap - were not at all dismayed by the climb, and she made it down with ease. Mulder was not far behind her.
The night was calm, and with moonlight and her nocturnal predator's eyes, Scully had no trouble seeing. Keeping to shadows and out of heavily-trafficked areas, they made their way out of the neighborhood. Again, Scully found it easier than she had expected to navigate this path on foot. Perhaps it was something else about her leopard instincts, but she knew she didn't need to worry about getting lost, as long as she had her goal in mind. She did find it somewhat difficult to remain focused on that goal, however, since her sense of smell was telling her all kinds of information about her surroundings that she would never be able to detect as a human. Even the asphalt of the parking lot carried traces of each person and animal who had walked on it in the past several hours.
They reached another road, and hid in a large bush to wait for a gap in the stream of cars. Mulder turned to her at that moment and said dryly, You know, Scully, if the change wears off on the way to my apartment, it would get a little... awkward for us.
The logistics of this hadn't occurred to her, but Mulder was right. Trust him to think of that angle. It would be awkward, Scully agreed calmly, and also probably cold.
Well, I know of one way we- Mulder began, but she broke in.
Let's go. The street was empty of cars for the moment, and the two took the opportunity to dash across the road. They had almost reached the relative safety of some trees past the sidewalk on the other side of the street when they heard a startled exclamation.
“What the hell was that?!” said a male voice.
Oh, great, Scully muttered, and crouched down as far as she could in the shadows next to the tree. Mulder was right next to her.
“What?” said another voice, a woman, sounding annoyed.
“I swear I just saw two of the... biggest cats I've ever seen!” the first voice said. “Must've been cougars or something. They ran over there.”
“C'mon, Ed,” the woman implored. “Let's just go home.”
“But I saw-”
“After all you've had to drink, I wouldn't be surprised if you thought you saw a whole herd of elephants,” she interrupted him, with acid in her tired voice. “Home.”
The man grumbled, but apparently allowed himself to be led away, as the sound of the two humans faded quickly. Scully let out the breath she had been holding. Next to her, Mulder laughed quietly and said, I guess it's fortunate for us that his girlfriend wasn't very open to extreme possibilities, eh, Scully?