[for Abby]

Dec 09, 2007 00:37

Susan hadn't seen Qui-Gon in a week or so, which was rather unusual, so after breakfast she and Shadow went up to his hut for a visit. It was a good long walk through the snow, which Susan didn't really mind and Shadow seemed to enjoy ( Read more... )

abby

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abbysciuto December 9 2007, 17:36:04 UTC
Abby had gotten a little worried when she hadn't seen Qui-Gon. When someone didn't go in and out of the IPD office to give their patrol reports for a few days, it sort of became obvious, and she thought maybe he was sick. The change in weather could certainly do something like that.

She decided she'd go check on him, so she bundled up and got a flask of tea, then set out for his cabin. When she got there, she saw Susan and Susan's direwolf standing at the hut and staring at it. Then she noticed the lack of footprints too.

"Oh no. Not him," she said softly, knowing immediately what had happened. It happened enough, after all.

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onceaqueen December 9 2007, 19:42:29 UTC
"I hadn't seen him in a few days," Susan said, putting her hands in the pockets of her coat. "So I thought I'd come by... but it doesn't look as though anyone has been in or out of here for days and days. You haven't seen him, have you?" She knew just from the look on Abby's face what the answer to that question would be.

Shadow trotted up to the door of the little hut, sniffing about, and then barked twice, wagging her tail.

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abbysciuto December 9 2007, 20:32:13 UTC
She shook her head. "I usually see him when he comes by the IPD office...and I haven't. I thought maybe he had a cold or something, with the weather changing again...so I brought him some tea, just in case."

She looked at the flask of tea and frowned.

"I guess he doesn't need any tea. Do you want some? Tea seems to make a lot of things better."

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onceaqueen December 9 2007, 20:36:18 UTC
"Let's have a look inside," said Susan, "just to be sure." The little hut had that air about it that suggested it was empty, (a look Susan was quite familiar with,) but her mind insisted on making sure. "And if he isn't, we'll have a cup of tea to remember him with." Qui-Gon had always been fond of tea, she remembered, thinking back to their first meeting when he'd come to the kitchen to have some and scared her so throughly with his Aslan-like voice that he'd unintentionally made her cry.

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abbysciuto December 9 2007, 20:43:24 UTC
"I like that idea," she agreed. "Especially the cup of tea to remember him by. He'd appreciate it. He and I had several discussions on the merits of tea versus coffee, and I don't think we really changed the other person's opinion, but it was fun to argue about it. Nicely, of course."

She half-smiled at the memory, but it was sad. She put a hand out so Susan's direwolf could sniff it. Startling the wolf was not a good plan.

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onceaqueen December 9 2007, 22:45:50 UTC
Shadow sniffed at the offered hand, decided she smelled like a friend, and gave her an amiable lick. Ever since the encounter with the Others, she had behaved more like a grown direwolf and less like a puppy, but once she smelled that a person had good intentions, she was as friendly as ever. Satisfied, she turned back to the hut's door and scratched at it, making a low, whimpery sound.

"She's determined for us to go inside," said Susan. "I wonder what's got her all bothered." There was no lock or latch on the door, which didn't surprise Susan, as Qui-Gon kept very few possessions and had no need to lock things up, and so the door opened easily.

The little hut was empty as expected, except for a small ball of feathers perched at the end of Qui-Gon's bed.

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abbysciuto December 9 2007, 23:18:14 UTC
That was a very sad-looking ball of feathers perched on the end of the bed. She really hadn't been sure that a ball of feathers could look sad, but clearly it could.

Teek poked her even smaller round head out of her small round body and chirped forlornly.

"Okay, that's just mean. Meaner, actually, because there is nothing about disappearing people that's nice to the rest of us. Still, taking him and leaving Teek all by herself? No wonder your direwolf wanted us to come inside."

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onceaqueen December 10 2007, 00:24:34 UTC
"Oh, you poor little thing, you must be so lonely," said Susan, scooping her up. "Qui-Gon always carried her everywhere he went." That made her tear up a little bit, then, realising that he really must be gone if he had left Teek here by herself in the cold. It made her so sad to think that the man who had been like a father to her, consoled her when Peter disappeared, gave her away at her wedding, and who she'd hoped would be godfather to her child, was gone.

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abbysciuto December 10 2007, 02:14:19 UTC
"In that sling, which somehow didn't look silly on him although it probably would have if anybody else had tried to wear a sling with an egg and then a small round bird in it," she agreed, lightly running the tip of a finger over Teek's fluffy head.

Teek chirped again.

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onceaqueen December 11 2007, 02:59:58 UTC
Susan laughed a little as the bird fluffed herself up, looking slightly less pitiful now that she had some company. Shadow craned her neck to sniff at the bird, jumping back when Teek suddenly puffed up and settled back down again. "We can't leave her alone in here by herself; she's so tiny, she'll freeze." It was much easier to talk about the bird than it was to discuss Qui-Gon's disappearance; practical matters were always the easiest.

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abbysciuto December 11 2007, 03:27:22 UTC
It was funny to see a big wolf get startled by a little bird and Abby laughed too, feeling a bit of tension leave.

"We really can't. It's not like she's a wild bird, so she can't really fend for herself either. I'm still not sure she can actually fly...she's so round."

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onceaqueen December 13 2007, 01:39:27 UTC
It felt strange standing in Qui-Gon's hut and talking about his bird, and part of Susan wanted to cry, but part of her was numbing to it all. "I don't know anything about caring for birds," Susan admitted, as Teek settled into her hand.

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abbysciuto December 13 2007, 02:34:28 UTC
"Neither do I," Abby admitted in return, still stroking Teek's head and focusing on that instead of the fact that Qui-Gon was gone and had left his bird.

"I mean, I know you feed them and they need somewhere to consider their nest, but other than that, I'm pretty much avian-impaired. Maybe the bookshelf will be helpful?"

She didn't really hold out much hope though. The bookshelf hadn't liked her for a couple of weeks.

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onceaqueen December 15 2007, 15:34:24 UTC
"Jon has a little bit of experience with birds," said Susan, though little was defintely the important word. "In Westeros they use ravens to carry messages, and I think he took care of them sometimes." Or was it Sam who had done that? Sometimes all Jon's stories of Westeros ran together. "Maybe he'll have some idea what to do with her, if the bookshelf doesn't turn anything up."

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abbysciuto December 15 2007, 16:51:32 UTC
"In that case, maybe you should take her?" Abby suggested. "Someone has to, and even a little bit of real-life knowledge would be better than fighting with the bookshelf for a book that may or may not be helpful in the end."

She didn't know Susan particularly well, but Qui-Gon trusted her and that was enough. There was also the fact that Susan's husband was what her grandmother would have called 'a fine upstanding young man,' which was an additional source of trust.

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onceaqueen December 15 2007, 16:56:20 UTC
"You must come and visit her," said Susan. "I don't know if birds miss people as much as people or other animals do, but if she does she'll want to see more familiar faces." She couldn't help but remember how miserable Honour had been when Edmund disappeared; she hadn't thought it possible for a wolf to look that sad, but he had. And she had seen very little of Honour since Halloween, when Theon had died.

She looked around at the small shelter. "It's really not fair that he's gone," she said quietly.

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