(Untitled)

[only_outofhabit]

The longer away from home I am, the more aware of my own little... quirks I become. It's one thing, spending the evening in the privacy of your own home, in your chenille bathrobe, smoking a little grass and losing all sense of direction and purpose in your life. The real clincher had been the escape of wife number three. The last straw. The

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[yoursarahjane]

Sarah was chewing on her thumb as she wandered into the room, her skin smelling of saltwater from her excursions out to the sea to learn how to swim in the event that the tide decided to take her away. The animal is slightly surprising, but she recognized the man, of course. "Does he not approve of something?" she couldn't help but ask.

[only_outofhabit]

"I think there are a lot of things Poe doesn't approve of," I drawl, looking up at the woman and offering her a faint, if not slightly wooden smile. The animal can't see two inches in front of its face, but something about that look tells me that sudden movements would be ill-advised.

"Hello, Ms. Smith."

[yoursarahjane]

She liked the respect quite a bit and smiled to herself (chuffed, in fact) as she took more steps inside to study the animal before studying the man and giving him a small smile in return. "Poe? Is that a conscious naming choice or just coincidence?"

[only_outofhabit]

"Oh, it was conscious," I answer, smiling a little wider. Something so cliche could only come out of Dr. Robert Gaskel. "Poe isn't mine, or he wasn't before he found his way here. He belonged to the head of our English department and I believe I'm the only human being in the world whom Poe hates."

[yoursarahjane]

She ambled up, patting its head lightly, as if expecting it to bite her hand off. Never get too close to something with large teeth had been a number one rule after travelling with the Doctor. "Is it because of something you've done?" she asked with a bubbling tone of bemusement.

[only_outofhabit]

Having an affair with his master's wife.

It's a simple truth. Simple and easy to reveal in this place that seems to have no rules. A truth that quite possibly goes beyond the rules of polite conversation.

"I have no doubt that I deserve whatever scorn Poe sends my way," I admit with a laugh, drawing my hands from the typewriter and folding them in my lap. Poe seems to calm in her presence, sniffing at her knees and letting out an expectant whine. "A student of mine shot Poe not long before I came here. It was... all my fault. I believe he's come back for revenge."

[yoursarahjane]

Sarah Jane thought of why a student might shoot a dog, but then, she'd learned long ago not to question too much that she couldn't possibly understand. What with the universe being so fast, people did all sorts of uncanny things.

"It's a rather mild revenge, really. At least, as staring contests go," she added wryly.

[only_outofhabit]

"He's biding his time. He's also blind," I tell her with a faint twitch of a smile when Poe butts his nose against the palm of her hand. Always the sucker for a beautiful woman, whether he can see her or not.

[yoursarahjane]

Sarah gave a happy laugh at the touch and she patted the dog, not with any great affection, but with enough tolerance that she didn't mind. "Well, in the event that he does make a move, you can count on me for counter-action. Only," she murmured, very seriously, "if provoked."

[only_outofhabit]

"I think I might have to take you up on that offer," I laugh. I can only imagine what Crabs would have to say about me finding her so much less intimidating when she's young enough to be my daughter. There's nothing like a feisty, attractive young woman.

[yoursarahjane]

Sarah Jane sat herself down opposite the man, peering around the dog expectantly. "So are you writing? Or simply warring with animals?" She always wanted to know what was on the page, a simple little obsession she could never let go of.