Fic: Snock Flock Reunion - Snockquel to ‘Snocktaking’
Title: Snock Flock Reunion - Snockquel to ‘ Snocktaking’
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Owen, Scrap the snock, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1544
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: It’s time for Scrap the injured snock to return to its flock.
Written For: Challenge 358: Fuzzy at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Thanks to smallhobbit for inventing snocks and generously giving me permission to write about them!
Owen gently tickled the top of Scrap’s fuzzy little head with the tip of one finger, getting a contented purr in response. The snock was fully recovered from the injuries it had sustained when it had got itself stuck among the sub-etheric resonator’s moving parts, and had been for a couple of days, but Owen had so far been reluctant to release it back with its flock. Like any good doctor, he was concerned for his patient’s safety. Would the other snocks accept Scrap, or attack it as an intruder into their territory?
Despite studying the snocks carefully, Owen still knew so little about them. Did members of a flock recognise each other by sight or by smell, or by some unknown sense unique to their kind? Scrap would probably smell different from being kept in sterile conditions, and from the medications that had been used to help its wounds heal. It would look different too; it had gained several new scars.
Along with all the rest of the resident snock flocks, the other six members of Scrap’s flock had been released back into their own section of the Hub after the snock-take a few days earlier. Owen knew he probably should have popped Scrap into the containment box with his family while he could keep a close eye on them and be there to rescue his fuzzy friend if it became necessary, but the worst of the tears in the little creature’s back hadn’t been quite healed at the time and he hadn’t wanted to risk the wound either becoming infected or being torn open again. Snocks were quite robust creatures, having evolved from Jack’s hard-wearing socks, but that was no reason to take unnecessary chances with Scrap’s safety, especially not after all the time and effort he’d put into saving the unfortunate snock’s life.
Besides, Owen had grown fond of Scrap over the last three weeks he’d spent caring for it. He’d never been allowed pets as a child; his mother had considered them a nasty, dirty, smelly waste of time and money, and as a medical student he hadn’t had the time or energy to care for another living creature. He’d had some lab rats when he’d first started working at Torchwood, but they’d been strictly for use in experiments, so he hadn’t allowed himself to become attached to them.
He hadn’t realised until now just how much he’d missed out on. Small, furry pets were such pleasant but undemanding company, and he’d liked having Scrap with him in the medical bay while he was working on other things. He’d even started taking his coffee breaks down there, playing with the snock, telling the rest of the team that he was just doing his job. Physiotherapy was an important part of healing from serious injury. Well, he wouldn’t want them thinking he’d gone soft; he had a reputation for being a grumpy bastard to uphold.
Lifting the snock from the containment box that had been its home since it had healed enough to be moved out of the incubator, Owen held it gently at eye-level. Bright black button eyes gazed back at him without a trace of fear. Scrap may have started life as a sock, but it was sort of cute, in its own weird way.
“Right, you fuzzy little pest, looks like you’re ready to go back with your friends. What d’you think about that?”
“Talking to yourself again, Owen? Maybe if you tried being a bit nicer to people you wouldn’t have to. Just a suggestion.”
Turning, Owen found Ianto leaned on the railing, grinning down at him.
“Har har. I was tryin’ to decide the best way of reintroducing Scrap to its flock. Don’t want them attacking it.”
“Ah, I see. That might be safest done in neutral territory; that way their territorial instincts won’t be triggered.” Ianto came down the stairs to stand beside Owen, reaching out to stroke the snock. “I’ve got some time to spare; want me to round up the rest of the flock? We can put them in the containment unit Scrap’s been living in, give them half an hour or so to get used to its smell, then pop it in with them and see how they react.”
“Yeah, okay; that sounds like a good plan.”
“Right, you stay here then, play with your snock, and I’ll track down its family. They’re used to me by now.” Ianto picked up the big plastic box with its layer of clean newspaper on the bottom, and the assortment of boxes and cardboard tubes Owen had provided for Scrap to hide and play in.
Owen frowned. “Used to you? I thought I was responsible for keepin’ an eye on Scrap’s flock!” It had been decided after the snock-take that each member of the team should keep an eye on two flocks, except for Jack, who’d claimed three. That meant doing a daily check on the fuzzy little snake-like creatures and reporting any concerns back to Owen.
“You are, but I’ve been going around all the flocks every two or three days, doling out a few dust bunnies I found while cleaning Jack’s office. Seemed a shame to waste them. I’ll be right back.” Ianto headed for the steps leading out of the medical bay.
“Not sure I like the idea of him sneakin’ extra food to you guys. Can’t have you all getting fat and lazy,” Owen muttered, sitting down in his chair and setting Scrap on his lap. Opening a drawer in his desk, he took a fat dust bunny out of a jar tucked in the corner and fed it to the snock. “Don’t tell anyone, okay? Gotta keep your strength up; a nutritious diet is essential when recovering from injury. I’ve tried tellin’ the team that, but they never listen to me.”
Scrap gulped the morsel down and licked its fuzzy lips with an equally fuzzy tongue.
Ianto was back in less than ten minutes with the rest of the flock, and he set the box on the autopsy table. The six snocks were sniffing around inside it, exploring the strange cardboard tunnels. Soon they were having a wonderful time, hiding until one of their friends came within range then pouncing and rolling about, playfully wrestling with each other. If they were bothered by being in an unfamiliar place, it didn’t show.
“Ready to see how they react to Scrap?” Ianto asked at last, when the snocks seemed to have burned off most of their energy playing.
“I suppose so.” Owen looked at the snock in his hands. “Okay, you be careful in there; don’t let them get too rough with you.” He lowered Scrap into the box, gently setting it down.
Immediately the other snocks started to pop out of their hiding places, approaching Scrap with a chorus of quiet squeaks and trills. Owen stood poised to rescue the little creature, but his fears proved unfounded; the snocks crowded around Scrap, sniffed it thoroughly from end to end, then started licking it as if they were grooming it. They seemed happy to be reunited with their missing family member, and gently investigated its new scars, seeming to understand that Scrap had been injured.
“They didn’t forget after all.,” Owen said, relieved. “Better memories than I expected considering they don’t have much in the way of brains.”
Ianto shrugged. “They’re a unique life form; can’t be many creatures that’ve evolved from articles of clothing. We still know hardly anything about their physiology.”
“True enough. Well, I suppose we’d better put them back where they belong.”
“Want me to do it?” Ianto asked.
“Nah.” Owen shook his head. “My flock, my responsibility. I could go for a coffee though.”
Ianto nodded. “It’s about that time, isn’t it? I’ll go and brew up.” Hands in his trousers pockets, Ianto sauntered off to the kitchenette, leaving Owen alone with the snocks.
“Looks like you don’t need me anymore,” he said to Scrap once Ianto was out of earshot. “I’m going to miss you.” He reached down to stroke one finger the length of the fuzzy grey body before picking up the containment box and making his way to the area of the Hub that Scrap’s flock called their own. Setting it down, he lifted the snocks out one at a time, leaving Scrap until last. “You be careful, little buddy. No more getting stuck in machinery, okay? Next time you might not be so lucky.”
Scrap nuzzled Owen’s fingers with his fuzzy nose, then slithered after its family.
Watching it go, Owen sighed then turned back to the box, taking out all the tubes and boxes, and putting them around the flock’s territory. “You might as well ‘ave these; I don’t ‘ave any use for them.”
He knew it wouldn’t be the last time he saw his favourite snock, he’d be checking on the flock every day anyway, but it wouldn’t be the same down in the medical bay without his little friend.
“Maybe I should get some new rats, or mice, or something,” he muttered as he made his way across to the kitchenette to see if the coffee was ready. “Maybe Ianto will let me requisition some.” It couldn’t hurt to ask.
The End
Sequel: ' The Snocktor'