Animal Instincts
Title: Animal Instincts
Fandom: Primeval
Characters: Lester, Monty
Words: 467
Rating,Warnings: PG
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Primeval.
Spoilers: For the end of season 2. Not Denial friendly. Sorry.
AN: This started life as last week’s P100 drabble but grew legs somewhat and carried itself away. Also includes references to my personal head canon that Lester is ex-military.
AN2: Thanks to the utterly lovely
lukadreaming for beta duty.
The ARC was quiet, eerily so. Even the soldiers now on duty were quieter than normal. Lester had done everything he had to do, everyone else had been sent away and yet he remained. He barely knew what to do with himself, but leaving didn’t seem like an option; he felt compelled by a ridiculous impulse to protect and make amends.
Lester was hit by a sudden restlessness and left his office. He started to walk and his legs carried him to the makeshift menagerie. The real one, not the one inflicted on them by Leek.
So tired he was moving on coffee and muscle memory alone, he found himself looking up through thick steel bars at the large form of the mammoth. Although it had been nearly 24 hours since he had been attacked it felt like minutes ago. And years in the past. Time was distorted, emotion and adrenalin fatigue warping the way the memory felt. It was fresh and clear in his mind, yet so much had happened since it could have been a lifetime ago.
Lester stared thoughtfully at the creature for a moment. "I've been in a few tight spots in my time, some I've got myself out of, some my company helped me out of. I'll admit you are something of a first." He took a deep breath and folded his arms across his body. "Animal instinct. Amazing thing, instantly recognising the predator in the room even when it's in a form you haven't seen before." Lester huffed and squared his shoulders.
"How did I miss it? The predator in my midst. Leek was working beside me every day. Oh, I knew he was an insufferable little man and the less I knew about his habits outside work the better, but I should have seen it. I should have noticed something, seen through the act. I was so focused on Helen I couldn't see what was right in front of my face. And I let him pull the wool over my eyes for so long. All the reports of animals being destroyed, not surviving the incursions. All with my signature on the bottom, signed on his say-so. Well not any more. Not again. From now on I handle everything personally. I want to see every body, every weapon. I’m going to know every room in this building, vet every new employee personally. I cannot allow any more mistakes. I will not tolerate any more loss of life."
The mammoth gave a trumpet of agreement and Lester paused in his musing. "And now I’m talking to a mammoth. Well, as signs of madness go it's an impressive one. And probably my cue to follow my own advice to go home and rest." The mammoth trumpeted again. "No, you're right. Both seem unlikely."
Fandom: Primeval
Characters: Lester, Monty
Words: 467
Rating,Warnings: PG
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Primeval.
Spoilers: For the end of season 2. Not Denial friendly. Sorry.
AN: This started life as last week’s P100 drabble but grew legs somewhat and carried itself away. Also includes references to my personal head canon that Lester is ex-military.
AN2: Thanks to the utterly lovely
lukadreaming for beta duty.
The ARC was quiet, eerily so. Even the soldiers now on duty were quieter than normal. Lester had done everything he had to do, everyone else had been sent away and yet he remained. He barely knew what to do with himself, but leaving didn’t seem like an option; he felt compelled by a ridiculous impulse to protect and make amends.
Lester was hit by a sudden restlessness and left his office. He started to walk and his legs carried him to the makeshift menagerie. The real one, not the one inflicted on them by Leek.
So tired he was moving on coffee and muscle memory alone, he found himself looking up through thick steel bars at the large form of the mammoth. Although it had been nearly 24 hours since he had been attacked it felt like minutes ago. And years in the past. Time was distorted, emotion and adrenalin fatigue warping the way the memory felt. It was fresh and clear in his mind, yet so much had happened since it could have been a lifetime ago.
Lester stared thoughtfully at the creature for a moment. "I've been in a few tight spots in my time, some I've got myself out of, some my company helped me out of. I'll admit you are something of a first." He took a deep breath and folded his arms across his body. "Animal instinct. Amazing thing, instantly recognising the predator in the room even when it's in a form you haven't seen before." Lester huffed and squared his shoulders.
"How did I miss it? The predator in my midst. Leek was working beside me every day. Oh, I knew he was an insufferable little man and the less I knew about his habits outside work the better, but I should have seen it. I should have noticed something, seen through the act. I was so focused on Helen I couldn't see what was right in front of my face. And I let him pull the wool over my eyes for so long. All the reports of animals being destroyed, not surviving the incursions. All with my signature on the bottom, signed on his say-so. Well not any more. Not again. From now on I handle everything personally. I want to see every body, every weapon. I’m going to know every room in this building, vet every new employee personally. I cannot allow any more mistakes. I will not tolerate any more loss of life."
The mammoth gave a trumpet of agreement and Lester paused in his musing. "And now I’m talking to a mammoth. Well, as signs of madness go it's an impressive one. And probably my cue to follow my own advice to go home and rest." The mammoth trumpeted again. "No, you're right. Both seem unlikely."