(no subject)
Oliver Wycliffe enters the Cooper household, having helped Thrust put his energon converter in place and made arrangements with a friendly neighbour to stable his horse Beauregard. Something Eden said, dismissed at the time, has now risen to the surface of his mind and troubles him.
It's quite late when Oliver returns - he debates disturbing the household, but sees that the lights are on. Eden answers his knock.
They exchange pleasantries briefly, though it is long enough to note a coolness in her attitude towards him. Oliver assumes that this is because of his unpardonable rudeness in ignoring her in favour of his horse. He resolves to remedy this, but his attempts to draw her into conversation are met with short, unconcerned answers.
It's been a few hours since Eden talked to Tom. She hasn't forgotten the expression on his face.
"You mentioned that the mistress of the house sometimes has scales," Oliver comments.
"Oh, yeah, Lucy's a dragon shapeshifter. Weird, I know, but you get used to weird after a while." Eden gives a short, resigned smile, all the while watching Oliver more carefully than she lets on.
The news quite discomfits Oliver - for a moment he can think of nothing to say. A dragon? Is this why the Lord sent him here, to be His warrior in this new land? Why would God choose him? Why not send Oliver directly to the house? Why let Oliver be injured? Why have him meet with Thrust?
To answer any one question would take a period of contemplation that Oliver does not have. He sets the thoughts aside. "It seems I must become accustomed to stranger sights than a metal being with a mind and soul. She becomes a dragon, you say? Of what sort?"
"I've never really seen her," Eden lies. She takes a deep breath, staring into his eyes. "Tell me what you're going to do now."
Oliver glances away, flustered that a woman he barely knows (a pretty, unattached young woman at that) is meeting his gaze. "Find out if Miss Cooper is demonic, heal my body, find an occupation that requires my skills, and attempt to repay Thrust for saving my life twice."
He frowns. He he had not meant to be so candid, particularly in regards to his intentions towards Lucy Cooper.
Eden has a pretty good idea what will happen if Oliver decides that Lucy is demonic. She has no way of knowing that she's protecting Oliver moreso than Lucy. She has no way of knowing that Oliver has a non-violent way to determine whether someone is demonic. She has no way of knowing that Oliver is at this very second fiercely debating whether he should - and could - go toe to toe with another dragon. Just because a woman from another land is a shapeshifter does not imply she is a demonic one.....
This isn't like ordering Isaac to shoot up. This is different. This is for the good of the community. Eden wonders if Mr. Bennet would approve. Though she can't come up with an answer, she does it anyway.
"You will not attack anyone. Do you understand?"
Oliver looks startled. "I beg your pardon, miss McCain?" He wracks his brain, trying to imagine what might have lead to her impression of him as some sort of madman. Unless she has an idea of what he does - which would have come from Thrust. Oliver feels hurt that Thrust's words were uncomplimentary enough to necessitate Eden's words, even as he acknowledges that the Transformer must have had a valid reason for thinking so. The Transformer knows neither the content of his character nor many of his past deeds; Oliver saw to that by being silent as a sullen child through most of the trip.
"I am hardly a violent man," he tells the young woman earnestly - and is quite confused when Eden snorts.
"Well, now you won't be."
The interview concludes, leaving Oliver striding through the snowy night towards the bunker, in ill-humour at his part in misrepresenting himself to others and with a deeper appreciation for the strangeness of a universe that has given two women of his acquaintance such strange mystical abilities.
Her voice only lasts a few days at most. A week or two should give Tom enough time to get gone and keep Mr. Muttonchop out of trouble.
Eden picks up her cell-phone and dials. "Hey Anna! Hope the trip's going well. ...Shit, some gals have all the luck. Changed without a full moon and everything? ...Wow. So, I'll be staying at the farm for longer than I expected...."