All Hail the Shifter King
Title: Lords of Kensington, Part 2
Word Count: 1221
Note: I love the ending of this scene so much.
"So... these are your pets?"
Katrina glanced up from the customs and import paperwork, her pen hovering over her emergency contact information. The special baggage agent that was helping her was staring at the pair of large metal kennels beside the desk - they looked more like shipping containers than kennels, being that they had no barred doors on the front and little more than quarter-sized holes punched at regular intervals in a ring around the top for ventilation. It was the best Katrina could do before they left Rion Fell - the odd looks she got for using the Taggart bioweapons transport kennels were a lot better than what she would definitely get if people could actually see her "pets".
"They're show dogs," she said casually, as if that explained everything. The lady leaned over, trying to peer through the small holes, and the seventy-five pound creature inside let out a long and frustrated growl that made her flinch back against the counter.
"I've never heard dogs like that before," she commented nervously.
"They're a rare breed." Katrina handed the paperwork over and unlocked the pull-bars from the front of the kennels as she waited for her copies, and when several minutes had passed and she still hadn't received them, she let out a sigh of resignation and sat on the floor next to the metal crates.
It had taken her forty minutes to get through the lineup and another thirty for the agents to find the kennels - thirty minutes in which she'd nearly had an anxiety attack as she wondered where the hell her boys had gone. During that time she'd not seen so much as a glimpse of Ryder, but rather than nervous she was simply annoyed. She was hungry and exhausted, ready to kill for a beer and a shower, and the longer she sat alone in the lineup listening to the chaos, the more her mood darkened. When the agent returned with her paperwork, she practically snatched it from the poor woman's hand and spun back to the kennels only to collide with Ryder's chest.
"Goddammit!" she snapped, her aggravation getting the best of her. "Will you stop doing that?!"
"Could say the same to you," he sighed, releasing the suitcase he was dragging and dropping the duffel bag slung over his shoulder so he could scrub napkins over the front of his jacket. "Here," he said, shoving a large, white cup at her. "Calm down a little."
"You got me coffee?" she asked, taking the cup from him - Ryder just snorted, tossing her suitcase onto the top of one of the kennels and his bag onto the other.
"Like hell," he replied. "You're high strung enough as is."
"Then what -"
"Raspberry camomile. I was tempted to put some tranqs in it but..." He shrugged. "They were out."
"I want to say thank you," she said, rolling her eyes and grabbing the pull-bar on one of the kennels, "but I'm not sure I should."
"Don't thank me, just drink it. Preferably before I decide you're not worth bringing home alive." He paused a moment, a kennel in tow, before heading toward the nearest exit. "Shuttle's on the way," he said over his shoulder. "Let's get out of here."
It was busy outside the airport as well, with taxis and shuttles and tour buses fighting for curbside parking, but compared to the madness inside it was almost peaceful, especially with the curtain of thick snowfall to muffle the sound around them. A parking lot attendant directed them toward the corner of the terminal to wait for their shuttle, and Katrina was happy to drop onto a bench when she got there, pulling the kennel up beside her and balancing her half-empty tea on top. Leaning over, she tapped on the top of the container.
"How're you doing in there, baby?" she asked. The creature inside twisted and turned, thumping around before it whined miserably. "I know, I know," she assured, rubbing her palm on the cold metal. "We'll let you out soon, okay?" The sight of her breath fogging in the air jogged her memory, and she hauled her purse into her lap to retrieve the cigarettes she'd confiscated from Ryder on the plane. "I guess you can have these back now," she said, digging for the metal case and matching lighter. "But if I catch you smoking in the hotel I'm taking them right back, deal? God knows how much I'm getting charged for this room, I don't want to have to pay..." She looked up and noticed he was standing stone-still in the middle of the broad sidewalk, and stared curiously at his back with her arm outstretched. "Hey," she called to him. "You okay?"
It took her a moment to realize that he wasn't just watching the planes fly overhead - he was staring up at the snow as it fell, his bright eyes fixed on the darkness and the halos surrounding the stadium lights. Slowly, quietly, she leaned back on the bench and crossed her arms over her purse, feeling a smile tug at her lips as she watched him. In the hours upon hours they'd spent traveling so far she'd not seen him express even the slightest bit of surprise or awe at anything, though she knew for a fact he'd never seen a jumbo jet in his life, nor any airport larger than the tiny, triple-gate shack at St. Emmelline. And she'd found herself wondering, several times during the flights and the rushed connections, if there was anything at all that could catch him off guard. The stern and unforgiving customs officials? No, he'd handled them with uncharacteristic charm. The enormous, stressful airports? Aside from some frustration at the length of the coffee shop lineup, nothing, even though the airport behind them - Port Solstice International - was larger than Rion Fell and most of the surrounding villages combined.
But snow, such a simple thing, something she'd taken for granted her whole life... of everything he'd seen and done for the first time in the last twenty four hours, it was snow that had finally caught his attention. She couldn't help but share in his wonder as she watched him standing there with snowflakes lighting on his eyelashes and his unruly bangs, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips when he turned slightly and she caught sight of the side of his face. She wondered what it would be like to see snow for the first time when you're already an adult - or, in Ryder's case, when centuries have passed and you've known nothing outside the equatorial paradise you were born in. It made her stare at the snow herself, trying to see it through his eyes, trying to remember her own childish joy and amazement when she woke to fresh snowfalls during winters with her parents. And then she found herself simply watching him, studying him the way she always did the few times she wouldn't get caught, the moments when he was so preoccupied and so human it startled her.
"Have you ever had one of those moments," he asked quietly, still staring up at the snow, "when you're left awestruck by the simplest of beautiful things?"
"Not often," she replied softly. "But sometimes."
Word Count: 1221
Note: I love the ending of this scene so much.
"So... these are your pets?"
Katrina glanced up from the customs and import paperwork, her pen hovering over her emergency contact information. The special baggage agent that was helping her was staring at the pair of large metal kennels beside the desk - they looked more like shipping containers than kennels, being that they had no barred doors on the front and little more than quarter-sized holes punched at regular intervals in a ring around the top for ventilation. It was the best Katrina could do before they left Rion Fell - the odd looks she got for using the Taggart bioweapons transport kennels were a lot better than what she would definitely get if people could actually see her "pets".
"They're show dogs," she said casually, as if that explained everything. The lady leaned over, trying to peer through the small holes, and the seventy-five pound creature inside let out a long and frustrated growl that made her flinch back against the counter.
"I've never heard dogs like that before," she commented nervously.
"They're a rare breed." Katrina handed the paperwork over and unlocked the pull-bars from the front of the kennels as she waited for her copies, and when several minutes had passed and she still hadn't received them, she let out a sigh of resignation and sat on the floor next to the metal crates.
It had taken her forty minutes to get through the lineup and another thirty for the agents to find the kennels - thirty minutes in which she'd nearly had an anxiety attack as she wondered where the hell her boys had gone. During that time she'd not seen so much as a glimpse of Ryder, but rather than nervous she was simply annoyed. She was hungry and exhausted, ready to kill for a beer and a shower, and the longer she sat alone in the lineup listening to the chaos, the more her mood darkened. When the agent returned with her paperwork, she practically snatched it from the poor woman's hand and spun back to the kennels only to collide with Ryder's chest.
"Goddammit!" she snapped, her aggravation getting the best of her. "Will you stop doing that?!"
"Could say the same to you," he sighed, releasing the suitcase he was dragging and dropping the duffel bag slung over his shoulder so he could scrub napkins over the front of his jacket. "Here," he said, shoving a large, white cup at her. "Calm down a little."
"You got me coffee?" she asked, taking the cup from him - Ryder just snorted, tossing her suitcase onto the top of one of the kennels and his bag onto the other.
"Like hell," he replied. "You're high strung enough as is."
"Then what -"
"Raspberry camomile. I was tempted to put some tranqs in it but..." He shrugged. "They were out."
"I want to say thank you," she said, rolling her eyes and grabbing the pull-bar on one of the kennels, "but I'm not sure I should."
"Don't thank me, just drink it. Preferably before I decide you're not worth bringing home alive." He paused a moment, a kennel in tow, before heading toward the nearest exit. "Shuttle's on the way," he said over his shoulder. "Let's get out of here."
It was busy outside the airport as well, with taxis and shuttles and tour buses fighting for curbside parking, but compared to the madness inside it was almost peaceful, especially with the curtain of thick snowfall to muffle the sound around them. A parking lot attendant directed them toward the corner of the terminal to wait for their shuttle, and Katrina was happy to drop onto a bench when she got there, pulling the kennel up beside her and balancing her half-empty tea on top. Leaning over, she tapped on the top of the container.
"How're you doing in there, baby?" she asked. The creature inside twisted and turned, thumping around before it whined miserably. "I know, I know," she assured, rubbing her palm on the cold metal. "We'll let you out soon, okay?" The sight of her breath fogging in the air jogged her memory, and she hauled her purse into her lap to retrieve the cigarettes she'd confiscated from Ryder on the plane. "I guess you can have these back now," she said, digging for the metal case and matching lighter. "But if I catch you smoking in the hotel I'm taking them right back, deal? God knows how much I'm getting charged for this room, I don't want to have to pay..." She looked up and noticed he was standing stone-still in the middle of the broad sidewalk, and stared curiously at his back with her arm outstretched. "Hey," she called to him. "You okay?"
It took her a moment to realize that he wasn't just watching the planes fly overhead - he was staring up at the snow as it fell, his bright eyes fixed on the darkness and the halos surrounding the stadium lights. Slowly, quietly, she leaned back on the bench and crossed her arms over her purse, feeling a smile tug at her lips as she watched him. In the hours upon hours they'd spent traveling so far she'd not seen him express even the slightest bit of surprise or awe at anything, though she knew for a fact he'd never seen a jumbo jet in his life, nor any airport larger than the tiny, triple-gate shack at St. Emmelline. And she'd found herself wondering, several times during the flights and the rushed connections, if there was anything at all that could catch him off guard. The stern and unforgiving customs officials? No, he'd handled them with uncharacteristic charm. The enormous, stressful airports? Aside from some frustration at the length of the coffee shop lineup, nothing, even though the airport behind them - Port Solstice International - was larger than Rion Fell and most of the surrounding villages combined.
But snow, such a simple thing, something she'd taken for granted her whole life... of everything he'd seen and done for the first time in the last twenty four hours, it was snow that had finally caught his attention. She couldn't help but share in his wonder as she watched him standing there with snowflakes lighting on his eyelashes and his unruly bangs, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips when he turned slightly and she caught sight of the side of his face. She wondered what it would be like to see snow for the first time when you're already an adult - or, in Ryder's case, when centuries have passed and you've known nothing outside the equatorial paradise you were born in. It made her stare at the snow herself, trying to see it through his eyes, trying to remember her own childish joy and amazement when she woke to fresh snowfalls during winters with her parents. And then she found herself simply watching him, studying him the way she always did the few times she wouldn't get caught, the moments when he was so preoccupied and so human it startled her.
"Have you ever had one of those moments," he asked quietly, still staring up at the snow, "when you're left awestruck by the simplest of beautiful things?"
"Not often," she replied softly. "But sometimes."