D's cabin was quiet, dark compared to the hallways outside, and empty of what had once been a bustle of animal life - besides the Count himself, the shop's only occupant was Jennifer, the female Cooper's Hawk who had once lived with Rex. She had calmed a good deal since her time with the Doctor and dozed quietly on a perch near the sofa where D sat with a book, waiting for his guest.
Libby was a bit awkwardly encumbered--she had Reyes on a leash, which she held in her left hand, and Cindy in a cardboard box (it was all she had for travel, since she couldn't transport her tank) under her right arm. She was forced to slowly switch the box to be precariously wedged between her right hip and arm in order to knock on the door. Eventually, she was able to give it a brief, if shaky, rapping.
D set the book aside, smoothed down his robes and went to the door, giving his guest the same inscrutable smile that he gave any of his customers. A fleeting glance at the Stabyhoun indicated good health; it would be too much to say that he warmed to her, but he filed the information away nonetheless.
"Miss Libby, welcome." He bowed shallowly and stepped aside to let her in.
Libby returned the small bow; she didn't like to be culturally insensitive. "Hi, Count D. It's nice to finally meet you," she said, smiling widely, and stepped through the door.
The room gave off a pleasant sort of vibe. She liked it right away.
She guided Reyes over near the sofa before telling him to "sit." She then placed the box on the floor beside him, opened it, and withdrew Cindy, who immediately made a chirring noise upon being touched. The calming effect was almost as instant.
"Count, this is Reyes," as she indicated her dog, "and this..." She held up the ball of tan fluff with a grin. "...is Cindy the Tribble."
Despite himself, D moved forward a step to inspect the small creature more closely. He had heard about them from both Libby and Armand but had yet to meet one in person, and new species were a source of fascination as well as a certain sense of wounded professional pride - although as these animals were not from Earth, he supposed they were not strictly under the purview he had inherited.
He ran the back of one finger lightly over its shapeless body, eliciting what was to most ears a small chirring sound in reply.
"Intriguing," he murmured, then stepped away and gestured to the sofa. "Please, take a seat. I took the liberty of preparing some tea."
"Thank you," she said, sitting down and placing Cindy atop her lap. She didn't often get to take her tea with others...the last time had been during her therapy session with Martha. She reached over to Reyes and gave him a light scratch behind the ears. "And please, just 'Libby' is fine. I'm not one for formalities."
"Libby, then." He sat down opposite her and went about pouring green tea for the two of them. Jennifer opened her eyes, regarding Cindy as if weighing her protein content, but D simply shook his head and the hawk settled down once more. "You may call me D, if you wish. 'Count' is more appropriately my grandfather's title."
"D it is, then." She wasn't going to pry by asking what that initial stood for...god only knew how much she hated to explain why she didn't want her own last name used.
Then Libby eyed the hawk. "Isn't that Rex's hawk?" she asked, bemused.
"She was," D intoned. "But he seemed to be rather at a loss with her, having a decided preference for reptiles, so....he entrusted her to my care." When he had started managing to coax a half-decent conversation out of the young lady, she recalled that Rex had been quite a different person when she was first entrusted to his care - something D had not yet fully investigated.
"She's gorgeous." Libby was an animal lover, and while she'd never want something like a hawk as a pet, she could still appreciate one. Hawks had a certain look about them that she couldn't think of the correct word to describe--dignified, maybe? Noble?
"Oh! You said you wanted to experience Cindy's calming effect. You can hold her, if you'd like." She held the fluffball out tentatively, unsure if he'd want to or not.
"Thank you." D accepted the tribble in cupped hands. He didn't know if the creature's influence extended to his race or if the diminishing of his powers had made him more vulnerable but he could feel it, faintly...a slowing of the heartbeat, a lessening of tension stronger than the normal sense of tranquillity he felt around his pets.
"I would suppose it originated as a defence mechanism," he said softly. "To calm the temperament of predators, perhaps. It is certainly...unusual."
Libby nodded. "I'm not sure what their natural predators are, but that would make sense. I decided to keep one when the others were taking care of the infestation, for therapy purposes. Somewhere along the way, I forgot about that option, and now she's just a regular pet. I named her after a late friend."
Cindy the former flight attendant wasn't actually dead, but Libby didn't have even the slightest clue.
She lifted the teacup to her lips, and sipped--she hadn't had green tea in a long time. "This is good," she commented.
"I'm pleased that you think so," D said, and offered the tribble back to its owner. "And I forgot to say that I'm glad you're feeling better. Your work here must be very stressful."
Libby placed the cup back onto the table and received Cindy, placing the tribble into the box on the floor--she didn't close it, just set her into it as if it were a playpen. If food and/or drink was out, it could be potentially disastrous for her to be around it.
"Thank you," she said, lifting her teacup again. "It is stressful, but the main problem isn't the stress itself...it's that I neglect to take care of my own mental health sometimes when I'm caring for others. I sort of bottle up the stress, and it just builds and builds until it's too much to handle."
D had a faint sense of disdain for mental health professionals - he considered human psychiatry to be a doomed attempt to fix what was fundamentally broken. The notion of one who allowed herself to be driven to the brink of madness had a pleasing sense of poetic justice about it.
Maybe he would have found it more noble, once. Maybe death had hardened him; maybe Leon's actions had left him bitter.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he lied. "You must be careful not to give too much of yourself, of course."
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timeasmymeasure
Private
Date: 2010-03-24 11:55 pm (UTC)Private - gonna be afk for like 2 hours now but will be back after!
Date: 2010-03-25 12:01 am (UTC)Private - might be asleep by then but will def. tag tomorrow :]
Date: 2010-03-25 12:03 am (UTC)Private - okies!
Date: 2010-03-25 02:02 am (UTC)[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-25 09:51 pm (UTC)[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-25 10:01 pm (UTC)[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-25 10:21 pm (UTC)"Miss Libby, welcome." He bowed shallowly and stepped aside to let her in.
[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-25 10:33 pm (UTC)The room gave off a pleasant sort of vibe. She liked it right away.
She guided Reyes over near the sofa before telling him to "sit." She then placed the box on the floor beside him, opened it, and withdrew Cindy, who immediately made a chirring noise upon being touched. The calming effect was almost as instant.
"Count, this is Reyes," as she indicated her dog, "and this..." She held up the ball of tan fluff with a grin. "...is Cindy the Tribble."
[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-25 10:46 pm (UTC)He ran the back of one finger lightly over its shapeless body, eliciting what was to most ears a small chirring sound in reply.
"Intriguing," he murmured, then stepped away and gestured to the sofa. "Please, take a seat. I took the liberty of preparing some tea."
[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-25 10:55 pm (UTC)[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-25 11:53 pm (UTC)[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-26 12:37 am (UTC)Then Libby eyed the hawk. "Isn't that Rex's hawk?" she asked, bemused.
[Spam] - an hour for notifs, LJ? Really? :|
Date: 2010-03-26 01:56 am (UTC)[Spam] yeah, I just keep refreshing the threads I'm in now. :c
Date: 2010-03-26 02:17 am (UTC)"Oh! You said you wanted to experience Cindy's calming effect. You can hold her, if you'd like." She held the fluffball out tentatively, unsure if he'd want to or not.
[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-26 02:45 am (UTC)"I would suppose it originated as a defence mechanism," he said softly. "To calm the temperament of predators, perhaps. It is certainly...unusual."
[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-26 03:08 am (UTC)Cindy the former flight attendant wasn't actually dead, but Libby didn't have even the slightest clue.
She lifted the teacup to her lips, and sipped--she hadn't had green tea in a long time. "This is good," she commented.
[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-28 04:46 pm (UTC)[Spam]
Date: 2010-03-28 10:01 pm (UTC)"Thank you," she said, lifting her teacup again. "It is stressful, but the main problem isn't the stress itself...it's that I neglect to take care of my own mental health sometimes when I'm caring for others. I sort of bottle up the stress, and it just builds and builds until it's too much to handle."
[Spam] - Sorry I'm tagging this at the pace of a turtle, D takes more thinking than my others :c
Date: 2010-03-29 07:41 pm (UTC)Maybe he would have found it more noble, once. Maybe death had hardened him; maybe Leon's actions had left him bitter.
"I'm sorry to hear that," he lied. "You must be careful not to give too much of yourself, of course."