Log: Complete

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

When; Penguin Day!
Rating; G
Characters; Frederick Abberline, Faye Valentine, and anyone else who feels like dropping in.
Summary; Frederick goes to visit Faye and brings a new friend with him.
Log;

He hadn't meant to actually bother the penguins - he'd learned at a young age, like anyone else, that you didn't mess with wild animals, even if they were docile ones. You left them alone and sometimes got to watch from afar. But they were just so ... cute. He winced internally every time he reacted that way to small animals, but he just liked them. Penguins and other exotic creatures that they didn't have at the zoo had always fascinated him, even if only in passing. And he missed his dog. And they seemed very friendly.

And one followed him for half a block.

So it was entirely by accident, really, that when he knocked on Faye's door, he was carrying a small penguin with him.

Comments

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye had just finished ruining some of the tea that she had found when she heard Abberline knock on her door. There was a bit of steam coming out of the kitchen, but she figured if she ignored it then he might not notice. She'd never been too terribly good at these sorts of things. She floated by the window, glancing down at the streets and watching the penguins scatter around like black beads. How weird.

Opening the door, however, was what surprised her the most.

It was really the last thing she had expected. Ever. Even though Abberline had mentioned something about an animal before coming over. Faye had always figured that she had a knack for attracting strange things and people and situations, but this one really took the cake. It took the cake and the frosting and all the candles. The worst part of it was that it was really... kind of adorable, and that made Faye want to hit something even more.

"A penguin?" Faye asked, stepping back and holding the door open so Abberline could enter. "Well, I guess you are dressed sort of alike," she said, tugging on Abberline's collar playfully.

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

Frederick made a face at Faye's remark, but came in anyway. "My jacket is blue," he pointed out as he put the penguin down on the floor. It looked up at them both, and waddled closer to Faye while Abberline walked into the kitchen to save the tea without comment. "He followed me," the Inspector insisted.

[glock30.livejournal.com]

She closed the door behind him, smirking at the look he gave her. Faye looked down at the penguin, staring at it as it, in turn, stared back up at her. It made some sort of noise and moved its... arms (?) around, and Faye jumped and hurried into the kitchen after Abberline, not really wanting to be alone with it. It followed her anyway, and she cooed at Frederick, "Aww, it likes you!" Faye looked down at her feet again, seeing it next to her once more. "Make it like you again."

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

"I think he just likes people," he said, looking down at the little thing. Seeing that it was getting attention, it wobbled over and leaned on his leg. Abberline tried very hard not to make some girly facial expression, and immediately looked back to the tea. "Miss Valentine, I'm impressed. Not many people can bollocks up tea."

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye watched it waddle. She couldn't help but smile at it a little. As long as it didn't stick to her like glue, she didn't mind. It was even kind of cute again, all snugged against Abberline's leg like it owned it. "Maybe all the big penguins picked on it," Faye suggested, giving him a sarcastic smile, which left her face when he started picking on her about the tea.

"It's a talent," she said, leaning past him to look at her mess. "If you want I could probably burn water." Faye gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder, though, not bothering to mention that she'd simply forgotten how to do it. 54 years was a long time to forget. "But now you're here to save the day, so that won't be necessary, I hope," she finished.

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

He gave her a small smile; he wasn't trying to pick on her, but it was a bit funny. He poured out the water, wiped up the area, filled the teakettle again and set it on the stove. "It is a bit fiddly," he said. "I'm just used to it, though..." he trailed off. "I really only drank it as an old man."

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye arched an eyebrow. Old man? But then she remembered that he had died, which made her sort of sad. It seemed like death surrounded her. She scooted the penguin around a bit with her toe and said, "You don't look like an old man..." There was really nothing else she could say.

She felt a bit awkward, so she bent down and actually picked up the little thing, trying not to touch Abberline as if she might curse him. The penguin made a series of irritated noises and flapped around. "So what do you want with this thing anyway? Just to play house with it?"

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

"I died when I was nearly ninety," he said, as if it was nothing. He took the kettle off the burner and prepared two cups. "It seems I'm physically here during a particularly vexing part of my life. Funny old city, eh?" Abberline finished with the tea, and took the aggravated penguin from Faye. It calmed with him, and stared back at Faye, unblinking.

"I should name him."

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye thought a moment, biting the inside of her lip. "I died when I was twenty," she said, and her stomach clenched because she'd never said so herself. "They put me in a cryogenic freeze for fifty-four years and then brought me back." She didn't know why she was telling him this. "Hilarious city," she said, not thinking it was all that funny. Faye took the cups from the counter when Frederick took the penguin from her. It gave her something to do with her hands.

She smirked at him. Patting the penguin a bit on the head. It snapped playfully at her and she glared at Abberline as if it were his fault. "Name it Lucifer."

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

"You're just jealous he doesn't like you."

Frederick fell silent for a moment. "I must admit I've no idea what... crow-genic? Freezing is, but it doesn't sound like something I'd like to try."

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye made a face at him. "He likes me fine," she said, extending her wrist where the thing's beak had grazed her skin. "See? A love bite." She gave Abberline another look, though she felt this one was more sincere. "Well what do you want to name it? You're obviously its mother. You should have the honor."

With the air of someone who is trying very hard not to look bothered, Faye drifted into the living room, putting their cups on the coffee table. "It's not something you want to try, unless you want to forget everything you were," she said, taking a drink of his tea. It was good. "Cryogenic. They did it to save me. It was stupid."

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

"Mmm."

Abberline didn't press the issue, though he had to fight the impulse to inquire further. It was in his nature to want to know everything about everyone, to 'get to the bottom' of things. But he had no reason to hassle Faye about something she obviously did not want to talk about. How did they get on this awful topic, anyway?

"His mother, eh? How about Peter?"

[noh-dancer.livejournal.com]

Scarab had first noticed the penguins from her window, and for a solid minute she had just stared.

It took only long enough for her to bundle herself in a blanket from her bed, and gather some bread along with her tea before she was downstairs and feeding the penguins.

Now the had a little wobbly, weebly herd of milling birds all noisily demanding attention while she laughed at them and tossed clumps of bread down the steps.

Probably a silly sight: a young woman with only her head poking out of a puffed blanket, and a milling group of penguins all raising a racket to out-shout the other.

The noise covered Abberline & Faye's approach until they were almost 6 feet from her.

'Sloppy', she chastised herself mentally, and then smiled at them.

" Out bird-watching, too? I figure it's the same temperature here as in my apartement, so I might as well come out."

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye turned around and found a young woman standing at the top of a staircase, wrapped in a blanket, which seemed like a better idea than her bomber jacket since her legs were freezing. The look that Frederick had given her in the apartment came back to her and she gave him a withering look. She was gravitating toward him like he was a planet just for warmth.

Faye snorted and said, "More like letting Frederick, here, see his only child off to a cold, cold world of snow and penguins." She shot him a sideways look and glanced down to see that Peter had scampered back to his pant leg.

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

Abberline had been in the middle of working up a first-class glare at Faye for her laughter when he noticed Scarab. He cracked a bit of a smile seeing her wrapped up in a blanket - but then gave Faye a Look over her remark.

"It's--" he stopped, looking down at the penguin. "I don't think it realizes that I'm not a penguin."

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye mirrored Abberline's Look as well as she could while still feeling laughter in her stomach. She wanted to make a comment about his feathers being ruffled but she restrained herself.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. I told you," she said, "you're dressed alike. Blue or not. They're probably colorblind anyway." Peter had settled for waddling around Abberline, and Faye looked down at him as well and then up at the woman on the stairs, who Faye wasn't sure she knew the name of. "Besides," she continued, "it's all very English and cute. Stop complaining."

[noh-dancer.livejournal.com]

Scarab made a first class effort not to snicker at the 'only child' comment, but failed miserably, only managing to screw up her face inan effort not to smile.

"He does have your fashion sense, Frederick" she teased, as she pitched a bit of bread near the little penguin.

The woman with Abberline didn't look very dressed for the cold, but Scarab forebore to comment.

" I don't think we've met", she said to Faye, " You can call me Scarab. I'm fairly new in town."
With a little rearranging of blanket she poked out her hand politely to Faye, and nodded. No telling if the woman observed eastern or western courtesy, so best to cover all the bases.

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

Frederick felt completely out of his league among the two quick-witted women. It didn't help that they were both from a time far beyond his. He tried to respond, but another much larger penguin was ambling over for some free bread, and it slid down a snowslope and directly into him. He flailed slightly, and then fell over in the snow between Faye and Scarab.

"... All introduced, then."

[glock30.livejournal.com]

She gave Abberline a pleased look as the other woman fought not to laugh. "See," she said. "I'm not the only one who sees the resemblance."

Faye, who had her arms wrapped around her midsection although it was her legs that were cold, looked up at the woman who introduced herself as Scarab. She had seen her on that computer in the apartment, but it was nice to put a real face to a name. Extending her hand, she said, "I don't think we have either." They shook. "Faye Valentine. You said you were fairly new? I guess I'm kind of new myself. Enjoying it?"

It was kind of nice to meet another woman, she thought, even if Faye was more used to men.

[noh-dancer.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's not boring" she replied, as she shuffled and slid down the steps and tried to offer a hand up to Abberline....only slip when she tried to pull him up and land sprawled unceremoniously across him in the snow.

"Ow!....sorry..."

((OOC: typooosss @_@))

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

"That's all right, I can--Omph!"

Frederick's arms came around her impulsively, and he sat up, trying not to get the both of them any further soaked on the snow than they were; she was effectively in his lap now.

"Well," he said, eyebrows raised, "Hello. Ahh, it seems you're being robbed..." he pointed out the penguins laying harvest to her bag of bread crumbs, obviously trying to draw attention away from the unignorable fact that he was sitting in the snow with a woman on his lap.

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye winced as the two bodies collided in front of her, watching as a few penguins began sticking their faces into Scarab's bag. When the snow had settled, Faye felt that it was all right to snicker.

"Definitely not boring," Faye said, openly smirking as Peter the penguin waddled around the two fallen people before her. Reaching down to help Scarab into a standing position, she glanced back at Abberline. "Would like a hand too or do you want to stay down there?"

[noh-dancer.livejournal.com]

"er...yes, it seems so" she replied, trying to cover the awkwardness, then gratefully accpeted Faye's help.

( Not that she minded such a compramising position, but with an audience it was a little wierd)

The bread crumbs were now a total loss as the main body of begging birds had fallen on it, and were cheerfully consuming the lot.

Letting her hair fall foreward to hide a mild blush, she took off the blanket to stand chattering in the snow and shake it off before the flakes stuck to it melted.

[bloodyuseless.livejournal.com]

Abberline got to his feet quickly, brushing off what snow he could - the rest had melted immediately, and now his legs and backside were soaked and freezing. He might have have been blushing, but it was hard to tell in the biting cold air.

"I think our mission of returing Peter to his kind has been accomplished," he announced, turning to look at the small penguin, who was clustered with the others, enjoying Scarab's fallen bread.

"Perhaps we should escape now."

[glock30.livejournal.com]

Faye shifted her weight from side to side a little, pressing her legs together as if trying to warm them up. Her breath puffed in front of her face when she said, "An escape to someplace heated, I think. Not all of us have blankets, even if they are a little wet." She gave Scarab a warm look, though she didn't feel very warm at all.

She couldn't resist one last comment, though: "Are you sure you're ready to leave your baby behind, Frederick?"