Sirius Black (_thedogstar) wrote in freedomtownic, @ 2014-06-25 22:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | !thread, sirius black (_siriusly_), ~kate beckett |
Who: Sirius Black & Kate Beckett
When: Forward dated to tomorrow, Thursday, late morning
Where: Out and about
What: Beckett meets Padfoot
Rating: Low
Status: Complete
Sirius understood that he was on a space station, billions of millions (and many years) away from everything he knew, but it was kind of hard to forget. This was a city unto itself, even as futuristic as it was. It had parks, (simulated) fresh air, things to do and things to smell. He'd been around for a few days by now and was trying to get adjusted. He didn't know many people yet, though he was as friendly as ever. In an effort to "go out more" and see the city and try new things, Sirius transformed himself into Padfoot and set about for a stroll down the street. Being a dog had its advantages, and anonymity was one of them. He could get up to things as Padfoot that he couldn't as plain old Sirius Black. Like filching those wonderful-smelling meat skewers … So he did, grabbing one quickly in his chops and then taking off down the street. It wasn’t so much that the dog stole the meat - Kate had watched the animal rise up on his haunches and snag it before the vendor had even turned around - but that there was a dog in the city at all. She’d been here over a month, and the only animal she’d seen beyond Cosmo had been Rocket. And though she couldn’t be certain unless she asked, Kate felt pretty confident that Cosmo would have known and, indeed, mentioned other dogs aboard the space station. And that made her curious - how the dog had gotten here, who it belonged to, and why it was running loose in the city. Then there was the fact that it was probably somewhere in her job description that she catch it. So, with a long sigh, Kate took off behind the animal, jogging at a reasonable distance to try and see where he would end up. Padfoot ended up ducking into a slight alleyway, where he could enjoy the meat in peace. It smelled so good and tasted even better, and before he knew it, it was gone and his snout and paws were sticky from its sauce. He licked his entire face a few times just to get all of it off and then sat, almost-but-not-quite satisfied, against the cool side of a building. But the fur at the back of his neck stood up. Someone was watching him. He could feel it. He looked out into the street, at the people, his senses on edge, but he couldn't pick anyone in particular out. Kate had the sad story of being a kid who had never had a pet. Living in Manhattan with two busy parents had left no time for an animal which meant her experiences had been limited to playing with a friends dog, or on a rare visit to her Aunt Teresa’s upstate. Teresa had a golden retreiver, an easily excitable animal that had entertained her for hours, but this dog was much bigger, probably some sort of mutt. And while he was very pretty, seemed almost playful and gentle, Kate didn’t doubt that he wouldn’t attack if provoked. So she kept her distance until the dog had finished eating the meal, edging through the pedestrian traffic to stand just past the entrance to the alley and then, with equal measured gestures, she walked into the mouth of tiny space, kneeling down in an effort to seem unthreatening to the animal. “Hey there,” she said softly, lightly snapping her fingers, “You want to come and say hi to me?” From here she couldn’t see any sort of collar o the dog, which was going to make finding his owner even more of a challenge, but it was better that she find somewhere to put the dog than let him roam on his own. She didn’t even want to think about what could happen if he managed to get into the mechanical areas of the ship. Padfoot looked at Kate, tipping his head to the side to give off a puzzled look. She looked a bit important, maybe even in charge of something. Besides snatching the skewer, he hadn't done anything wrong. At least, he didn't remember doing anything else wrong, but sometimes Padfoot's senses and thoughts overshadowed Sirius's, and everything got a little muddled. He shook his head and his entire body to bring himself back to the front of his mind. He stepped forward to let her pet him because Padfoot never turned away some pets and pats and rubs and everything that went with them. She smiled a bit, entertained by the quiet intelligence of the dog, how he seemed to truly be listening to her and considering her suggestion. And, really, he wasn’t in trouble, there wasn’t much to be done about the skewer except pressing his owner that it needed to be paid for and finding somewhere safe to put the dog. But Kate had convinced herself she was going to have to go into the alley to get him, potentially wrestle with an animal who probably had a good ten or twenty pounds on her, and she had just balanced her weight back against her heels, preparing her body to stand up when the animal came forward, nudging its head into her outstretched hand. And then she grinned, a full, wide smile and a small chuckle, scratching just behind the fuzzy black ears, “I guess you do,” she told the dog, using her other hand to feel for any sort of id tag and coming up empty, “How did you get out here anyway? You’ve got to belong to someone.” Padfoot didn't belong to anyone, and he thought he should probably prove that to her but for now he was just enjoying -- very much enjoying -- the scritching and the rubbing and yes, right there. If there was one thing Sirius liked best about being a dog it was the scratching. Oh very well, it was the tail, but the scratching came in a close second. “You like that, huh?” Kate asked him, giving another quick twist of her fingers against the top of his head. She tried to remember if there were any stores in the city that might have pet gear, though nothing immediately stuck out, and Kate frowned. She’d have to ask Cosmo where the best options were for outfitting a dog, and, for now, take the animal with her to work - not that she expected anyone to mind, they’d probably enjoy having a mascot. “Come on buddy, you can come with me. Maybe find some more food?” she said as she stood, stepping away from the alley entrance to stand more on the sidewalk to see if the dog would follow her. Padfoot didn't follow her. He sat there, watching her for a moment, and then transformed back into Sirius, shaking his hair out and scratching the side of his neck. "No offense, ma'am, but I'm doing brilliantly on my own. Unless of course it was a proposition, and in that case, I'd be happy to go with you." Kate didn’t scream often, but the sight of the dog in front of her suddenly losing his fur and turning into a man - well it was enough for her to bite down hard enough on her lip that she drew blood, hand poised over the gun hidden under her jacket, “What in the hell…..” she finally stuttered, taking a full step back from the man, eyes wide and a little pissed. Not that she was going to yell at him, it wasn’t his fault she had mistaken him for a dog but….. Well, she couldn’t even finish that thought. It was just too absurd. After whipping his hand back through his shaggy hair, Sirius held out a hand to her. "Sorry for the scare. It's fun to get that reaction, really, and I never used to get to do it considering the Statute. But here? Anything goes, yeah? I mean, look at Cosmo. He's a Russian dog, isn't he? And we had zombies which weren't even proper Infieri, either. Oh, sorry," he added. "Name's Sirius Black. It is a pleasure to meet you." “Fun, really?” Kate asked, snapping out of her dumbstruck state to narrow her eyes at him, “It’s not fun when you are on the other end of it,” she replied, pulling her hand away from her gun to rest a whole four inches lower against her hip. Words like Statute and Inferi were enough of a clue before Sirius told her his name, though she couldn’t really be certain. She’d read Harry Potter a total of one time in her life, back in the years where it had become absurdly popular and even the tough guy cops in the bullpen were singing its praises (she was sure most of them actually had only see the movies, but regardless, they’d gotten her to read them), but there were context clues. She managed to catch the general gist and, in her memory served, Sirius Black was known as quite a prankster. “Kate Beckett,” she said, her voice lacking the enthusiasm that Sirius’ held, “You do know you’ll be going back to pay the vendor for that food, right?” Ooh, he had been caught by the head of law enforcement herself. He could barely believe it. Well, actually he could because that was just his luck, weren't it? "Pay him for it?" he repeated, blinking twice. "Yeah, sure, no problem. I'll take care of it." Maybe. Her belief of that statement rivaled with a belief in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, in short that it was nearly impossible, “Yeah, you know, the standard thing you do when you get food somewhere that isn’t your home or the home of family or friends,” Kate replied, chewing on the inside of her cheek. There was something about the younger man that reminded her of Castle, though she couldn’t quite place it, and while was she annoyed that he had scared her, seemed to have not much in the way of apology for it (though that was a very small issue when it came down to it, she was a big girl and could take care of herself), a very small part of her was amused. A very, very small part. “I’m not above following you back to the guy and making sure that it happens,” she added, “We don’t operate on a barter system here, even for men who can turn themselves into a dog at will. Though if you want free food, that is probably the way to get it - lay in front of the door and give some puppy eyes, I’m sure it’ll be very effective.” He gave her a look as if to say she didn't need to lecture him, thank you very much. "Hey, I'm a man of my word," Sirius insisted. "And I try and steer clear of law enforcement so don't worry, Miss Beckett -- I've got this all taken care of." He was usually pretty good at charming his way out of any situation, but for some reason she wasn't having it. He was losing his edge. Well, he hoped he wasn't, but -- "Cheers, Miss Beckett," he added, giving her a jaunty wave. "I'm sure we'll run into each other again some time, don't you think?" Oh, but she did. Lecturing was almost a default mode for Kate, born from years of ordering around people on her Homicide team, of keeping Castle out of trouble, and so on. “I hope so, Mr. Black,” she said, lips twitching ever so slightly at his slight distress. Yep, definitely reminded her of Castle with his charm and the hair and the smile. “I’m sure we will,” Kate replied, keeping her face neutral and completely in check until Sirius had gotten a bit of distance from her, and then she cracked, rolling her eyes in amusement with that slight, half-turned smile on her face and a shake of her head. |