whowillsaveme (whowillsaveme) wrote in parabolical, @ 2008-05-08 16:14:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | death (endless), owen harper |
WHO: Owen Harper & Death
WHAT: Conversation in the park (yes, Owen ventured into nature), and puppy saving.
WHERE: a park
WHEN: May 8th
RATING: PG
Torchwood was as good as dead. Like when he had run away, Jack was doing them a fat lot of good, and with so much going on, so much that they didn't understand about this, and with so little ability to actually set themselves up, they were lost. They relied on Ianto for so much. It was almost amazing how much he actually did without them even realizing. And frankly, Owen was about as good at organizing things as Jack was at being subtle. Scrubbing a hand over his face, Owen took another turn in the park. He didn't remember how he'd gotten here, just that he'd went out for awhile to clear his head, and kept walking until he'd hit wilderness. Not that this was wilderness, but it was still more green than he would care for if he was actually paying any mind to where he was going.
As his legs started to tire from the aimless walking, however, Owen stepped off of the path, sinking down onto one of the benches that lined the park walkway. Leaning his head back against it and rubbing his eyes, Owen wasn't even paying attention to the people around him. If they were in this place willingly and not by some horribly mistake, they probably weren't people he wanted anything to do with anyway.
There was a crash from a nearby set of metal garbage cans. A moment later, a small white dog with wiry hair and tan spots darted out from the pile, scrambling under the safety of the bench.
There was a soft sigh from somewhere behind Owen, and a young woman dressed in black stepped around him, kneeling beside the bench and looking down at the dog. "Come on, Kojak," she said, her voice soft and comforting. She put out a hand, and the dog slowly skittered his way towards her, frightened, but attempting to wag his tail at her anyway.
The crash had caused Owen to jerk, his reflexes cranked to high lately. He was very lucky that he didn't have a gun on him today, or that probably would have been one dead dog right now. Instead, Owen was just a bit jumpy, bracing himself for something that was a bit more than what it turned out to be. Relaxing when he realized that he was safe, and unless this dog was prone to biting, that probably wasn't going to change any time soon, Owen looked over at the young woman, giving her a quick once over look.
Black in this heat? Seriously? Well, there were some people that work black no matter what kind of weather conditions they were faced with. Owen usually thought of them as the 'freaks'. "Puppy problems?" Owen asked, tilting his head slightly to look down at the dog. He seemed a mix of delighted and apprehensive. Odd look for a dog.
She looked up at Owen and gave him a smile. "Something like that. Kojak just got a bit of a scare." She looked back at the dog to address it directly. "Didn't you?" Then she paused, tilting her head slightly, and nodded. "I know, you didn't expect the can to tip like that. But it still happens."
The dog finished scooting, resting his chin in her hand, closing his eyes contentedly as she rubbed his jaw.
"There you go. Doesn't that feel better?" Kojak's tail wagged in response to her voice.
The girl looked back up at Owen. The smile she wore was familiar, friendly, like the smile of an old and dear friend. Black hair framed her face, and under her left eye was a small black curl. It might have been tattooed or carefully painted, but it appeared very natural. Her clothing was casual, jeans and a tank top, striking only for being black. Her skin was pale, and there was a silver necklace around her throat with a large pendant shaped like an ankh.
"He's a good dog, really. How are you doing?"
Well, she might not have the vibe that came from the freaks, but there was no denying that she had a touch of the weird in her. Despite that, Owen couldn't help but return the smile, shrugging a bit. "I'm alive. And that's a big improvement," Owen said. Most people would probably think it was a joke. He'd made quips like that before, after all. But there was little to no humor in the words. They had came out instead in more of a matter-of-fact manner. Leaning down, Owen gently gave the dog a bit of a scratch behind the ears.
"Name's Owen."
She chuckled softly. "Yes," she said, surprisingly. "It's a very big improvement. That was just a weird sort of situation all around. I haven't had to go through that for..." She trailed off, with a shrug. "Well. It's been a while."
Then she beamed when Owen petted the dog. Kojak's tail waved a bit more, his head tilting slightly to lean into the hand. "See?" she said, appearing to address the dog. "I knew he was nice." The dog twitched his ears, and the girl considered. "Okay, I guess you have a good reason for that, but maybe it's time to set that aside?"
Weird was a part of his job, a part of his everyday existence almost. Weird certainly seemed to be a large factor in this place as well, but this... This was just odd. And it was confusing as well. "You didn't have to what?" Owen asked, furrowing his brow at the young woman and trying (really, honestly trying) not to think too much of the fact that she was conversing with the dog like it understood her and that she understood IT.
"You know, I'm pretty sure LA has some top notch psych wards. If you need me to find you one."
She looked back up at him. "You know. The whole suspended animation thing. I mean, the physical form always sticks around, even when you think it's gone. Most of the time it's just broken up into bits so small you can't see it. But there's not too many that actually stay animated by their own."
She laughed at his suggestion. "I'm not crazy, Owen. I'm Death."
Owen just stared. Death. She was Death. Sorry, no, that wasn't computing in his head. Death was a big mean shadowy plague monster that killed people without any sort of care for the who or the why. And he had made sure that Death was gone. He'd fought it, and it had disappeared. Unless it had decided to reappear as a trendy teenager in order to wreak havoc on unsuspecting goth boy, there was no way that he was going to buy this.
"You're Death?" Owen asked, a slight amusement in his tone. "Yeah. Right."
She shrugged. "Not everyone remembers. It's a pretty traumatic thing. But I remember you, Owen Harper."
Death sat back on the grass, and Kojak crawled into her lap, curling up and shutting his eyes to sleep. "Sometimes other things try and use my name. Demons, gods, monsters... And there are gods of death. But they're not me."
"All I remember is darkness," Owen said, his voice dull and his gaze hallow for a moment before it focused back down on the young woman sitting in the grass. His mind was refusing to think of her as 'Death'. All he knew that if he tried to narrate this scene to Tosh later, he'd have a very hard time getting it out. Death was sitting in the grass with a puppy curled up in her lap. She'd just have to be 'the young woman' for now until he found something more suitable.
"Well, then I have no fucking clue what the hell that thing was."
"Bad," came her answer. "Evil. Stealing lives. It thought it was Death, but death was only what it did. Not who it was."
She petted Kojak. The dog was resting quite peacefully where he was.
After a moment, she shrugged. "You can call me Didi." Sometimes people were uncomfortable with her real name. Sometimes it got her down, but she recovered quickly. There were too many people to meet to be grumpy for long.
Philosophy. That was always fun. Especially when it was used to explain the horrors that Torchwood dealt with on a daily basis. He really needed to introduce her to Suzie. On the other hand... He doubted Suzie would be able to shake his off as just another one of the absurdities that came along with living in a deranged world. Knowing Suze... Well, he wouldn't put it past her to try and get even.
"You know, I haven't been to a park since I was a kid," Owen said, leaning forward on the bench, propping his elbows on his knees as he looked around. He filed the name away for use later. It was a bit silly, but hey, at least it wasn't quite as unbalancing as 'Death'. "Seems like they haven't changed much. Still all...nature-y."
Death looked around the park, still smiling lightly. "I like parks. It's always nice when I get to spend some time in one. My breaks aren't very long, but they're worth it." One hand still absently stroked the back of the dog in her lap. "Nature doesn't change much. I mean, sure, every second it's changing. Things are growing, things are dying, leaves are turning colors, all the insects run through entire generations... but it doesn't really change. It's nice."
"I'm not a big fan," Owen said, looking down at the grass with something in his eyes akin to distrust. "I ended up here by accident. But I guess that's what happens when you walk without paying attention to navigation."
"You don't trust nature?" she asked, tilting her head at him. "Or do you just prefer that things look the way they are?"
"I don't trust it," Owen said. "Even as barmy as I know that sounds, I still don't. Too many bad experiences with and in the out of doors."
"Not so barmy as you might think. Sometimes fear or distrust has a basis, even if you don't know or remember it." She stretched back, putting her hands against the grass to support her. Kojak continued his fitless nap in her lap.
"The first murder was committed in the dark. Did you know that? There's a basis for everything."
"The dark conceals things. Things that we shouldn't see, things we don't want to see, things that would...send most people running for the hills," Owen said, folding his hands in his lap. "It makes sense to distrust the dark, to be afraid of it. But most people don't understand why someone would dislike nature. Of course, these are people that have usually not seen many horror flicks and don't understand that most of those movies are an accurate depiction of what happens when people are left alone in the woods."
"Or sometimes, they choose not to see it." The pup in her lap whimpered softly, and Death immediately began to pet his side again, making a comforting sound with her tongue.
"Not everyone is eager to see the truth, King of the Weevils."
"If they were, I'd be out of a job," Owen said before frowning as he slipped down of the bench and knelt next to her. "Is he all right? I don't think I've ever seen a dog be that still before. Especially not one so young."
Death gave him a sad little smile. "It would be nice if this was a break, Owen. I do like talking with you. But I still have a job to do."
Owen blinked a few times in surprise. He'd never actually contemplated the idea that Death came for anything other than people. It was so obvious, but it was an idea that had never passed his mind. And it was an idea that he really, really did not like, especially in this situation. How old could this dog be? A year, maybe two? That was over a decade of time that was being robbed from him.
It was hard to say whether it was his instinct as a human being, a doctor, or as someone who knew what death was truly like that prompted him to lift the dog from her lap, not even waiting for any kind of permission as he checked him over. He might not have any vet training, but his work at Torchwood had turned him into someone that was very adaptable. Besides, the signs that he was showing, the sluggishness, the struggle to breath, the fact that his fur was starting to come away easily, all pointed rather clearly to having been poisoned.
Gently prying the puppy's jaws open, Owen held onto him as he pushed a finger back into the animal's throat to try and trigger his gag reflex and get him to vomit.
There was no objection from Death as the young dog was plucked from her. If she had any opinion, she kept silent.
Kojak's reaction was sluggish. There was a choked motion in his throat, then another. On the third, a thick object shifted in his throat, under Owen's fingers.
Owen gently pried whatever had emerged from his throat out, tossing it onto the ground before gently massaging the puppy's stomach. He could only hope that that had solved most of the problem. Even if he'd have to give him some fluids to help flush out what had been absorbed into his system.
The dog issued a soft whimper, and his tail thumped. There was a second rise in his throat as his stomach rejected what was still in there. He whimpered again, a bit stronger this time.
"His name is Kojak," came Death's soft voice.
Owen gently scratched the puppy behind the ears again, "You'll be just fine as soon as we get some fluids in you, Kojak," Owen said before glancing back up at Death. "Sorry if I interfered in something that I wasn't supposed to. But I'm not used to just sitting by idle," He said. "Especially when there's actually something I can actually do," He said, turning his gaze back down to Kojak.
With Torchwood, it had gotten to the point that there was little that he could do for anyone far too often. He'd tried to avoid getting into forensic medicine just so he wouldn't have to do autopsies, but that seemed to be all he'd been doing lately.
Death smiled. "Not even I know what's written in my brother's book, Owen. Destiny keeps his own counsel. If this was how it went, then that's that."
She reached over to give Kojak a scratch behind the ears. "But I'll admit. I like the happy endings."
"They happen so rarely, it seems," Owen said, grinning down at Kojak. "It's always better when things work out for the best. Makes things seem less doomed."