Guardian: Safe Running
Aug. 1st, 2002 01:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kuangningHe led her to a tiny room, and indicated that she should sit. Maya perched on the edge of a little cot, and he seated himself facing her, on a chair. The only other furnishing in the room was an old-fashioned pedestal wash stand. "This is your room," he said. "We haven't many other girls right now so you get to have it to yourself." She looked around again. "It's mine? Just like that? What do you want in return?" He raised his hands in a gesture of denial, palms outward. "Don't worry about that. We're here to help you. If you really want to repay us, we'll talk about it after you've gotten settled in. Certainly not before you've had a few days to get your bearings. I'll go now, and send Rhia to you. She's been here since she was two, and she'll help you find your way around." He rose, and made his way out, pausing in the doorway to smile at her. "I'm glad you've made it here, Maya. And I think you'll find that you like it. Most of our girls do."
She sat on the cot, staring after him, until his footsteps could no longer be heard, and rubbed absently at the tingling spot on her arm, which was somehow worse than ever. And, unseen and unsuspected, outside the house her Guardian waited, and cursed himself for a fool.
Seth shifted his weight uneasily from one knee to another, and scowled to himself. Why was he hesitating? He ought to be retrieving the girl, and going about his business. She'd be returned to the Home, or placed in detention if she chose to be intransigent, but she would, either way, no longer be his responsibility. That was the point, wasn't it? He turned the thought over in his mind, keeping up the internal monologue that almost every Guardian developed who spent more than about four years in the field.
The chirp was soft and questioning, but he started anyway, putting an end to his thoughts, and reached for the compact telesat unit he carried. He didn't bother to glance at the identifying code: the list of people who knew how to reach him this way was astonishingly short. The list of people who would dare use the information was much shorter.
"Kerrington." Seth's tone, though calm, was just this side of arctic.
"Report, Hollinger." The reply was crisp: Lindsay Kerrington was not at all disturbed by Seth's coolness. Allowing himself a small grimace, Seth made his report, not omitting the fact that he had the opportunity to recover the girl. Thorn in his side though Kerrington might be, she allowed him complete autonomy in the actual handling of his cases, intruding only to demand reports. When he had finished, Kerrington made a small, noncommittal sound, and then there was the chirp as she broke the connection without comment. This time, he actually scowled as he replaced the unit, and then he turned his thoughts back to the task at hand. He decided to wait and observe. Perhaps this time he would be able to make sure that this particular household ceased operation. He'd just as soon not see another of his charges wind up within its walls.
(more to come -- Maya's being difficult. ;) )
She sat on the cot, staring after him, until his footsteps could no longer be heard, and rubbed absently at the tingling spot on her arm, which was somehow worse than ever. And, unseen and unsuspected, outside the house her Guardian waited, and cursed himself for a fool.
Seth shifted his weight uneasily from one knee to another, and scowled to himself. Why was he hesitating? He ought to be retrieving the girl, and going about his business. She'd be returned to the Home, or placed in detention if she chose to be intransigent, but she would, either way, no longer be his responsibility. That was the point, wasn't it? He turned the thought over in his mind, keeping up the internal monologue that almost every Guardian developed who spent more than about four years in the field.
The chirp was soft and questioning, but he started anyway, putting an end to his thoughts, and reached for the compact telesat unit he carried. He didn't bother to glance at the identifying code: the list of people who knew how to reach him this way was astonishingly short. The list of people who would dare use the information was much shorter.
"Kerrington." Seth's tone, though calm, was just this side of arctic.
"Report, Hollinger." The reply was crisp: Lindsay Kerrington was not at all disturbed by Seth's coolness. Allowing himself a small grimace, Seth made his report, not omitting the fact that he had the opportunity to recover the girl. Thorn in his side though Kerrington might be, she allowed him complete autonomy in the actual handling of his cases, intruding only to demand reports. When he had finished, Kerrington made a small, noncommittal sound, and then there was the chirp as she broke the connection without comment. This time, he actually scowled as he replaced the unit, and then he turned his thoughts back to the task at hand. He decided to wait and observe. Perhaps this time he would be able to make sure that this particular household ceased operation. He'd just as soon not see another of his charges wind up within its walls.
(more to come -- Maya's being difficult. ;) )
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2002-08-01 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-08-02 01:21 am (UTC)message for Maya: Behave, Cairsten is trying to write your story.