AU week

[runningred]

{from here}

Jay's room hasn't changed much. Even if it is a little tidier than usual. Blame it on the fact he hasn't been around much lately. Workbenches, gear lockers, couches, TV, bed. The bar has kindly added a private gym with some serious equipment in a room off to one side.

He reaches under a bench and clears out a couple of cardboard boxes for Rocky to play in. He finds a small greenish ovaloid hiding under one. "I thought you lot had grown out of camping in here?" He blows on the thing and it lights up, glittering like a giggle in lights. "Make yourself useful and keep an eye on the cat please? His name is Rocky."

The thing squeaks a sound almost like Rocky and buzzes over to investigate the cat.

Jay chuckles and unpacks the picnic, looking for his corkscrew. "That's a Hive Drone. In fact, that's one of the juveniles - George. He'll keep Rocky company." He gestures to the couch, "Make yourself at home."

Comments

[runningred]

Jay lets the subject drop and unpack the basket onto the coffee table. Cheese, dips, crackers, olives, cold meats and fruit. Just a selection of nibbles.

"Happily spoil you any day." Jay teases, topping up Emcee's glass.

[i_am_your_host]

"Mm, I know you would," he says with an affectionate little twist of his lips before taking a sip of wine.

As he leans over to help himself to some crackers and cheese, Rocky, who has been busy exploring Jay's room with George, comes trotting over, attracted by the smell of food. With a questioning meow? he rubs up against Emcee's shins.

"Oh, Rocky, always thinking with your stomach."

[runningred]

George floats over to Jay, perching on his shoulder and chittering happily. "I think the drones are going to want a furry now. George is a bit taken with Rocky." he laughs.

[i_am_your_host]

"Oh dear," he chuckles, reaching down to scratch Rocky's back. "Can they actually learn how to take care of a living creature? Some humans aren't even that advanced."

He picks out a cube of turkey and gives it to Rocky, who eagerly scarfs it down.

[runningred]

"I'd trust these little guys with a baby if it came to that." Jay confirms, scratching George's slick side. "They're more intelligent than more than a few humans I could name. But I think we'll wait. Gav and I are trying to find them a new home."

[i_am_your_host]

"Then I would recommend a cat because they're already quite independent. Rocky kept showing up on my fire escape for weeks until he convinced me that he was going to move in with me. Isn't that right?"

Rocky responds with a chirrup as if he knew what Emcee was talking about, and so he gets another cube of turkey.

"Where are the drones living now?"

[runningred]

"I was wondering how you met. In my experience, cats do what that want to do, when they want to do it." He smile as Rocky extorts another bite of food out of Emcee. They seem well suited - Emcee and Rocky.

"The garage, at the moment. They designed a new hive and I got a few willing sets of hands to help me put it together. There were camping out in my workshop before that but they reached a point of needed a place of their own." He gives George a little poke, the little drone chirping indignantly. "They were getting under my feet."

[i_am_your_host]

"That's exactly what a cat is like. He's not a pet, he's more like a roommate who doesn't pay rent or do any cleaning up." But Rocky gets rubbed behind the ears anyway.

"What about a really large room up here? Or a suite of rooms if they want to be fancy. How many are them anyhow?"

[runningred]

"Typical housemate then?" Jay teases, giving Rocky a scratch.

"No, they like the garage. They're builders and tinkerers like me. And the garage has all the scrap piles they could ever want. They're happy there for now. Doesn't mean they don't let themselves in here from time to time. The little ones especially."

[i_am_your_host]

"A housemate that enjoys getting his ears scratched, yes," he chuckles.

"Well, then, that makes sense. George seems to enjoy himself around you and your gadgets."

[runningred]

"And cuddles up from time to time, I'd imagine." Jay teases. "When your bed isn't otherwise occupied."

He plays with George, rolling the little drone from hand to hand and tickling along the darker veins in the glassy green surface. "The kids have grown up around humans. Much more of their lives than the adults. They tend to want and need more affection."

[i_am_your_host]

"If I don't close the bedroom door, oh he will come in and practically sit on your head, no matter who I'm with," he laughs.

As Jay plays with George, Rocky watches with bright yellow eyes and stands up on his hind legs, resting his front paws on his knee.

"Well, that's the younger generation for you." Smiling, he reaches over to pet the drone. "You rather want to make sure that they had it better than their elders did growing up."

[runningred]

"Helpful! I'm sure that puts an interesting dent in the mood." Jay reaches down to pet Rocky, smiling as George moves over to join him, smooching between Rocky's ears like a little glass ball.

George leaps into Emcee's hand, warm and vibrating and happy.

"The Drones don't like to look back. They don't hold history the way we do. They understand that the generations who grow up here will be different from those who grew up before whatever cataclysm nearly ended their civilisation. Even the look of them." He gestures to the green skin of George's shell. "The adults are off-white, more like eggs because they made their shells from the materials of that world. The green colouration comes from the sand of the Caribbean Inlet here. They chose that for themselves."

[i_am_your_host]

"He's a ridiculous creature sometimes, but I wouldn't trade him for anything," he says affectionately.

When George jumps into his hand, Rocky hops up into his lap. The cat butts his head against both his hand and the drone, liking the way he vibrates.

"So it sounds as if it's been a long process of rebuilding-- and just simply building, starting from scratch. A new existence, even a whole new physical form. Which, by the way, I think is very pretty." He gives George's side a gentle scratch.

[runningred]

George vibrates softly, matching his vibrations to Rocky's purring. He chirps a series of musical little sounds and Jay chuckles.

"He says you're pretty too." Jay translates, laughing. "But he likes Rocky's colourings better."

[i_am_your_host]

"Why thank you, darling," he coos at the drone with a grin. "And definitely no contest with Rocky."

Rocky bats softly at George with a velvety paw, sniffing at him and brushing his whiskers against him.

"But how did you even know what he said?" he asks Jay with amused incredulity.

[runningred]

Jay tilts his head to show a tiny green flashing light just inside the hollow of his ear, seemingly just under his skin. "Translator. It works for the females and the kids but not so well for the adult males."

George vibrates happily and bounces away from Rocky, daring him to give chase.

[i_am_your_host]

"Ah, very clever," he says, as Rocky hops off his lap to chase after George. With his hands free Emcee can resume enjoying his wine and some cheese.

"I'm guessing the adult males communicate on a different frequency or something like that?"

[runningred]

Jay shakes his head, refreshing their glasses. "They think differently. Less linear than the reasoning females. Less capable of slowing themselves down for humans. Lock and I communicate clearer but that's because he's a mechanic so we share a common language there but the rest of the boys I struggle to get finer details with. The kids have grown up around humans so they think much more like we do."

[i_am_your_host]

"Typical men, then," he snorts with a chuckle.

"Well, they're lucky to have an ally like you who's willing to learn and work with them. And help raise their children, apparently."

[runningred]

Jay chuckles too and leans over to press comfortably against him. "Would you believe Gav and I are helping them father the next batch of babies?"

[i_am_your_host]

"Oh, dear," he half-laughs. "Do I want to know?"

[runningred]

"They donate parts, to make the next generation. Always in batched of threes - one female and two males. It takes nine adults for each new drone and unfortunately they're a few short." He hesitates a little. "There weren't enough survivors. We were able to find ways to double up a bit but Gav and I donated parts too - the screw out of my shoulder and the bullet that killed Gav. They also extracted iron from blood we gave to cast into parts."

Jay smiles, watching George and Rocky play. "It sounds weird but it was really moving to be part of their future."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee is quiet for a moment, also watching the two at play.

"That is-- quite amazing," he says in a low but thoroughly impressed and astonished voice. "It really is."

survivors

He doesn't need to know exactly what they survived, only that they did.

[runningred]

Jay wraps an arm around him, encouraging Emcee to lean back against him. "One of the wonders of the bar, I guess. Like getting to see you."