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starsficOh my gosh, you guys RULE TEH INTERWEBS. Thank you so much for taking my question seriously (or at least, in the spirit it was presented ::grin::) because not only did you rock the polls BUT THEN ALSO explained why, which was amazing and fabulous! I love you! ::warm fuzzies::
*Andrea: Not a dialogue heavy story, as it turns out.
Marci: The one you're writing? What are they doing? Drinking? Eating?
*Andrea: Eating breakfast. Yes, it is a story by me about RPM, so they must be either eating or drinking.
For previous entries tagged "straight up,"
click and scroll down (reverse chronology).
background check
Dillon was gone in the morning, which wasn't really that unusual. He didn't sleep a lot, and Ziggy didn't know exactly what he did while the screens in the garage were dark. He did know it was more than just working on his car, which was what Scott thought he did, and it was definitely more than reading or playing jacks or the occasional load of laundry, which was what Summer thought he did.
He wasn't sure what Flynn thought Dillon did at night, but it was hard to tell what Flynn thought about a lot of things. Dillon had once muttered something about never pissing Flynn off again, and that was good enough for Ziggy. Anyone Dillon didn't deliberately antagonize was better left alone.
What Dr. K thought Dillon did was probably the most relevant question. She was never happy to find him missing in the morning, but today she pretended not to notice. She joined Scott and Ziggy for breakfast, which was nice and definitely not typical--Ziggy guessed she'd been expecting to find Dillon with them--and she even managed to make conversation with Scott.
By the time Flynn wandered into the kitchen, Summer had been and gone: something about her parents. Ziggy was on his third attempt to make oatmeal palatable, and Scott was laughing at him when he wasn't trying to show Dr. K his serious face. Maybe Flynn knew some secret trick for making oatmeal taste... not like oatmeal.
Of course, that was when Dillon showed up. His entrance was dramatic even for him, which was saying something. He didn't buzz the door, which had always been the rule for non-Ranger guests, and he certainly didn't wait for Dr. K to scan them, which was their new procedure after the last--well, second to last--Tenaya 7 infiltration.
Ziggy didn't know what they were going to come up with after yesterday, but Dillon would probably ignore it too. He got really mad about security for someone who never thought it applied to him.
"Please tell me that isn't Ranger Black," Dr. K said, staring past Scott and out into the garage, "bringing two complete strangers onto the base without so much as a background check."
It was the first time Ziggy had thought she might answer, so he asked. "Hey, why do you call me Series Green and everyone else Ranger whatever?" And more importantly, "Is that a puppy?"
"Dillon." Scott was already on his feet, moving around the table to put himself between Dr. K and the newcomers. "What are you doing?"
"It's okay," Dillon said, catching Ziggy's eye as his mouth quirked a little. "I know them."
Ziggy took that as permission to push past Scott and fawn over the puppy. It was a drooping ball of yellow limbs and floppy ears, cradled in the arms of a guy wearing a red sweatshirt. "Can I pat him?" he wanted to know.
"You know a lot of people I wouldn't necessarily invite onto the base," Scott was saying, while sweatshirt guy hoisted the puppy higher so Ziggy could offer it the back of his hand. "You know procedure, Dillon. You can't just walk in here with anyone you want."
The puppy licked the back of his hand, a little half-heartedly but it made Ziggy grin. "Hey, he likes me!"
"Technically," Dillon replied, "I think I can."
"Proving what?" Dr. K demanded. "That Venjix isn't the only thing that could tear this base apart from the inside?"
"Hey, whoa," Ziggy said, and he only took his eyes off the puppy for a second before he yanked his hand back in alarm. "Ow!"
"Ziggy, step away from that animal," Dr. K said sharply. "Who knows what kind of contagion it could be carrying."
"It's just play-biting," the guy in the sweatshirt said, but he pulled the puppy back. "Sorry. We think she's had kind of a rough day."
"Ziggy?" Dillon repeated. Something in the tone said it wasn't entirely directed at him, and Ziggy tried not to smile. So Dillon had heard her call him "Ranger Black" when he came in. "You okay?"
There was a hazy undefined area between "make them stop baiting each other" and "make everyone hate the puppy," and he was in it. Right now. "Uh, yeah," he said quickly. "She, did you say? Sorry, girl; didn't mean to, you know, malign your gender or anything."
"We found her--" The woman with sweatshirt guy spoke for the first time and stopped just as quickly. Ziggy didn't really get what happened except that he was left with an armful of puppy as the guy in red grabbed for his friend and they both ended up on the floor.
Then Flynn was in the middle of it, and the woman was insisting that she was fine, and only when Dillon said, "Flynn, he's one of Doc K's Rangers," did Ziggy realize that sweatshirt guy had looked to Dillon when Flynn moved in. So they did know each other. And they trusted each other.
Oh. Red and purple: just like that, it clicked. "You're the Rangers Dillon and Summer met at the pizza place," he blurted out. And, because that was kind of rude, "Sorry, are you okay?"
"Ziggy; Casey, RJ," Dillon said. Possibly by way of introduction. "That's Scott. You sure you're fine?"
Despite the names, he was pretty sure Casey was the guy, and between him and Flynn they got his friend up. She looked sort of amused by the fuss, actually, but Ziggy frowned at the way she found her balance. It looked weird, somehow. Like she was still dizzy, or she was trying to keep herself from doing something, or--he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Yes," she said. "Just a slight... spiritual imbalance."
"Uh-huh." Dillon didn't sound surprised--or convinced--but he didn't push it, either. Ziggy remembered him saying things about crystals and electricity and wondered, not for the first time, who Dillon had been. "You want to sit down?"
"Okay, time out," Scott said. "You're RJ and Casey?"
"Yeah, Summer told us about you." Casey kept one arm around his friend--girlfriend, Dillon had said--and offered the other to Scott. "Red Ranger. Nice to meet you."
Because Scott was Scott, he shook Casey's hand. "Likewise. I think. Dillon?" he added pointedly.
"Found 'em wandering the streets," Dillon said with a shrug. "Figured you'd want to see them." This last was directed over Scott's shoulder, and Scott raised his eyebrows as he turned.
Dr. K was still sitting at the table, one torn-off corner of toast raised halfway to her mouth. She was staring at them. "Oh," she said coolly, and maybe it wasn't "them" she was staring at so much as one of them in particular. "Now you want my opinion?"
*Andrea: Not a dialogue heavy story, as it turns out.
Marci: The one you're writing? What are they doing? Drinking? Eating?
*Andrea: Eating breakfast. Yes, it is a story by me about RPM, so they must be either eating or drinking.
For previous entries tagged "straight up,"
click and scroll down (reverse chronology).
Dillon was gone in the morning, which wasn't really that unusual. He didn't sleep a lot, and Ziggy didn't know exactly what he did while the screens in the garage were dark. He did know it was more than just working on his car, which was what Scott thought he did, and it was definitely more than reading or playing jacks or the occasional load of laundry, which was what Summer thought he did.
He wasn't sure what Flynn thought Dillon did at night, but it was hard to tell what Flynn thought about a lot of things. Dillon had once muttered something about never pissing Flynn off again, and that was good enough for Ziggy. Anyone Dillon didn't deliberately antagonize was better left alone.
What Dr. K thought Dillon did was probably the most relevant question. She was never happy to find him missing in the morning, but today she pretended not to notice. She joined Scott and Ziggy for breakfast, which was nice and definitely not typical--Ziggy guessed she'd been expecting to find Dillon with them--and she even managed to make conversation with Scott.
By the time Flynn wandered into the kitchen, Summer had been and gone: something about her parents. Ziggy was on his third attempt to make oatmeal palatable, and Scott was laughing at him when he wasn't trying to show Dr. K his serious face. Maybe Flynn knew some secret trick for making oatmeal taste... not like oatmeal.
Of course, that was when Dillon showed up. His entrance was dramatic even for him, which was saying something. He didn't buzz the door, which had always been the rule for non-Ranger guests, and he certainly didn't wait for Dr. K to scan them, which was their new procedure after the last--well, second to last--Tenaya 7 infiltration.
Ziggy didn't know what they were going to come up with after yesterday, but Dillon would probably ignore it too. He got really mad about security for someone who never thought it applied to him.
"Please tell me that isn't Ranger Black," Dr. K said, staring past Scott and out into the garage, "bringing two complete strangers onto the base without so much as a background check."
It was the first time Ziggy had thought she might answer, so he asked. "Hey, why do you call me Series Green and everyone else Ranger whatever?" And more importantly, "Is that a puppy?"
"Dillon." Scott was already on his feet, moving around the table to put himself between Dr. K and the newcomers. "What are you doing?"
"It's okay," Dillon said, catching Ziggy's eye as his mouth quirked a little. "I know them."
Ziggy took that as permission to push past Scott and fawn over the puppy. It was a drooping ball of yellow limbs and floppy ears, cradled in the arms of a guy wearing a red sweatshirt. "Can I pat him?" he wanted to know.
"You know a lot of people I wouldn't necessarily invite onto the base," Scott was saying, while sweatshirt guy hoisted the puppy higher so Ziggy could offer it the back of his hand. "You know procedure, Dillon. You can't just walk in here with anyone you want."
The puppy licked the back of his hand, a little half-heartedly but it made Ziggy grin. "Hey, he likes me!"
"Technically," Dillon replied, "I think I can."
"Proving what?" Dr. K demanded. "That Venjix isn't the only thing that could tear this base apart from the inside?"
"Hey, whoa," Ziggy said, and he only took his eyes off the puppy for a second before he yanked his hand back in alarm. "Ow!"
"Ziggy, step away from that animal," Dr. K said sharply. "Who knows what kind of contagion it could be carrying."
"It's just play-biting," the guy in the sweatshirt said, but he pulled the puppy back. "Sorry. We think she's had kind of a rough day."
"Ziggy?" Dillon repeated. Something in the tone said it wasn't entirely directed at him, and Ziggy tried not to smile. So Dillon had heard her call him "Ranger Black" when he came in. "You okay?"
There was a hazy undefined area between "make them stop baiting each other" and "make everyone hate the puppy," and he was in it. Right now. "Uh, yeah," he said quickly. "She, did you say? Sorry, girl; didn't mean to, you know, malign your gender or anything."
"We found her--" The woman with sweatshirt guy spoke for the first time and stopped just as quickly. Ziggy didn't really get what happened except that he was left with an armful of puppy as the guy in red grabbed for his friend and they both ended up on the floor.
Then Flynn was in the middle of it, and the woman was insisting that she was fine, and only when Dillon said, "Flynn, he's one of Doc K's Rangers," did Ziggy realize that sweatshirt guy had looked to Dillon when Flynn moved in. So they did know each other. And they trusted each other.
Oh. Red and purple: just like that, it clicked. "You're the Rangers Dillon and Summer met at the pizza place," he blurted out. And, because that was kind of rude, "Sorry, are you okay?"
"Ziggy; Casey, RJ," Dillon said. Possibly by way of introduction. "That's Scott. You sure you're fine?"
Despite the names, he was pretty sure Casey was the guy, and between him and Flynn they got his friend up. She looked sort of amused by the fuss, actually, but Ziggy frowned at the way she found her balance. It looked weird, somehow. Like she was still dizzy, or she was trying to keep herself from doing something, or--he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Yes," she said. "Just a slight... spiritual imbalance."
"Uh-huh." Dillon didn't sound surprised--or convinced--but he didn't push it, either. Ziggy remembered him saying things about crystals and electricity and wondered, not for the first time, who Dillon had been. "You want to sit down?"
"Okay, time out," Scott said. "You're RJ and Casey?"
"Yeah, Summer told us about you." Casey kept one arm around his friend--girlfriend, Dillon had said--and offered the other to Scott. "Red Ranger. Nice to meet you."
Because Scott was Scott, he shook Casey's hand. "Likewise. I think. Dillon?" he added pointedly.
"Found 'em wandering the streets," Dillon said with a shrug. "Figured you'd want to see them." This last was directed over Scott's shoulder, and Scott raised his eyebrows as he turned.
Dr. K was still sitting at the table, one torn-off corner of toast raised halfway to her mouth. She was staring at them. "Oh," she said coolly, and maybe it wasn't "them" she was staring at so much as one of them in particular. "Now you want my opinion?"