In the ConnPod, Evening [Edgar]

[andinfluencepeople]

Chuck's thumbing through The Disappearing Floor, waiting for a set of diagnostics to finish running, when he hears it.

He straightens, taking the headphones out of his ears, and listens harder.

Skitter.

"Oi, Edgar."

Comments

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar looks up from the comic book he's been working his way through. (He's decided he really likes this Captain America guy.)

"Yeah?"

[andinfluencepeople]

The noise has gone silent and Chuck holds up his hand for a long moment, until there's a scratching sound in the metal, very different from the Jaeger settling after repairs.

"You hear that?" He puts down his book fully and sits up.

[hate_gettin_older]

He frowns slightly. "Hear what?"

There's the usual soothing creak of metal against metal, the hum of the diagnostics computer thinking to itself, the faint tinny thump of music through Chuck's discarded headphones --

skit-scrtch

"Oh --"

[andinfluencepeople]

Chuck stands up as quietly as he can, shuffling in his socks and peering into the shadows near the partially opened hatch, dimly lit by the running lights.

He unhooks his flashlight, as the skrtch happens again, a couple feet from him.

"Ha," he breathes out, turning it on. The suspect, a large grey squirrel, freezes for a moment in the beam of light, before jumping towards Chuck, who flails out of the way.

It lands on the floor with a thump, and takes off.

[hate_gettin_older]

... directly at where Edgar's half-sitting, half-leaning on his hammock, feet propped against the floor to keep from swaying.

Edgar yelps, scrabbling up into the hammock to swing there for a moment in undignified alarm, until the thing swerves off and darts in the direction of the fridge.

"The fuck is that, a rat?"

[andinfluencepeople]

Chuck casts around blindly for something to use as a net -- and grabs a paper plate.

He lunges at the squirrel, and it veers off towards the other side of the Conn-Pod. He glances at the plate, and puts it back down. "Squirrel," he says. "They get into fucking everything, and try to hide their food in it."

He pulls off his t-shirt, keeping his hands in the armholes as he stalks across the room after it.

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar drops off of the hammock and starts after Chuck, eyeing the squirrel warily.

"You go that way, I'll go around?"

[andinfluencepeople]

Chuck hums softly in agreement, holding his position to wait for Edgar to move into a better one.

The squirrel chitters, and drops to four feet, watching them, claws curling around the buttons of the screen display.

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar shifts to flank the little creature, shrugging out of his flannel shirt and (after a quick glance at how Chuck's holding his own shirt) spreading it between his hands.

"Right, you little monster," he says to the squirrel, keeping his voice low, "don't you give us any trouble now."

[andinfluencepeople]

Chuck shoots Edgar a sharply amused look, but doesn't say what, or we'll break its kneecaps?

Instead he sliiides forward on his socks, leaning back slightly so's to not startle the squirrel with the length of shirt. If he just keeps it below the edge of the control panel, then he can --

The squirrel tenses, and Chuck tenses, and it jumps.

[hate_gettin_older]

This time Edgar does not yelp; he makes a dive for the streak of gray fur with his arms outstretched, and spectacularly misses his catch.

The squirrel bolts past him, zigzagging behind Chuck and going for the mess of gears under Edgar's hammock -- and diving under the dropped and forgotten comic book.

"Hey," Edgar protests sharply, "get out of it, you little --"

[andinfluencepeople]

"Oh no you don't," Chuck says, voice rising as he chases after it, slipping down to his belly to flick his hands at it, shirt flapping across the span of the gears."That's not a safe place for squirrels."

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar snatches up the comic protectively as Chuck swats at the creature with his shirt, just in time to save it from being sent flying.

The squirrel appears to agree that this does not, in fact, seem to be a safe place for squirrels, and makes a dash for the stairwell.

[andinfluencepeople]

Chuck shares a glance with Edgar, briefly, before scrambling to his feet and running after it.

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar tosses the comic onto the hammock, and charges after.

If the door at the bottom of the stairs is closed -- and it should be -- they'll have it cornered!