Where the Wild Things Sleep

Posted on Wed Aug 29th, 2012 @ 6:32pm by Ignatius Reilly & Janice Gree & Jackson Banning V

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Nexus Club

In the empty dining room, Janice Gree was yelling in anger. At first glance, it seemed she was yelling at a wall. Then the ‘wall’ moved and her electric blue and black self was easy to spy. “...you are not to come back in here, you little monster!”

Jackson emerged from his empty office as the yelling drifted back to him. It had been one hell of a night - two uproars that erupted out of the blue over seemingly nothing. Must be something in the water. Now Janice was riled up. Time to go soothe troubled waters. Ambling over to where Janice stood, he draped an arm around her shoulder. “What’s up, sugar plum?”

“That!” She stabbed a finger toward the wall. “I had three patrons tonight whose dinner bills I had to comp because they saw that monster on our wall!”

This was simply a safe place for me to hang and watch the show, Iggy said.

“Yeah, maybe next time we’ll find a little better spot for ya Iggy. Though after the Divitians, I can’t see why a spider’s all that scary. Ya ready to go Iggy? Wanna join me in my office?” Jackson gave Jan a peck on the cheek to try and soothe her, then stepped up and held his hand out to Iggy.

Is there beer in your office? Iggy asked as she moved down the wall and onto Jackson’s hand and arm. Safely ensconced on his shoulder a moment later, Iggy waved a leg at Janice, Good night!

Janice, irritated, shot a one-fingered salute at Iggy then went about her closing up duties.

“You can have some but you and I are not showing up at Oz’s quarters plastered, got that?” Jackson stopped at the bar to fill up a large mug with beer, then strolled on into his office. He filled the small dish that still sat on his desk, then waited as Iggy descended.

Got it, Iggy waited for the foam to recede just a little bit, then dipped her fangs into the liquid. She is happy, Jackson.

“You think so?” Jackson shed his tux jacket and hung it in the closet, then removed his bow tie and looped it over the hanger as well. He settled in his desk chair and unbuttoned his collar, then removed the his cufflinks and rolled up his sleeves. “And you have ideas as to why that is?”

Yes, I do, she answered. The great thing about conversing with Iggy while she was eating or drinking: she could be doing either one of those and still talking.

“Okay, so let’s hear them.” He took a sip of his beer, set the mug down and sighed with satisfaction.

It is complicated, Jackson. Iggy went silent again then looked up at him. Beer foam covered her fangs, making her look a bit like she had a white beard. She will never admit certain things. For example, if she was actually rather relieved by the loss of the pregnancy. Or if she was relieved by the male’s death as it removed certain complications. Those would not be good things to admit to. But she loves you, has for a long time. Iggy didn’t know it, but she was echoing Oz’s words to Jackson with that.

Jackson let the spider’s words settle in as he had another sip of the beer. Finally he nodded. “I know that too, Iggy. That was part of the reason it was so hard for me to watch her goin’ about her business, goin’ somewhere else with someone else. But life is what it is and it moves on eventually. What’s meant to be eventually comes around, no matter what.”

Yes, it does seem that way. Seeming pensive, Iggy dipped a tarsi into her beer then cleaned it off with her fangs and pedipalps. Oralia has submitted an application to have me declared a separate entity.

“Really?” Jackson gave her a bright smile. “That’s wonderful! Annnnnd you don’t sound all that thrilled.”

She is all I have. What will I do without her? Where will I go? She buried her face in the beer and what came next was all in a rush. Connor was going to make her re-home me. And now she is with you and says that I will always stay with her, but what if you make her go back on that?

“An’ that’s what I wanted to talk to ya about. I know he didn’t much care for ya. But let’s back up a few and take this a thing at a time. First, if this recognition goes through, you won’t be losin’ Oz. Bein’ a recognized species in the Federation is a good thing. It guarantees you certain rights and privileges that pets don’t have. It’s a measure of protection against threats, an’ you’ll be the first of yer kind, Iggy. You’ll be famous.”

Likely I’ll be the only one of my kind. Iggy said that with no small amount of pride; no small amount of trepidation as well. Are you saying that Oralia is doing this for my protection?

“That’s part of it, sure.” Jackson reached for his mug again. “As a known species, you’ll have the same rights as any of the rest of us. It doesn’t mean you’ll lose Oz. But let’s face it, yer not a pet anymore. You’re somebody now. You’re aware and able to relate on a level far beyond what ya started out as.”

And learning more every day. Just the other day, I learned how two males copulate.

“You what?” Belatedly, he recalled that Iggy had stayed the night with Eli and Chance. He smacked his forehead and mumbled. “Umm, that’s not exactly somethin’ to use as dinner conversation, Iggs. An’ it would embarrass Eli to death.” He smiled, however. “Now, yer next questions were all sorta a bunch. You wanna know where ya fit in all this, yeah?”

Yes, I do. Connor would have rather smushed me then let me live with them.

“I know. I’m sorry about that too. The thing is, when ya love somebody, ya gotta love all the parts of ‘em. I know Oz and I have been kinda busy the last few days, but a lot’s happened. She lost the baby, then Cass and I got kidnapped an’ Doc Harding had to put me back together again an’ Oz and I finally....found our way to each other. Things are startin’ to settle now though. What I mean is, if I’m gonna love Oz, it’s knowin’ that you come with her. There’s things about me that she has to learn to live with too.”

Do you have an annoyingly intelligent pet hidden somewhere? A strange chuffing sound came from Iggy: she was laughing at her own joke.

Jackson laughed with her. “She might say I’m the pet. No, Iggy, but she’s gotta learn to live with me. An’ there’s some things in my past that she didn’t know about, that are classified.”

Oh. You have secrets. She might surprise you with her reactions to them. The arachnid looked up from her beer. You said if. If you are going to love her... do you not love her now?

“I was speakin’ in general. But to answer yer question, Iggy, yes. I’ve loved her damn near since the day I met her and I told her that too. As for my secrets, she’s takin’ ‘em pretty well, all things considered.” He tipped the mug and added a bit more beer to Iggy’s dish, then had a sip himself.

Oralia is very open-minded. Not much phases her. Iggy tested the depth of the beer in her dish. If I drink all of this, I will be plastered.

“Then slow down, I promised her I wouldn't get you to that point. Besides, we got two more things to talk about. First, ya mentioned the livin’ situation. Right now, we both have our own quarters, but the idea came up tonight of movin’ to one or the other together.” He paused a moment watching Iggy. He waited for her to have another sip or two, then reached out to slide the dish away. “Whichever one we choose, you gotta know that includes you. Long as you warn us before yer beer farts. Deal?”

Is that the only condition?

“Well, I’m not really an exhibitionist, if ya get my drift?”

She hooked a leg into the dish and pulled it back towards herself. Ah. Chance and Eli and I ran into that issue. Agreed. I will warn you before I fart, and I will not hang on the wall while you and Oralia are fu--

“Okay, I think we’re good then Iggy.” He smiled, then drained his beer mug. “And I promise to warn you before I fart. Fair is fair after all. One last thing. That bite. Promise me that next time, you’ll try talkin’ to her first? Or me? And is that bite dangerous?”

I was angry and lashed out. Cassidy and I had been talking and everything was very... raw. There was a tinge of regret in the spider’s tone. As for being dangerous... my bite is deadly to roaches and mice. I am told that I could kill a bird with it. Whether it is dangerous to Oralia, I do not believe it is, as she is much larger than a roach.

“I’ll take a look at it when we get home an’ if it’s still botherin’ her, send her on to have it fixed up. An’ speakin’ of home, there’s someone there waitin’ for us. We’d best get along, Iggy.”

Hope you are all right to walk, Jackson, because I need to ride, please. She waved two legs at him till he picked her up and let her crawl to his shoulder. Homeward, Jeeves!

“Such a comedienne, Iggs. So we’re good?”

I am if you are. You said I could live with you, so if Oralia does decide to let you move in, you will not kick me out. That makes me happy, Iggy brushed his cheek with a leg; it probably wasn’t the greatest feeling for him, but for Igs, it was a sign of affection.

To his credit, he didn’t shiver at the touch. As he opened the back exit from his office, he thought back to Iggy’s first appearance in his office and it occurred to him that he’d come a long way with the spider since then.

“I think we’ll just slip out the back so we don’t hafta hear Jan scream anymore.”

He locked up behind them, then he and his passenger hit the road.

***********
Ignatius J. Reilly
Thing 1

Jackson Banning V
Owner & Thing 2
The Nexus Club