[closed] The Relatively Simple Adventures of Wolfy Kid and Moose Dude

[avengeful]

CHARACTERS: Sam Winchester avengeful and that little girl who curses a lot wolfchild
LOCATION: 7/25/13 at the Floor Seven Holodecks.
WARNINGS: I have no clue. The little girl is the one you gotta watch out for, man.
SUMMARY: Arya wants to see how the holodecks work. Sam is glad to have a distraction.



"Cat" was an interesting kid (he's never actually figured her name to be anything else; Thranduil called her that, and that was that), and beyond catching him off guard with a personality quite a bit taller than her, Sam thinks she seems like a good kid. A little rough around the edges, but it's not like he's unused to rough edges. He's a Winchester, whether he ran away or not. So he keeps his word and goes to the holodecks the next day, perfectly on time (like he usually is, being so punctual) and reading the newer things from the day.

Part of him really wants her to bring that wolf with her. Maybe it was tame enough that he could pet it and it wouldn't bite him on the face for treating it like a pup in need of ear scritching. The other part of him wants to stand in the corner with a gun and hope it's not hungry for skinny ex-college kids. He plops down with his lanky legs drawn up, focused expression lit up faintly by the screen, leaving square slabs of light in his eyes. This is how it tended to be, with Sam, ever since he got a laptop, really. Whether with John and Dean or only Dean, whether in a college campus or in a motel room, there was always that glow on his face.

Maybe he should feel bad, that he peers in on other people's conversations... yeah, he does a little, sometimes. And if it gets heavier, he likes to do the Nice Thing and turn his attention to a different place with a different topic.

...wonder if this thing has a proper guide on holodecks...

Comments

[wolfchild]

Nymeria's nails click lightly against the floor when Arya makes her hurry. She had near forgotten. And with the difficulty in telling time here... After throwing on clothes, she had run out her brother's door, Nymeria following. When she sees Sam waiting, she relaxes.

She stops by him to peer curiously at the screen.

"What are you doing?"

Behind her, Nymeria tucks her head over Arya's shoulder. Gold eyes blink at Sam.

[avengeful]

He looks up, just a glance, before pointing the screen a bit in her direction; he figures her to be of a like mind, so he's pretty much honest about it: "I'm snooping around, seeing what people are up to." It's all public stuff, anyway, but most people never seem to really think much about others seeing their conversations. "Never know what might pop up that'd be good to know."

... You brought your wolf friend. So cool. He can't even help but be cautiously optimistic about that.

"I don't think I was formally introduced to her before." He nods at Nymeria. "She sure helped out a lot back there, too."

Saving elves, and whatnot.

[wolfchild]

"People don't really seem to care they're airing all their problems in public." Not that Arya bothers to correct them. It is more useful to eavesdrop. Sometimes she will learn useful thing; most times she can entertain herself with others' stupidity.

"Besides," she continues airily, "if they really did not want others listening in, they should have been smart enough to lock them.

"Her name is Nymeria. She's a direwolf." Arya pats the wolf on the snout.

[avengeful]

"That's true," he says, nodding with raised brows and a smirk. But then he focuses his attention on the direwolf -- wary but also way too interested for his own good; she's clearly domesticated enough that he's not gonna have to worry about getting bit or being close to her. Still. He locks his arms loosely around his knees and leans a bit for a better look at Nymeria; the smile grows a bit at Arya's petting. "She's a beauty. Got a temper?"

[wolfchild]

"Sometimes."

Nymeria's temper is as mercurial as her own. Arya has long since given up trying to predict her moods. Sometimes she will be as she was, energetic and enthusiastic and willing to follow Arya everywhere. The next she will be impossible for anyone but Arya and the other direwolves to get near.

"People keep thinking she's a pup. She near took a girl's hand off for trying to pet her."

[avengeful]

He scoffs in good nature, sizing the animal up with a raise of his eyebrows. Yeah, maybe that's why Cat has a wolf — she's about the only little feisty thing that can handle a creature like this; at least, if what Sam sees on her network entry is any indication. Or the way she handles dangerous situations.

"Definitely not a pup. I'll make sure to give her her space then; don't want to lose any fingers." He speaks it in that weird soft way Sam does; he hasn't really grown into any rumbly voice like Dean has, not yet. It's kinda trippy, actually, hearing Dean talk. Dude went all old-man on him. "What's a direwolf?"

[wolfchild]

"What she is. And her brothers."

Arya rocks back a little on her feet. Impatience swims through her veins.

"Can we go?" Before her brothers show up.

[avengeful]

"Sure thing." His knees crackle a bit as he rises up; times like these remind him how short kids are. The comm and his hands get stuffed into his sweater before he nods for her to lead the way. "Any reason you're wanting to get a move on quick-like?" Don't think he doesn't see it, child; Sam's pulled that same anxious sort of desire to get a move on, get to something else. Happened a lot when he was forced to help on hunts as a kid.

[wolfchild]

"No." Lying comes as easily to her as breathing. School your face. "I want to see the holodeck. Do you think I could make my home?"

It is Braavos she would make with its canals and its bridges, though it's Winterfell she thinks of when she thinks of home.

[avengeful]

He looks at her for a moment, studious as ever, and then finally nods.

"Alright; just this way. What's your home look like? Might be able to get something close to it..." Sam's pretty good with computers; he can make the holodecks work. Already got a lot of settings figured out, anyway, and that's what matters there. "And maybe you can give anti-gravity a try, too. Ever float in mid-air before?"

[wolfchild]

Her description of Braavos is put on hold at the mention of floating.

"Floating? Do you mean flying? I can't fly. No one can fly."

[avengeful]

He grins at that; this should be interesting.

"Floating. Flying. Sitting in the air without touching anything. Think you want to try that out? It's pretty cool."

[wolfchild]

She stares at him in disbelief and more than a little hint of awe. "You can do that?"

[avengeful]

He nods, and a younger smile spreads across his face.

"I can. If you're not scared of floating through the air."

A playful jab, a squint of the eyes teasingly.

[wolfchild]

Her own narrow. That is her pride being slighted.

"I'm not afraid of anything."

Arya quickens her steps. The faster they get wherever they're going, the faster she can prove it.

[avengeful]

He laughs shortly, a crackly sort of laugh he used to get when Dean denied his own fears — and suddenly he feels, like, 10 years younger. Completely and utterly happy with the reply. He speeds up his long-legged gait, as if challenging her to keep up without breaking into a full-on sprint.

"Didn't think so. You've got a wolf for a pet, why would you be?"

[wolfchild]

Jon used to do similar to her, and Arya finds herself smiling. Thinking of Jon is no longer a pang as it was. Not when she can run and find him whenever she likes, and if she cannot he is but a call away. Sometimes she likes to call him for no other reason than to hear his voice before smiling to herself and letting him know she will be back soon and he had better not eat without her.

"Direwolf. Wolves are different. They're like cousins except direwolves are bigger and stronger and much smarter."

[avengeful]

"Oh, right. A little higher up on the list; she's a pretty big girl." He considers this for a second, biting his lip. "Probably should leave her outside of the holodecks, though. I mean, I don't think a lot of animals would like to float around against their will."

[wolfchild]

"Probably not." She scratches Nymeria on the head. She's brave and clever, but even Nymeria would mislike having her paws off the ground. "How do they work?"

[avengeful]

"I'll let you see — " He turns a corner and leads her to the holodeck room; it's empty and pretty much unexciting, as he gives her a moment to leave the direwolf to her own devices outside of it. He walks up to the panel casually and, like it's totally a normal thing he does all the time, starts punching in the buttons and setting it good and proper.

He turns, looking at Arya.

"Just remember, you can still move. You just gotta get used to propelling yourself and using your momentum. Alright?"

His eyebrows raise and he smiles.

"It's a pretty slow start."

Like, don't expect to go flying into the ceiling, child.

[wolfchild]

Arya sets her hands on her hips. She masks her nerves behind bravado. "Hurry up. I can figure it out."

[avengeful]

Sam's smile turns into a grin as he punches in the commands; against their will, their bodies'll start to lighten up. It's a bit overwhelming at first — Sam certainly panicked internally a bit, when he booted it up. Orientation is easy to lose, instinct (so deeply driven in a Winchester) kicks in, and soon you look like a sad cat trying to swim in water, freaking over the sensation of losing control. But Sam's adjusted, because Sam loves a good challenge.

He offers some assurances immediately.

"If you feel like you're going to fall, that's normal. Just tell your brain you'll be okay."

Rational control. Movement with just a careful glide. He puts his hands on the control panel and shoves, suddenly floating up effortlessly to the ceiling. His hair floats just faintly off his head as he goes, gauging how Cat handles it.

[wolfchild]

She feels it first in her belly. Like her stomach cannot quite decide whether to rise to her throat or sink to her legs. Arya drops to the floor without thinking except she does not quite reach it. Her fingertips brush the floor as her body rises with no gravity to work against her momentum. She has a brief moment of panic before she swallows it. Calm as still water. She won't be afraid.

Arya turns in the air and when she finds Sam again she's laughing in disbelief. "I'm flying! I'm flying, I'm not falling!"

[avengeful]

Sam's practically her age, grinning like he is; sue him, it's a better day today. He leaps down slowly, floating until he's at the ground near her. Carefully he reaches up to offer a hand, so that he can push her by the waist toward the ceiling, to the top. "Momentum's important. You have to use your weight and just throw yourself where you need to go. You'll get in no time. Kick your legs and you can push off the wall with your feet--"

It's a natural reaction, really, but Sam appreciates talking her through it, keeping his mind occupied. He folds his arms in the air, hands on his knees as he starts moving to hover upside down.

"Earth just makes everyone too heavy, huh? On the moon -- the gravity's so low, you can easily jump over my head."

[wolfchild]

"You've been to the moon?" She should not be so surprised; they fly among stars after all. But somehow this is the unbelievable news.

She pushes to the wall. Arya pretends she is in water and tries to swim, but air is not water and it is harder and easier at once and her stomach is still flip-flopping and her cheeks are starting to hurt from grinning so hard.