Gathering: Garden party, interrupted

[concierge]

From grand galas to informal gatherings, parties of one sort or another were not an unusual occurrence at the Nexus Hotel. Today was no different, a low-key affair erected in the rotunda of the Italian gardens with the aspiration that tea sandwiches and mimosas would facilitate mingling of the hotel's ever-shifting population.

What was unusual, however, was the inclusion of a wayward, bipedal lizard courtesy of a door standing open on the hotel's facade. Green, spry, perhaps five feet long and roughly as tall as a man, this new guest featured a curved, hard plate across his (or her) forehead that was perhaps indicative of the stubborn nature lurking beneath -- Perhaps because the foliage was so tasty, this little dinosaur resisted all attempts by the staff to corral it back to its home. It would run away from ropes and outstretched arms, knocking over bottles of champagne and destroying the decor before settling several feet away to chomp on some accommodating flowers.

Comments

[leftwithmybones]

"It still weights a dozen times more than you," McCoy patiently lectures. "Sure, a hippo is an herbivore, too, but those things kill a lot of people," he says, hands on his hips in a way that makes him look like a goddamn school marm, so he eases off. "Can we leave the dinosaur in peace?"

[boldly_going]

"We can, but it's not going to leave us in peace," Jim points out. "It's out here wreaking havoc on a perfectly-fine garden party and I'm going to try to salvage some of it. Come on. You can help me catch the guy and get him back through whatever door he came from."

[leftwithmybones]

McCoy already sees his day stretching out in front of him and he knows that if he doesn't help Jim, they're going to be at odds all day and Jim's still gonna end up helping out this damned dinosaur. With a long sigh, he consents with a nod. "All right, fine. What do you want me to do?"

[boldly_going]

"Distract it? I figure we can herd him back to the dino door between the two of us," Jim says, grinning a little.

"He seems like a friendly little guy, it won't be bad."

[leftwithmybones]

"If this ends with any of us missing limbs, I'm gonna take one off of you," he warns, sighing as he stares at the dinosaur, then back to Jim, and then back to the animal. "All right, all right," he grumbles, stepping in front of the creature so he can wave his arms. "Come on, you big lug! Get over here!"

[boldly_going]

"Nobody is going to lose any limbs," Jim scoffs back. He knows how to handle himself, and so does Bones, so nobody is going to get hurt as long as they're both cautious. It's not exactly his forte, that's true, but there's a time and a place.

Jim cuts around to the back of the dinosaur, trying to shoo it toward Bones. "Get toward the door!"

[leftwithmybones]

That's something that usually gets said right before a limb ends up trapped or hurt or lost. He bites his tongue and waves his hands as he starts to shuffle towards the door. "Here, boy," he summons with a whistle, not too piercing. "C'mon, boy, here you come, let's get you out of the garden party and back to an era with more appealing snacks."

[boldly_going]

Between the two of them, the dinosaur seems to be going toward the general direction of Bones but it keeps getting distracted. "This is like herding cats, I swear," Jim says, cursing under his breath.

"Think you can get him out the door?"

[leftwithmybones]

"It's not like I've got dino kibble in my pockets," he retorts, but the thing keeps coming towards him sometimes, then veering off. He sighs and figures he has to take the bull by the horns, so to speak. "All right, you big lug," he sighs, sliding a palm up and down the scaly skin. "That's right, you keep with me."

He's still worried about the thing stampeding him, but at least the worries are diminishing little by little.

[boldly_going]

It's actually kind of a cute thing and Jim draws up closer, chancing sneaking up behind it and running a hand down his back. "I never thought I would get a chance to touch an extinct animal. I'm going to have to put this in the captain's log for sure."

[leftwithmybones]

"Just don't try and bring it on the ship," McCoy says, because he's not even sure how the hell they'd explain that one when it comes to dietary requirements. Though, there's definitely a part of him that longs to do it, just to see the look on Spock's face. "I heard a few stories about people getting trapped in worlds that have these things in them."

"You should, you know, avoid that. Just in case you were thinking otherwise."

[boldly_going]

"I went on an expedition into that door," Jim reminds him. "I came out with all of my parts intact. I would go again, too, given the right team and the right opportunity.There were some fascinating specimens there and it isn't every day you get to see long extinct fossils living and breathing."

[leftwithmybones]

"You like to give me heart attacks, don't you," he accuses, since he thinks that there's no other good reason that Jim would think he needs to lead with that little tidbit of information. "I mean, that's your plan, right? Basically give me a heart attack while thinking about you in a place with things that could eat you up without any warning."

[boldly_going]

"Now that I know why you care," Jim says, grinning wide, "I might be inclined to give you a little less in the way of non-recreational cardiac arrest. Just a little. I can't be held accountable for everything."

Jim sticks out his hand for Bones. "Come on. Let's go back to the party."

[leftwithmybones]

McCoy knows he could stay grumpy for a while, but he shakes his head and leans forward to latch onto Jim's hand, grabbing it to help haul himself a little closer. "You buying me a drink at this party for the up close and personal experience with a dinosaur?"

[boldly_going]

"I am buying you a drink at the party because I like the look of you,"Jim says, leering a bit. "And then I'll buy you another to make up for the dinosaur experience. Does that sound like a deal?"

[leftwithmybones]

"Two drinks," McCoy says, licking his lips thoughtfully before he gives a nod of his head. "I mean, if we're negotiating, I can't say that sounds like a bad deal. Two drinks and maybe we can add a nightcap in there? It'd only be fair, for the dinosaur part of things." And because he's wanting to nudge things onwards, now that he's back to normal, properly.

[boldly_going]

"You already got your drink for the dinosaur," Jim says, mouth turning down in an approximation of Bones' typical disapproving look.

"I'm not giving you two drinks for that little guy. He was friendly."

[leftwithmybones]

So he'll just have to pick up the second drink himself. He thinks he can manage that, but he works on the first one for a second, not wanting Jim to think that old problems are rearing their head when, really, he's just thirsty and antsy around this many people. "So you've been travelling into those dinosaur's homelands, huh? I hope that's not a frequent habit you're hiding."

[boldly_going]

"How could I possibly be hiding it if I just told you about it?" One of the things about he and Bones is that even though they're together, not a lot about their dynamic has changed; they still bicker, though Jim listens a lot more than he used to since he figures Bones has a right to say something.

[leftwithmybones]

"The frequency of it," is his instant, firm reply. Sure, Jim tells him plenty about what's happening, but the frequency of an action can still be hidden from him. "Or hell, maybe I'm just getting really used to tuning things out when the thought of you in danger kicks in."

[boldly_going]

"I just like a little excitement. Besides, there's scientific merit to studying dinosaurs." Jim actually enjoys that, as much as he never wants to let that on to Spock or Bones. He enjoys the excitement of discovering something new and putting it to the test. The only thing that had simply been a drudge in the academy had been languages but luckily he has Uhura for that.

[leftwithmybones]

McCoy wants to keep going with the hard-ass routine, but hell, they're safe and sound and Jim's right. There's plenty of scientific merit that goes into studying a species that ought to be extinct. It's a little like him going back through the doors he does to investigate medicine at different points in history, not to mention universes.

"I think we should start this evening again," he suggests. "Now that there isn't a dinosaur to corral."

[boldly_going]

"And how would you suggest starting it?" Jim says. He wants to start again too, really, and if Bones is giving him an opportunity he's going to take it.

"A drink, a nice walk among the flowers, that kind of thing?"

[leftwithmybones]

"I was thinking a drink, kicking back in a few comfortable recliners, and maybe a little light groping," he counters, because walking through the flowers is something he might have done when he was just a kid with Jocelyn, but he's long past that now.