imaythrowuponyou | THIRTY

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[Open Spam, all over the Barge]

Usually when he was feeling particularly upset and frustrated, McCoy would just throw himself into work. It probably wasn't the healthiest coping mechanism, but it was useful because it was a constant distraction, and it wasn't like he could just walk away from work on Enterprise or even here for a few days just because he was feeling crummy about something. And while he might be a little snappier with people than usual, at least stuff was getting done and people were being looked after, and that was good enough for him.

Now, that was sort of less of an option than usual. He was still doing shifts in the infirmary and keeping an eye on things, but now he had a wolf that was going to wind up being the size of a pony to look after, and - call him crazy - he didn't love the idea of her wandering around by herself. It wasn't that she was dangerous, but... she was a goddamn wolf, and she was clearly Not Happy about Arya being gone, so he didn't really want to leave her to her own devices that much.

So, instead of holing himself up in the infirmary and refusing to come out, McCoy's actually been pretty out and about over the last several days, perhaps even more so than usual, and he's got said wolf following along (or more usually, running ahead) with him. Sometimes she'll sit with him in a common room or under a table in the dining hall, looking pretty sulky, and he takes her up to hunt in the CES which has been... an experience, but for the most part, it hasn't been awful.

[ooc: Feel free to run into Bones and Nymeria wherever on the ship!]

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Arthas notices the wolf before the doctor when he walks in, admittedly, but crouching down to look Nymeria in the eye without even saying hello to McCoy is entirely him being rude on purpose. It amuses him.

Animals usually know by instinct alone that the undead are bad news, but he's cautiously optimistic. He's had a scattering of good luck since coming here.

McCoy isn't sure if he wants to roll his eyes or tell Arthas to stay the hell away from her, because he knows he's an ass, but he's also an ass who could kill pretty much whoever he wanted on the damn ship, and so he doesn't say anything, more focused on how Nymeria responds to him.

And Nymeria is not liking how you smell at all, Arthas. The wolf growls and backs up a little, which is immediately making McCoy a little nervous, because the last thing he needed to explain to Arya when she got back was sorry your wolf got killed because she pissed off Arthas.

Oh well.

Arthas stands up and brushes off his hands. He'd been a dog person at some point, from what he could tell between the ragged holes in his memory.

"Hi."

[So Steve's heading up to hit a few balls in the CES, aaaand what does he find but, uh -- a wolf. And Dr. McCoy. So he gives Bones a little wave.]

Hey there. Who's your friend?

[McCoy looked up and smiled a little at Steve before glancing down at the wolf again, looking sort of surprised by the question.]

Oh, uh, her name's Nymeria. [And just in case this wasn't clear:] She's not mine.

I kind of figured. [He inspects the wolf a little cautiously, not sure if he should offer her a hand to sniff or anything.]

She's the kid's, right?

[Nymeria's making that call for you, Steve, by taking a couple steps closer and sniffing. She doesn't seem to mind him all that much, but she's too depreessed to be all that curious or friendly right now. Bring Arya back, Steve. :c]

Yeah, I'm keeping an eye on her while Cat's out.

[He moves to make a bit of a ruffle of her ears and grins a little.]

Did she -- just go home, you think? Like I did?

[Nymeria tolerates it for a while, and doesn't seem to mind, but she's still restless and sad, so after a while she goes back to wandering a little. McCoy's sure to keep her in sight.]

Probably. It's happened to inmates before.

It's -- pretty weird. I hope she comes back alright, though, and soon.

Raistlin was eating...or, rather, nibbling and poking at his food until it gradually made it's way into his mouth and through his digestive tract in a needlessly drawn out process when he noticed McCoy and, more interestingly, the very large wolf laying under the table which he presumed belonged to the good doctor.

"Strange. I never thought you would be the sort who would choose such a large and dangerous pet."

McCoy was almost surprised Raistlin was talking to him outside of a medical setting - while it wasn't like he hated the guy or anything, it wasn't like they were pals, and McCoy kind of assumed he was still a little mad about being kicked out of the infirmary or something - and glanced briefly under the table.

"She's not mine." So basically, you're right, she wasn't the sort of pet he'd keep under like, any circumstance other than this.

He gave a nod and a grunt in reply and returned to his food.

"Then I do hope that in spite of that, you can keep it under control."

McCoy couldn't help it; he rolled his eyes. Sarcasm is just his normal setting.

"I'll do my best."

"See to it that your best is good enough."

It seemed that Raistlin wasn't capable of starting a conversation with someone without it turning into him being overly critical and disdainful of the other person. Or, if he was capable of this, the frequency with which he did so was pitifully rare.

And queue another eye roll, and Bones decided that wasn't worth responding to. So he's just going to go back to eating and checking his messages.

Ivy had been in something of a foul mood since T'Pol's coma - not because she missed the woman's company, but because if she had to be an animal on a chain she'd rather the person at the other end was at least conscious. What had happened between Blake and Zev had enraged her, her anger becoming something cold and solid; when Ivy was angry enough to bide her time and wait for an opportunity rather than instantly lash out, it guaranteed unpleasantness.

For now she was simply functioning. The greenhouse (and her occasional CES outings with Prefect) helped her center herself. When she emerged from the doors, fingertips still dark with soil and sap, the sight of a large adolescent wolf that was clearly going to be a gigantic adult wolf someday did not do much to lift her spirits.

McCoy was more or less just as surprised to see Ivy, and Nymeria backed up a little, growling a little. The doctor put a hand on the wolf's shoulder, trying to get her to calm down before this got ugly. "Sorry."

She had adjusted to Harley's hyenas (and vice versa) but only because they were an adjunct of Harley and therefore tolerable; it had less than nothing to do with the animals on their own merits. This was an unexpected encounter.

"Just keep her away from me and there won't be a problem," she said, her tone suggesting that the problem wouldn't be hers.

"Sure." He wasn't really interested in finding out how much of a threat she was actually making - just because her abilities were reduced didn't mean she couldn't do real damage - and considering he was a doctor, not a fighter or an action hero (or an idiot), he was not going to feel bad about making a hasty retreat. "Come on, Nymeria."

Riddick had been on lunch shift when he smelled the wolf come in-- the one that didn't turn into a warden, at that. Young, still puppy gangly, and depressed.

He'd been cooking rice in chicken stock-- it would need salt before most people would eat it, but his taste for salt wasn't very accurate, especially compared his taste for the proteins and amino acids of meat. He'd never get how someone could call meat bland...

"The girl left, but the wolf stayed?" He came out with a bowl of the rice gruel, not a full meal for a growing canine, but a lunch snack.

McCoy was kind of surprised, honestly. He didn't know all that much about Riddick, but the guy was scary looking enough even ignoring that time he'd kind of. Smelled him. And he hadn't really thought he'd be the type of guy to bring a snack for a depressed looking wolf hanging out with someone who had no idea of how to actually raise a dire wolf, should the situation come to that.

"Yeah. Don't bother asking me the logic in it, I've been spending the last couple weeks beating myself up about it and the best I can figure is the Admiral's a dick." Which we all already knew like, five minutes after showing up here.

Nymeria sniffed the air a little, perking up slightly, and regarded him curiously.It wasn't exactly a fresh caught rabbit or something, but a snack was a snack.

Riddick went slowly to his haunches, pushing the food towards Nymeria and then backing off, his body posture loose and easy. He didn't have hackles to be down, but the muscles in his shoulders and back were loose, non-confrontational.

Then he looked up at McCoy, and shrugged loosely. "Good an explanation as any. Least she's still eating. Still on small game, I'm guessing, without a pack."

The intelligence in knowing what body language to use is apparently appreciated, and Nymeria sniffs the bowl again a little bit before starting to chow down.

"Yeah. Arya and I take her up to the CES to hunt, but I guess she'd probably be better off if Ghost was still around." Although Ghost was kind of by himself up on the Wall with Jon anyway, but. Having family around was always a good thing, even if Arya didn't seem to want to allow herself to know that anymore.

"It's possible to survive without a pack." Not that that was at all defensive of his way of life. "Just a bitch. No offense, baby girl."

He put his elbows on his knees, still hunkered down. "What're you gonna do when she gets full grown? She may get a little territorial."

That sounded about right to McCoy, and it had been something he and Arya had been arguing about back in Risa. And maybe this was just him, but personally, he'd like to cut down on the ways life could be a bitch, because it was frustrating enough at times even with a group of friends or family around with you.

He sighed, sounding frustrated, but not with Riddick or because of the question. It was something he'd been thinking about ever since Jon left, and it was definitely a problem. "I don't know. Back when Jon and Ghost were here, they were helping Arya figure out how to make sure she wasn't gonna be an issue for anyone on board, but now they're gone and I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I'm a doctor, I'm not an expert on animals." And, sort of dryly, not really expecting a serious answer, he asked "Got any advice?"

As the food disappeared, Riddick reached out a hand, palm down, for Nymeria's inspection and approval before he moved in to actually touch her.

"She's socialized with people; the day to day doesn't scare her. But she's gonna need space to be her own. The CES is great and all, but there's no way to carve out your own territory there, not the way it resets. She'll need a den that she doesn't have to roll over in." He considered the teenage animal. "Dogs, they're a different animal. They can stay dependent on people, always second string, because they don't grow all the way up. Not mentally. A wolf... ain't gonna be anybody's dog. Partner, not a child."

Nymeria sniffed him curiously, and while she doesn't move to lick him or otherwise look like she's asking for attention, she clearly doesn't seem to mind the idea of him patting her head or what have you.

"D'you think she'd do okay if she had her own, I don't know, room in Arya's room here? That's the only way I can think of giving her her own space without building a dog house on deck."

"Maybe?" Riddick leaned in to touch her muzzle-- not quite the full canine greeting, that's a little too much teeth and tongue for the cafeteria-- and leaned back. "I don't know her that well. It's better than nothing. Mostly I think you want the girl to come back."

Arthur was just walking down the hall when he ran across the two of them, the doctor he recognized immediately, though it took him a moment to realize whose wolf that was. And why the doctor would have it.

"It's good of you to keep the wolf for her, Doctor."

McCoy sort of shrugs, not really sure what else to say or do, really.

"What else was I gonna do with her?"

Nymeria recognizes Arthur and comes over to sniff at him a bit before whining a little, because you are not Arya and obviously you aren't hiding her anywhere, which is probably for the best, really, considering you'd then be having a dire wolf trying to tear your face off.

Arya would probably come back to a wolf with a sword stuck in it if that happened.

"I would have turned it lose in that... forest... thing. Whatever they call it."

Which would just be awkward and therefore something to be avoided.

"The CES? You can't just leave her up there by herself."

"... it's a wolf. They belong outside."

"Yeah, but what happens when the location resets? I'm not misplacing her while Arya's gone."

Arthur honestly didn't know that much about the CES and how it worked, because he didn't bother to learn it. Didn't want to know, he hardly spent any time up there and on top of that, he still didn't think that a wolf was the best pet for a little girl you were trying to tame back into being a lady.

"That's very courteous of you, Doctor."

"I'm pretty sure it'd be a set back," he said a little dryly, also maybe wondering a little bit if Arya would try stabbing him if he lost Nymeria. It wasn't exactly like they'd been on the best of terms back before she'd vanished.

Shego was on her way to leave after a run when she saw McCoy coming in; she lifted a hand to wave, but then noticed his company and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Doc. Nice....gigantic dog you've got there."

McCoy waved back, looking somewhere between relieved and exasperated as Nymeria ran ahead, stopped, sniffed, and almost immediately quickly padded off, on the trail of something that was probably about three minutes from turning into lunch.

"She's Arya's, I'm just keeping an eye on her until she gets back." If she came back, and McCoy really didn't know what he was going to do with her then. "How're you doing?"

Geez, what was with everybody leaving the Barge and ditching their pets all of a sudden.

"Not so bad." Dying of boredom. Dying. "I'll be better when I get assigned another Inmate."

She shot him a quick sidelong look. "...Sorry about Arya."

He nodded, understanding because seriously, being without an inmate in this place sucked. It was bad enough feeling like you weren't making any progress with an inmate who was around, being stuck here without one was even worse.

"Thanks." But he didn't really want to talk about how she probably wasn't coming back, or if she did there was a very real chance things were just going to be worse, so he changed the subject. "So, where'd Regina go, when she left?"

"Home." She shrugged. "She didn't really have any problems with the place or the people so much, just the fact that she was kind of a terrible person who made everyone worse just by being there."

He smiled a little. "Charming. People like her were the reason I hated high school."

"People like her are the reason everybody who hated high school hated high school. Heck, people like her are the reason other people like her hated high school." She shoots him a sly sideways glance. "So what, did someone blonde with eyelash extensions stand you up at prom?"

Alright, fine, you even get a laugh out of him. "I wish. Might've saved me a lot of angst if I just didn't go to my prom."

"Hoboy. Is this the start of an 'I married my high school sweetheart and it was a total disaster' narrative'?"

Right on the money. "How'd you know?"

"Enh. Makes sense that an embittered divorcee would be all BFF with a guy so commitment-phobic he makes everyone in a half-mile radius unable to last to the third date."

Also she'd watched his movie. And she had a decent cheat sheet via McCoy v1.0. But shh.

Well, he was figuring more the latter than the former, but hey. Whatever works.

Or, you know, what with truth floods and Jim and Shego being as close as they were, he wouldn't be shocked if it had come up in discussion at some point over the last threeish years.

"He is good at that, isn't he." Rhetorical, obviously. Not even worth a question mark. "Which comes with its whole other set of issues, but considering my luck, it's not like I've got any room to judge."

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Common room somewhere

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outside the CES

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The Dining Room

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Deck, near the greenhouse

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CES

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