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aldersprigFor anke's commissioned continuation of Parent-Teacher Conference (LJ). Have no fears, there is twice this again in the queue to write!
Dragons next Door has a landing page here.
Audrey watched the woman's expression, her hands, the way one long curl of her hair was trembling like a seismometer. She waited for a count of three, and then, because she wasn't sure she trusted her own voice, she counted to three again.
"You seem to be under the impression that Juniper is completely human." She used "completely" not for clarity, but because it clouded the issue. There were many human-hybrids out there, not many by percentages, perhaps, but enough that 20/20 had done specials on them, enough that most people had heard of someone who had met one.
In her line of work, Audrey had met more than one. Possibly more than a hundred; there were some she wasn't sure of. Whatever the tv shows liked to suggest, one couldn't always tell that someone was non-human by looking at them.
"And how would you have come to that impression, mmm?" Sage asked, seeming to, as he often did, read Audrey's mind.
"She looks human," Miss Milligan whispered. She stared at her tea in concern. "She looked like a normal little girl."
"Except the overactive imagination," Audrey pointed out sweetly. "Now, Juniper is a very imaginative young lady. She enjoys flights of fantasy and make-believe as much as the next child. But, Miss Milligan, there is a difference between that and making up stories."
The teacher looked up at them with a bit of steel. "Are you telling me, then, that your daughter has actually had dinner with ogres? That she babysits a dragon?"
"Yes, and yes." Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Did she tell you about the time she slept over with the Harpy hatchlings? Smokey Knoll is a diverse neighborhood, Miss Milligan, as you clearly already know."
"Yes, yes," the teacher frowned, leaning forward. "I do have students here from some of the more... easily integrated races."
Audrey smirked, reading "easily integrated" as "fits in a student-sized desk." "I'm aware. So why the surprise? We've told you we live in Smokey Knoll."
"You let your daughter spend time with ogres!" the woman exploded. "They are one of the most dangerous races around, and you willingly brought your daughter within their grasp! If Juniper was human - and I don't entirely believe you that she's not - I'd be calling child protective services on you! Babysitting dragons, indeed. Are you trying to get her killed?"
"There are plenty," Sage answered quietly, "that would willingly do that. And plenty who protect her. The Smiths - those would be the dragons - as well as the tribe of ogres, the Euton, who used to be our neighbors, and, more than once, the harpies down the road, have each stopped or put off a hunter who was seeking to harm one of our three children."
Audrey picked up the thread. "I can't think of a safer place for our children to be than in the protection of the dragons next door."
The woman shook her head, clearly out of her league. “It doesn’t seem right. But then again, none of this does.”
Audrey raised an eyebrow. This might prove interesting. “Whatever do you mean?”
“I used to know,” Miss Milligan sighed, “what was real, and what wasn’t. Now I don’t have a clue.”
“Well, then,” Sage smirked. “Ignorance is a good first step.”
Next: Human Town (LJ)
anke's commissioned continuation of Parent-Teacher Conference (LJ). Have no fears, there is twice this again in the queue to write!Dragons next Door has a landing page here.
Audrey watched the woman's expression, her hands, the way one long curl of her hair was trembling like a seismometer. She waited for a count of three, and then, because she wasn't sure she trusted her own voice, she counted to three again.
"You seem to be under the impression that Juniper is completely human." She used "completely" not for clarity, but because it clouded the issue. There were many human-hybrids out there, not many by percentages, perhaps, but enough that 20/20 had done specials on them, enough that most people had heard of someone who had met one.
In her line of work, Audrey had met more than one. Possibly more than a hundred; there were some she wasn't sure of. Whatever the tv shows liked to suggest, one couldn't always tell that someone was non-human by looking at them.
"And how would you have come to that impression, mmm?" Sage asked, seeming to, as he often did, read Audrey's mind.
"She looks human," Miss Milligan whispered. She stared at her tea in concern. "She looked like a normal little girl."
"Except the overactive imagination," Audrey pointed out sweetly. "Now, Juniper is a very imaginative young lady. She enjoys flights of fantasy and make-believe as much as the next child. But, Miss Milligan, there is a difference between that and making up stories."
The teacher looked up at them with a bit of steel. "Are you telling me, then, that your daughter has actually had dinner with ogres? That she babysits a dragon?"
"Yes, and yes." Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Did she tell you about the time she slept over with the Harpy hatchlings? Smokey Knoll is a diverse neighborhood, Miss Milligan, as you clearly already know."
"Yes, yes," the teacher frowned, leaning forward. "I do have students here from some of the more... easily integrated races."
Audrey smirked, reading "easily integrated" as "fits in a student-sized desk." "I'm aware. So why the surprise? We've told you we live in Smokey Knoll."
"You let your daughter spend time with ogres!" the woman exploded. "They are one of the most dangerous races around, and you willingly brought your daughter within their grasp! If Juniper was human - and I don't entirely believe you that she's not - I'd be calling child protective services on you! Babysitting dragons, indeed. Are you trying to get her killed?"
"There are plenty," Sage answered quietly, "that would willingly do that. And plenty who protect her. The Smiths - those would be the dragons - as well as the tribe of ogres, the Euton, who used to be our neighbors, and, more than once, the harpies down the road, have each stopped or put off a hunter who was seeking to harm one of our three children."
Audrey picked up the thread. "I can't think of a safer place for our children to be than in the protection of the dragons next door."
The woman shook her head, clearly out of her league. “It doesn’t seem right. But then again, none of this does.”
Audrey raised an eyebrow. This might prove interesting. “Whatever do you mean?”
“I used to know,” Miss Milligan sighed, “what was real, and what wasn’t. Now I don’t have a clue.”
“Well, then,” Sage smirked. “Ignorance is a good first step.”
Next: Human Town (LJ)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-11 10:08 pm (UTC)<3 <3 <3 moar background!
Also <3 Audrey adding to the "unbelievable" incidents, with the harpy hatchlings.
(I think that should me seismometer, and "told" instead of "todl", and "Are you trying to get her killed?"
Also it first sounded like "The Smiths" etc are examples of people who would like to kill the kids, so maybe start that sentence with "Fortunately", or something of the kind?)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-11 11:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-11 10:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-11 11:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 07:10 pm (UTC)I am finding it interesting how as this story goes along, I sympathize less and less with Aubrey and Sage. Sage, especially, is coming across as rather an unlikable ass, although I am giving his character some leeway due to the good-cop-bad-cop setup.
I am also finding it less and less believable that Miss Milligan would have thought Juniper was making up stories. At first, specifically because of this reaction, I thought that non-humans were still uncommon in their society, not just segregated and prejudiced-against. It's one thing to disapprove of or even express concern over dining with those-dangerous-people-we-don't-associate-with. It's entirely different to read that as making it up entirely.
The teacher agreed that she knows Junie lives in a community that has lots of non-humans. The school itself is attended by non-humans. She seems well aware of the existence of these beings, despite her (quite frankly understandable, if not very open-minded) misconceptions. All of this makes disbelief as a reaction to Junie's anecdotes much less credible.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 07:29 pm (UTC)Here's the bit that I think I haven't managed to explain well anywhere
In my head, most human people have still never met a dragon, an ogre... a few more have met harpies, centuars, pixies, and more have met elkin. The other races have been moving into the human cities only in the last 75 years, and most of them still stick to special-races-only neighborhoods.
There are non-humans at Junie's school, but they're just a couple of, as Aud thinks, the type that will fit in the seats. Most of the human students in Junie's school have never met a dragon or a centaur.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-12 07:48 pm (UTC)Centaurs are around sometimes, yes, although they don't go to school (I have the beginnings of a story written on that!)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-13 12:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-13 12:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-13 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-14 12:01 am (UTC)