[ He continues to carefully twirl the cup on the table. He knows it's too hot to drink just now, and he frowns at her when she takes not one pull but two. ]
... I'm guessin' this story doesn't have a happy ending, huh? Your test tube dino didn't bring in all the happy visitors you wanted.
It broke out. [ she is surprised at how easily she can sum up that day. "it broke out." easy. accurate. yet it says nothing. it fails to come close to encompassing everything that happened.
to her credit, she maintains an even tone. ] Turned out it was capable of masking its thermal signature. Fooled our sensors.
[ -- that, perhaps, was not the best response, and Peter has the decency to look sheepish at the exclamation. Still, that's impressive, if scary as hell. Very Predator-ish. ]
What ended up happening to it? Can't imagine you got it to trudge back into its cage willingly.
No. The moment we could not subdue it, we had to terminate it. It was a risk to our guests and personnel, and all of our animals.
[ no regret comes from or will come from her for the decision to kill it. only that it had taken her so long. if she had given the order sooner. if they had raised it differently. if they had known what it was made of. a hundred ifs, none of which will change what happened. ]
[ or three quarters. claire leaves a lot unsaid. for one, she does not feel comfortable doing so. for another, it is too damn gruesome especially after what happened at the university. ]
Hey. [ His voice gentles, and he dips down a little to get into her line of sight. ] You're gonna be alright. Maybe not right now, since it's so fresh, but you'll be alright.
Until Ripley grows again. [ scared at first, but she had got over it. the little animal had been strangely cute. the reactions from people had been marvelous. claire was never less than careful; young or not, those teeth can shred through meat. but the danger, the real threat, that was later. in the future. when she grew.
what happened at the campus made it immediate. ] And she has been growing. She's getting bigger by the month.
[ claire drops her hands to the table. her voice drops too so as to keep it from carrying. ]
You know, in the university, I saw her attacking someone. He should have died…then I saw him again on the network just — perfectly fine. I have no idea if I imagined it or — [ she trails off, eyes slipping away from peter's. she bites the inside of her lip. ]
I can't watch someone else die. I don't know what I'm going to do.
[ Man, Peter is so not the guy for this. He winces a little when she mentions Ripley attacking someone. That very well could have been him, if timing hadn't worked out the way it had. ]
But she reacts to you, right? Or at least, she listens to your directions. You could train that up, so if some shit like this goes down again, you won't be goin' in blind.
[ claire opens her hands. ] I don't know how. I wasn't involved in training.
[ people, she can handle. people, she knows. animals… if living with one has taught claire anything it's that she will never love the idea of pets. ]
And honestly I'm not in love with the idea of having her grow again just to see if she will listen to me. Too many things can go wrong, especially in a city.
What about the training facility? Pretty sure there are a couple opening up -- I'm sure they've got things set up for emergencies if things get out of hand.
I heard rumors that they're workin' on one in Nonah, I think. Might be worth it to check it out, see if they've got stuff in place that would let you and Ripley work together in peace.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ He whistles, caught saying something between, That's impressive and That's suicidal.
It's Peter instinct to keep things light, which is why he goes for the joke: ]
If you really wanted to scare kids, just tell them the park's out of candy.
no subject
[ her wry tone vanishes. ] We had the costs of both a zoo and a theme park. If we didn't innovate, we'd stagnate.
[ the coffee burns her tongue, but claire takes another swallow. her mouth twists. ]
It was a mistake.
no subject
... I'm guessin' this story doesn't have a happy ending, huh? Your test tube dino didn't bring in all the happy visitors you wanted.
no subject
to her credit, she maintains an even tone. ] Turned out it was capable of masking its thermal signature. Fooled our sensors.
no subject
[ -- that, perhaps, was not the best response, and Peter has the decency to look sheepish at the exclamation. Still, that's impressive, if scary as hell. Very Predator-ish. ]
What ended up happening to it? Can't imagine you got it to trudge back into its cage willingly.
no subject
no subject
... Except Godzilla? That one's an outlier. ]
Sounds like it might've been for the best. If you don't mind my saying.
no subject
[ no regret comes from or will come from her for the decision to kill it. only that it had taken her so long. if she had given the order sooner. if they had raised it differently. if they had known what it was made of. a hundred ifs, none of which will change what happened. ]
no subject
At least you guys managed to rein it in. That must've been a hell of a day.
no subject
[ or three quarters. claire leaves a lot unsaid. for one, she does not feel comfortable doing so. for another, it is too damn gruesome especially after what happened at the university. ]
no subject
[ He sets his mug down, hesitating, then leans forward on the table, resting on his elbows. ]
I know enough to figure out it scared the shit outta you, though.
So I'll ask again: you alright?
no subject
No. I guess not.
[ claire drops her head into her palm. ] God, I'm a world away and I'm still scared.
no subject
no subject
what happened at the campus made it immediate. ] And she has been growing. She's getting bigger by the month.
[ claire drops her hands to the table. her voice drops too so as to keep it from carrying. ]
You know, in the university, I saw her attacking someone. He should have died…then I saw him again on the network just — perfectly fine. I have no idea if I imagined it or — [ she trails off, eyes slipping away from peter's. she bites the inside of her lip. ]
I can't watch someone else die. I don't know what I'm going to do.
no subject
But she reacts to you, right? Or at least, she listens to your directions. You could train that up, so if some shit like this goes down again, you won't be goin' in blind.
no subject
[ people, she can handle. people, she knows. animals… if living with one has taught claire anything it's that she will never love the idea of pets. ]
And honestly I'm not in love with the idea of having her grow again just to see if she will listen to me. Too many things can go wrong, especially in a city.
no subject
no subject
I haven't heard of any. Is there one here?
no subject
I can head over with you, if you want.
no subject
Is that an honest offer or do just you want to see her ten feet tall again?
no subject
Ever think that maybe I wanted to see you again?
no subject
Slow down, Star-Lord.
no subject
But, alright, I won't lie. The crazy mama-bear T-Rex kinda helps, too.
no subject
I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Peter.