| Mulder�s Apartment Arlington, Virginia 6:45 P.M. Sundance liked elevators. They made its stomach go up when the silver box stopped, which was a funny feeling. Mulder�s home was even better. Fishes! Mulder grabbed the bird�s tail. � Sorry, those are my pet fish, which means they are not to be consumed under any circumstances unless I give permission, which will probably never happen. Look, but don�t touch.� Okay. Sundance peered at the small fish through the glass. There was a knock at the door and Sundance whirled, barking like the very large, very mean dog it had heard earlier. It snarled as best it could, showing off its fangs. Mulder answered the door and Scully�s voice drifted into the room. � Since when have you had a dog, Mulder?� He gestured for her to come in. � Since Sundance.� Sundance quit barking. Oh! My apologies, Scully! � It�s okay.� The bird hopped up onto the couch, resuming its inspection of the apartment. What is this? It is too small to be a bed. � It�s my couch and I want you to be careful with your talons when you�re on it. Leather tears easily and I like my couch just the way it is.� Okay. Sundance got off the couch and disappeared into another room. Oh, a bed? Yay! There was a �splut� sound. Ack! What is this?! It cannot be a bed! It is too soft! � That�s my waterbed,� was the patient explanation from the living room. � I want you to be extra careful around it and not get on it unless I say you can. It�s way more delicate than the couch, so keep off unless I say otherwise.� Okay. Sundance reappeared briefly, disappearing into the kitchen. It smells good in here. What is this room? � That�s the kitchen. It�s where I make food. If anything is laying out and I haven�t told you you could have it, leave it alone. I don�t care how tempting it is.� Okay. Sundance rushed by, disappearing into the last room. What is this? � It�s the bathroom. It�s where you�re going to be getting your baths. And don�t drink out of the round thing.� What is it? � It�s a toilet. Don�t drink out of it.� Okay. Sundance reappeared and chirped happily. I like this place. � Good, because you�re going to be living here for a long time.� He then added, � Unless Scully wants to put up with you for a while.� � Maybe later.� � She�s got a bigger home than I do. It�s a lot neater and if you move any- thing a quarter-inch to the side she explodes. You�ll love it.� I can hardly wait! Three Months Later... It seemed like forever ago since Sundance appeared. She made the few people she met happy; nothing could keep her down (her gender was discovered a week after she�d been brought to Mulder�s apartment because of an egg incident). After constantly finding her sleeping in the basement office when Mulder and Scully were out for lunch, A.D. Skinner allowed her into the building as long as she behaved herself and didn�t make a mess. Scully finally invited Sundance to her apartment and, contrary to her expectations, the bird was as good as gold. She made sure to look where she walked, was always polite and respectful, and never ran, unlike in Mulder�s apartment where everything was fair game and tabletops were only a theoretical safe-zone. The rest of the time Sundance stayed with Mulder and followed only the most important rules: stay off the bed, don�t eat anything alone in the kitchen, don�t drink out of the toilet, don�t eat the fish, be careful on the couch. Bathtime was always a fun thing because she loved water. Of course, the mess that needed to be cleaned up afterward sometimes made it questionable whether or not it was worth it. Sundance also accompanied Mulder and Scully on their cases, offering her own insight and finding details they missed and catching the cause of the case on more than one occasion. She was fearless, especially when one of them was hurt and she was the only thing that stood between them and certain death. And Sundance had grown a lot as well. Before, her head hardly reached the bottom of Mulder�s ribcage, but once food had become as abundant as it was she grew until she was as tall as he. The only problem with that is she had a hard time fitting in the car. Myrtle Beach South Carolina 11:35 P.M. Sundance hopped through the foam the waves kicked into shore. She giggled as a child would and bounced into deeper water, paddling in a large circle to emerge behind where Mulder and Scully were walking. She raced by, spraying a fine mist on them, and charged down along the shoreline, sending up behind her a rooster tail of seawater. Then she skidded to a stop and rushed back in the deeper water, her speed becoming great enough to lift her to the surface so she was running on water, and disappeared into the shadow of some large rocks. � Like a child,� Scully said with a smile and a soft shake of her head. � But only when it�s allowed,� Mulder answered in the bird�s defense. Upon noticing suspicious movement ahead of them, he put his arm in her path and scrutinized the shadowy figures. � What are they doing?� The shadowy figures then suddenly broke into a run away from them. The reason for it asked, What are you looking at? Mulder turned. � Lay down.� Sundance did so. What in the world is going on? � Scully, come on.� He sat on the bird�s back and had Scully sit behind him. � Up, Sundance.� Sundance stood. What am I doing? � Follow them.� Oh. She turned around and went back to the rocks she�d been investigating, leapt up on the highest one, then took a flying leap and spread her wings, flapping them more often than normal to keep as high in the air as possible. I see them. She let herself glide to the ground, for she couldn�t fly with the extra weight on her back, and took off at full throttle after the men. They disappeared into some small woods just off the beach and Sundance gave chase without hesitation. � Stop, Sundance.� The bird stopped in a small clearing and put one foot forward for balance as she lowered her front end so they could get off. I shall attempt to find their trail again. Be careful. She lifted into the air and easily vanished through the boughs of the surrounding trees. � Where do you think they went?� Scully asked, glancing around. � Not far. I think they�re here in the trees and brush somewhere. And even if they did keep going, Sundance would let us know.� Two men appeared about forty feet away, guns pointing right at them. <--Section 6 Division 8--> |