Storm Warning

Date/Timing: 7 August 2011
Setting: Hermann and Edan's flat; Battersea, London, England, United Kingdom
.
"Thanks, Dad. Love ye! 'bye!" Edan taps his mobile, tucks it in a pocket, flops down on the sofa between Hermann and Dottie.
Dottie lifts her head, /thumps her tail.
Edan scratches her chin.
"What did they say?" prompts Hermann, setting his laptop on the side table.
"Mum's given orders not to go outside until everything calms down."
"Well, far be it from me to contravene the will of Dona Reid."
Edan snorts.
Hermann scratches his nape. "She thinks it'll spread here?"
"Yea. Said she'd bet the house we'll have problems." Adopts Mrs Reid's prosody: "'Riots're like colds: they keep going 'til everyone catches 'em.'"
Hermann grunts.
"What're you thinking?"
"This ... this is like waiting for a storm: you suspect it's coming and soon, but don't know exactly when or how bad it will be and there's nothing you can do to stop it."
"Pretty much." Gives Hermann's hand a reassuring squeeze. "So we follow my Dad's advice for storms and keep our heads down, hold on, and wait for it to blow over."
"I hate feeling this powerless over my own life," grumbles Hermann.
Edan threads an arm between Hermann's shoulders and his wings and pulls him close. "Not my favourite sensation either, but we'll get through." Nuzzles his hair.
Hermann whines quietly.
"What could go wrong? We have Dottie to protect us!"
"Dottie, wonderful as she is, can't put out fires."
"It's only been shops—and the occasional flat above them."
"So far."
"It'll likely stay that way. That's how these things go."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Took a few history classes for variety."
"I still don't like it."
"Because you're a reasonable, law-abiding person who enjoys a steady, routine existence."
Hermann sniffs, ruffles his wings beneath his pajamas. 
Edan hugs him tighter.
He sighs.
"Listen, nothing'll happen before dark, so let's ask PAIGE to keep us updated and try to get some work done, then we can marathon /Red Dwarf or something else funny, yea?"
Hermann sits up straighter, pulls the computer back onto his lap. "I guess that's as good a plan as any."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
/PAIGE: Good morning, Hermann.
/PAIGE: How may I help you?
/hermann_g: Good morning, Paige.
/hermann_g: Please watch the news feeds and send me an alert if there are reports of rioting in this or surrounding districts.
/PAIGE: Alert created.
/hermann_g: Thank you, Paige.
/PAIGE: What shall I do next?
/hermann_g: Do we own all series of Red Dwarf in digital format?
/PAIGE: Your shared collection currently only holds the first 4 series.
/PAIGE: The 3rd series bears the markers of a pirated download.
Hermann turns to Edan, brows lowered.
"What?"
"You promised me you deleted all your torrents."
"I /did delete them."
"Why, then, does PAIGE assert there's still an pirated series of /Red Dwarf on our network?"
Edan goes for innocent. "Maybe she downloaded it?"
"Reid."
His gaze slides to a spot somewhere over to Hermann's left shoulder. "Maybe I forgot to delete it?"
Hermann crosses his arms.
"Them?"
"We'll just take care of that right now, shall we?"
"But—"
"/No."
Edan whines.
/hermann_g: Please delete all pirated media files from mine and Edan's personal devices.
/PAIGE: I will be unable to complete this request until Edan reconnects external storage device SOOPER_SECRET to the network.
Hermann's fingers still on the keys. "'SOOPER_SECRET'?"
"It—it's not what you think!"
Hermann twists to face him. "What /do I think, Reid?"
"That the drive is full of torrents and porn?"
"Yes, that /is what I'm thinking."
"But it's /really full of failed writing projects! And, uh—" Voice drops to a whisper. "—song demos."
"You write songs?"
"Yes?" Fluffs his hair. "I mean, I did? Kinda?" 
Hermann blinks. "Will you let me listen to them?"
"Umm, I'd rather ... not?" Ducks his head. "They're total crap."
"They can't be any worse than that poor excuse for music we heard last weekend."
Edan ponders. "Yeaaaaa ... I do have /them beat."
"Maybe we can listen when we need a break from comedies, then?"
"Maybe." Edan grins. "I may have to get drunk first."
"You are /not getting drunk on the eve of a riot."
"How about tipsy? I can probably face it tipsy."
"One cider. /One."
Edan cheers, scoops Dottie into his lap. "Did'ye hear that, sugar-bump? I get to be drunk tonight~!"
Dottie woffles, licks his chin.
Hermann sighs fondly, opens the syllabus he needs to finish tweaking, and gets to work.
Category:Ficlet
Category:London (setting)
Category:Hermann
Category:Hermann's POV
Category:Hermann has wings
Category:Hermann is a programmer
Category:Hermann (ficlet)
Category:Edan
Category:Edan (ficlet)
Category:Torquil (mention)
Category:Dona (mention)
Category:Peridot
Category:Peridot (ficlet)
Category:PAIGE
Category:PAIGE (ficlet)
Category:Ficlets with images