Thanks to Elaine Atwell for this prompt: "Cosima rescues a puppy dog." When I asked if she meant a literal puppy dog or Delphine, she said a literal puppy dog whose eyes remind her of delphine. So, here goes nothing. You know the drill: I don't own 324B21 or any of the other clones, etc.
"Fine!" Cosima shouted into her pink cell phone before jamming the 'end call' button harder than necessary. She hadn't meant to lose her temper with Sarah, but her nerves were shot with everything going on, and fighting with her British counterpart seemed comfortable somehow, natural even. She was raised an only child, but she imagined it was how siblings felt.
Besides, it was seven thirty in the morning, and Cosima couldn't be expected to be pleasant before she'd had coffee. She had snuck out of the loft before anyone else woke up, wanting to get to the library as soon as it opened. Questions were being piled on them by the minute; they needed to step up their game if they were going to find any answers.
The argument was silly; Sarah had just requested she be home by 6 so they could all share their findings over dinner. Cosima had just spent so long dancing to her own beat, she was still getting used to taking other people into consideration. This included Delphine, who Cosima had left sleeping in Felix's loft when she left for the library. The memory of Delphine flooded over her then; the exposed curves of her back, the soft curls on the pillow...she shook it off. There were more important things to think about right now.
After a full day of researching Olivier, Neolutionism, and anything she could find about patented biology, Cosima took her glasses off and rubbed her tired eyes. She looked at the time on her computer, shocked to find it was already well past five. Knowing she should leave for the loft to avoid the wrath of Sarah, she closed her laptop and shoved it into her bag, along with two of the books in the pile that she had accumulated. She returned the rest to the front desk before emerging into the glare of early evening sun.
Cosima turned her phone back on and it started buzzing as messages came through. She had needed her last two hours at the library to be focused and uninterrupted, and her fellow Clone Club cronies were nothing if not communicative. Most of the messages were from Alison, who had spent the day with Felix, going back and forth between being delighted and disgusted by him, and felt the urge to share most of these opinions with Cosima.
She rolled her eyes at the sheer number of texts and decided to tackle those later. As she put her phone into her bag, something caught her eye in the alley across the street. Bright brown eyes stared back at her from the shadows.
Delphine.
Cosima shook the thought from her head. Improbable. She didn't even know why the blonde woman even popped into her head. Still, she couldn't help but cross the empty street to get a closer look.
As she got closer, it became clear that the sad eyes staring back at her were not human. She took a step into the alley and, after her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw it was a puppy, lying pathetically atop a closed dumpster. When the little dog saw her approaching, it stood up and started to whine softly. That's when Cosima realized that this golden furball had somehow gotten itself stranded on top of the structure.
Cosima took another step into the alley, but was stopped dead in her tracks by a long, sinister hiss. She looked down and saw a cat standing between her and the dumpster, what was left of a mouse trapped in its paws.
The cat had paused from devouring its prey to threaten her. Its fur was short, patchy grey and its eyes two different colors, one bright green and one icy blue. Both staring with an intensity that sent a shiver down Cosima's spine.
She surveyed the scene then, putting the pieces together of what must have happened. She saw a crate shattered on the ground as if it had fallen off the box next to the dumpster. The puppy must have followed the cat up to the top, but couldn't get down again. The cat showed no regard or concern for his stranded companion - it had gotten what it came for.
The puppy yelped again and began to whimper with more conviction, now that the stranger had proved non-threatening. The cat, on the other hand, was still staring at Cosima like she was a giant mouse. For a moment, she considered leaving the dog to fend for itself, but even the fleeting thought of it made Cosima's heart ache. Those sad puppy dog eyes decided it for her. She was going to have to risk getting scratched by a potentially evil alley cat. She walked slowly, careful eyes watching the cat for any sign it might attack. The feline regarded her coolly as she got to the dumpster, scooping the pup into her arms. She stroked its fur and cooed as the puppy wagged its tail and nuzzled into Cosima's arms. The cat then let out a loud yowl before taking its meal in its mouth and walking down the alley away from Cosima. The puppy surprised Cosima by leaping out of her arms to follow the cat. She found herself feeling sad at the sudden loss, but quickly shook it off. Get it together, woman, she scolded herself. She threw her hands up, in disbelief that she had even stopped or that she expected it to end differently...or something. Tired and confused, she headed home.
A few minutes later, she turned the corner onto Felix's street and saw something out of the corner of her eye. She ignored it, but picked up her pace; these days it was better safe than sorry. When she stopped to open the door to Felix's building, however, she stole a glance over her shoulder. When she saw the puppy sitting behind her, wagging its tail expectantly, she put her hands on her hips. "Oh, sure, NOW you want me, now that you see I have shelter. What's the matter, the cat didn't want to share?" The pup let out a little bark and tilted its head. Cosima laughed in spite of herself. She couldn't say no to those eyes. She held the door open and gestured inside. "Alright, let's go. But you better behave or Felix is going to turn you into a hat."
The pup jumped to its feet and let out an excited yelp before bounding inside. Ignoring the feeling that this could come back to bite her, literally, Cosima smiled to herself and followed the puppy inside.