"What the blue blazes..!" Colonel Potter sputtered, and his neck pulled his
head back, his face scrunching up in a disgusted expression as he nearly
stepped on a skunk, which duly stood up on its hind legs, curiously peeping
up at the man who'd tried to use it as a doormat.
Potter shook his head, "O'Reilly," he mumbled, as he scooped up the skunk in his outstretched arms, keeping his head turned to one side as he continued to wonder whether his company clerk had decided to give him a different odor every day.
"Corporal O'Reilly!" he repeated, bellowing now in his customary manner as he entered his clerk's office, using the skunk to push the door open, making it chitter indignantly at the abuse.
"Corporal O'--" the Colonel began to yell again, when his eyes went wide. Slightly bloodshot as they were from the lack of decent sleep, they looked terrifyingly angry as his jaw set in a firm scowl. The office was crawling. A guinea pig was making a nest out of a pile of file folders. The possum had taken up residence clinging onto the switchboard, its head turning to look (as he imagined) with guilt towards the door when the Colonel walked in. The tortoise was slowly making its way into the center of the floor, but even it paused and looked up from what it was doing. Fluffy and Bonzo made rather suggestive noises from under the cot. A few mice scampered fleetingly out of the door of the C.O. office, being held open for the moment by a furred little white rump, and a pair of frisky lambish thighs on which beat a floppy woolen tail. The door swung jollily shut as the little sheep moved inside.
Trying to calm himself, Potter firmly set the skunk down on top of the cot, and, grimacing, began to step over and around the various creatures, heading towards his office with a determination to get to the bottom of this growing to match the swiftly steepening dread that that was building in his heart of looking into the next room.
He put his hand on the door and shut his eyes for a moment, steeling himself against whatever might be coming. Like the fact that the door was opened into his push just as he was about to go in.
"Oh! Sorry, sir!" Radar exclaimed, "I didn't know you were up, yet."
"Obviously not," the Colonel replied drily, taking a moment to give the Corporal's attire a grave look up and down. Radar was 'dressed' in a hastily donned pair of pants which he was more or less holding up, not having had time to fasten them in any manner. His top half was bare, and one hand came up to cover his chest in embarrassment, then to salute awkwardly.
"Well, sir, you see--"
"Yes, I'm sure you've got plenty of explanations, Corporal, but I'm really not in any mood to listen to them right now. So, if you can take a second out of your ever -- blessed -- schedule, get these little friends out yours out of here, or by Bessie's blue bonnet I'll have you stripped down to private! NOT --" he added, "That you need any help!"
"But sir, they--" Radar tried, but was cut off:
"OUT! OUT!"
Radar slouched, his short stature becoming even smaller looking with the verbal beating, and he fastened up his pants as he bleated gently. The one time members of his zoo, much to the Colonel's surprise (though in retrospect, he wasn't sure why he felt that way), seemed to look up at his sounds.
There was a thump as the possum dropped from the switchboard. Babette chattered and rounded up her young. The bunnies ran out from under the bed and were easily out the door. Even the tortoise had taken a step toward the outdoors before Radar picked him up and carried him the rest of the way.
The Colonel sighed and went to go inspect the damage in the other room. Thankfully, there wasn't anything too horribly odd about it, besides the remnants of Radar's uniform, scattered here and there as if tossed about by a playful dog of some sort. Shaking his head, Colonel Potter patted the horse's hindquarter and flank as he passed to climb behind his new desk and sit down.
Looking over the stacks of paperwork, he groaned. The first day he was here, the clerk had provided him with a neat and accurate stack of forms for him to sign. The second day had been much the same. The third, he'd gotten nearly nothing at all, as well as the fifth. Of course, this had all been reasonably understandable, what with the odd goings-on hereabout.
Now this-- this was worse. Some pages had been crudely typed, others written in with paper or simply illustrated with drawn sketches or clipouts from magazines or Grape Nehi labels. Three days' of forms. Not a single one intelligible, all full of nonsense, all full of--
The horse? Wait a second...
Colonel Potter looked up in surprise, his breath taken away when he realized the presence of the mare, and he pushed himself up from his desk, slowly, in awe, not wanting to scare her.
But his fears were baseless. The horse turned her head out of the corner and nodded jollily at him, moving a shoulder to seem to tell him to come closer. And he did. All his anxieties were swept away as the lovely creature seemed to smile at him and tell him to 'mellow out' a bit.
"Hey, girl." The Colonel began to speak to her, "That crazy clerk of mine put you in here?"
"Yeah, I know. I don't know what his problem is, either," Potter lied, beginning to stroke down the mare, falling into the normal pattern. He really just wanted to forget that any of the last three days had taken place, that he had ever completely lost control of his new command and, for that matter, of his mind. The Colonel was so soothed by the mare's presence that he didn't even seem to mind laying out Radar's clothing on his cot for him, and sorting through and correcting all the mis-labeled paperwork.
~
Potter shook his head, "O'Reilly," he mumbled, as he scooped up the skunk in his outstretched arms, keeping his head turned to one side as he continued to wonder whether his company clerk had decided to give him a different odor every day.
"Corporal O'Reilly!" he repeated, bellowing now in his customary manner as he entered his clerk's office, using the skunk to push the door open, making it chitter indignantly at the abuse.
"Corporal O'--" the Colonel began to yell again, when his eyes went wide. Slightly bloodshot as they were from the lack of decent sleep, they looked terrifyingly angry as his jaw set in a firm scowl. The office was crawling. A guinea pig was making a nest out of a pile of file folders. The possum had taken up residence clinging onto the switchboard, its head turning to look (as he imagined) with guilt towards the door when the Colonel walked in. The tortoise was slowly making its way into the center of the floor, but even it paused and looked up from what it was doing. Fluffy and Bonzo made rather suggestive noises from under the cot. A few mice scampered fleetingly out of the door of the C.O. office, being held open for the moment by a furred little white rump, and a pair of frisky lambish thighs on which beat a floppy woolen tail. The door swung jollily shut as the little sheep moved inside.
Trying to calm himself, Potter firmly set the skunk down on top of the cot, and, grimacing, began to step over and around the various creatures, heading towards his office with a determination to get to the bottom of this growing to match the swiftly steepening dread that that was building in his heart of looking into the next room.
He put his hand on the door and shut his eyes for a moment, steeling himself against whatever might be coming. Like the fact that the door was opened into his push just as he was about to go in.
"Oh! Sorry, sir!" Radar exclaimed, "I didn't know you were up, yet."
"Obviously not," the Colonel replied drily, taking a moment to give the Corporal's attire a grave look up and down. Radar was 'dressed' in a hastily donned pair of pants which he was more or less holding up, not having had time to fasten them in any manner. His top half was bare, and one hand came up to cover his chest in embarrassment, then to salute awkwardly.
"Well, sir, you see--"
"Yes, I'm sure you've got plenty of explanations, Corporal, but I'm really not in any mood to listen to them right now. So, if you can take a second out of your ever -- blessed -- schedule, get these little friends out yours out of here, or by Bessie's blue bonnet I'll have you stripped down to private! NOT --" he added, "That you need any help!"
"But sir, they--" Radar tried, but was cut off:
"OUT! OUT!"
Radar slouched, his short stature becoming even smaller looking with the verbal beating, and he fastened up his pants as he bleated gently. The one time members of his zoo, much to the Colonel's surprise (though in retrospect, he wasn't sure why he felt that way), seemed to look up at his sounds.
There was a thump as the possum dropped from the switchboard. Babette chattered and rounded up her young. The bunnies ran out from under the bed and were easily out the door. Even the tortoise had taken a step toward the outdoors before Radar picked him up and carried him the rest of the way.
The Colonel sighed and went to go inspect the damage in the other room. Thankfully, there wasn't anything too horribly odd about it, besides the remnants of Radar's uniform, scattered here and there as if tossed about by a playful dog of some sort. Shaking his head, Colonel Potter patted the horse's hindquarter and flank as he passed to climb behind his new desk and sit down.
Looking over the stacks of paperwork, he groaned. The first day he was here, the clerk had provided him with a neat and accurate stack of forms for him to sign. The second day had been much the same. The third, he'd gotten nearly nothing at all, as well as the fifth. Of course, this had all been reasonably understandable, what with the odd goings-on hereabout.
Now this-- this was worse. Some pages had been crudely typed, others written in with paper or simply illustrated with drawn sketches or clipouts from magazines or Grape Nehi labels. Three days' of forms. Not a single one intelligible, all full of nonsense, all full of--
The horse? Wait a second...
Colonel Potter looked up in surprise, his breath taken away when he realized the presence of the mare, and he pushed himself up from his desk, slowly, in awe, not wanting to scare her.
But his fears were baseless. The horse turned her head out of the corner and nodded jollily at him, moving a shoulder to seem to tell him to come closer. And he did. All his anxieties were swept away as the lovely creature seemed to smile at him and tell him to 'mellow out' a bit.
"Hey, girl." The Colonel began to speak to her, "That crazy clerk of mine put you in here?"
"Yeah, I know. I don't know what his problem is, either," Potter lied, beginning to stroke down the mare, falling into the normal pattern. He really just wanted to forget that any of the last three days had taken place, that he had ever completely lost control of his new command and, for that matter, of his mind. The Colonel was so soothed by the mare's presence that he didn't even seem to mind laying out Radar's clothing on his cot for him, and sorting through and correcting all the mis-labeled paperwork.
~