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fic_promptly's Author's choice, any, an unusual were-creature (werepenguin? werebunny? werecow?). Featuring Murphy and Dresden with a highly unusual petty thief.
Typical morning at the office: I checked my mail and then my answering machine. Almost too normal, till I got through the messages: wrong number, spam call for a travel agency, then a call from Murphy.
"Harry, call me the minute you get this: we've got a strange one that's right up your alley."
I dialed her cell number, waited for her to pick up. "Murphy here."
"Hey, it's Harry, I just got your message. What's this 'strange one' you got? You know my 'strange' is everyone else's 'What the hell is that?'"
"Petty theft on the North Side: people spotted a homeless teenager of indeterminate gender filching food from several convenience stores," Murphy said. "But here's where it gets weird: clerks and managers try to chase the kid, usually disappears into an alleyway and they lose him."
"Speedy little bugger," I quipped.
"That's what we thought: every single time, someone's spotted some critter in the alleyway. Cats, dogs, raccoons, rats, squirrels, usual things you'd see in an alleyway."
"Local wildlife that the kid could have spooked," I said, though a hunch had started to find a perch in my mind.
"And some not so local ones: rabbits, a coyote, one guy said he saw a cow that went barreling down a sidewalk, got itself lost before anyone could catch up with her."
Well, that just confirmed it. "I think I know what we've got on our hands," I said.
"Some kid with a zoo in their pocket?" Murphy asked dryly.
"No, little easier than that: sounds like one of Billy Borden's friends, only they've got a few more forms up their sleeves," I said. "Where's all this been happening?"
Murphy gave me a list of some of the know locations: I dug out a street map of the city and with some pins, marked out the sightings. They formed a rudimentary circle within a radius of a few blocks, which suggested that the kid had a hideout somewhere in the area.
I parked my car near a likely target, a small corner bodega in a busy neighborhood: older ladies with flowered plastic shopping bags, young mothers with little ones in tow, tough looking kids coming out with bottles of soda and bags of candy. Then I spotted a kid in a grey hoodie sweatshirt and sweatpants over slip on shoes. Once the kid had gone inside, I got out of the car and sauntered in, trying to look as unobtrusive as a tall guy in a leather duster can look.
I spotted the kid over by the canned food, helping themselves to a few tins of sardines. The kid looked up, gathering herself as if she would bolt.
"Hey, hey, don't look scared: I'm not one of the kid catchers," I said, holding up my hands disarmingly.
"Who are you?" she said, suspicious: nondescript kid with mousy brown hair that could use a wash.
"Harry Dresden: I've heard about your little escape jobs," I said. "Want some help buying those fishes?"
"No. I know what you guys want from the girls you help," she said, looking up at me, gathering herself as if she might flee.
"Trust me: I just want to help. I don't play ball outside my age bracket," I said.
"Yeah, right," the kid muttered, her eyes still wide.
And then it happened. One minute the kid stood there before me, next moment, a black and white penguin flopped out of her baggy clothes, waddling across the tiles, heading for the door. I grabbed her clothes and scurried after the critter. Several customers popped their heads over the aisles like so many prairie dogs. The bored-looking teenaged clerk goggled at us.
The penguin barreled toward the closest alleyway, me at its little webbed heels. Not exactly the easiest terrain for something with little short legs, and sure enough, Pengy tripped on a squashed beer can, ending up flat on her back. I had enough time to drop her clothes next to her when she shifted back, glaring up at me.
"Pervert," she muttered.
"Penguin? That's a pretty clever shift," I said, eyes averted while I heard her grabbing her clothes and pulling them on.
"You're not freaked out by that?" she asked.
"I've seen people do things just as odd," I said. "I'm friends with some kids who can shift into wolves. You're the first I've seen who could shift into a penguin."
"Who are you?" she asked, the hostility draining away.
"Name's Harry: I've seen a few things that science can't easily explain," I said.
"Penelope," she said.
"What's that?"
"My name. Yeah. I know. Penny the Penguin," she said, with a wry smirk.
"I was about to ask why a penguin?"
"I just think of an animal and I turn into one. Usually when I'm spooked," she said. "Freaked out my mother, so she kicked me out.
"Did I hear you say something about wolves?"
"Got some friends a bit older than you, who know how to shift into wolf-forms," I said. "Come on, let me buy you lunch and I'll make some calls: they got a couch you could crash on."
"Sounds like a plan," she said, giving me a half smile but a real one, the first I'd seen from her.
fic_promptly's Author's choice, any, an unusual were-creature (werepenguin? werebunny? werecow?). Featuring Murphy and Dresden with a highly unusual petty thief.Typical morning at the office: I checked my mail and then my answering machine. Almost too normal, till I got through the messages: wrong number, spam call for a travel agency, then a call from Murphy.
"Harry, call me the minute you get this: we've got a strange one that's right up your alley."
I dialed her cell number, waited for her to pick up. "Murphy here."
"Hey, it's Harry, I just got your message. What's this 'strange one' you got? You know my 'strange' is everyone else's 'What the hell is that?'"
"Petty theft on the North Side: people spotted a homeless teenager of indeterminate gender filching food from several convenience stores," Murphy said. "But here's where it gets weird: clerks and managers try to chase the kid, usually disappears into an alleyway and they lose him."
"Speedy little bugger," I quipped.
"That's what we thought: every single time, someone's spotted some critter in the alleyway. Cats, dogs, raccoons, rats, squirrels, usual things you'd see in an alleyway."
"Local wildlife that the kid could have spooked," I said, though a hunch had started to find a perch in my mind.
"And some not so local ones: rabbits, a coyote, one guy said he saw a cow that went barreling down a sidewalk, got itself lost before anyone could catch up with her."
Well, that just confirmed it. "I think I know what we've got on our hands," I said.
"Some kid with a zoo in their pocket?" Murphy asked dryly.
"No, little easier than that: sounds like one of Billy Borden's friends, only they've got a few more forms up their sleeves," I said. "Where's all this been happening?"
Murphy gave me a list of some of the know locations: I dug out a street map of the city and with some pins, marked out the sightings. They formed a rudimentary circle within a radius of a few blocks, which suggested that the kid had a hideout somewhere in the area.
I parked my car near a likely target, a small corner bodega in a busy neighborhood: older ladies with flowered plastic shopping bags, young mothers with little ones in tow, tough looking kids coming out with bottles of soda and bags of candy. Then I spotted a kid in a grey hoodie sweatshirt and sweatpants over slip on shoes. Once the kid had gone inside, I got out of the car and sauntered in, trying to look as unobtrusive as a tall guy in a leather duster can look.
I spotted the kid over by the canned food, helping themselves to a few tins of sardines. The kid looked up, gathering herself as if she would bolt.
"Hey, hey, don't look scared: I'm not one of the kid catchers," I said, holding up my hands disarmingly.
"Who are you?" she said, suspicious: nondescript kid with mousy brown hair that could use a wash.
"Harry Dresden: I've heard about your little escape jobs," I said. "Want some help buying those fishes?"
"No. I know what you guys want from the girls you help," she said, looking up at me, gathering herself as if she might flee.
"Trust me: I just want to help. I don't play ball outside my age bracket," I said.
"Yeah, right," the kid muttered, her eyes still wide.
And then it happened. One minute the kid stood there before me, next moment, a black and white penguin flopped out of her baggy clothes, waddling across the tiles, heading for the door. I grabbed her clothes and scurried after the critter. Several customers popped their heads over the aisles like so many prairie dogs. The bored-looking teenaged clerk goggled at us.
The penguin barreled toward the closest alleyway, me at its little webbed heels. Not exactly the easiest terrain for something with little short legs, and sure enough, Pengy tripped on a squashed beer can, ending up flat on her back. I had enough time to drop her clothes next to her when she shifted back, glaring up at me.
"Pervert," she muttered.
"Penguin? That's a pretty clever shift," I said, eyes averted while I heard her grabbing her clothes and pulling them on.
"You're not freaked out by that?" she asked.
"I've seen people do things just as odd," I said. "I'm friends with some kids who can shift into wolves. You're the first I've seen who could shift into a penguin."
"Who are you?" she asked, the hostility draining away.
"Name's Harry: I've seen a few things that science can't easily explain," I said.
"Penelope," she said.
"What's that?"
"My name. Yeah. I know. Penny the Penguin," she said, with a wry smirk.
"I was about to ask why a penguin?"
"I just think of an animal and I turn into one. Usually when I'm spooked," she said. "Freaked out my mother, so she kicked me out.
"Did I hear you say something about wolves?"
"Got some friends a bit older than you, who know how to shift into wolf-forms," I said. "Come on, let me buy you lunch and I'll make some calls: they got a couch you could crash on."
"Sounds like a plan," she said, giving me a half smile but a real one, the first I'd seen from her.
