Circuits and Wires
āNope. Not having. As much as I like animals, I like my hands more and I have no plans on losing them.ā Normally Flik wasnāt this eloquent or god at joking, but with his hands busy it was easier to work around his normal discomfort at, well, speaking to people. Maybe that was something he should remember for the future. If he had another opportunity that was.Ā
He listened to her describe the lions she worked with, nodding slowly. He supposed that made a lot of sense. He still felt like anyone who worked closely with animals had to have some kind of connection, and this only proved it. Still, there was something sheād said that stuck out at him. The idea that the animals could better understand her than the people. Heād always felt that way about machines, but he had also been told that he was weird. So it made him curious. āDonāt you connect with your fellow performers at all? Or even the other animal trainers? I mean, it seems like theyād be in some of the same circumstances as you and theyāre probably better conversationalists than the lions.āĀ
āRight. Yeah, sorry. You can call me Flik. Or if you forget,Ā āthe mechanicā is fine, but I wouldnāt worry about theĀ āmisterā. That makes me sound way fancier than I actually am. And my sisterās name is Dot, so if you hear me talk about her, thatās who it is. Might as well get the two important names in while Iām thinking about it.ā Damn, couldnāt he ever shut up once he started going? She probably didnāt care about any of that, and here he was rambling on because now heād gotten distracted and flustered. And sounded like an idiot.Ā
Flik looked back down at the mess in his hands and deliberately started working again. He sounded at least moderately sane this way, and he could always use the excuse of the deadline if he needed it. Besides, heād never been good at leaving a job only part of the way done. If it meant he was also distracted from his thoughts about her, well, that was just a side benefit.Ā
She laughed freely at his response, amused by his instant witty response to her proposition. Watching him work made it clear to her this is where he belonged. She was meant for the ring with a bunch of feisty cats and he was meant to work with all of these wires, making sense out of all of the mess.
His question caused her to purse her lips before she could even stop herself. It was an innocent question of course, but one she didnāt want to think about.Ā āShort answer? No. Most performers donāt enjoy having the spotlight taken over by some girl. Especially not a girl of my....background,ā Color was what she truly meant to say but allowed the inference to hang heavy in the air between them.Ā āThe people who arenāt violently jealous are obviously attracted to me and spend all of their time ogling at me. Itās bad enough to have people stare at me on stage with such dirty thoughts in their minds..but to get it as I walk around the camp night after night.. Itās exhausting. Youād think Iād learn to cover up better. But Iāve come to find it doesnāt help much. Unfortunately I donāt find I have much in common with either of these groups. So I guess Iām stuck talking to lions, hmm?ā
She smiled, forcing the negative emotions off her expression as she looked down at him. As he told her his own name as well as his sisters name, Nala couldnāt help but chuckle softly and bite her lip. He sure was charming and she found herself feeling thankful she had run into him.Ā āItās a pleasure to meet you Flik the mechanic, brother of Dot.ā She responded, her amusement clear on her voice.
When he broke their eye contact and turned his attention back to the wires in front of him, Nala slid off the table where she was seated and strolled closer to where he worked. Reaching down with elegant fingers and mischief shining in her eyes, she picked up assorted doodads and trinkets, taking a quick glance at each of them before tossing them aside. She knew she was probably getting in his way, but that was the big idea after all. Anything to delay the trainās journey.















