#she was comin in for that snoot boop

[smol-lizord]

Taking photos of snakes is a lot harder than you’d think 😂😭

[the-kings-tail-fin]

(I hope it's okay to make a birthday request since mine's coming on the 25th *hides face*) May I request a fic about Doc talking to and checking on baby Raine one day while she's recovering in the clinic and right in the middle of doing so, she reaches her little tires out to touch his grill before giving him her first 'snoot boop?' (and that just warms his heart right then and there cuz she's never done that with anyone before, yet she chose him)?

Of course! Happy early birthday, my friend!

She eyed him suspiciously from the far corner of the room. In the dusky atmosphere, Doc could only see the white of her eyes, peering out from underneath the blanket he’d wrapped her in a few hours before. He approached her.

At first, she squirmed backwards as though she hoped the blanket would conceal her from the adult car, diverting his attention elsewhere. A dull pain beneath her fender quickly quelled her efforts. She slumped into the cushion beneath her.

“Hey there, kiddo,” Doc greeted her in a low tone. “How are you feelin’?”

Of course, he didn’t expect an answer. This pint sized Mustang was nowhere near old enough to know how to communicate. Her gaze never faltered as she peered at him through the folds of her blanket cocoon. Doc continued to talk. For a car of her age, socialization was as important as proper medical care.

“Still hurts, don’t it?” he asked, observing how she leaned to one side. “Them coyotes got you good, but you’ll be alright. I replaced what I could and fixed your sheet metal. Give it a few days to do a bit of healing on its own, and you’ll feel good as new.”

She watched him speak, lulled by the low tone of his voice. The bigger car looked so intimidating, so why did she feel so comfortable when it spoke? Nearly hypnotized, she crept forward a few inches.

“There you go,” Doc rolled neared to her. “You’re comin’ around. Why don’t you tell me something? Where did you come from? I haven’t seen any wild Mustangs around these parts in decades.”

As he spoke, the light glinted off his chrome bumper. It fascinated her, all smooth and bright and glittery. She inched closer, but halted. A primal fear told her she was in danger. That coyote had been smaller than this car and maimed her without exerting much effort. What could a car of this size do? She hesitated.

“Come on, I know you’re curious,” Doc continued. “I saw you nosing through my newspapers the other day. Come on out. But don’t hurt yourself. You’re so little, you’re hard to work on. I can’t afford you gettin’ into more predicaments.”

That voice. She couldn’t help herself. This marked day four of being held hostage. Why didn’t she want to leave? She did. But she didn’t. She was scared of him, but she wasn’t at the same time. She watched as his chrome glittered once more as he shifted his weight slightly. She had to know for sure.

Ignoring the overwhelming fear in the back of her mind, commanding her to get as far away from him as possible, little Raine pushed herself up to Doc, focusing on the things she liked. Voice? Yes. Shiny? Yes! Size? No, but she could ignore that if she focused solely on his glimmering bumper.

Doc caught his breath. She’d never gotten so close to him of her own free will. She was inches away from him now, looking up at him sideways, positioning herself to dash at any sudden movement. Doc held perfectly still, but uttered a low hum. He saw her focus on the noise. He kept doing it.

With one tire, barely bigger than an oil filter wrench, she reached up and placed it on his grille, right in the midst of the shiny chrome. Raine’s fears vanished. Doc didn’t bite or growl or make any move to harm her. She tapped him again, this time on the bumper to make sure.

Doc didn’t dare move. This was a huge step. He didn’t move, but the sudden touch did startle him enough to stop humming. This was what he’d been hoping for, for her to come out of her shell on her own. It’d taken long enough.

Satisfied, Raine put her front tire back on the ground and backed into her blanket again, never taking her eyes off of him. Doc smiled, and slowly went to bundle her up again. For the first time, she didn’t shrink away.

“Alright, kiddo,” Doc said as he tucked the blanket under her. “No horsin’ around. Stay here and get better. This is good for you.”

Out of nowhere, she smiled at him. He stopped in his tracks and stared at the tiny face beaming up at him, feeling something tugging at his emotions, something he’d never felt before.

She trusted him.

Her fear was gone.