[OPEN] d o g g o s

[burndownforwhat]

WHO: Jen, her dog Zwei, and onlookers
WHERE: Around the town, in the parks
WHEN: After returning to the real world, before the October event
WHAT: Just a girl jogging with her dog (pretty simple! tag in however, or lmk and I'll write you a custom starter)
WARNINGS: Corgis have been shown to be difficult to resist, proceed with cuteness. I mean caution.

[ things have finally calmed down enough that Jen resumed her typical daily fitness routines. that included the morning and afternoon jogs in the park with her dog Zwei hot on her heels. during both trips she'll be dressed for the gym and carrying a small bag for her water bottle, towel, and so on. sometimes she'll have some bruises on her arm and legs and then in the same day they'll be gone. weird!

of course when she's not on her way to or from somewhere, she'll store her items on her motorcycle and just have a leisurely run through the nearest park, throwing a stick or a ball for her corgi companion to fetch. it may just land close to someone, or Zwei has chosen to investigate someone entirely new who was looking his way - or not. he has a mind of his own after all, which leaves Jen chasing after him to go over and say hi and apologize to whoever it was he was apparently bothering. ]

Comments

[argone]

[Look...up in the sky...it's a bird...it's a plane...it's Krypto the Superdog. A flash of white and red streaks across the park, and faster than Zwei can wiggle his corgi butt he's joined in the chase by a medium sized white dog. A white dog (apparently a pitbull?) that happens to be wearing a cape. Playfully, Krypto catches the stick Jen tossed in mid-air and turns it so Zwei can snag the other end.

Hello friend.

Not far off, there's a definite crunch of boots and a hand dropping to Jen's shoulder.]

Hey you.

[burndownforwhat]

[ there's the slightest jump from the both of them in turn, but it was easily brushed past in the excitement of the moment. Jen had been looking forward to this for a little while and now things were finally in place to have their date - an actual date! - outside for once.

she turned and laughed. ] Hey, yourself. I don't know why I forgot he could fly. That's cheating.

[ Zwei barked a couple of times and just ran circles around Krypto, investigating the bigger and faster dog from all sides. ]

[argone]

Krypto doesn't cheat.

[They do. On each other. Hah.

Floating down and reaching for Jen's hand, Kara watches the pair of pups at play. Krypto makes a confused whining sound, looking at Zwei from about six inches off the ground, then drops the stick to let his tongue loll out.]

But he does fly. A...pparently he's from Krypton too.

[burndownforwhat]

[ Jen lets her fingers twine with Kara's unconsciously, as she's too busy watching Zwei's confusion and enthusiasm play out in real time. her own is right there with him. she laughs. ]

So, wait, Krypto... from Krypton...

Did you name him just now or did he come with a pun included?

[argone]

That was his name on the mail card.

[And he answers to it? So, why not call him by his name.]

He's...a good dog.

[The pause comes as he flips the stick up into the air, letting it come down in front of Zwei so he can grab it. But will the corgi succeed? Find out next time on doge-stick z.]

[yakan]

[ It is time for doggo meets doggo. Kiyoshi, hands paused on the shamisen in his lap, watches as Hestia stops playing with the fallen leaves under the tree they had been hanging out under, and says hello to this new friend, happy and friendly. He's not worried that Hestia will do anything, he knows her well and the only thing that could prove a problem with playing with a small dog is her size, but he doesn't know this other dog, and so he's not about to take his eyes off of the situation. ]

[burndownforwhat]

[ the ball landing nearby was the first thing Zwei went for, of course, before plodding over merrily and depositing it near the other dog. it's his way of sharing!

meanwhile, Jen jogs up breathlessly. ]

Man, I've got to stop throwing it that f- oh! Hi!

[ she thought she was just talking to Zwei at first, but it seems there's not one but two others here after all. she gives a bright smile and gestures. ] Is that your fluffy friend? He's real cute!

[yakan]

[ This seems to be going well, he'd say. Hestia is more focused on the other dog than on the ball, nosing her big hairy face in the little dog's face.

Kiyoshi raises his plectrum hand in a wave, and Hestia lolls her tongue in the new human's direction before she gives the other dog a lick. She always has been quick to physical contact. ]

Yep, she is, and the cute little bread dog is yours I take it?

[burndownforwhat]

She? Got it. [ Zwei is not going to take this licking sitting down! though even at full stature there's little more he can do but look kind of petulant in comparison. Jen giggles quietly. ]

Haha, yes, that loaf is Zwei. Don't worry. He's not at all aggressive, just thinks he's a bit bigger than he is.

[yakan]

[ Dogs. Such silly creatures. Kiyoshi is highly amused- and Hestia's tail is happily going all over the place sending up leaves in the air, and she makes "let's play!" noises at the other dog. ]

So he's a lot like like Hestia, except she doesn't always think about how large she is. She can apparently be overly friendly, sometimes.

[ Boundaries? What are those? This dog doesn't know. The biggest worry is obviously her accidentally laying on him too much if they play. ]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy was not jogging in the park. She wasn't even moving particularly fast, starting and stopping frequently. The small furry thing bouncing on the end of a leash near her heels was entirely why. The puppy was fearless when it came to investigating shrubs or mauling plants poking through the pavement, sometimes stopping to stare up at passing birds, and sometimes trying to chew on Lucy's shoelaces. It looked something like a rottweiler, but with a husky's fluff and blue eyes, and a mix of other less distinct traits that made finding out her full ancestry an impossible task.

When the stick landed nearby, the puppy startled and jumped a bit. Then it rushed at the stick with a small but genuine rrrrrr, sinking its teeth into the stick and shaking its head back and forth. Strange thing! Must kill it!

Lucy had stopped again, mouth curved up at the corner. She noticed the corgi before her dog did, hyper-focused on murdering this stick as it was. She spoke up when Jen got close enough.]

Careful, she's not used to people yet.

[burndownforwhat]

[ Zwei and Jen approached almost in tandem, but Zwei seemed equal parts confused and curious in his approach whereas Jen was just laughing it off. ]

Haha, hey Lucy! And friend. [ she smiled, watching the little rascal just tear into that stick. ] I'll be careful. Zwei's good with just about everyone, so no worry on his account. Even if she did just steal his toy.

[ Zwei gave a quiet "boof" and just sat down to watch and see what happened next. ]

[long_live_the_queen]

Hi. [Lucy said, a little belatedly. She tugged a little on the pup's leash, which distracted the dog from mauling the stick. The dog noticed Zwei first, and immediately stood up to tensed attention, fluffy hackles just starting to bristle. She wasn't sure about the human holding her leash yet, but she did feed her. So, bravely, the little fuzzball put herself between Lucy and Zwei and barked. She's very scary! Not even corgi sized, but still clearly scary!]

I'm more worried about Noriko. [Pause.] The dog. She bit me when I met her the first time.

[Lucy didn't seem the slightest bit bothered, though. She was still just as charmed with the puppy as when she first got it.]

[burndownforwhat]

Oh, yeah? She's got some spunk.

[ Zwei reacts to the bark with a little hop in place but stays put with a glance back to Jen. she gets to her knees beside him and puts a hand on his collar. she doesn't think he'll do anything but it's good just in case. ]

Did you get her back from the network or is she, you know. Local?

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy shook her head. Alas, poor Koromaru and his good manners.]

Freya got her from the shelter. Freya and Pen.

[The other strange human not being a towering giant helped, but the rottsky(?) puppy still barked, putting on a(n unnecessary) brave face.]

Noriko, stop.

[She tugged backwards on the leash a little, just enough to distract the puppy. She stopped barking, looking back at Lucy with an almost quizzical expression. That little distraction seemed to reset the dog's furry head, though, and she briefly glanced back at Lucy. What? What do??

The puppy didn't start barking again when she looked at Zwei once more, hackles just thinking about bristling. They weren't super committed though.]

[interlucere]

[ Lucille has been restless for the last few days, and she isn't sure why. Maybe it's the whole Retrospec business, the tattoo on her hand serving as a constant reminder that life is Different now even if she isn't sure how. It's like this feeling she can't quite shake, that someone might be watching her, and while she's been doing her best to keep that paranoia under wraps, it's been especially bad this morning. So a walk in the park would probably do her some good—she can get that excess negative energy out and get a bit of fresh air at the same time. Maybe that will help clear her head.

She notices Zwei on the path first, because who isn't immediately drawn to a cute and fuzzy face. Not anyone Lucille wants to meet, that's for sure. The two heading in the opposite direction, the smaller blond stops and starts crouching down even before they meet. ]

Aww, how cute! [ A beat, as she looks up at Jen with a radiant smile. ] Is it okay if I pet him?

[ Today is going to be a good day because she might get to pet a dog. With everything that's been happening, it's nice to know that sometimes life really can be that simple. ]

[burndownforwhat]

[ Jen slows down her jog until she comes to a stop nearby. Zwei is much closer, looking quite eager for pets and looking back as if also awaiting permission. ] Knock yourself out!

[ with a waggle of his tiny tush, he steps into range to receive his deserved affection from this new person. hi new person! ] What a little dork.

[interlucere]

[ Oh no aren't you the cutest thing. Lucille giggles as she gives this good dog all the affection he deserves. She's grown up around dogs, she knows all the good scritching spots.

Standing up, she expects that the two of them will be on their way. But it's when Lucille gets a closer look that she realizes that she recognizes the person in front of her. ]

Wait. Jen?

[ She totally didn't stalk her on social media, honest. ]

[burndownforwhat]

Huh? [ what's more recognizable; the arm, her hair, or the abs?

Jen perks up and draws her attention from her dog on to the girl and it's then the image from the phone clicks with who she's seeing in front of her now. ]

Oh, hi! ... Lucille, right? Fancy meeting you here.

[interlucere]

Yep, that's me.

[ Haha, lame.

The arm should have been a dead give-away, but it's not necessarily something she notices right away. After all, her cousin has had a prosthetic for over a decade. But it's not armored like Jen's arm. Hm. ]

Kind of weird running into someone from the network like this. I expected it to be, I don't know, a little more dramatic maybe?

[heiroglyphs]

[Things have started to settle down and Vera has started to make the brave foray out of her apartment once more, to rejoin the world, meet people and maybe let some natural sunlight touch her skin.

But mostly she's at the park, settled on a bench reading a book when she spots out of the corner of her eye a very familiar corgi running around with a stick in his mouth. Wow, it's been a while since she's seen this little guy. The heiress folds her book into her lap, leaning down slightly with her hands on her knees before giving a quick whistle.]

Zwei? Is that you, boy? Come here!

[burndownforwhat]

[ it is indeed Zwei! and not only does he recognize his name quite easily, but he recognizes Vera as well.

sort of.

he stops his run just short of the bench, his head canted to the side and snout pushed forward. Zwei wants a sniff to confirm something before he gets any closer. ]

[heiroglyphs]

...Zwei?

[She's tempted to just scoop up her little man and give him the affection he deserves, but something about his reaction just doesn't sit right with her. Instead, she cautiously offers the back of her hand to the pup, letting him sniff as much as he likes.]

You remember me, right?

[burndownforwhat]

[ he approaches and sniffs the hand thoroughly. it seems to take some convincing but after a few moments he gives her knuckles a tentative lick. then paces to the side and leaps up onto the bench to get a closer look at her face.

meanwhile, a familiar voice calls out from around the bend. ] Zwei? Where'd you go, boy?

[heiroglyphs]

[O...kay. Vera leans in, trying to give the pup a scratch behind the ears.]

What's the matter? You're acting so strange.

[She perks up at the sound of that familiar voice, though for some reason it sounds a bit different from normal. Just what is going on today?]

Over here, Yin!