thestormishere | ☈ strike #06 (action / voice)

[ Lightning doesn't tell anyone the reason why she spends so much time outside despite her hatred of the native weather. Walking or jogging in the cold, training at the 'battledome' and barracks, visiting the stores when people tend to not be around... these things keep her busy, in the time she's not poring over the journals and library and whatever else she can get her hands on, looking for some clue towards what she's supposed to do with herself.

She's certain her time left to complete her Focus - something she cannot do here even if she wanted - is running out. Running out fast. Needless to say, it's pretty difficult to indulge in any sort of holiday mood for long, with the threat of either dying or turning into a monster hanging over her head.

Today, however, the ex-soldier has something entirely new adding to the mix of things on her mind- one that's not hard to figure out for once, considering the mild spectacle she's sort of making of herself around the outside of community housing building 4 right now. In one hand, she's got a makeshift leash that probably started its life as a drawstring to a jacket's hood or something, and at the other end is a black fluffball of a puppy, snuffling around in the snow while his new owner watches with a stiff posture and mostly neutral expression. If there was anyone who actually knew her very well here, they'd probably be able to tell that she's... at a complete loss.

Eventually, she decides to try consulting anyone who might be near their journal, though as usual, she's sure to make it very short and to the point- ]

Who knows anything about dogs?

[ And... yeah. She's definitely going to be outside with the puppy quite a bit - mostly outside CH4 where she lives, though at some point she finally just picks him up and ventures into the part of town with the shops, searching for anything that might possibly help out in this... little predicament. ]

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[And out by the shops she will meet someone else looking slightly put-out, with a fat red puppy that doesn't want to walk more than five steps at a time before being picked up. He watches her for a moment, then-]

Statue?

Edited 2010-12-28 01:21 (UTC)

[Riku isn't familiar with Lightning, but that doesn't stop him from watching her struggle with the puppy with some vague amusement.]

Having trouble?

[ Lightning really notices the other dog first, only then looking to Sigmund with her brows drawn at the one-word question. ]

What?

[ The moment her puppy sees the red one too, though? He begins squirming in her arms, eyes wide and thrashing side to side in his sudden desire to be put down. ]

[Dog is rather more cautious, hiding behind Sigmund's legs and only peaking his nose out, snuffling.]

The dog. Was it the statue?

[ When Riku asks that question, Lightning's already starting to bend over to say something to the dog sitting directly in front of her. At that, however, both of them turn to look at him at the same time- the puppy looks curious, though... the woman is clearly sizing him up as she straightens. ]

... I guess you could say that.

Ah.

[ She doesn't struggle much longer with the pup, bending to put him down as carefully as she can with him wiggling all over the place. He ends up sort of falling on his face anyway though, even if it clearly doesn't faze him as gets to his feet and tries to approach the other puppy anyway. Lightning keeps a firm grip on the "leash," however, so he doesn't get far. ]

... Yeah. No idea what they were even thinking.

[Sigmund's pup has absolutely no leash whatsoever. It snuffles a bit more, waddles forward into sniffing range, and then jumps back and falls on its rear. He watches it more than Her. Just in case.]

I'd rather not know.

... Me neither.

[ She frowns, eyes going back down to the puppies. Hers stands with his legs straight, tail up and wagging, very interested in this potential New Buddy despite its caution. ]

It's not like I know the first thing about keeping a dog. Do you?

I'm guessing this is your first pet.

[He crosses his arms and continues to watch them both, occasionally glancing down at the curious pup.]

......um....

...I-I have a dog.

[ Did he really have to say 'pet?' While Lightning is distracted though, the puppy takes the opportunity to begin idly chewing on the 'leash,' throwing his own glances at both humans with tiny dark eyes. ]

It's not like I asked for it.

My fiancee has a dog actually. What exactly would you like to know? [ Even if he doesn't exactly take care of Minuet he still knows something about them. ]

[ What, timidness? Lightning just sounds exasperated in turn, jumping straight to the problem. ]

The Malnosso gave me a puppy.

How to keep this puppy from peeing in my apartment would be a good start.

[P-pff. Riku snickers; he's never been much of a dog person, but at least they're amusing.]

Huh. So you got it from that statue?

[Very timid. But dogs are nice. :( And much nicer than her present.]

Oh...do you...um, not like dogs?

[ That gets a good humored chuckle from him. ] A good scolding for when they actually do it inside and then perhaps giving a treat for when they go outside. It helps them differentiate between right and wrong with the added discipline.

[ .... A sigh. ]

Just not what I expected to be dealing with right now.

Hm. What are you supposed to use to treat a puppy?

[ Meat? Dog food? \o_O/ A silly question, and she'd probably have a better guess if he was older, but he's still a baby or something, right? ]

That's right. Big bow and everything.

[ In fact, the puppy is still wearing a festive little red and gold collar, complete with a smaller bow opposite the buckle (that he's somehow managed to get a hold of at least once and halfway chew up, of course). ]

I know a bit. But it's mostly only on mabari.

... On what?

Uh... mabari. They're a breed of war dog. Very popular in Ferelden. Anyway, what do you need to know?

Some gift. You said you didn't ask for it, so are you still gonna keep him anyway?

[Pff. He's a regular Christmas pup, then.]

[ Nevah heard of it, though she figures he probably already must know that. ]

... I'm pretty sure this puppy I got from that stupid statue isn't a combat animal. [ A beat. ] Unless you count battles against things that fit in his mouth, I guess.

[ Definitely sounding more exasperated about that than joking here, though. ]

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