BRIGHTENING DAY

[` joshua chase]

Though the weather was appalling, JC had an obligation. And that obligation was now sitting by the door, eying him accusingly. “Now? Must we go now?” he muttered, but did not wait for an answer. Seeing doing so would be idiotic. The dog had yet to get the ability to converse sophisticatedly. A quick rummaging in the desk drawer resulted in the revelation of a leather leash, a leash he had no honest intention of taking advantage of. Perhaps was that the bonus of having too much time at his hands; he got an obedient dog. Aggro, a Czechoslovakian wolfdog, would be nothing but a pain-in-the-ass had he not been trained strictly. Not only to his owner, but to the general public. A thirty inch tall doggy weighing around fifty-four pounds that looked precisely like a wolf could come off as intimidating. And people thought German Shepherds were creepy. Boy, were they in for a surprise. Granted, some had thought his training methods to be a bit unconventional and brutal. But it had had the desired effect. And the dog remained as faithful as any. “Come on then.”

It was raining violently outside. With Aggro trotting contently by his side, JC descended the few stairs and emerged into the downpour. Setting course for the Walks, he lifted the collar of his security guard uniform to cover more of his exposed throat. The dark jacket did not prove much shelter from the drops, so he hoped it would stop soon, having forgotten an umbrella. And an iPod. Shuddering, he traipsed onwards, and by the time he reached the green lounge, there was no longer water falling from up above. It did not take long for his companion to find a heap of fellows to speed around with, and JC resolved to amble miserably on the wet track. Neither his uniform nor his shoes were content with the situation. Normally, he would take Aggro out with him on runs in the morning and after work, but such activities were quickly abandoned whenever the weather failed him.

Starting to hear annoyed growling in the direction the animals had been running, he stopped. His tongue was halfway into forming a commanding summoning when a lady to his left beat him to it. “Girls! Come here!” When the four females came bounding over the hill, Aggro apparently tagged along. JC was on his way to continue walking, ignoring the woman, when she said, “What a nice boy you’ve got there.” Inside, he heaved a deep sigh. Dog-owners’ need to socialize with a person whose interest seemed to be shared. It never failed. Birds of a feather flock together. “Yes, he’s a great one.” Not putting his soul into it, of course. They proceeded to exchange names of the beasts, and chitchatted idly about breeding, the Canadian perhaps a bit more reluctant than the long-haired weirdo. “Are all these yours?” he finally asked, squatting to pet those of which he spoke. “Yes. That’s only four of them though. I’ve got twenty-eight more at home. Thirty-two altogether.”

At this point in the conversation, JC was almost entirely soaked in dog-drool – or was it the rain? – but still managed to fix her with a confused – bordering to shocked – glare through the silky fur that was bobbing in and out of his flaying arms. Thirty-two dogs? Thirty-fracking-two? How the hell did the petit woman manage to keep control of thirty-two dogs? Even one was stressful enough, that he knew. And that he was suffering from now too. The daily walks, the perpetual training, the never-ending petting and the affectionate look, it all got enormously tedious after some time. It would never stop, would it? “You must live in a pretty big house then,” he observed dryly.

Upon hearing those words, the crazed dog-owner almost started barking like a dog. It took him some seconds to realize she was laughing. Or snorting. Or something else entirely conveying amusement. “Us? No, we live in an apartment. Three-room.” His eyes yet again looked at her as if she was entirely bonkers. “Really?” Luckily enough, he would never see the inside of that accommodation. It could hardly be a hygienical place, with thirty-two dogs and – as he would found out later in the talk – four cats. It could have been taken out of Miami Animal Police. Which he had watched when he was younger. And on occasion still, whenever the boredom got out of hand. “Doesn’t sound like a nice place. I mean that yeah, two dogs are easier than one. And yes, having this kind of a dog in an apartment ain’t good that either, but thirty-two dogs in a small apartment? It sounds like animal cruelty to me.” Of course, as it never failed to do, such an observation ended in a rather heated discussion. And after having sustained some more useless info – that matter of the cats, among other things – JC was left standing on the grass and watching the stalking back of an angered woman. Oh well. Aggro however… Where had he gone to? Hopefully he wasn’t snapping the heel of some random student.

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WORD COUNT: 855
TAG: Open for any taker (: In other words.. pleasetakeitpleaaase.[/size][/font][/blockquote]

[sarahnobles]

Amelia spent a good portion or her spare time enjoying the walks. The sophomore was too lonely when stucked in her dorm room and the fresh air, although cold, was welcomed. She wouldn't say she was unpopular. Sure she wasn't a cheerleader and not every one knew her name, but she did have friends. Where her friends where however was a mystery. Rebecca, her girlfriend, was busy working on a new sculpture. Thats one person accounted for. Today Amelia had spent the day going through her classes, texting Rebecca, and avoiding the rain in her dorm. After class she had played tick-tack-toe, emailed her Dad, wasted a good hour on the computer, and even finished her Algebra homework. It was too early to for dinner and Rebecca wouldn't be free for another hour. She had texted Lamia, but the sophomore had yet to reply. It was possible she wasn't feeling well, Lamia did seem to get sick often. She could go to her apartment and check on her, but she didn't want to bother Lamia if she was ill.

Around five Amelia had slipped on an oversized bright neon yellow and black checkered hoodie, grabbed her sketchbook, her 'speaker' and tucked a pen into her pony tail. Looking something like an over sized bee she walked through the drizzle along the walks stopping finally at a small gazebo. She hadn't bothered to bring an umbrella, it wasn't raining that hard and she enjoyed the rain. As long she kept her notebooks under her hoodie where they would be safe and dry, then it was all good. The brunette settled herself cross-legged on the floor of the small shelter and watched the rain her sketchbook open on her lap. She twirled her pen in her slender hand as if she was about to draw, but never brought it to the paper. This was just as boring as her dorm. Usually the walks inspired her, at the very least she found something or someone entertaining to capture her attention. Not today, the rain had scared everyone inside. However just when had thought her favorite place on campus had let her down something interesting did happen. She didn't notice it at first, she turned her attention to the blank page before her, but right in front of her, only a few feet away stood a large, probably very loud, barking wolf. She assumed it was barking, its mouth was opening and closing and she could see its very sharp teeth. Startled she jumped to her feet and looked franticly for help or an owner. She loved anything fuzzy, no matter the size, but not when that fuzzy thing was a giant wolf barking at her, probably about to attack her. Why would their even being a wolf here? Its a city! It could be someone's weird idea of a pet.

OOC: hope you dont mind my crappy reply

[` joshua chase]

Though the woman had become somewhat aggravated during their conversation, JC could honestly not care less. What she thought best for her dogs was her very own business. If they had a horrible time, then they had a horrible time. What she choose to do, it was her choice. And her dogs. That did not mean he could not address her on the matter, however little interested he sounded. Which had further sparked her fury, seeing all he was doing was offer some uninterested syllables in response to her defending her choice of living. For her, it was something of great importance. For him, it was merely a wee annoyance he thought best to voice aloud. Nothing he said would possibly alter her beliefs anyway, but he could make her brood about it. And brood about it she would, judging by the ‘huff’ he got as a farewell and the shortness of the powerful strides that led her away from him - finally.

Still, despite his ardent trying not to, he could not help but remain silently impressed by her obvious control over her dogs. Seeing she had thirty-two, the normal human would in all probability forget a number of names, not being able to recite them as she had. Let alone try to teach them adequate training. Perhaps was she a breeder, it would certainly explain her daunting number of animals, as well as the sublime control she appeared to be holding over them. He himself had been rather rubbish as training, random passer-bys accusing him of not being particularly consequent – which was the honest truth. With himself and his own body, it was a completely different story. But until he discovered the key was to be downright harsh, JC could not have made Aggro as much as look at him when he wanted him to. Now, however… Things changed, and that change could be both beneficial and the exact opposite, depending on whom was deeming it so. It seemed his changes were always a fusion between the two, not always a favourable

The woman’s four canines where still playing about in the wet grass, but Aggro was nowhere to be seen. Not that type to get overly worried, JC made to continue on walking, but froze when he heard barks. And it was no random dogs’ barks. It was definitely the hostile bark of his dearly beloved. Oh shit. Being as he was at work, this would look supremely bad. Determining the direction of the sound did not take long, and he jogged up a small hill to see his dog, a bit reduced due to the rain flattening his fur, poised in front of a pavilion. Whatever caused him to react this way was probably sitting inside. JC first thought was that of a squirrel, but if that was the case then Aggro would not just be loitering outside. He’d be chasing that big mouse to the end of the world and beyond. The owner frowned, walked closer and crossed sideways to see past the pet.

A girl. Quite young too.

That wasn’t unexpected on the school premises. She was, however, dressed as a bumblebee. Or something. JC’s mouth started a slight twitch in anticipation of a bigger grin, but the look on her face sobered him up. Apparently the big-mouthed animal scared her, and the frantic eyes were all-consuming. “Aggro!” The name made the animal falter a little bit in surprise, before he turned a lowered head toward his master. He looked like a boy having gotten caught stealing. “Heel!” With the canine poised calmly at his left, JC looked toward the girl. “Sorry about that.” Under his breath he made the dog sit down. “He’s got…” At this point he had to cough to hide a small giggle. “…He’s got a bit of a thing for bright colours.”

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WORD COUNT: 643
NOTES: No crappy post, nonono. Loved the interaction, seriously. ;)
TAG: Amelia![/size][/font][/blockquote]

[sarahnobles]

Many many times growing up Amelia had tried to convice her parents that the family needed a pet, even a service dog. If they had had a dog maybe Amelia would know what to do with this one. Even a cat...Instead her mother had brought home a fish one night. Ironicly it died the same week that her mother passed away. Of course if she had been given a service dog it would have been a pet more then anything else, she didn't need a service dog. Maybe one day when she lived alone so she wouldn't sleep through a fire alarm, but not now. Then again this wasn't a normal dog. Lamia's brother had a large dog, but it was a sweet heart. After barking to announce her arrival and taking a good sniff of her he had settled right down and proved be harmless. He was just an over grown cat. This thing was an under developed mountain lion.

Bees are stripped, Amelia is checkered, clearly not bee like at all. She has a thing for bright colors, yellow being one of her favorites. Last week she had written only in yellow, except for school assighnments that had to be handed in. Relief washed over Amelia when the beast attention left her. She followed its gaze to the person standing behind it. It was surprising docile for its master and trotted right over to him at his calling. Amelia raised an eye brow at his excuse. It was difficult to make out what he was saying between the rain and the distance between them. He obviously wasn't a student and she now that the wild animal had been subdued she found herself wondering if he was even aloud on campus, let alone the wolf. At the very least he should be obeying leash laws. Bright colors? Her brown eyes traveled briefly to her hoodie, wheren't dogs color blind? She bit her lip unsure of how to respond. She carefully, still watching the stranger and his pet, bent down long enough to pick up her small notebook and pen. She doubted he would be able to read anything she wrote from where she was, but Amelia wasn't about to walk right into the dogs path, not until it proved itself to be an oversized, overly friendly puppy, which it hadn't. She toyed with the idea of large bubble letters, but decided against it. Besides the sophomore had no idea how to respond. Apologize for her choice in clothing or thank him for controling his dog which should have been with him the entire time! Instead Amelia merely nodded in response.

It really shouldn't be such a shock that the master controlled his dog. This stranger was huge. Amelia is on the short side, she'll admit that but this stranger dwarfed her. If he was allowed on campus he had to be a staff member. There was no way he was student.

[` joshua chase]

Has a thing for bright colours… If she could read or simply watch Animal Planet, she would know that whether dogs were seeing colour or not was still dubious. If anything, it must have been the pattern. And even that one was thin. But he simply could not come up with a reason for Aggro to behave like this. The dog did not normally jump on people without provocation – and even with that he still managed to pace himself. In some ways, his dog had more self-control than him. It was a sad realisation, really, but JC discreetly pushed it to the back of his head, intending never to voice it. A small movement to his left made him aware of Aggro lying down. It was not the relaxed sort, however, as the belly didn’t fully touch the wet grass, and his head was still perked up and focused on the girl.

She seemed to be thinking, but what she did not do was reply. Which was sort of odd. Had she been stunned to silence? Or perhaps she was of the shy nature, in which case being forced to interact with the owner of the dog who seemingly wanted to attack her probably didn’t temp her. A nod would be alright. Or a violent shake of the head, to convey she would be reporting this. JC hoped that one wouldn’t happen. He was at work, in his security guard uniform, and had just been allowed to bring Aggro along due to a promise it was a well-trained dog. Obviously he was, but perhaps a leash would be in order. Then again, the canine needed a lot of physical training too. Letting him roam about in The Walks during a rainy day had not seemed like a bad idea. Until now. That is, if the girl decided to tell.

A nod.

He could not be certain if she had seen her before; there were so many of them, these students, and they were everywhere on the campus, doing anything anywhere (which was what gave him most of his work). There was no sign of recognition on her face either, so she had in all likelihood not marked him out. Perhaps she hadn’t seen the tell-tale blue shirt with the strict black tie. Admittedly, this one too was underneath the dark sweater that came with it, and he was wearing a jacket over this uniform, to keep the rain out. None of the markings on his clothes were showing from under the layers. So he did not really try to make it easy at the moment. Still. Maybe he could come off as a little bit more friendly. Giving Aggro the instruction to stay, he walked towards her.

As he did, JC suddenly became aware of the fact that the closer he got to her, the more likely it was she would identify him. This would have made him slow down, had it not been obvious that him turning around and leaving hastily in another direction was a clear sign something was up. Not to mention how she at some point might see him walking the campus, working there. Oh well. He continued till he was a few feet away from her, and tried a tentative smile. Wow, she was shorter than him. Then again, most girls were. And she was young too. Not ugly though, he grudgingly had to admit. “I think maybe we came off to a wrong start… I seriously have no idea why he was doing that.” He positioned himself so that he was not blocking the sight of Aggro. It was not meant to be intimidating at all, it was actually meant to make her feel a bit more at ease. Him covering the dog would mean she could not see where the four-legged creature was at all times. Knowledge is power. Besides, he was standing between them. “He’s normally quite nice, even if he looks like he could chew your head off.” Yeah, that was probably real helpful. Emphasize that fact. “What I mean is… sorry, really.” Lame. “You ok?”

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WORD COUNT: 683
TAG: Amelia![/size][/font][/blockquote]

[sarahnobles]

Amelia could read, but it wasn't her favorite past time and when she did read it wasn't books on dogs. Try fantasy, romance, and of course art and art history. Twilight and all that, she was a typical teenage girl when it came to reading. Her brown eyes traveled between the stranger and the dog which was down calming laying down beside it's master. It was getting closer to docile puppy she would give it that. What had he called the dog? Argo, Aggo, Aggro? It sounded like a boy's name, so the wolf was a he, not an it.

Amelia wasn't stunned into silence, she had no choice in the matter. She couldn't speak, she couldn't scream or yell. The only sound she could produce was a whistle. A whistle she had never even heard. Her father had taught her when she was little, saying it was better then nothing. She might just have been the only child taught to whistle not scream if your abducted. Reporting the dog didn't even occur to her. If he gave her the idea she still wouldn't do it, dangerous dogs where put down and as long as this one was controlled it wasn't dangerous. She didn't want that for the wolf-dog, not unless he really was dangerous.

The sophomore raised an eyebrow again as he approuched. A bad start? Yeah, that's putting it mildly, but she wasn't one to be rude. She would give him the bennefit of the doubt. With a sigh she nodded and started to write a brief note. Trying not to look at the dog and focus on the person in front of her she took a few tentative steps towards him and offered the open notebook for him to read. Its fine, no harm no foul. In an effort to be polite and because he did appear to be trying very hard to win her favor she added, I guess you work here? Her pen thankfully was black, because she was usint it for sketching, although she normal used pencil. It was most likely a good thing, a lot of people had trouble reading her writing in bright yellow or lime green.

She should explain to him that she was deaf, he would have discovered by now that she was mute, but some people didn't notice she was deaf right away. It wasn't something she went around advertising, most people realized it within a few minuets and if they didn't then well they probably didn't need to know.

[` joshua chase]

He was hoping she would not launch upon a tirade about how her fragile mental state had been severally jeopardized and that she would be reporting it to the highest possible authority. Some people were just weak. Like his mum. Wow, his mum was weak. Whenever he thought about her, he thought he was obliged to add, ‘rest her soul’, or something at the end of it, being as she was dead. But with her it never felt like a necessary waste of brainpower. To him, she had been dead for a much longer time than her body implied, and as a result did not need pity. The twins had been young when she got all deranged and lunatic-y, and JC had taken it much, much harder than his even-aged brother – who seemed to have taken it rather well, that bastard. As a result, he thought people in general could be a lot more mentally strong. To avoid having to be taken care of by their own ten year-old sons.

Anyway.

JC had not judged the girl so far, as it was quite natural to react as she had when faced with a wolf-like creature in the middle of the park, seemingly alone. It was to be expected really. Had she shrugged it off he would have found it rather creepy. After his inquiry, she lifted her notebook. This struck JC as supremely rude, after he had been showing some serious concern. Was she just going to start drawing again? Really? Why could she not just say something? Putting those vocal chords together, make a symphony? Then he noticed she was writing. First looking at her, baffled, he squinted at the note. Good. So he could get the cards on the table. “Yeah, I’m a security guard.” Lifting one side of his jacket slightly, he let her glimpse the mark on the sweater. “Real nice job, right?” This was said with a sarcastic tone to it. “What’s up with you writing though? You got a heavy cold or something?” It did not even occur to reckless mr. Joshua Chase that some people were mute. The likelihood of meeting one was so low, he never thought about the possibility he might one day find himself conversing with one in a park.

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WORD COUNT: 380
TAG: Amelia![/size][/font][/blockquote]

[sarahnobles]

Not everyone could help that they where weak. Physicaly or mentally. People where human, they got sick, they had fears, they were easily broken or hurt. Sure some people where stronger then others, but everyone has a personal battle and you never know what was in another person's past. Maybe his mother was weak, but he should be carefully when he declares the same of someone else.

Amelia wasn't a mind reader, but she had a talent for reading people's facial expressions and body language. She cook see his anger or annoyance at her, not that he really had any right to be annoyed. His dog all but attacked her, okay he didn't hurt her, mostly it was just a shock when it snuck up on looking hungry. She really hoped he wasn't the type to start yelling and lecturing her on manners and being polite. An older gentleman, gentleman as in cranky old bat, had once ask her for direction to the bathroom in a resturaunt while she was walking back to her table facing the other way. When she turned around after he grabbed her shoulder he was spitting in her face with all his yelling. She didn't even work there, how was she suppossed to know where the bathroom was? Then when she had covered her ears with her hands and shook her head to explain she was deaf he had thought she was taunting him. Her Father had come to her rescue and explained. The old bat didn't even apologize. Needless to say Amelia had no desire for a similar experiance.

Sarcasim was tricky for Amelia. It was something you heard in the tone of voice, sometimes you could read it in a person's face, but not always. Without knowing for sure if he was sarcastic or sincire she nodded, being a security guard couldn't be all that bad. Besides it was only a high school, the worst he had to deal with was breaking up fights or searching lockers for drugs or something. A head cold? Amelia shook her head and started writing again. No, deaf/mute. she kept message brief, not to be rude, but polite. Writing was slower then speaking, the shorter the message the less time she spent writing. If he got to know her he would notice her notes where filled with abbreviations, chat speak, and any other tricks she could come up with. The only time she wrote with proper grammar was when speaking to a teacher and of course in her school work.

[` joshua chase]

He would find it strange if she had a cold. At least such an extreme one. Admittedly, a normal cold would not be extremely unusual at this time of year, but one that left you without a voice seemed a bit too strong for this autumn-weather. Then again, she was outside and it was a rainy day. If that was her habit, then perhaps it was not so strange anymore. One could get used to quiet a variety of things if one was subject to it for long enough. JC himself did not keel over in the face of harsh weather. One of the bonuses of having lived on the streets for a period was that, well, the body stopped deteriorating the moment you removed the clothes on it. Most people could not walk outside in November/December sans a coat, but he had had to live with merely a blanket. It made him wonder if the human race was really evolving, or if it was devolving.

However, it turned out she did not suffer under a particular rough cold. Apparently, her vocal chords were none-functional at any part of the year. JC’s first reaction upon reading it was rereading it, to make sure he had not misread. It must have looked like he did a double-take, as if shocked, but truth is he got curious. Not that he would be digging around to find out what it was like. He could be friendly, but not that friendly. “Well, at least you can see, right?” This was accompanied by a faint smile, meant to be comforting. Then again, she probably did not need comforting. She seemed quite adjusted to the situation. “So you were born like that?” Rethinking what he was actually hinting, he quickly added, “I mean, hopefully you did, or else I just basically ruined the conversation, didn’t I?” What if there had been a great traumatic accident in her past? This thing about thinking before speaking… That was why he left socializing up to his brother.

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WORD COUNT: 338
NOTES: Museless, that's me. I don't have anything to work with..
TAG: Amelia![/size][/font][/blockquote]

[sarahnobles]

One word could describe this encounter; awkward. Awkward was exactly how Amelia felt. She would give this guy credit for trying to make her comfortable, not that it was really working. The sixteen year old gave him a sympathetic smile at his last comment. Yeah, this was just going wonderfully. She should have stayed in her dorm, maybe she could put them both out of their misery and pretend she had to leave. Then again she had come outside looking for a distraction and something to do. She had gotten what she wished for. Was the expression? Be careful what you wished for, Amelia definetly hadn't heeded that warning.

No worries, I was born like this. : ) The smiley face was for him, showing their where no hard feelings, not because she was happy about the situation. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and glanced behind the security guard to his dog, still laying obediently on the ground. She could grow to like him. Once you got passed his massie size and wolfish appearance, it was rather cute. The sophomore did have a soft spot for anything fuzzy. Lamia could be a witness to that, Amelia was obsessed with her cat Star. Eventually she wanted to hold her bat, Satar, but the bat still wasn't comfortable with her. So, I guess your dog doesn't hate me anymore? She offered a joking smile, but wasn't entire sure if he would catch on. Not because he appeared slow, but she was still being a little shy and not as expressive as she normal was. The more time you spend around Amelia you'll notice even when she doesn't sign she makes a lot of hand gestures and facial expressions. Her body language is very expressive.

OCC: Sorry for the delay and crappy post