a[.Day.]of.reminiscence

[[.BakaIsai.]]

┼Hugo

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Ah, autumn. . . without a doubt, Hugo's favorite season. He loved it when it rained, loved it when the sky was clear, the cool breezes, the colorful leaves - what didn't he love? It was easily the best of the four seasons, even with the life of a stray weighing him down. 'Ah, but it's a light weight,' he thought happily. 'The life of a stray is nothing more than a life of freedom.' He liked that analogy. Being a stray really was all about freedom; the freedom of when to eat, what to eat, where to eat, how to get it; the freedom of where to go, when to go there, what to do; the freedom of having total control over your own life, without anyone there to tell you. . . what to do. . .

He stopped padding down the sidewalk and whined softly to himself. It could certainly get lonely in this freest of lives. Oh, how desperately he wanted to find a good female to get with! But at this moment when he was wanting any kind of company at all, he really wouldn't be picky about who showed up. Looking around, he realized that he was a few yards away from a four-way intersection. His ears fell back a bit; he didn't like cars. They were so big and noisy, and smelled bad to boot. Humans seemed to love them though. They piled in there like there was nothing better to do, though it looked boring. The only part of it that aroused so much as a flicker of interest in this schiperkke was what the little kids usually did: staring out at the world through the windows of the fast-moving vehicles.

Hugo didn't care much for traveling though. Ever since the relocation here, he hadn't had much luck at all in making friends. It really pulled against his typically optimistic mood, but he was resilient. He'd lift his muzzle back in the air with thoughts such as the one that crossed his mind now: 'It's probably because I've only just started. And it's daylight,' he added, 'most strays are out at night, aren't they?' He grinned to himself. In his experience, he was indeed right. Strays were all over in the dead of night, scavenging for whatever food they could come across.

He stopped again, though not of his own accord. He had been about to cross when some daring human put his grubby paw on Hugo's neck to stop him. He growled softly and backed quickly away; he didn't like humans. Never had. Giving only a single paranoid glance over his shoulder, he continued by simply rounding the corner. Once he was well enough away, however, he pushed his mind back into the calmness of his reverie. The day really was beautiful; cloudless with a constant breeze, but the sun was doing it's best to counter the effect with warmth. The sidewalk held it and kept his paws comfortable heated, while the breeze kept his thick fur from making him pant.

'You'll be okay, Hugo,' he told himself comfortingly, 'you can handle being alone for a little while.'

word count: 549
mood: awesome. i love playing this character.
muse: 9/10
notes: reserved for Duke. ^^

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[burn]

Coldness, wind tugged a small pups fur and snowflakes covered his thin dark chocolate coat. The pup couldn't see anything just feel. Seeking warmth his shaky paw guided him until he bumped into a brick wall. The pup could surely feel this was a corner and a bit more sheltered from the wind and snow. By the way he shook and quivered like a leaf it was clear he was miserable. A sound erupted right near him, it sounded inside him. Shocked the pup jumped away from his little corner, after a moment of staring blindly at the spot. The pup seemed to realize it was only his stomach which was eager for food. He let out a squeak which was cut short by the feeling that someone was nearby...

A tugging woke Duke's dream, startled his eyes flew open to see a little girl standing in front of him. Not moving Duke wagged his tail a little bit and this received a huge smile from the blond haired girl in front of him. Slowly Duke stood up, he was a little bit lower then eye height with the girl he guessed to be four.

Duke didn't exactly love humans but he didn't feel like he had to show hostilely to them either. After all he had learned that some humans weren't that bad and sometimes would give you scraps or food. Their little ones, he knew were simply curious and like puppies simply didn't know any better. She pat him on the head and played with his ears, Duke put up with this wagging his tail. The little girl giggled out loud and Duke licked her hand gently. Duke noticed a shadow at the end of the little alley he took a nap in, Duke knew this was probably the mother as it was calling at it's little one. The girl patted him one more time and walked back to it's mother. She took one more look at Duke before following her mother and out of sight.

Duke stood there for a moment in the shade of the alley, his thoughts returned to his dream. It was a very familiar dream one that he'd had for many years, he knew that the pup he drempt about was him, he also figured out that it had been before he was found by Delila. Like usual he shrugged the dream off thinking it was his imagination not him actually remembering what had taken place.

Brushing the thoughts away he walked down to the end of the alley, out before him was the busy four lane intersection. Duke could smell it from a mile away, though that didn't damper his mood. Perhaps he'd go for a swim today, that always brightened his mood. Rolling his shoulders feeling at ease Duke walked out of the alley and into the open on the side walk.... perhaps a little too at ease Duke didn't seem to see the dog heading his way. Duke dodged the other canine so close to colliding into him that Duke's hair brushed the other dog. Feeling blood rush to his cheeks, Duke avoided the other dogs eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you ok?" Duke asked all at once finally meeting the other dogs eyes. Exhaling slowly he smiled a bit sheepishly. "Name's Duke.... nice to meet you." He greeted a bit awkwardly.

[[.BakaIsai.]]

┼Hugo

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Nostalgic thoughts of the days when he could still call his family by that name swirled soothingly in Hugo's head as he continued down the sidewalk. So vivid were the images of the good old days that for a moment he forgot where he was. When the other dog's pelt brushed by his, he jumped away with a startled snarl. His pelt was only on end for a short time though; the moment he heard the other dog's apology and - wouldn't you know it? - inquiry to his own state, he calmed, if only a bit. This dog was male, and Hugo didn't care for males. Too often he had seen them committing atrocities that he would rather not think about right now. Still. . . he didn't seem rude. In fact, he was being oddly polite right now.

So, dropping his defensive stance, he looked the other dog over briefly. For a moment, he tried avoiding his gaze, but the moment he looked up, Hugo stared him down. Hard. He wasn't going to make it easy to be befriended, but at the same time he really had no conflict with the dog. His paranoia toward other males was really getting too strong these days. With a loud sigh, he dropped his challenging glare to the sidewalk and shook his head. 'Listen to the pup,' he thought irritably, 'he sounds downright scared. Lay off him.'

With that bit of self-chastising in mind, he looked back up at the dog with a less rude gaze. This silence was stretching on, but the schipperke really didn't want to speak. At the same time, he was slowly finding that he was grateful for having another dog for company. It was better than those ratty humans, at least. Debating, he looked toward the intersection in time to see a car run a red light. Someone blared their horn, and he looked back at his paws, growling quietly and curly tail flicking. 'Goddamn noisemakers. . .'

With a sigh of resignation, he looked back at the dog who had introduced himself as Duke and said only a single word: "Hugo." Hopefully that would be enough for this chocolate lab. If it wasn't, and he walked away, so be it. If it was and he tried to continue conversation, well. . . he just hoped he'd want to move first. These noisemakers were starting to edge on Hugo's nerves.

word count: 416
mood: ahh neutral.
muse: fff.. 6/10?
notes: crap post was crap.

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[burn]

Duke stood completly still as he saw the other dogs reaction. He thought he had made it clear that he meant no harm and surely wasn't looking for a fight. It seemed to Duke that this other dog had a problem with him, though Duke was sure he'd never seen Hugo, and was even more sure he hadn't done anything to get on his negative side. Perhaps he was just having a bad day or didn't trust anyone. Feeling slightly discouraged Duke let his ears fall back and his excited expression seemed to fade a bit.

He waited in silence waiting for the other stranger to say anything and Duke observed that the stranger seemed to be thinking. He trailed the other dogs eyes to the intersection watching a car run a red light and an angry human honk their horn. As the dog looked back at him with a look of defeat Duke wagged his tail once a bit dull. The stranger finally broke the silence and Duke had a name. Hugo.

"Humans.... why do they have to be so vocal." he mumbled in agreement as he saw the dogs aggitation. Looking back at Hugo, he realized he might have offended him. "Humans can make good companions though if you're that desperate.... not that you look desperate or anything and uh you don't look the type..." Duke stopped for a moment noticing how many other ways he just might have offended Hugo... but it was pretty clear his intentions were good. "... that would hang with humans." He finished his sentence with a sigh hoping he hadn't ruined his chance to have a conversation with Hugo. Hugo seemed pretty interesting anyways. He seemed like the type of guy who things happened around. Duke shook his head it was too early to make assumptions about this dog already. Duke couldn't help but get the odd feeling that they had more in common then they knew.

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[[.BakaIsai.]]

┼Hugo

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The schipperke looked at Duke with a mixture of pity and amusement as he started rambling. Vocal, yes, that was a good word for them. A bit of an understatement in his opinion, but good nonetheless. A slight grin broke his stony features as he listened to the dog rattle on; no, there was no need to be so paranoid about him, not at all. In fact, as he listened to Duke finish his sentence with a sigh, he broke out in quiet laughter.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I don't mean to make you nervous. What say we get away from this intersection?" Now that he was speaking full sentences, it was obvious that his voice wasn't suited for anger. He had a soft, almost melodic voice that seemed very out of place coming from such a presumably intimidating creature. Even more strange was the open expression that had suddenly appeared in his eyes and on his muzzle. Indeed, now that he was putting aside his reservations, he was much more approachable.

'I've gotta lighten up a bit,' he told himself. 'No one deserves that kind of treatment before being given the chance to prove themselves.' His tail twitched. As much as he might tell himself that, he doubted that he would ever be a very trusting dog. Still, he loved the old days too much to risk letting go of himself. He needed to hold on to whatever ounce of innocence he still had.

Dangerous or not.

word count: 252
mood: pretty good. got my own computer back.
muse: 7/10
notes: mmm sun chips.

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[burn]

Happy he was making Hugo at least somewhat amused, Duke wagged his tail satisfied and returned to his normal go-lucky self. It seemed to him that Hugo accepted now that he meant no harm and was just looking for a friendly conversation. Duke had the feeling that's what Hugo was looking for all along. When Hugo spoke next Duke was surprised when he heard almost a completely different dog then he'd heard before. Instead of defensive and agitated voice of before this voice was quiet and soothing to listen to.

"Don't worry about it, never know who you are going to run into out here." Duke woofed. It was true, you couldn't trust others much anymore. There were dark characters on these streets that were out for themselves. "Good thinking." Duke agreed eager to get away from the stench and noise of the busy highway. "There is a park nearby which is usually empty or" He was interrupted by the ever constant sound oh his grumbling stomach "there is a abandoned old restaurant a few blocks away that usually has some food... if you're hungry of course." Duke looked around, it didn't matter where Hugo wanted to go.

His social need was probably just as starved as his stomach. Anyway he could go without food, I mean he did that often nowadays. It wasn't anything new but being so close to a good meal seemed like a opportunity. "Of course it's your choice, it doesn't really matter to me, just as long as we get away from here." Duke looked back up at Hugo his head slightly tilted and his tail still wagging.

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[[.BakaIsai.]]

┼Hugo

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Well, the chocolate lab at least had that much right: you really didn't know what kind of jacked-up pup you'd run into out here. That brought back some disturbing memories - the reasons he wasn't very fond of males. Positive, positive though; look on the bright side. 'I'm not one of those dogs. . . and I haven't exactly met one since I got on my own.' 'Attaboy, maybe there were less here than you thought. Perhaps your paranoia just has you seeing them everywhere when they're not. That's not exactly positive though, is it?

He was glad the dog agreed with him about moving, and even more happy to hear that he had some ideas as to where to go. When he said the word 'park', Hugo almost leaped at the idea - but when he heard the lab's stomach and his mention of the nearby restaurant, a grin broke across his muzzle. Poor pup. When was the last he had eaten? Looking at him, Hugo thought he looked a little nervous about his own opinion. He felt a spark of indignation - every dog was entitled to his voice. . . To think of all the dogs that had been abandoned and left to themselves, and then to see this one still afraid to speak for himself - it made him angry, but at the same time glad to see that there was still innocence left, no only in himself but in other dogs. He sighed and the happiness returned to his eyes. He had definitely been starving for socialization.

"Relax pup," he said, catching Duke's gaze as he looked up at him again, "you don't have to go out of your way to be so polite. Let's head to that restaurant." He turned to start walking, but barely got two steps before realizing something rather important. "But uh. . . you'll have to lead." He grinned back at his new acquaintance and wagged his tail encouragingly for a moment. Hopefully the lab wouldn't insist that he go first; Hugo would really rather avoid a conversation that would likely go from 'do you know this place well' to 'how long have you been here' to 'why did you relocate'. The black brute didn't much like reliving the story of his family's drastic change. The cold nostalgia he felt for the old days left him a bit downcast and anti-social.

And he needed to be social.

word count: 414
mood: ehh. first day of the new trimester, just realized how few friends i actually have. q.q
muse: 7/10
notes: if you look it up you'll see / in my dictionary / that underneath forever, there's a picture of you and me

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[burn]

Finally Duke let his act drop, politeness was second nature to him but he could see that Hugo didn't need or want him to be polite. He just wanted him to speak out and be himself. Duke smiled a crooked grin, "Some dogs can be so touchy when they don't get the respect they think they deserve but I'll take you up on that." Duke joked his wide smile still spread across his muzzle. Happy to hear that Hugo was up for going to the restaurant instead of the park, Duke followed Hugo but he could only take a step or two before Hugo stopped at once before him. What his acquaintance said next made Duke let out a low chuckle of amusement.

"Alright follow me." He instructed moving in front of Hugo to take the lead. Duke began to wonder how come Hugo didn't seem to know the area so well. Duke on the other hand had lived here his whole life and knew everything there is to know. He was about to ask but stopped feeling resentment coming from Hugo. It was clear to Duke that Hugo was obviously not interested in talking about this topic. Duke walked a block in silence, it was a comfortable silence, he simply enjoyed having someone around. Turning a corner moving at a medium walk Duke looked at Hugo.

"It's nice to have company. Don't get company that often lately. Well good company. I mean some dogs are just uh kinda moody I guess. Not very much fun to be around." Looking in front of him now Duke knew exactly where he was going. "But you probably don't get lonely, you've got friends don't you?" Duke asked, he assumed the answer was yes. I mean Hugo seemed like a compatible enough dog to have at least one friend... though a reliable friend was hard to come by now. The atmosphere was getting nicer as he put distance between them and the busy intersection, now they were walking down the sidewalk next to a two lane street. To there left were various small shops and restaurants. A human passed every so often but it wasn't nearly as bad as by the highway. The air was clearer here.

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[[.BakaIsai.]]

┼Hugo

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Hugo listened attentively to his new acquaintance. He liked that he seemed a bit more relaxed; it did a lot in the way of relieving Hugo's paranoia, particularly since this dog seemed to know about the abundance of hostility on these streets. Now that reservations were aside, the black brute found himself more than fond of this company - but not so much so that he wanted more of it. One-on-one was good for him; if another dog showed up though, and Hugo started acting aggressive again, well, who's to say the other dog wouldn't be a friend of Duke's? Or perhaps just someone a bit more likable? Then he might be seen as the uptight asshole, and have two more enemies in this hostile place.

'Ugh, buddy,' he chastised himself, 'relax. Calm down, think positive. You have a friend here, and surely anyone he likes couldn't be all bad.' He glanced up at Duke as the thought crossed his mind. It was true; this dog seemed a bit too - Hugo avoided using the word cowed - polite to appreciate another dog who was too much on the opposite end of the spectrum. He wagged his tail faintly; yes, that was the way to think. Positive, muzzle to the sky. He grinned at himself as a subtle new spring found its way into his step.

The black dog perked his ears and looked at the back of his companion's head as he spoke. Yes. . . good company was a hard thing to come by. Sometimes it seemed like a good meal was easier to find than a good friend. Moreover, a good female. He nearly laughed aloud at the lab's question; friends? Him? Blasphemy.

"There aren't a lot of dogs worth calling friend," he said, barely avoiding a direct answer. He had been planning on changing the subject immediately after saying that, but no good topics came to mind. They all seemed blatantly obvious, and when he realized the silence had become too long to say any more without sounding more pitiable, he simply took to looking around at the buildings as they passed by.

It really was a nice day.

word count: 368
mood: ehh. okay. i have root beer. :]
muse: 6/10
notes: this took AGES. muh bad.

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