maskormenacelogs | a day in the life of doge

[ Ace had agreed to help with assignments purely out of curiosity, to see what they were about and how they worked, though for some reason the idea of getting back to neighborhood patrols like he did back home hadn't occurred to him. Before, you'd always have another dog or two tagging along. This time it was a human. Thankfully one he was already acquainted with, but still, it was strange.

What were they even watching out for, in a place like this? More giant birds? More signs of strange illnesses?

He isn't sure. This is no Burden Hill, so hopefully there won't be any demons lurking around the corner.

Anyway, he'd managed to track Gil down early in the evening (it involved an excess amount of barking at the poor man's door to get his attention) and, well, here they are, out on the streets. The sun's long since set and Ace doesn't stray far from Gil's side, keeping pace with him instead, except for the occasional stop-and-sniff of random objects they pass. Which he will do again, stopping briefly to sniff a part of a building's wall. ]

Huh. Wonder what that is...

[ Gil grows more and more curious about registration and these assignments, but is still resigned to the idea he's not cut out for whatever the government and military want. As generous and supportive they've been, the other imPorts... he's not sure he's ready or willing to lend himself to a cause again with Oz never straying far from his thoughts.

However, it is almost off putting to be team up with a dog. Ace is ... good dog, thankfully, but a dog nonetheless. A talking dog, he reminds himself, when Ace speaks converses with him.

He wonders if he should have sought out a leash for Ace. Can't the police fine him for a violation? Does it apply to them at all?

He pauses in their stroll, hands tucked away into his coat pockets, the weight of one revolver in his pocket and the other strapped to his holster, hidden beneath his coat. ]

What is it?

[ For a dog with no leash, Ace is oddly at ease about it. During the day, that's much more worrying, since they'd always been more careful about investigations in the light, but with it growing darker and darker by the minute? The shadows are a safe place for him just as it is for what he's liable to hunt for. ]

Like a lizard, but not. [ Ace's brow furrows at the spot he's been sniffing and he finally steps back, head cocked in the direction of an alley. ] It smells bigger and a little damp.

[ And more dangerous. ]

[ Gil can only stare completely baffled by that response. ]

What does that mean?

[ He doesn't know what a lizard smells like and he doesn't care to find out. He's seen them before, unpleasant little things that appear to laze about. Are there lizards in this town?

Memories of a certain, scaly and ugly creature smashing through the backdoor of the house comes to mind. Gil jumps. ]

Alligators?

[ When he jumps, Ace looks up, giving Gil a worried look. Was he okay? Yes? Well, he looks fine, so perhaps he'd just been startled. ]

Sorry, I don't know what those smell like, so I can't really say for sure. Are those big lizards?

[ It occurs to him he's never asked what sort of world Ace is from. Talking animals aside, he's used to humans and the layout of the streets, so Gil concludes he's from a city not unlike this one. Perhaps less hotter. He's actually concerned that all that fur is a hassle during the day. ]

Something like that. They're large and scaly, but dangerous.

[ Also ugly, but isn't that a given? He peers around suspiciously. ]

One of them broke into the house a while back.

It did? Why would it do that?

[ If it's large, he can't imagine an animal risking going near people like that unless it was fairly used to having them around. That, though, brought other problems with it, which brought up another question. ]

Are they native to this area?

[ Of course, knowing something is dangerous now has him stepping closer to the alley near where he'd found the scent in the first place, squinting to try and see down it to the very darkest end. ]

I don't know.

[ His skin crawls thinking back to that hideous creature breaking into the kitchen. What purpose did animals like that serve? Is there really an alligator problem in the city that no one's bothered to shed light on? He can't imagine how dangerous it might be for anyone, small children especially, to leave the household. ]

I... suppose. It's some sort of reptile, but I've never seen many of those types.

We should try to avoid it, if possible.

If it's dangerous, I can't just ignore it.

[ He won't say 'we'. He doesn't intend to drag anyone else into anything they don't want to be dragged into, but he can't pass by and never know. What is that thing up to, that alligator? What if it breaks into someone else's house, just like it did with Gilbert's?

Ace looks back at him one last time. ]

Stay here. I'll be right back.

[ Before turning to head on down the alley, tracking the scent. ]

[ Gil is half-turned, ready to trek down another avenue when he notices Ace isn't following him. He pivots on his heel quickly and stalks after him, gesturing with his hand for Ace to come back to his side. Be a good dog. ]

Hey! Don't wander off on your own!

[ Because if something happens to Ace, he'll feel responsible for it. Ace is simply a dog. Not some kind of superpowered, costumed hero with fists that could break brick like he's seen. ]

[ He is a good dog! That's why he has to go!

There is a moment where Ace hesitates again and looks back at Gilbert's demand not to wander off, but no, he doesn't need to heed it. Gil isn't his master. They aren't even here. So he'll act now and be sorry for it later, turning to continue on down to the other end of the alley.

After that, it's across another street and into a second alley, which opens up to something somewhat more clear than a street up ahead. Ace doesn't leave that one just yet, instead hanging back at where he would exit the alley, had he kept trekking onward. He freezes there, suddenly stiff and alert.

That thing... ]

Wait.

[ There is something incredibly humiliating and damaging to one's ego when a dog doesn't obey his orders. Incredibly.

He picks up the pace, trying to get close enough to Ace so he can at least cut him off or stay close enough so he doesn't rush headfirst into the jaws of an alligator, wherever it might be. He doesn't feel the urge to draw his gun and in an area like this, he wonders if the police will fine him if he tries it. ]

I said...

[ He stops. ]

What?

There.

[ Whatever has Ace stopped in his tracks is at the other end of an empty lot that the alley empties out into.

With the sunset having since faded away, that end of the courtyard has been plunged into the darkened shadows cast by the buildings by it. The shift of something big and leathery, however, is not too hard to discern if one listens hard enough and, with that sound of motion, Ace begins to growl, head dropping lower and hackles rising as he takes a more aggressive stances towards the thing in the dark. ]

[ Gil doesn't waste a second pulling the gun from his pocket, safety off immediately and cocking it forward in the direction of that thing shifting in the dark. He doesn't fire, but the more he waits for it spring out, the more tempting it is to fire a warning shot. ]

What is it? An alligator?

[ It doesn't make any particular noise and he's not familiar enough with whatever its call or growl is like to recognize it. ]

Edited 2014-03-22 01:55 (UTC)

Don't know. [ He takes a break from growling to answer. ] But it's a lizard.

[ Ace has never seen an alligator before, like he mentioned before, but it could be. There's also a ton of other, worse things it could be, but he's yet to hear any tall tales of monsters in Heropa. He can only hope it stays that way. Not that this thing doesn't count as a monster in its own right.

The thing in question answers Ace's growling with a hissing snarl of its own before suddenly bursting out of the shadows towards them. It stops midway across the feel to hiss again, jaws wide open, trying to intimidate the dog (and human) right back.

It is an alligator! And unfortunately for Gil, it's also a giant one. ]

Why is it so big?!

[ The most important question of all time. ]

[ He aims the gun, his arm steady. A bead of sweat trickles down his temple. He can't believe he's facing another alligator so soon and this time this one seems meaner than the last. Why are these things roaming about the town anyway? ]

Don't get close to it!

[ Ace can't answer why it's so big, so he won't try. Instead he keeps himself firmly between the gator and Gilbert, waiting to see what its next move will be. It swings its head to and fro, jaws still wide open. ]

Well just looking at it from over here isn't going to help anything.

I can shoot it if it gets close!

[ He points with his free hand to his gun: this is how guns work! ]

You can't fight something like that with only your body!

[ Ace doesn't know a whole lot about guns. They're deadly, for sure, but how deadly against something so massive? Maybe if Gil's aim is just right... ]

I've fought bigger.

[ Not really, but things the same size. Close enough!

Not that they'll get much more time to debate. The alligator hisses only a little longer before making an abrupt lunge forward, trying to close the gap between it and them. ]

Ace!

[ Is he supposed to tell him to heel? This could end badly if he doesn't do something, but he can't fire his gun with Ace getting too close to the alligator, which is agitated enough to start snapping its jaws. ]

Don't be so reckless, damn it!

[ He aims his gun, waiting for the opportunity to strike the alligator somewhere. ]

[ But he will be. As well-mannered as Ace is in normal situations, the same isn't true in this. When the alligator lunges, jaws snapping, Ace dives out of the way, ending up dodging off to the side of its head. He barks at it, drawing its attention away from Gil. It begins to turn, trying to follow the blur of noisy black and white fur. ]

[ His pride as a man is challenged here, but in some ways this is why he much prefers loyal, fearsome dogs to irritating, spoiled, and lazy cats. A cat would definitely not look out for others beyond itself.

Preferences aside, he quickly pivots on his heel, following the alligator with his gun and when there's just enough room he fires, a bullet cracking through the air and hitting its shoulders. ]

[ The gator makes an angry sound when shot, the bullet making enough of a dent in its scaly mottled skin to draw blood. It switches its attention back to Gilbert, the new source of irritation, only to find when dealing with two at once makes it very troublesome to focus.

Because as soon as the attention shifts back to the man, the dog has gotten around far enough to move in close and find a meaty spot on a hind leg to sink teeth into. Ace's jaws are strong and he has no trouble digging his teeth in through the hide.

This deters it from making a go at Gil and, again, the reptile makes an enraged noise. Only this time, instead of shifting targets, it begins to thrash. ]

[ He's ready to dash back or to the side to avoid a direct assault, but he finds himself taking a step forward when Ace's teeth sink into the angry alligator. Now with both their bodies too close, he struggles with his aim again.

His heart pounds like a hammer, worried that alligator might slash or bite at Ace and injure him. He has to do something, but what? ]

Ace! Get away from it!

patrolling with Gil

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1/2

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THEN A MILLION YEARS LATER

in doge years

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when you thought you replied but then didn't: a story of me

terrible