maskormenacelogs | this dog can walk himself [open]

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this dog can walk himself [open]

WHO: Ace and you!
WHERE: Various places in Heropa.
WHEN: After dark.
WHAT: Restless dog is out doing his rounds, even if there aren't any monsters out.
WARNINGS: n/a

a; residential area

[ For Ace, night is suddenly a bigger blessing than he'd ever expected. It's the best time to roam unseen, sure, but it's also when the sun is down, the temperature drops, and going out and about becomes somewhat more bearable for a dog like himself. Spring should never be like this, in his opinion, although that is an opinion forged by the states that get snow, something he's already figured out has no chance of falling in this place.

Not that it keeps him from poking his nose around. He weaves his way between the houses with no fencing, then down alleys and around sidewalks to avoid those that do. He'll get a few dogs waking up to bark at him. He stops at the ones that only seem curious and sniff at them, but not to chat. Just thinking about trying that leaves a sense of sadness, that for whatever reason the animals here don't speak the same way he could, back home, to other dogs, to cats, raccoons, rats, anything except humans. It's all so different now. So, he doesn't linger by other dogs for long, hurrying off again after each short stop.

Eventually he turns to head towards Heropa's downtown, but for now? Looks like there's husky on the loose, meandering through the streets at his own leisure. ]

b; downtown

[ Downtown is a different beast. Ace's leisurely stroll doesn't continue here, as he shies away from the main sidewalks. It isn't as crowded as some downtowns might be, but he's still pretty sure people are more liable to call someone on a loose dog spotted around, well, businesses. Even if he can literally talk his way out of that now, he prefers not to chance it. Alleys work best, along with the occasional street crossing.

He revisits the spot that had brought him and Gilbert face to face with a giant alligator, but when that turns up nothing, not even a decent scent to pick up on again, his wandering moves on to the more barfly-ish side of town. There, he still lurks, unwilling to interact too directly. There are a few instances where he finds cause to growl from the mouths of alleyways at a few drunks following after barhoppers who'd rather be left alone and at least once where he suddenly runs out across the path of a man who's taken off with someone's purse, tripping them up enough for those pursuing to catch up.

All those times, he doesn't hang out afterwards. Not in plain sight, anyway. He'll hurry back off out of sight before slowing to a stop to cock an ear and listen. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Admittedly, Terry tries not to get too attached to anyone he meets as an imPort. Everyone comes and goes -- he tried forming close friendships, even romantic relationships, and most of the time, it just ends up being miserable. But he's warmed up to Ace, partially against his will, and he might reluctantly even consider himself fond of the "family dog."

It shows in the way he automatically leans to meet Ace, adjusting his messenger bag before reaching out to ruffle the fur behind Ace's ears in greeting. ]

Trying to get some studying done. Not sure how productive that was, but whatever. [ A light exhale. ] What're you doing out?

[ It's somewhat of a relief that enough of the imPorts have lost whatever qualms they'd had before about patting him on the head or, in general, treating him like a dog. In this case, ruffling his ears, which is always appreciated. ]

I'm going for a walk. [ A long one, but hey, not a lie. ] What were you studying?

[ Terry had, admittedly, found it a little weird to treat a talking dog like -- well, any other dog. But after sharing living space for all these weeks, it sort of became routine. He absently smooths the ruffled fur out with a few pats for good measure before straightening his posture again. ]

Just some stuff for my psych final. [ Not exactly Terry's idea of fun, but he kind of secretly liked the normalcy of it all. ] Kinda far for a walk at night. Just trying to avoid the sun, or?

Psych final?

[ Ace briefly has to wonder what school is like. Maybe similar to the lessons from Miranda and the other Wise Dogs? The kids at the elementary did a lot of sitting around and listening in their rooms, so something like that, perhaps.

The way Terry leaves off without adding anything else after that 'or', though, has Ace turning his thoughts to what he's up to and, inevitably, looking sheepishly down at his paws. ]

The sun is a little hot here, so I guess that is part of it.

Yeah, you know. Psychology class. Exams. All that.

[ He sounds nonchalant, like he doesn't care. Even though he does. Because this is him trying to be normal as best that he can. He's proving something to himself every day he pulls it off. But he does a good job of playing it down, anyway.

Still, he notices the way Ace glances down at his paws -- and while he isn't an expert in canine body language, that answer seems to imply something more. ]

So. What's the other part of it?

Patrolling. [ It's like he's admitting to some heinous crime, with how a whine creeps into his voice upon stating what he's up to. ] I know they don't want us to, but I don't like sitting still in the night anymore. I'm a Watch Dog. It's what I'm supposed to do.

[ Terry blinks a bit. Patrolling. That's it? That doesn't really seem like something a person ought to feel guilty about. And he's a pretty good expert in the field of guilt. Finally, he just quirks a small, wry half-smile. ]

I'm pretty sure it's not a big deal. [ His hands find his pockets as he talks. ] Can I tag along? I don't sleep very good anyway.

[ Hey, a dog hears it's part of what vigilantes do and not to be one of those, it feels like breaking a rule. Dog guilt is weird. Like chewing up your owner's shoe for shits and giggles but feeling horrible about it once they find it!

Terry asking to tag along, though, brings Ace's eyes back up and to him. His tail, too, because he's resumed wagging it a bit. ]

Oh, sure. I don't think we'll find much tonight, but I'd like the company.

Honestly, it's probably better if we don't find anything.

[ He hasn't had a very thorough talk with Ace about his powers yet -- but suffices to say, it'd benefit everyone if they avoided a situation where he might be tempted to use them, even on a so-called bad guy. But he could use a walk with a friend. That much, he's up for. ]

So. [ An exhale. ] Shall we?

Yeah...

[ It's something Ace can agree with, although his reasoning is polar opposite of what Terry's is. He doesn't know if he could keep him safe or not. What if he just got hurt like Gilbert had? But that's a worry for some other time, so he won't let if weigh him down.

At the 'shall we', he turns back the way he'd been going before and starts off at a pace Terry should be able to keep up with. ]

At least it's nice out tonight.

There's that, anyway.

[ Luckily, the worst that can happen is that Terry "dies" -- not truly, since he can't actually die, but some temporary death-like coma, while his body knits itself back together. It took him three days once, to heal from being disemboweled, autopsied, and embalmed, but he did heal. One of the perks of being technically immortal. Hopefully it won't come to that tonight.

He lets them walk together in quiet for a little bit before he speaks up again. ]

So. You patrolled like this back home?

[ Even if he got better, Ace would never forgive himself. He's failed before, failed to do the right thing at the right time, to be there to stop something, to get there fast enough, to be strong enough...

Yeah. It really is best it doesn't come to that, so this patrol will keep to the well-lit streets so long as he has company. ]

Along with the other Watch Dogs, sure. Sometimes with the cats, too, though I guess they're technically part of the society all the same.

[ Maybe it shouldn't be that unusual to him -- people have superpowers in his home universe. And there's probably talking dogs and cats in there somewhere too, even if he hasn't met one personally. Still, it has taken him this long to get used to just one talking canine. ]

So do all the animals in your world talk, or? [ He absently adjusts his messenger bag as they walk. ] And what's a "Watch Dog" exactly?

Just to other animals. Most humans can't understand us.

[ A topic which he could expand upon, but it seemed pointless here. Since he was the weird one with the talking, it wasn't like he could pin down who was and wasn't supernatural by whether or not they could understand him. ]

And a Watch Dog is the rank of a junior apprentice in the Wise Dog Society.

[ Answers that spawned more questions, honestly. Junior apprentice? Wise Dog Society? He wasn't really sure what to make of all that. But then again, he was the half-breed heir of a demon lord, so maybe he didn't have much room to talk. When he sprung that story on people, they probably didn't know what to do with it either.

He's about to ask another question, or maybe crack a wry response, when up ahead at once of the houses, something catches his eye. It makes him pause, squinting through the fading light. He could've sworn he saw someone skulking around suspiciously at the window, dressed in all black. A burglar? ]

...Did you see that?

[ Now there's a line of questioning that would take aaaall night long. It doesn't come to be, however, because Ace freezes the second Terry pauses and makes that comment. He immediately turns his head to look the same way. Sharp sight cuts through the dark like nothing, along with all his other senses, but this is also a human neighborhood.

Was it unusual for humans to be out at all at this time? ]

I think so. Hang on.

[ He remains still save for putting his nose up in the air, taking in a deep breath. What's out there now? ]

[ From the sidewalk, with the light from the street lamps keeping the pavement bright, Terry can't make out the house in question very well through the surrounding darkness, even when he squints. But there's a rustle in the bushes that makes him suspicious that he didn't just imagine someone there. The lights in the house are all off though, its owners probably away on some trip or something.

Definitely worth investigating.

Even if he can't see this suspicious person, he can feel their slight anxiety about possibly getting caught. A bonus to his fear-sensing powers. But whoever they are, they're out of view now, having moved around to the other side of the house to break in through the patio door.

After a tense moment: ]

What do you think, Ace?

I think its human.

[ Which leads to some reluctance to go after them. Humans are easy to hurt, way too easy, but he can't really stand by and do nothing. ]

You should stay here. I'll go bark at them. That usually does the job.

[ And just like that, Ace will start to head towards the house without Terry, although his approach is a cautious one that would be easy to catch up with. ]

[ He probably should stay there. And he does, at first, lingering at the sidewalk as Ace heads off towards the unlit house. Still -- he can't help feeling a bit of a responsibility to follow. Ace is capable, he's sure of that, but he's the immortal one here, and at least he can try to lend a hand, right? Just in case.

Finally, he follows.

In the darkness, he squints, trying to get his eyes to readjust. ]

Ace?

Shh.

[ Ace doesn't give a reply beyond the shushing sound, pausing in his approach only briefly to give it. He's moving up on the corner of the house now, closing in on the patio. As soon as he's close enough, he all but throws himself around it and begins barking and barking. His barks are booming in an otherwise quiet and sleepy neighborhood, lots of short, sharp sounds following one another instead of anything long or howl-like. ]

[ He could feel it -- the burglar's fear -- the second after Ace's barking rang out. It hits him like a ton of bricks, sudden and harsh, throbbing in his temples. It makes him miss a step, half-stumbling as he falters on his way across the lawn. The man's fear of the canine in front of him is even louder in Terry's head than the actual sounds of Ace's barking.

He only vaguely registers the intruder running off. He doesn't even realize that he's sunk to his knees in the grass, pale and breathing a little hard. ]

[ And there he goes!

As soon as the burglar has cleared his line of sight (and it's a fairly long line of sight, at that), Ace whirls back about to return to the front lawn of the house, tail wagging and tongue lolled out. He's happy it worked out so well and-- ]

Terrance? [ But that hits a wall the second he spots Terry in the grass. ] Terry!

[ It only takes another second or two to close the space between them, the dog all but sticking his nose against his face as he tries to sort out what's wrong. Nothing smells wrong, not terribly so, so what...? ]

What happened? Are you hurt?

[ It isn't the strongest or the worst fear he's ever felt -- but this always hits him harder when he isn't expecting it. Whenever his control slips... Maybe he's been spoiled by this facade of normalcy. The college. Going to class and studying and coming home to something like family. He should've been more prepared.

But he wasn't. So there he is, kneeling in the lawn with his head still throbbing, even as he feels distance spread between his mind and the would-be burglar's. He exhales uncomfortably, like it hurts him. After a few moments, he finally manages to answer as his heartbeat steadies itself a little. ]

I'm fine. I'm okay. I just -- [ Terry rubs at his face. ] He was really afraid of you. My stupid powers... I felt it.

[ Ace can't do a whole lot to help. He can't help him up or go get him anything for, well, whatever it is he's feeling, so the best he can offer is to lean his side against Terry and hope it's some comfort. ]

Your powers do that? You knew how afraid he was?

[ It's honestly the most benign component of his powers -- the fact that he can sense those kinds of fears. It's the shapeshifting that's worrisome. The threat of that has passed, with their friend the burglar long gone, and that much, Terry can be grateful for.

He scrubs a hand over his face, trying to get his body to calm down. ]

Yeah. It's complicated. [ Finally, Terry glances over at Ace. He exhales a little unsteadily, but reaches over to pat Ace's flank, appreciative of the company despite how anti-social he generally seems. ] I'm -- my dad was. Kind of a fear demon. So. I got his shitty powers.

this dog can walk himself [open]

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