maskormenacelogs | 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

Oh.

[It isn't an unpleasant response, or even one of shock. Her eyes do momentarily widen. and she wonders why the hell a dog would be an imPort. Because he has to be an imPort.

Talking dogs are no different from running around with Loki. On a level of "could be strange," she swallows it pretty easily.]

Sorry about that.

It's okay. I don't think most people are used to actually getting an answer at all.

[ If anything, he finds it a little funny. ]

That's why they invented dog tags. [She doesn't think too much about it, though.]

I'm guessing speaking is a power you had back home, then. [Like a Disney movie, she thinks. But she's polite enough not to say it out loud.

He might know what she's referencing. Wouldn't that be embarrassing?]

[ Unfortunately, he'll have to correct her there, although animals suddenly gaining the ability to talk is movie fodder all the same! ]

Not really. It's the power this place gave me.

Oh ...

[She wonders, if Lucky showed up, if he'd have the ability to suddenly speak.

Does Kate Bishop want to know what her dog has to say?]

What's it been like adjusting to that?

[ He cants his head in thought for a few seconds, gaze wandering off to one side before returning to her again. ]

It's not really any different from talking to other dogs like back home, I guess. The hard part is figuring out if I'm supposed to act like more than just a dog now or not.

No, I think you should act like whatever feels right. So, I think that's just you. [In some ways, it's fascinating. She's always wanted to be able to talk to animals, and she always figured—thanks to Disney, of course—that it'd be different, that the animals would have a different approach to human characteristics if that was ever a real opportunity.]

[ Disney must have been onto something. Dogs talking like people, real people! Forming heroic bonds of friendship with other animals! Quests of epic proportions! And... and... Well, okay, okay, the heroic bonds part is a little iffy, but they're working on that one. ]

I do, but... [ How can he put this in a way that's understandable for a human? He's not sure. More importantly, he's not sure he should be discussing this all so easily. If he is breaking any laws by running around out here, it's better not to draw attention to them. ] What's your name? Mine's Ace.

[ Topic change works just as well. ]

[The topic change is something that Kate notes, but she doesn't make any remarks upon it. It's likely better not to do that if it's on purpose. It does, however, lead her to making a note about his cognizance of things.]

I'm Kate.

[ He's a good dog, that's all. Or he's trying to be. Good dogs don't break the rules, but here he is, out here, looking for trouble. No, he really can't figure out a way to get that through to other people yet. Other people who aren't dogs, anyway.

That she catches on to the topic change is a relief. ]

It's nice to meet you. Kind of a weird spot to run into a human, though, isn't it?

[ Y'know. Dark alleys and all. ]

I don't know. Most dogs wouldn't be caught here unless they had a reason, would they? [Scavenging is what comes to mind, but she notes that he wasn't doing that.] Personally, I was looking to see if I could stop some crime. These are a weird spot to run into someone for a reason, after all. Though I imagine it's happening less and less now that we're here ...

Should you be doing that? [ As if he wasn't! Even just a little. ] But I suppose you are right. No one but rats, cats, and raccoons really belong in alleys like this.

Me? No. [She'll admit as much. Being a vigilante (a literal vigilante in this world, not the way she's always thought of it) is agitating here, but she hasn't decided to stop yet.] But here I am anyway.

Should you be here?

I'm a dog. Does it matter? The only thing anyone's going to question about me is who my owner is and they're not exactly going to expect an answer.

[ And he probably wouldn't give one, depending on who does the asking. ]

Yeah, but who knows how good animal control is here. [It seems important to point out.] Though it's surprising that they'd go to a dog to have play hero. Seems like something they'd generally avoid. You're lucky you get the freedom you have. [It's not even that she wants anything different for him, but Kate is surprised.

Animals do value different things, after all.]

Not good enough.

[ To catch him, anyway. ]

Why is it surprising they'd go to a dog for that? Dogs can be pretty heroic, you know.

Oh, I'm sure they can be, but it's still outside the realm that we're used to. [That she's used to, admittedly, but Kate isn't going to clarify on that exact point.]

Suppose that's true, although I'm fine with that. It's probably better they don't get used to it even if dogs end up doing heroic things, anyhow.

[ Primarily him. He's not sure there are any other talking animals around yet. ]

Yeah, there might be high expectations. Or lonely guys will want to start having their dogs around the porter, just to see if they end up with talking as an ability like you.

[She says it mostly as a joke, but after saying it, she realizes how likely it is that something like that might actually end up happening.]

this dog can walk himself [open]

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