[OPEN] unexpected finds

[marmoron]

Who: Keith & YOU!
What: Various shenanigans involving a space doggo
Where: All over Daybreak
When: Early June
Warnings: None expected!


A. On a mountain trail
[If anyone's feeling particularly adventurous and out exploring the mountain terrain, they may or may not come across a clearing that's smoldering a little. Thankfully the fire's under control and there's just what looks like it might've been a large exoskeleton still sending up smoke.

However, that is all besides the point. A puppy sized good boy is found tentatively approaching Keith who is holding out his hand towards it.

It's clearly some kind of Outland creature, and seeing as this one doesn't seem hostile, it means diplomatic attempts must be made. Witness the mastery. Or you know. Help.]

Bon...jour?

[For the record, Keith's French accent is atrocious.]

B. Around Dorms
[Well, now that he's decided he's keeping the doggo, it's time to very stealthily sneak him into his dorm room. And when I say "very sneakily" I mean, he's shoved the space woof under his shirt and is furtively trying to get to his room while pretending there is no wriggling lump under his shirt.

It's honestly not at all suspicious. Especially not suspicious when he just kinda goes super tense if anyone approaches and leans forward like he's got a stomachache.]

Uh, hi.

C. Marketplace
[In the afternoons after class, Keith's heading towards the marketplace on campus groun with the pupper in tow. He's spending a lot of time by, wouldn't you guess it, the weapons dealer stall, eyeing several daggers and knives with various runic inscriptions. Heavily preoccupied, he probably won't notice if someone's sly about approaching, but they'll hear him mutter under his breath:]

None of these match.

D. WILDCARD!
[Come at me!]

Comments

B

[onebetter]

[ Things in the dorm room had been going really smoothly lately, and James is relaxing again after the whole werewolf confession business. Keith is still Keith and better yet, Keith and he are getting along.

So when he finds Keith on the way to their room, looking.... extremely suspicious, that's a bit of a bummer. ]

Keith....? What's with your shirt?

[marmoron]

[He knew he'd be running into James sooner or later, he was just hoping it'd be later. You know. When the pupper is nicely settled into their room and has staked his place there just as much as either of them have. As it stands... well, he does kind of a half attempt to stand up straighter while trying to keep the space woof from falling out the bottom of his shirt, which more or less looks like one of his normal /ARM FOLD postures, but like he ended up in that position after a tiny seizure. It's going great.]

Nothing!

[The lump continues to wriggle.]

[onebetter]

[ There's a long moment of silence as James looks Keith over and over, from the posture to the unnatural bulging, to the wiggles. Yeah. Nothing. Right.

He should be alarmed, really, and to a degree he is, but the complete lack of knowing what to expect is causing minor difficulty. ]

If you turn out to also secretly be a tentacle monster, I am changing rooms.

[ Nobody else is in the hallway right now, so he can make this joke, never taking an eye off the wriggling. ]

[marmoron]

[Well congrats, James. That at least gets him to snap more like his usual self.]

The hell? [EYES DARTING AROUND THE HALL TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE ACTUALLY ALONE. Then hissed:] Why would I be a tentacle monster?!

[WHY IS THAT THE FIRST PLACE YOUR MIND GOES, JAMES GRIFFIN!!

Then as paws scrabble around his bare stomach, which is ticklish as all fuck, Keith himself does a wriggling maneuver and starts bolting towards their actual room.]

[onebetter]

[ James is immediately dashing after. ]

Something on your stomach is wriggling and it better not be part of you! That's all I'm saying!

A - If you like, Reira has an Empathy Opt-In available!

[soft_focus]

[[OOC - Here!]]

[Reira isn't entirely adventurous. More...unable to especially gauge what is or isn't considered 'standard area of living'. A dorm is standard. Even the campus is standard.

The trail not so much, but since she's seen plenty of other students come out this way, the little 9 year old has decided that it means she's plenty allowed as well. That's how it Works.

She doesn't go very far, but when the smell of smoke comes into the air Reira can't help but follow. If it's truly dangerous, one of the sprites will get her away. It's fine.

Things...Seeeeeem safe anyway...]

....H'llo.

[That was English.]

[marmoron]

[Picking up on a new scent, it's the wolf pup that tenses first, looking hesitantly towards Reira's direction. Keith follows suit a moment later, looking a little surprised that a little kid came out this way. He's quickly abandoning the French cuz man he is not good at it.]

Hey. Are you lost?

[soft_focus]

[Reira isn't good at French either. Actually she knows Zero French.

Technically she isn't actually great at English either. She sounds betrayingly fluent despite speaking Russian as her first language.

The girl shakes her head, blinking slowly.] ...No, I just smelled smoke. [She pauses, and looks to the pup.] ...Maybe he is? He seems upset... [she tries, sounding rather unsure of her own words. It's hard to describe the sort of wary desire for companionship that comes alongside being chased away from things, but 'upset' is probably the best blanket for whatever is coming off that wolf-thing.]

...Were you lost? [She asks, as if being lost himself would have been the reason to ask her.]

[marmoron]

[High five for people living in France who can't be bothered with the language...??

His attention slides back to the doggo as she indicates him, brow furrowing slightly. It doesn't occur to him right away that there's something a little amiss about her observations there because the attacking insectoid Outlader that he may or may not have set on fire is still so present in his thoughts that he can only think: of course, the pup is upset without necessarily stopping to hit pause for further reflection.

In the end, hearing his original question reflected straight back at him is what gets him to glance back over his shoulder at her.]

Huh? No, I came out this way cuz I heard something. [Pointing at the charred exoskeleton that's still sending up some smoke.] Turns out that was chasing him. I don't think he's hurt, but.... [A beat.] Or she. I guess.

[He holds out his hand again for the pupper who continues to watch the pair of them a little cautiously.] ... We're not gonna hurt you.

a

[stavros]

Do dogs speak human languages? I would think feeding it would work better... probably.

[marmoron]

[Cue the most incredulous stare, like Kokoro's just suggested something completely outlandish.]

Well, no, but this one clearly isn't an ordinary dog. See?

[...Just gesturing towards the wolf pup which tilts his head inquisitively at the new arrival.]

It came from the Outlands. You never know what magical creatures from the OUtlands are capable of.

[stavros]

This is true... But in that case, are you certain it's safe? [She looks at the dog warily, cute or not.]

[marmoron]

["Is it safe?" What a reasonable question..... that Keith hasn't considered in depth.]

No idea. But it was running away from whatever that [Pointing at that burnt exoskeleton husk.] was.

[AND BECAUSE THIS IS OBVIOUSLY GOING TO YIELD SOME KIND OF ANSWER, he turns his attention back to the pupper and asks:]

You're alright, aren't you?

C

[descolation]

[Desco isn't exactly sly. However, she usually prefers to float places rather than walk, so at the very least, Keith won't be hearing her approach.]

None of these match what? Are you looking for something to match a cool suit of armor?

[marmoron]

[Considering his roommate's hovering abilities, he should really be a lot more used to being approached in this fashion than he actually is. He almost drops the knife he was holding, whirling around to face a floating Desco. The wolf pupper merely watches this in sagely silence.]

No! [That's blurted, but more out of surprise than actual irritation.] I... who are you again?

[descolation]

[Keith's field of vision is greeted by one very small girl who looks more than a little daemonic. At his question, she smiles, striking a pose with her arms raised up at her sides, her hands bent outward, and her back straightened.]

I am...Desco!

[Her posture than slouches a bit as her hands fall lazily to her sides.]

Who're you?

[marmoron]

[Okay.

Okay. Keith's going to stare for a moment longer before answering the question because that's... a lot. Her appearance doesn't bug him, but the Cool Pose (tm) is a lot. Hard not to feel like he's talking to a mascot or something.]

I'm Keith. [Then in afterthought, he gestures at the wolf pup.] This is Cosmo. You always just sneak up on people like that?

C/D

[ahew_kha]

[With the whole announcement of this "prom" thing, she'd at least understood that she needed to find something actually presentable to wear if she wanted to check it out. Which, of course, she absolutely wanted to. No one question where her and money are connected, but either way she'd been merely looking around the marketplace properly until she's pausing as she pauses a familiar sight.

Well, isn't that convenient.]

Keith?

[marmoron]

[Keith looks in her direction when his name is called. After spotting her, he'll just put the knife he was holding back down on the display.]

Oh hey, Kisara. Were you looking to buy something?

[And don't mind the pupper taking a few steps closer to sniff and say hello.]

[ahew_kha]

[Why is he looking at knives? Whatever, she's not going to question it for the time being. No reason to, after all, as it's none of her business.]

Ah, well, someone had said something about a formal event and I... thought I should find something for it. [Since she doesn't really have anything to wear, is the unspoken part of those sentences.

Her attention is shifting to the pup for a moment, not... sure really what to do here other than quietly offer her hand to see what happens.]

Who's this?

[marmoron]

Oh. Right. Prom.

[Oh god why does everyone have prom fever? He's very quick and happy to turn his attention down to the space woof who seems to be slightly puzzled by Kisara's extended hand, though he isn't backing away. In fact, he seems to also be wondering what Kisara's next move will be.]

Ah, I found him while I was out. He was being chased by some weird insect looking Outlanders. Figured I'd take him in. He hasn't told me what his name is yet, but until he can tell me himself guess my roommate nicknamed him Cosmo.

[...there may be a bit to unpack there.]

[vengeancedivine]

[One would think that a shop owner would keep normal working hours during the day and not be roaming around the campus in the middle of the afternoon... But that's not really how D runs his business. The young Chinese man is dressed in a rather elaborate changshan and carries a small tote bag in hand, some food items peeking out of the opening. His attention eventually falls on the dog at first, but then moves to it's apparent owner after a few moments--and gradually he walks up beside him to look over the wares as well.]

What are you looking to match?

[marmoron]

[The wolf pup notices the stranger first and stares up at him with glowing eyes. The staring doesn't stop even after he's moved on to speak to Keith -- the puppy is clearly a little on the cautious side.

Keith meanwhile, has what's advertised as a dagger that's been enhanced with runes to be able to cut through anything, in hand which he puts down when spoken to. The guy's familiar from somewhere in Soleil, he thinks, but isn't able to place him just yet as he's not had any reason to be inside the pet store. He was planning on heading there later, though, so that's something of a coincidence.]

A stone. Trying to identify a particular bladesmith. [A shrug.] Not important.

[vengeancedivine]

[The pup receives only a warm smile from D. The cautiousness is to be expected, but given his familiarity with the Outlands and its many denizens, he doesn't seem at all bothered by the staring. He's quite comfortable with being observed.]

[D offers a hand out, palm up. He's also mindful not to make any sudden movements for the pup's sake.]

Would you mind if I took a look?

[marmoron]

[The wolf pup tentatively sniffs at the outstretched hand, then looks up at Keith.]

Go ahead.

[He nods. Evidently, that's meant for the both of them. Cosmo takes a few steps closer, clearly wondering if there are ear skritches incoming.]

.....Careful. He's a little drooly. If that kind of thing bothers you.