undergrounds | The boy is back in town

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The boy is back in town

[A]
After years of imprisonment, freedom is amazing.

Even now, even though it's been a few days, he still can't get over the feeling of being back in the world. Being around people and breathing fresh air (as fresh as a city can manage anyway). Sirius trots along the street and back alleys, keeping up the act as a stray dog and generally trying not to be noticed. He'd forgotten how easy it was.

However, his ability to enjoy himself is currently at war with the realization that he's pretty vulnerable. It's been twelve years and he really has no information about what the city is like. He has no idea if he has any friends left, or if there's anyone in this city who would be willing to help him. He needs allies, he needs information, he needs clothes.

Food should probably be added to that list now. Sirius can't recall the last time he ate a decent meal. (not counting the garbage can he raided out of desperation).

For now though, he needs rest. He's been on the run constantly and all of that energy has finally caught up with him. He collapses under a tree in a park, and from a distance, it might look like he's dead.

[B]

Information and allies will likely have to wait for a bit until Sirius can reorient himself in the city. Clothes and food, however, are slightly more accessible. Thankfully someone's got their laundry out on the line, and he can smell a few things from a garbage that he would be able to stomach. Desperate times call for desperate measures that he's actually thinking of doing that a second time.

[ooc: Sirius can be caught doing either in Option B]

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Heiji knelt down under the shade, shouldering his bag and peering over at the collapsed dog. Dog, not wolf... for once.

"Hey, you keep lyin' around here and someone's gonna call animal control on you." Case in point: a middle-aged woman looking suspiciously at him as she walked her Pomeranian on past. Heiji waved cheerily at her -- nothing to see here.

"There's a better one a few blocks over."

Wanda offers the advice as she sees the man looking into the bin. It's quiet, simple, and she keeps her distance. Just in case. Nonetheless, it's true.

"Bakery. They throw out the stale bread every night. Pile all the pieces on top of each other."

Because, well, stale bread wasn't bad compared to not eating. It was certainly not the worst source of bin food. Which she was accustomed enough to eating.

Her accent marks her as a foreigner easily, which might explain why she has no recognition of who this man is or what he's accused of having done. Instead, she just sees someone like her -- alone and on the street.

Abigail enjoys her walks. Of course, they require her to be especially vigilant, as all manner of things can occur on her rounds about London. She's usually pretty safe. Today's no different, and she's enjoying a bottle of water (tucked into the messenger back over her shoulder) and the remains of a carry-out bowl of salad. Lunch on the go because she hadn't wanted to stop and sit down.

When she sees the dog with no owner in sight, she doesn't get too close. Approaching a strange animal? Good way to get bitten. And that is something she'd like to avoid. Still, she takes another bite of her salad before emptying the few mouthfuls left onto the grass and setting down the bowl. Then, she pours half of the remaining water into the bowl that had salad in it.

Then, she continues on her walk.

Sirius opens his eyes slightly. He hadn't really been expected anyone to approach him but his eyes open wider at as she finishes her salad and gives him some water. His tail beats the ground happily in response and he pulls himself into an upright position to start drinking.

It's messy and most of the water is gone within seconds but it's enough for him. And he's lost enough of his dignity that he quickly gobbles down what was left of the salad as well. Not that it tastes very good to him in this form but he really doesn't have room to complain.

He's about to lie down again when he reconsiders, instead picking up the bowl gently and following the woman. It's not exactly dog behaviour but it's also the right thing to do.

Having managed to achieve clothes, Sirius had been reluctant to switch back to his animal form. It's nice wearing proper clothes, especially freshly laundered ones. Granted it doesn't fit the best, but he'll manage, especially since he's managed to find a jacket with a hood. The more he can keep his face hidden, the better.

Still, human form is dangerous in the event someone recognizes him, so he sticks to back alleys, casually looking in garbage bins for something that might resemble edible food. He doesn't really expect to be spoken to.

It's a useful piece of information though.

"Thanks," he replies with a nod and his voice sounds foreign to him. It has been a long time since he's spoken with anyone.

Sirius opens an eye curiously, glancing at Heiji. He sighs loudly, almost in response. It's not like he's doing anything or causing trouble.

There is a point and Sirius supposes he'll have to find a new place to lie down for a bit. He's never really going to get the chance to relax, is he? He sits up and yawns.

"You're lookin' a little skinny there, pup. But don't get up so fast..." He opened his bag, dug out the hot dog he'd be saving for later. He'd made a point of dropping in on that one vendor every now and then. Just a bit of thanks for helping him and Stiles out of a tough spot.

Heiji unwrapped it and held it out in offering. "You like sauerkraut?" Because he'd asked for some. He liked the taste; just a little bit of a tang with the savoriness of the meat itself.

It takes Abby a few moments to realise that, no, there is a dog following her. With the bowl in its mouth. She looks back, stops, and stares for a few moments before smiling wide.

"Still thirsty? Okay, okay." She isn't sure exactly how dog commands work, but she tries. She holds her hand out, palm facing the dog, then lowers it. "Put it down and I'll give you more water."

It's no hardship to her to have to buy another bottle if she needs more after this one's gone.

Wanda considers him for a minute before she shrugs a little. It's not her place to bother anyone, but she knows this life. It's one she's lived off and on since she was ten, and she's been living it since she arrived in London. She doesn't recognise him which might mean he needs to know what she's learned.

"New in town?" she asks, still keeping her distance. He seems to want her close about as much as she wants other people close.

Oh no. While she disagrees with Mr. Tuppen and his opinions at times, especially his thoughts on music, she doesn't think he deserves to have his laundry taken away from.

What can she do though? The man seems quite absorbed in taking the clothes and she doesn't think she can attempt with how she can't interact with solid objects all that well. Especially when so far from her anchor. So the most she can do is move closer and peer behind a bedsheet that was also hung up, watching the man with a puzzled frown on her face.

"Ohhh. That's not a good idea," she observes, a little worried. "Those are his nice button up shirts too. He's going to give hell to the poor Neighbourhood Watchers for this."

Stealing clothes was proving to be a lot easier than he'd thought, though at the same he was being pretty careful. He didn't steal more than one item per line, and tried his best to space things out so it didn't look too suspicious. A pair of underwear from one, pants from another, socks and shoes were likely to be a tad difficult, but he'd manage. A shirt and something to cover his face were all that were left.

He'd been hoping for a t-shirt or something similar, but those seemed to be in short supply on this line so he'd have to settle on the nicer one. He looks around making sure that no is around before moving in to take the shirt. At least until he gets the feeling that he's being watched. He'd completely forgotten about ghosts.

"I'm only taking one," he replies, his tone a little desperate. "Will he really notice?"

Sirius leans forward to sniff at the offered food, his mouth watering and he licked his chops, trying to avoid drooling. How embarrassing would that be.

Quite frankly he doesn't care what was on the hot dog, it was meat and he wanted it. He leans forward to take the hot dog gently, before it's devoured in a few bites. He's tempted to try begging for more but the flavors catch up with him and he starts coughing.

Sirius wags his tail enthusiastically, setting the bowl down and nudging it with his nose. He gives a small "wuff" as if in thanks and sits, his tail still wagging eagerly. He seems to be smiling as he watches her.

"Aren't you adorable?" Abby asks, reaching out to scratch behind the dog's ear, grinning wide.

Then, she reaches into her bag and pulls out her water bottle. She then pours out the rest of it into the bowl.

"There you go, boy."

Sirius is fine keeping his distance. He's not here to cause trouble, but at the same time, he doesn't need anyone noticing him and drawing the attention of the wrong people. He replaced the lid on the garbage can he was looking through and considers the question.

"Something like that," he says. It's probably closest to the truth. Though a native, it has been a while since he's been in town. "I'm assuming it's the same for you?"

"Yeah. Been here a little while." She shrugs a little and then glances around. Then, she nods toward the street to the north.

"There's a bridge up there. Don't sleep under it. Police like to check there a lot. It's better to sleep on roofs."

"Whoa, you okay there?" He probably should have considered that Sirius might gobble his food up like that... after all, he did seem quite hungry. Still, no real harm done. He rished about for his thermos, opened up the top, and tilted it so that it was more at Sirius's level.

"This is all I got, unless there's a dog fountain around here."

First a teenager stuck in the storm drain, now a grown man scouring the dumpsters. There's a very long moment here that could be spent hating one's own life choices, because who in their right mind picks an apartment with such shady dumbasses loitering about.

But it's cheap, so this actually a completely acceptable scenario and there is no judging the garbage diver for his life choices. Except that he's in the way, but whatever. "You might be better off trying at night. Less people to catch you in the act,"

And less people to call the cops on him.

And here Sirius thought he was being careful.

Normally he'd be doing this as a dog, since it's much less suspicious, but he had just procured clothing and didn't want to go through that hassle again. At least, not until he'd found a safe space to camp out.

And while he didn't deny the point, the problem was he was hungry now.

Sirius shrugs.

"It's not like there was anything interesting in it anyway."

Or edible.

Sirius drinks eagerly, before pulling away and managing something that could be defined as a nod. He just ate too fast, nothing to worry about. His tail ways a little to show that he's okay.

Not that more water wouldn't be a bad thing.

"I'll remember that." He hadn't really thought about sleeping, having been so focused on everything else. And roofs hadn't occurred to him either, although he preferred having both feet on the ground.

"You just climb up, then?"

Unfortunately, Heiji could hardly read doggie minds. Maybe if Sirius panted a bit or something...?

But he looked better, and after a moment, Heiji hesitantly reached a hand out to try petting Sirius. Maybe it was a bit weird, but after all --

"Dogs don't like me that much, usually. But you don't seem so bad."

Sirius hasn't been called adorable in years, and even then it was used rarely. He smiles, vaguely hoping it looks like a dog smile before turning his attention to the water, his tail wagging happily. It's hard to tell how much water actually ends up in his mouth.

When Cooper first sees the dog, he's sure it's dead. It's just lying there under a tree instead of running around or sniffing things or peeing on bushes or any of the other one hundred things normal dogs do. The few people in the park are giving the giant carcass a wide berth. If it's dead, they want no part of it, and if it's alive, there's no way they want to approach a dog of that size.

Cooper has no such reservations. Unless this thing has teeth made of silver or wood, there's no way it's going to hurt him. He boldly walks up to it and examines it from less than a foot away. Nope, it's still alive. He can see its chest slowly moving up and down. "Poor feller. You must've come quite a ways."

First there's surprise on her features, spooked a bit he noticed her as evident by the sudden coolness around them when her surprise gets the best of her.

Then she calms down and soon feels awful for how much the man here needs it more. What he says is true: It isn't like there's a short supply of clothes the man has with how much of a horse he is for them. She almost wants to nod and look the other way but--

"Unfortunately, he would," she explains, looking ashamed of herself for needing to say this but she needs to tell him. So the man doesn't get into trouble later on. "Mr. Tuppen is the type who gets angry if kids play too near his home and calls the cops if the dog next door barks just once at night. He'll make a big fuss about it and force the poor watch to go looking around for any clues. So if you're resting here it could spell nothing but a headache for you."

There is a meaningful pause on her end. "... Though I do know he won't miss the shirts his children give him every birthday. They're in the laundry basket inside his house. Do you see the window to his kitchen? That's where it is. If you want... I could try and get you that if you can wait a bit. No one's here at the moment thanks to a block party."

Stealing is wrong but Clara likes to think it's for a good cause here. That and it's not like Mr. Tuppen will notice the disappearance of a shirt or two of something he loathes.

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The boy is back in town

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