[ota]

[ghoulaid]

1. PEST CONTROL (random street encounters/OPEN)
The day is nicer than Ghoul expected. A little cloudy, but not as bitterly cold or ice-hazardous as he assumed London would be. Still, he's bundled up in at least a couple layers of clothes because, frankly, fuck anything below 60 degrees. He looks a little comical, plodding along the sidewalk in his ridiculous puffy coat, a scarf devouring half his face, and a small dog prancing around his heels.

Wait, what the fuck.

Ghoul's partway down the block before he realizes he has company. It's a tiny, ugly thing in a fucking sweater that yaps whenever he stops to look at it, and it won't go away. No matter what shooing and direction-changing techniques he uses against it, it's still right there, lunging after him with its yipping and bouncing gradually increasing in intensity. He normally doesn't have this not-listening issue with dogs, being a werewolf and all. He's like the king of dogs, okay, but this little bastard has balls of steel beneath that lavender argyle. And that just won't do.

He backtracks, confronting anyone who may be even be remotely responsible for the animal- people sitting outside cafes, lingering in a group somewhere, on a bench, waiting for a crosswalk signal. Everyone in the area will, eventually, have him storm up and ask, "Is this yours?" while pointing at the pastel abomination below.



2. THIS IS MINE NOW (coffee shop/OPEN)
Ghoul had specifically waited for evening to roll around before hitting up this little coffee place, hoping to avoid a rush. Fail on that count. From what he can gather, 5PM is a great time to huddle around in shops and wait for traffic to fuck off.

He sees the logic in it now, but that doesn't mean he appreciates it. Not when he's stuck in a small crowd of too-close bodies clumped around the pickup area and waiting for his order to be called. There are a few names shouted in rapid succession soon enough, including the fake one he'd given the cashier. In his haste to get out of there, he grabs a cup from the almost entirely identical line of them, then makes off with it without a second glance.

It's not his order after all, but whatever. He'll figure that out at some point.



[ or pm/pp/throw your own starter at me! ]

Comments

[injectablefame]

Party, looking like his best impression of a raggedy black and red scarecrow, is hardly the sort to be asked if he has a cute little dog in a sweater, but he does happen to be walking by as a cute and well-dressed young woman tells Ghoul that it isn't hers.

He almost keeps walking, but then he notices the sweater. That poor dog.

"Where did you find that thing?" Which is nicer than his first several thoughts about the situation.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul gives the girl a polite but tense smile after she denies ownership. He's halfway through turning away to pester the next stranger when a voice catches his attention, and- oh. Weird homeless guy.

The dog's noticed Party's presence too. As soon as the first syllable of a reply comes out of Ghoul's mouth, it throws its head back and lets loose a dramatic, squeaky howl. Ghoul simply snaps his jaw shut again, staring at Party with the blank, dead-eyed gaze of someone who has no more fucks left to give. He waits until the thing finishes voicing its opinions on werewolves, or whatever the hell it's doing, before he tries again.

"I dunno, I was mindin' my own business. It came after me." He's totally making it sound like this is all the dog's fault. Because it is.

[injectablefame]

"What, it's just your friend now?" Party laughs. "Maybe you can borrow its sweater."

There's some serious disdain on his face, mostly for the dog, but how Ghoul wants to interpret that is up to him. Party's hardly worried about his little feelings.

"Surprised that's the only friend you've attracted 'round here."

[ghoulaid]

"Maybe I fuckin' can. I can make purple work." The way Ghoul turns his attention away from Party is rather frosty. That's how it's gonna be, huh.

Well, that's fine. At this point, Ghoul figures Party's presence is like an unsolicited dick pic. Annoying but harmless, and best dealt with either by ignoring it, boredly dismissing it, or making fun of it.

So many choices.

He shrugs after a few seconds of silence. "It's got good taste. You got somethin' of value to bring to the table here, or am I gonna have to talk my new friend in to fightin' you?" As if making good on that threat, he brings his leg around and uses it to gently nudge the dog closer to Party.

1

[constantprisoner]

"Dear lord -- I mean, no, it's not my dog."

He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen a sweater that horrid, outside of a plaid nightmare his friends had tried to force him into one drunken evening.

"I'm assuming it's not yours, either? Though I can understand why you're trying to get rid of it."

[ghoulaid]

"Fuck." The word's out of his mouth before he can stop it.

Cut him some slack, this is like the millionth time he's been shot down.

"Yeah, no, it ain't mine." With a sigh, he looks down at the animal- now sniffing curiously around Sirius' legs. Good. Maybe it'll decide it likes him better. Couldn't hurt to help things along, though... He glances back up at the guy with an encouraging expression. "Aw, look, it wants to stay with you. You should take it. You look like a dog person." Hah.

[constantprisoner]

Sirius sighs. While he was generally fond of the form that he shifted into, he had to admit that there were some drawbacks.

"While, I admit, you would not be wrong in that assumption, it barely qualifies as a dog really, so it really wouldn't be a good fit."

1

[catphishing]

If Oliver did own a dog... he would probably dress it up, and he would definitely have a small one. It would be better trained than to yap like that though, and he wouldn't be standing calmly waiting for the crosswalk to change so he could get across the road while it was missing.

So it's okay for him to sound offended.

"Does it look like my dog?"

It's yapping at him as much as anyone else.

[ghoulaid]

Most folks have been... passably polite up to this point. Something about this guy's tone, though, immediately has Ghoul's hackles raised.

His face twists in to something annoyed, his arms spreading out in a questioning manner. "I dunno, pal. I don't know your fuckin' life, do I?" Ghoul's hands plant somewhere at his waist and he looks the man up and down with obvious contempt, like he's sizing him up and isn't particularly impressed with what he sees. "You think you're too good to have a little purse dog or some shit?"

A moment after he says it, he realizes how ridiculous it sounds- but it's too late to show weakness, so he just narrows his eyes. Christ. Getting offended on behalf of a dog he doesn't even like. Man, if that's not rock bottom...

[catphishing]

"No..."

He'd been sharp, but he's still taken aback by how defensive he is of the little dog. Who is still yapping, showing no signs of stopping any time soon.

"He obviously hates me, and even if I did have a missing dog, don't you think I'd be a little more worried?"

2

[emotioneater]

Cooper is in danger of being squashed into a nice teenage vampire shaped pancake with all the bodies pressed inside the coffee shop. He's up against a wall, phone pressed to his ear as he's deep in a conversation with one of the vampires of the nest. "Diego, you need to get up off your arse and help. Or don't. But remember who it is you might be turning down here. I'm not gonna forget this if I become the representative."

He was so busy with his conversation he didn't even notice the drink switch until he took a sip that was far too sweet. He looks around and spots Ghoul making his way towards the door. "Oi! Hold up there!" He struggles to make his way through the crowd before Ghoul can take off with his tea.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul's got one foot out the door when the scrambling and hollering finally draws his attention. He shoots an odd look over his shoulder as he steps all the way out of the shop then off to the side, pulling the door along with him and awkwardly holding it open. All he can think is that maybe the kid wants the door held for him, for whatever reason. Sprained wrist? Germaphobe? Who knows.

Whatever. If that's what Princess wants, then fine. Ghoul can be helpful sometimes.

[emotioneater]

Cooper trots up to Ghoul, holding out the cup he'd taken. He's got a thick Irish accent as he speaks up over the hum of the crowd. "Think the orders got mixed up back there."

Then the scent hits him. A werewolf, one that Cooper has never seen before. He wonders if he's part of the East End Pack. Unlike most vampires, Cooper has never held any great grudge against the wolves. They don't bother him and he returns the favor. Besides, with his hot temper, he's sometimes got more of a werewolf's temperament than a vampire.

so you need more people to harass with a dog right

[falsify]

If there's a person who could look less like they'd be the owner of that dog around here, Eames can't see them. And he likes to think that if he was going to put his dog in a jumper, it'd be nicer than that. Or at least hideous in the right way. That poor dog is suffering.

The absurdity of it is enough that Eames has to pause at the question, (or the demand for an answer, rather,) obviously thrown for a moment before he shakes his head and raises an eyebrow with an emphatic, "no, it's not," glancing from this surly kid (young man, whatever) to the dog.

If anything he seems more sympathetic to the dog's plight here, getting down on a knee and making a gentle shushing noise as he pulls a glove off and coaxes it to him, lavishing the little thing with affection now it's shut up for a second.

"Where'd you find it?"

absolutely!! everyone needs to know that the dogstruggle is real

[ghoulaid]

Huh. Way to make it look easy.

The sudden peace and quiet is a bit of a system shock. He stares dumbly at the two for a bit, nearly jumping when he realizes he's left a question unanswered. "It started followin' me while I was up the road." Just came out of nowhere, apparently.

He tucks his hands away in the pockets of his coat after giving his scarf a tug upwards. It ends up covering most of his mouth, which likely only makes him look even smaller. "You supposed to be some kinda dog whisperer or something?"

[falsify]

"I know a few tricks," he says absently, a little minor mind control, no big deal. He's more focused on tilting the dog's head up and pulling at the collar of its jumper to look for any tags. Fancy thing like this probably has an ID chip, but Eames doesn't exactly feel like finding a vet that's open to go see.

It is loving the petting it's getting right now, but its eyes are firmly fixed on Ghoul. Almost like it wants him to get in on this action or something. "Must be attracted to your fluffy undercoat."

[roddy_reinigen]

Roddy jumped a little when he heard the yipping right behind him, followed by a guy asking if it was his. Roddy turned to look at him and the dog...was that dog wearing a lavender shirt? He shook his head.

"Uh...no, sorry. Not my dog. I'm really more of a rodent guy." He looked at the dog for a few seconds more. "At least if someone starts asking around for it, it shouldn't be too long before someone notices it and points you in the right direction. Can't be too many dogs in purple shirts."

[ghoulaid]

He's got a point, at least. How many dogs could possibly be wearing purple today?

Ghoul sighs out a, "Yeah..." and takes a moment to stare down at the dog as well. After he fixes his gaze back on Roddy's face, he arches a brow. "Y'know, technically, it's almost the size of a rodent. Kinda sounds like one too sometimes." Because that's a compelling argument.

[roddy_reinigen]

"Rodents aren't usually that loud. Or willing to fight something way bigger than themselves."

Because that little dog looked like he was ready to fight Roddy to the death.

"Even if I have seen bigger rats than that."

A slight exaggeration, but it was a tiny dog.

1 because daryl is soooo into pastels

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl had been watching the guy walk down the street, stopping people every so often to point to the dog and ask a question. He was leaning against a wall next to one of the sandwich shops munching on his lunch, dressed in his mechanic coveralls which were smeared with oil stains. His lanky hair falling in his face. He looked nothing like the dog in any way shape or form, pastels the furthest thing from him and ratty dogs as equally low on his list.

Mostly he was watching the guy because of the scent. Werewolves weren't common to Richmond just for casual strolls. Last one that had come around was the painter. He didn't exactly mind them, but he did get annoyed at how both of them seemed to be into ignoring his scent markers. It weren't polite.

When the kid got to him and asked about the dog, Daryl started at him, eyes rolling down and back up. From his face to the dog and back to his face.

"No."

pastels really bring out the wd-40 on his face

[ghoulaid]

Okay, maybe he did notice the smell of cat around the area earlier. He'd have been happy to stick to the outer edge of whoever-the-fuck's territory, but after so long with no bites, Ghoul had no choice but to cast a wider net. That meant crossing over in to the Forbidden Zone.

But they'd understand, right? He's clearly on a mission, and it's not like he's planning on staying or anything. He's even trying to make quick work of it, running completely on autopilot. It's not until after some guy in dirty coveralls answers him that it finally hits. He comes out of his daze with a slight startle, taking a half-step backwards and cringing. "Oh, god, it's you." The overwhelming cat stink don't lie.

Awwwkward. "So, uh..." This must be how burglars feel when the homeowners walk in mid-robbery.

sorry for the radio silence, life happened

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl grunted. The big bite he took of his sandwich helped hide the upward tug of his lips. Pleased at how obviously the kid recognized his scent. Meant he wasn't outright ignoring it. Better response than the painter.

"Little pisser there," he said, mouth still full as he chewed, "smells like he should be at the perfume shop four blocks north. Everything there's covered in the same stink."

He leaned forward and gave the kid a sniff, "Don't got any on you, though. Wonder how you got that lucky."

1

[knowntohisfriends]

"... You alright there, mate?"

The Dodger seems to sound amused by what he's seeing. It is kind of hilarious from his eyesight but at the sametime, it ain't right for someone to be gettin' menaced by an animal. An' it also ain't right for a poor dog to be stuck in that ugly a jumper. He kneels down, holding his hand out in a beckoning gesture to the mutt. Maybe if they got rid of the monstrosity, it wouldn't be too bad.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul spins around to face the source of the voice, offering the kid a halfhearted smile in the name of good manners. "Fuckin' peachy."

The dog is, of course, right on his heels, but he makes an effort to shoo it towards the offered hand. It needs to go bug somebody else for a while. Words of warning wouldn't be a bad idea, though. "Be careful. It ain't mine, and I'm not gonna listen to your mom lose her shit at me if you get bit."

[knowntohisfriends]

Listen to his Mum? The Dodger gives a very audible snort at this.

"Well, that'd be amazin' if you did, seein' as how I ain't never met the lady," he informs the guy, shaking his head in amusement. "I think this poor bugger," he nods his head at the dog, "just wants out of that thing and I don't blame him. Ugly excuse for clothing."