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[gavin62truck]

Oh god, here we go again. The entire bar looks as if an army of toddlers has overturned their toyboxes, and there's a vidscreen at the bar that's asking Tommy if he wants to reconfigure.

(He'll have a sandwich and a cup of coffee first before he does anything, though.)

These are his choices:



Been there, done that. Sure, it was cool, but why waste another Cubefall on something he's already tried?



NO. JUST NO. NEXT.



...Ah. Hmm. This could be interesting.

And then suddenly--




"Rurrf?"




--there's a very large Irish wolfhound in the bar.

Its rough, shaggy coat is an uneven mix of gray and white and light brown, even a little blond around the eyes, which are an uncharacteristic blue for its breed. It stands a little over three feet tall at the shoulder, its floppy ears pinned back and its long, whip-like tail held low with uncertainty.

Because Tommy's got four legs now, and he's not sure how to use them yet.

It would probably be a good idea for a dog of this size to be outside, because he could be prone to knocking over tables and chairs. And people. Unless you find that sort of thing hilarious.

Plus there are waitrats. He might eat them. (He wouldn't, really, but you never know what instincts might kick in.)

Comments

[g00d_d0ggie]

The gangly black dog lumbering up to meet Tommy might be even bigger.

Hello, unknown nonhuman entity, he says (in Canine, naturally).

[gavin62truck]

Now that is a big dog.

What Tommy lacks in bulk he makes up for with long legs that sort of feel like stilts as he takes a few steps forward. His tail is slowly swishing back and forth, and he doesn't even realize it at first until it thwaps against the side of the bar.

Hey, what's up?

...Okay, did he actually just reply in Canine?

[g00d_d0ggie]

D0G selected an alternate configuration for Cubefall, the black dog replies. Did unknown nonhuman entity change as well (y/n)?

[gavin62truck]

Um.

Tommy blinks at him, bushy eyebrows twitching. Because this dog sort of sounds like like it's talking Canine with a computer accent.

Yeah... I'm actually human. What're you, originally?

[g00d_d0ggie]

D0G is a combat droid. D0G belongs to Alyx Vance, D0G replies.

[gavin62truck]

Tommy tilts his head.

Oh, cool, so you're like, a robot dog that fights in wars and stuff?

Well, he says his name is Dog.

[g00d_d0ggie]

D0G was built and programmed by Eli Vance in 2002 to protect Alyx Vance, D0G replies. D0G's current function is to protect Hope Freeman and Eli Freeman. What is unknown nonhuman entity's name?

[notinthebook]

"Holy shit!"

She's pretty sure there wasn't a giant freaking dog standing there as she was heading into the bar, sipping at a paper cup of coffee, with her attention half on the newspaper she's holding and half --


...Okay, entirely on the newspaper she's holding, only then there was a SURPRISE WOLFHOUND, and the paper is currently dripping coffee onto her shirt.

And onto the floor. And a little on the dog. Which is eye-level, now, considering she ended up flat on her ass on the floor. Grace isn't one of Emma's more defined traits, especially when tripping over a huge pile of wiry fur shaped like a dog.

Sorry, sudden!wolfhound. Hopefully getting a full-grown woman going ass-over-teakettle over you didn't hurt too much.

[gavin62truck]

When Emma bumps into him, he doesn't yelp with surprise, because wolfhounds don't yelp. The noise he does emit is a deep, chesty RORF! of surprise instead, claws scrabbling on the floor and tail windmilling and liable to put someone's eye out.

But when he realizes who exactly had bumped into him, his ears prick up up with unmistakable recognition, and the tail begins to wag. Still liable to put someone's eye out, though.

He pads over to Emma, grinning as only a dog can, sniffing her over as if to ask if she's okay. Also, the spilled coffee will get a lick or three.

[notinthebook]

That...is a big dog.

A big, snuffly, friendly dog, who threatens to knock her over again with a shoulder as his attention turns to the coffee puddling on the floor, after checking her over conscientiously, and she puts up a hand to fend off the whipping tail.

She'd like to keep her eyes intact, thanks.

"People are just leaving their pets around, now?" she wonders, out loud, brushing ineffectually at the coffee stain on her shirt, and face turning petulant. "Aw, man. That's gonna stain."

That hands lifts, goes to the side of the dog's neck, where she searches for a collar. "So where's your owner, huh? Does this place not have a leash law?"

[gavin62truck]

Sorry, he's kind of clumsy and doesn't know what this reconfiguration is capable of yet. Apparently knocking people over is high up on the list.

"Rorf! Rorf!"

...Well, shit, that's not gonna work. How is he supposed to tell her who he is?

After licking the taste of coffee from her hand (because it's coffee, and also he can get away with licking her hand), he huffs out another bark and casts a look around the room, trying to get her to do the same. Notice all the Legos? Remember last year?

[notinthebook]

He's a very nice dog, at least. He's just very nicely taking up a lot of space.

"Yeah, I don't speak dog," she informs it, shaking her head a little to clear the ringing from getting two barks in the ear at close range and wiping her hand off on her jeans before reaching to scratch behind one ear.

...Huh.

Tiny mechanical toys. A bar that's populated more with robots and animals than people. Understanding begins to seep into her expression, and she hurriedly removes her hand from where she'd been rubbing the dog's ear. "Oh, crap. Sorry!"

She gives the dog a cursory once over, searching for any identifying details and not finding any, aside from that unusual eye color. "I hope we know each other, otherwise that just got weird."

It licked her hand. She played with its ear.

If they didn't know each other pretty well before, she guesses they do now, whoever it is.

[gavin62truck]

He utters a grumbling whine when she stops rubbing his ear, because he doesn't think it got weird at all! For some reason he kind of liked the ear scratches, and not just because it's Emma.

Well. Because it's Emma has a lot to do with his liking it, actually.

He can only offer her his usual grin, lopsided and insufferable. That might not be enough of a clue, but there are no fire hydrants around.

--But there is a fire extinguisher on the wall by the bar. He runs-- well, more like lopes long-leggedly-- over to it and barks pointedly, tail swishing, giving her that grin again.

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate hasn't been inside since dawn broke on the bar. She's walking in from out back, duster covered in hay, wiping the tiredness from her face.






— Ah. Cubefall.

She picks her way around an erector set, smiling softly, and heads to the Bar to order a coffee.

[gavin62truck]

Tommy had managed to fold up all his angles to lie down on the floor under a nearby table. Not easy when most of you is made up of legs and tail. But he catches a whiff of horses and hay and grass and dirt and somehow an undertone of peaches (wow, this dog schnoz is amazing), and he picks his head up, ears pricked forward.

"Rorf!" he booms (it's meant to translate into "Kate!"), and he scrambles to his feet.

At least, he tries to scramble to his feet. There's just a lot of awkward long legs doing whatever they please.

And when Tommy does right finally himself, he's wearing the table on his back like a turtle shell.

Crap. This's embarrassing.

[ikissdhimbck]

The five-foot-tall cowgirl — narration feels her height will be relevant in just a moment — had just received her vidscreen with Cubefall configurations, when the sound of an ashtray pointedly sliding from a table and clunking to the floor grabs her attention. She blinks at the massive dog, standing like a newborn foal with a renegade table on its back.

"Shouldn't you be in the stables?"

[gavin62truck]

"Mrrrgh," Tommy grumbles in reply. Very funny, Kate.

He's not sure how to crouch. What he does instead is try to back up in an attempt to slide out from under the table, but that only results in the table knocking into some chairs.

This isn't working.

Help?

[ikissdhimbck]

"All right, all right. Hold on, big boy."

She dismisses her vidscreen and slides to the floor, hurrying over to the accident in progress. It requires a moment to size up the situation.

"Lie down."

Her voice can be surprisingly authoritative when she's talking to animals.

[gavin62truck]

Legos and toy parts everywhere! Fortunately, Kate comes to his aid before a bigger mess can be made.

At her command, his ears twitch forward again, and he looks at her with a slight tilt of his head. It really is no secret that he kind of likes it when she's authoritative.

He eases himself back down onto the floor, his long forelegs stretching out in front of him.

[not_his_pa]

Not far away, there's a colt who's also finding its four feet again.

William loves Cubefall but its always awkward getting from inside to outside and remembering how to use four feet.

[gavin62truck]

Horse in the bar! Tommy's well aware that horses don't usually come into the bar on their own, so this must be someone's new form.

He bounds up to the pony, tail wagging.

"Growf?"

Hmm. Obviously the Canine dialect isn't the same as Equine.

[not_his_pa]

The dog is big and growling at him which makes William neigh and try to back away which means getting tangled up in a stool.

[gavin62truck]

Uh oh. Wrong approach? Tommy isn't completely aware of how others perceive him yet, other than, y'know, being a giant dog.

"Whuff!" he says, ducking his head apologetically and slowly swishing his tail, trying to show that he means no harm.

[not_his_pa]

He slowly moves forward and neighs, he wasn't scared, not really.

[gavin62truck]

He gives the young horse a smile, tongue lolling a bit, and another bark. Everything's okay! Coming closer, he cautiously sniffs at him, making sure he didn't hurt himself when he knocked into the barstool.