(no subject)

[hecu_marine]

Shephard's got to have a word with Ms. Vance about his current geographical assignment; he spoke to somebody else about that earlier today, but there are Rules about that kind of thing, dammit. He's not going anywhere without permission.

Except running. He threw on his winter gear and his backpack full of rocks and metal ingots, and grabbed his bow and quiver at the last minute just in case, and went for an extended training run through the woods around Cannon Hill, accompanied by one of his houndeyes. Turned out that the woods around Cannon Hill eventually lead to the woods around Milliways if you try hard enough, which is just fine with him; he could use a little bit of warm before going home.

One Marine in mottled green-grey winter gear, accompanied by Satan's own Christmas ham, at the Bar and looking for a little distraction.

Comments

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"Is that supposed to be there?" asks the tall Viking who is eating some sort of gruel at the bar.

He looks at the strange creature with great distrust -- but who knows what kind of animals people from the future or other worlds may keep.

[hecu_marine]

"Huh?" Shephard glances over at the speaker, and then down. "Oh. Yeah, that there's Chester. We're a mite short on proper dogs back home."

The creature twists its front end around to peer up at the Viking with a front end completely covered in shiny red-black domes. It rather resembles the eye of an insect, or possibly a wet blackberry.

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"So you have to resort to headless ones that probably can neither bark nor bite?" the Viking asks. "What's the point of them, then?"

It's not the kind of dog you'd want your kids to cuddle, either.

[hecu_marine]

"Chester," says Shephard, "up."

The thing obediently hops up on its hind leg. There's something that very strongly resembles either a beak or an oddly shaped set of fangs just between and behind the forelegs, where another creature's sternum would be.

"He c'n bite. Just from a different angle than most. Bark, too, only it's more a weapon than a warning. Down, Chester."

It drops back to the floor in a clatter of hoof-claws. Shephard smiles and tosses it a piece of dried meat; it drops its front end over the stuff and begins making om nom snarf noises.

"You git two or three of these workin' together, you got one hell of a hunting pack, I don't mind tellin' you."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"What manner of world are they from?" Ragnar asks. "Niflheim?"

They certainly don't seem like ordinary earthly creatures.

[hecu_marine]

"A borderworld called Xen. They ain't cut out for a world as cold as Niflheim," says Shephard. "Shit, I wouldn't even take 'em as far north as Svalbard."

Shephard, it has been noted in the past, is not really up on his mythology in general. However, he's met Eric Northman, and after his T-minus user handle changed, he got hold of some books and went looking for what the hell the 'tiwaz' part of it meant, and that led inevitably into reading the rest of the stories that go with anything to do with the runes. So he knows about enough not to embarrass himself, there.

(Just don't ask him to go into much detail about anybody else's gods or worlds or realms. It won't- it won't end well.)

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"I haven't heard of Xen," Ragnar says. "Svalbard's in the far north of where I live, and they've got ice-bears up there, I hear. Chester here probably doesn't have enough fur to go there. An ice-bear, he is not."

[hecu_marine]

Shephard nods. "Been there a time or two," he says, "and I damn near wound up on the wrong end of one of those bears, once.. I leave Chester'n the rest of his litter back home before putting out to sea for that particular trip."

"Name's Shephard, by the way. You new here? I'm thinkin' I ain't seen you 'round here before."

[bigarmy_strangepants]

"I'm Ragnar Lothbrok," Ragnar says. "From Kattegat."

Shephard will probably know where that is, if he's been to Svalbard and knows those places.

[jedi_interrupted]

"Aren't you the cutest?" says a young togruta whom likely looks very interesting to Satanic Christmas hams from other worlds. Assuming said creature relies on its sight as much as Earth hounds rely on their sense of smell. She's also kneeling to give any signs of affection such creatures might enjoy.

[hecu_marine]

Oh, yes, it does; the creature pauses, makes a curious mrrp? sound, and glances quickly up at its human. "Yeah," says Shephard, "go ahead, just be nice."

It gives a happy wiggle and trots right up to the kneeling humanoid to check her out further.

[jedi_interrupted]

Ahsoka looks up at the human (or at least human seeming) with a smile and asks, "Any place it likes to be touched or petted? Assuming that's how to show affection?"

[OOC: And I'm about to run to my commute. Here's hoping for quiet at home so I can thread tonight.]

[hecu_marine]

"Scritch him along that first or second blue stripe," Shephard says. "He's mighty fond of that- ain't you, boy?"

The houndeye rears up a little on its hind leg, trying to press its back into the nearest available hand.

"His name's Chester, by the way. Comes from a place called Xen, or at least his species does- his momma was born on Earth."

[jedi_interrupted]

"My lekku get itchy on the dark spots too," she replies and give Chester soft scritches at first. If he seems enthusiastic about them, she'll increase the pressure. "Hi Chester, I'm Ahsoka and I come from a planet called Shili, though I grew up on another one called Coruscant. I've never heard of Earth or Xen, I'm afraid."

She's likely talking to both of them.

[hecu_marine]

Chester wriggles happily; Ahsoka's doing it right, by the look of things.

"Can't say I know either of those, tell you the truth," says Shephard. "Earth ain't exactly tied into a whole lot of space lanes just at the moment. Got pinned down under some folks callin' themselves the Universal Union or Combine Empire for a while, but they ain't on our planet no more."

It occurs to him- "My name's Shephard, by the way. Good to meet you, Ahsoka."

[jedi_interrupted]

Her hand pauses in the skritchings when he mentions being pinned down but at Chester's protests, however they are expressed, she goes back to work. "Was there a war?"

[hecu_marine]

"'Fraid so," says Shephard. "It's over now."

There was worse than the war, too, but there's not much point in going into all that.

[freedom_is_grey]

Liranan's head comes up as soon as the Christmas ham and Shephard enter the bar. He barks once, leaping to his feet with his tail wagging.

Ysalwen looks up, too, sticking a marker in her book and turning to scan the room.

"Adrian," she says when she sees him, pitching her voice to be heard over the noise in the bar. "Another new friend for Liranan to meet?"

[hecu_marine]

"Yeah, this one's from Mrs. Wilson's first litter," Shephard says. "Chester, go'n meet the dog proper, mm'kay?"

The houndeye, whose stripes are slightly darker than Mrs. Wilson's, trots carefully up to the larger animal and blinks curiously at it.

[freedom_is_grey]

"Hello, Chester," Ysalwen says kindly.

This also tells Liranan that it's all right to say hello, as well.

Which is why the mabari nudges Chester in the side with his nose. Gently.

Hi! Hello! Does Chester want to play?

[hecu_marine]

Chester rears up on his hind legs and paws at Liranan happily with his... um... hoofy things. Then he hops backward, front end wriggling like he's ready to run. It's as close to a play-bow as he's gonna get.

"Reckon he'll keep this up for a good hour or so," says Shephard. "He don't stop for much. How you been?"

[freedom_is_grey]

"Well. I finally took possession of Vigil's Keep in Amaranthine and stepped right into a clusterfuck."

Yeah, she went there.

Liranan, meanwhile, cocks an ear in Ysalwen's direction, shakes himself like he's getting dry after a dip in the river, and attempts to wrestle Chester to the ground.

"How are you?"

[hecu_marine]

Aw, yeah, Chester's gonna have fun trying to wrestle a dog two or three times his mass and with that extra leg. This is what happens when you're one of nine hyperactive puppies.

"Been all right. Had to take the ship out for a trade run," Shephard says. "What kind of clusterfuck? Sounded like you had several you coulda walked into, last we spoke."

[freedom_is_grey]

"The trade run went smoothly and you got what you came for, I hope?"

Something should go right for someone in this blasted multiverse. Multiple someones, even.

Liranan will also be having the time of his life. One of the times of his life. Play is the best.

"When my companion -- a Grey Warden recruit, Mhairi -- and I got to Vigil's Keep, we found it already under attack by darkspawn. They were trying to capture every Grey Warden in the place, so far as I can tell. Otherwise the casualties would have been even greater, which is -- a strange difference. Strange, too, was the talking darkspawn. We're back to living in a situation that's only going to get worse before it gets better."

[hecu_marine]

"Yeah, we're set for a good while, and my ship didn't hardly freak out this time when we had to git up to Svalbard," Shephard says. "My life's easier when I ain't got to convince her I ain't gonna die in the snow'n ice."

The Bar gives him some kind of energy drink; he sniffs the contents, figures it's got guarana, and doesn't inquire further.

"Thought those darkspawn things just killed shit. When'd they git to capturing folks instead?"