milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Will is sitting in the roots of large tree, right on the edge of the forest. A group of dogs are collected around him, mostly resting in the spots of sunlight that shine through the tree's branches, a couple close enough to him that he can scratch behind their ears and pat their heads.

He knows them, but only because they know him. Will can't tell the difference, and right now, he doesn't really try to, either. He likes that they feel familiar, and calm, and something else he can't name. He keeps his head down, his eyes on them, and avoids even looking at anything else.

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A tiny girl with white hair escaping a loose braid is wandering in Will's general direction, maybe a little reluctantly.

He has so many dogs. Maybe the mabari that's been accompanying her all day belongs to him.

It seems plausible. And that means she ought to return him. So --

"Um. Hello? Are you missing a dog?"

Will shakes his head, without looking up.

Liranan yips, because no, the little boy human is not his person!

He also leans a little more heavily into Ysalwen, as if to say 'this one is mine!'

In case any of the other dogs are confused.

"Oh. Do you know who he might belong to? I -- I think he thinks he's mine, but I can't keep him when I go back. And I don't want him to be alone."

Edited 2016-04-09 15:45 (UTC)

"He's yours."

It's quiet, and Will still doesn't look up. The dogs around him are watching Liranan, but none of them move any closer.

Liranan nudges Ysalwen's shoulder with his face, because he can.

She frowns a little, but doesn't move forward, because --

"Are you -- are you okay?"

He nods. His eyes stay down, watching Winston as he scratches behind the dog's ear.

Ysalwen looks from the boy, to Winston, to all the other dogs clustered around him.

"Can I help you pet all your dogs?"

Edited 2016-04-11 09:48 (UTC)

Will looks up, but to Liranan, not Ysalwen.

"Be careful."

It's not entirely clear whom he's saying it to.

"I won't hurt them," she says earnestly. "I promise."

Liranan pads forward a little, tail wagging. Hello, other dogs! His person is great! She is good at petting, even with her newly-tiny hands!

She slips along next to the mabari, careful and slow, then crouches next to one of the dogs -- not too terribly close -- and says, very quietly, "Hello. Do you like ear scritches?"

The dogs don't hesitate around Ysalwen - three of them gather around her, curiously sniffing at her hands and clothes. But they still avoid Liranan, despite his friendliness. They stalk a ways around him, and at Will's side, Buster even begins a low growl,

Until Will makes a soft, tsk sound. Buster falls silent, and the other dogs retreat closer to the tree.

In the midst of petting, Ysalwen looks up a little, gaze flickering to Liranan.

He backs up and lies down, making himself comfortable. For a while, anyway.

"Why don't they like him?"

Does this boy know?

"New."

She thinks about this for a second or two, still petting the ears and backs of the dogs clustered around her.

"That makes sense."

It's not like she's met all that many dogs, and this boy has -- a lot. She pets the dogs again in silence for awhile, shifting so that one of them can sprawl itself across her legs.

Then --

"I wish it worked like that for people sometimes."

Will doesn't say anything.

But after a moment, he nods again.

Ysalwen catches that nod, but stays quiet for a little bit, petting more dogs.

Liranan sighs a little. She is so far away! It is unfair.

And after a minute or two --

"I think people liked me in the alienage. But where I am now they don't. It's been five years."

Life is unfair. But --

"Is it like that for you, too?"

He nods again.

Not because it's true, but because her words so quickly fill his mind that he has trouble remembering what's true.

Her eyes get wide.

"Really?"

(It is hard when people are scared of you. Or don't like you. She wouldn't actually wish it on anyone.)

"Still a stranger."

He keeps his head down, but his hands tense. Winston whines softly.

"Maybe it will be different here."

She hopes, anyway.

Ysalwen lifts her hands from the dogs, wrapping her arms around herself, instead.

"If we get to stay."

Edited 2016-04-15 17:17 (UTC)

"Won't."

A couple of the dogs step away from Ysalwen, and approach Liranan. Still cautious, but friendlier than before.

She settles down and tucks her knees up, resting her chin on them.

Her gaze seems fixed on the dogs, as if making sure none of them will try to hurt the mabari, or make him feel bad.

(And maybe vice versa.)

"I know. I like to pretend sometimes, though."

"You do have a lot of very handsome dogs," says another boy who comes walking through the forest with a rather nonchalant grey kitten on his shoulders.

A few of the dogs raise their heads. Buster even rises from the ground, moving tentatively closer to get a look at the other boy, or maybe the kitten on his shoulder.

But Will keeps his head down, and doesn't answer.

"What happened?" Teja asks, gently. "Did somebody die?"

People die all the time. Fathers die in battle, mums die when they are having babies, and everybody dies of infections.

His fingers tense at Winston's ear. The dog shuffles uncomfortably under his hand. Concern spreads like toppling dominoes.

"'m fine."

His head stays down, and his voice is very quiet.

"Would you and your dogs like to come to the woods with me, then," Teja says. "I saw the weirdest rabbit just now. I'm sure the dogs would be good for chasing it."

Will shuts his eyes, pressing the palm of his hand to his head for a moment like he's got a headache, and says in a voice low enough that it might be hard to hear -

"Not mine."

"But they think they are yours," Teja says.

Pause.

"Are you scared of them? Would you like me to tell them to go away?"

"They're not gonna listen to you."

He speaks a little louder now, though he still won't look up. His voice warbles slightly, not nervous or uncertain, but like he can't decide how to sound.

"I could fetch them food, or a dead rabbit," Teja says. "That might distract them. They love you a lot, though."

"Someone gives it to 'em."

Then he looks up, though he still doesn't meet the other boy's eyes.

In a different, clearer voice: "Someone already feeds them."

"They do," Teja agrees. "Still, dogs can rarely resist giving chase if there is something to be caught. Do you want rid of them?"

He looks away, blinking a few times.

Finally, he simply answers, "No."

"They seem like good dogs," Teja says. "I like the little one with the squashed, tooth face. He is so ugly he's cute."

Edited 2016-04-12 21:21 (UTC)

Louie continues to snooze in a patch of sunlight, no sign he knows he's being talked about.

It's not something Will thinks about that much. Unsure what to say, or if he wants to say anything, he only nods again.

"Do you like the dogs?" Teja ventures.

"Pleasant."

It's the same, different voice. The word feels strange to him, like he's not sure he's the one who said it.

Edited 2016-04-15 13:55 (UTC)

"You find them that?" Teja asks.

Pause.

"If you need help, then I shall give it to you. If you wish to be left alone, I shall do so, also."

"Don't need help," he says, finally, his voice closer to how he first spoke.

Teja nods at him, and then walks away.-

"You have pretty dogs," says Noriko, coming closer with a riot of wraps--all colors, tiny feathers, beads at the ends and all--in her (very boring) black hair, hand outstretched towards one of them. "Can I pet them?"

Edited 2016-04-09 19:20 (UTC)

Will lifts his head, though he doesn't meet her eyes. Instead, he glances around, looking briefly around at the dogs, then nods.

They don't seem to mind her.

Noriko reaches out and settles next to one one of the dogs, ruffling his ears and fur.

"Are you okay?"

Edited 2016-04-10 20:48 (UTC)

His eyes stay down, as he tries to feel the dogs' contentment, and not her concern.

"Fine," he mumbles.

She cocks her head at him--she's not expecting him to meet her eyes, really, but she is still curious--and nods. "Okay. If you want to talk you can. If you don't that's okay too."

She herself is not so very capable of shutting up at the moment, but she's trying.

He doesn't reply, which likely means he's taking the second option.

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