(no subject)

[thewidewideworld]

The door opens onto a scene of a snow speckled forest, the scent of pines on the wind.

Sinric laughs as the bar greets him, pausing to check on the large wolf at his side. "You should go back, my friend. This is not really a place for you."

The wolf sniffs the air and ignores Sinric's words, trotting in to settle on the rug by the fire.

"Very well, then."

Beware, there is a wild wolf in the bar tonight.

Comments

[holdingacat]

Cecil, rife with Plans, meanders his way over with coffee in hand, and...

...

Freezes.

Eying the Dog. The Dog What Might Be Feral.

The Most Likely Feral Dog.

And for the life of him he can't think of a good way to ask its political affiliations.

[thewidewideworld]

"It's alright, Cecil. Just leave him be." Sinric calls from the bar, lifting a plate of raw meat. He carries it over to the wolf, setting it down a few steps away.

The wolf growls softly and shuffles forward to grab a large bone, pulling it back to chew on it lazily.

[holdingacat]

The Dog That Is Most Definitely In A Theoretical Sense Feral doesn't appear to be actively attacking or espousing Libertarian values, so Cecil edges around it, warily.

"You should get it some spray paint." He points out, in an absent-minded sort of way.

[thewidewideworld]

"For what?" Sinric asks, returning to the bar to wash his hands. "I shouldn't have brought him here but he seemed to like the warmth of the fire."

[holdingacat]

"Well, the feral dogs in Night Vale were quite artistic. When they weren't terrorizing the town." Clearly one of these things made the other thing just fine.

It was really good street art.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric frowns, not following entirely. He shakes it off, smiling. "I'll bear that in mind."

"How are things with you, my friend?"

[holdingacat]

"Oh, so many things are happening, it's getting difficult to keep track. I mean, the mayor went missing for a little while, which, in the face of the coming war the the approaching army from under the lane five pin retrieval area of the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex is more than a little alarming. And then she's seen talking to the Apache Tracker," His tone dips abruptly into deep disgust before brightening again, "Before actually announcing that she's planning on retiring in a few months! I got that last bit of news from Dana - oh, and Dana is still alive! Despite being in the Dog Park, which we do not talk about, of course. She texted me the news - she's such a good intern. If she ever manages to get out of there she's bound to have a fantastic career in journalism. Oh! And Khoshekh's kittens are just adorable, and they float just as well as he does - I do hope Station Management lets us keep a couple I especially like the one with the little white stripe down his nose, she's just too precious."

Clearly kittens deserve more attention than approaching armies coming up from under the bowling alley.

[thewidewideworld]

The bit about kittens what about the only bit Sinric followed. And Dana. "I'm glad. I know you were worried for her. And the kittens! Are they all hale and healthy?"

[holdingacat]

"Oh yes, they are doing wonderfully. I'd show you pictures but, seeing as anyone who tries to take a photograph of Khoshekh or the kittens suffers an agonizing death within the week... well. But! I did manage to get a recording of them all meowing for their breakfasts one morning. Do you want to hear?" Cecil asks, already going for his phone with that presumptive air of pet owners everywhere who assume that of course people want to appreciate the adorableness of the best pets on the planet.

[thewidewideworld]

"Please?" Sinric smiles warmly, happy to share in anything that brings his friends joy.

[holdingacat]

Cecil beams, and focuses for a moment to scroll through his phone's files to find what he's looking for.

"Here we go!" He chirps, as he hits play.

The sound is something between gears meshing due to too little oil in the machine and the howls of the damned. Cecil looks absolutely besotted.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric can't help but flinch a bit at the sound but tries to smile to reassure Cecil. "They sound very lively."

[holdingacat]

"Oh, they are. It keeps an intern fully occupied just to play with them all. Thankfully they don't wander much, just like their father - otherwise we'd have kittens everywhere." Cecil rambles cheerfully as he shuts off the recording and tucks his phone away again.

[brooke_sandhu]

"Hi puppy!" Brooke peeps over the back of a sofa at the wolf.

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric calls to her warningly. "Be cautious, my friend. He's not a tame creature." He moves to carefully put himself between the child and the wolf, kneeling down to calm the wolf whose head has popped up.

[brooke_sandhu]

"Ooh. How come he's here?" Brooke asks.

[thewidewideworld]

"He was walking at my side when I found the door. I think he rather liked the warmth of the fire and the scent of food." He brings over a tray off meat, singing a song of calm as the draws near the wolf.

[brooke_sandhu]

Brooke approves of this. Not just the kindness to animals, but the general laxity about safety.

"I like him. Are you going to keep him as a pet?"

[thewidewideworld]

"Oh no. I have to right to tame him or keep him against his will. He is here because he wants to be, and when he's ready to go, I will take him back to the forest we came from."

[brooke_sandhu]

"How come he's not scared of humans?" Brooke asks.

[thewidewideworld]

"One of my gifts is the galdr of calm. He doesn't not fear the people around him because I have assured him they mean him no harm.

[brooke_sandhu]

"Can you teach me?" Brooke asks. "Please? So I can do it on Daddy when I'm in trouble?"

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric shakes his head softly. "I can try but it can't be used on someone against their will. Not without great cost to the person using it."

[guppy_sandhu]

"Aw, okay." Brooke nods.

"Can I feed him?"

[thewidewideworld]

"Not by hand. He's not calm enough for that. But if you were to place the tray near him, so he can take it when he's ready."