Walk The Dog [Open]

[Stockmon]

On a scale from insane to boring Jessie Twight was somewhere around eccentric. Jessie had woken up to the sunlight, it was all over her living room, which she’d made the mistake of walking into while her eyes were still adjusting. Luckily she didn’t have anywhere to be, she had the day off, but she was still awake by nine AM. It was a fine morning in London. But Hugo was restless. Jessie patted the English mastiff on his large head as he barked restlessly. She poured some pet food into the bowl and watched the six year old dog eat contentedly.

Jessie walked into her bedroom and closed the door. Already Evander and Remy had found their way onto her bed. Petra had slept curled up on her second pillow, and Thisbe was wrapped around Jessie’s feet in a moment. She bent down and lifted up her cat, stroaking her gently before dropping her on the bed and taking off her night gown to toss in the hamper,

“I know you don’t like Hugo,” She said, scratching Evander behind his ears, “But Chris is out of town, and he asked me to take care of him, so tough it out, just two more days. Work is a tough business, we have to look out for each other, eh?” Evander just purred softly and Jessie went about changing clothes. She put on a pair of loose blue jeans and her pink spider shirt. After combing her hair and eventually braiding it she made a face in the mirror and put on some chapstick. With hiking boots on she grabbed her old beret from her closet and put it on, closing her bedroom door behind her as she left.

Not long later Jessie held the end of Hugo’s leash taut as he pulled to get free. There were around Parington Lane, as Hugo just so happened to have led them there, and Jessie was wondering how to get home. She’d been around for years, but she hadn’t ventured to Parington Lane, with the exception of broom accompaniment. And it was easy to find your way on a broom. Merely go up, and find a city. But on foot, things went much slower. So with that on mind she gave Hugo a bit of slack and let him lead the way around.

[miguel]

Simon was walking down the dark street. Tats was whispering in his ear. It was a thing that his Australian snake did when it caught a dog licking someone. For a snake, it is pretty smart. Simon put his index finger out and petted his snake gently on the head. Simon cringed. It was one of those things he did when he smelt something he didn't like. "Dog" He said to Tats as he turned the corner. It was the smell of mutt. the dirt and grime that spells out what a dog smells like, only to Simon. . .it was like he had his nose stuck to the dog's fur. He saw the dog being pulled by the girl in jeans and a pink shirt. It looked like she had no clue where she was going and the destination of where the dog wanted to go was unclear.

Simon sighed. He wrapped Tats around his left arm and adjusted his blue sweater. He examined himself in the glass window. He was wearing a yellow messed shirt covered stylishly by his dark blue sweater. His jeans were faded, but only by them being used. Lastly his worn 'boater' sneakers that he called 'waffle shoes' due to the bottom treads. "Tats, it looks like you'll be meeting another dog today." It is unbearable for Simon to pass an opportunity to help someone out. It is just one of his biggest fallacies. Rather than a fallacy, it is a lifestyle he lived up to no matter how hard. He gulped his last 'clean' air and walked toward the girl.

"Hi, I'm Simon" He held out a hand and pulled it back. "Sorry Tats is on that hand." He let her look at Tats for a second and presented his right hand. "I wondered if you would like some assistance. Are you lost or something?"

[Stockmon]

Jessie wasn’t exactly prone to walking around uninhabited areas that most wizards didn’t prefer to explore, but Hugo was not a small dog, and Jessie was not a large woman. She wasn’t six foot tall, or even five eleven, as Hugo’s owner was. She wasn’t as strong as Chris either, and she wasn’t used to the energy packed five times thicker than usual inside that ball of muscle and fur. But it was better than him tearing up her house, or getting those disapproving looks from her cats. They should know better. Snickers wouldn’t have minded. She bit the side of her lip. Snickers was one of the reasons she had the hat placed so simply on her head, as if it didn’t hold so many memories in it that she wouldn’t even delve into them for anyone.

But Jessie stopped thinking about her childhood pet as she heard someone walking closer, though whoever it was needed to catch up to her, until Hugo suddenly stopped and started sniffing the air randomly, Jessie sighed.

“Hi, I’m Simon.” said the approaching man, he reached a hand toward Jessie and before she looked at it he pulled back, “Sorry Tats is on that hand.” He said, and gave her the other hand. She very reluctantly shook it, then took a step back, resisting the urge to rub her arms and shudder. Snake. That was a four letter word where she came from, as the saying went, even if it was five letters. “I wondered if you would like some assistance. Are you lost or something?”

“Oh, uh,” Jessie said, unable to take her eyes off the snake for a moment, “No. I mean, yes, I’m lost, but Hugo will either lead us back home or I can just wander until we reach society, no worries.” She said. This guy was taller than her, by far, taller than Chris too, she supposed, but for some reason she got the impression he wasn’t older than her. Maybe she was just losing her mind, but it seemed like he was young. She got to be a better judge of people, since she interviewed quite a few for a living, “My name is Jessie, by the way.” She said, politely, despite her aversion to the animal on his arm.

[miguel]

Simon just stood there, taking in the scene. It wasn't that he was thinking about much. It was more like he didn't understand. He didn't catch that Jessie was staring at Tats. He didn't think about the size proportions and problems with a big dog to a small person would be. He never had a dog and if he did, he wouldn't have that problem anyway. He also didn't catch her studder as she snapped her attention away from the snake.

“My name is Jessie, by the way.” Simon snapped back to attention. His brain apparently went off somewhere within the few seconds of thinking. "Nice to meet you, Jessie." Simon repositioned his snake around neck. Tats stuck his tongue out to smell the newcomers. Tats seemed a bit anxious about Hugo and therefore was trying to persuade his owner to show him the dog. "So you don't need any help, Jessie? Would you like me to see you to your house at least? Anything can happen now days."
He shrugged. He didn't care too much whether she needed help or not. He just stopped to help anyway, soon he'll be on his way. "Opp, looks like Tats is getting a likke excited" He said as he wrapped Tats, once again, around his neck.

[Stockmon]

“Nice to meet you, Jessie.” Simon said, Jessie gave a brief smile, then watched the snake again. Neither was fond of the others pet, but Hugo wasn’t even Jessie’s, so she didn’t know exactly how he would act, he still hadn’t caught onto the fact that there even was a snake, but he began sniffing more and all of a sudden he stopped, staring at the snake intently as Jessie grew somewhat nervous as to what he might do.

“So you don’t need any help, Jessie? Would you like me to see you to your house at least? Anything can happen now days.” He said, then shrugged. It was slightly odd to suggest seeing her back to her house. Back to town, that was normal, point her in the right direction, all the way to her house? But Jessie tended to be self-sufficient. She didn’t need help, and she didn’t like to seem helpless. She could take care of herself, and she was determined to make that known. She had lived alone since she graduated college, had grown up at an early age, and despite anything or everything she had gotten her dream, so if she didn’t need help, she wasn’t going to act like it. Except with certain people, when she really wanted their attention, wanted to be taken care of, wanted to keep someone around, even if she had to act worse than she was to keep them there. But that didn’t matter, she didn’t do that, no one around now mattered that much. She unconsciously reached up and tilted her beret back a bit.

“No, I think I will be alright, but I think I want to get some work done, and give this dog less of a chance to cause trouble. If you’re walking back to town, I could walk with you, if that wouldn’t be too much trouble.” She said, pausing as the end when she stroked Hugo’s head and felt how tense he was.

“Opp, looks like Tats is getting a like excited.[/b]” Simon said. Jessie watched as the snake wrapped itself around Simon’s neck, she bit her lip again and heard Hugo start growling,

“Hugo, shh.” Jessie snapped, pulling back on his leash a bit to get his attention. He quieted, but didn’t seem very happy about the situation. She could imagine it now “Chris, your dog hates snakes.” “What? How do you know that? Why were you around snakes?” “Never mind.” Fun times.

[miguel]

Simon fidgeted. He realized that Hugo didn't exactly like his snake. It didn't take a genius to notice such a thing as that, which is why Simon got it. Simon grabbed Tats and tried his best to be considerate and put him on his other arm. He planned on Tats being on his side away from the newcomers. "I think that could be fun. Walking toward town is in our direction." He smiled as wide as he could. He didn't want to look overly weird or anything, he just wanted them to feel comfortable. If they were good walking together, then that is as good as saying 'Sure, I could use the help'. "I don't think he likes snakes, does he?" He wondered about the history between the 'owner' and the dog. It could be an interesting story, similar to his and Tats's. He thought about the potential it had, and thought if it could be taken as rude. He found that it was appropriate to ask Jessie about her about it. "So how did you meet your dog? Is there any stories about him that could be interesting to discuss?" He pet Tats on his head and thought about all the experiences he wanted to have with his pet.

[Stockmon]

“I think that could be fun. Walking toward town is in our direction.” Simon said after moving his snake. Hugo calmed down a bit, and Jessie stroked his head to make him more relaxed. The last thing she needed was a Mastiff dragging her across the ground after a snake, or eating someone else’s pet. That would not do, and Chris would probably laugh. He would honestly laugh, she could see it now. He hardly laughed, he was happy, but he wasn’t overly happy, so maybe he was just content, but she’d heard him laugh, and if he heard she couldn’t control his dog, he would apologize, but he would still have laughed. She blushed just thinking about how bad that would be.

“I don’t think he likes snakes, does he?” Simon asked, Jessie laughed,

“No, I don’t get the impression he does.”

“So how did you meet your dog? Is there any stories about him that could be interesting to discuss?” Simon asked, Jessie blinked. He seemed the sort that wanted conversation, based on the fact he was seeking it out. Jessie could sit in silence, she was alright with that, but conversation was alright as well.

“Oh, I met him three days ago, actually. He isn’t my pet. I have four cats sitting at home, thrilled he is out of the house, but he belongs to a co-worker of mine. He said, my co-worker, Chris, that he’d had the dog for a few years, but I don’t know much else about him. He’s six years old, English Mastiff, and besides our daily walks, I don’t spend too much time with him. But Hugo is a sweet dog, usually, he doesn’t bug my cats, usually, but they hiss at him, so he has full reign of the house, except my room, where the cats are staying.” She said, shrugging, “Not much to tell, sorry.”

[miguel]

“Oh, I met him three days ago, actually. He isn’t my pet. I have four cats sitting at home, thrilled he is out of the house, but he belongs to a co-worker of mine. He said, my co-worker, Chris, that he’d had the dog for a few years, but I don’t know much else about him. He’s six years old, English Mastiff, and besides our daily walks, I don’t spend too much time with him. But Hugo is a sweet dog, usually, he doesn’t bug my cats, usually, but they hiss at him, so he has full reign of the house, except my room, where the cats are staying.”

Simon thought about what she was talking about. She seemed like a very nice girl to do that for a co-worker. He was curious if she was this kind to everyone or if it was a more friendly relationship. He shrugged. "I found Tats for sale in Australia. Thats the first time i met him, and found him to smart." He thought about the difficulties having a dog with cats could be. "It just seems really irritating to have a dog with your cats." He mentally shrugged. He is known to not fully understand concepts, so he has learned not to fully care about them.

[Stockmon]

Jessie liked compliments as everyone did, but as of late she had taken to accepting those compliments. Earlier in her life, much to the frustration of her few friends, she would argue when anyone said anything nice about her. Looking back she realized it must have been hard to be her friend, but she didn’t consider it rude. If someone said something nice about you and you did not agree, that was not rude, it just wasn’t arrogant, and she did not appreciate being told it was, though that was a while back, and she had kept her mouth shut, though now she wished she’d have argued back.

All of that is to say that Jessie was nice to a lot of people. Perhaps not everyone, but it extended past her closest friends and family. Chris was not a friend, he was an acquaintance, no matter how she tried to make him a friend, he was determined to maintain his low profile and socialize as little as would be polite. Those all contributed to the reason that maintaining Hugo made her happy, that meant Chris trusted and respected her, at least a bit, and it would give her reasons to start conversations with him later. He was smart, and she supposed he had probably weighed that in before actually asking her to take care of his pet.

“I found Tats for sale in Australia. That’s the first time I met him, and found him to smart.” Simon said, Jessie looked interested.

“I’ve never been to Australia. Why were you there?” She asked, he was one of the few people she’d met that had been to Australia. Her uncle, of course, but he’d been just about everywhere, and she had the souvenirs to prove it.

“It just seems really irritating to have a dog with your cats.” Simon added.

“Oh, yes, they would agree. But Hugo really don’t bother them, and they have everything they need in my room. Normally it is just me and the cats, and since I work a lot they have the house to themselves, they can handle a bit of share time, don’t want them to be too spoiled.” She said with a smirk.

[miguel]

“Oh, yes, they would agree. But Hugo really don’t bother them, and they have everything they need in my room. Normally it is just me and the cats, and since I work a lot they have the house to themselves, they can handle a bit of share time, don’t want them to be too spoiled.”

Simon smiled in response to the statement. He thought it was weird to talk about the cats the world "share" in the same sentence. That is unless you are sharing Chinese food that contains cat, but that wasn't the current discussion. He has always thought of cats being princely in nature. They have everything they ever could want, no matter if it is a lot or little, and act prissy about it. Simon just shrugged off the idea. He had never had a cat, and was therefore an unfair judgment to make on his behalf.

"I've never had a cat before. Is there anything of interest about them? I am aware that they are much different than dogs." He said as he recalled an experience he had with a cat. He went down to pet the cat in the same way as a dog and when he got to beating it like he would a dog, got attacked by the claws. It seemed to him that he wasn't really able to provide for a cat's desire like he could Tats's.

[Stockmon]

Jessie received Simon’s smile with good nature. This was of course because she didn’t know why he was actually smiling, if she had, she would have glared at him and arguing, for a variety of reasons, all of which easy for her to come up with an argument for, and be offended by, though she probably wouldn’t have been offended, personally, just irritated. Jessie wasn’t the easiest person in the world to offend.

“I’ve never had a cat before. Is there anything of interest about them?” Simon asked, Jessie gawked instantly. Well of course!, “I am aware that they are much different than dogs.”

“Goodness, well of course they’re different than dogs. Dogs feel the need to bark and chase and try to hurt cats for no good reason, so cats have a natural aversion to dogs. Well, not necessarily natural, I had a cat once…” She trailed off a bit, made a thoughtful look to cover up her slight regret at bringing this topic up, and kept going, “and he wasn’t afraid of dogs, and he liked them just fine. But that was because he had been trained to be comfortable with dogs. Cats… well they can act prissy and spoiled and all that, but not as a general rule. They are predators, and they are not subservient. It is just their nature. People get so bent out of shape about cats. Like if you hurt a dog they take you to court, but if you kick a cat it’s funny. I think that is… well, anyway, no need to go off on that tangent.” She said, taking a breath and laughing at herself, “Sorry… cats… are regal, they are poised, not petty. If you take care of a cat, they will take care of you. Some are affection, some are not, it is their personality, just like a person. They take care of themselves, and if they trust you, you earned it. Did that… even answer your question?” Jessie asked, unsure.

[miguel]

“Goodness, well of course they’re different than dogs. Dogs feel the need to bark and chase and try to hurt cats for no good reason. Did that … even answer your question?” Simon thought about the new information thoroughly. He didn't have a dog, and didn't have a cat. He was neutral party member who didn't understand much about either animal. He understood dogs better, because. . . Their man's best friend. It was in his nature to. To Simon, however, it appeared that Jessie went into a rant. It was interesting to listen to a rant from the viewpoint of a cat lover. He wasn't even for sure that he agreed with all of it, but everyone was entitled to their own beliefs. That is how he saw it and that is what he always went with. "No, I think I understand it a bit." He said with a smile. He tried thinking of a different conversation to talk about. He cursed himself inwardly. He didn't know what to talk about, and he had no skills in thinking up about something to talk about. Tats hissed on his hand where he left him alone for the meager few minutes he talked with Jessie. He put tats in his Hoodie pocket to keep him warm in the slightly damp and cool air. He didn't want Tats falling asleep, that would be a little annoying to hold a sleeping snake instead of one that volunteers to hold on.

[Stockmon]

“No, I think I understand it a bit.” Simon said with a smile. Jessie got the impression he had tuned her out, but she was giving him the benefit of the doubt, just because she was in a good mood, and really wasn’t the vindictive sort. If someone spoke to her, unless they were directly attaching her, she gave them the courtesy of listening, especially when they were only answering a question she had asked. But she merely assumed he was listening, despite the impression he might not be. And then the snake hissed at his owner and Simon put him away

Hugo was pulling again but Jessie just pulled back, causing him to look at her and then curl around her, wrapping her in the leash, “Hugo! Ugh…” She sighed, grabbing his collar and steadying herself against him as she stepped out of the entanglement. Once Jessie was free she kept walking beside Simon,

“So, Simon, why take a walk with a snake? Adventuring or being bored or whatnot?” She inquired, thinking about it, “I know I wouldn’t take my cats on walks, but Hugo gets restless, and there is only so much I can do with him until Chris gets back.”

Maybe it was a random question, or it had already been covered, but since Simon didn’t seem to have many ideas for starting conversations, and Jessie wanted there to be conversation if she was to walk by a stranger, then she would make conversation, “Oh, and what do you think of guitarists?” Way to be random Jess, nice work. Well I guess it wasn’t random to me, but it was random to him. No, it was random on both ends. Why guitarists? I don’t know any guitarists do I? Oh… well…. I mean besides… Jessie, stop that. He is your friend, sort of, and you only looked him up again because of Chris. Why did it take Christ to get you out of the house and finding your old best friend? That’s it, I am going to get Chris out of the house sometime to make up for all this.

[miguel]

“So, Simon, why take a walk with a snake? Adventuring or being bored or whatnot?”

Simon thought about the question. He really didn't know what he was doing here. He just had a feeling that he had to be there. It wasn't really that he was bored or being adventurous. "Honestly, I don't really know." He said as he reflected on what all caused him to come in the first place. "I guess you could say I was asked to visit someone." He couldn't really tell her that a friend told him he needed to patrol the city. . . he didn't even know why himself. He didn't even know if he was to come across something. It would be worthless to tell someone information that may not be accurate.

He smiled and slowed down for a few seconds so that Jessie didn't have to work as hard with Hugo. Letting the dog go at a faster pace seemed to Simon to make walking him harder.

“Oh, and what do you think of guitarists?”

Simon blinked as his mind did a double take. "What?" he thought as he slowly realized she did indeed ask a random out of the blue question. "Yeah, I like guitarist." Simon started off. "too be exact, I was once in a band. I was a bass player." As he finished the sentence he was fingering with him left hand as if he was air-guitaring some bass line.

"Why do you ask?" He asked with muffled confusion. It wasn't like he was popular. The band never got anywhere to begin with. "It isn't my dress attire that give me away is it?"

[Stockmon]

When Jessie asked about why Simon took a walk with a snake he stopped to ponder it. It made sense that he’d have to ponder it. Jessie, herself, didn’t understand it. Snakes didn’t need exercise, or at least he wasn’t getting any exercise from being carried about. It didn’t seem to make too much sense. But then again, on days when Jessie got bored, she followed her cats on their romps around town. They certainly had a knack for finding odd places and dangerous looking adventures, that was for sure. Following Snickers had been a fun hobby of Jessie’s back in her Hogwarts days. Even if it was just around the common room. Or around Uncle Jared’s yard. That certainly got interesting.

“Honestly, I don’t really know.” Simon finally replied, Jessie smirked, “I guess you could say I was asked to visit someone.”

Jessie’s brow creased. Something about it sounded off. Visit someone? Not a friend. Just someone. Like an errand? That made sense, but something about the uncertainty in the way he said it threw Jessie off. Not that it mattered. She would most likely never see him again after this walk. Just idle conversation. She felt inclined to talk about the weather. But then she went and asked about guitarists. So random.

“Yeah, I like guitarist.” He said after a confused pause. He’d taken to walking slower, which made Hugo calm down somewhat, “To be exact, I was once in a band. I was a bass player.” Jessie glanced over to see him playing a few cords in the air with one hand, which caused her to giggle a bit.

“Why do you ask?” Oh, no good reason. “It isn’t my dress attire that gave me away is it?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. I had no idea you were in a band. It is just that…” Jessie paused for a second or two. What was Lucas exactly? Well, Jessie didn’t have a new best friend, but she couldn’t really call him that after all those years, could she? It wasn’t as if Simon would care, “My best mate in school is a guitarist. He actually plays at a pub around here. It just came to mind.”