singillatim | he's got that dog in him

He can't be certain what he saw, but it was definitely an animal of some sort. The scratching at the panes of glass only confirms his suspicions. Chances are fairly low in this place that it was something harmless like a squirrel (god, wouldn't that just be the dream), so Crozier sets the buckets back down and grabs the rifle he keeps by the door for this exact reason.

By the time he yanks the door open he fully expects that the animal's down by the treeline or hovering in the bushes, and his surprise nearly makes him jump right out of his skin.

A wolf! What the hell!

Not worth the fight, not at all, so he slams the door in the wolf's face before it decides to invite itself inside.

Oh, wait, the door's open, maybe he can sneak his way inside! Operating purely on instinct, Hickey makes his way for the door, only to get it slammed in his face, hitting him smack on the nose. He can't help but let out a little yelp of pain because ouch? That hurt?

Hickey looks at the closed door, mentally giving it a frown because great, what the fuck is he supposed to do now? He's stuck out here! This is less than ideal! He lets out an annoyed little canine huff while mulling over his options. He's a wolf, so obviously Crozier wouldn't want one inside. But Hickey really wants to see what Crozier's house looks like (and also selfishly, kind of wants to see Crozier shirtless again.) So...what, just pretend to be a dog?

This goes against everything his instincts are telling him (a dog? something domesticated? fight, tear, rip out his throat, you are wild). But Hickey's only been in wolf form an hour or so, so the human brain is still at the wheel. He'll just pretend to be a nice, well-behaved dog. Hell, that Mountie's got one already, it's absolutely plausible!

Hickey sits down before lightly scratching at the door with his paw. He lets out a plaintive little whine, just for the hell of it. Look at him! He isn't a big scary wolf, he's just a weird little dog! Please let him inside!

With the door shut he fully anticipates that the wolf will just lose interest and go away. He’s inside, it’s not like the wolf is going to find a way to claw and paw itself through the walls. Of course as soon as he thinks this he hears the scratching at the door, whining as though it’s asking to be let inside.

Crozier keeps the rifle in his hand and creeps to the window, trying to peer around the frost to see what the hell that wolf is doing. Maybe it’s ill - maybe it’s feral? Either way he isn’t taking any chances by opening up that door quite yet.

Hickey continues pawing and scratching, whimpering in a totally pathetic manner as he does so. This is just normal dog behavior and he is a normal dog. Hell, might as well look sad and pathetic as he does so! Look at how big his eyes are! Look at how droopy his ears are! Isn't this just the most pathetic creature you've ever seen in your life?

Hickey lets out a plaintive little howl as he does so. Yeah he's laying it on a bit thick, but it's not like Crozier has any reason to suspect what's going on in the first place. Just look at this poor, pathetic little dog who absolutely doesn't want to scope out your house and see what it's like inside.

Edited 2024-07-11 00:30 (UTC)

It sounds like the wolf is hurt, all that whining and howling and pitiful scraping at the door. Maybe it’s hungry, he does have a fish stew on the fire bubbling away from later. But he isn’t so foolish as to assume the wants and needs of a wild animal, and he doesn’t feel like getting mauled today for making a misstep.

Rama would drive it away if he came back from his hunt just now. He glances a little hopefully to the path, waiting a beat or two before that slim hope of a well-timed return dies. It’s not going to happen.

He considers just ignoring the wolf until it gets bored and wanders away, but he’s reminded Neptune scratching at the Great Cabin door and god knows that mutt didn’t give up until someone gave in. He sighs and shakes the frame of the window until it starts to give and move upwards, opening it just enough to stick his head out.

“Out! Get out of here! Go!”

Without Crozier realizing it, Hickey's thinking of the same thing. Neptune. Crozier loved that stupid dog, shitting and shedding all over the place. Really, Hickey couldn't stand it. The most useful thing Neptune did was meet his end. But that was a proper dog, not a man pretending to be a wolf pretending to be a dog. Maybe that's what strategy he'll take.

Crozier's voice gives him the opportunity to take that strategy. Hickey turns his attention over to Crozier. Right, time to act as Neptune, you can do this. Pretended to be Cornelius Hickey for a few bloody years, he could easily be a dog for an hour or so. Hickey sticks out his tongue, starts wagging his tail, and shifts his expression to a big, stupid, brainless expression.

Come on, mate. He's just happy to see you! Reward him with your love and affection and letting him inside the house.

The wolf seems to lock eyes with him. It'd be more unnerving were it not for the big tongue lolling out of its head and the happy tag wag, much like a dog.

There are domesticated wolves wandering about now, aren't there? It would make sense if this was one of them. He thought the ones sired by Fraser's dog were still pups, but this wolf is a little small. It could be young, or maybe there are other wolves running about owned by humans in the hills.

He stares back at the wolf and frowns thoughtfully. "Are you hungry? Is that it?"

It's a bad idea to feed a wolf, isn't it? Or maybe it's a good idea, having an ally in a wild animal. Or maybe it would just eat and go away - that would be ideal. He ducks back into the cabin and pulls some smoked fish out of his stores, front door opening up cautiously. Just enough to stick his head and hand out and toss some of the fish onto the porch for the animal.

Hickey really doesn't want to do this. Every part of his human mind is lamenting that he's better than this, that he doesn't have to sink this low. But again. What would Neptune do. What would that big, slobbery, disgusting mutt do when presented with the hand and face of someone he likes. He looks like a dog and he's going to act like it and that fish smells wonderful but it's not going to get him what he wants right now.

Hickey keeps up the big dumb dog smile and keeps wagging his tail. But the moment he spots Crozier's head, he says goodbye to what remains of his dignity and jumps up slightly so he can give Crozier's face a big, slobbery, ridiculously affectionate lick.

Out of all the things the wolf could do next, out of all the possibilities and likelihood of said possibilities actually happening, Crozier absolutely is not expecting the wolf to jump up and lick his face. He stumbles back with a disgusted little yell and quickly brings the back of his hand up to rub at the damp spot on his cheek. "Down! Down, understand? Down!"

In his surprise the door's swung open about half a foot more, just enough for a wily animal to slink through while a certain person is distracted by wolf acting like a childhood pet.

Hahaha, victory! Don't mind Hickey as he slips through the open door to make his way into Crozier's house. This is bloody wonderful! He's seeing everything through a new light. And his senses! He can smell so much more now. The scent of Crozier lingers all over this place, mixed into the rug, the air, the entire fabric and being of this house—

—mixed with the scent of someone else. Someone Hickey can't identify.

Hmm.

Dogs don't get jealous, though. And now that he's inside, he's going to be a picture perfect little dog for a while. Part of him is curious to see just how long the con can go, part of him is curious to see what Crozier will do. After all, it's not like Crozier knows who he is. Why not indulge in the charade while he's got the chance?

Why not warm up as well? Hickey trots over to the fire and, like a good little animal, turns himself in a circle a few times (weird, why'd he do that?) before curling up into a small ball. That's right. Look at what a good boy he is.

The wolf does one unexpected thing right after the other - it invites itself inside his home, doesn’t immediately go for the food, and then curls up by his fire. He only has time to shout a few words of protest before the wolf is fully at home in front of his hearth.

Crozier just stares for a couple of beats, wondering what the hell he’s supposed to do now. A wolf just licked his face and let itself inside. What on earth is happening here?

But for all of his wariness and bewilderment, his very keen sense of humor decides to take over. He laughs.

“Help yourself, I guess. Just cold, mn? You made me waste a perfectly good piece of fish.” He glances at the door and pushes it closed just enough to keep the wind out. He’s not going to stop the wolf when it decides to bolt.

Oh, wait, yeah there was fish. Hickey's ears perk up a bit at the mention of 'fish' and he turns his attention to stare at Crozier. Is that fish still in his hands? He'll eat it. Terminally lazy man that he is, Hickey is more than happy to eat slightly cold fish. He's not sure how he'll feel if the fish is put on the floor, but slightly cold is better than nothing.

Hickey gives Crozier the patented dog 'give me food please' puppy dog eyes stare.

Ah. Hungry as well. He sighs and goes to fetch another piece of dried fish from his reserves. He has a guest now, he might as well humor the damn thing.

Crozier kneels down, while still keeping a good distance of course, and holds the fish out to the wolf's mouth.

"You act more like a dog than a wolf. Where did you come from, mn?"

Food! Perfect! Hickey wags his tail happily before moving his head towards Crozier's hand. He gingerly picks the fish out of Crozier's hand... though as he does so, his tongue gets a good, unexpected lick in.

Huh. That's...new. Hickey chews on the fish, thinking things over as he eats it. This is what dogs do. This is something normal. There's something about licking Crozier's hand that feels wrong, taboo, but at the moment, he's just a dog. Crozier doesn't know any different. Crozier won't know any different. So he's allowed to do this. It's right if he does this.

Finishing the fish, Hickey sits back on his haunches before looking over, expectantly, at Crozier. What next?

Crozier thinks nothing about the lick to his hand and wipes the slobber onto his trousers as he stands back up. Animals lick and drool, it’s just friendly fire if his palm happens to get some of what was intended for the fish.

He does frowns down at the wolf as it finishes though, wondering what it could possibly still want. “Hungry still? Thirsty?” Whatever’s going to get the animal out of his home at this point.

He takes a stab in the dark - thirsty, and brings some of the melt water in a pail over to the wolf. He gestures to it. “Water?” Food? Warmth? Or maybe... He crouches back down again, looking for any obvious sign of injury. Usually an animal in pain will lash out, but if the wolf’s been domesticated that might not necessarily be the case.

Yeah, Hickey's not leaving any time soon. It's warm here! And nice! And he wants to figure out who the fuck Crozier is living with. Why would he leave and give up the chance to figure this out? It's not like he and Crozier actually talk these days.

Water, though, water's nice. Hickey wags his tail as the water is brought over slurping it down in a very messy way. That tastes really good, as Hickey continues to wag his tail. Once he's done, he lets out a happy bark which he thinks means 'thank you.'

There's no obvious sign of injury. Just a wolf staring very intently at Crozier. Hickey takes a moment before walking closer, curious as to what Crozier will do, keeping his head down in a way that he hopes implies he won't bite.

It doesn’t take him long to come to a similar conclusion, this wolf doesn’t seem to be hurt (except maybe mentally, because honestly, what is wrong with this animal), so Crozier ceases with his inspection and pulls a chair to just sit and observe. Barking and tail wagging, and now slowly approaching in a way that for a dog would say ‘I’m coming over to have my head scratched’.

“Where did you come from?” he mutters, holding his hand out for the wolf to do as it pleases. “Did you run away from home? Are you one of Fraser’s?”

He could probably tame a wolf in a few months.

What's Crozier doing? Is this... what, time for him to get his head scratched? He's never really gotten his head scratched before. Hickey moves his head so that it's under Crozier's hand. He adjusts his head for perfect scratches.

And as Crozier scratches him, Hickey's tail starts to wag. This feels phenomenal!

If anything this just confirms to Crozier that the wolf has more dog in him than wild creature. He scratches the top of its head and behind the ears, figuring it may enjoy that sort of thing as it’s enjoyed pretty much everything else.

“You’re a good wolf, aren’t you?” he says quietly. “Forgive my misgivings. Most wolves I’ve encountered haven’t been nearly as friendly.”

It feels kind of weird being called a 'good wolf.' No, he's not, he's a horrible wolf and he's trying his best at something he knows he's just okay at. But Crozier is scratching him behind his ears and that feels phenomenal. So don't mind Hickey as his tail continues to wag and he leans into the scratches, pressing his weight against Crozier.

Yeah, he's a good wolf. He'll be an even better wolf if these head scratches keep coming.

Strange, strange animal. He chuckles as the wolf pushes against him. “Have I made a new friend? Or is it your habit to go from cabin to cabin begging for scraps? I can’t tell if it’s clever or lazy.”

Fuckin' clever, that's what he is. As Crozier mentions 'lazy,' Hickey lets out a little huff of disapproval. He's clever! He's absolutely clever! Managed to get into this, managed to figure out everything here, managed to work his way into Crozier's house, wasn't he?

Hickey moves to rub up against Crozier's leg, enjoying the hell out of this physical contact and these ear scratches.

Did that wolf just sneeze? Sounded like it, but clearly it isn't bothered by it considering it's still pushing against his body. He grunts softly and tries to push the wolf away slightly. "Easy there, boy," he says, deciding that this wolf is definitely a 'he'. "Easy. I'm still a little sore. You'll hurt me all over again."

He gives the wolf another few thumps on its side and then scratches its back.

Wait, shit, those back scratches feel great. Hickey lets out a little whuff of approval, tail thumping against the floor, enjoying the hell out of the scratches and the thumps.

...and you know what. Why not see how this feels? Hickey looks over at Crozier before rolling over, presenting the man with his belly to rub. Scratch him there next, please!

The wolf offers him its belly and Crozier frowns. Submissive thing. It reminds him of a sycophantic lieutenant, and he chuckles a little to himself as he leans out to rub at the wolf's belly.

"Good boy," he says. "You're a good boy. You can stay a while, if you'd like."

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