open | chapter 2 | cats and dogs

[dies_irate]

Who: John Doe, Boris, and you
Where: the Malevolent+ house, in town
What: puppy adoption, catch all, etc.
When: end of July
Note: no warnings so far; I'll be a little slow as I'm away from home :)

[closed to Malev house folks]

John didn't mean for it to happen. He tries to negotiate, of course. He explained that he's not human, that he's something that should upset a dog.

Boris disagreed, and had continued to follow him around. And John is, despite all appearances, a goddamn pushover.

Which is why he is now ushering Boris into the house, shushing him after a soft bark, because if he's going to live there, with him, there are people he's going to have to meet and get to know as well.

Whether they're home or not, John is going to get the fire going for the evening and whoever might come will do so to find John settled nearby explaining things to Boris while scritching his ears fondly.

The giant shambling laundry pile with horns has a companion now. Boris, for anyone who might have known the pup, has decided to adopt John as his new humanoid thing that he will live with and John has, surprisingly, accepted.

So if you see him out gathering pine needles for tea, fetching water, and even hunting small game, he's probably talking softly to the little cub about whatever he's doing, breaking from the task to offer a pet or an ear rub.

Feel free to say hello.

Comments

House party!

[lestercraft]

It's a little while after John gets home with his new companion that Arthur does as well, heralded as usual by the shuffling of the ice box out the front as he brings home food for the next few days. It's slower going, not fishing with Kostya anymore, but he's making it work. With difficulty, but still.

It just means he's more tired when he comes inside, but there's an audible shiver of relief from him when it's warm as he does so. "Hey, John," he says warmly at the sight of the laundry pile. "Thanks for getting the fire going."

Re: House party!

[dies_irate]

And the answer is a soft bark.

John speaks then, first to the squiggly puppy and then to Arthur.

"That's Arthur. He lives here. He's allowed." Then- "Welcome home."

And said puppy is going to trot over to sniff and inspect the new arrival as John adds-

"Arthur, Boris. Boris, this is my Arthur."

Beat.

"You're welcome."

Re: House party!

[lestercraft]

The bark is so unexpected that Arthur pauses with one sleeve completely off and a baffled frown.

And then the puppy trots towards him, and he's immediately wide-eyed with delight.

"Oh- hey!" And he squats down immediately, offering a hand for the puppy to sniff before he starts giving him a rub along his neck, scritching under his ears. "John, where on Earth did you get a dog?"

Re: House party!

[dies_irate]

"I didn't 'get' him," he explains with a small huff, "he decided he was going to come with me."

John does sound like he's smiling, though.

"We gathered water and pine needles together. And we're going hunting tomorrow."

Re: House party!

[lestercraft]

"Hunting?" He looks up in surprised, hands paused in their ruffling of Boris's fur. "John, he's still a puppy, d'you know if he's even trained to hunt yet?"

doggie 🥹

[afterdrop]

Look - Charles is a pretty simple guy. It's not impossible that his sometimes-housemates have seen his face light right up at a hot meal, or a cool rock, or an offering of what passes for liquor here. But none of those things are a match for his wide, incandescent grin when he peeks over the couch and sees a fucking puppy trotting ahead of John.

"Holy shit!" He puts down his book - a mildewy bodice-ripped he found in his house - and starts to clamber over the sofa back. "Is that a dog?"

You can never be too sure to ask, in a place like this.

"Is it yours? Are you keeping it?"

Re: doggie 🥹

[dies_irate]

He isn't startled, because he's become used to Charles coming in, but the surprise and delight gets a low chuckle.

"His name is Boris."

And said dog is going to squirm over to greet and explore Charles with a yip and a waggy tail. John stays where he is.

"He's decided to stay with me, yes. We've decided to be friends. He's living here now, anyway."

[afterdrop]

"Boris!" Charles crows at the dog, plopping down to the floor. It's every bit as enthusiastic as his greetings to Ulfrún, his one other canine friend here, but restrained to account for the fact that he's more likely to bowl Boris over than the other way around.

Not that Randvi's dog tries to bowl him over. Charles more just flops on the ground and makes himself available for crushing.

"How'd he tell you all that? Can you talk to him?"

[dies_irate]

"He has a little leather collar there, between the fur. But yes. He was very friendly and he decided I was his now."

...he's remarkably fine with that, really.

Boris is all for this enthusiastic greeting and will happily pounce and sniff and bowl him over and deliver doggy kisses. He's quite happy with this arrangement.

[solitarysoul]

Its the soft voice that brings Levi in, following it until he's close enough to make out what's being said and then till he can see its owner. He hasn't really talked to John in awhile and...is that a dog? One of Scout's puppies. He knew a number of the people who'd adopted them...weren't here anymore, so its good to see them with someone new.

He raises a hand in greeting. "Hey. You made a new friend?"

[dies_irate]

John raises his own claw in greeting back.

"I did. His name is Boris." A pause before- "How are you doing, Levi?"

Boris, for his part, is going to go toddling towards Levi to say hello and get a sniff.

[solitarysoul]

Levi kneels down and offers a hand so the dog can sniff. He's seen Scouts pups before, but never paid much attention to them so he's not sure which this one is.

"I'm fine, good for this place." Now that whatever happened to cause his flashbacks seemed to have ended.

[dies_irate]

"Good," he says, "very good."

'Good for this place' is as good as it's getting, so that's satisfying.

Boris will sniff at the fingers and then duck his head under the hand for pets.

"We've been fine, for the most part. Avoided... some of the bullshit."

[moralabsolutism]

"Got a new pet?"

The voice inside John's head seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once when the duo is in the forest. But the fact that Boris is suddenly sniffing about indicates he's caught the vigilante's scent. It'll take him a little while to find him though, given the scent seems to abruptly disappear. That would be because Rorschach is not on the ground but instead up in a tree.

[dies_irate]

Boris is going to sniff around a little but John will just pause before recalling whose voice that is. That's fine. He's not worried about Rorschach.

"He's not a pet. He's my friend. You don't own friends," he says at decent volume, "but yes, he decided to join me." A pause. "He's friendly if you're concerned. Or did you just want to talk about... a certain problem?"

[moralabsolutism]

"I think I'll stay where I am. I'm not the biggest fan of dogs," Rorschach explains to John. "Not after something happened that I can't forget and wish I could." He watches as the dog sniffs back and forth, trying to find the scent, his tail up in interest as he figures out where Rorschach went. Suddenly, he stops at a tall tree, nose pointed up. Sure enough, there in the branches, is the vigilante watching the pair below.

"But if you want to talk about that problem we're both concerned about, let's talk. You seem to be one of the few here that actually gets it when I say such a problem needs to be taken care of. I'm still figuring out an accident that can be arranged for him."

[dies_irate]

"That's fair," he says easily enough, but he'll walk over to the tree. He doesn't seem bothered that he's up there.

But the rest of what he says makes John frown a little.

"Wouldn't it be the most important to expose him for what he is?" Beat. "And protect people from him when he tries to do it again?"

[sputnik]

Konstantin's been spending nearly all of his time outside these days. He never likes sitting still for too long, but especially lately.. Three of the people he'd called friends are gone, so quickly. One was a boy he vowed to keep safe.

There's wood to be chopped, supplies to be found. But today he was out to check some of the ice traps he left for fish, and though the yield is small, it's something.

He's on his way back now, the fish in a sack slung over one shoulder, when he spots John in the near distance — a distinctive figure no matter what, impossible to miss. He's far enough away that Konstantin could probably turn and avoid detection, and maybe that would be for the best, considering how that meeting went, but...

He starts slowly trudging over to the other, adjusting his bag as he comes to a halt, blinking down at the puppy.

"Who's your new friend?"

[dies_irate]

Boris is going to come investigating, sniffing and hopping about as one does when one is a young dog, and he's going to look up at Konstantin with the big eyes of said young dog when their presence does not immediately come with an offer for petting.

John, eyes on the puppy, is going to provide the explanation.

"His name is Boris. He decided I was his." Beat. "He'd like you to pet him, if you're not opposed."

Nice, simple statements. He doesn't hate Kostya, after all. IF he did, it wouldn't hurt like it does. He'd thought they were friends.

[sputnik]

Konstantin can't help brightening visibly at the sight of those eyes peering up at him, all big and mournful. A grin moves across his face, and he's crouching carefully in the snow, movements slow. Given the entity inside of him, he's always a bit cautious to approach animals, never knowing how they might react. But the alien's not agitated or aggressive right now, curled up asleep.

"Boris! You'll grow up nice and strong, with a name like that," he informs the pup as he gently offers his fingers for a moment before starting to scratch the top of his head.

"Where I'm from, we'd call him Borya or Borenka for fun," he adds, before tilting his head up to look at John, even if the other's eyes aren't on him.

"Did you give him the name?"

[dies_irate]

Boris is just a little different, otherwise he probably never would have come anywhere near John. The fact that he spotted an entity who needed more friends and decided that nine feet tall with horns and claws was friend shaped says a lot about him. John, for his part, hmms, pleased, eyes smiling at he sees Boris lean into the touches, obviously thrilled at this other new friend.

But John shakes his head.

"His name was on a leather collar on his neck. I wouldn't dream of trying to name him. That's for him to decide." A pause. "Those names sound similar, though. Why would they call him that?"

wanders in with Starbucks holy shit time

[nicehobbit]

John isn't someone you forget in a hurry, or someone you miss when he's around, especially in a place with so few people. Since their first meeting in the closet, though, Frodo hasn't approached him. It's got nothing to do with finding his appearance disturbing (though he kind of does), just that he hasn't really seen a reason to. He's been keeping to himself.

Now, though, it seems they're both out gathering pine needles, and John has a new cute companion that definitely makes him look more approachable. So Frodo approaches.

"Who is your friend?"

Re: wanders in with Starbucks holy shit time

[dies_irate]

As soon as Frodo makes his way over, Boris turns to look at him and trot over for sniffing and greeting. Also making big eyes for pets.

John turns and watches and offers a little wave.

"His name is Boris," he says easily enough. Then-

"Hello, Frodo." Then, like he's just remembered- "I hope you've been well."

[nicehobbit]

With a smile, Frodo crouches down on one knee to offer his hand out for sniffing. And, of course, he'll give that sweet head some pets and scratches.

"Hello, John." He looks up to answer John properly, but he keeps up the pets. "I have been, under the circumstances. And you?"

[readytosee]

Oh. Oh!!! Look at the sweet little ball of fur bounding around after John. Casper lets out an involuntary high pitched sort of awww as he moves closer to the creature and his new furry friend.

"Hello to both of you! It looks like you've got a little buddy," he coos happily, crouching a little to give a wave to the puppy. "I never got to have a pet as a kid. Aside from a few frogs I was able to catch and then release again a few hours later."