[Hank is baffled. Is this as weird as her being half horse, her not knowing how to be friends with animals? Hank's been having a hard time with weird shit lately so it's probably better if he doesn't seriously try to figure out the answer to that. But wondering is definitely putting a pretty confused expression on his face.]
Yeah, I guess. But it's more than that. You uh... protect them. You know? Eating them would be like, so far out of the realm of possibility it wouldn't even be a question. So. I guess you've never really had a pet at all? Not even the chickens?
I'm not a princess you know- I heard they have little fluffy animals that sit on pillows and eat better than most men do. That's a "pet" I guess, but... every animal in my village has a purpose.
[Dogs for hunting, goats for milk, chickens for eggs, horses for transport, cats for killing mice in the granary...]
Well, yeah. But I don't hunt either, and I don't see anyone bitching about that.
[Hank's confusion has an air of defensiveness now. It's not like he thinks she's going to like, throw Sumo out for not being useful or anything - especially not when he's putting a paw down in front of her being all cute and shit, kind of patting the mattress a couple times, all expectant and probably already a little spoiled. Yeah, feeding him meat was a bad idea.]
[Hank squints at her, bemused. For a second he and his dog share a mood; the paw shaking isn't what Sumo was after, and he looks down at her doing it with what looks to Hank like confusion.]
Well, yeah. Sometimes, I guess. When you put it that way. But that doesn't make me more, uh... I don't know, productive, than my dog. Sumo, uh-
[What exactly does Sumo do? Hank can't really think of anything besides, 'get fur everywhere' and 'lays on me when I'm too tired to fight back', and the fact that neither of those things seem like what she's looking for makes his voice a teeny tiny bit defensive.]
He hangs out. That's enough, you know? He's a good dog. Besides, you talk to the other guys at the station, they'll tell you just how much 'criminal hunting' I do.
[Hank huffs, sounding more bitter than amused. Maybe he shouldn't have added that last part. Maybe, if he felt a little better right now, he wouldn't of. But it kind of just came out, and it's true, anyway, so. Fuck it.]
Only Connor is here, though, so I can't talk to them... ?
[So what... Would they say... ?
Konoha shakes Sumo's paws a moment, unfurling her fingers to look at his paws in her dark palms now that she has the actual luxury of interacting with a dog that didn't seem to consider her a prey animal, a doe to be chased through the woods and bitten into.
He looks so confused, though, so-
She spoils him, using Astoria's power for another hunk of venison to offer the dog.]
[Hank rests his cheek on a fist, watching Sumo take the meat carefully out of her hand and start chewing on it. He lets her keep doing whatever she wants with his paws, which doesn't surprise Hank at all. Sumo always was good with that, being gently manhandled that way.
Then he looks from his dog to Konoha. She's real quick, isn't she? It's a good thing she didn't decide to make this a late night visit, while he was still drunk, or he might of made that little observation aloud. As it is he just makes that bitter, amused sound again.]
Well, I guess you're just gonna have to take my word for it. Does everyone have to have a, uh... a purpose, where you're from? People too?
[She's a simple thing- She knows that- Also knows she's not great with sarcasm. It's why she figures this place is so confusing for her even though so many people kept asking like it was alright. It's why she focuses just on small things, to keep busy, to get through the day.
Weed the garden. Do the laundry. Cook dinner. Prepare persimmons for winter. Hunt down a curry comb.
It's fine to be simple, she thinks. Hopes, as she kind of smiles at Sumo eating, patting his muzzle.]
I mean... Yeah? I guess? No one I know is rich enough to just... not work. There's the rice to plant, and then you have to keep it irrigated, harvest it, dry it, shuck it... and if you're not doing that, there's clothes to weave, and food to prepare, laundry to do, errands to run... If you're too old or too young, that's one thing, but...
Well yeah, you've gotta have a job, if you can get one, I just meant-
[He shrugs.]
I guess our, uh, where we come from, it's probably pretty different, huh. You should try the pet thing some time, that's all. Having something there with you just cause, you know, just because it wants to be. Maybe you don't need that, with all your farming and whatever you do, but it's just... nice, I guess.
Haha... yeah... I know. It's just hard to think of something so different.
[People flying. Being able to just... buy everything somehow and not have to actually... grow it or weave it or make it yourself. Something called "voting"? Laws that say you can't get married and own stuff until you're eighteen? All sorts of weird things.
Yeah, you got it. Not really that different, is it? It’s also kinda... I mean, they depend on you for everything. You said you were good with babies, right? It’s kind of like that too. Less crying, though, I guess. And hey, you’ve done pretty good with Sumo, even before you uh, knew you’re sort of supposed to think of him as a friend. I think you could handle it, if you wanted to. The whole pet thing.
I guess so... I mean, my job pays pretty decently since I made foreman, I could probably feed something...
[That didn't pull its own weight? Her expression softens a bit as she plays with Sumo's ears, curiously picking them up so that the dog looks more like a bat. Cute.]
We don't have nice dogs like Sumo, though. I guess I'd have to keep something different?
[She looks over to Hank with a smile despite his less than welcoming attitude at times since she'd come in, pointing at herself.]
You're the "pet" expert- Do you have a recommendation?
[She looks over soon enough that the tired, crooked little smile hasn’t quite faded off Hank’s face and he raises his eyebrows, distracted from the cute factor of Sumo and his ears by the question.]
Uh... I guess exotic pet laws wouldn’t be a problem wherever you’re from, so- I don’t know. Maybe something big enough that you won’t step on it by accident?
[She’d probably kick his ass if he suggested she get a pony. Hank's sense of self preservation picks its head up at the thought and nudges his thoughts into more productive areas.]
A goat maybe? I don’t know what wildlife you’ve got in fantasy farmville. But uh, if you can get a hold of a puppy you’d probably be okay, they’re only really nasty if people teach em to be. You gotta make sure they know how to he nice real early though, while they’re still little. And depending on the breed they’re probably still gonna want to hunt shit. What kind did you say they have back home, hunting dogs and that dogfighting shit? They use any breed in particular for that?
Edited (sorry xD need to edit my edit) 2018-11-06 17:49 (UTC)
I don’t know shit about dog breeds, but I’ve never heard of those. Dogfighting’s uh, a big no no where I come from, so we don’t really have breeds that were just made to do that. So, eh, what do I know. But there are a few breeds back home that everyone’s scared of, but if you raise em right, you know.
[He shrugs again, too tired to bother with completing his thought there. He watches her with Sumo for a second, instead, face still propped carelessly on his fist.]
Pretty brave of you, you know. Doing this after whatever must of happened with those crazy killer dogs of yours. Even just with Sumo.
I don't like it at all, but it's pretty popular... You don't even fight cocks in your world? Or beetles?
[More of the "laws"?
But when he calls her brave she sort of just... tries to smile, about to deflect it... There's no reason for it, though, she supposes. It's not like it was a secret, and if she ever tied her sleeves back it would be obvious, so... She tugs up her left sleeve, revealing a large bite mark, freshly scarred.]
It wasn't so bad, before, I just avoided the hunting dogs, but... I got attacked by wolves, just a few weeks before I came here...
[She shakes her sleeve back down over the scar, carefully returning her hands to Sumo's ears.]
Haha... thankfully Sumo doesn't look like that... He's cuter...
[He gestures at his face as an example. Sumo’s cuter than him, for sure. The whole time his eyes, looking a little more alert and interested than the rest of him, don’t move off her. Hank knows a personal confession when he hears one.]
I always thought he could of done doggy modeling, before we got him. He’s got the face for it. How long’s it been in total? A few weeks plus however long you’ve been here? That looks pretty new.
[She might not know what doggy modeling is... But Sumo is definitely cute. Cuter than Hank, too, but she's not going to be so rude as to say it, even when he said it first.]
I guess...
[Konoha looks down at the scar again, taking a hand off Sumo to brush her thumb along it, feeling one of the jagged dots of hairless, new tissue that had once been a tooth puncture.]
Jeez... it really has been over three months here, hasn't it...
[That's a depressing thought.]
You don't have wolves right? Connor said you live in a big, big city.
Yeah. Never seen a wolf in my life. I mean, sometimes you hear about one in the suburbs or whatever, but usually that's coyotes. Inside the city it'd be really weird though, yeah.
Too bad the horse- [Not worth pissing her off, Hank. What the fuck was did she call herself again?] -uh, not-horse, whatever the fuck it is, centaur thing means you can't go. I kinda feel like a city'd blow your mind. Uh, not being real, too, that'd probably be an obstacle. Also, tourists with cameras. No wolves, though.
[That last part actually gets a charmed little grin from Hank, despite his mood.]
The car things, yeah, those are something else, aren't they. I guess it's a good thing we get a grand tour of all sorts of weird places, so you can explore without people batting an eye at, uh, you, just wandering around. Hey, maybe next we'll go to some place with a bunch of dogs, then you won't have to fuck around with some old guy being an asshole every time you wanna work on your, you know, dog phobia thing.
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Hank stares at her.]
You really don't have a hang of this 'pet' thing, do you? Cause that's, uh. That's not what it means. That's not even a little bit what it means.
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[... She definitely doesn't get what it means.
But that's what you get living in a rural farming society in medieval times.]
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[Hank is baffled. Is this as weird as her being half horse, her not knowing how to be friends with animals? Hank's been having a hard time with weird shit lately so it's probably better if he doesn't seriously try to figure out the answer to that. But wondering is definitely putting a pretty confused expression on his face.]
Yeah, I guess. But it's more than that. You uh... protect them. You know? Eating them would be like, so far out of the realm of possibility it wouldn't even be a question. So. I guess you've never really had a pet at all? Not even the chickens?
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[You don't ever eat them? Sounds fake.]
I'm not a princess you know- I heard they have little fluffy animals that sit on pillows and eat better than most men do. That's a "pet" I guess, but... every animal in my village has a purpose.
[Dogs for hunting, goats for milk, chickens for eggs, horses for transport, cats for killing mice in the granary...]
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...That's weird.
[Yeah. He's calling it. Hank, the arbiter of weird, has made his judgement.]
Besides, Sumo totally has a purpose.
[Hank stares at Sumo, now, and spends a moment trying to figure out what to say that won't sound stupid.]
Or, you know, if he doesn't, he has as much of a purpose here as I do.
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[So... what's the purpose?
Konoha looks at Sumo expectantly, head cocked, as if he could answer the question for her. He was nice, and fluffy, and sweet, but.
She still isn't quite used to thinking an animal... didn't do something.]
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[Hank's confusion has an air of defensiveness now. It's not like he thinks she's going to like, throw Sumo out for not being useful or anything - especially not when he's putting a paw down in front of her being all cute and shit, kind of patting the mattress a couple times, all expectant and probably already a little spoiled. Yeah, feeding him meat was a bad idea.]
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[She feels like she remembers that being the story Connor had told about his and Hank's job.
... Damn it, Sumo. How is she not supposed to try and shake his paws???]
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Well, yeah. Sometimes, I guess. When you put it that way. But that doesn't make me more, uh... I don't know, productive, than my dog. Sumo, uh-
[What exactly does Sumo do? Hank can't really think of anything besides, 'get fur everywhere' and 'lays on me when I'm too tired to fight back', and the fact that neither of those things seem like what she's looking for makes his voice a teeny tiny bit defensive.]
He hangs out. That's enough, you know? He's a good dog. Besides, you talk to the other guys at the station, they'll tell you just how much 'criminal hunting' I do.
[Hank huffs, sounding more bitter than amused. Maybe he shouldn't have added that last part. Maybe, if he felt a little better right now, he wouldn't of. But it kind of just came out, and it's true, anyway, so. Fuck it.]
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[So what... Would they say... ?
Konoha shakes Sumo's paws a moment, unfurling her fingers to look at his paws in her dark palms now that she has the actual luxury of interacting with a dog that didn't seem to consider her a prey animal, a doe to be chased through the woods and bitten into.
He looks so confused, though, so-
She spoils him, using Astoria's power for another hunk of venison to offer the dog.]
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[Hank rests his cheek on a fist, watching Sumo take the meat carefully out of her hand and start chewing on it. He lets her keep doing whatever she wants with his paws, which doesn't surprise Hank at all. Sumo always was good with that, being gently manhandled that way.
Then he looks from his dog to Konoha. She's real quick, isn't she? It's a good thing she didn't decide to make this a late night visit, while he was still drunk, or he might of made that little observation aloud. As it is he just makes that bitter, amused sound again.]
Well, I guess you're just gonna have to take my word for it. Does everyone have to have a, uh... a purpose, where you're from? People too?
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Weed the garden. Do the laundry. Cook dinner. Prepare persimmons for winter. Hunt down a curry comb.
It's fine to be simple, she thinks. Hopes, as she kind of smiles at Sumo eating, patting his muzzle.]
I mean... Yeah? I guess? No one I know is rich enough to just... not work. There's the rice to plant, and then you have to keep it irrigated, harvest it, dry it, shuck it... and if you're not doing that, there's clothes to weave, and food to prepare, laundry to do, errands to run... If you're too old or too young, that's one thing, but...
[Medieval life, amirite?]
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[He shrugs.]
I guess our, uh, where we come from, it's probably pretty different, huh. You should try the pet thing some time, that's all. Having something there with you just cause, you know, just because it wants to be. Maybe you don't need that, with all your farming and whatever you do, but it's just... nice, I guess.
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[People flying. Being able to just... buy everything somehow and not have to actually... grow it or weave it or make it yourself. Something called "voting"? Laws that say you can't get married and own stuff until you're eighteen? All sorts of weird things.
Unbelievable things.]
Like making friends but with an animal, then... ?
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[That didn't pull its own weight? Her expression softens a bit as she plays with Sumo's ears, curiously picking them up so that the dog looks more like a bat. Cute.]
We don't have nice dogs like Sumo, though. I guess I'd have to keep something different?
[She looks over to Hank with a smile despite his less than welcoming attitude at times since she'd come in, pointing at herself.]
You're the "pet" expert- Do you have a recommendation?
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Uh... I guess exotic pet laws wouldn’t be a problem wherever you’re from, so- I don’t know. Maybe something big enough that you won’t step on it by accident?
[She’d probably kick his ass if he suggested she get a pony. Hank's sense of self preservation picks its head up at the thought and nudges his thoughts into more productive areas.]
A goat maybe? I don’t know what wildlife you’ve got in fantasy farmville. But uh, if you can get a hold of a puppy you’d probably be okay, they’re only really nasty if people teach em to be. You gotta make sure they know how to he nice real early though, while they’re still little. And depending on the breed they’re probably still gonna want to hunt shit. What kind did you say they have back home, hunting dogs and that dogfighting shit? They use any breed in particular for that?
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Really? They won't be mean if you get them as puppies?
[She looks back at Sumo and tries to imagine the large dog as a small puppy... and fails, somehow but.]
They're Matagi hunting dogs. From up north. And... Tosa fighting dogs, from the south.
[Places she'd never gone to, and hadn't ever figured she would. Hah... look at how far from home she is now.]
You really don't have those?
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[He shrugs again, too tired to bother with completing his thought there. He watches her with Sumo for a second, instead, face still propped carelessly on his fist.]
Pretty brave of you, you know. Doing this after whatever must of happened with those crazy killer dogs of yours. Even just with Sumo.
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[More of the "laws"?
But when he calls her brave she sort of just... tries to smile, about to deflect it... There's no reason for it, though, she supposes. It's not like it was a secret, and if she ever tied her sleeves back it would be obvious, so... She tugs up her left sleeve, revealing a large bite mark, freshly scarred.]
It wasn't so bad, before, I just avoided the hunting dogs, but... I got attacked by wolves, just a few weeks before I came here...
[She shakes her sleeve back down over the scar, carefully returning her hands to Sumo's ears.]
Haha... thankfully Sumo doesn't look like that... He's cuter...
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[He gestures at his face as an example. Sumo’s cuter than him, for sure. The whole time his eyes, looking a little more alert and interested than the rest of him, don’t move off her. Hank knows a personal confession when he hears one.]
I always thought he could of done doggy modeling, before we got him. He’s got the face for it. How long’s it been in total? A few weeks plus however long you’ve been here? That looks pretty new.
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I guess...
[Konoha looks down at the scar again, taking a hand off Sumo to brush her thumb along it, feeling one of the jagged dots of hairless, new tissue that had once been a tooth puncture.]
Jeez... it really has been over three months here, hasn't it...
[That's a depressing thought.]
You don't have wolves right? Connor said you live in a big, big city.
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Too bad the horse- [Not worth pissing her off, Hank. What the fuck was did she call herself again?] -uh, not-horse, whatever the fuck it is, centaur thing means you can't go. I kinda feel like a city'd blow your mind. Uh, not being real, too, that'd probably be an obstacle. Also, tourists with cameras. No wolves, though.
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I'm real...
[He was so close!
But it's just a mumble, tugging her sleeve back over the scar and instead scratching behind Sumo's ears.]
I saw a city in Struxta... and "Cars", I saw the car things.
[... He was right that it blew her mind, though.]
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The car things, yeah, those are something else, aren't they. I guess it's a good thing we get a grand tour of all sorts of weird places, so you can explore without people batting an eye at, uh, you, just wandering around. Hey, maybe next we'll go to some place with a bunch of dogs, then you won't have to fuck around with some old guy being an asshole every time you wanna work on your, you know, dog phobia thing.
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