Furnado Animal Shelter, Wednesday

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

April happened to think that New Year's was about as stupid as holidays got, but it was a reason to down a bunch of beers and make Ben and Derek Skype her from The Bulge. She'd still wound up calling it a night early, and when she woke up in the new year, she didn't feel so lazy or hungover that she felt the need to take a day off.

Anyway, being at work today was probably a good idea strategically - she could take advantage of people's new year's resolutions. She powered on the desktop and typed up a sign.

be a better person this year and adopt an animal in need

It was a dick move, but she'd be shocked if it didn't get her any business.

Comments

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[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

Re: Talk to April

[nomeatvirgin.livejournal.com]

"Are you attempting to blackmail potential customers?"

Ron had walked past the sign.

Then taken a step back.

Then walked past it again

Now, on his way back, he had paused momentarily by it and shouted his observation inside.

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

"Guilt trips aren't blackmail," April called back without missing a beat. "Unless you'd prefer that."

Re: Talk to April

[nomeatvirgin.livejournal.com]

"I believe that is called 'emotional blackmail'," Ron said. "Is it working for you?"

He personally preferred his marketing strategies to be a little less... extravagant.

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

Well, guilting people into buying guns might be... interesting.

"Pretty well, yeah," April said. "Got two dogs adopted by NPCs so far." She glanced back at the cages, then at Ron. "Want one? I can see you with a cane corso."

Re: Talk to April

[nomeatvirgin.livejournal.com]

"No," Ron said before the sentence was even all the way out of her mouth. "I do not keep animals."

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

"But they're so cute."

Her tone was flat. But she was inching backward, in the direction of a cage where a tiny samoyed was licking its paw.

Re: Talk to April

[nomeatvirgin.livejournal.com]

"I said no," Ron said firmly. "I was curious about your sign. I have expressed my curiosity. Goodbye."

You should really run, Ron.

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

And then there was a puppy (http://rlv.zcache.com/darling_samoyed_puppy_card-r8d0280bd18cf4f179a4a28bc520a8021_xvuak_8byvr_512.jpg) in April's hands. When had she even had time to unlock the cage? It didn't matter.

The puppy yipped.

"I think he likes you," she informed Ron, stepping toward him. Ron wasn't quite in danger of being attacked with puppy cuteness just yet, but it was a near thing.

Re: Talk to April

[nomeatvirgin.livejournal.com]

Ron released a loud sigh. "I am done here," he stated. "And you know I don't plan to buy a dog."

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

"You don't buy shelter dogs, you adopt them," April corrected him reflexively. "But you should--"

And then the puppy seized an opportunity and licked Ron's mustache.

April honestly hadn't been planning for that, and her reaction was one of shock and, to be honest, delight.

Re: Talk to April

[nomeatvirgin.livejournal.com]

Ron stood very, very still as the puppy practically devoured his mustache.

He did not look amused. Not at all.

Re: Talk to April

[furnaceface]

//Cat food, mealworms, and guilt. I must be in the right place today.//

Hopefully that telepathic voice, which presumably belonged to the lanky boy in leather who had just come through the door, wasn't too startling. Jono was attempting to be as non-invasive with his seriously invasive method of speaking as he could possibly be.

The alternative involved flashcards, and nobody wanted that.

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

Well, it was startling, but for more than one reason. April did sit up sharply at the odd sensation of hearing a voice in her head, but a lot of that had to do with the fact that she was hearing Jono's voice in her head.

"You're," she said, and waved a hand vaguely before she decided to nip that sentence in the bud. "What happened?"

Re: Talk to April

[furnaceface]

Jono appreciated the-- was it discretion? Even if it wasn't, he was going to appreciate the discretion. It was a step up from bursting into tears or wrapping him up in a curtain to try to put him out, like people had done yesterday.

//It's a long story involving a crazy bastard with too much power and daddy issues, a pocket universe about the size of a small town, and somebody doing a shite job at fixing the damage.// Beat. //I think. Everyone else caught in it changed back afterward.//

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

April pulled her knees up onto her chair with her. She looked, and felt, genuinely troubled. "But you were like this before," she said slowly, thinking back. "In the - detention. Place. People keep doing the same thing to you?"

Re: Talk to April

[furnaceface]

//More than I'm particularly comfortable with.//

He brought a hand up and ran his fingers over the strip of leather bandages wrapped around his face because I totally messed up that last icon selection there.

//Did it to myself the first time, I suppose. Not on purpose, obviously. Just... It happened. Took a while, but I got over it. And then a few years to play at being relatively normal. One I wrapped my head around that, it wasn't so bad, either.//

The universe seemed to like to wait until he was settling into his skin before ripping it away again.

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

"Can I punch the guy who did it to you this time?" April asked. She didn't have a lot of experience sympathizing for people, and had even less experience putting those rare sympathetic feelings into words. This was new territory, which was why this was coming out so badly. But her voice was full of some of those feelings when she insisted, "Your world sucks, Jono. This is bullshit."

Re: Talk to April

[furnaceface]

Jono really couldn't disagree, at this point. He just shoved his hands into his pockets and tried not to look too awkward as he nodded his agreement.

//If you ever had the opportunity to punch him, I certainly wouldn't stop you,// he noted. //But that would involve going back there, and I... I don't think I'll be doing that for a while.//

Partly because he had more than a handful of friends who would skin him if he did, at this point.

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

"No kidding," April breathed. Her eyes flicked rapidly from his bandaged mouth to the rest of him and back. There was a lot going on here. "Uh, can you - how do you get nutrients and stuff like this?"

It was a concern.

Re: Talk to April

[furnaceface]

//I don't.//

Simple enough answer, given maybe just a touch bitterly. Jonothon gave a one-sided shrug, and then glowered down at his feet.

//I can't eat. I can't breathe. Hell, I don't have a stomach or lungs or a bloody heart. How I'm still standing is anybody's best guess. Somebody said once that my body's not the important bit, not when I'm like this, but... I try not to think about that too much.//

He kind of liked having a body, thanks. Even if his tended to do shitty things like blow up on him.

Re: Talk to April

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

That didn't make any sense, but April wasn't exactly a doctor. So even if she thought that Jono's world's science was seriously screwed up, it was just a suspicion. "Yeah, it's a shitty thing to think about," she agreed instead. Vehemently. "You're probably better off distracting yourself."

Re: Talk to April

[furnaceface]

//Been trying to,// Jono admitted, glancing up at her. She seemed to be more concerned about this than he was. But then, he knew what to expect. He mulled that over for a moment before attempting something that was as close to a smile as he could manage using just the corners of his eyes. It fell somewhat short of believable, all the same. //Playing loud music and being bossed around by Joni, mostly. Most of my go-to distractions are right out.//

Apparently he'd picked up a lot of mouth-centric hobbies over the past few years.

OOC

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]