Furnado Animal Shelter, Tuesday

[puppy_fair]

Zack came into the shelter today to find the vet already enthralled with their newest arrival. She was crouched over a terrarium setup, cooing and dropping little pieces of her peanut butter toast in for the creature living inside.

Zack leaned over to peer in, frowning a bit. The dumpy little gray-skinned creature didn't look like much to him, but the vet assured him that it was a very special little critter, even breaking into a fit of childish giggles as it plodded across the terrarium and waded into the little water bowl that she'd set up in there.

"Well, okay, if you think it's so great..."

The vet informed him that if nobody adopted the thing by the end of the day, she was taking it home.

After all, how often did anybody get a chance to bring home a North American House Hippo?

[OOC: Open!]

Comments

[intraspective]

"I come bearing lunch!" Ino carolled as she wandered in right around, yes, lunch time.

She was on the ball like that.

[puppy_fair]

"Hey, lunch and good company?" Zack perked up from where he was dropping peanut butter crumbs into the hippo terrarium. "It must be my lucky day!"

[intraspective]

"I could pretend to be bad company if you really want me to," she said, amused, and wandering over to see what he was doing. "I'm flexible that way."

Ino squinted into the terrarium.

"Are those supposed to come that small?"

[puppy_fair]

"I have no idea," Zack admitted, also glancing into the little habitat. "We don't have anything like this back home. Do you?"

It was so tiny.

[intraspective]

The glance she cast at him for that was tolerant. As far as she was concerned, Gaia was her home.

But, yeah, she knew what he meant.

"Never heard of anythin' like this," she said, "but it weren't something I thought of askin' or lookin' into either.

[puppy_fair]

Zack, at least, looked properly sheepish as he realized his slip.

He'd missed most of her time on Gaia.

And she could still go back.

Still, he glanced back down at the hippo.

"I don't even really know what it is. It's kind of ugly, mostly?"

[intraspective]

"I don't know," Ino mused, crouching to get a better look at it. "It's kind of cute. Partly 'cause it's so small."

Small was almost always cuter.

[puppy_fair]

"And it likes peanut butter," Zack supplied, laughing a little. "I guess that on its own makes it pretty cute."

[intraspective]

"That is pretty cute," Ino admitted, watching the little hippo for a moment before standing. "Not cute enough to make me want one, though. Silly'd be jealous if I brought another tiny animal home."

[puppy_fair]

"Yeah," Zack laughed. "And I think our vet already called dibs. Besides, Mr. Winkles keeps giving it really jealous looks from his tank on the counter."

Murderous, Zack. The word was murderous.

[intraspective]

Yeaaah, Ino, not having blinders on about how evil Mr. Winkles was, was pretty sure jealous weren't the right word for that.

"I guess we'll let the vet keep the cutie," Ino said, heaving a sigh that was mostly fake. "I wouldn't want to upset the balance of Silly and Girl."

[puppy_fair]

"It is a pretty good balance," Zack replied, grinning. "And hey, we might get more house hippos in here again, someday. You never know."

[what_the_shock]

At some point in the afternoon, Miguel realized it was Zack's day at the shelter, and came by, knocking on the doorframe as he came in. "Knock knock."

[puppy_fair]

"Who's there?" Zack glanced up at the hippo, and then smiled faintly. "Miguel! Hey! Here for more crickets, or more chameleons?"

They were too cute, Zack would not blame him.

[what_the_shock]

"No more pets," Miguel said, rolling his eyes. "And I think I'm good on crickets for a while. Just came by to see how you were doing; thought maybe you'd want to head out for a drink sometime."

[puppy_fair]

"Oh!" Zack blinked. "Uh, yeah. Sure! I haven't just been out drinking with anybody in a while. That actually sounds like a pretty good time."

At least he managed to keep most of his surprise about the invitation under wraps?

[what_the_shock]

"I called a while back to ask," Miguel said. "There was something up with the phones, though. Figured we could talk baseball." He grinned.

[puppy_fair]

"Oh, hey," Zack laughed. "My favorite sport! I haven't had a chance to play in forever, either."

[what_the_shock]

"I'm sure we can find a ball field somewhere," Miguel said. "Hopefully keeping the drinks and playing separate this time. When works for you?"

[puppy_fair]

".... Any time, basically," Zack replied, shrugging. "I don't have much-" of a social life, "-on the agenda, really."

[what_the_shock]

"You want to go to one of the bars here?" Miguel asked. "Or one on the mainland? Or just meet at the park or something?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack considered those options carefully.

"I probably couldn't bring my sword to the mainland, could I?"

That would be a difficult one to decide to leave behind. As it was, he was going to get antsy this semester, not bringing it to class. But to the mainland, an unknown quantity...

[what_the_shock]

"...depends on where we go?" Miguel said. "Probably not, unless you put it in a box or something."

[puppy_fair]

"Yeah, I won't be putting it in a box," Zack replied wryly. "If we go to the mainland, I'll just have to leave it at home, I guess."

[what_the_shock]

"Is that okay?" Miguel asked. "We can always stay here if you'd rather."

[puppy_fair]

"It's..." Zack frowned thoughtfully for a few moments. "It would be a first in a while. But it isn't a dealbreaker. My sword has sentimental value, but..."

He shrugged.

"It can have just as much value at home as it does on my back."

The scars had faded, if only slightly.

[what_the_shock]

"Let's get out, then." Miguel waved vaguely in the direction of the causeway. "Go someplace and see what it's like."

[puppy_fair]

Zack considered that suggestion carefully for a few moments.

And then he nodded.

"Heck, sure, why not? I can't spend the rest of my life here on this island without ever leaving. There's a whole world out there!"

[what_the_shock]

"Yeah, I don't get over there much, either," Miguel confessed. "No reason not to, I just...don't." He grinned a little sheepishly. "Convention of homebodies?"

[puppy_fair]

"I wasn't always a homebody," Zack replied, frowning in thought. "But I guess these days I kind of am, huh? I should change that."

[what_the_shock]

"Yeah, I always spent a lot of time wrapped up in work." Miguel shrugged. "I did use to get out more, though. What kinds of places do you like?"

[puppy_fair]

"I left home looking for adventure," Zack replied. "And I guess I got it."

He mulled over his options for a minute.

"I haven't been... out... specifically going out to socialize, I mean... in a while. Can we start with something low-key?"

[what_the_shock]

"Sure." Miguel thought about it. "Doesn't even have to be a nightclub or anything; most restaurants have bars."

[puppy_fair]

"A restaurant doesn't sound bad," Zack admitted, nodding thoughtfully. "Okay, a restaurant, then. That way, at the very least we can ask for a booth or something if the bar part gets too loud..."

Big guy, could throw cars at people, easily overwhelmed by unknown situations these days.

[what_the_shock]

"Something not too loud," Miguel agreed. "Or bright. I'll go looking."

[puppy_fair]

"Great!" Zack smiled brightly. "Let me know if you find something that looks good, okay?"

[what_the_shock]

"Definitely." Miguel grinned and waved on his way out. "Catch you later!"