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The Park - Sunday morning

The island was calm. The people here were calm. It was weird, after being in a high-tension environment for most of his life. Fenris sought the unacknowledged comfort of trees. The bench was unoccupied, the ducks unspoken to.

He smirked a little. "Hello, ducks. Where's your human friend?"

The ducks didn't answer. He hadn't truly expected them to.

The bench was unoccupied, but why sit on a bench when that tree right there had a branch that begged? Catching it, he pulled himself up and took a seat. Leaning against the trunk, he pulled one leg up and let the other hang free.

[Open! Brooding McElfEars is in the tree looking elvish af.]

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Another clash as the swords came together, parted, came together again. "Sounds like a good deal."

He dodged the next blow by spinning and coming back around with his sword.

And Zack in turn was once again hitting the ground in a roll, ducking under that sword and coming up again to bring his own toward Fenris in the same motion.

"It's been pretty great," Zack agreed. "She's been good for me."

Therapy dog. Huge damage. Yup.

Fenris' turn to roll under a sword, popping to his feet and blocking the next. "I would hope she hadn't been terrible to you," he smiled to show he was teasing, "She seems..very sweet."

He knew nothing of pets or dogs.

Zack laughed an easy laugh at that, grinning as their swords clashed again, and then stepping into it a little more, pushing against it.

"As far as dogs go? I mean, I'm probably biased, but she's the best there is."

Definitely biased.

But she was still a great dog.

Fenris grinned at the added weight, letting his blade slide along the other until he could dance out of the way again. Stepping to the side, he began a curving sweep toward Zack.

"I haven't met many that were kept as pets," Fenris allowed, "I've no comparison so your verdict stands."

Never argue with a man about his dog.

"You could always stop by the shelter sometime to meet the other dogs," Zack suggested brightly. "Most of them really like meeting new people. I take it the dogs you have experience are working dogs, then?"

He turned on his heel, his sword gouging a trench in the lawn as though the grass wasn't even there as he brought it around so that he could block again.

"War dogs," Fenris acknowledged, "Very large, very protective. Not the sort one can walk up to and pat on the head. Unless one likes life as an amputee."

The clash of steel as the two hit and blocked and parried back and forth across the grass.

"Those sound like kind of great dogs too," Zack decided, grinning. "Even if they're not super friendly or anything. I knew somebody once who was fond of big dogs. Best SOLDIER there ever was. I bet he would've gotten along with one just fine."

Parry and strike, roll, another flurry of sparks, and a grin...

"They do their job well and they're incredibly loyal, which is all one can really ask of them," Fenris agreed. "You prefer the smaller dogs?"

It was a dumb question but he was terrible at socializing.

Fighting, he could do. Block, strike, dash to the side, hop over the sword when it came for his legs, strike again..

"I like," Zack weaved backwards to avoid being skewered by the sword, "all dogs pretty much the same. If Girl was a tiny lap dog or if she was as tall as I am, she'd still be the best dog."

Also then he'd be able to ride her around like a chocobo, and that would be awesome.

Fenris laughed a little as the swords continued to meet, part, meet again. "I should like to see a dog as tall as you. You are not small, Zack Fair."

After a moment, "As long as it is a friendly dog."

"Well," Zack offered, "the man I was talking about a minute ago? The one who likes big dogs? Used to call me a puppy. So I guess if that counts..."

Zack was totally a friendly dog. He smiled like this all the time.

Fenris shook his hair out of his eyes by way of shaking his head. "Doesn't count," he noted, "No tail."

"Plenty of dogs don't have tails!"

Zack still totally wiggled his butt around like one from time to time.

Fenris blinked and almost dropped his guard, "Really? I've only met one and he lost his in battle."

"I mean, I don't like the practice, but apparently a lot of people dock their dogs' tails," Zack replied, tilting his head a little and frowning. But he perked a moment later when he added, "And there are a bunch of breeds that just naturally have short ones, or none at all."

He could start naming them off, but he didn't figure any of them would be recognizable breed names if Fenris didn't know about dogs without in the first place.

"Does that mean the same thing here as it does in my world? Dock, to slice part off?" He pulled a face and said, "Where I'm from, people do that to our ears. Sometimes as punishment. Sometimes willingly, to fit in with humans more closely."

Zack winced a bit.

"... Yeah, a bit like that."

Well. That was horrifying. It was his turn to drop his guard a little.

"For some dogs, it's a preventative health-care thing. But in a lot of cases it's cosmetic, which..." He curled his lip a little. "We have a vet at our shelter, but she refuses to perform a docking procedure unless there's some evidence the dog will suffer otherwise."

He lifted his sword again.

"I... don't know what to say," he admitted, "about what you just told me. Except that I'd like to show the business end of this sword to anybody who would do that to a person as punishment. And I wish there was no reason for people to want so desperately to fit in that badly."

"That is what I have a sword for," Fenris said calmly, "To stick the business end into people who deserve having a sword shoved into them."

His definition was really broad, though.

"Your animal doctor sounds like a wise woman. Cruelty to animals is contemptible."

"Good." For someone who made friends with everyone, Zack's definition was probably actually a hell of a lot broader than some might suspect.

"She's pretty much the best. And I don't say that just because she pretty much taught me how to do my job..." He shrugged faintly. "But that part doesn't hurt."

"Taught you the job?" Fenris asked, "Is it a difficult one?"

He had no idea. He knew how to take care of horses, which required a lot more work than people thought.

"I mean.. kind of? I'm not familiar with most Earth animals at all," Zack admitted. "I mean, we have dogs and cats and things back home, but also a bunch of other stuff they don't have here."

"I would be in similar straits," Fenris said, "The only animal I've ever been asked to care for were horses, and those, rarely."

"Oh, we don't even have horses where I'm from," Zack replied, grinning. "I mean, there is exactly one horse, it has extra legs, and it belongs to a god."

A god that Zack was capable of summoning for an assit in battle, even! But... he didn't do that around the island when he could help it. Even Zack occasionally understood the meaning of 'overkill.'

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The Park - Sunday morning

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