d'or sunshine

Eve’s smile was brighter than ever. After all the antics with the hostage situation it was nice to see Maya smile again. “I can leave some of the posters out by the bar since that’s where I found him. Is it bad that I hope no one claims him?” she asked as she went over to the fridge to get some of the leftovers out for the puppy to eat after his bath. “I think a collar might be a good idea. I can already tell Peanut likes a good adventure.” she nodded, “And maybe we need to make a vet appointment juuuust to make sure he’s healthy. I’ll see if I can get an appointment scheduled for him on Monday. Do you have classes? I can schedule it after one so you can come.” Eve picked Peanut back up and carried the happy puppy to the bathroom. “I think human shampoo is okay. It’s not gonna make his coat pretty and shiny like the dog brand, but it’ll do the job for now. Would you like to do the honors?” she asked as she held Peanut out to Maya.

Maya turned the water off, pushing against the side of the tub to stand up. “I have two morning classes but I’m done at noon so if you want to schedule it after that, I’m all good!” If she could help it, Maya wanted to spend every second she could with the little puppy. Maya was already picturing taking him on walks and wondering if she could fit him in her backpack with his little head and front paws poking out. “Oh yes! Hopefully he actually likes water,” Maya laughed as she took the puppy, lowering Peanut down into the water carefully before kneeling back down. Peanut seemed to take to the water just fine, bouncing around and splashing water everywhere. “We maaaaybe should have laid down towels... Do you think Jules would like him?” She still hadn’t gotten entirely comfortable calling him ‘dad’. “Oh! Do we have a cup or something to use to pour the water on him so we can get him all wet before the shampoo?” Maya spun around away from Eve when Peanut let out a bark, tail wagging.

After yet another “You’re him!”, Lance gave a low sigh and smiled at the person waving a tabloid at him. On one of the pages was an article about the mysterious disappearance of a mega tycoon’s son, which yes was him, but no did not mean he was or should be dead. “Yes. And I am indeed dead. That’s why I have a healthy glow and a pulse,” the male replied with a flippant sort of sarcasm. “I’m a ghost, standing before you.” He motioned to give the other a few light pats on the shoulder and turn away; though the article was interesting, he had to admit. It claimed the Newcastle heir was killed, or maybe was in fact a paid actor all along and not really a Newcastle, or married and ran off with a banshee (because he was spotted vacationing in Ireland once). Damn, and he thought spellcasting was exciting.

Maya watched with amusement at what was transpiring in front of her, enjoying the last remnants of her muffin as she did so. The show of sarcasm was certainly interesting and judging by the faces of a few people, not expected. Maya tossed the wrapped of her muffin into a nearby trash and then bounced over to the guy, head tilted to the side as she gave him a curious sweep. “So what makes you so special?” She asked. “Apparently you’re him and special so what’d you do? Treasurer hunter? Golden boy? Child star?”

Maya was making some good points and Eve even considered keeping Peanut for the moment, but alas reason got the best of her. “We need to make at least some effort to find his owner. It’s the right thing to do,” she nodded firmly as she set the puppy down on the ground. “If no one comes to claim him by the end of the week then we can keep him. “ She watched as Peanut excitedly explored the room; almost disappearing in one of the basket. “That is if we don’t lose him ourselves,” she laughed as she picked him out of the basket again. She could keep him safe throughout the day with concealment charms, but made a mental note to go through the hotel agreement to see if pets were allowed. “He’s pretty sticky and smells like hamburgers right now. Not that I think he minds. Can you set him a bath?” she asked Maya. “I’ll see if I can find him something to eat in the mean time.”

Eve was right, they needed to at least put some effort. As much as Maya wanted to keep Peanut, she didn’t want someone else to lose out on their puppy if they had a chance of finding the rightful owner. They weren’t doing a good job so far what with naming the puppy. “I can get together some posters or something tonight with my laptop. I can get them printed out and hang them up around the city and see if anyone claims little Peanut.” Maya was already envisioning the poster that would work best, but the quickly disappeared as she laughed over the puppy’s antics. “Yeah, I’ll go run the bath. We might wanna get him a collar too, just so if anyone else finds him if he gets out of the room, he doesn’t get mistaken as a stray.” Maya started for the bathroom and paused. “And so if we can keep him, he’s already got a collar!” Giggling, she headed over to the bathroom and flickered the light on. She kneeled down to turn on the faucet, testing the water to make sure it wasn’t too cold or water before she filled the bath tub up with an inch or two of water. “Should we just use the hotel shampoo? I know people sometimes use Dawn for pets, it’s usually safe, but I’m not sure we have any of that...”

“Darling, you can’t worry all the time!  You’ve gotta live a little!  Let loose.And you’re not boring, you’re just the quieter type.”

Maya bit her lower lip, shaking her head. “Worrying is just about the only thing I know how to do. I’ve been doing that for some long now I don’t really think I know hot to stop.” She shrugged her shoulders. “So then what do you call fun?”

“It’s definitely been a weird day for me too. Not everyday your sent into a town to be told your being arranged to marry a total stranger.” She said quietly. 

That was true. “You’re right about that,” Maya muttered. “I’m gonna guess that you don’t think so highly about this whole marriage thing?”

The puppy barked happily and pawed at Maya’s hand as she scratched behind his ear. “Shhh, shhh buddy,” Eve laughed as she tried to calm him down. The excitement was almost too much for him. “He likes kind of like a Peanut to me. He’s so small!” she grinned as the puppy licked at her fingers.“I think he’s hungry. I found him sifting through the dumpster at work. He’s not too nappy looking so he hasn’t been out there long. I guess the proper thing to do would be to hang up missing posters,” she didn’t want to part with the dog, but she knew if it had been her pet she would’ve wanted someone to do the same.

Maya face instantly fell, the idea of having to watch the puppy go already heartbreaking. He was too cute and Maya wanted the puppy to stay. “Do we have to hang out missing posters?” She asked quietly, leaning down to give Peanut a kiss on the head. “I know that sounds horrible cause he might have an owner out there missing him but he’s so cute! We can give him a little bath and get some dog food and bowls. I’m sure we’d be able to keep anyone from the hotel from knowing about him if they’d don’t allow dogs.” Maya straightened up to look at Eve ( hard as it was considering Maya just wanted to play with the dog the rest of the day ). “We can take peanut on walks and teach him tricks! I think he’d be the prefect pup for us.”

“First of, Job hunting is not fun.  And Second…why do you think job hunting is fun?  What is usually fun for you?”

“Just hunting is fun when you look at all the possibilities of what you could do,” Maya said with a shrug. “I’m not doing much of the whole ‘fun’ thing lately. I’ve got too many other things to worry about. But when I do, I like to just read or people watch. I’m boring, I know.”