A Lonely Miracle

august watched the other as she played with her dog, the beautiful black coat was practically glistening in the sunlight. “you’re very welcome,” she smiled at the woman before looking to her two. “thank you too, they’re something else that’s for sure,” a light chuckle leaving her lips. though malakai was still just a wee tot, he knew better than to be rough with duckie and how being too careless would hurt him. august had made sure that her son was taught a such a thing since he was a just a little bitty thing. 

“right? he wasn’t too happy with the training in the beginning, but now he’s pretty good,“ she responded happily as she spoke about her cuddly feline. “oh do you? that’s so cool! i’m sure they want to, but their minds just want to disagree to disagree.“

Rowan nodded her understanding. "They get along well together, then?" she asked, more to make conversation than anything. It was clear that there was at least some level of rapport between the child and the cat. The cat wasn't acting like it expected the child to grab at it. "We had all manner of animals when I was growing up, but Kein is my first dog of my own."

"Mostly, I train dogs," Rowan admitted, scratching behind Kein's ear. "But I think that's more because a lot of people with other animals don't realise that they can be trained too. And I'm a little too far into the city to train larger animals."

Hawthorne eyed Pepsi like he was onto him and then headed over to the pantry first. He pulled out an extra case of White Claw and went ahead and put them into the fridge in case they wanted more later. 

“She said ‘hot dogs’ so that rules the both of y’all out, you two weirdos,” Hawthorne told Kein and Pepsi before he went back to the pantry and found hot dog buns. He looked around and then went to the fridge and glanced around. His fridge was always half-empty. He really should figure out how to be adult enough to stock up on some things.

He carried the buns to the counter and then walked to the back door. “You get it on?” he asked, making sure Rowan remembered how to use his grill. “And, uh, you want chili? I got stuff to make it.”

Rowan laughed, scratching both of the dogs behind the ear. "Don't listen to him," she cooed, grinning up at her brother. "He's just a grumpy-grump that doesn't know how damn cute you both are." Rowan ruffled their hair softly before going out to start the grill.

"Yep!" Rowan called back, clicking the lighter to get it going. "I've got it, or... I will in a minute. And... do we want to wait like twenty minutes for chilli? Or are you reheating canned chilli like a heathen? Because this changes the answer. And it also changes whether I disown you as my brother and whether or not I kidnap Pepsi, so he doesn't have to grow up with such a bad influence."

“A dog trainer?” Carter asked. Definitely not the woman he was meeting. He glanced around one more time to make sure he wasn’t wasting time if the client had arrived, but he saw no one. 

“Well, you’ve done great work with this one. Is he being trained or is he yours?” Carter asked. “Or both? …Neither?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. Harper Woodward.” He cringed at the ball in his hand. “I’d shake your hand, but…” He held up the ball again. “Do you mind if I throw this for him? He’s being so patient.”

Rowan nodded. "A dog trainer," she echoed, ruffling Kein's ears. "And this one is all trained. He's mine. I did train him when he was a pup, though." Kein had been one of the harder dogs that Rowan had trained, if she was being honest. She'd never worked with a working breed before and the sheer levels of energy that Kein had had as a puppy was not something she'd been prepared for at the time.

"Oh, yeah, go ahead," Rowan said, nodding towards the ball. "Kein, stand." The dog's ears perked up, eyes locking on the ball. "If he listens, he'll stay until he's released."

“I completely agree. I was so worried that it was going to be super awkward. But I was so glad when I saw your name on the paper.” She said with a smile. “What is your favorite thing on the menu here?” Caly followed the other into the restaurant and to their table. 

"This is probably my first date in a year?" Rowan supposed, smoothing her hands down the front of her dress. "Before I saw it was you, I was worried I might have to explain that it was just for charity, not for a romantic connection." She flipped the menu open before tapping. "The mushroom swiss burger if I'm feeling bad. Or the blackened chicken salad if I'm feeling good. They're both delicious, but it's a matter of, do I feel like it's a cheat night or should I stick with the diet options."

Task 001 - Inside The Muse’s World

dakota smiled and gave the female a nod when they agreed to look for a place to eat. living in denver, kota knew a few good places where they could eat, but also wanted to hear the other’s opinion as to where she wants to eat. standing beside the other, she pulled her phone out and looked through the places close to them. 

when rowan spoke, kota turned to face her when she mentioned a sandwich place which wasn’t too far from them. “oh i’m down for either or, i do love a good fondue place as well. maybe we can go there since we both have never been?” she suggested and pulled up the fondue place on her phone. “doesn’t seem to far from where we are.”

Rowan smiled. "And the museum is paying for it, so we might as well go to the more expensive of the two places," she agreed. "Do you want to walk there? I'm wearing heels, but I'm willing to walk there." Rowan walked in them enough to make it. She'd always liked how her legs looked in heels.

"So, what do you do? Like for a living," Rowan asked, starting to walk towards the fondue place. "I train dogs. I've always liked animals, so it made sense, I suppose." Rowan tucked some of her hair behind her ear. She was used to having Kein with her everywhere, and his absence felt something like forgetting to put on pants.

Caly saw her friend as she walked up to the restaurant. “Hello, Rowan! How are you?” She could smell the food in the air and she was so excited to give this restaurant a try. “In all my years in Denver, I haven’t made it to this restaurant yet.” 

Rowan smiled at Caly. "I'm doing alright," she said, leading Caly into the restaurant. "When I signed up for the charity thing, I was definitely nervous for who I'd get dates with, you know? I was definitely relieved that one of them was already my friend. It feels less awkward." 

"I like this place," Rowan said, giving her name to the hostess. "I come here when I can and have the occasion. You'll like it. It's delicious."

you could say dakota was a little nervous for this date. working in the museum she was able to see everything behind the scenes with how everything was planned and watching the names get drawn for the auction. it surprised her that she had gotten paired with someone but she was always looking to meet new people and to make friends with them. getting dressed in something cute, but also appropriate for this date, she found herself getting a little nervous. she wasn’t sure what to expect, but she was excited about it at the same time. taking a deep breath she headed to the park where they had agreed to meet. 

glancing around, she hoped she wasn’t late or she didn’t keep the other waiting. hopefully they would be able to decide on where they eat or which restaurant they could go to. when she spotted someone, she called out to her and smiled when she turned around, “yes that’s me.” she commented, “it’s nice to meet you rowan. shall we decide on where to eat?” she questioned with a smile wondering which place they should pick. 

Rowan smiled and nodded. "Definitely," she said, smoothing a hand down her dress. "I'm not that picky." She offered the other woman a smile. Rowan thought about it, though, thinking of the better places to eat near the park so they wouldn't have to walk far.

"Uh... it's not terribly fancy, but there's a sandwich place just a block away that's really good," Rowan suggested, thinking of one of her favourite lunch spots. "Or... I think there's like one of those fondue places across the street. I've never been, but it's dinner with an activity."

The park was far from an ideal place to meet someone, but this particular park didn’t have too many cameras so Carter would take what he could get. He was still waiting on his latest client to show up, just walking down along a tree line, trying to keep out of sight, when a ball came bouncing down a hill and landed at his feet. 

He picked it up, about to toss it back to the kids who had lost it when he noticed that his hand suddenly had saliva on it. He tried not to cringe as the dog both the ball and saliva obviously belonged to came furiously chasing the the thing. He held the ball above his head a little. “Is this yours?” he asked. He wanted to throw it, but he didn’t know which direction it had come from and he didn’t want to get the dog farther away from his owner. He was surprised when instead of jumping for the ball, Kein sat down patiently and waited.  He looked up as Rowan ran into view. “Your dog is unexpectedly well behaved.” 

Rowan came to a stop in front of the man and put a hand on Kein's head. "He's a good boy," she confirmed, scratching behind his ear. "I'm a dog trainer, so he'd better be well-behaved, or I won't have any clients."

She eyed the man somewhat suspiciously. They were the same height, which was something that Rowan was used to. She knew she was tall for a woman, and she liked to wear heels to be even taller most of the time. But at the park, Rowan was in her sneakers in case she had to run after Kein like she had.

"Sorry, sometimes the ball gets away from me," Rowan apologised, smiling. "He's not always as calm with strangers. You must be good with dogs." That didn't mean she trusted him, but she trusted him more than a stranger that Kein didn't act calmly towards.

“I had bacon and eggs this morning,” Hawthorne replied with a grimace.  He watched Pepsi watching Rowan in the fridge. He was always hoping for a little snack for himself when someone started rattling around in the drawers where the deli meats were kept.  “I’d got stuff for hot dogs if you want to grill something. I have ground beef too, but we’d have to thaw it so your call. But we could. Depends on how hungry you are.” He walked over to the cabinet beside the seat and reached up and opened it, retrieving two glasses. “You need a drink?” He glanced around for a glass to confirm Rowan didn’t already have one. “I have water and raspberry tea and milk. And probably like two or three White Claws if you wanna drink just enough alcohol to make you feel like you’ve gotten an edge on La Croix.”

"Ugh, why do you have to ruin all my plans?" Rowan teased, ripping up a bit of lunch meat and offering the smaller piece to Pepsi and the bigger piece to Kein. "Shh, Pep, don't tell your papa. Kein, you're already busted. I know what you've eaten." She scratched both dogs on the head with a smile.

"Let's just do hot dogs," Rowan decided, grabbing the package out of the fridge. "Let's be real. You know I don't have the patience for thawing ground beef. I'd try to cook it frozen and wonder why it didn't work."

Rowan grabbed the tongs for the grill. "Hit me with some of that raspberry tea," she decided, heading for the back door and Hawthorne's grill. "Maybe we'll hit the White Claws when these bad boys are grilled up."

Rowan was surprised to find that her charity auction date was with Caly. She was happy to see her friend. Rowan got dressed up nice, figuring if she was going out. She wanted to look good, especially since she was planning to convince Caly to go to the club after dinner. She figured her friend needed to unwind a little bit anyway. 

Rowan left Kein at home in his room with a new chew toy and had to leave while avoiding his sad, puppy eyes as she left. She stood outside of the restaurant, waiting for Caly. She texted Hawthorne, asking her brother to let Kein out if he beat Rowan home.

Rowan wasn't sure about this whole charity date thing, but it seemed like a good cause, so she'd signed up anyway. She got all dressed up, curled her long hair, and debated a long time about her piercings. Rowan decided to skip the eyebrow piercing, simply replacing the metal earring with her clear quartz one. She left her septum piercing alone. Rowan picked her favourite little black dress, the one that showed off her legs. 

She went to the park that she and the woman named Dakota had agreed to meet, having left Kein with Hawthorne. They didn't agree on a restaurant ahead of time, only decided to meet and discuss. Rowan had her little purse slung around her shoulder, and she stood on the sidewalk, so her heels didn't sink into the dirt. Looking up when she heard her name, she smiled. "Hi, you must be Dakota," Rowan said with a smile.

“Hey there!” Hawthorne said excitedly to Kein. “Hey there, buddy!” He played with the dog’s face and ears a second before letting him go and walking over to wash the dog slobber and the dirt from work off of his hands. 

“You know there’s a store two blocks from here, right? I do suggest next time maybe stocking up on enough peanut butter for the both of us. Maybe if you’re cool about it, I like grape jelly in the squeeze bottle.” He picked up his mostly empty jelly container from the refridgerator and then grabbed a plate and got his toast as it popped up. He stepped around Rowan, grabbing a spoon from the drawer. He had to watch where he was walking as Pepsi dashed in front of his feet and then walked back and propped beside the countertop. He spread some peanut butter and jelly onto his toast and made a sandwich. He licked some from his thumb and took a bite of the PBJ before confirming. “Yeah, this is just an appetizer. I’m starving. What else are we having?”

Rowan grinned, picking up Pepsi from where the little dog was propped its feet on her leg. "Hello to you too, Pep," Rowan chirped. "Although, I think your papa here needs to remember your training about not jumping on people, even if you're excited to see them." 

"Yeah, but the store is two blocks away. You're right next door," Rowan pointed out, gesturing vaguely towards her adjoining condo. "Why would I go all the way to the store when I could just come here? I get to eat your peanut butter, and I get a little company." She kissed Pepsi's head before setting the little dog down again. 

Rowan took Hawthorne's place at the refrigerator, scanning over the contents. "Bacon and eggs?" she suggested, pursing her lips slightly. "It's not breakfast time, but that doesn't mean we can't eat bacon and eggs."

Rowan tossed the ball for Kein at the park for what seemed like the hundredth time in a row. Kein was still going and still happy to keep going. He'd go for hours if she let him. The day was overcast, so he wouldn't stop due to the heat like he'd been doing in the sun. That was okay, though. Rowan knew what his limit was.

She tossed the ball again, realising belatedly that she hadn't watched before she threw. "Heads up!" Rowan shouted, trying to get the man's attention before the ball landed near him. It bounced once, rolling to the man's feet. Kein paid him no mind, barrelling for the ball. She started running after her dog, knowing damn well that after he got the ball, Kein would realise he was next to a stranger, and he'd immediately be on the defensive. "Kein!" Rowan tried to get the dog's attention, but he was single-mindedly chasing his ball.

Hawthorne walked in and could smell that his sister was there before he even saw her.

“You making enough for two?” he called as he unclipped Pepsi’s leash and put it away with his own backpack.

He walked into the kitchen to see Rowan waving toast at him and shrugged. 

“Not gonna lie. I was hopin’ we were havin’ something a little more substantial, but by all means,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Put me some in.”

Rowan stuck her tongue out at Hawthorne but dropped two more pieces of toast into the toaster anyway. Kein came barrelling from the other room, pausing to greet Pepsi before running towards Hawthorne with his tail wagging excitedly.

"We can," Rowan allowed, smearing peanut butter on Hawthorne's toast. "But I wanted peanut butter toast and had no peanut butter. So thus, here I am." She slid the plate across the counter, grabbing a spoon to get a spoonful of the peanut butter just to eat. "Peanut butter cravings are a real problem, Hawthorne. A real problem."

    “i didn’t even know those were trees,” he admitted with a shrug, “i thought rowan was just a cool name.” leaning back into his palms once more, jackson let his head fall back as he squinted up at the sky once more. “if you went with more than one person there’d almost be no room.” he hummed.

he listened to them explain themselves, staring stupidly in their direction. his own sexuality was something jackson had never questioned. all his life he’d liked women, and pretty much exclusively women- that being said, he didn’t effectively care. why would he? it was none of his business who someone wanted to sleep with. unfortunately, that almost meant he didn’t fully understand it. “huh?” he echoed, squinting at them at their last sentence. “you- okay. i’m not an expert. but wouldn’t being gay mean you liked girls?” 

"Well, thank you," Rowan said with a smile. "But a rowan tree is also known as mountain-ash trees, and my middle name is Ash." She laughed softly. "She might as well have named me Rowan Rowan Gawain. Hawthorne gets to have different trees for his name. I call bullshit." She thought about his musings about size. "I suppose that's a point. That your way of inviting yourself along? Because you could just ask," she teased.

Rowan smiled. She actually found his mistake endearing. It meant that he hadn't looked at her and saw the boy that she sometimes still saw in the mirror. He'd only seen the girl she was always meant to be. "I wasn't given the right gender when I was born," Rowan explained, hoping that it didn't send the man running. "I was born a boy. And in high school, I was a boy that only liked boys. I'm female now, though. I was always supposed to be female."