#afinehound

It was always delightful to meet up with Torgal – whether it was so late at night or very early in the morning, regardless of how exhausted the two could be. His loyal pet would always find his way to him and his master would always reward him for it. One of his hands move away from holding the plate of food to ruffle and scratch fur between the dog's ears.

"Hey boy... What is it?" Well, it didn't take a philosopher to know just what the hound wanted the moment he glanced over at his plate full of food. A scoff comes out of Clive. "I'm pretty sure you ate not too long ago, didn't you, boy?"

Yet, if there was something Torgal knew ever since they met long ago, it was that Clive was a softie when it came to him... and any of his loved ones, in general. How could he say no to that whine? He'd much rather starve than allow for Torgal to be sad. His plate lowers over to the dog's mouth, eyes glancing over at the plate and then at Torgal, eyebrows raised.

It was nice to have the moment to take a stroll through the wood, nothing pressing for once, and able to take in the quiet of nature. He much preferred to stargaze, but it wasn't as if he could choose to take a moment at night, plus Torgal seemed to be enjoying the change in scenery.

The morning had been one of going through the motions. Head down, Clive kept himself busy and well out of the way of his mother's ire.

It was always more difficult when his father had to travel away for official business. Though he supposed it was much the same even when he was home — he could only shield him so much from being the problem child of the nest. He would have to be smarter about stealing time away with Jill and Joshua.

There was nary a warning about the incoming attack.

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been doused on him. A chilling sensation ran up his spine, and his heart leapt somewhere into his throat when those milky puppy teeth sharp as needles clamped around the leather of his boot and left tiny indents in their wake.

That flare of wide-eyed surprise died out with an equally shocked laugh. "Torgal." It was almost a chastise. He stooped down to wrest the beasts maw from his ankle and immediately planted a kiss to an all-to-proud and fluffy head. He'd survive the attack, if barely.

"I wonder..." The mischievous pup was quickly returned to the earth, and Clive flashed a grin. "Think you can stir things up for me? We'll both get in a spot of trouble, but we're used to that aren't we." He straightened, hand pulling the iron handle of one of the side doors, easing it open quietly. Then he pointed with a hushed order. "Attack." The room housed Joshua and his tutor. Enough of a fuss and the lesson would naturally be paused.

@afinehound said: Large paws settled on the wall as Torgal hopped up to look over the edge of the bridge at the fish beneath, tail perfectly still as he kept his eyes on his prize. It wasn't a high drop, but it was enough so that when he launched into the river, a huge splash would engulf anyone who had been standing nearby.

Joshua knew Torgal was going to jump; it was obvious by the way he was standing. He was thinking about his reunion with Clive, but also about Ultima. They'll need to get rid of them soon, if they want to even hope for something better... and splash. Well, maybe he was way too lost in his thoughts to realize he actually needed to move.