*eyeroll*

Aditi was a social person, going out, trying out new activities was top on her list, but those were all catered to her interests at that time and she only ever met people around her age, but it was rare moments like this where her interests gave her opportunity to met with all kinds of people. If it was any other situation, Aditi probably would’ve never met this man. “I’ve been to a few toy store though, but I’ve never found a tiger one,” she said, “Do you think I should try again?”

“That’s so cool!” Aditi exclaimed, once again excited by the fact that she met an actual vet. “Oh, true true, kids don’t know much about pet care, it’s the cuteness factor that reels them into pet stores. A booth for question is a really good idea, I remember when I first got my dog, I asked so many questions because I had no idea how to take care of them, apart from talking them for a walk. I wish he was with me, though, he’d love this event.” When he mentioned the word job, Aditi realsied then she had stopped painting, quickly cleaning the dry paint off, she carried on from where she left. “Oh no, I wish, but no, I’m a flight attendant and a vlogger.”

The woman approached the subject as if she expected him to care at all about her plushie problems, was it really that important to find a tiger one? To him they all filled the same purpose no matter the look, and neither did he understand why a grown up would care to buy one. Apparently some refused to enter adulthood. “Strange”, he replied with false care. “Usually jungle animals tend to be the popular ones next to bunnies and the like. But maybe the trends are changing? Been... a while since I was a child.” Fivehundred and twenty six years to be exact, and even then he hadn’t acted much like one. “You do as you want on that front.”

Whenever someone suggested a new location for their meetings, Winston wasted no time of his scouting it over the day prior to calculate the safety of them both. He reckoned there was this something with drunk people that made exchanges stable, most too busy swinging their glasses about and attempting to serenade women of no interest than notice two shadows in the far back switching belongings. No, he held no doubts it was to work out for the better, even if he preferred more closure than anything, but that didn’t stop him from making sure it wasn’t a trap. New clients, new deals. Anything could happen and he was old enough to think twice. However, just people watching got him nowhere as human’s mere faces were enough to make him wince at best -- recognising he might be better off focusing on just one opposed to twenty. Turning around to face the woman nested next to him at another table he spoke up. “Been here before? I’m kind of new to town so I’m trying my way around -- everyone needs to find that one place that speaks to them.” A neutral facade seemed appropriate for now. 

“Actually, yes I do. In fact, I am sure my boots are worth more than the dog, and anything inside your office. Anyway genius, I didn’t come here to hear you bitch while you ignore the fact that you can’t take care of your dog. My cat’s sick. He was throwing up this morning and is very weak.“

The woman’s continuously snappy comments regarding the dog made him want to push her into the dog bath and leave her there to mend for herself, but the addition of the cat in her arms caused him to swallow his boiling annoyance. “Then maybe you shouldn’t be picking a fight with one of two vets on duty right now”, he replied and pulled Fitz backwards as to avoid him sniffing against the cat. Last thing he craved was another loose animal. “Has he eaten anything bad?”

Rj was taken by surprise by the voice at his back “oh yeah” he said with only a glint of red on his cheeks, he wasn’t easily embarrassed, besides being childish still was needed to have fun like he did.

As he walked closer to the reception he greeted the other “hello” he said “I have a medium-big sized apartment with space for a balcony with soil, and enough space for a proper room for the dog and all their stuff” RJ wanted a medium sized or big dog, and he changed apartments for that very reason “but i need to be able to take them to long trips too, a dog who wont get sick so easily on car trips” he added thinking about the tours they were already planning.

Winston’s eyebrows narrowed, puzzled stare to overtake what had previously been a half state of annoyance as he looked over the man that had just about entered the clinic. What was he on? Did he think he had just stepped inside a dog shoppe or something? 

“Good for you, I guess. However we don’t adopt or sell dogs here, I’m afraid. The shelter is further down, did you take a wrong turn?” That was not to say the clinic didn’t have dogs in the need of a home in the back, but they were still inside the healing process and there were no say in whether they would live up to the man’s needs. “Or are you here to seek something else?”

“Yeah, well,” She shrugged. “People are stupid. It’s not even pessimism, it’s just fact - What kind of person doesn’t like dogs? Unless they’re allergic, which I can forgive.” She shook her head, a little sadly. “No, my apartment has a no pet policy. I wish, though.”

“Some are scared of dogs due to trauma and that I can respect as well, but if they haven’t done you anything at all I see no reason to hate on them either”, he agreed. “Animals are one of the least harmful creatures alive, especially next to humans themselves.” Hell, dogs didn’t travel around starting wars for the sake of oils and gold. “Oh, really? That person clearly doesn’t know how to live.”

@winstonfauxx

…

RJ wanted a dog, a big dog of preference, but he would be happy with any kind of dog, he wanted a friend and someone to take care after, someone to inspire himself and make more exercise and go out more during the week instead of staying home till late.

“Hello” he called out once he got in the vets, he started to watch around and got distracted in a couple of pictures of puppies ”cute dogs, who are the cute dogs, you are, you are” he sing sang to the posters

The voice from the front of the clinic made Winston look up from the newspaper he was reading inside the staff room, hesitant to end his ten minute break before the last seconds were due. No one else willing to grab it? Fine. With a sigh he sipped the last of his coffee and stuck his head out to greet the person waiting -- or speaking to the posters in a rather childish voice -- with a quick wave of his hand. 

“Hello there, may I help you with something?” He moved towards the reception and stopped while there was still a comfortable distance between the two. 

If the man was facing any sort of discomfort, Aditi was blind to it. The only thing she cared about right now, was making him look like a tiger and keep talking while she did. He kept the conversation going, and Aditi appreciated that. So many times there have been one-sided conversations and Aditi found herself frustrated at those people. “Oh, where exactly did you see it? Do you remember? I would love a tiger plushie, they’re so adorable. Yeah, that definitely seems to be the theme, teddy bears are the most common so I can see why they went it.” 

“Oh wow!” she exclaimed, and stopped mid way through her brush stroke. Leaning back in her chair, she focused more on talking now, leaving the brush dangling in her fingers. “So are you a real vet? That’s a cool job, right? You get to be around animals all day. I’m a bit jealous. I’d love to be around animals.”

As if the face paint wasn’t bad enough, the woman’s voice caused his head to ache. Upbeat people never stop on his top ten list, if even his top twenty. They held too much heart, too much sincerity for him to manage and explore it all and they were his least favorite of people to play. It drained him to the core, even if the pitch and the posture went along well with the rest. “Pretty sure they should be in every toy store put there. Toddler area.” Right where this person seemed to belong. “They usually have more, such as giraffes. Even they possess different taste.” He’d recommend going to a zoo if nothing else, but knowing how they often treated animals of any kind of he stood against it. 

Irina was walking along the street before a dog came bounding over to her. She bent down to greet it but it knocked her over with an “oof,” and covered her with kisses. She soon realised that the dog was wet and immediately regretted her decision. “Hey doggy! I love the enthusiasm but I wish you weren’t wet,” she said in a baby voice. “Guess I’ll just have to deal with it, huh?” she asked, scratching behind the dogs ear. She tried to get up but to no avail, luckily she heard a voice shout for the dog and a man appeared with a towel. “A little help please, he’s heavier than he looks.”

Hearing the chipper voice, Winston figured he was in no immediate danger with Fitz and their new company. It didn’t slow down his need to reach the dog as it happened to belong to another person, but it did at least ease up the tension he had started to prepare himself for. “Ah, sorry about that -- I looked away for a mere second and suddenly he had just poofed to the other side of the lawn.” A sheepish smile covered his lips not long after as he patted at Fitz to step off the woman, grabbing him at the collar with one hand and extending the other as aid. “You’re free to borrow the towel before him.”

Instead of being relieved that she wasn’t being stared at, the tension in her shoulders only grew as her frame tightened. “That’s why I said about five liters,” she said defensively. “It left room for more or less.” Nora shook her head, trying to ignore the irritation crawling up her spine. She couldn’t pick a fight with everyone she came across.

Winston shifted in his chair, now putting more of his attention towards the other person in the room. Half and half unwillingly so. “True, but considering some might have as little as three and some as much as seven, doesn’t make five an appealing number. It’s good to know the proper amount you possess, it could save your life one day. However I reckon you didn’t lose much by those scratches.” Ladies and gents, we have a survior! his head mocked.

When Adele had woken up that day, she hadn’t planned to be assaulted by a wet dog. A shriek of disgust joined the clacking of her heels against the pavement the second the dog approached her and the black cat in her arms. Poor Dolce joined Adele’s shouting with a shriek of his own. 

Holding onto the cat, Adele glared at the stranger holding the towel. If it wasn’t for her pet, she would’ve scratched the man already. She could only hope Dolce would miraculously start feeling better and take care of that in her place.

“Please tell me you are putting this beast down. These boots are vintage Fendi.”

As Winston gained hold of Fitz’s collar to hold him back, no second was wasted upon hearing her remark about the dog that had done nothing but approach her and her cat. What was she even doing carrying it around? Didn’t she possess something as simple as a cat cage? It was a miracle it hadn’t run off already. 

“You think your silly boots are worth more than the life an animal?” he didn’t even shy about pushing back at her with a narrowed stare to match. “It will dry, it’s just water. If they can’t handle that you shouldn’t wear them outside.”

“Not a problem,” Kimball grinned. “Yeah, like Hemingway. He’s one of my favorites as far as authors go. I know that sounds a little pretentious, but he was a good escape back in my teenage years.” Not that those were far behind her. Still, fifteen felt like six decades ago rather than six years.

“I don’t know, though,” Kimball shrugged. “I think it might depend on the person. I mean, I can’t tell you how many cats I’ve come across with names like Snowflake and Mr. Streudel. There’s nothing wrong with those, you know, just— It’s definitely different than Fitz.” Kimball emphasized the name with a playful cheer, giving the dog a big smile and fluff of fur as she said it. She stood after giving Fitz a final pet and offered her hand to the young man. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here. Of course, I’m still pretty new, so that’s my fault, not yours. I’m Kimball Greene. And I’m also very interested in what you’d name a dog of your own— if it’s a dog you’d have, anyway, of all the animals in the world.”

“Oh, but you always have to appreciate a classic -- don’t you? I’m personally a fan of Chekhov and Steinbeck. Of mice and men and the pearl are truly up there with some of the finest.” He truly sounded like the old soul he was for once, allowing his somewhat proper age catch onto him as he nodded along with the stranger. 

“Tsk, it’s like people don’t own imagination whenever they name animals. I like when a name has some thought or a story behind it, it connect with you though and through and it offers an ice breaker in case you’d ever stumble upon a need for it.” His eyes glanced down as he saw her extended hand, deciding it was for the better to keep his demeanor going, no late accepting and replying. “No, I’m kind of new to the city -- moved here four months ago. How about yourself? I’m Winston Faux.” Or at least that was his name for the moment. “Myself though? Hm... Lennie, just to keep on the topic of a favorite novel of mine.”

“Dis—counts?” she drew out the word longer than need be, hanging on the syllable. Her gaze wandered upward.

“Yes, if you have a student ID… or if you’re in the military… or if you’re a senior citizen…” a pause in her list, she looked back down at the patron standing in front of her. “Or if you can do a magic trick—or have a good story you’d like to share.”

“Fifteen percent off the ghost tour,” she concluded. “Which starts in seven minutes.”

Midori checked the clock and continued to scribble into a small ledger resting on the podium. Engrossed in whatever notation she was making, it seemed as though she had already anticipated the patron wouldn’t qualify for a discount. They may as well have been invisible.  

Was he to say he went far beyond the age of a senior citizen? That he had been around the year the military had first began to grow as a world wide concept? He figured it would get a couple of laughs out of this stiff woman (or at least another huff of disinterest) but none that would bring him the discount he was after. 

“What type of stories are you after? I have a few to spare -- life experiences. I’m not in a hurry and I’ll have it over in less than five.” A hidden michevious glimmer was to be had in the corner of his eye, hoping the guide would take his words for it. A lie crafted into reality to be shared, or a proper memory? Which one was most worthy of his reasons for being here, was the question.