A generic sort of modern AU

[kremdelacreme]

Work days at a tattoo parlor might seem more interesting and unique than the average part-time wage slavery, but sometimes, it has just the same qualities as most customer service jobs. Dealing with tiresome people, fielding calls, complaints, appointments, and confused wrong numbers, maybe poking a hole in someone if you've been a very good boy today. But it's what he does, and it's what he enjoys, and right now, even though he's tired of it and looking forward to going home, he'll be eager (enough) to go back in tomorrow and do it all over again.

There's something to be said about job satisfaction, these days.

It doesn't pay enough for him to be able to afford his own wheels though, and so he's just gotten off the bus at the stop about a block away from his apartment building, and is walking. It's starting to rain, which isn't uncommon for this time of year, but it's also freezing out just now, so it adds another layer of misery to an already irksome day.

But he counts himself fortunate, especially when he spots those few homeless that tend to lurk out of the weather in this neighborhood. He has little to offer them between his own necessities, and what he's been attempting to save up, so he resigns himself to walking by with his head down. It's only because he's staring at the sidewalk that he actually notices what looks like a flattened, dirty animal on the sidewalk, and he's about to step over it with a disgusted noise, until he glances over and realizes that it's not just a flattened, dirty animal, but that it's actually attached to a significantly less flat, but still filthy, dog. He doesn't see any sign of a collar, but it doesn't seem right that a dog this big and apparently well fed is just out here as a stray. So he stops, kneels, and holds out his hand about a foot from the dog's face.

"You're going to start smelling worse in about five minutes," he points out, mostly talking to himself as he looks over the dog. It might have been white before it rolled in...whatever that is all over it.

Comments

I seem to have gotten the muse back for a little bit at least. Feel free to ignore if you like tho.

[kremdelacreme]

"I'll have to let her know, then." Skinner did have a knack for calling people things they ought to be called, whether it be a good name for a pet, or a slur against some rich twat. Krem's fingers continued to tap on his bottle, then stalled when something occurred to him: Did this guy even have a home to go back to once he was out of danger?

"So where'd you come from? Pretty sure I'd remember having seen you around somewhere if you'd been local."

Nevah!

[el_tybs]

'That might be hard to let her know unless you explain the whole "my dog is actually a man" thing.' Like if it was for a day it wasn't so hard to explain, but after being together for a bit, it might bring up questions is all. Not that he really minded, but still.

'I'm not local, no. From the general region though, yes. I've come through here before, but I live further north. Kind of just ran and got away from where I lived.'

Re: Nevah!

[kremdelacreme]

"Somehow I doubt she'll actually be all that surprised. But I don't know for sure that she wouldn't mention it offhand to the wrong person and end you up in trouble," Krem said thoughtfully, looking over the writing. "North...Free Marches maybe? Or up near the Storm Coast."

[el_tybs]

'Really? Interesting.' Probably would be a lot of questions, but Krem had a point. She would probably not mean anything by it, but best to be safe.

'Been to the Free Marches, but no. Storm Coast is definitely closer. I'm a bit more east in the Coastlands from there.'

[kremdelacreme]

That sounds like Denerim to him, or thereabouts. He nods thoughtfully.

"If you have anyone there you want to contact, let me know and I can make a call. I could also just ask one of the others at the shop to put you up, not tell them you were my dog. If that were a thing you might want anyway."

Part of him doesn't actually want to re-home Sam, so to speak. But he still feels a little weird about all of this. He straightens back up and heads to his room again, intent on finding Sam something to wear before he got too chilly. When he comes back, it's with a pair of comfortable shorts with elastics and an old night shirt that's seen better days.

"Here. Get covered up before I get a visitor and they end up thinking I just have random naked men hiding in my place."

[el_tybs]

'Well I'm not exactly hiding,' he points out, but slips into the clothes anyways. So no random naked men, just oddly dressed ones.

'Would it be easier if someone else put me up? Don't have to come up with a story on why you're trying to find a place for me to stay?' Not that he wanted to be moved elsewhere, but he could understand if Krem wasn't comfortable enough to keep him now that he wasn't actually a dog.

[kremdelacreme]

"Thing is, I don't know if it would be easier for someone else to put you up. They'd probably ask more questions, or have some kind of ultimatum. Get papers, get a job, or get out, that kind of thing." Krem sighs and rubs his hands over his head again, then heads back over to the couch to settle in, his thumb swiping through the condensation on his nearly empty bottle.

He seems to come to a decision after a minute of leaving Sam to his own devices, and starts his console up. The food he'd brought home is mostly forgotten by now

"C'mere. I figure if you're gonna stay a while, might as well see if you're any good at co-op."

[el_tybs]

The shirt is first to go on, and he's just about done pulling up the pants when Krem calls him over. Co-op? Sam tilts his head curiously, wandering over slowly before taking a seat on the couch next to Krem, though making sure to give him his space.

'Co-op for what?'

He can see that it was a game now that he was looking at the screen, but which game?

[kremdelacreme]

Krem simply hands hum a controller and boots up a game. It's a puzzle-based one that relies on the players not dicking one-another over to advance, though there are incentives to do just that, usually in the form of great jokes and an achievement or two.

"Just something to pass the time. Maybe your voice will come back in the next few days, if you're lucky. No more dogfood should help. Eh...sorry about that, by the way."

[el_tybs]

Oh he's heard about this one - it was supposed to be pretty good. Course this wasn't going to be easy considering he was a bit of a silent partner at the moment. For a couple minutes Sam takes his time pressing all the buttons and seeing what he had to work with.

'Eh, not like you knew, but man is that stuff terrible.' Well he could see why a regular dog would like it. 'I'm sure it'll be back soon. ' He hoped.

Should we skip ahead any? Thinking Sam might sneak into Krem's bed out of habit.

[kremdelacreme]

"It's meat and gravy-flavored cereal, of course it's terrible. Less surprising now that you kept trying to steal my food when you thought you could get away with it." Krem shakes his head some, letting Sam work out the controls briefly. Hopefully his hand/eye coordination hadn't suffered too much as a dog.

Sounds good to me. And more than likely when he's especially tired.

[el_tybs]

'If I was able to eat it I got away with it.' He certainly got caught afterward and getting a lecture had not been nice, but the things you do to live.

He's thankful that Krem gives him a little bit of time, though it's not having played a video game in a while that he needs to reacquaint himself with. After figuring he could die just by walking off edges or falling into pools he deems himself ready.