aterat | Something Small And Wrinkly This Way Comes!

Entry tags:

Something Small And Wrinkly This Way Comes!

Who; Whoever wants to tag in!
What; One Closed + Two Open
Where; Apartments, Park, Gullwings Office
When; July 26th
Warnings; Adorable wrinkles (A PUPPER), but otherwise I will update if serious things occur!

Note:If anyone wants something specific they are welcome to let me know!

The Arrival - Closed to Rhy

Llewellyn had left for the office, amusingly dragging his heels the whole time. He had never been much of a morning person, and it was harder still to motivate himself to leave when he woke up curled against his husband.

But gone he had, after breakfast and some light fussing with his notes (there were still several trailing towards the door where they’d fallen) he bid Rhy farewell and wished him a good day… And a small, soft promise that if he was going to be late, he’d call. Something said a little more frequently of late after his run in a month ago, a promise Llewellyn did his best to keep.

What the detective hadn’t expected was staying regularly at Rhy’s building would present a rather odd ‘wrinkle’ in someone else’s day.

Outside his apartment in the blue building, some might have noticed a basset hound pup next to a hat box, pawing at the door and making the most annoyed sounds in an attempt to get in. He was smallish, at that funny awkward stage where his paws were a bit large compared to his legs, and his ears were still dragging so low on the floor that he would very easily trip upon them if he got too excited.

But his attention on the door went on for a good ten minutes or so, before the dog let out an annoyed little sneezing sound and turned his wrinkly body to pad downstairs and waited for someone to open the door with all the patience of a dog who knew the world wasn’t made for someone as short as he. Once the door opened, he bolted across the square. Ears dragging and nose snuffling fiercely as he followed the scent trail of who he was looking for from one building to the next. His patient wait was repeated as he came upon the building that had the strongest scent, dashing under people’s legs as he came to a stop in front of the door he was looking for and resumed pawing at it.

Eventually, he let out one of his more impressive howls in hopes of getting the attention of whoever was inside. He was sure that at least one of his fathers was within!

Burning off some energy - OTA

The park had quickly become one of Llewellyn’s favourite places since the festival. It reminded him so much of his world, in many good ways. He had a lot of happier memories tied to the park there. It had been a bit of a safe space… When he wasn’t feeling welcome at his first place of work, it had become his ‘office’, so to speak. It was open, easy to avoid being crowded. The sun above, and nice scenery to look at.

Now that he looked back on it? It seemed like a missed opportunity on his part that he’d never had a dog before. Pretzel clearly enjoyed it as much as he did, racing around in the grass and sniffing around for all the interesting new scents that definitely had not been present in their last world. There was life here, after all.

At some point, Llewellyn realized he was going to need to get the dog a proper harness and leash again. Even if he was trained to listen to some commands pretty well, it was hard to deter a dog who had never experienced the great outdoors in such a literal sense before. There were so many sights, sounds, smells, and creatures he’d never seen before!

Pretzel, as Llewellyn had noted, was extremely sociable. He delighted in attention and wasn’t afraid to dart up to someone to try to get pats or handouts if he noticed another person around. Aside from people in their last world, he’d even made friends with some very unlikely creatures (including both rabbits and wolves).

So… Say hello to the ridiculous, wrinkly creature tripping over his own ears in front of you!

Bring Your Pup To Work Day - OTA

Llewellyn wasn’t entirely sure about leaving Pretzel cooped up in the apartment all day at either of his or Rhy’s places. If one of them were off for a day, sure the pup would get all the attention he needed. But otherwise, he was a growing dog who was at that awkward stage of growth, reasonably well trained but still prone to puppy-mischief. Plus, it was hard to get stern with the canine for his mischief when he already had the most sad, lethal puppy-dog-eyes in existence. It was probably Pretzel’s greatest weapon, and given how spoiled he was? He knew how to use it.

So… Leaving the pup along would just result in Llewellyn’s shoes being chewed up again and who knew what other kinds of messes that only a dog could think of making.

People working would either look down to see a wrinkly pup staring up at them, maybe hoping for ear scritches or a little piece of whatever they might have been eating. Surely other people kept snacks at their desk like his father… right? Of course, Llewellyn was quick to apologize if he caught sight of Pretzel disturbing someone, or exploring where he shouldn’t. “Uh- sorry, he’s friendly! Just… A little stubborn.”

Like him, maybe.

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"Don't worry about it. I'll find a way around it," Nida promised. "People like dogs. Just... If you can teach the thing not to jump on me? There was a woman back home who had a dog. That seemed to KNOW I was allergic, and always came over to me."

Nida had an animal magnetism and didn't even know it.

"I honestly never really thought much about dogs or having one before the last world I was in kind of... just dropped him in my office one day? I have since learned the appeal to having one." Meaning he'd come to adore the little guy, even if Pretzel was a bit of an odd case where the last world did something nice for him instead of horrible.

"But stopping him from jumping on people before we know if someone welcome's the attention is already one of the thing's I've been trying to train out of him." There was so much to teach the little wrinkle, and he was so very excitable. "So! I'll double the efforts on that particular area of training."

"Thanks," Nida said, his fingers comming up to rub at his watering eyes. Hibiscus, by this point, had grown bored with lack of attention and began to circle around Nida's legs. The man didn't even know he was tangled now.

"I was partially dropping in to see if you all needed anything.

Sorry, Hibiscus. Llewellyn was a little preoccupied with committing the need to work on Pretzel’s greetings in training to memory. “Think nothing of it, it’s important for him to learn as much. You might not be the only person allergic, for all I know.”

As for if they needed anything... Llewellyn had to shrug his shoulders lightly. “I don’t believe so? Jagger may, but he doesn’t appear to be in today. Well- at least not at the moment.” Things were wonderfully quiet at the moment, not that all that pollen was gone, and there were no menacing creatures running around.

"And no strange cases you want to bring to our attention?" Nida asked, tilting his head thoughtfully. That was shocking. Things tended to get complicated in the city.

In fact, the lack of new distress definitely worried him.

“Things have been strangely quiet since the uh- spirits that attacked last month. Well- and that pollen I suppose, but that seemed more like a naturally occurring inconvenience.” Or maybe Llewellyn was getting a little too used to things like that, “It’s a little unsettling that it’s been as quiet as it has... Places like this don’t seem to stay peaceful for long.”

Not that he wouldn’t enjoy that while it lasted, Llewellyn would be quite happy if things didn’t get monstery or dangerous for a while. “For the most part, I’ve been looking into cases for the locals and seeing if I can’t find anymore on this world’s history from before.” Mundane, perhaps, but things he was a little better at.

The spirits. Nida groans and rubs at his collar. He'd had a bone fractured by the fucking things. Good thing for his magic.

"I think I prefer the pollen to the trash monsters looking like people we know."

No, they hadn't stayed peaceful ever, had they. But Nida still found a way to be happy.

"Well then, good luck with that. And let me know if you do. I'd be interested to know."

Llewellyn frowned lightly. “As much as I hate being forced to speak about things I’d rather not, it is far preferable to those monsters. I would rather not see something like that again.” He responded with a sympathetic nod. There was something exceptionally painful about seeing some people. It had been cruel, in his opinion, though he had a feeling that was the point, considering how bent on causing pain the spirits had been.

He was happy to shift the conversation to the other topic, though. “Thank you, there’s been an odd lack of references on the subject so far... but I am quite stubborn.” He grinned a little. “I’ll be sure to let you and everyone else know if I find anything particularly useful.” Llewellyn commented before glancing back at the office. He couldn’t help but wonder if the pup inside might be getting into some kind of trouble. It was a very large building, after all.

"Sorry you ran into one too. Glad to see you seem to have come through it alive. I only did because Ignis managed to save me."

Sure, after that they had worked together to take the creature down. Without that teamwork, Nida didn't know where he would be. Probably dead.

"What bothers me is the chocobos. EVeryone acts like they were always here."

“Yes, I was rather lucky myself... All credit to my survival goes to a friend I ran into while I was running away from it.” Llewellyn would never wonder if Harry was just boasting about being a professional wizard again. That business card was well titled.

The detective paused, blinking as he realized Nida had mentioned Ignis. Huh... Now that at least jogged his memory enough to remind him where he’d heard Nida’s name before. “Pardon me, uh- are you Ignis’ fiancé? I believe he’s mentioned you on occasion, but I haven’t always got the best memory for names.”

Nida would have to also forgive Llewellyn as he jumped between topics, prone to moving back and forth quickly as something caught his attention.

Llewellyn really hated the whole bit about the locals. That they were just acting like things were normal when something wasn’t. It reminded him of things. Of how the locals in the last world could be so easily influenced by the powers that be to either love or hate the arrivals. That many hadn’t even been real.

“I had heard that about the chocobos arriving? It’s a bit worrying that they would act like they always existed when they didn’t, makes me wonder things I’d rather not...” He grimaced a bit, “I admit, I didn’t even know what they were when I arrived... Was there anything before the chocobos? Like horses, or were there no drawn carriages at all?”

Was he Ignis's fiance? Nida smiled, his hands coming down to twist the engagement ring he wore. He loved his fiance so much. To belong to him would be a blessing. An honor.

"That would indeed be me. Soon to be Nida Scientia. Clearly you're familiar with my fiance."

The question, though, he's good to help with. Nida shook his head. No, there hadn't been.

"You must understand, the village was smaller. These Aspects, they don't kid about the whole 'rebuilding' their world. And what's a horse?"

“Well, uh- in that case it’s nice to finally meet you.” He responded, even if they had already technically gotten introductions out of the way. It just seemed appropriate, now that he actually had a better idea of who Nida was. “And I am. He lets me occupy one of the lodges tables when I need a change of scenery while working. He’s quite the chef.”

“The village? So it wasn’t the city that it is now, before? Hm... I suppose I’m a bit paranoid, the locals changing with the world is a bit familiar in a way I rather dislike.” He responded with a shake of his head.

The question of ‘what’s a horse?’ Actually made him pause, his brow furrowing for a different reason. How did one explain a horse... Now he knew how other’s probably felt explaining chocobos to him, though at least there were visual references? “Uh- Horses... Um- Large, herbivorous quadruped with hooves.” He gestured, hands trying to at least give an idea of the creature’s size. “Er... Wow I didn’t think I’d ever miss the weird mind link from the last world.” Because then he could have at least shown Nida what it looked. Sometimes being able to see something was easier.

That sounds like the sort of kind act that Ignis would get himself up to. So kind, and so good at taking care of others.

"This place is growing," Nida confirmed. New places, new restorations of places, and those not of this world didn't seem to notice. "But hey, so far there's not a killer AI trying to replace us with robots."

He winces at the idea of a mind link though.

"Pass on that."

A killer AI that was trying to replace people with robots? Llewellyn's expression shifted awkwardly. Oof, that sounded terrible. "I think... I would rather not see that. I had enough of cruel experiments in the last world I was in." No, this place was better. It had to be better. He would keep an eye on things in hopes of at least avoiding being surprised if something of that nature were to happen again. Not that he was off to a great start with those spirits tricking him.

At the wince, he offered a wry smile. "Smart, it had more upsetting drawbacks than it was worth... But it would have made explaining horses easier. If I ever find one in a book, I'll show you."

Edited 2021-08-04 02:16 (UTC)

"I'll be content to look," Nida said. And then, after a moment he leaned in to whisper.

"The think about mental links, sir, is that they have problems. Strike me as a good way to control a person, or know what secrets they would keep. Always keep your secrets in your heart."

With that he offered a smile and pulled back.

"So, you'll join us at the wedding, yes?"

Llewellyn frowned a little. “Mm... Yes. As I said, it had more drawbacks than it was worth. Secrets were not something easily kept because of it. I had very few left after having been there for a year...” And he was a man who had been used to keeping quite a lot of secrets over the years, so it hadn’t been pleasant. Not that he regretted his time there. He wouldn’t have come to terms with some things if he hadn’t... And he wouldn’t have met Rhy, for which he couldn’t help but be endlessly thankful for.

On the subject of the wedding, he offered a more relaxed smile. “Of course, as long as my husband can get the day off from the tailor shop he works at, I’m sure we’ll be there.”

Wait, his spouse knew clothing?

"Any chance he's any good at adjusting clothing? I may have gotten a touch leaner in the shoulder lately and could really use someone to take in one of my uniforms."

With Ignis in his life he found himself climbing less than he had.

Llewellyn could rather relate to that in a way, only it was more that he had fallen out of his habit of going jogging more and more since they arrived here... He was getting a bit softer than he had been, even if he still didn't sit still much otherwise.

"Mm... I can have a word with him this evening when I go home, and have him get in touch if he hasn't too many projects on the go? He does quite good work, in my opinion." Llewellyn smiled, glad to promote his husband's work. Even if Rhy was still learning his trade, he was quite proud of his husband's work, okay?

"Sounds like a plan," Nida answered with a nod. He really could use his uniforms fitting him better. The guard didn't really have the money for tailoring them, and Nida cared about looking good. Cared a lot about looking good.

"You're lucky, to benefit from his skills. Just like I am with Ignis and his cooking."

Llewellyn could understand that, he definitely did not miss having to wear a uniform. The constable uniform was made of wool, an itchy dark wool... It was nice that he hadn't been a constable for long, being less use as one and more use as a detective it seemed.

He couldn't help but smile softly at that. "I am very lucky, for more than just benefiting from his tailor skills." Llewellyn wasn't sure he'd ever feel anything but lucky to know Rhy and to have gotten to share what they had. He was a soft man, and sentimental, but it was hard to not be when he'd lost everyone dear to him before he met Rhy. Couldn't even have been married in his own world. He felt like he belonged with someone, that he had a family again. "But I dare say you are certainly lucky for Ignis' cooking. He's very good, neither of us can even cook. Er- we're trying though."

"I can't cook either," Nida admitted with a grin. "Unless it's an open camp fire, I'm useless. I'd ask him to teach me, but there is such value in letting the man you love spoil you."

Ignis's love language was clearly service, and Nida wasn't going to stand in the way of that.

They sounded quite sweet, really. "I suppose there is..." He smiled a bit. He was only starting to get better about letting Rhy do things when he needed the help after his run in with that spirit. It was an awkward thing at first, but it had been nice to not need to tend to himself... And he liked that it at least helped to sooth some of his husband's worries that he'd caused him.

"We've been enjoying trying to learn together, it's been hit and miss but... It's nice to work side by side when we have the chance." Even if sometimes his husband distracted him without intending to, Llewellyn's attention span was always such a funny thing.

Nida just smiled. He almost envied this man. He wanted what Llewellyn had: a happy relationship with a man he loved. Which he had as well, he supposed. And soon he'd have in fullness.

"Well, I suppose that's a thing I'll know soon. And speaking of love, I need to go find my husband-to-be."

Llewellyn hummed, nodding a little at the comment. "Of course, and I should go make sure someone isn't chewing up the office space I closed him in." Pretzel was pretty good, but it was a new world... And he was still a little nervous that the dog might do a few things out of anxiety.

"But! Do say hello to Ignis for me. I'm sure I'll see you both around." A pause, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck. "And I'll be sure to have Rhy get in touch once he has a moment about those alterations."

"Indeed," Nida agreed, offering a nod. "I'll pass your greeting on. Take care. If he knows you well he'll invite you and you don't want to disappoint him by not being there."

Nida wouldn't want the man disappointed. He loved his partner too much for that.

And those alterations would be important.

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gadaboutdetective - 2021-08-07 16:28 (UTC) - Expand

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skyward_eyes - 2021-08-08 03:21 (UTC) - Expand

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Something Small And Wrinkly This Way Comes!

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three month supply of allergy meds was only one coin. yesssss

HURRAY!! Less sneezes for Nida!!! \o/

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