A Chat By The Street RP

The day had been pretty positive for Rory. The City Square, as crowded as it was, wasn't annoying him. The conversation he just had with Rylynn, the Mapper, really made him smile and filled him with curiosity. He sure had many other questions to ask the black dog, next time they'd meet. But, for now, he just kept walking. Did he had something to do? Or to buy? He stopped his walking for a moment but then he shook his head. He didn't have any buisness to do there, he was just trying to wake his mind, since the working day had been rather tiring.

Mikhail stretched and looked around him. Nothing that concerned his job seemed to be happening today, and his patrol of Eden started to get boring for him. He never was a very social dog, but figured walking through the city square for a bit could occupy him for the time being. The large crowd discouraged him, but he walked into it anyways, despite his loner-like behavior. The square tended to be noisy, with the vendor's barks and other dogs running about. Mikhail's ear twitched and he began to turn back, when he bumbed into another dog. "Oh, Sorry." he said without missing a beat.

Maybe the idea of staying at the Square hadn't been the right choice. He was tired and all that noise and all that barking gave him a headache. Every chatter, every bark, every laugh made his head more and more heavy and he only wished to get back home, to stop all that noise, to rest in silence his poor head. With his ears lowered down, he kept walking. He almost didn't notice that a dog bumped on him, not on purpose, but to avoid other dogs that were walking nearby. Rory shook his head to focus and looked at the dog, who just apologized. He was about his size and was missing and eye and part of his tail, plus his ears were cut. The Anatolian mix stared at him for a couple of seconds but then he spoke.
"Oh, don't worry. There's too much crowd today" he said.

"Tell me about it." Mikhail responded, under his breath. "I take it you're not much for crowds either, eh?" He said to the dog. Mikhail never was a very sociable dog, and tended to keep his words short when talking. He looked around him. He was an averaged size dog, but felt small in the sea of chattering and barking, a feeling he didn't like. The more he looked around, the more he regretted coming there in the first place. He looked back at the dog who he'd bumped into's face. His expression made it clear that he was also tired of all the noise.

"I don't mind crowds to be honest, but today it's too much." Rory sighed "And with all this chatter and noise, it's not helping my headache. I came here to see if I could find some distractions but, indtead, I found a headache."
Now he was really regretting this decision. At least at home the headache wouldn't have degenerated like it did here. He looked at the dog next to him.
"Care if we get away from here? Even the Wastelands would be a better place!" he tried to chuckle.
It wouldn't be that hard to find a quiter place, since the tall dog next to him seemed to share his same thoughts about the crowd.

"Sounds fine to me." Mikhail answered quickly, jumping at the opportunity to escape the noise. Their claws clicked along the dusty pathway as they walked. "Any place in particular?" The German shepherd mix asked, as they drifted from the crowd. Rarely did he talk for this long at a time to another, especially without saying something arrogant, but the common goal of wanting a more peaceful place kept him in line. He started then thinking of what the dog said, 'even the wastelands would be a better place'. Mikhail had never been to the wastelands, though he had always wanted to. Though his dreams of being on the convoy were gone because of his condition, being a scrapper, he still had the chance if he was called on. "Say...have you ever been to the wastelands?" he asked the dog.

Rory tried to think where they could go talking without being disturbed by all that chattering but his mind was working slow, pulsing and making him hard to concentrate. He shook his head.
"Any place but here would be fine, as I said...although I have no idea where we could go..." he paused "And to answer your other question no, I've never been to the Wastelands, at least not yet. I've only heard other dog's opinions on them but that's all...probably, once the blizzard otside will end and the weather won't be so bad, I'll be sent out in search of some plants and other stuff that can be useful to heal wounds."
He looked down at his paws while he was walking.
"I don't know what to expect though...some dogs said that outside is a way better place than many dogs think and others, well, they don't share that opinion. How about you? Ever been outside?" he asked.

"Me, Oh no no." Mikhail answered. "I'm just a scrapper. They can call on me if they need me though." The bluish dog thought over what he said, calling himself 'just a scrapper'. His arrogance kicked in, " Besides, my job here is important." he added. The dog beside him looked drowsy, and he figured they should stop to rest somewhere. "Name's Mikhail, by the way." He said. Spotting a small area beside the path, he began to walk twards it. 'I really should be patrolling' Mikhail thought to himself as he sat on the ground. 'If anyone says anything, I'll play it off' he thought. Besides, nothing much seemed to be going on anyways.

"A scrapper uh?" said Rory, nodding "I'm Rory, nice to meet you!"
Mikhail looked lost in his thoughts and an awkward silence was built between them. Rory looked around but he saw no interesting things to talk about. Dogs were walking, others were chattings, puppies were playing and running around.
"So, Mikhail, how did you end up as a Scrapper?" he asked.
The Anatolian mix saw no other interesting topic to talk about to break the ice. Questions about other's Occupations usually worked to start a conversation. And surely it would have been more interesting than watching Eden's dogs buying stuff and arguing with the Vendors.

The question hit him hard. "I was going to be in the convoy, a hawker, actually." He started. "I trained hard, I wanted to be the best." Mikhail sighed. "I ran my mouth a lot too. Got into some trouble." He turned to show him his eye. "This happened. Being half blind, coupled with my epilepsy, the most I could be was a scrapper." Though Mikhail never talked a lot to other dogs, when he did he tended to say a lot. "Yeah, not exactly a happy story. Still have no idea who did it, is the worst part. I could see them on the street and not even know it." He breathed. "What about you, Rory? What's your part around here?" He asked, switching from the painful subject.

Rory listened in silence at Mikhail's story. He didn't judge him nor he looked annoyed by the story. He was interested in other's dogs' occupations and storyes, he was curious, that's it. Of course, the blueish dog asked as well the same question to him.
"I'm a Physician here." he bagn "my mother was one too and she used to tell me her days once she got home so, I guess I grew with her same passion. Once I got my mask, I signed myself up to be a Physician and I got the job. Now I work with a colleague, a German Sheperd named Aiden. I like it. It's what I've always wanted to do and I'm grateful everyday that I can."
He heard a small yelp and looked at two pups that were playing not far from them. Nothing serious, they were playing fight and the one that yelped did so because he was losing.
"Even if my mother had my same Occupation, she's not happy of me following her prints..." he sighed.

"Oh?" Mikhail questioned, seeking Rory's story. "I don't want to push you to talk if you don't want to, trust me I understand, but I'd like to hear." He added. He re-settled on the ground in a more comfortable position. The german shepherd mix was actually a bit surprised at how well he was getting along with the dog. Normally, if he got to talking at all, he's bragging would push them away, but Rory listened to his story, and even seemed interested, which Mikhail loved.

Rory faked a smile, his gaze somewhere else, far from where they were sitting.
"My father was a Heavy Scrapper, he was quick on his feet but when he met an Infected dog, that skill wasn't enough to make him flee in time and he was bitten." he paused "Since my mother was a Physician, she was the one who first saw him and she stayed by his side until he died but she changed. She was a very gently and kind soul and now she doesn't even take a step outside home, she's always curled up in a corner, depressed. I had always been fascinated by her Occupation since, when my father was still alive, she used to get back home with some amazing stories to tell me about her days and I grew to love them so, once I got my mask, I signed up to be a Physician. My mother didn't want me to, she said it was dangerous, she wanted me to get a safer occupation like a Vendor or Mapper, even Mask Maker but those were not for me." he sighed "I know she was and she is still worried about me ending up like my father but I can't let that to stop me or I'll end up like her. It's sad to see how she became, I think that the next step she'll take into this depression will be not even coming to eat and starve herself to death!" he found himself snarling at the air, thinking about that.
The Anatolian mix came back to his senses and apologized to Mikhail, since he didn't want to bother him with his mother's problems.
"I'm sorry, I just...I think I just had to shout out those things at last...I'm just...worried."

Mikhail was a bit surprised at Rory's venting. His story seemed worthy of it, and he felt bad for thinking his was so horrible. He wasn't much for advice, as he never really was much in a situation where he had to give it. "I'm...I'm so sorry." He sighed. "You're brave, for it, though." The atmosphere went from a bit of awkwardness to being very serious. Mikhail was a bit surprised at how well they were talking to eachother. Perhaps he was befriending the Anatolian mix.

Rory looked at him with gratitude.
"I have to be strong...I'm the...man of the house now." he said, trying to smile "I don't care if my mother doesn't want me to follow this path. After I got my Occupation, she didn't speak to me for...two weeks I think? Even more, knowing her, I didn't really count the days, I was all taken by the new job." he chuckled.
Oh, he did really upset his mother that time. It wasn't long that his father died and she was still even scared to eat a piece of meat, for fear that it was infected, thus making her infected as well. She was scared of everything, even more for his son, the only memory left of her husband and she would have done everything to protect it. But Rory was not a pup anymore and he wasn't a lamp or a plate that she could lock up in a box.
"Uhh...sorry for bothering you with this..." he scratched his left ear "I don't want to sound inopportune but...can I ask how did your tail..." he pointed Mikhail's half cut tail "Oh, if you want to! I don't want to ask something too much private."

Mikhail looked at the young dog with respect, something he seldom showed to younger dogs. Rory was very brave, indeed. "My tail?" Mikhail questioned, looking at it. "Again, it was the gang of dogs, they took it all from me at once, it's the reason I'm not a hawker, at that." The german shepherd mix was surprised at himself, not only was he holding a conversation with another dog for this long, but rarely did he speak of what happened to him, as it was very personal and embarrassing to him. "You know, I'd love to find out who did this to me. I was too dark to see them well...but if I ever find out..." Mikhail growled under his breath, then, remembering this company, calmed himself.

Rory listened at Mikhail, it was clear that the GSD mix really wished to be a Hawker in his younger days, even more by the way he reacted at the thought of those dogs that took eye, ears and tail from him. The young Physician tried to think what he would do if something like that happens to him. Probably the same way as Mikhail. Or not? He never saw himself really as a fighter. He used to cure wounds, not make them. But you could never say, living in Eden, you had to be prepared for everything.
"Didn't you hear their voices? Maybe that could have been a hint to find them." he said "This place is always crowded but, once you've head a voice, you can always recognize from who it is coming from."
It looked like a stupid advice to give but many times, that's how he found his friends in the crowd of Eden. He heard them and so, their voices led him to where the dogs' were.

Mikhail listed to Rory, respectively, and nodded. "As for thier voices, it's been nearly a year since it...happened...and I'm afraid they've faded from my memory, or at least to the point of where I couldn't go by that alone. My thinking is, that if they did this to me, surely they break other laws, and maybe my line of work will someday lead me to them." He said, sternly. He remembered back to that night, lying on the ground, bloody and angry. He shook his head, "I'm sorry, this is all starting to get a bit..ah..touchy, for me." Mikhail said, as the painful memories flooded back. "So, the winter festival is soon, ah?"

Rory let out a "oh" of disappointment. He really wanted to help Mikhail, he didn't like to hear such things, they were not fair. Dogs had to suffer because of other dogs, not even infected, like it happened to his friend Robyn. But for now, he decided to let it go since the German Sheperd mix was feeling uncomfortable about it and Rory didn't want to push him. It wasn't his own buisness after all. Mikhail mentioned the Winter Festival.
"Yeah...everybody's getting ready for it. That's why I think citzen around here are so frenetic. They're searching stuff for their costumes, I presume." he commented.
He told that to his mother, something sparked in her eyes but when he added in that he wasn't probably going there, that spark died down. Maybe he could reconsider it?
"Are you going?" he asked.

Mikhail was glad that Rory could understand his sensitivity to the event, and appreciated his willingness to ease off, though it did feel good to be able to talk about it with someone who didn't judge him or get bored.
Mikhail smiled, "Me? Oh, no no, I doubt it." He shifted into a more comfortable position. "Well, if I do, it probably won't be for long, not much for me to do, you know? Not creative enough for costumes, no dames left for dancing, and well, again, crowds aren't my thing." He laughed. "You entering in any contests?" He asked, enjoying the dog's company.

Rory shrugged.
"I like company, I like being around friends but...parties or events like that don't really catch me. I don't feel...comfortable during parties. Maybe I'll give it a try, when I told my mother about the Winter Festival, she seemed to like the idea, at least for me since I highly doubt she'll go." he sighed "Maybe I should go? I mean, it was the first time I saw her interested in something after long, she said she'd love to get me dressed up, even if I don't like the idea..."
The Anatolian mix would have never gone to the Festival by his own but he would put aside his dislike about parties to make his mother happy. She deserved to be happy at least for few hours, even if it wasn't her who had to go there.

Rory seemed very caring of his mother, even though he might not have wanted to go, he would for her. "Say," Mikhail started, "We could even go together? I mean, for your mother, after all." He smiled at Rory, hoping his offer could benefit both of them. "I mean, if you don't want to, I understand, but from what I've heard, it'd be great to make your mother smile again, eh? We could brave the crowd together." He laughed lightly.

Rory smiled back at Mikhail. Indeed going with someone was 10 times better than going alone. And he was right, at least, by going, he could give his mother a small moment of happyness, since she really needed one, at least once in a while. He would have felt better too. And he liked the German Sheperd mix, he already knew they could be good friends.
"You know what? You're right." he nodded "That crowd will do nothing to us!"
His only hope was that his mother wouldn't find a too embarassing thing to put on. He would have gone like he was now too, with only his chain collar but, apparently, Arianne requested a costume for the Festival and his chain wasn't really...a costume.
"They will have to make way at us passing by!" he laughed.
His headache was gone, like all the tireness that he was feeling before.

What was left of Mikhail's tail began to wag. "I might even look forward to it." He laughed. As dark as the world seemed to be, with the infection and darkness, the small surviving few went as far as throwing festivals to bring up spirits. It had been a while since Mikhail had even been to one, as he did tend to lone off during things such as that, or would patrol around to make sure everything was going along smoothly, but to actually try to enjoy himself, or spending time with friends, had been a long time. His boring day had faded and he was enjoying the conversation.

Rory's tail began to wag as well. At least he wouldn't bore himself at the Festival. Well, maybe he wouldn't get bored, with all that music and lights and athmosphere, what he meant was that he wouldn't feel out of place. At least someone, a friend, was by his side. He still hasn't seen what his mother had made for him to wear (even if he said he wouldn't go, he knew the old mutt was still going to make something) but, maybe, he wouldn't focus only about how embarassed he was if he was having some fun.
Yes, maybe he could give it a try. The Overseer made the Festival to have fun, not to stay digged home waiting for its end.

"We'll do it then." Mikhail smiled. He stood up and stretched. The crowed had cleared up a bit, as the day was getting late. "Hope nothing's been happening that the other scrapper's couldn't handle." He laughed to himself, knowing he'd slacked off a bit longer that he should have, not that it mattered, seeing as not much had been happening today. He gently shook the dust from his pelt, and yawned. "I gotta say, Rory, I've enjoyed talking with you." The german shepherd mix smiled.

Rory got up and smiled.
"Oh, I hope I haven't kept you from your duty."
It had been nice to talk with Mikhail but he really didn't want him to get yelled at because of him. His turn was over so he had free time but he wasn't sure about the German Sheperd mix.
"I've enjoyed talking with you too, we should hang around more, even after the Winter Festival!"
Even if he was 2 years old, Rory always acted almost like a puppy when he was with someone who he considered a friend. He just couldn't help it. And he already considered Mikhail a friend.

"Don't worry, It's me slacking off" He laughed. "And sure, I'd love too." Mikhail nodded at his new found friend. "Anytime."
For once he had managed to talk to someone without his narcissistic-like personality taking over, and gained a friend because of it. He stepped onto the stone pathways in Eden. "See you around." He said, walking off to continue his patrol.

Rory smiled.
"Yeah, see ya around."
He watched as the Mikhail disappeared in the crowd of dogs. Meeting the German Sheperd mix made his headache go away and they had a pretty interesting conversation. At least the days hadn't been so boring after all. It was always good for him to talk with someone, even if it was about something stupid, not to imply that his a Mikhail's chat was stupid or boring, of course. He gained a new friend and this made him reach home with a smile of his face.