Zia hadn't really been gone long for the walk he'd decided to take, though he wasn't really surprised to see Mikal not hanging out in the room. He didn't even see the animal in her arms until he got closer, but when he did, he just sort of stared at it, then at her.
"Meeting people already?" he asked as he sat down next to her, eying the dog curiously. He'd never seen it around before, but with the amount of dogs on the island, he guessed it wasn't that uncommon.
Mikal's smile widened instinctively when Zia sat down beside her, though she continued scratching behind one of the dog's ears as she shifted to face him a little better. "Meeting dogs, apparently," she laughed, shaking her head. "She just ran up, and she's got my name on her tag and everything. I think it's a she, anyway." She figured it would have been easy to tell, but that didn't mean she would have been able to say for sure. "Which means I guess she's mine now."
"It's yours?" he repeated, looking back down at the dog again. He hadn't lived with a dog since he moved out of his parents' house. It seemed like the island was set to hit him with a whole lot of surprises today. "I guess we'll have to find out what other people are feeding their dogs, then."
It seemed like things wouldn't be so quiet anymore for him. He found himself not minding that so much.
"Well, that shouldn't be too hard, right?" she asked decisively, lifting one shoulder in a casual shrug. It didn't seem like it would be, anyway. The dog she'd had back home before she died had eaten just about anything she put in front of it. "We should try to figure out what kind she is, too. Look at her, she's so cute."
Zia held out his hand to the animal to let the dog sniff it, and grinned a little when the animal just licked his hand. "It's good he's small. I don't know if we'd have enough room for a bigger dog."
He'd never seen the kind of dog he was, either, so he wasn't much help there. After considering it for a moment, he suggested, "Maybe there'll be a book on dog breeds on the bookshelf."
"We should go look," Mikal decided, already standing up and holding out a hand for him to join her. The dog seemed to have figured out that something was going on, and jumped up, its paws landing by Mikal's knee. "And hopefully we'll be able to find something. I can bring her inside, right?" She was pretty sure she'd seen some other animals inside, but it wouldn't have seemed right to just go assuming.
"Yeah, I think so," he replied, looking down at the animal. After a moment, he bent down and lifted the thing up with one hand. It squirmed a little, but eventually settled in his arm as he took her hand with the other. "It's probably better to carry her around, though. I don't know how long it'd take to find her if She ran off."
Mikal bit back a laugh when Zia picked up the dog, though followed him into the Compound, keeping her hand in his. That was one thing she certainly had no objection to. "Maybe we can find some way of getting her a leash or something," she mused. If there were other pets around, she doubted it would be too difficult. "That way, we won't have to keep her cooped up all the time. She'll need a name, too."
"I know there's rope," he said as they headed inside. He figured it was worth trying. He didn't know if it'd work, but it was worth a try. The dog, for the moment, seemed pleased about being carried, little tag wagging as they headed toward the rec room. "Do you have any ideas for a name, yet?"
Mikal had to pause for a moment at that, brows furrowing in thought as she considered it, glancing down at the dog while they walked. It took all the way until they got to the rec room for an idea to strike her, and she brightened immediately. There was something useful, it seemed, about a jukebox with a mind of its own, or however it worked, because the song that came on was an unmistakable one.
"Eugene," she said decisively, her smile wide as she looked over at him. "We should name the dog Eugene. What do you think?" God, he would be so pissed at even the prospect of their naming a girl dog after him. That, to her, was all the more reason to do it.
Zia hadn't quite expected her to come up with that suggestion.
"Eugene?" he repeated, looking down at the dog. She was panting and looking up at the two of them. A slow grin formed and he let out a laugh a few moments later. "Okay, sure. We'll name her Eugene, if you want. It is your dog."
It'd be very, very interesting if he ever showed up on the island, now. He didn't need to be there for Zia to know how he'd react.
"Think about it, it's perfect," she replied, too cheerful to really be defensive, though the idea behind it was the same. "A tiny, fluffy, obviously affectionate little girl dog? There's nothing more fitting." With Eugene's band's song still playing from the jukebox, too, it was all she could do to keep from laughing. Still, though, all joking aside, there was something that just seemed right about naming her dog after Eugene. It wasn't as if he were actually there.
"I'm not saying anything," he laughed, still looking amused. "I'm fine with calling her that. You're just going to be the one to explain if he ever shows up, though."
Truth be told, he knew he'd still be blamed partially if he did. That was just how Eugene tended to be.
"Oh, I will," she assured him, eyes wide as she nodded, still biting back a laugh. "Don't worry, I could take care of it." If anything, it'd be amusing to tell him. She could only picture the reaction he would undoubtedly have, and it wasn't pretty, which made the thought of it even funnier. "You know, I don't think I could even imagine him in a place like this."
"Yeah, me either," he admitted. Zia knew he'd miss his family too much, and Nanuck, too, if he came from after meeting her. He hadn't had any ties like that except Mikal, and she was here now. "Though I'm sure he wouldn't have minded all the beach-going women around here."
Mikal couldn't hold back a laugh at that, shaking her head. "He'd probably want to have a hut built right down there, so he could watch them all the time," she added, then crossed to the bookshelf, beckoning for him to follow her. "Come on, let's see if we can't find out what kind of dog this Eugene is."
"Meeting people already?" he asked as he sat down next to her, eying the dog curiously. He'd never seen it around before, but with the amount of dogs on the island, he guessed it wasn't that uncommon.
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It seemed like things wouldn't be so quiet anymore for him. He found himself not minding that so much.
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He'd never seen the kind of dog he was, either, so he wasn't much help there. After considering it for a moment, he suggested, "Maybe there'll be a book on dog breeds on the bookshelf."
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She at least didn't seem to mind it much, so far.
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"Eugene," she said decisively, her smile wide as she looked over at him. "We should name the dog Eugene. What do you think?" God, he would be so pissed at even the prospect of their naming a girl dog after him. That, to her, was all the more reason to do it.
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"Eugene?" he repeated, looking down at the dog. She was panting and looking up at the two of them. A slow grin formed and he let out a laugh a few moments later. "Okay, sure. We'll name her Eugene, if you want. It is your dog."
It'd be very, very interesting if he ever showed up on the island, now. He didn't need to be there for Zia to know how he'd react.
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Truth be told, he knew he'd still be blamed partially if he did. That was just how Eugene tended to be.
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