RP: Enjoying the nice weather...

[bri_martin]

Date: Sunday, February 13th
Characters: Brielle Martin, Ava Byrne
Location: a park somewhere in Fort West
Status: Semi-Private
Summary: 70 Degrees? Yes, please!
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[avabyrne]

It was gorgeous outside. Well, the entire weekend had been gorgeous, for a multitude of reasons, but today was even warmer, and sunny with it, and Ava was in a great mood. She didn't even mind that horseback riding for the first time yesterday had given her aches in places she'd barely been aware of previously. There was a surprising amount of movement involved in sitting on a horse, it seemed, and it was sort of like working out at the gym in that she hadn't felt any of it yesterday. She'd felt sort of stiff all morning, but not unpleasantly so, and it was wearing off by now anyway

[bri_martin]

Brielle was drawn out of her thoughts when an adorable dog trotted up to her to sniff at her inquisitively. Grinning at the sight, she crouched down, letting him sniff her fingers before scratching his ears as his owner walked up.

"He's allowed to be as friendly as he wants, I don't mind at all," she replied with a laugh, ruffling the dog's fur as she smiled up at the other woman. "My cat will be insanely jealous, but it'll be good for him, he's far too smug these days. Aren't you just the cutest thing ever?" she said to the dog and got a madly wagging tail and a sloppy lick across the cheek for her admiration.

[avabyrne]

"You might say he's only mildly trained," she said after taking a moment to decide the girl wasn't feeling harassed or anything, then rolled her eyes and smiled. "We haven't got to the 'don't lick strangers' lesson, but he's cute enough to get away with it most of the time."

She gave Wilbur's leash a little tug. "Okay, let's give the lady a break now," she said, a little awkward but at least she was starting to get used to conversing with animals in public by now. She smiled at the woman, who didn't sound like she was from here. "I think smugness is one of those things all cats are good at."

[bri_martin]

Brielle giggled, not minding in the least as she gave Wilbur one more scratch behind the ears and straightened up once more. "Something tells me he's cute enough to get away with most things," she commented with a knowing grin, flashing the other woman a dimpled smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I don't mind, he's a darling. And yeah, have to agree on that. I'm pretty sure cats all still remember they were once worshiped as gods and still insist on it whenever possible."

[avabyrne]

"Three half-chewed album covers later, I can tell you he definitely is," Ava said wryly as the woman straightened.

"Um. His name is Wilbur," she offered. "You should probably be on a name basis with someone whose saliva has been on your face." She winced at herself then, because ...what? "Anyway," she added, "I'm Ava. And for some reason I'm more of a dog person, I guess."

[bri_martin]

Brielle laughed, her grin widening at the comments about the dog who still bounced cheerfully between their feet. "I'm sure Wilbur sees lots of action that way, so it's good to have a name to go with the, err, tongue," she snickered.

"I'm Brielle," she added, introducing herself to Ava with a friendly smile. "And I won't hold that against you, as the one dragging you around by his leash is clearly enough for anyone to have love at first sight. Besides, I'm pretty sure my cat adopted me and not the other way around, no matter what he lets me think."

[avabyrne]

Ava blushed, mostly from the ridiculousness of the conversation, but decided she liked this girl. "He, um, I've been trying to teach him to be a little bit more selective about where he spreads his slobber, but no go so far."

"Nice to meet you," she said, holding out a hand. "Wilbur totally adopted me. I didn't even want a dog until I saw him, literally. But he's helped me feel a little less lonely here, so."

[bri_martin]

Brielle grinned as she shook Ava's hand. "I'm sure he'll pick it up eventually. He looks clever, and he clearly adores you," she commented, casting Wilbur a glance, seeing he'd parked himself patiently by Ava's feet.

"It's nice to meet you too," she agreed, her dark eyes warm and genuine. "And pets are good at that. Should I take that comment to mean you're new to this area, too?"

[avabyrne]

"Very clever," Ava agreed. "I got one of those little, you know, those baby fences to keep him out of places? He climbs right over them. I never actually see him doing it, but suddenly, you know," she made a little jumping motion with her hand, "and he's on the other side."

She smiled and nodded. "I'm originally from Boston, but I lived in DC before I moved here," she said, then thought about it, "almost two months ago, I guess. Where are you from?"

[bri_martin]

Brielle grinned and glanced down at the dog once more. "He is clever, those usually work, from what I've seen," she chuckled, tucking her hands in her pockets as she rocked slightly on her heels.

Surprise flickered across her face at Ava's answer, then her smile was back, just as warm as before. "Ahh, another Yankee," she laughed, looking pleased. "I'm from Pennsylvania. Near the Lancaster area. I moved down here just after New years."

[avabyrne]

"Yeah, I guess I am at that," Ava said, liking the word. Yankee, she hadn't been called that yet. "They can probably spot me as one from a mile away. I feel like I'm starting to settle in, though. I hope. Whatever that means."

It was nice meeting someone from back East, and Ava tried to place Lancaster in her mind but she was more familiar with New England, unless it was in the DC/Virginia area. "I think I might've driven through there a few times on my way back and forth from Boston," she said. Or at least she'd seen the signs. "Pretty rural, right?"

[bri_martin]

"Same here, or at least I hope as well," Bri chuckled, understanding what Ava meant. "And yeah, Lancaster's pretty rural. It certainly made coming here a bit of a culture shock, that's for sure. It's nice having so many places to choose from when you feel like getting out of the house for a bit. Although not so much when you get lost every third trip and are known to be indecisive..." she added with a rueful laugh, tucking her hair behind her ear once more as a breeze caught it.

[avabyrne]

"I'm definitely not decisive. It took me at least two minutes to settle on hazlenut." Ava held up her ice coffee with a little shrug.

"Fort Worth feels smaller than anywhere else I've lived," she admitted, "but but in some ways it's much bigger because everything's so spread out and sprawling, and everything is different. I was definitely in the mood for a change, though." She'd jumped at a chance to get out of her apartment in DC, and not just because she landed a position that paid enough. "Did you come down for work?"

[bri_martin]

Brielle grinned. "Sounds like the same sort of problem I usually have," she agreed. "I was to Boston once. The streets were really narrow, I remember that. The only time I was ever to DC was a school field trip. We hit all the landmarks - the White House, the Capitol, the memorials, the Smithsonian, but we didn't get to explore much else. Did you like it there?"

At Ava's question, she smiled. "Yeah, I did. I'm in interior design, and I got hired with a corporation that opened a new office here. There's not a huge demand for decorators back in my hometown. The Amish had little use for us, I'm afraid," she joked. "It's certainly kept me busy down here, though."

[avabyrne]

"Narrow streets, lots of traffic circles, and people drive like maniacs," Ava rolled her eyes, then added, "I mean. Not that I drive like a maniac. I think. But I cut my teeth driving in DC and Boston and they're both pretty crazy at times. This place is easy by comparison." It had taken her months to get used to the local lanes in DC

[bri_martin]

"So you ended up here," Brielle surmised with a smile as Ava fidgeted with her dog's leash. "All in all, it's a good place to end up, from what I've seen. Especially if you're looking for a fresh start. I think I was, too, even if I didn't know I was at the time. I'd lived in the same house all my life and couldn't walk down my town's street more than a block before running into someone I knew. This was culture shock, but now that the homesickness is wearing off a bit, I think I'll like it better," she admitted, looking a little sheepish.

Then she grinned, glancing at the sky. "Then again, the weather today is certainly a big improvement. I will not miss northern winters."