(Untitled)

[good_dug]

So it seems that Jack was eventually successful in selling Dug. Signs pointing to this include a lack of 'for-sale' signage, a notable lack of Dug when he would normally be mooching around everyone else at the fireplace, and perhaps most telling of all, the fact that when he wanders into the bar this evening via the back door, he appears to be

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[morethanprops]

Moist can't recall the last time, he saw a dog that was quite so well fed.

His grandfather would have been tutting and talking about training plans, Moist just smiles and walks over,

"You look supremely content, dog."

[good_dug]

Dug lifts his head to pant happily at Moist, tail's rhythm speeding up slightly as he offers up a lolling-tongue doggy smile.

"It has been a wonderful day!"

[morethanprops]

The Disc is a strange place but so far it only has one talking dog that Moist hasn't met so he jumps,

"You can talk?"

[good_dug]

Dug tilts his head to one side, exposing a flashing red light at the side of his collar. He's getting kind of used to this - it's almost boring, now.

"I have a collar! It lets me talk! My master made it for me and you cannot have it."

He's gotten used to throwing on the last line after the twins took it for a week. That was one sad, sad week. :C

[ikissdhimbck]

It turns out that one blonde schoolteacher turned outlaw with a soft spot for big fuzzy golden retrievers and a penchant for giving pretty darn good tummy rubs, has also been benefiting from one big fuzzy golden retriever with a penchant for offering sloppy kisses and endless entertainment -- not to mention a wonderfully comforting presence.

(Doc has yet to say anything about the sizable dent in their shared bar tab, but some things are worth the expense -- and he likes dogs, so it will all work out, right?)

As it stands, it's one of the better purchases Kate has ever made.

"Hey there, handsome," she smiles.

[good_dug]

Dug's tail was going flap-flap-flap. Now it's going flapflapflapflap!. He doesn't quite get up because he is actually ridiculously comfortable - he's found the perfect spot to snuggle his bum into, and the chair is squashy enough to cushion his body - but he strains his head towards her and waves a paw in her direction.

"Kate!" He flails happily in the chair for a moment before ducking his head and seizing his Octoplushie, gnawing on it in order to translate some of the excitement into movement. "I was out at the stables and I found a stick and I talked to a horse and I rolled something that smells good and I chased a bunny!"

[ikissdhimbck]

Almost immediately, the tension in all those obvious places on a person's face -- around the eyes, corners of the mouth, between the brows -- dissipates, and is replaced instead by a very broad smile.

"You've been busy, then!" she says, her voice a mixture of excitement and suspicion. "Y'clean yourself 'fore y'came in?"

Beat.

"And the bunny didn't singe you, did'e?"

[good_dug]

"I swam in the lake! And then I slept on a rock in the sun and it dried me off and it was nice." He runs out of words for a moment, wriggling as close to her as possible and giving her an adoring look. He's already decided that even if he finds his door, she is going to be his new master forever and ever. She is his favourite. He is forgetting that he has felt this way about almost everybody ever

At her last question, though, he holds out a slightly grubby paw for inspection. There is, possibly, the tiniest singe mark ever seen on the back of it. Or maybe it's dirt. Regardless, he's going to milk it for all it's worth.

"It tried to! But I was brave and I barked at it." And then ran away. BUT SHE DOESN'T GET TO KNOW THIS.

[isaysimplewords]

Milliways showed up for Cal in the middle of his shift at the animal shelter he volunteers at. To a canine nose, he no doubt smells strongly of several cats and dogs as he takes a seat near the fire and smiles as he sees the extremely contented-looking dog across from him.

Cal loves dogs and has one of his own, so he sees absolutely nothing odd in saying (complete with doggy-talk voice),

"Hi, there. Aren't you a handsome boy." Or pretty girl, whichever, but he doesn't see an owner around to correct him.

[good_dug]

Dug sniffs the air thoughtfully as Cal sits down, absorbing the scent but deciding that none of the cats are around and therefore not important. Of course, when Cal talks to him, it's a different matter - he wags his tail happily and lifts his head, trying his best to appear as handsome as possible.

"Thank you!"

[isaysimplewords]

. . . this is actually not Cal's first Milliways encounter with a talking animal, though they are few and far enough between that his eyebrows go up a bit anyway.

"Uh, you're welcome," he says.

Pause.

" - are you actually a dog or something else in dog form?"

He once had a dog he was petting here turn into a goddess mid-ruffle. She hadn't seemed to mind, but Cal had felt decidedly awkward about the whole thing. So he has his reasons for asking.

[good_dug]

Cal gets a look that is pretty clearly you are a stupid human. Because uh, duh, he's a dog. What else would he be?

"I am a dog." He cocks his head to one side, look fading into confusion. "What else would I be? I am a dog and dogs are dogs. They are not something else!"

This person is kind of dim, Dug thinks, not to have known that. It's only logic!

[hadyougoing]

Ava, freshly showered and in pajamas for an early night, brightens when she sees Dug.

"Hey!" she says.

"Dug! What's up, boy?"

[good_dug]

"Ava!" Dug rolls sideways almost automatically, exposing a gold expanse (and we do mean expanse of belly, perfect for rubbing or scritching or just plain snuggling up with.

"I got a new master! Jack sold me!"

[hadyougoing]

"Awww, you remember me!"

Ava hurries over and does, indeed, begin an enthusiastic belly-scratching of greeting.

"She did? Good for her! I'm not gonna lie, Dug, I was not okay with what you said about her yelling at you and not petting."

[good_dug]

Dug wiggles ecstatically under the belly scratching, one broad paw propped up on her shoulder as he pants gleefully up into her face. This is just absolutely the best place ever. He is never leaving.

"It is okay," he reassures her. "Jack was not really my master! We were playing a game! She said it would be fun and it was! And..."

There is a pause as he remembers, finally, what it was he was supposed to do. His tail suddenly droops, mouth closing and body rolling away from her as he realizes that he has been a bad dog.

"And...I was supposed to go back to her but I forgot. And now she will not be happy."

[julia_kreig]

Dug looks like a cannonball stuffed into a fur coat.

Or so Julia might think.

That thing needs to go on a diet. Now.

[good_dug]

Dug has heard about these things called diets. He's pretty sure if he goes on one, it will be a diet of treats. That's totally legit, right?

As it is, he shifts on his chair, absently licking his lips as a small trickle of drool makes its way onto Octoplushie's head.

He shifts again. There is a small noise, almost on the edge of hearing.

And a smell. A pungent odor arising from his nether regions and settling like an insidious cloud over the chair.

Is that him? If it is, he doesn't appear to have noticed.

[julia_kreig]

Oh, that is disgusting!

Whatever she was thinking about regarding doggy diets has been replaced with thoughts about canine manners.

And Dug's lack of them.

"You're one smelly dog," she says, nose pinched and unaware that this dog can talk back.

[good_dug]

Dug raises his head, definitely unaware about whatever it is she seems to have a problem with. The only thing he can think of would be the blissful afternoon he spent in the manure pile by the stables, but...

"I swam in the lake to get clean," he informs her. "I am not smelly anymore!"