[Thread] Squall & Selphie, game #3!

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Who: Squall and Selphie.
What: Triple Triad (again!). ...and puppies. :D
When: After this.
Where: Squall's room (#308)!
Rating: No higher than PG-13.

Comments

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"We're gonna meet Squall and his puppy, okay?" Selphie looked down at the squirming puppy in her arms, glad Squall was only a few doors away. She'd been doting on her puppy, Pickle, ever since she showed up in her room. A week had gone by, and to Selphie's great relief, the puppy remained. So all was good! Robot attacks aside, anyway.

Reaching Squall's door, she shifted the Triple Triad board in the arm that wasn't wrapped around a puppy and knocked. Pickle was going back and forth between attempting to gnaw on the board and nibbling lightly on Selphie's hand.

"Be nice! Squall's a good friend of mine, and you're going to get a new friend, too! If you don't already know him... I wonder if you're related?"

Pickle merely wagged her tail, her biting having turned into licking. Selphie frowned a little. Puppy breath... but still cute!

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Squall tossed the last toy aside as Selphie knocked. Patch was immediately at the door, excitedly barking and wagging his tail.

"Remember what I said," Squall warned while walking to the door. Patch danced from paw to paw, completely ignoring him. "Don't go rushing outside, either." He unlocked then opened the door wide, gently keeping Patch back with one boot.

Once Selphie and her puppy were inside, he quickly shut the door. But it didn't matter since Patch was circling Selphie, tail still wagging a mile a minute. He hopped a few times but didn't jump on her, his eyes going from Selphie to the fellow dog and back again.

"Hi," Squall greeted. He glanced curiously at her puppy. "How's the training gone?" Might as well get that out of the way. Though I guess we could always take them out…

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"Hi Squall!" Selphie greeted with a big smile, but her expression quickly turned into one of surprise as Pickle all but flew out of her arms and onto the floor, landing next to Patch in an ungraceful heap. The puppy was quickly on her feet, shaking off the impact and sniffing at the other puppy hesitantly, keeping her distance.

Selphie let out what could easily be classified as one of the most high pitched squeals in the history of Paradisa, tossed the Triple Triad stuff onto Squall's bed, and plopped to the floor. "He's so cute! Hi, boy! This is Pickle!" She said, petting both puppies on the head. Pickle clambered over one of Selphie's outstretched legs, approaching the other puppy now.

"Oh, she's getting better!" Selphie said, looking up from the puppies at Squall. "No more chewing!" Kind of. And the bathroom issues were almost gone, too!

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Patch wasn't as cautious. He sidled closer to Pickle with his ears perked forward, tail never stilling for a moment.

Squall reflexively winced when Selphie squealed, even though he had been prepared for some kind of exuberant reaction. He sat down on the bed and rested his elbows on his knees, watching the three of them get acquainted.

Patch scrambled over Selphie's other leg, lifting his head to lick her fingers after she'd petted him. Then he moved closer to Pickle to give her the same treatment.

"That's good." Squall folded his hands between his knees. "Patch, don't bug her." The last thing he wanted on his hands was a dogfight. Patch's friendliness had definitely gotten them into trouble before and one of their trips to the city had left a lasting impression on Squall. Literally. Cat scratches were no fun.

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Pickle seemed nervous, and Selphie made sure to show that it was okay by petting both puppies at the same time. "You're so friendly!" Selphie giggled, giving Patch an extra pat before resting her hands on either leg. It was amusing that Squall, of all people, would get such a friendly puppy. But she decided to keep that little comment to herself.

In response to the licking, Pickle nipped at Patch's ear. Selphie started for a moment before it became obvious that it was just puppy-play. Growing a tad bit bolder, Pickle made another attempt at a nip and hopped over Selphie's leg in attempt to hide. Selphie covered her mouth in order to stop herself from laughing too loud.

"This is so cute! They're playing!" It almost looked like Selphie wanted to jump in and play herself. "I can't believe you were hesitant about keeping him, Squall!"

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Patch soaked up the attention like a sponge. He barked, apparently pleased with the observation, and wiggled around. When Pickle nipped at him, the other puppy let out another bark and instantly set into pursuit.

"Mm…" Squall eyed the puppies, smirking a little as Patch tried to tackle Pickle and persuade her to wrestle. It was kind of cute. Maybe. "He can still be a pain." Yet surprisingly not as often as Squall had expected. Patch was a fast learner-except for when it came to boundaries; personal space meant nothing to him.

After watching the dogs play for a few more moments, Squall straightened his sleeves and wryly inquired, "Wanna play Triple Triad or with the puppies?" If she showed more interest in the latter for much longer, he was going to tease her about deliberately putting off the game.

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"Aww!" Selphie laughed as Pickle nosed her way under her leg, only to be tackled once she stood up. Selphie moved out of the way, not wanting to get caught up in the rolling mass of puppy. Whatever hesitance Pickle may have had seemed to disappear as the two played. It was difficult for Selphie to stop smiling.

"You know you like it," Selphie teased, but she had to agree a little. It was strange taking care of an animal. She couldn't remember ever having to look out for anyone but herself--well, she liked to think that she looked out for her friends, but she never had to walk and feed them. There was something nice about having a puppy curl up on your lap.

"Getting impatient, are we?" Looking away from the puppies, Selphie raised an eyebrow. ... but she loved playing with the puppies! ... but she also wanted to show Squall who was boss. Well, technically, he was kind of her boss being commander and all, but she was the boss when it came to Triple Triad!

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It wasn't long until Patch moved on from wrestling to trying out a game of chase. His big buddy never wanted to play… getting this fellow dog to do felt like a surer bet!

"Whatever." Squall wouldn't admit to liking Patch unless very tired, very drunk, or very happy. None of those were happening any time soon. He shook his head, unable to resist teasing her anyway. "Not impatient. If you want to play with them, go ahead. Gotta be better than losing face."

But if she really wants to… Now he shrugged, acting like he didn't care one way or the other. He refused the idea that if puppies instead of a Triple Triad game made her happy, that was fine. Or that if he was going to be beaten, at least he could blame it on losing interest for having to wait so long. Instead he tried to fall back on a practical reason. Might give me some time to think of a bet…

If they were even going to bet this time. There went his practical reason.

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Pickle was still in the wrestling state of mind. She seemed to let Patch chase her for a few moments in a circle, but then turned around and lunged at him. However, short puppy legs weren't ideal for that sort of move, and she toppled over instead.

"Uh huh," Selphie grinned, rising to her feet and straightening her clothes. She hadn't heard any more complaints or Squall begging her to take the puppy, so she knew he liked him. It was cute. Probably good for Squall, too. However, Triple Triad was questionable. "Losing face? I don't think so."

She sat on the edge of the bed next to Squall, still watching the puppies close enough to roll Pickles over when it seemed she was getting a little too rowdy. The puppy sneezed and gave her a confused look before getting back to the fun stuff.

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Patch readied himself but the tackle never came. He padded over to Pickle as she stumbled but, being an opportunist, immediately turned the tables and leaped onto her, rolling over.

Squall let that thread of conversation go. He knew that if it went on any longer, she'd somehow pull a grudging confession of sometimes liking Patch out of him. "You've always been a little delusional," he said, falling back on the teasing. It was becoming unconscious, made so by the equally unconscious ease the puppy-play was forcing him into.

However, he did manage to stifle a laugh when Patch tried to get a hold of Pickle's tail, instead ending up with a mouthful of one of the poor dog's hind paws. "She's going to kick a tooth out," he warned his puppy. Patch immediately sat back on his haunches, rolled his head back to peer up at Squall, and whined-completely ignoring the fact he was open to an attack.