respect animals: they are the future

[remnantofjoseph]

He's sitting by the porch, almost under it, book in one hand and meal scraps in the other, from a bowl he left on the ground next to him.  He alternates between reaching into the shadows to offer the food and reading in no real pattern, pretending to ignore Bonspiel in the hopes that she'll come out to steal from the bowl.  She has to eat

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[remnantofjoseph]

"Both," he grunts, tossing a scrap as close to her as he can to see if she'll eat it. He grips the porch with the other hand as he leans under it, and tilts his head to look out at the girl. "You live around here," he asks, pretty sure he hasn't seen her before.

[remnantofjoseph]

Joe shakes his head, "I'm just seein' if I ought to know you," he explains. "Don't get out much," just guard duty and trips to the compound, really, unless Buck drags him off for a game of catch. He holds out his hand, then remembers he's still on the ground and pulls himself up, leaning against the porch before offering it again. "Name's Joe."

[gotacigarette]

She's got an ulterior motive for being over there, but she was hoping that she could slip in and slip out and not be seen doing it. There's a tissue paper wrap in her pocket with a few handrolled cigarettes. She knows that Babe's been running low.

When she sees someone outside the homestead, she almost turns on her heel and walks away again. It's three cigarettes, and it's not worth any strife.

"Lose a contact?"

[remnantofjoseph]

"Nah, just the good graces of man's best friend," he says, ducking back out from under the porch to see who's speaking to him. He's seen her around the homestead, he's sure, though a name doesn't come to mind. "You," he asks, figuring she wouldn't come up to the house if she didn't need something.

[gotacigarette]

"I just came by to drop something off. I can come back," she says, letting her hair fall into her face as drops into a crouch to squint under the porch.

"Dog?"

[remnantofjoseph]

"Yeah. Got a litter on the way, trying to get her to come out and eat. Can't tell if she's tired, sick, or just lazy." She'd been pretty active since he got her, though, so he doubts that. "It's her first," he explains--he wouldn't worry, otherwise. He's had plenty of dogs drop litters in the yard, back home.

He looks over at her again, dragging his attention away from the dog. "Who's it for," he asks, "I could see if they're around."

[fourforone]

"Jeez, Joe, you have that affect on dogs, too?" I joke, leaning over his shoulder and looking at the dog and barely seeing much more than just a paw. "Here I thought it was just humans." Yeah, I'm asking for it, but I can't help the broad grin as I clap him on the back in greeting.

[remnantofjoseph]

"Apparently," he growls, earning another sigh from Bonnie. He sighs in return and tosses another scrap, relieved when she squirms over to it and eats. "I don't think it counts when they're pregnant," he argues, for the sake of arguing, squinting at her.

[fourforone]

I narrow my eyes and whistle a little when I take a look at the dog. "Your dog got knocked up?" I ask, because a week ago (before I crashed Babe's bed), I hadn't even known that he had a dog. And now she's knocked up. "Christ, hope you don't get a girl and do the same anytime soon. Not that you won't be a great father, but I like to think that's a lifetime away."

[remnantofjoseph]

Joe leans against the porch, one hand braced on its edge and his face pressed against the hand. Back in that hole, he thinks, and Buck's handing him the shovel, but he has even less idea what to do with it this time. "I'd be a terrible father," he mutters, deciding to bury the subject instead. He doesn't want to think about that, now, all the years spent wanting nothing more than a family. It doesn't matter, here. He has his friends and his stupid, pregnant dog.