Closed Paws and Claws (Zach)

[Martini Elwood]

8th, Winter, 519

Waking up exhausted was a common routine for the brunette - it was a semblance of normalcy she'd relied on as a constant. Nowadays she woke without tears, but it didn't help raise her energy level - even with the chilling lips of her father touching her head. More often she found herself numb when waking. It was easier to feel nothing than deal with everything at once.

That aside this morning was no different. Martini woke slowly, not at all surprised by the cold kiss that feathered her forehead. She smiled but it was more tired and… sad than happy or relieved. She was still sorting her feelings on the matter. Her father being undead, his use of magic… she had so many questions that would probably not be answered.

It didn't take her long to clean and dress as she decided against packing her kit for once. The bag was already made but she only strapped a dagger to her waist and moved out to lock the apartment. Where was she going? Martini didn't know. It was early - she could tell because Syna's light barely kissed the sky. She got a few steps before something cold and wet touched the back of her neck.

It was raining? She looked toward the sky for confirmation, but instead of heavy droplets of water… their were frozen flakes leaving the sky. Her eyes were wide in her alarm, shock but growing hope spreading to her face with a smile. Was Morwen returning? She stayed to watch the flakes fall a few ticks before she continued a bit lighter than earlier. It was snowing! That was good news, it had to be! Oh, but she'd need some warmer clothes…

Stopping down by Surya Plaza, Martini found it hard to break the small smile of delight that overtook her lips. When she was small she used to love snow - her father and mother would play with her for hours before insisting on hot chocolate inside the house! Stopping her train of thoughts she noticed a large kennel.

A pet shop..? She was pushing through the doors before she could think about it. Pirambas was quite spacious and had a professional but cozy look - blue walls and a grooming area? Not sure where to look Martini simply gazed at everything she could with a childlike excitement. Perhaps she should look at some pets and relax?

"Welcome to Pirambas! Can I help you find something?" A tall woman around her age with dark blonde hair smiling politely at her asks.

"I'm actually not sure, this is my first time." Martini wasn't sure what to look at, but the warm smile the woman was giving her helped her relax a bit. The woman introduced herself and Martini did the same. Fai, owner of Pirambas Pets. She seemed kind of quiet - but she was very animated when speaking about potential pets.

"We just got a few litters of pups. Maybe you could start there?" Fai's suggestion brought sparkles to Martini's eyes, and she nodded excitedly as the other woman led the way. Freshly weaned pups greeted Martini as they entered a small playroom, their tiny yips melting her heart.

"They're adorable..! Is it okay if I touch them?" Martini's request was met with a nod and she hurriedly folded her legs under her to lower herself. Some of the puppies were cautious, others wiggled their way to her. She held out a hand and immediately three puppies were licking and nipping her fingers with wagging tails. She laughed genuinely, her troubles forgotten as she reached to pet the closest puppy.

[Zach Grasswind]

Zach had awoken before Syna on this particular day and had been dressed and out inspecting his traps near the edge of the forest before the glimmers of sunrise had breached the mountains. There was a chill in the air, and the hunter’s breath fogged before him as he made his way along the path back to the gates, a trio of rabbits swinging from his hand.

He ducked into the Jugged Hare on his way back to drop the rabbits off and left munching on a small meat pie. He wandered in the direction of the Solar Wind Apartments as he ate, pondering on whether or not to head back out to do any proper hunting. Winter was harder for it, as a lot of the animals bedded down for the season and so picking became scarcer. On the other hand, those that could be found were often easier to target as they were slower, usually from lack of nourishment.

Something wet and cold touched his forehead and Zach squinted up at the sky, holding his hand out palm-up to feel for rain. Small flecks of white were drifting down above him – certainly not rain, but snow. Snow? He stopped short. Snow was a rare thing now with Morwen gone. Did this mean she had returned? He watched it for a while in wonder.

When his hands were sufficiently frozen, the hunter stuffed them into his pockets and continued onwards. Perhaps it would be a better idea to stay in the city today and attend to some errands he hand to do. He ran his gaze over shop signs as he passed, until one in particular caught his eye. ‘Piramba’s Pet Shop’. He paused to look at it, a thought flickering in his mind.

On the grasslands they always hunted with dogs. His father had been a breeder of some of the finest Luvanor Grassland Hunters the Clans had. The dogs had always given them a huge advantage on the wide swathes of the plains. So why couldn't a dog help him here in the forests of Lhavit?

Zach turned and headed for the shop, pushing the door open and stepping inside. It was toasty warm after the chilly air outside, and the noises of all manner of animals greeted him. He couldn't see anyone about, and presuming the shop owner was busy, Zach busied himself examining some of the impressive birds of prey sat along perches to one side of the store.

After a few short moments a voice sounded from behind him. "Hi there, welcome to Piramba's!"
He turned to see a young woman smiling at him having just entered from a back room. "Are you looking for a bird?"

Zach returned her smile but shook his head. "No, actually. I'm after a dog." The woman smiled. "Okay, great, we have plenty of them! What sort of dog are you after? We have house dogs and working dogs."
"A working dog, I'm a hunter."

The woman nodded and motioned for him to follow her toward the back of the store, introducing herself as they went. They entered a small room that contained a litter of small puppies and another woman playing with them.

"These are our new Spicecoat puppies. Great trackers and hunters." Out in the main shop the door sounded, and Fai excused herself to see to the new customer. Zach crouched to see the puppies better, glancing over at the darker haired woman as he did so.

"You're after a puppy too?" She didn't look like an outdoors person who might need a hunting dog, but appearances could be deceiving. He held his hand out to the nearest puppy who sniffed it once before vigorously licking his fingers.

The brunette was being swarmed by a few of the excitable pups, and Zach grinned at her. "They seem to like you a lot!"

[Martini Elwood]

Martini smiled as a dark auburn coated puppy nipped at her fingers, unable to stop the amused shine from glinting in her warn gaze. She hadn't had a chance to ask their breed - easily enamoured with the prospect of a cute baby creature wanting her attention and all - but Fai had exited as she assumed another customer had entered. Martini was entranced as she curled her finger under the pups chin and tried to suppress her smile. They were just so… cute. Her attention strayed for just a moment to glance back at the rooms newest arrival and she chuckled softly as she shook her head.

"As adorable as they are my visit was pure impulse. I'm not sure if im qualified to care for one." She said it almost hesitantly - like she was weighing her options. She nodded excitedly as she noticed the pups attention on her. "I do seem to have their attention."

In any other situation Martini was positive her voice would've shaken and she wouldn't have the courage to speak so… openly. It was little moments like these that reminded her she wasn't as socially awful as she thought. She was genuinely interested in any of the pups making their way to her but she wasn't sure if a dog was a good choice given how she neglected her own health. If anything she supposed it would have to be a dog or cat, or something equally okay with with her lifestyle.

"And what about yourself? Seeking an adorable companion?" She glanced back to the man and flashed him a warm smile before nipping took away her attention again. These pups seemed eager and excitable - she wasn't sure if she could work if such a lovable doll was in her home. The brunette would feel obligated to pamper them.

She took her fingers away from the auburn pup to lavish affection on the next. Their eyes followed her hands gleefully, almost as if ready to steal it away should the chance present itself. "They're so excitable! It makes me wonder if they'll ever tire out. I'm not very knowledgeable on dogs, animals in general honestly."

In fairness her mother reacted horribly to fur, having such a companion was out of the question. Though Martini wasn't all too fond of reptiles either so she'd given up hope of finding her furred friend. Now though? The idea was tempting. She cut short her musing to introduce herself properly and turned just so she could make quick eye contact. The man was tall, dark blonde hair and sky blue eyes. He was bulky too - perhaps an outdoorsy type?

"I'm Martini. You are?"

[Zach Grasswind]

The excitable little puppy had wriggled itself onto Zach’s lap almost immediately as he had knelt on the floor. Its tail thumped on his knee, the pup practically vibrating with excitement as it tried to reach the hunters face. He chuckled and scratched it behind its ears, while he flicked his gaze over the other pups in the room.

The brunette had a trio of them clustered around her, each vying for her undivided attention. A pair were playing with each other, tugging on both ends of a frayed piece of rope. A couple were napping, totally disinterested in all the excitement and another was creeping around the edge of the room, nose to the floor, following the scent of something interesting.

He returned his attention to the young woman as she responded to him. He offered her another smile. “Anyone can learn to look after a dog – they’ll always let you know what they need.” Of course, having grown up in the Emerald Clans, he might be little more attuned to canines than other people, however his statement was still true enough.

The pup on his lap whined up at him, the pitiful sound drawing his attention back. An eyebrow quirked in amusement and he resumed petting the little dog round its ears and under its chin. “See, this one is saying ‘how dare you stop petting me!’.” He chuckled. From the corner of Zach’s eye he saw the flash of teeth as the woman smiled in his direction before asking her question.

“I suppose I am. Though like you my visit was impulse.” Truthfully the puppies were a little younger than Zach had been hoping for. He had never worked with one so young, but the flipside of that would be that he could train it up exactly as he wanted. “I used to hunt with dogs a long while back and when I saw the shop sign I figured I might be able to again.”

The puppy he was petting had settled itself quite comfortably in his lap by now, but Zach’s eyes continued to drift to the one who had been steadily sniffing its way around the room. It paused, eyes fixing on one of its sleeping siblings, before bounding over and leaping on it. The puppies yapped at each other, rolling around in a mock fight.

The Drykas chuckled again at the brunette’s comments. “Puppies tend to go all out for a bit and then crash completely. Kind of like children.” He grinned. “Especially working dogs like these ones. You have to give them enough exercise to tire them out, else they’ll cause havoc until you do.” On the grasslands that had never been an issue – the dogs would run for bells alongside the horses on a hunt.

He turned to the woman again as she shifted to face him. She had dark eyes set in a pretty face, and her smile was warm. “Zach.” He returned her smile with another of his own. “It’s good to meet you. Have you never had an animal of your own then?” He was referring to her earlier comments of course. His eyes continued to flick between the woman – Martini – and the little auburn pup that had been trying to hunt its sibling. It had wandered near to him, and he reached out to it, trying to get its attention.

[Martini Elwood]

So Zach was an outdoorsy type. The young brunette could never see herself wielding a weapon... Her time in Riverfall aside, holding something with the intention to harm had never crossed her mind. Her practice was simply a means to an end - it was to get her Kuvan status. A fat lot of good it did when she fled, but she supposed the lessons had stuck with her. Hunting was an occupation that required physical skill Martini could never see herself owning - she wasn't too bad, but she wasn't an athlete either.

The pups roughhoused and some napped, but the few that were around her vying for attention seemed intent on getting it. The man seemed pretty confident in his knowledge - she wondered if the pups could really make their needs known. She didn't have need of a working dog though, something more of a companion would fit. Perhaps something with need for attention but not dependent on it... Martini did get a good laugh at the imagery, a single puppy wrecking her home because she forgot daily pets. Sadly something like that would happen if she were to get such an energetic dog.

"I've never been able to own pets. My mother had horrible reactions to fur and reptiles were never really my thing." In fairness she could get a pet now, but she wasn't sure a dog would be a good choice. Did ghosts spook dogs? Did they even register ghosts? Would she be able to give a dog the attention they wanted? Good questions, questions she wasn't certain her answers would be good for. Even common pets seemed far away - cats, ferrets... There was only so much time she could dedicate to them. Would it be enough? Would they get lonely?

"It's certainly tempting now, living by myself. Though given how hectic my lifestyle is... Well, it's better to wait." She hid her growing frown by curling her fingers through the minimal fur allotted to the puppies near her. It wasn't them, it was her. With all of her issues even the slightest change in routine upset her. The last thing she needed was more change - she was still adapting to the ones thrown at her.

"Did you have a lot of pets? Seems like you know your way around dogs." A much needed change in course from her thoughts. Not that Martini would say it out loud, but she found herself... Curious and a bit worried about the use of dogs in hunting. Surely the dogs picked were capable, but the world was full of dangerous creatures that dwarfed human power... It had to come with its own dangers. "Doesn't it scare you that things out there could hurt the animal when you hunt?"

Her tone wasn't accusatory, it was curious. She wondered, but she also worried. Martini didn't place blame though - dogs much like people could be many things depending on training. She hadn't meant to fire questions at Zach so freely but part of her wanted to know. Dogs could be hunters, why not? Dogs could be protectors, guards, and companions. Nothing said they couldn't hunt.