sixthiterationlogs | [who let the dogs out?]

Entry tags:

[who let the dogs out?]

WHO: Major Lilywhite
WHERE: Major/Ravi's cabin, around the village
WHEN: Mid-October
OPEN TO: All, specific starter for Ravi
WARNINGS: PUPPIES.

Major had been lured outside by the sound of whimpering. Every ounce of softness and kindness he'd ever held in his body had been tingling like a small fire, spreading over the expanse of his body from head to toe at the sound. When he had opened the door, two boxes were sitting side-by-side on the porch - one about half the size of the other and, to his surprise, moving around like one of those fake ferret toys for cats, the kind that's glued to a mechanical ball that moves around.

Only a little less erratic.

He took the stationary box in first, setting it off to the side of the living room, before returning to get the one that had now seemed to calm down a little bit. As he lifted it, there was a quiet yelp from the inside, and Major knew in an instant what the mystery box's contents were, without having to remove the lid.

He sets the box down in the middle of the living room, carefully lifting up the cover to reveal the small, Basset Hound puppy gazing up at him inside. At the sight of his face, it lets out another yelp, this one happier but still pleading, and tries to stand on its hind legs to see outside the open top of the box. It doesn't quite have the hang of what it means to be coordinated yet, and so it tumbles backwards, causing a very loud "AWW!!" to come rushing out of Major's mouth.

He reaches inside, carefully scooping the puppy up in his arms. Once near enough, it begins to lick his face and squirm around in his grip. As Major's trying to check the box for any other dog-related items, the puppy manages to wiggle its way out of his arms and, before he can manage to do anything to stop it, runs straight out of the door that Major's foolishly left open by mistake.

He opens his mouth to shout a name, but realizes he doesn't have one at the ready, so he shouts the only thing he can think of:

"HEY! ... HEY YOU! COME BACK!" as he scrambles to his feet and out the door, chasing after the bounding, long-eared puppy.

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Major recognizes the larger dog almost instantly, and he grins at the sight of it.

"Ar -- crap. What was it again? Arthur? Art? Aragorn?" He lets out a few of his other (bad) guesses before finally snapping his fingers as he remembers, "ARADO! Hey buddy!" He purposefully ignores the small puppy, who's still caught up in the excitement of being in the outside world, hoping that showering the other dog with adoration and affection will trigger the pup's jealousy instinct, allowing Major to scoop it up without issue. He crouches down on one knee, patting his thigh to draw the larger dog towards him.

"Hey, Arado! I see you've met my new friend. He doesn't really have a name yet, but he will soon!"

He huffed a lower disgruntled bark.

Arado looked absolutely affronted that it took Major that long to remember his name. He huffed a short breath before slowly stepping closer. His head pressed against Major's hand for some scratches before running off with the puppy again.

Apparently the sudden new friend was a distraction from the usual affection seeking dog.

One of Arado's owners had discovered that he was gone and was finally looking for him around the village. Wanda's hair was down and pulled over her shoulders. It was a little damp, she had just returned home from the hot springs before discovering that Arado was gone. The water from her hair slowly wet her white tank top making it look like it was drizzling out to anyone who didn't know better.

"No! Where are you - ? Ugh. That plan backfired," Major relinquishes, plopping down on the ground onto his rear with a huff. He watches the dogs play with one another, allowing a part of him to be amused and entertained at the sight, while still holding onto the part of him that's disgruntled at the fact that his attempts to make the puppy jealous were completely unsuccessful.

He bends his legs, placing the soles of his feet against the ground, forearms resting on top of his bent knees. Might as well wait for them to tire out, or for one of Arado's owners to come and fetch him.

Wanda had returned home to find Arado gone. She didn't think that Clint had taken him with him today and immediately went out looking for the wayward pup. He was well trained however Clint had been training Arado in German so he didn't get his commands confused. As such, she was wandering through the village shouting. "kommen Sie"

As Wanda stepped into view her voice reached Arado who paused and went running towards the brown haired girl. She spotted the movement as well as Major and his puppy.

"Good to see you clothed." She replied with a half smile as she walked towards the Basset hound. "Is this why Arado went running off?" Wanda asked as she knelt down to pet the new puppy. Arado was currently walking at Wanda's side, waiting for the next command.

Major should probably be on higher alert with everything that goes on in the village at any given moment, but the sound of rustling bushes and branches from behind only gets a twist of the neck and curious glance over his shoulder, instead of making him spring to his feet to assume some kind of defensive stance. This instinct - or lack thereof - proves to be warrant, given that it's Wanda's face that peeks through the leaves. Major offers a smile, letting out a laugh of slight embarrassment at her comment.

"Yeah, well. The foxes have gotten bored with me, I guess, and realized too late that I have no shame in walking around a populated village in nothing but my birthday suit. If they really wanted to mess with someone, they should've gone for Ravi instead. He'd get his sweater vest in a twist over it," he laughs good-naturedly. "Ah, yeah," he sighs as he turns his attention to the puppy, who's come over to investigate the newcomer. "He arrived in one of those weird boxes this morning and immediately broke free of my arms."

Wanda was only teasing him though it was fun to listen to his explanation. That had been an interesting day and it was one that she wasn't likely to forget. Wanda liked seeing Major whether he was mostly naked or clothed. He was interesting. In hindsight, the foxes could have done a lot more than simply steal his clothes. "They're gone." She had looked for them herself but had found no trace of them.

"Looks like you found yourself a little protector." She looked over at Arado before nodding her head, allowing the dog to run around if he wanted too. It was obvious the new puppy that had brought him out here and nothing dangerous.

Wanda gently scratched at the basset hounds ears with a small smile. Everyone should have a puppy. "You have your work cut out for you."

"Oh. Just .. like that? I guess we shouldn't expect them to call the next day," he teases, adding on as a mumble, "We don't even have telephones." He knows that most of his references and badly formed jokes don't always make sense to Wanda, but he appreciates the fact that she never makes him feel bad or stupid or weird about them. He hopes that he never makes her feel any of those ways with his silliness.

"Don't I know it? I'm not complaining, though, because - ugh, have you seen his face? How could anyone be mad at it?" Major says, resorting into some light baby talk towards the puppy. "Maybe he and Arado can be pals. Arado can whip him into shape."

Wanda rolled her shoulders in an easy shrug. She didn't know what the foxes were after but she had a feeling that they were similar to the fireflies. They appeared for a few weeks and then vanished. They had been here for a reason though she hadn't been able to determine what the reason was. It felt like each new situation tested them.

She wished she could figure out the details though it was a little beyond what she knew.

"Perhaps you scared them off." She teased lightly as she looked down at the puppy. It was cute and very different from the dog that Clint had adopted. "He's cute. Looks a little bit like his owner." Wanda flashed Major a bit of a smile. She had heard that dogs look like their owners.

"I don't mind no telephones. This place isn't so big." She had heard him and while she liked being able to call people, she didn't have that many people she could call. It was mostly Clint or Clint's wife who became something like a parent to Wanda after she had lost her family.

"I can help you train him." Wanda had been training Arado with Clint and knew how it was done.

"If you talked to Ravi, he would absolutely, wholeheartedly agree with you - that I scared them off. Because of the "fox incident," he had to establish a no-nudity clause in the house, under threat of him leaving me for Mark. What a jerk," Major says, his tone obviously affectionate, but playfully annoyed. "I like to think that if I scared them off, it's because they were like," he assumes a very stereotypical "bruh" voice, "'Whoa, dude! Look at that guy's gains! He's sooo strong! We thought we were playing a prank, but the dude looks even better without his clothes on! Let's get outta here!' Or something like that."

He squints over at her before looking at the puppy with some consideration, then paws at his own face.

"Are you saying I'm covered in hair and full of jowls and wrinkles?" he asks, looking at her, feigning suspicion. "Even if you do insult me by basically saying I look like a pile of floppy skin, that'd be great - if you could help me train him."

Wanda bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling. She was a little envious of his relationship with Ravi. It reminded her of her and her brother though they never had to worry about a rule about staying clothed. They both kept their clothes on and didn't let them get stolen by foxes.

Her fingers brush against the puppies head while a light smile settles on her lips. This month has been strange but nothing very awful has happened. Wanda was sure that the peace was temporary but she was thankful for it.

Wanda shook her head. She was offering a compliment but she'd never been very good at them. "To start. You should pick a language to train him in. Something you can remember but isn't what you use everyday. Arado's commands are in German. It can be confusing for the dog if you use English and are talking to Ravi and telling him to stop."

".... And .. what if my only language is English? I think Ravi took four years of German in high school or something, or .. whatever the Brits call it. Secondary school? Crumpet class? Whatever. But I sort of .. uh .. breezed through most of my educational years thanks to playing sports. I wasn't great when I started in college, actually. Always benched, but eventually worked my way to being a starter for the school football team. Safety." None of this matters, Major, move on. "Point being that I don't know any other language to speak to the dog in except English. Unless Ravi and I just totally make up a language that we use only with the dog."

Edited 2017-10-31 19:53 (UTC)

Wanda hadn't gone to school but she got the general idea of what it was during the few years she lived in the compound in New York. Steve had pressed her to take college classes in between training and their operations. Wanda hadn't had a normal childhood, it didn't lend itself to going to school or following the American 'dream'.

"I can teach you German." It'd be like training Major and the pup at the same time. "You only need to know a few commands." She didn't think it would be a problem for him.

"What sports did you play?" Wanda hadn't been able to play sports but she found that she enjoyed Team sports for the same reason she liked fighting with the Avengers. People created bonds that strengthened with each mission or each game.

"Really? .. Huh, okay. I mean, only if you don't mind. I don't want to take up all of your time." Okay, slightly a lie - it wasn't that Major wanted to take it all up, but ... some of it, at least. A good chunk of it. Without being weird, and without being creepy, and without being That Guy who can't take a hint. But if she's offering ... he'd be dumb to turn it down. "I never thought about teaching a dog commands in another language, but your explanation of it before makes a lot of sense. Did you come up with that idea?"

Her question makes him laugh a little, slightly sheepish.

"All of them? I was definitely that kid who signed up for like, three sports a season and was never home, never around, always at practice or games or whatever. Eventually, though, I got really attached to football - American football," he corrects, remembering how Ravi always insists on calling it that due to the difference in terms in England vs. America, "and that's what i played throughout college. But I can enjoy pretty much any sport. I'm also really fond of basketball. Baseball's a tad too boring for me. I like ones that are more .. fast-paced. Soccer, lacrosse, rugby. What about you? You into sports?"

Wanda was the sort of person who didn't speak unless she had something to say. In that same trend, she didn't offer her time unless she was ready to give it. The days were becoming monotonous in the village and she welcomed the break. So far, she liked being around major. He didn't mind when she didn't understand one of his references and he talked enough that Wanda could relax and listen. Wanda also enjoyed his humor, which was rare.

"I didn't. Clint taught me." She didn't know where Clint had learned that but there was a lot about the man's life that she didn't know. He had a few kids but she couldn't remember if he had a dog on the farm or not.

Her attention refocused on Major when he started talking about American football. "I know the game." A few people at the compound liked football. It was fun to watch and also fun to be around Sam who often yelled at the TV when he didn't like the ref's call. "I've never played. Didn't have the time. I watch American football." Wanda made sure to make the distinction since Major had.

"Clint? Oh, yeah - you mentioned him, I think, right? When we met after I came out of the fountain? This is his dog, technically, if I remember correctly?" The beginning of his time here in the village is, admittedly, a tad fuzzy. Even though it wasn't all that long ago, it still feels like a blur. Like it was somehow a very long while ago, but also very recent. Weird, how time works.

"The stupid thing is that women aren't really allowed to play American football - which I only call "American football" because Ravi gets on my case about using the term since it's what the Brits use for what we call soccer. But I've never in my life referred to soccer as football, so I'm just gonna say 'football' from now on. Anyway, women aren't allowed to play because it's too .. violent or something. I don't even really know the reason. They're allowed to play it if they're in lingerie, though, cause that makes a whole lotta sense," Major comments with a roll of his eyes. He's a red-blooded man who could appreciate a naked or scantily clad woman, but he also didn't agree with the overt objectification of them. "Did you have a favorite team back home? Football team, I mean?"

Wanda looked down at Arado and nodded. "He belonged to a woman who left a few months after my arrival. Clint took Arado in. I take care of him some days." It came with the territory of living with someone. They also took turns taking care of the chickens and collecting eggs.

"I don't care what you call it." She replied with a soft huff of laughter.

She squinted at Major. She has never heard of women playing football in their underwear but that sounds weird and not at all practical. Wanda can't appreciate the ascetics of a scantily clad or naked woman. Women never really interested her and she had the advantage of being able to look in a mirror.

Wanda was fairly sure that she'd destroy most football players if she was ever in a situation where she'd play the game. That all seemed rather fragile when she watched them on TV. "I was in New York before here." She rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "Giant's." They weren't a great team but when they came on people cheered and it was easy to get excited.

"That's nice to know, that people .. I dunno, look out for each other's pets and stuff in case of disappearances," Major comments with some sobriety in his tone. He tries his best not to think of it because he'd spent one day having existential meltdowns at the prospect. Thought of Ravi up and vanishing makes him feel like he's developing an ulcer. He sometimes wonders whether Ravi gets the same gut reaction at the thought of Major disappearing. It's just .. all together not a pleasant experience for him, so he tries to quickly change topics. He doesn't really want to deal with having a random breakdown in the middle of the woods.

"I know, I know," he replies at her look about the lingerie-wearing football team. "Men are gross. The women just wanna play the sport - and they're good at it, even in their underwear. I'd love to see a guy attempt to do the same thing. They'd be on the ground, whinging about someone tapping into them, guaranteed. I know when I'm beat." He makes a bit of a groaning sound at the Giants, but he seems to accept it. "I'm a Seahawks guy, being from Seattle and all. So long as you're not a 49ers fan, we can continue to speak and have civil conversation."

Wanda could tell that he didn't want to talk about the disappearances. It wasn't a pleasant topic but she's seen it happen again and again. It didn't ever hurt any less and sometimes pretending that it couldn't happen was the best option.

So she focused on football.

She laughed, unable to stop the entertained sound. Her fingers rose to her lips to hide her smile or stifle her laughter. "I'm sorry. I'm sure women would win if both sides were in their underwear." Wanda didn't think that men were better than women or women better than men but women was usually less distracted. It was something she noticed during the days she spent with her twin.

"I'll start cheering for Seahawks too." Wanda placed a finger over her lips. "As long as those two teams don't play each other. There was no harm rooting for two teams.

"Probably. You guys can withstand a lot more pain than we can, even if we aren't quick to admit that. Like, ever," Major says, smiling at the sound of her laugh. It rings like a bell through the air, easily dissolving the impending freak out at the thought of disappearances.

"They do sometimes, but the plus side of being a two-team person as opposed to being an idiot and liking only one team with all of your energy like yours truly is that it doesn't matter who wins! Because you like both teams! And it's okay to like the Giants better than the Seahawks. Just ... don't go and start cheering for the 49ers. Seriously. Because then this friendship is completely over." He makes a snipping motion with his fingers between them, as if to symbolize the cutting of a tether.

Wanda was trying not to smile but Major was making that very difficult. "I already promises that I wouldn't." She didn't care enough about football to want to root for the 49ers. Though Major's passion for it was making her want to see him watching a game between his beloved and hated teams.

"Why do you hate them so much?" She could understand it but there wasn't a football team that Wanda absolutely hated.

"All right. I mean, you made a promise, so ... I'm gonna hold you to it. And I will be mortally offended and/or wounded if you go back on it," Major says with mock seriousness, tilting his head in towards her to prove his point. He knows that, in the grand scheme, football teams and allegiances and all of that are silly - they're for entertainment, they're for fun. Not that he hasn't gotten a little crazy in the heat of the moment before, but he tries to keep perspective. It's no fun if someone's being a jerk about stuff.

"Because they're the worst. I mean, we were rivals for a while, then we weren't because the Seahawks went back to the NFC for the first time since 1976, and then things got heated again in 2011 because former USC coach Pete Carroll and former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh took over as head coaches for the teams. Carroll for the Seahawks and Harbaugh for the 49ers a season later. Seattle got Wilson as their QB, Kaepernick went to the 49ers. Then the teams went from being kind of 'meh' to seriously awesome, and for four years - 2010 to 2014, either the Seahawks or the 49ers claimed the NFC West championship. So we hate each other now, for the most part. I'm sure that was 100% more information than you ever wanted, but you did ask the question."

His passion for specific football teams was a little silly but Wanda needed a little bit of silly in her life. It was a nice change and a breath of fresh air from the seriousness that she was surrounded by daily.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't prepared for the answer." Wanda replies with a bit of a smirk.

She felt the cold wet touch of Arado's nose against her hand, pulling her attention down to the two dogs which were now staring at Major and Wanda. Apparently, they had no been okay with the conversation of football which had firmly distracted the two away from the two dogs. Wanda scratched behind Arado's ear before looking back up at Major.

"It might help if you train your puppy by Arado as well. He'll show the hound the right way to do it and what happens if he does it correctly." It was a little random but not completely off topic from what they were originally talking about. "I didn't ask." The statement was filled with surprised that was mostly directed at herself. "Does he have a name?" It's hard to train a dog without a name, not impossible but hard. A dogs name was usually the first word it learned.

"Asking a football guy about his favorite team and its rivalry is opening up the craziest can of worms," Major says, attention being drawn from Wanda to the dogs. Minor whimpered a bit and flopped over onto his back, clearly asking for some belly rubs. With a laugh, Major can't help but indulge the puppy. It's hard to say no to a face like that!

"That's a great idea," Major replies, though he's still caught up in the baby-talk-voice he was just using to talk to the puppy. Major doesn't seem to care and continues on anyway. "Isn't it, Minor? Isn't that a great idea? You can become BFFs with Arado here just like I'm BFFs with your other dad, Ravi! It'll be great!" Minor lets out a cute bark in reply. Major finally resumes speaking in a normal voice before answering: "No official name yet, but I have a feeling he's going to be named Minor. He's .. a spitting image for a dog we had back in Seattle - we being me and Ravi - and Ravi had named him Minor, so I think he'll want to dig up the name again."

To Wanda's defense, she hadn't realized that he was a football guy though she was a little glad to know that now.

She smiled as she watched the little basset hound beg for his owners attention. She'd have to train them both at this rate and she didn't know how hard that would me. "Do you think dogs can understand you more when you talk like that?" She knelt down, with her hand on the top of Arado's head. There was an easy smile on her lips and amusement dancing in her eyes.

"It's cute. Major and Minor." She looked between the two of them before settling an affectionate gaze on the puppy. Wanda had a weakness for dogs. She couldn't help it. "It's a good name."

"... Yes, obviously," Major replies with a tone and face to suggest that she's saying something blatantly silly. "Why else would anyone talk in that kinda voice? Obviously the dog's better hearing can understand and pick up my voice better when it's all high-pitched and non-sensical. Duh. Everyone knows that, don't they?"

Major is happily giving Minor the belly rubs he so ardently demands, but the former doesn't seem all that bothered by it. Nor does the latter seem to have any intention of ceasing said demands any time soon.

"It took me an embarrassingly long time to get the joke, to be honest. I did eventually, though."

[who let the dogs out?]

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new journal

okay!