+1 Puppy!

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity's back in the Nexus, with the stripes and the crazy braids as usual, but this time she's not alone. With her, or more accurately, in her general vicinity there is a small and adorable puppy. White fur with brown ears and striped tail and stockings. There could not be a more appropriate dog for Verity in all the multiverse. (And you all thought she was a cat person.) The pup is bright-eyed and curious, sniffing and examining everything within the range of its leash, then going back to make sure nothing's moved or changed. It's on to you, stray leaf, you and your blowing hither-and-yon ways.

Ver's got a loose hold on the puppy's leash but is general content to let the little rascal romp and play and explore while she looks on with bemusement. What even is her life. There are so many questions she could ask: how did she end up with a dog, what is she even going to do with a dog, when did she become such a softy... but those aren't questions for the general populace.

"So... I've got a dog now. Anyone got ideas for names?" She doesn't have to take the bad suggestions, she figures, so that should be a safe question. "And, um. Tips? For training her and... so on? Or a limit they'd like to helpfully try to impose on how many toys I buy for her?"

Anyone who doesn't want to deal with baby animals can blame Clint for not answering his phone. He is, after all, great with dogs.

Comments

[kalel_ofkrypton]

The little blue dragon is a bit confused at the puppy's behavior, and copies it in hopes of understanding, turning in a circle on the spot. What an odd little creature.

"He was a rescue who'd had lab experiments done on him, so he had super strength like mine at the time," Clark explains. "I'm Kryptonian, so as far as I'm concerned, it was a fitting name. The powers didn't stick, but the name Shelby did. Best dog I ever had."

[brave_heart_verity]

Yes! Good, little dragon is learning. Puppy bounds forward again, then scampers back with tail wagging. Come over here, little dragon, come and play. There could be wrestling!

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Shelby was lucky to have you." Super-strength or no, after life in a lab, life on a farm must have seemed idyllic.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

The little dragon flutters a bit closer, intrigued by just how fluffy its new friend is. It tries to copy the tail wagging but doesn't really understand the purpose.

"He was a good dog. Saved my life once or twice, too." He misses that old dog sometimes, but at this point there are far more good memories than bad.

[brave_heart_verity]

Puppy is fluffy and excitable. It's a great combination. Let her demonstrate! Once the little dragon's in reach, Puppy bounds over to pounce it. So fierce! Isn't this fun?

"That is a good dog. Did he have a cape too?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

The little dragon lets out a noise that sounds rather like eep! and it hops up, vanishing with a popping sound as soon as it's airborne. It reappears a few feet away, watching the puppy suspiciously.

Clark laughs a little at her question. "No, he never went with me on my other job. It's too bad though; he would've been cute in a domino mask."

[brave_heart_verity]

Puppy's shocked by this display! Shocked--and delighted! That is a great trick and she wants to know all about it. She's very vocal about her enthusiasm.

"Aw, I bet. Now you're giving me ideas about what to do with this girl for Samhain."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Barking, now that's something the little dragon knows. The big dog at home does that all the time. It swoops down at the puppy, pulling up long before it gets close, flapping back up out of reach.

"I think that's one of the privileges of being a pet owner, sure. You get to dress them up however you want," Clark adds with a smile.

[brave_heart_verity]

Oh my! This is amazing! Puppy jumps up to try and join in the fun, but alas, she can't fly. She'll have to content herself with running around and jumping and barking her little head off.

"I don't want to be one of those crazy 'pawrents' that dress their pets up every day and carry them around in giant purses or anything. Dogs are dogs, not babies." As if she could pretend otherwise.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"No, every day would be creepy. It's better saved for special occasions."

The puppy's over-enthusiasm is getting to be a bit much, so Clark sends out a mental command to the little dragon to recall it. It cheeps sadly, and flaps over to land on his shoulder.

[brave_heart_verity]

Aw, the game's over already? Puppy is disappointed, momentarily, then realizes there's a new pair of shoes to sniff. Life is always full of adventure at this age.

"Yeah. It's more special that way." Ver gives the dragon a curious look while it's getting settled on Clark's shoulder. "What's your friend's name?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"This is Thorin," Clark introduces the little creature, and it sits up and makes a peeping noise, as if to say, 'here I am!' "He's a relatively new addition to the family."

Clark's shoes probably smell incredibly interesting to the puppy. All sorts of farm and city scents, not to mention paint.

[brave_heart_verity]

Farm sniffs and city sniffs? Amazing! Puppy will be investigating for quite a while.

"Thorin. Nice to meet you. I hope the puppy didn't scare him too much?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"No more than usual. Fire-lizards are easily startled, apparently, but they get over it just as quickly. Training a critter with such a short attention span is a challenge. You'll probably have an easier time with the puppy."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Well, that's only fair, since I'm mortal and your family is all magic and superpowered," she points out with a smirk. "We should all accept only the pets we can handle, right?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"That's fair enough," Clark agrees, and reaches up to stroke Thorin along the crest. The little blue fire-lizard makes a noise that might be described as a purr. "Pet ownership is a big responsibility either way. Have you ever had one before?"

[brave_heart_verity]

"No, but I'm sure I'll manage. My brother has a dog, so, he can help me if anything comes up."

Now that Puppy's got a lungful of sniffs and since Thorin's getting pets, she decides it's time for her to get some too. Which she announces by pouncing on Verity's foot. It's not the most elegant communication, but it works, since Ver's going to pick the puppy up now for pets and cuddles and general containment. "Silly dog," she murmurs affectionately.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark smiles a bit. Not that his judgment matters, but he can tell that she's going to be a good pet owner, with the way she interacts with the adorable floofball. "What breed is she, anyway?"

[brave_heart_verity]

It's very likely that Verity will be trained long before the puppy is. But that's the way it's supposed to be, isn't it? Puppy seems to think so. She's not going to complain about getting to live with someone attentive and affectionate.

"I have no idea. She was brought to a shelter as a puppy, but nobody's sure where she came from. But I'm pretty sure she's 83% cute, 15% stripes, and 27% fluff."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Could be worse; Puppy could be a cat instead. Then Verity would be doomed.

"That sounds about right," Clark says, and reaches out to briefly ruffle the soft fur on the puppy's head, now that she's within more reasonable reach. "She's lucky to have you."

[brave_heart_verity]

It is a lucky break for her, true. And the tuna.

Puppy's thrilled to get the pets. She'd be happy for them to keep coming. "Thank you. I'm pretty sure I'm the lucky one."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"We could ask her what she thinks, but I'm pretty sure the answer will be 'woof.'" He says that only with affection, of course. Dogs are fantastic.

[brave_heart_verity]

"Ha! Yeah. I don't know anyone here who talks to animals. But you know, actions speak louder than barks."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"You know, come to think of it, I don't think I do either," Clark says after thinking about it for a minute. "Except the animals that talk to other people, anyway."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Huh." Now she's going to think about it for a minute while she's cuddling Puppy. "You'd think that, somewhere in two worlds full of superheroes, there'd be someone who talks to animals."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"I bet if you look hard enough, Doctor Doolittle is here somewhere. Infinite universes in infinite places... odds are pretty good. Although 'needle in a haystack' doesn't even begin to cover it."