[she's made a few rounds to check on people who experienced something that sounds, frankly, pretty awful. she was aware that things were bad, and she'd been monitoring the way pickles responded to all of them upon return. she can't really blame him for feeling protective of the people he was with, but it does remind her of a friend who was initially pretty hostile to them, too, when he was feeling trapped and scared.
she's actually probably at the haunted house for another reason, having decided to give the dog some space, but when she enters and comes across him she thinks that people have to try connecting with others, no matter how much they resist.
she keeps a distance from him to give him space, but she does crouch down to be more on his level.]
Must've been kind of scary to just disappear like that, huh? Geto said you guys were in the fog and then suddenly somewhere else.
[ His ears perk up when he hears Aerith and he turns his head to her. His indigo eyes are dead, his fur has lost its sheen, and his fur is more white. He has no hostility and he hasn't been candid to most people ever since he came back, but he makes a low sound.
The puppy says they were gone for longer than a month. ]
but since he seems responsive, she will actually just drop to a sit. the floor's maybe dirty but who cares it's fine. this is news though and her eyes widen.]
A month? [you were all here literally yesterday, please.] Where...or how?
[no wonder pickles was surprised doggie can curse. anyway, bad. that's what she was kind of hoping was not the case but.]
Ah...[that puts some context here.] You're very much alive now. I know that doesn't change any of what happened because you still remember how it happened, don't you? I'm sorry.
[an awful thing to experience, let alone possibly while being alone.]
Did....you come back again if the city was full of other undead?
[ The puppy woke up back in London, its home city, and its owner with a lot of mutual love betrayed and violently chased it out of the house. Everyone hated it. ]
The one you want to get back to so much. [that's extremely rude, actually. she leans forward a little to watch pickles, mostly because she can't imagine anybody could really be okay after having someone they love be used against them like that.]
...did you have anywhere to go? [she's kind of mad because why hate sweet pickles...even if he was an undead doggy. also there's just her own circumstances that make this frustrating for her to hear, knowing they had to go through something like this.]
[well. that kind of says it all, doesn't it? she's not sure how open he is to it, but she does reach out a hand tentatively. will the puppy allow for comfort pets...give her a moment to gather her thoughts but it's fairly obvious she's unhappy this is how things turned out.]
[ Pickles does allow comfort pets and allows the silence to sink in. It seems that he'd prefer this rather than keeping the conversation going, but that's just how things are sometimes. ]
[she wouldn't blame him. sometimes it's too hard to talk about the worst possible things to happen to you even when you know maybe you should. but aerith would be a hypocrite to force pickles to say more than he's ready for. so it's just comfort pets.]
...it's over now. You're back here with us. It must have been very lonely for you, but...we're still here. [ear scritches. what else can she do but assure him of that? especially when you turned around and hit betray immediately i'm so mad OUR PICKLES.]
[you know what, he's right to be sad. this sounds horrible. so she's not letting up with the gentle pets and lets him be upset, staying close though.]
...it's hard when you want to love and care about people, but they find reasons not to love or care about you back. [tentatively.] But your actual owner loves you and wouldn't kick you out, would he? Everything that happened out there was just like a bad dream.
[it's not going to change those feelings or experiences, but...it's something to try and hold onto, she hopes. even if pickles isn't feeling up to talking back, it's what she wants to offer.]
[yeah. okay. hard not to worry about that, actually.]
...has anyone else felt different to you since you've been back? [just to try and alleviate his nerves about it. it's not meant to rush him, but just to help him settle if she can.]
[where are we. i suppose we are standing in front of scaresco because she has never seen a store this big before, and the emotional feedback is very curious but also a little overwhelmed.]
Well, Pickles, what do you think? Worth taking a look?
[free shoes for pickles!! she will open the door and let him go first, following after him to see what he's most interested in. she does find herself sort of drifting off a little toward where fresh produce lives, picking up what looks like a pomegranate to examine.]
...most of the shops we have back home are a lot smaller. Not as many wares when you're under the plate. [it's mostly conversational more than anything.] Being here has actually been sort of nice that way.
[ Pickles nods when Aerith says that because same. He picks up a bag of oatmeal and holds it in his mouth to follow her to where the fresh produce is. Then he drops the bag of oatmeal to bite an apple. Nom. ]
[there is one conveniently left nearby probably because people are lazy, but it's huge. pickles could probably sit in it, but she's dropping the oatmeal in for now.]
I didn't know dogs could eat fruit. Then again, most of what Red eats is meat anyway, so maybe that's not a great comparison. [red also isn't a dog but it's the closest comparison she has.]
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w1 thursday
she's actually probably at the haunted house for another reason, having decided to give the dog some space, but when she enters and comes across him she thinks that people have to try connecting with others, no matter how much they resist.
she keeps a distance from him to give him space, but she does crouch down to be more on his level.]
Must've been kind of scary to just disappear like that, huh? Geto said you guys were in the fog and then suddenly somewhere else.
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The puppy says they were gone for longer than a month. ]
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but since he seems responsive, she will actually just drop to a sit. the floor's maybe dirty but who cares it's fine. this is news though and her eyes widen.]
A month? [you were all here literally yesterday, please.] Where...or how?
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Woo...
[ The puppy says it was beyond the fog and had seen many, many things. ]
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[it's hard to imagine them lost in the fog for a perceived month but weird things keep happening here, so perhaps that's true.]
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[ The puppy arrived in a castletown with the other three people and saw many dead people along with ascending once. ]
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[the idea of being in a city of the dead isn't exactly comforting either.]
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Woof.
[ The puppy says it died once, but it was a nightmare... it thinks. ]
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Ah...[that puts some context here.] You're very much alive now. I know that doesn't change any of what happened because you still remember how it happened, don't you? I'm sorry.
[an awful thing to experience, let alone possibly while being alone.]
Did....you come back again if the city was full of other undead?
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[ The puppy woke up back in London, its home city, and its owner with a lot of mutual love betrayed and violently chased it out of the house. Everyone hated it. ]
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The one you want to get back to so much. [that's extremely rude, actually. she leans forward a little to watch pickles, mostly because she can't imagine anybody could really be okay after having someone they love be used against them like that.]
...did you have anywhere to go? [she's kind of mad because why hate sweet pickles...even if he was an undead doggy. also there's just her own circumstances that make this frustrating for her to hear, knowing they had to go through something like this.]
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...it's over now. You're back here with us. It must have been very lonely for you, but...we're still here. [ear scritches. what else can she do but assure him of that? especially when you turned around and hit betray immediately i'm so mad OUR PICKLES.]
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Pickles stays quiet a little longer, but then lets out a quiet howl. Awoo... He's sad. ]
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...it's hard when you want to love and care about people, but they find reasons not to love or care about you back. [tentatively.] But your actual owner loves you and wouldn't kick you out, would he? Everything that happened out there was just like a bad dream.
[it's not going to change those feelings or experiences, but...it's something to try and hold onto, she hopes. even if pickles isn't feeling up to talking back, it's what she wants to offer.]
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The puppy says it wasn't a dream, and that's why it's hard. ]
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Like a dream. [a soft correct.] But I understand. Experiencing makes it real, so it's harder to shake off.
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[ The puppy witnessed a quick change in a person, and worried that everyone here would have been the same upon return. ]
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...has anyone else felt different to you since you've been back? [just to try and alleviate his nerves about it. it's not meant to rush him, but just to help him settle if she can.]
w5 monday
Well, Pickles, what do you think? Worth taking a look?
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Woof!
[ He's also excited, since this is his first time being in a store like this too. His tail wags. Let's rock!! He goes over to the grain aisle. ]
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...most of the shops we have back home are a lot smaller. Not as many wares when you're under the plate. [it's mostly conversational more than anything.] Being here has actually been sort of nice that way.
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What do you think? Should we get a cart? [better question:] I didn't think dogs liked apples.
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Woof!
[ The puppy says apples are tasty and so are most other fruits. ]
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I didn't know dogs could eat fruit. Then again, most of what Red eats is meat anyway, so maybe that's not a great comparison. [red also isn't a dog but it's the closest comparison she has.]