Handle Animal: Success! [Open]

[Cecil Wathen]

Sunday mornings were arguably Cecil's favourite time of the week. Even though the bar was open in the afternoon and evening it tended to have a much more laid back, easy going vibe and didn't require as much pre-opening preparation and stress as the rest of the weekend tended to need. His mornings were always very much his own, and it was the perfect opportunity to get well away from the bar and unwind for a few hours with the dog in tow.

Mephit gave a sharp bark of excitement as she trotted along beside her jogging owner, the pair of them heading for the park beside the lake that was their main playing ground. The Australian Kelpie was usually pretty wired, her breed being one that was developed to spend all day every day working on a farm, but today her energy was heightened by a cooler breeze that felt good after the hot and humid summer. Even though she was perfectly obedience trained Cecil always kept her on a short lead while jogging up the roads towards the park, not trusting cyclists, drivers or other pedestrians for a moment with his precious companion. She had been a young puppy at the time of the divorce, and she was the one thing that Aaron hadn't fought Cecil for because he knew the Welshman would never, ever have backed down from that battle.

Once the pair were well inside the park Cecil slipped the lead off Mephit's collar, the Kelpie barking and spinning in excitement as Cecil fished the tennis ball out of the back pocket of his dark grey cargo shorts. For a few minutes he threw the ball with Mephit retrieving it, then he started to mix it up. Holding out his arms to the side to make a loop, the Kelpie leapt through it gracefully before spinning around to jump back through. Bending over at the waist so his back was horizontal to the ground, Cecil gave the command to “hup.” With a bound Mephit leapt up onto his back, balancing carefully, and then sitting there once the command was given. A few moments later Cecil tossed the ball to the side and the dog jumped down off her perch to chase after it.

Seeing someone walking up the path very nearby, Cecil gave a loud whistle and the Kelpie ran quickly back to her owner, laying down in the grass next to him. Even though Cecil knew Mephit would never harm anyone, some people simply didn't like dogs and it was always better to be safe than sorry. The Welshman gave the person a bright smile and a nod of his head. “Morning! Great day for it, isn't it?”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

It was a great day! She was off today! Therefore it was a good day. Nothing could make her day go sour. Not even the promise of rain in her eyes despite the blue skies. It was a burden sometimes, this power. Considering she'd left her umbrella at home. It was always a terribly time to be the meteorologist without an umbrella. Well, that wasn't going to ruin her day. No, she wouldn't let it. She was dressed in a pair spandex shorts and a concert tee, a rare but wonderful break from her business dress. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a high tail and she was makeup less. Oh what a wonderful feeling! Glory day! Unfortunately she was on days and this was her turnover so she had nights tomorrow. She had to stay up and get all sorts of tired today so that she could go to bed and stay in bed until around 3 in the afternoon.

It was the perfect day for a morning row. She wished she had brought Ike along, the poor dog had been cooped up for so long due to her work schedule. She walked him daily but she knew it wasn’t enough for the overgrown puppy. She wished she could take him out on the water with her, but there is no way a row boat and a dog would ever mix. Oh well, she was going to be up for the rest of the day perhaps an evening walk on the park? She lived close enough that it wasn’t a problem going back and forth. It was cooler now and Idalia was feeling highly motivated. Perhaps she might even risk a run. Ida laughed a little as she walked down the path. Let’s be real, you’re not gonna run unless someone is chasing you, she chided herself with a giggle. Oh well, Pegasus was probably feeling a little left out too.

Pegasus was a little white and silver single and Ida loved her. She was smooth and glittered in the sun when they were on the water together. She’d bought the boat from the club when she had saved up enough money. They’d been great and given her an amazing discount, but her mother liked to refer to it as ‘the reason she was in an apartment and not a house’. She had a little bit of a skip in her step as she walked down the gravel path. Idalia looked at her hands and smiled, was it strange that she was pleased with the calluses she saw there? She was actually about five seconds into picking at one when the voice called her attention. Ida smiled and for a moment thought it was another rower but then it ended up being someone she didn’t recognize. Oh well, it was a happy day! Why should she be the only one to enjoy it? “Good morning!” The she caught sight of the dog. “Oh my goodness! He’s so cute! Or is it she? What’s her name?” Idalia stopped herself from rushing up to the dog, she hated it when people did that to Ike. He might not hurt someone but he was a big guy and often times didn’t realize that he was an elephant.

[Cecil Wathen]

Mephit's intelligence could sometimes be a burden (it had been tough to keep a hard-wired young dog mentally stimulated in a New York apartment), but for ease of training Cecil could not have asked for a better dog. His family had always kept canines as he was growing up but the Kelpie had been the first dog that had been actually his, and he wouldn't swap her for the world now. There were few things he loved more than training with her like this, and no one could ask for a better jogging partner. He often thought it was a very good job he was so physically fit, he'd never have been able to keep up with her otherwise.

As the woman got closer up the gravel path the Kelpie let out a loud bark of greeting, slightly brushed tail wagging furiously in the grass. She knew better than to move before she was allowed to though, so she stayed firmly planted on the ground by Cecil's side. She had a tendency to get excited when meeting new people, even from a distance, but she had been well trained enough to know when it was okay to run up and greet people and when she had to stay still until told otherwise.

Cecil's smile was bright and genuine, and he leaned down to pet Mephit's head as the woman spoke about her. “Yeah, she's cute and she knows it.” He gave a soft laugh as Mephit let out another excited bark. It was the ongoing joke about British people, never speaking to strangers unless absolutely necessary. Dogs were like a secret loophole that allowed people to actually communicate with one another in something other than a cautious nod. “She's called Mephit*. She's really friendly, if you'd like to say hello?”

* Pronounced Mef-it

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia was endlessly impressed that the dog didn’t jump up and tackle her. She was too used to Ike. She knew it was unfair, Ike loved meeting new people and got excited because he didn’t get a chance to because Idalia’s work kept her essentially a shut in for two weeks at a time. She was going to have to get some pointers from this guy. Essentially how to make him stay and not be crazy. Though it was altogether very possible she just got a dog that was intent on not listening and making life hard. She’d never seen a dog like the one he had. She’d thought it was a German Shepherd at a distance and now she discovered she was very wrong about that. Either way the dog looked precious and was behaving so nicely!

A giggle pushed out of her lips and she let out a little coo, “Aw, she’s just a girl.” Ida joked. Dogs were indeed a conversation starter. There were so many people who loved dogs and dog owners it seemed always had to stop and say hello, to the other dog at least. Idalia knew that Ike would not have been sitting so sweetly. She had a feeling he was intelligent when he wanted to, and most times just liked to pretend he didn’t have a clue. “Mephit, that’s such a cute name! And unique too! Does it mean something?” Idalia asked curious about this adorable creature in front of her. Well, the adorable puppy and her oh so nice looking owner. She smiled not letting the thought show on her face. She wasn’t really sure where things with Dylan were going but she was definitely into him, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the view.

“I’d love to! Hi Mephit! You’re such a pretty lady!” Ida cooed and held out her hand for the dog to sniff. “I have to tell you, this is amazing, my dog would be going completely nuts.” She laughed and shook her head. He’d all but eaten Dylan’s (and Evan’s for that matter) face when he’d come to pick her up. She really needed to do something about that, before she ran into another one like that high schooler who thought he knew everything. He’s just a dog he didn’t mean to step on the paintings. He really just demanded attention and love from everyone. It was honestly starting to make Idalia guilty. She knew he had a lot of energy and she couldn’t be there a lot of the time. She knew her weird hours were wearing on the dog. It would break her heart though to give him up. He was her best friend.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil smiled as he rubbed Mephit's head and she nuzzled against his hand, and he gave a nod of his head. “She is, yeah. And like all girls she loves being the centre of attention.” The comment was very tongue-in-cheek and the playful look on Cecil's face mirrored that. The opposite was of course often the truth; Cecil had found that it tended to be boys that wanted to show off and be in the spotlight far more than girls did.

“Ummm, yeah, kind of.” Whilst Cecil had absolutely no qualms about admitting to the rather nerdtacular aspects of his personality, sometimes he had to actually think about how to phrase what he was saying so the other people in a conversation would actually be able to understand him. “In a game I play, or used to play rather, Mephit's are small cheeky curious fairy-type creatures. Troublemakers, but usually harmless unless provoked.” He gave a small shrug, stroking his hand over Mephit's long ears. “I thought it was rather fitting for her.”

As the lady reached out to greet Mephit Cecil cocked his head slightly to the side, addressing the dog. “Go on then.” The Kelpie bounced towards the woman with a playful bark, tail wagging so hard her hips were swaying, and she nuzzled and sniffed at the proffered hand. Watching the dog carefully just in case she got too enthusiastic, Cecil asked “Oh? What type of dog have you got?”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia looked up to gauge his facial expression ready to give him a good dose of feminism should he need it. Luckily for him she caught the humor in his expression and decided to let it slide. It was a problem of hers, in a male dominated field it was really hard for women to make people take them seriously. Idalia silently scolded herself. It wasn’t fair for her to assume that all men were chauvinists. In fact most of the people she’d met in the past few weeks were quite the opposite of that. So Ida laughed and gave a charming smile. She tossed her head making her pony tail swing around. “Don’t be jealous, we just know how to work it.” She joked waving her hand like she was a supermodel. She grinned at him, he’d opened that door he’d take whatever she decided to bring through it.

So the name did have a story, Idalia cocked her head at him and waited for him to elaborate. Idalia wasn’t a gamer herself but she’d had a boyfriend in college who… well, their relationship had ended because he’d rather play video games. Idalia laughed at the image. Of course her immediate image of a fairy was a sassy tiny winged lady, a Tinker Bell kind of lady. It still blew Idalia’s mind that Tinker Bell seemed to have become a good girl. To her the feisty fairy would always be the badass bitch who’d given up Wendy. She smiled at the thought. She could see it, the dog might be well behaved but she had the same kind of look that Ike got in his eyes when he got excited. “Aw, that’s precious.” She said clasping her hands under her chin.

When given the go ahead by the dog Idalia scratched her head. “Oh hello, pretty lady.” Idalia stooped and gave the puppy a bit of good loving. “You’re such a sweetheart!” She looked up when he addressed her again and she dropped her cooing voice. “He’s a Great Dane. He’s such a teenager.” She turned back to Mephit. “He’s not good like you are.” She straightened but kept giving the dog attention. “It’s a beautiful day, do you come out here often?” She asked brightly, she’d never seen him before, but then again he was tall and muscular. It was probably a problem that she was looking at him and wondering if he would ever try rowing. Their club was starting to get a little on the small side and there had been almost no interest in August’s Learn to Row.

[Cecil Wathen]

Despite Cecil's preferences on certain things, he always tended to enjoy the company and companionship of females. It varied from person to person of course, but as a general rule he got along well with them and if asked he would say he completely supported feminism in its honest form. What he strongly disliked, however, were the 'feminists' who were campaigning for women to be treated better than men. Equality meant exactly that, men and women being as equals. Hold a door open for a lady because it's polite? Of course. Hold it open because it's expected of you? Hell no. He laughed softly at her antics and gave an approving nod of his head. “You definitely do. I don't think me doing that would have quite the same effect. It'd probably look like I was having some kind of strange seizure.”

When asked, Cecil always described Mephits as a fairy-type creature. In some ways they resembled fairies, if you squinted and didn't look too closely. They were elemental-born creatures from Dungeons and Dragons, looking like the strange offspring of a fairy and a demon with the ability to use the element of the plane from which they were born as an effective weapon in battle. Of course, it was always easier to just describe them as tricksy fairies.

Mephit responded enthusiastically to the woman's attentions, snuffling against her and wagging her tail furiously. Cecil gave a low whistle when the woman explained what sort of dog she kept. “A Dane? Wow, that's brave. Any dog big enough to ride is a bit out of the league of most.” It certainly was out of his – he managed to keep Mephit active and trained enough to keep her healthy and happy, but a Dane? Pft, no chance. He gave a nod at her question. “Yeah, when the weather allows I'm out here most days at least once, usually twice. Got to keep the troublemaker busy.” Stepping towards the woman, he offered out his hand. “I'm Cecil, by the way. I own the Churchkey Bar in town.”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia laughed and waved a hand dismissively at him. It was then that Idalia started to wonder. He didn’t seem to be flirting with her and seemed to be just joking. She didn’t get a lot of that from men, it was kind of nice. She didn’t feel like she had a sudden need to impress him. “That would probably still enable you to be the center of attention,” Idalia joked in return unable to resist teasing him with the image of him doing a catwalk. If he stuck around to get to know Ida well enough he’d be quick to find out that she just wanted to be treated as an equal. Science was a very male dominated field still and she felt the need to prove herself to her peers even though she might not have to. It was her passion and no one was going to tell her she couldn’t do it because she was a woman. She was constantly trying to keep herself from being the one that needed rescuing.

Ida rubbed the puppy’s ears and made happy faces at the dog. She giggled as she scratched the adorable dog’s head. She glanced up at him and nodded. “He comes about to my hip and drags me around more often than not,” she sighed and shook her head. “He’s a sweetheart though. I think I need to get him out here more. He loves it. He’s still learning though, I can’t get him to sit still like you got Mephit to.” Idalia looked at Mephit and wondered if she would like a friend. Ike was a good boy, he just had a hell of a lot of energy. And with some days her being away for twelve hours for work he was getting restless and even when she took him over to her parents during the day she had a feeling he was getting lonely. No one took care of dogs at night either. Often Ida took her lunch break to run home and at least let him out for a bit before heading back to work during the nights.

Laughing easily Idalia rose and took his hand. “I’m Idalia, I don’t think I’ve ever been there. I’ll have to check it out. I’m a meteorologist on Channel X.” Idalia considered him for a moment. “You said you bring her out here at least once a day?” She wondered if he would like to have a Great Dane companion every once in a while when Idalia was off work. She could at least bring him out before she went to work nights too. She knew Ike would just love a playmate and she would love someone to wear him out so that she could sleep a bit. Currently, she was in the midst of training Ike to be calm so that she might beg her supervisors to let her bring him to work some times. But he'd have to be quiet and clean, things he wasn't very good at.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil’s laugh was bright and his smile an easy one, and he pondered the thought for a moment before giving a dismissive shake of his head. “No, I doubt it. You don’t see many six-foot Welshmen on the catwalks. Not ones built like me, anyway.” He’d never truly had all that much care for the life of high fashion and glamour despite the fact he had been surrounded by in and to a certain extent involved with it for what felt like his whole life. It was that industry which had seen him move from Wales to London, then eventually to New York. He had no real care for it; but perhaps that was just the bitterness talking.

Whilst the thought of the slender woman stood in front of him being dragged around by a Dane like she was jet-skiing was an amusing one, Cecil was only too aware of the dangers that came along with a dog that could take on a rugby player. If she indeed couldn’t get him out very much, it was no wonder he was hyperactive. “It took me a long time to get her like this, but it’s possible if you put in the time. Being here helps, there’s so much space. It would have been much tougher if we were still in New York. What’s your boy called?”

Cecil smiled as they shook hands, giving a quiet laugh at Mephit’s soft whine as the attention was diverted away from her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, that’s a very interesting name. I don’t recall ever meeting an Idalia before.” The Kelpie gave a sharp bark, and Cecil rolled his eyes before launching the ball across the field. Mephit took off after it like a bolt of lightning. “Yeah, we’re here most days when the weather allows. Around this time, and again just before the rush shift at the bar starts. And sometimes after closing, but usually then it’s too dark so we just run around the block a couple of times.”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

((I’m so sorry for the late reply! Things have been crazy busy!)

Idalia snorted as she tried and failed to hold in. She found the image too amusing to ponder the fact that she hadn’t said anything about a catwalk. After all, it was never right to assume that everyone was a meta-human. “Oh come on! I’m sure you’d have people fawning after you,” Idalia explained the air of humor sparkling in her eyes, “You’d have to change your name and go out in sunglasses or risk being mobbed.” Her imagination was running wild. He seemed very fit and he probably had a good body control. But then all Idalia knew about modeling and catwalks was what she’d seen on America’s Next Top Model. Idalia wished she didn’t have to be good at doing her own make up but it came along with the job. If there was a day she didn’t have to be on television she would likely be in minimal make up. And her days off were all about sweatpants.

Nodding along Idalia was starting to get that pang of guilt. She knew that Ike was restless and she tried her best, she walked him at least once a day, twice if she didn’t immediately pass out after she got home from work. At least she could drop him off at her parent’s when she worked days, he then at least got to run around and wasn’t cooped up in an apartment. She nodded to herself, she was going to start bringing him out here more often. “His name’s Ike.” She grinned and shrugged, so she’d also named her dog after a video game character. Careful, Ida, your geek is showing, she thought to herself with a smile. “What was your training method? I’ve been doing the reward with treats method but sometimes I think the treats are distracting. Or maybe she just needed to get over the fact that he looked so cute and actually make him do things when she gave him a treat.

Idalia opened her mouth to answer and ended up laughing as Mephit demanded attention. “Such a simple life,” she mused and turned back to him with a shrug, “But thank you, Cecil.” For some reason it sounded so different when she said it as to when he said it. He said it better, what an accent! Idalia nodded and found a little surge of jealousy. She wouldn’t want to run at night, maybe with Ike that would be different. But then who was she kidding, she hated running. “What did you say your bar was called again, maybe I’ve been there.” Idalia inquired with interest. “That’s amazing, I tell you what I think my schedule is bad but at least I don’t have to deal with people, at least not directly.” She got several emails a day calling her a Global Warming Liar, a Communist. She got even more asking her about snow and telling her that she was wrong about Global Warming. She always replied the same. She didn’t believe in Global Warming, she believed in Global Climate Change. But, especially if she was on the night shift if someone came in person to attack her she’d probably be fired for hitting someone.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil's laugh was bold and friendly, and he used a finger to twirl an imaginary lock of hair as Idalia spoke. “Yeah, from people who needed help shifting heavy things maybe.” A lifetime of being almost constantly active and outdoors had gifted him with a very solid build without much in the way of body fat, something that came in handy sometimes but was hardly runway material. Unless he suddenly decided to start modelling builders equipment, anyway. Besides, he was massively lacking in the one major thing that all models required; arrogance. Sure he did like to look his best and be neat and tidy when he wasn't simply out with the dog, but he had never been vain or pompous, which he believed was a major contributing factor for why he hadn't really gotten along with many of the people he met in New York while out and about with Aaron.

A small smile curled the corners of Cecil's lips as Idalia told him her dog's name. “Ike as in... Fire Emblem?” It was a long shot and he knew it, but it never hurt to ask surely. It was more likely to be Ike Turner, if anything, but for all he knew it could have just been a random name pulled out of the air. Or even one that the dog had already come with. Cecil's inner geek had never been particularly inner, the d20 tattoo on his right wrist was proof of that, but he was always somewhat cautious to avoid completely nerding out around strangers. Whilst some embraced it openly others tended to be very put off by it, and the Welshman always preferred to try to judge the other person's preferences before burying them under obscure references and gaming lingo.

“I started out using clicker training with her, which she picked up on really easily. It's taken a long time to get to this point but it's been well worth it. I still have the books I got when I started out with her. I'd be happy to lend them to you some time, if you'd like.” As Mephit returned with the ball, she dropped it by Cecil's feet and he reached down and rubbed her ears gently. “It's the Churchkey, on the corner opposite the laundromat. It's been there forever but it was all run down and boarded up. I did it up and reopened it in December.” Cecil gave a soft laugh. “People don't bother me so much. I've worked in bars on and off since college, I'm immune to most things now.” After pondering for a moment, Cecil came up with an idea. “Tell you what; if Ike isn't dog aggressive, do you fancy bringing him and Mephit out together some time? She'd be able to tire him out good and proper.”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Unable to help herself Idalia let out a little snort before breaking into laughter. “Speaking of…” Idalia said jokingly tapping her chin contemplatively. Ida was only able to sustain it a little longer before she broke into giggles again. She took a moment to look over Cecil. He was definitely someone with a thicker set of muscles. He was hot and Idalia had the terrible temptation to poke his bicep to see if it was real. Though, her suspicions had been risen, he knew more about models that she did. She shrugged to herself. There were going to be a lot of disappointed women if what she was thinking was accurate. It wasn’t her place to say either way. She was indeed happy that now at least among her generation and the younger generation homosexuality was much more accepted. It was only the old traditionalist bible thumpers that thought it was terrible. In Idalia’s opinion they weren’t hurting her.

A flash of red struck Idalia’s cheeks and she gave a sheepish smile. “Guilty…” She said with a giggle waving a hand like she was admitting to a crime. “Imma be honest, that game got me through college.” That and the Legend of Zelda. Idalia wasn’t a super nerd and she wasn’t a ‘gamer’ but she liked a few games a lot. Idalia was too busy now to play anything too much, she was too focused on work and on attempting to train Ike, or at least keep him from eating her socks. “I loved the artwork in it.” Idalia said, it was really a wonderful game but what made it one of her favorites was the artistry that it had. There was so much detail and it was all strategy. If there was a game she would play again it would be that one, that and maybe Wind Waker. She smiled to herself, maybe being a geek wasn’t going to be a terrible thing. Actually, in the sciences it was much more about the Doctor and such, she hadn’t been able to get into that but she was a closet nerd indeed.

Idalia almost started taking notes. She hadn’t thought of clicker training. She honestly didn’t understand how it worked. Nodding emphatically Idalia smiled, “I would love that! Thank you! I’d never thought of clicker. I’m not sure Ike would be a fan of the whole lack of treat thing though.” Mephit was so well behaved Idalia was half tempted to treat Ike like a child and scold him for not being as good as Mephit. But he was a dog and the whole time she was scolding him he’d be wagging his tail. “Wait… you’re not talking about what used to be sketchy stop? You were the one that fixed that up?” Idalia hadn’t been inside but she’d seen its transition as she drove past it. “That’s amazing!” Idalia laughed, “I worked retail in college and let me tell you, that pretty much put me off people forever. At least now when people talk to me I had a degree to back myself up.” Idalia’s smile grew and she practically bounced on the balls of her feet. “No, no Ike is a gentle giant. He’s very good with other dogs. He likes to play and, well… he just doesn’t get that he’s not this big anymore,” Idalia moved her hands to show a small creature in size. “He’s not aggressive though. I’d love that! She might even be able to teach him a few things.” Idalia scratched Mephit’s head. "Ohmygoodness you're so cute!" Ida cooed at Mephit.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil laughed softly and was well aware that he was being checked over by Idalia, but he honestly didn't really mind. He didn't have all that much of an ego and wasn't about to start flexing or anything, but he did take a little pride in his appearance and was aware that he wasn't painful to look at. A little attention sometimes was flattering (yes, even for a 6ft solidly-built Welshman), even if it came from someone of the opposite sex to the one from which attention would usually be preferred.

As the woman admitted to her 'crime' of naming her dog after a Fire Emblem character, Cecil laughed and nodded in approval. “Don't be ashamed of that. Mine's named after a monster from an RPG. Be proud!” Cecil had never been a huge fan of video games but he'd played enough to be able to know the basics of most of the big names. He didn't even own a console at the moment, but he did have a few games on his PC. Hellgate London and Neverwinter Nights were two of the few games that he regularly made the effort to play anything more than just casually, but there was always time to be found in the week for yet another run-through of the classic Diablo. “The artwork had much to like about it. So many of the newer games just don't have that same level of attention to details.”

“You're very welcome. Just come around to the bar sometime and I'll fish them out for you. And you don't have to stop the food rewards. In fact, in some cases they can help. I used them with Mephit at first, but she's really not that food-orientated. A bit of fuss or having a ball thrown is a much bigger reward for her.” Smiling as the woman tried to confirm that yes, that was the bar that he meant, Cecil nodded. “Yeah. I kinda fell in love with the knackered up old place when I first moved here, and a few months later it was still unsold and unloved, so..” He gave a small shrug, as though that were all the reason he'd needed to buy the place. Which was indeed the case.

As the woman made mention of her degree, Cecil gave an approving nod of his head. “Nice. It's a very handy thing to have, particularly if it's in something you enjoy and that's useful in what you're doing now.” Unlike his own, of course. Sure he had loved all his university courses and was very proud of what he'd managed to achieve, but with the way his life had steered him his degree was about as useful as a chocolate fire guard. As Idalia seemed about to burst with enthusiasm for the canine meet-up, Cecil smiled brightly and pulled a small notepad and pencil out of a back pocket. He always carried one around just in case. He quickly noted down the address and phone number of the pub and handed it over to Idalia. “Here. Just pop in or give me a bell and we can sort something out whenever you're wanting.”

[Idalia Tsavaris]

Idalia laughed and waved a hand her face blushing. She was always a closet geek. Mainly because she wasn’t geeky enough to fit in with her super geeky friends but she wasn’t too normal to now understand a few references. It was almost a real fear that she’d given him the impression that she was more nerdy than she really was. Ida nodded in agreement. “They really don’t, especially not on the new systems. I almost wish I had more time. I’ve got far too much to do to play video games like I used to.” She said, and honestly as she’d gotten older she’d just lost a lot of interest in them. Now, that wasn’t to say she couldn’t occasionally spend a few hours on end with her Wii but she was much more likely to be either sleeping, playing with Ike, or reading journal articles. She was officially an old person.

Her thirtieth birthday was just around the corner and it was a daunting thing indeed. “I’ll do that. I’ll probably stay for a drink or two after work,” she said with a little laugh. Idalia nodded in understanding. “Yeah… Ike’s very food driven.” He almost took off her hand if she took too long to give it to him. She’d scolded him for that and he was better now, but it was still a better idea to be quick to get her hands out of the way of him and his treat. “Ike like’s sticks. I’m talking like big sticks,” she held her hands up to show him the size of more of a log, “I throw a ball and he’s like ‘what do you want me to do with this?’ so I just gave up and stuck with sticks. They’re cheaper anyways,” she giggled. He also didn’t like to give it back. She wrestled with him for a bit, both of them having fun wrestling and playing. Idalia didn’t get to play like that anymore. It was strange for an adult, but with a dog it was pretty well accepted.

“I drive past there on my way to work. It was pretty scary, but I saw it in the dark half the time.” Or most of the time as soon as winter started. “But no, it looks so nice now, I keep meaning to stop by but by the time I get home I just want to stay in.” She shrugged. Maybe Dylan would like to check it out with her. She’d had to remember and text him before she forgot. She was the definition of an absentminded scientists. If it wasn’t critically important to the right then and there she typically forgot all about it until it was on top of her. Unfortunately for her, sometimes that happened to be dates and she was too long at work. And well, no one liked to wait for someone who seemed to be perpetually late and forgetful.

Idalia nodded in agreement. As much as she complained about it she loved meteorology. Idalia watched him write on a pad and she stood on her toes a little snooping at what he was writing. She settled back and took the slip. “I’ll do that, thank you very much.” She reached down and scratched Mephit’s head. “It was so nice to meet you, Cecil, I’ll definitely stop in.” She gave him a beaming smile and her eyes turned back to the lake. “Well, I wanna get out on the water before it gets too late.” She smiled and crouched to say farewell to Mephit. “You’re such a sweetheart, I’ll see you again.” The lake looked so wonderful she couldn’t wait to get out. With a final wave she excused herself and headed the rest of the way down the path and was soon out on the water in her beloved Pegasus skimming the water like an arrow. She paused after her warm-up to glance at the shore to see if she could see Cecil and Mephit.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil gave a nod of sympathy at Idalia’s statement. “I completely understand what you mean about time restraints. It’s tough, trying to balance a full time job with being a dog owner and still having enough time to do the things you enjoy.” Even though the Churchkey ate away at most of Cecil’s time, his complete lack of a commute and his dependable staff team meant he had at least a few hours a day to himself. That time was mostly spent walking or training the hyperactive overgrown puppy, but sometimes he managed to snag a few hours to paint miniatures, catch up online or maybe, just maybe, run around a fantasy world for a bit.

An easy smile crossed Cecil’s lips as she spoke of Ike’s love of sticks and a quiet laugh left him as she indicated the size of said sticks. “A dog his size, I’m surprised he doesn’t try to bring you entire trees.” Cecil liked the size and convenience of a ball for training. They could easily be thrown a long distance, important for a dog with as strong a need to run as a Kelpie, and there was no risk of them splintering and harming Mephit’s sensitive mouth if she decided to chew them. “Maybe he’ll have more of a drive to chase a ball when he’s competing against another dog for it.”

Idalia’s compliment of the exterior of the Churchkey brought a bright smile to the Welshman’s face. “Oh, thanks. I’m really proud of how it’s turned out. It’s been a hell of a lot of work, and I’m still always adding bits and changing bits, but I love it.” When Cecil had moved to Pilot Ridge it had never been his intention to buy a pub, but he hadn’t been able to resist the rundown old shell. There was not a single regret in his body about the decision. “Looking forward to seeing you in there some time. Your first drink will be on the house.”

Mephit clearly loved the extra bit of attention she was getting and her tail wagged manically at the head scratch. “It was my pleasure, Idalia. We’ll see you soon, hope you have a good day.” With a bright smile and a wave, Cecil watched the lady head to the lake before turning to his dog. “You are such a tart, Meph.” The Kelpie gave an excited bark, tearing across the field as the ball was once more launched through the air.

~ Fin ~