Bad Luck: Follow That Dog! (Open)

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Stupid!

Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid!

Words could not covey just how incredibly stupid this was!

Adam had stupidly agreed to take care of his neighbor's pet for them while they were away(at least he wasn't stupid enough to take care of it in his own apartment) but the stupid thing was such a little monster it was no surprise the owners didn't want to bring her along. So for a whole fucking week Adam had gone to take care of the little mutt, risked being eaten alive, cleaned up piss stains because the bitch was too prissy to let him walk her like a normal fucking dog, was annoyed by whines and cries from a lonely mutt in the night because it was hungry or some shit, but the bitch wouldn't even ear her dumb kibble, though it certainly had not problem begging and stealing a ham sandwich right out of Adam's hand.

The owners were going to be back in the morning. And you'd think this would be a relief.

Anything but, because the monster had pulled a fast one on the burnt out caregiver and bolted the second Adam last opened the door, and it ran off down the street.

And that's why Adam was running like his life depended on it down the street after it. About half-way down the street, Adam stopped and looked with a pathetic mope at the collar lying in the street which unmistakably belonged to Duchess, the border collie.

"Duchess!!" he called out into the neighborhood.

[Molly Kingsley]

Molly's Thanksgiving had so far been rather typical. She'd had the mandatory call from her parents, heard all about how her brother and Ash were doing, and then received the same exact information from her brother himself no more than an hour later. There had been the half hour of self-debate over how essential turkey really was for the holiday, and if she could get away with just staying home alone for Thanksgiving. But that wasn't really in the spirit of the holiday.

Then again, the holiday was all about how the pilgrims abused the generosity of the native Americans, so none of the typical holiday plans were really in keeping with that theme.

In the end, she'd decided that maybe Hammel's Thanksgiving dinner would have to do. It was certainly better than sitting home alone and drinking all those lovely fall-themed brews she'd been collecting. Although Home Alone did sound good at the moment... she hadn't seen that movie in years.

These thoughts were wandering idly through her well-swaddled head (two scarves, a hat, and earmuffs, if you were curious) as she noticed a familiar figure bolting down the opposite side of the street. Wiggling her head back and forth a bit to free her ears from one layer of their complex coziness, she watched as he stopped running, and then heard him call out.

Glancing around in confusion - or, at least, attempting to glance around within the rigid confines of movement her winter padding provided her - it took Molly a minute to notice the collar. And then another second or two to put the whole scene together. Walking (okay, maybe more like a stiff mini-waddle in her long parka) over to Adam, she pulled a double-gloved hand from her pocket and waved a weak hello. 

"Hey." 

She wasn't exactly sure what was appropriate here - launching right into a happy Thanksgiving? A 'hey, how are you?' Or should she go ahead and let him know that she'd vaguely noticed a dog sniffing around a side alley of a house about a block down? Decisions, decisions.

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Adam was clearly having a very trying Thanksgiving. Or he would be if it was a holiday he actually celebrated and to this day he still didn't understand why it was so fucking important to honor a meeting that left the pilgrims starving because they were a bunch of lazy motherfuckers who wanted everything handed to them on a silver platter. Because they believed in 'god' of all people. Adam was sure that nobody even knew the real story behind Thanksgiving outside of the shit they taught in elementary school. No…Adam was sure that it was a conspiracy or something. Keep the useless holiday up so that they have a good excuse to go trample people the next day. Celebrate the failure of socialism with extreme commercialism. Gotta get your Butterballs! And stuffings! And you don't need to use that old turkey baster, it's already a year old, here buy a new one! The whole thing was just a hypocritical holiday, in Adam's opinion.

Which was why he didn't go home for it, despite his mother calling every 5 minutes for the past week to get his rsvp. Adam had cleverly used Duchess as an excuse to not show up, and a pretty darned good excuse it was….until that little mongrel decided to pull a fast one and go on a royal tour of the piss gardens of Pilot Ridge.

The cold was starting to get at Adam and he felt the first shiver of chill since he took off running from his apartment. He was clad in only jeans and a t-shirt. But the workout had kept him from noticing save for the pins he felt in his skin from the clash between hot, cold, and impact.

He turned his head to a sudden voice, a familiar red-head bundled in layers of what Adam should probably be wearing too. "Hey…" he said with a blink.

A moment of processing and Adam realized that HEY! He had a person here! And one whom he could draft into helping him find this errant border collie. "Hey! Molly! Great timing! You gotta help me, quick!" He approached her with fervor, grabbing her shoulders and practically shaking her into whiplash.

[Molly Kingsley]

Swaddled as she was, the first thought that came to Molly's mind was: don't shake the baby.

And then she felt stupid for thinking of herself as a baby.

"Um-" she waited patiently for him to stop shaking her, trying not to bite her tongue. Like people having seizures bit their tongues. Adam was essentially giving her a man-made seizure. Huh, that was a weird thought.

"What- um... How can I, uh- help." She still wasn't entirely sure what was going on. And she still had a strong suspicion that she should be acknowledging Thanksgiving and/or the dog. Or maybe some sort of small talk about the cold. He must be freezing.

"You must be freezing."

Yeah, she wasn't entirely sure why she'd said that, either. She kinda felt like she should offer him a pair of gloves or a jacket or something, but she doubted he'd fit in any of her gear, so she didn't. Just made the observation.

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Adam probably wouldn't have stopped shaking her if he hadn't been freezing out of his mind and needed to back off and shiver in his own lack of sweater. He rubbed his hands over his arms. He was probably going to catch a cold after this.

"Shiiit, yeah, I uh," now the cold was definitely catching up with him. "I-I-I'm looking for a d-d-dog. G-g-g-g-got out and ran off." He wasn't sure how else to explain it, especially not quickly. The little mongrel could be getting away, on the other side of town while he was busy trying to explain everything. "You…have you seen a dog around here? A short, ugly border collie."

[Molly Kingsley]

"Shiiit, yeah, I uh, I-I-I'm looking for a d-d-dog. G-g-g-g-got out and ran off."

This would probably be the time to offer some sort of warm clothing-ish type thing, what with the chittering shivering business. But Molly just stared, trying to decide what she could possibly offe- wait, dog?

"You…have you seen a dog around here? A short, ugly border collie."

"Ah! Yes! Dog!" Molly's eyes were wide as she attempted to gesture her marshmallow-padded limbs in the direction of the alley. "There was- yes, back there."

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Adam kind of wished he hadn't been a completely brainless boob and left the house with at least some sort of warm weather clothing. After all, cold was cold no matter how desperate you were to find someone else's dog.

Aww, who was he kidding? Duchess was gone for good and there was no reason for Adam to believe that Molly would help him find it. She certainly wouldn't have seen it, right?

Luckily, Lady Luck seemed to be in his favor on this particular moment on this particular day. Adam's eyes brightened as she gestured towards the alley. "Oh, thank god!" He gave her a huge bear hug, squeezing with all his might, and then took off towards the alley….and somehow was completely absent and unknowing of the fact that he had grabbed her hand and was quickly pulling Molly along with him. "Let's go!" Ok, maybe not so absent and unknowing.

[Molly Kingsley]

In all of her padding, the hug was still stifling - if not more so because of all the layers that squeezed up to cover her face briefly. "-oof! Um... no probl-"

It was a miracle that Molly managed to actually remain on her feet as she was towed by the Mach 5 Speed Racer that was Adam. Then again, she was practically airborne with that force, so that certainly helped her keep from tripping over anything. Or tripping over nothing, which was her most frequent obstacle.

She wasn't quite sure what to say. She was slightly terrified, yes, but if asked whether she'd rather be chasing down a dog with Adam or sitting awkwardly at a holiday meal at Hammel, she would've been hard pressed to choose between the two. Meaning neither sounded especially appealing, but both had their up sides. Like the double-edged sword of Adam's recklessness, that now had her hanging on for dear life praying that she didn't accidentally run right into a pole. 

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Adam barely noticed the extra tug against his hand of a marshmallowed woman who was practically dead weight to his charge forward. I would catch up with him though, and certainly it did about 20 to 30 meters thataway in the direction of the alley, where he hoped that the little mongrel duchess was occupied enough with a trash can to not notice their arrival and run away again.

He was no longer cold anymore at least, or rather not as much. Adam's face and arms and legs flushed from the chill and gave off enough heat to bake cookies in a dutch oven….which he actually wouldn't want to eat so that thought was instantly purged.

"Quit…dragging…you're feet…" he huffed and puffed on tired, burning legs as they approached the alley. Adam stopped suddenly, holding his arm out to keep Molly from advancing any further. "Wait!" He turned and pressed his finger to his lips. "Shhhh…." And he started to tip-toe around the corner. He could hear noises digging around the trash receptacles.