Man's Best Friend (Open)

[Levente Cohen]

It had occurred to Levente that his house was way too quiet for comfort. Sure, he made a lot of noise himself banging hammers and such. And the surrounding wildlife, mostly the birds, contributed sound to keep it from being eerily silent. But there was something…missing. He had tried to keep the TV or a stereo on, but he found the TV a little annoying and he accidentally fried his stereo. For a while he considered posting an ad in the newspaper to see if he could find a roommate, then it occurred to him that he didn’t really have the room for another person. Not to mention his mood-swings tended to bother other people sometimes.

Then, suddenly, the solution presented itself one evening.

Levente was out picking up some lumber at a farm when he noticed a large white dog lying by one of the barns. Physically it seemed well cared for, but there was something in the way it was just laying there that made Levente’s heart go out to it. It just seemed pitiful. As he was loading the bed of his truck with 2 by 4’s he asked the farmer what was wrong with the poor thing. He learned that the dog’s previous owner, a friend of the farmer’s, had recently passed away. Although the dog had everything it could ever want or need, it just sat in the same place most of the day with it’s head on his paws. “I don’t know what more to do for the ol’ boy,” the farmer said. “I’m not a real dog person, but I felt bad sendin’ him to a shelter.”

"He just needs a friend," Levente told the man.

A half hour later, Levente was headed back to his place with a truck full of lumber and a new best friend. The dog, he had learned his name was Huck, took up over half of the front seat. But with his head out the window enjoying the breeze, he seemed to have perked up quite a bit. In the words of the farmer he had “taken a real liken’” to Levente. With his spirit’s high, he reached over to pat Huck’s head. “We’re gonna be just fine, you and me” he told him. “You’ll like my place. Lots of space to run around. If you’re good I might even take to work to meet the kids.”

And then about three miles outside of town, Levente’s truck decided to ruin the evening by dying. Levente checked under the hood for a few minutes with Huck at his heels before deciding that he didn’t have the tools to fix it there on the side of the road. Mason is gonna love hearing about this, he thought to himself.

“So much for our first date,” Levente told Huck. “How do you feel about going for a stroll?” Since he never carried a cellphone, he knew he’d have to walk to town and hope he could reach someone to give him a lift home. “Come on,” he said as he started walking down the road.

[Charlie Davis]

Charlie was out for a run with Wayne when he caught sight of a man strolling down the street with an awesome dog by his side. Charlie slowed down, and glanced down at Wayne. "You be nice, you hear?" Wayne sniffled Charlie's leg in response before perking up at the sight of another dog.

"Hey!" Charlie greeted with a warm smile, "Nice dog you have." He slowed to a stop when he finally reached the other guy. "You from here, or from Pilot Ridge?" He was probably being too friendly again, but he couldn't exactly help it. It was in his nature, after all.

[ooc: short intro post is short >.<;;]

[Levente Cohen]

Levente hadn’t gotten all that far when he noticed another man and his dog out on the road. Although it looked like they had planned to be out there running, instead of like Levente and his dead truck. Levente stopped walking and glanced down at Huck. He had no idea how the dog would react to another dog, or another person. “You’re cool, right?” At least it wasn’t a Chihuahua. Levente had a feeling Huck could eat one of those tiny dogs for breakfast. It didn’t seem that it would be a problem though. As soon as Levente had stopped walked, Huck had promptly stopped and sat as well.

Levente returned the other man’s smile. He couldn’t help but be friendly either, well at least not when he was in one of his up moods. “Hey. Thanks, I just got him about a half hour ago,” he paused to smile down at Huck. “And likewise, what kinda dog is that?” He gestured to the man’s dog, still watching Huck out of the corner of his eye. Huck was sniffing around the other dog, but he didn’t look ready to attack him or the man. Good dog.

“I’m from just outside of town. On my way back, but-“ he pointed back down the road to his truck in the distance. “Well…guess my truck didn’t feel like making it all the way.” He shrugged and then laughed. “How about you? A proud citizen of Pilot Ridge? I’m Levente, by the way,” he said as he reached out his hand. “And this polar bear by my side is Huck.”

[Cole Kessler]

Cole had to get out of the apartment today. He'd been stuck there all week cleaning up from his party and its aftermath. He'd loaded up all the trash, got Hoss in the truck and headed out. His first stop had been the dump, but that was an hour ago. Since then Cole had taken Hoss up to the mountain and went hiking for a while.

Once they'd come down, Cole had stopped at a small diner and gotten he and his pet a burger. "That good, boy?" Cole said as he rubbed Hoss's shoulders, balancing his burger-holding hand on the steering wheel. He smiled at Hoss's grunting, barely audible over the wind through the open windows. As he took a bite of his over-sized burger, the sight of his tattoo's reflection made his thoughts flash. Sucks for her. Must make it really hard to get over me, knowing that's MY necklace He said to himself, laughing as he realized Taeyeon still had his necklace.

His thoughts switched once again as he come upon a broken down truck. Slowing down to stop, he kept going when he realized the loaded down pick-up was empty. He could see two people up ahead, maybe they knew something about it? Maybe it was one of their's?

As he neared them, he recognized one: Mr. Cohen. A man who'd helped him out that day in the training rooms. He slowed down to avoid any jumps the dogs would make into his path. He couldn't stand the thoguht of hitting a dog, especially knowing that it belonged to someone. He pulled off to the side of the road next to Levente, "Hey, c'mon, now, guys." he laughed out the window, "The middle of the road ain't no place to stop and have a conversation." He joked as he opened the door, taking time to let Hoss come out behind him. "Mr. Fix-it?" Cole said as he offered a handshake, "Now, I know that ain't your truck broken down back there. Is it?"

[Charlie Davis]

Charlie grinned, “Nice, what kinda dog?” He wanted to lean over and pet the large, white animal, but Charlie didn’t know just how socialized he was, and since Levente had only just gotten him, he probably didn’t know either. He didn’t want to stress the dog out. Wayne looked intrigued as the other dog began to sniff him, and not at all threatened. Awesome. “Wayne here’s a Harlequin Great Dane. He’s a good boy. Likes other dogs and people and such,” He assured Levente as Wayne sniffed the other dog in turn.

“Oh man,” Charlie winced sympathetically as he looked back at the broken truck, “I wish I could help, but I’m not all that great at mechanics.” He shrugged apologetically before grinning again, “Levente, good to know you. Charlie.” He shook Levente’s hand. “Huck. Good name. He good to pet?”

Another, younger voice caught his attention and he glanced over to see a young kid in a truck (young in Charlie’s eyes, the kid couldn’t be any younger than 17 or 18). He grinned amiably and stepped to the side, “Sorry ‘bout that.” Charlie raised an eyebrow as another large dog hopped out of his truck to follow the kid. Seems like this was Pet Day.

[Levente Cohen]

Levente stopped worrying about Huck as the two dogs sniffed each other. He figured if his new pet was going to attack or anything, he would have done it by now. “I’m not really sure,” Levente said, smiling at the man. “He looks a lot like a dog someone had on my street when I was a kid. Great Pyrenees I think it was.” Levente scratched his head, trying to recall if the farmer he got Huck from had said anything about the dogs breed.

Levente waved off Charlie’s apologies. “That ol’ thing is the bane of my existence,” Levente said, laughing. “I’m can usually get it going again, if I have the right tools with me. And as far as I know, Huck’s good with others,” he said with a shrug. “Seems to like you alright.” Huck, finished sniffing Wayne, was nudging Charlie’s hand with is nose.

Levente turned when he heard a vehicle coming up behind them. He smiled, recognizing the young man as a student from Hammel. “Seems to be the perfect spot to me,” Levente said, grinning. “Come on over here and join us, son.” He was pleased to see their group had gained yet another dog. It was his first day with Huck and already he was meeting fellow pet-lovers.

“It sure is mine,” Levente said, shaking his head in shame. “Just cuz I can fix it don’t mean it always stays fixed.” He laughed. “Charlie, this is Cole. He’s a student up at Hammel.”

[Cole Kessler]

Cole stood evenly spaced between the two older men. Moments like this reminded him of home. Whether you were a teen or middle-aged or even someone who'd been around for a while: Back home, everyone knew you and you knew everyone; knew the ins and the outs of town; could map the entire region by memory. Hell, you could even go to the dinner with intentions to eat and be there all day. A small town life, but one Cole loved because it made him who he was.

As Levente introduced him to the other man, Cole smiled, "Yeah, I think I've heard of him." The boy laughed, "Ain't you the guy that promised Horus a Gyarados or whatever?" Cole's smile brightened at the thought of how that conversation must've went, especially if Horus was under the influence of something, "Sorry, talks spreads quick at Hammel, just like High School, ya'know?" Cole turned to Levente, "That makes sense, actually, boss." He chuckled as he felt the cole of Hoss' nose against his palm.

He knelt down, "Hey, boy, what's the matter? Ain't gotta be shy, Hoss. They won't hurt you." He said cradling Hoss' face in his left palm while rubbing the dog's side with his right hand.