A man's best friend (OPEN)

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”Come on, Doodle! Slowpoke!” With a manly chuckle breaking free, Milan spun around on the dirt path surrounded by trees which all together formed one of the forests nearby the lake of Pilot Ridge. It was pretty much a daily routine to come here and to walk the dog. Blue eyes fell on the Bernese Mountain dog who had to sniff every single branch or leaf they passed by. With a shake of the head, the recruiter turned his back towards his beloved dog and continued down the path with hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans as the leash dangled next to his right leg. It didn’t take long for his to hear the heavy dog dashing over, smoothly running past its owner, only to stop a couple of feet ahead of him. Doodle excitedly glanced from one side to the other, practically taking a small leap as dark brown eyes fell upon a thick stick, suitable to play with. He immediately took it in its maul, happily bouncing back to the man who chuckle some at the sight.

”You don’t let me forget about it, mh?” Milan mused, taking the stick, bend his arm back above his head and then threw the ‘toy’ through the air, making it land ahead of them. Doodle gave a bark and then immediately rushed behind it like a crazy man. It merely took ten seconds or something for him to return proudly, clearly requesting for the action to repeat itself as the stick got dropped at its owner’s feet. The stick made another trip through the air, and another. And another. And again, but this time something else appeared to have caught Doodle’s attention for the toy got ignored and instead he continued forward.

”Doodle!” Milan called, to no avail. Given there was a small bend at the path, he had no idea where his dog had run off to, hence the reason he made a little sprint himself to make sure everything was alright. Once he took the small turn, his gaze fell upon Doodle in the distance, happily waggling his tail as another person, young or old, was being approached. ”Doodle! Come here, boy!” With a slight grumble, realizing the stubborn animal didn’t even bother to perk its ears at being called, Milan made sure to run over, despite the fact that the dog had already reached the other person. ”I am so sorry!” The recruiter spilled as he was only a few feet apart, immediately taking the leash to put it around Doodle’s neck again. ”He tends to be obedient…”

[Anastasia van Drakke]

Meditation out of doors was good for her, Anastasia van Drakke had been told by her partner. And not just by the pool either, outside. It would help her control, which the heiress was willing to admit she had been having some problems with. Ivan had had to physically drag her back into the car when they'd passed the Neville house hold and she'd asked for a quick look. There had been a steak knife in her hand bag.

The breathing patterns were second nature to her now, as in a perfectly fitting sky blue tracksuit the blonde woman was sitting cross legged and eyes closed on her mat. Clear your mind, breath slowly...

Something cold and wet pressed against her hand, and the blonde woman's eyes opened wide to look at the huge dog that had approached her. The woman stared at the animal, just daring it to try and put so much as a paw on her. I'll skin you and wear you as a coat, mutt.

The sound of the dog's owner hit her ears just before the wave of <frustration/guilt> hit her. Inhale, exhale, release the aggression. The heiress managed a friendly smile at the stranger, glad the animal was now on a leash as she stood up. "No harm done," she said lightly, "that's a very... interesting name for a dog."

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Milan did feel bad about the current situation. Not only could he tell that the woman was not overly pleased with Doodle’s proximity, he also wondered what had gotten into the dog that he hadn’t even bothered to be obedient and to stick by his owner’s side. So as he apologized, it somewhat surprised him that a friendly response came and it brought a soft smile to his lips. ”He’s a friendly dog though. He wouldn’t have done anything.” You know, just to reassure her, even though he would not undo the leash again for he doubted she would appreciate this.

Then the recruiter opted to react to the statement about the name, nodding with a slightly sheepish grin upon masculine features. His light Irish accent remained, despite him having been in America for about ten years now, but he was hardly aware of it anymore. ”Well, he is an interesting dog.” A hand patted Doodle’s head as he sat down next to Milan’s legs, having its tongue dangle outside. ”Maybe I was biased and thought of a doodle bag.” A shrug followed.

Talking about names… ”And how may I address you, miss?” For a moment he was reluctant to offer her his hand, not too certain she would take it, but eventually he reached it forward anyway. ”I’m Milan. Milan Myles.” It was fair to start with introductions, unless she rather got rid of him. The man was not a failure when it came to catching on to subtle hints, so all she would have to do was make it clear that his presence was quite unpleasant.

[Marie Ennis]

"Fizz, come on!"

The bubbly voice of the blonde haired woman was a little frantic at this point. Whatever had caught the golden Labrador's eye, it better damn well be good! Because she had taken off like a rocket in some kind of direction, panting and galloping about to beg Marie to follow at first. Then it was like she didn't exist.

She wasn't much of a runner; at least, not when it involved sprints and fear that she might lose her dog forever. She could have just kept running... Or something!

The Labrador had caught sight of another dog running free, and seemed to want to see what the fuss was about. A tall blonde woman, an unfamiliar scent and of course, another dog to play with! "Sorry!" She called from a distance. Eventually, Marie managed to catch up to them and the first thing she saw was just that. Another dog. She threw her hand out to catch the lead that had slipped away from her.

"Wow," She said between taking deep breaths, "You must attract them or something, huh." Marie chuckled lightly through her words before leaning down to pet the dog on the very top of its head.

[Anastasia van Drakke]

Anastasia looked down at the dog, Doodle, then back up at his owner. Her expression was still as the heiress quickly did a calculation. No point in further hostility. A harmless mistake. Had the dog tried to jump on her it might have ended different. "I'm Anastasia," she said slowly, finally smiling a little thinly. "A pleasure, Mr Miles."

Take a breath. He's an unknown. Accented. Could be useful. "You live in the area," she asked tentatively, reading the emotional cues and slowly reaching forward to take his hand. Skin to skin contact was generally avoided, unless she was aiming to take a deeper reading. Her eyes flickered as the contact granted her a total map of Miles' emotions at the time. Nothing of heightened interest there. Still, maybe he was part of the circle of people she had started to befriend. If so, best to not disregard him entirely...

Another blur of gold fur was heading there way, and there was just enough time for Anastasia to curse quietly in Russian before it was upon them. Really? REALLY!? The blonde woman who came dashing after was radiating <amusement>, which did little to help the growing impatience Anastasia was feeling. At the common (attracting dogs?), her lips pressed together in a thin line as she smiled. and raised her eyebrows.

"It appears so," she said after a moment, her hands now both back to her sides. "Strange, as I've never really considered myself a dog person."

That, at least, was painfully clear.