Spring's A'Comin (OPEN)

[Kasey Łukaczyński]

It had been a long, hard winter, and Kasey was thrilled to see that the white demon that Pilot Ridge had been plagued with was finally waning away. While nearly every resident of the Northeast was inconvenienced by the amount of snow they'd received that winter,  it had been particularly hard on the disabled community. Kasey was essentially snowed into her apartment until the sidewalks were clean, and even then she had the tendency to slip and slide on the icy roads. But now that Vermont was finally thawing, Kasey could go about as she pleased, and even go for short walks with her crutches instead of relying solely on her wheelchair. 

Today Kasey was doing just that; she strapped herself into her lofstrand crutches, and clipped Josie's leash onto her collar. She took the dog out to the small park downtown. Josie was a very patient dog, seeing as she could easily run off, pulling Kasey along with her. But the Cavapoo had always allowed the blonde to go at her own pace - especially since Kasey would let her run around at her own accord once they got to the park. 

It was tough for Kasey to get used to walking on her crutches for long periods of time again. At the moment she could barely put any weight on her legs - even with her continued physical therapy. She was a lot slower than she was in the fall, but she hoped by the summer she'd be back to her old self. She was completely winded by the time she got to the park. She set herself down on the first bench she saw, and leaned forward to let Josie off her leash. The dog seemed to circle around Kasey for the first few moments, possibly concerned about her human, but was soon off running around chasing the butterflies. Kasey smiled, glad that spring was coming. 

[Tomer Berelowitz]

As much as he sometimes wondered how a person like his Uncle Josh could find mutual fulfillment with Sean, Tomer was very glad he had. Some were selfish reasons, he knew that, but if anyone could get the man to understand the concept of 'introvert', it was the Hammel psychiatrist. (And that he had failed so far... well, they'd only been friends for forty years.) Uncle Josh was a lively companion, and Tomer had come to love him very much, but yet another social nicety he had not yet grasped was the Indoor Voice.

So he'd been very grateful to Sean for dropping him off downtown so he could pick up some supplies for Clover, reassuring his uncle that he was just fine and that there was no need to bother himself. The trip would be boring, and the busy lawyer didn't get too many days off to enjoy himself. And no, Tomer wasn't avoiding him for any reason, yes, he still loved him, no, he wasn't embarrassed to be seen with him, and yes, he really did just want to read in peace and there was no ulterior motive whatsoever.

Tomer wore a different backpack than the one he used at school when shopping for Clover; the alfalfa hay mixture he bought smelled nice, but the little bunny already found his books and homework tempting. Scenting them with hay would just be mean. There was just enough room for a pair of books in the front pocket.

Tomer also used crutches, and though he'd never heard the term 'lofstrand', they were the type he used also, which his doctor called 'arm canes'. And by now he was pretty good at them, if he did say so himself! He hadn't faceplanted in like, two months. His training was going very... very slowly. There wasn't much to control, his power was automatic and didn't shut off, but in the past two years (jeez, two years already?) he'd discovered how to sort of... push the numbness down. Meaning towards the ground, i.e. his hands and feet. This meant, miracle of miracles, that he could ditch his neck brace. The stupid thing had never been really overt, but it had felt like it was covered in neon arrows. He still wore it at night sometimes, but oh, to be free of that one was so awesome.

It also meant he could look down (with his neck! not his eyes! woo!) when a little ball of fur the same shade as Clover circled his legs with the kind of excitement only small dogs could manage. Unfortunately, the dog doing his (her?) happy thing around him meant that Tomer couldn't go anywhere for fear of one of his crutches nailing it. Yes, he was much better at them, but... they were crutches. They implied awkwardness, and if one knew Tomer, a certain amount of flailing.

Well, standing still was okay too. Smiling down at the dog, he said, "Uh, hi. You're... really fluffy."

[Kasey Łukaczyński]

Kasey let Josie run around, trusting the dog wouldn't wander too far, as she checked her emails on her phone. After answering one of her professors about a late homework assignment, she looked back up to see Josie running around the feet of a boy. Normally, Kasey wouldn't intervene unless the child seemed scared, or a parent was trying to pull them away, but neither was the case today. That was because the boy was walking with crutches, the same kind Kasey used, and it appeared as if the dog was running around them, asking to play, thinking that the person was Kasey, or must have at least known Kasey! Because he had her crutches!

"Josie," Kasey hollered over, picking up her own crutches and beginning to make her way toward where her dog and the boy were. "Josie, that's not me," Kasey said with a chuckle, as the dog looked over to her, confused, then back to the boy, before running over to her rightful owner. Kasey reached into her pocket, and leaned down, giving Josie one of her treats to make sure she stayed with the blonde, instead of wandering off again. "I'm sorry about that," Kasey said to the boy who was only a few feet away now. "She doesn't realize not everyone knows how to navigate around her," Kasey joked, watching as the dog ran in between Kasey's legs and crutches comfortably. Kasey wasn't afraid of hitting the dog, or stepping on her. She had Josie had enough practice walking together.