It was dark, and once again, Jay found himself in the park. It wasn't to blow off steam, or to release energy, or even on a con. Tonight...it was just to relax. There was nothing like feeling the wind through your hair--er...fur...as the moon and stars shone down on you. It was peaceful. 

That's why Jay was merely strolling the park, in a German Shepherd/Collie mix that he'd recently stalked acquired in the park. It was a beautiful dog, and one that would compliment his blue eyes rather well. On his back was his gym bag, which had taken a little work to get just right, but he couldn't afford to go burying his clothes anymore. That just rarely seemed to end right.

Those aforementioned blue eyes looked around the almost deserted park as he sniffed and listened for anything interesting or out of place--one never could be too careful nowadays. Especially after the times he'd been snatched up, or that time he'd run into the dinosaur shifter. Granted...scary as that was...it was still awesome as hell.

Sadly, he sniffed no dinosaurs, or dragons, not even a lizard.  With a characteristic whine, he continued walking, his long dark fur rustling gently in the chilly night breeze. Every now and then he'd look up at the moon; boring or not, he didn't have a care in the world.

Unfortunately, Charlie still had a day job. Well, a night job most of the time. On top of her time with the Syndicate, her private investigations business was booming, as always, since there never seemed to be a shortage of cheating a**holes in New York City. Sometimes it was good, though; it was occasionally an excuse to get out of her apartment and spend some time away from the walking temptation that was Gwendolyn White. Damn her and her gorgeous features, always lying around when Charlie felt particularly in a mood.

It had been a few weeks ago that she was sitting in her parked car on that one particular street. It was a predictable case, the husband and the receptionist, but she’d needed pictures for proof. She’d gotten what she needed long before she actually split. A full coffee cup had called out to her and convinced her to stay there a little longer.

She didn’t need to take any more pictures of the man than she already had, so she turned her camera onto the surrounding street. Nothing interesting was going on, considering it was New York, except for one thing. There was a dog carrying a gym bag. At first, she figured that someone had just trained their pet well and it was nothing to focus on, but she soon realized, as she zoomed in on a snapshot, that the dog had extremely blue eyes.

Charlie, ever curious, kept returning to that same spot. Each time, she would see a different dog with the same bag and the same eyes. It was most certainly not a coincidence.

That day, she had chosen to wait, just hidden from sight, in the place that he usually walked through. When he appeared, she stepped out and made her move. ”Nice time at the gym, champ?”

Jay was lost in the New York night. It was quiet, and peaceful. And on top of it all, he'd found a place to be alone without a care in the--

"Nice time at the gym, champ?"

He jumped as the voice snapped him out of his peaceful thoughts, and he turned to see a woman standing there. And she was rather attr--No, Jay. You're taken now. Happily taken.

But her words sunk in and he froze for a moment, looking up at her. Was she onto him? Did she know? Why was she following him? And if she didn't know, why the hell was she talking to a dog?

Finally, he just looked at her, wagging his tail and giving a happy bark. Maybe if he just played this out, it'd be okay.

And that was much better than randomly shifting back in front of her.