Remy was going to kill  him. Well not really but Des was pretty sure he was going to get a grumpy face from his best friend slash roommate but Des would have pointed out if he wasn't so weak hearted then she wouldn't love him half as much as she did. His weak weak heart had gotten him into a myriad of messes while he'd been in New York, like the lone time he'd carried an old Auntie and her groceries across the street at the same time and was accused of kidnapping by passerbys. Or the time that he'd gotten the cops called on him because someone had thought he'd hired a hooker, which was hilarious because the hooker in question had been Remy and Des was as gay as the day was long.

Damnit he should stop thinking about Remy and focus more on the problem at hand.

The massive dog that sat in front of him looked at him with happy eyes. Yea Des had gotten himself a 'puppy' a hundred and twenty pound former fighting dog with only one eye and no ears and a myriad of scars littering his massive body. Des had been working with this dog almost as long as he'd been in New York. It had taken a month to get the dog to trust him enough to get pets and walks on leashes. Now he wasn't aggressive or mean or bitey....with Des. That had been the major problem the dog had only liked Des and refused to be handled by anyone else. He'd even sent another volunteer to the doctor for a dog bite which is why the rescue had decided that today was the dog's last day on earth since his chances at getting adopted by anyone were close to zero.

Des had gotten the text during the middle of class that today was D day for his favorite and to come before closing to say his final goodbye.

Well let's just say that Des' terrible civilian driving skills had been put to good use during his lunch break. Now he had a dog. A massive people hating monstrosity that he decided to lovingly call Muppet. Petting Muppet's back Des kept a tight hold on the leash he had. "Yer a beautiful boy. A goodish boy fer daddy so don' go bitin' students k? I'll give ya a steak if ya can make it through tha day without bitin' any o' my students. Got a deal Muppet? No bites equals steak."

It was a very pretty day so Liz had elected to spend her lunch period outside, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze upon her skin, fur and feathers. Liz blinked. Ah, not again. Her skin, Zorro’s fur, and Nico’s feathers. It was still strange to her how over the last six months her abilities had begun to blend and evolve, allowing her to know what animals were thinking and physically feeling, not just emotionally feel.

It sometimes led to her getting some mental wires crossed when she was distracted or otherwise not paying attention.

Liz strolled along a gravel path as Zorro busily ran from plant to statue to rock to person, sniffing everything for the thousandth time. She’d elected to refrain from bringing a leash for the german shepherd, knowing he wouldn’t go too far away and even if he did, he’d come back in a moment if she shouted. No, the only one on a leash was Nico.

The African gray parrot flew overhead as far as the sixty-foot cord would allow him. It wasn’t a real leash, but it was suitable for Elizabeth’s purposes. It let Nico have freedom to do what he wanted and get exercise without requiring her to run to keep up. It was a compromise of sorts. She knew he could get out of it in a blink, just as he knew she could shut him down even faster, so they allowed each other their fantasies of freedom and control.

The blonde nibbled on her leftover breakfast wrap from the morning (she’d swiped extras, a sucker for breakfast at any time) as she walked, enjoying the three-fold sensations of wind and sun, choosing to focus on the simple pleasures as opposed to watching her own surroundings.

Which is why she noticed immediately when Zorro went on guard. “What is it?” she verbalized, although she immediately could feel it in Zorro’s mind. Another dog. But where…?

Nico saw the dog first and a quick peek through his eyes gave Liz the direction, as well well as another face.

She set off in that direction, eager to meet a new animal, as well as to engage one of her new coworkers in friendly conversation. Two for one, so to speak. Coming in sight, Zorro stiffly at her side and Nico fluttering a couple dozen feet over her head, Liz hailed the man and his dog. “Ahoy!” she said. “Desire...right? Lovely day, isn’t it?”

Muppet moved to stand partially in front of Desire when Zorro and Liz appeared. The large dog was stiff and obviously protective of the tall catlike man behind him. With a gentle sigh Desire grabbed the bright red collar he had quickly picked up for Muppet on his way back to the mansion. A firm hold on his massive scarred former fighting dog and Des turned his black and gold eyes to his new coworker.

"It's a beautiful day 'n yup ya got tha name right." He smiled widely showing a bit of fang when he did. Not in a threatening way mind, just his canines were sharper than most people's. "Nice ta meet ya, Liz?" Her name was a question that he wanted confirmed. He thought that was what he'd heard her name was when he had been given a brief tour of the classrooms and his coworkers.

"This big overprotective boy is Muppet. I volunteer at a shelter 'n I've been workin' with him since I came ta New York. He ain't very friendly ta other people 'n was deemed unadoptable. So be very very careful he's bitey towards everyone who ain't me. 'n I only got on his good side after a couple o' bites, a package o' bacon, 'n lots o' chicken mcnuggets."

Des knew he was rambling. He wanted to shut up, really, but he was a little excited over adopting his big bitey baby boy. He'd felt a certain kinship with the scarred dog, he knew what it was like to fight just for survival and no other reason beyond that. He knew what it was like to be hurt by others and scared of being hurt again.

Leaning down he pressed a loud kiss to the top of Muppet's head. A clear sign of affection that the dog obviously liked. Muppet relaxed a little and leaned into Des, wagging the stump where his tail ought to be. "I know I shouldn't be bringin' such an aggressive animal ta tha Mansion but I got word that they were gonna put him down 'n I just couldn't stand tha thought. So I adopted him. We got a deal goin' if he don't bite my students he's gonna get steak."

Elizabeth smiled sunnily and nodded. “And you got my name right as well!” she said, stopping well beyond range of Desire and his dog. Even without her empathic senses, she could tell he wasn’t an overly friendly dog and although she could drown out any aggression or fear or anything else the dog might feel, Liz felt it was better if she and her pets didn’t provoke him unduly. So she’d just talk a little louder than normal to speak with her coworker.

“Delighted to meet you as well, Muppet,” Liz said directly to the dog, her mind echoing the words in his head with an added feeling of warmth. She redirected her gaze away from the dog to prevent misunderstandings and pulled back from his mind. Liz tried not to make it a habit to mess around in the heads of the animals of people she knew - she sometimes learned way more than she wanted to about those peoples’ private lives.

“That’s very admirable,” she smiled with a sparkle in her eyes. “I keep meaning to visit some of the local shelters and such, but I never seem to find the time.” Or when she did, she didn’t have the energy to put up with the close proximity of so many...generally less-than-happy animals. It tended to depress her when she went.

“This is Zorro,” Liz said, crouching down and petting her dog’s head and sending a soothing wave through him, stifling the incipient growling before it could be audible. “The parrot up yonder is Nico. Zorro’s a boy scout and Nico seems to think he was a pirate’s parrot in a former life, but generally the worst he’ll do is call you names.” She still didn’t know where he picked up those German curses.

She smiled yet again, this time one of reassurance (in theory). “Ah, well you’re in luck! If you have problems with him, just bring him my way and I’ll calm him down.” Liz gave her office location. “Truth be told, I think a number of less-than-typically-suited-for-school animals have been making their way into the mansion lately, ever since I started working here actually.” She tapped her head and rolled her eyes in amusement. “I really should get paid more just for keeping all the animals in check!”

“Are you planning on adopting him, then?” she asked.