Lydia was going crazy. Or at least she thought she was. All week she’d been feeling paranoid, jumpy. She felt as if someone was watching her. It was driving her up the wall. She attributed it to the suddenly copious amount of time she spent alone. Even though she had apparently lived there once, she had trouble adjusting to and socializing with the other Sanctuary residents. While some had greeted her warmly, she couldn’t find herself opening up to them. Some of them were just so…criminal.

To say it plainly, they were ruffians, crooks, delinquents. Not people she’d expect to associate with, least of all befriend. And although she’d tried to play along, they quickly saw through and backed off. And thus, Dia was alone (which wasn’t completely a bad thing).

The Sanctuary was, in all honesty, a bit run-down and dilapidated. Her room had remained empty and unattended during her absence for as much as she could tell, which was nice because she still had personal items she could use. But at the same time, no one had bothered to keep the dust bunnies and rats (shudder) away. The night she arrived, she had quite the time cleaning up the place...

It was gross.

She still twitched at the thought of it.

To escape the boredom and uncleanliness, she found herself going for many walks through the neighborhood, mostly during the daytime, when the crime rate was lower. But lately, Lyd had been feeling her hairs stand on end more and more, even as she traversed new paths in new neighborhoods. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was tailing her.

She was so wrapped up in her paranoia that she did not notice the taut leash in front of her, nor did she notice the dog and owner on either side of said leash.

“Aaagh!”

Face, meet pavement.

Verdy had decided to go for a walk. Not just a walk-around-the-front-lawn type walk, nor a walk-to-the-nearest-coffee-shop-and-stop. This was a walk of epicosity, she and Jack were going to walk all the way into the city, possibly around it, then back again. Thus far it had been cold and tiring, and they were only in the into-the-city part. Briefly it crossed her mind that she probably should have started with a smaller walk, and worked her way up to something more of this magnitude. It was too late now, though, and as she followed her tail-wagging companion along a footpath she didn’t quite recognise she pondered.

She pondered all kinds of things, who she knew well enough to buy Christmas gifts for, whether she was interested in the carols by candlelight advertised on lampposts and pinboards (it really just sounded a bit cold, and dangerous to be out in the middle of the night with paper clutched close to open flames, but to each their own) among other more mundane things such as work and school. It was not unpleasant, and she found herself content to simply follow Jack as he wandered here and there, smelling trails across the cold ground.

She did see the young woman in front of her coming towards her, and she shifted out of her way, so that they wouldn’t collide. Unfortunately she didn’t account for the lead she was holding loosely in her hand, so used to letting Jack run free around the mansion grounds was she. The young woman didn’t see the lead either, and it wasn’t until she went pitching forward with a cry, Jack lead flying out of Verdy’s hand, that Verdy realised what had happened.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, are you alright?”

She bent down to offer a hand to the sprawled lady as Jack snuffled at her worriedly, his leash still wound tightly around her ankles.

Dia’s face hurt.

>> “Oh! I’m so sorry, are you alright?”

She was greeted with a worried female voice and the sniffling of a small dog. “Yeah, just a little bruised,” she replied, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and pain, “It’s my fault. I wasn’t watching where I was going…” She quickly tried to push herself up, only to fall back down. Ouch, again.

The leash had managed to wrap around her ankles, dashing her hopes of making a quick getaway. The constant movement of the dog was not helping, either.

“Um…it looks like I’m a little stuck here.” This is so awkward… Lydia sat up and tried to tug the rope off of her legs and pull her feet free, but to no avail. She ignored the snickering of a few passersby and the general stares.

When embarrassed, make small talk. “Cute dog, by the way.” The removal of the dog’s leash would be very helpful now.

The woman was claiming herself at fault in the situation, and struggling with an impressive ankle tangle, made worse by Jack’s confused antics as he attempted to free himself. Verdy tried to soothe him into stillness as the woman worked to free her feet to no avail. Some people passing found their confusion amusing, not bothering to conceal their snickers at the mess. Others were less rude, merely side-stepping the tangle of girls and dog without interest or involvement.

“Cute dog, by the way.”

Verdy glanced up with a smile from where she had a firm hold of Jack’s collar. The dog had stopped his squirming and was grinning at the woman on the ground, his tail sweeping widely side to side at the thought of a potential new friend.

“Thanks, sorry about this mess, it’s been a while since we walked with a lead and we’ve gotten used to walking our separate ways.”

She unclipped the buckle on the collar, letting the leash fall to the ground so the woman could unwind it from about her ankles without worrying about the dog attached. Jack was well behaved enough that her iron grip was uneccesary, still if someone noticed an unleashed dog there could be complaints, and it was always easier to avoid conflict with official personnel.

The stranger was kind, as evidenced by her smile and general manner. Lydia wondered where or how the other girl could possibly walk her dog without a leash. New York City was such a crowded, bustling place, it seemed improbable that the pair could do so without losing each other.

“Oh it’s alright,” the teenager replied as she tried tugging at the strap some more. The dog’s stillness was helping, but she still couldn’t seem to get through a few a knots. When the leash was unattached from the dog completely, that’s when Lydia found purchase. She slipped the newly free end of the leash through loops and finally disentangled herself after another minute or two of fiddling. All the while, the woman waited patiently with her eager little companion.

Free at last! She got up and handed the tricky lead back to the stranger, brushing stray dust and street debris off of her jeans. She noticed a particularly tender bruise forming on her left thigh, one of the places she had fallen on first, and winced slightly when she poked it. Not the best idea. She recovered quickly, turning her attention back to the stranger.

She smiled and proceeded with pleasantries, “Well, that was a struggle. My name’s Lydia. What’s yours?” The girl motioned to both the woman and her dog.