The relentless rain of the last few days had finally eased up, and it was about time. Between the few summer classes and her job, she was annoyed at having to slosh around through puddles just to get anywhere. And then there was the cold that came with the weather, and colds meant fritzy powers, which meant any free time she had was holed up in her dorm room trying not to float away, and feeling absolutely miserable while doing it.

She missed company. Her roommate was nice, yes, but never around. If she was there, her boyfriend was too and Aadi was either ignored or kicked out of the room. She definitely didn't miss her family, they'd never been good company to begin with. Maybe she missed her friends? Gloom was always cured with a shopping spree along St-Catherine street. Maybe she missed hearing french instead of english she had to struggle to understand still.

Maybe she missed animals. Her golden retriever and black lab. Two big, beautiful dogs. Dogs didn't care if you were the family outcast. They loved you all the same, all it took was a cookie and a tummy-rub. Aadi would have brought them from home if she could. She wondered if they were being taken care of in her absence, since she'd done all the looking after them before. But she wasn't on good enough terms with her family to want to call voluntarily.

But finally, the rain was over. The day that followed was bright and gorgeous, all the water puddles slowly drying up. Deciding she needed some fresh air to get her mood back up, Aadi packed up a blanket, some snacks, a book, and left for a smaller park near her school dorms. A picnic and day out in the sun was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Arriving at the park, she gave a sigh of contentment as she spread the blanket across the damp grass to avoid getting her pants all wet. Aadi dropped down onto her back and closed her eyes, hands folded behind her head.

Was there really any better way to spend the first non-rainy day in nearly a week than by running around in the park? Smelling the fresh, clean scent of a watered-down world. Feeling the near-mud between one’s toes. Jumping into puddles of water and getting one’s fur nearly drenched.

No, Elizabeth and Rufus were in complete harmony on their thoughts.

It had felt like it had been forever since the girl had last met the dog, but it also felt like no time at all had passed. The fellow had remembered her clearly, even after only a single day of fun together. Liz knew this for a fact; after possessing him to hitch a ride in his mind, she’d scrolled through some of his memories to see how he’d been doing since their last encounter.

Despite being a runaway, Rufus was in remarkably good condition. Although anything was an improvement over his original home life, having been abused and all. Through a combination of luck, skill, and conniving, Rufus had managed to charm nearly a dozen kids across the city into setting out table scraps and other bits of food for him whenever he came around. He always rewarded them by washing their faces and playing with them. One of the children’s parents actually let him sleep inside at night during the winter. But when they’d tried putting a collar on him, he’d bolted.

But to him, the past wasn’t important. All that mattered was that he and his strange pal Liz were back. And that’s all that mattered to Liz, too. Their bond was much more different than if she’d been in her body. After all, a girl and a doggy friend could only do so much together. But when joined at the brain, sharing thoughts and emotions and every single sensation, really, what could compare?

But none of that really mattered. It was beautiful outside. They had a stick in their mouth. They were at the park. They wanted to play.

So they trotted right up to a lonely girl on a blanket and dropped the stick beside her, letting their tongue hang out. They wuffed softly, inviting the girl to play. After all, two is company, but three’s a crowd. And Rufus and Elizabeth really liked crowds. And sticks. Sticks were fun too.

There was something blocking out the sun overhead. Something that was moving, and Aadi winced a little at getting first shade, then the sun blasted in her eyes again, then shade once more. Curious, she cracked her eyes open to see just what had interrupted her sun-time.

A dog.

A large, gorgeous German Shepherd, with a wagging tail and a dopey, doggy grin. And a stick.

Startled, Aadi sat up. Was she seeing things? She looked around for the owner, but there was not a soul in sight. "Hi! where is your owner, huh?" She noticed then there was no collar to be seen, no identification. Was this a stray then?

"You want to play?" Aadi grinned, looking down at the stick. It was a no brainer, really. Before she could even think about being approached by a stray dog, she had stood and picked up the stick. "Attrapez-le!" She threw the stick as hard as she could across the clearing.

Did they want to play? Do chickens have lips? Of course Liz and Rufus wanted to play! “Ruff!” they said in confirmation, tongue lolling out of their mouth as they semi-crouched with their front feet splayed wide. They also wagged their tail. Oh yes, they really, really wanted to play. And so far, their friend was such an agreeable person! Nice, speaking in soft tones, and totally willing to play! Those were the best kinds of people!

Then the stick was thrown!

Who cared if the girl didn’t really know how to play Fetch? (She didn’t say “Fetch,” after all.) That’s what the dashing dog and dame were going to play. And who knows? Maybe they could could tell their friend how to play it for real! That would be so much fun!

Off like lightning in the grass they bolted for the stick, sprinting even before it made contact with the ground. Splish, splash, sploosh through a swamp-like section of the wide-open space. “Arf, rarf, rraarf,” they exclaimed, running through the grass. “Ra-rooo!” Closer closer closer closer and SCORE! They had the stick!

Back they flew, wanting to finish their turn quickly so the girl could throw it again. Except, when they got to the girl’s feet, they remembered the rest of the rules. They looked up at the girl expectantly, wanting her to take the stick. The only problem was that they were not willing to let the stick go without a fight. Because that’s how you were supposed to play Fetch.

(((Feel free to god-mod a tug-o-war battle. )))

(( Ohh fun!! Thanks for the permission ))

Aadi laughed loudly, watching the dog splash through puddles running after the stick. What an uplifting sight. Dogs were an instant mood-lifter...it didn't take much to make them happy, as this proved. Just a stick and someone to throw it. If only people could be happy just as easily.

So what if this was a stray. He was a friendly stray, who wanted to play, and that was all that mattered. Though she wondered what had happened to him.

She wasn't given much more time to ponder it, because the German Shepherd was bounding back with the stick half-hanging out of his mouth and tail going a mile a minute. It was just like her dogs, particularly her golden retriever Balou: his tail wagged his whole body.

"Good boy," Aadi grinned, reaching out to take the stick from the dog's mouth. Except the dog was pulling back, the stick nearly slipping out of Aadi's grip before she used both hands. "Ça va être comme ça, hein? (It's going to be that way, huh?)"

Digging her feet in, Aadi pulled with all her might, the dog growling playfully and pulling back with his rear up in the air. Aadi grinned widely, giving silly little growls back as she ended up dragging the dog back a few paces, teasing him by wiggling the stick a little.

Then suddenly the dog had let go, and Aadi yelped as she landed on her rear in the wet grass. Laughing, she held the stick up out of reach before tossing it again.

Oh oh oh! They’d picked the absolutely best human-person to play with! Like, ever! She smiled, she laughed, she wasn’t inconvenienced by a handsome devil of a dog as Rufus, and she didn’t yell or get mean with them. And she played tug-o-war! That was the best! Most humans probably wouldn’t do that, especially when a dog they’d only just met. Or laugh when they fall for classic doggy deviousness.

If the girl hadn’t thrown the stick at that moment, she would’ve gotten licked in the face by a very happy dog-girl combo.

But as it was, the stick taunted her from where it lay, demanding them to take it up by their jaws and restrain it from doing anything at all. It was absolutely vital that they bite it. So once again they pattered over grass and weeds and mud and rocks, on a hunt for the stick. And once again they returned with it, nomming it only slightly in order to gain a visceral feel for their prey.

This time, however, they let the stick be taken from them. Actually, scratch that. tHey dropped the stick over the girl’s foot and then sat back on their haunches, expecting the human to do all of the work in picking the stick up for them. Their tail wagged the entire time. Wag wag wag wag.

(( OOC: Sorry for the long absence! We're finally all moved in /o\ ))

Aadi watched with a gleeful grin as the dog chased after the stick, almost steamrolling over it. Already she was in love with the stray. A dog...that's what she's been missing all this time in New York, a dog who wouldn't judge her for her awkward english or call her names for liking girls, or even run away screaming the instant she started floating away.

When the german shepherd returned, she laughed when the stick was dropped on her foot. Crouching down to pick it up, she reached out and scratched behind the dog's ears. "Quelle jolie garçon..." (What a nice boy) She looked over him, spotting a few scarred patches hidden under his fur. "If only I had some treats for you," She pouted at the dog. "I do not guess that you would follow me to the dog store?"

The girl got down on their level! That was a good sign! She didn’t seem to be inclined to throw the stick (which was a major bummer) but being one eye-level always made them like people more. Like, if they wanted to, they could lick her face. But they didn’t want to right then. They were really hoping for the stick to be thrown again and if they licked the girl’s face, she could possibly get distracted. That would be very bad, indeed.

But they got ear-scratchies and Animal Voice words instead. Ear-scratchies were always good. It made Rufus and Elizabeth quite content. Their right hind leg began thumping on the ground. So what if most of what the girl said was gibberish? In the Animal Voice, it never mattered what people said. And no animal ever understood or cared what the humans said either. The tone was all that mattered. Even now, it was incomprehensible, for the most part, even to the human aspects of their meded minds. Eh, oh well. Speech was for humans. Scratchies were for dogs.

But then the girl said some potent magic words. Treats? Their ears perked up and immediately the girl was faced with a very serious and intent german shepherd. Did the girl have treats? Was she going to give them some? Oh wait, she needed to go the a store, first. Would they like to follow? YES! Yes they would.

“Ruff!” they barked in agreement, quickly hopping up on all four legs, tail blurring behind them with sheer anticipation. They would be quite willing to follow the girl wherever she went.

Blinking repeatedly, Aadi burst out in laughter at the sudden excitement. Well obviously the dog wanted some treats. She wondered when the last time he'd been fed was...maybe some food was in order too. She just really couldn't stand a hungry animal, especially dogs. If he was a stray, then he wasn't getting as much food as he needed. Just the imprint of ribs underneath fur and skin made that obvious.

"Okay! That is what we will do," She beamed happily at the dog, standing up and dusting the grass off her pants. Obviously, she wouldn't be able to take care of this dog...but oh, how she wanted to...would it be that hard to sneak him into her dorms, really? She used the back door often...and there was no one watching it in the daytime, just during the night. She and her roommate had a suite...it was sort-of big. And as long as she walked the dog regularly...she had time, right?

Somehow, Aadi had already made up her mind. She was going to bring this stray home and take care of him, and shower him with love and affection. And she wouldn't be alone anymore.

Picking up her pack on the ground and slinging it over her shoulder, draping the blanket she'd been lying on over one arm. "Envoye, let's go get some treats," She grinned at the dog. To make sure he followed, she scooted up the stick and walked away with it, whistling softly. There was a store not far from here, she'd bought treats for her dogs and shipped them back there before.

Sometimes the girl just couldn’t talk right. But that was okay. She promised treats and she was quite evidently prepared to play with her. If she was a little bit weird, it didn’t really matter. Dog-Girl was quite accepting of people. As the normal-human girl picked up her paraphernalia (dogs were much better travelers; nothing but their a desire to explore) Rufus hopped up in the air and let out an excited bark.

So what if they happened to be acting a bit unusual or uncannily perceptive for a dog? It was New York. Most people had seen worse.

And as the stick was taken up, their nose followed it, eerily staring at it in intense longing. Why yes, they would definitely follow the girl! With a prance in their paws and joy in their souls, they trotted beside Aadi with happiness extreme. They were gonna see the park and smell some wonderful things. The rain made everything different and each day in itself was worth a dog and a girl’s full attention.

This was going to be a wonderful walk from a park.