The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out
Who: Noah and Raya When: 5:20pm Where: Scarlet Oak Community Park What: Meeting the ex in dog form, lulz
Yet another morning shift had Noah irritable and tired, he was feeling lazy tonight because of the consecutive morning shifts the past week but after work he decided head to the park for a run. He never got anywhere being lazy and since he wasn't painting, he needed an outlet for everything that was bulding up inside him. Usually he would have turned to sex, but there wasn't anything happening anywhere in Scarlet Oak or Ann Arbor that promised he'd be going home with a gorgeous girl. The Berry Days Festival was laughable and he had never missed Chicago as much as he did pulling on his runners. Wednesdays were the worst on a normal day, but were amplified by the vacancy of Scarlet Oak.
He had just hit a nice stride, pushing himself harder as he ran in the late evening heat that made him sweat just a little heavier than usual, when he was stopped. Not totally sure if it was just his head playing game, but he was almost positive he'd seen something move in the bushes. A small bolt of terror shocked through him as he remembered the demon attacks from a few days earlier, he suddenly wished his annoying little Familiar was with him. "Hello?"he called, pulling out an ear bud.
Having met a fellow were-dog earlier in the day only increased her urge to shift and spend her time in dog form. Raya often went running in the park, both as a human and as a dog, and within a few days of moving to Scarlet Oak had found a place she could shift in privacy and leave her clothes until she was ready to go home. She’d been trotting along, wandering off to sniff at something or greet teenagers playing frisbee before returning to the path. Or at least she had until she’d taken off after a rabbit until the bushes.
She’d pinned it with one paw, and without hurting it, before licking its head and letting it go. Stunned, the rabbit took off after another second, and Raya considered what to do next. Before she’d made up her mind, she heard someone calling out a little nervously in her direction. Curious, Raya went in the direction of the voice and walked slowly out of the bushes, stopping as soon as she was in full view of Noah.
The fear that had gripped him momentarily dissipated instantly as a relatively large dog appeared and his shoulders relaxed. Noah felt vaguely foolish at the idea but he felt justified considering he'd almost gone toe to toe with a demon just a week earlier, thankfully making it to the safety of a church that made him feel slightly guilty. That and there was fucking demons running around, apparently and that shit just wasn't normal. With a smile he stepped forward. "You scared me," he said with a laugh, at ease around a dog that couldn't possibly have been an ex-girlfriend. "I thought you were a demon or something equally as terrifying." Crouching down he held out a hand, a gentle smile on his face. Not exactly an animal lover, it never crossed Noah's mind to get one but he liked them well enough to consider it. Then again that was before he had Salem dropped into his lap and now he'd much rather not have to deal with another animal.
When the runner crouched down and held out his hand, she walked over to him, relaxed and confident and perfectly willing to be pet. Something clicked just as she bumped her nose against his hand - a combination of his smell, the sound of his voice, and her dog’s eye view of him - and a jolt of recognition went through her. Raya instinctively backed up a step and then turned in a quick circle, surprised to see Noah. She hadn’t seen him in fourteen years and had no idea to expect him in Scarlet Oak. Not to mention that he had no idea that she was a dog part of the time.
Raya forced herself to calm down and stepped forward again, looking almost apologetic for her earlier reaction. Mostly it just came across as endearing puppy dog eyes.
Although he didn't spend every waking moment thinking about Raya, there were certain things that would remind him of her and 14 years later it was something that got under his skin. Noah smiled down at the dog, lifting his palm up to stroke it's fur when the thing twitched away and he instantly pulled back his hand, afraid he might have scared it. He didn't feel like getting bitten by a dog tonight either, he knew Salem would never let him hear the end of it. As he looked at the dog, trying to discern if it was going to attack or run away when he noticed the small patch of brown over the dogs eye. Normally this wouldn't have permeated him, but earlier in the week he'd been thinking of the one girl who managed to get him to fall in love and he made a face, feeling like an idiot when he realized he was seeing Raya in a dog.
Everything passed, Noah's ridiculous thought process about Raya and the dogs apparent hesitation. "I didn't scare you, did I?" he asked, another laugh on his voice as reached out and touched the soft fur.
She whuffed out a large breath, a dog’s version of a laugh, and wished that she could roll her eyes in that form. Startled her, sure, but scared of Noah Alexander? The kid she’d met before either of them had hit puberty? Not a chance. Sure, it seemed like her past was catching up with her, but she hadn’t really chosen to run away from it to begin with. For the most part, despite a few rough patches, her life so far had been a good one, and for a lot of years, Noah had been a big part of that. Just because it ended badly didn’t mean that she was automatically going to run away now.
Especially when he had no clue it was actually her. Raya took another step closer, letting him pet her as she sniffed him curiously, nosing at his shirt, his face, anything she could reach. The smells that reached her extremely keen nose told her more than many conversations she’d had.
With a dog this cute, it was hard for Noah to keep his smiles to himself, the real ones that rarely anyone got to see. These ones weren't contrived but saved for the only family he had, his father and apparently dogs that sniffed at anything they could reach. He laughed and fell back on the ground as the brown and white dog pushed into his personal space, it wasn't as timid as he had first thought. "I guess I didn't," his hands still stroking the short fur of the lean dog in front of him as it sniffed his face. "Do you have an owner, buddy?" Noah looked around, a little hopeful that it might be a leggy blonde. It wasn't a Familiar, he was sure of that, they liked to invade his thoughts which he still wasn't comfortable with. There was something about the dog that Noah thought was a little off, but he pushed it and the thoughts of Raya aside. The way they had left things wasn't the greatest, Noah had said things he regretted secretly now but stood by on principle because she'd broken his heart, left him like his mother. Which cut him, especially because she was the only one he'd ever talked to about his mother, thought passingly it was still a big deal.
Raya wasn't wearing a collar, and there certainly wasn't anyone around who would claim her. At least she hoped not; that would be creepy. Her tail wagged as Noah pet her because hey, that felt good. She looked around herself much like he did, though she wasn't looking for her owner. Also unlike Noah, she found what she was looking for, and suddenly dashed a few feet away. Raya returned a few seconds later with a stick in her mouth about a foot long and dropped it right in front of him. She only hoped he was smart enough to catch on. Okay, so maybe for someone else it would all be a little weird, but Raya wanted to play, and Noah was there. Just because he was her ex didn't mean they couldn't play fetch. She'd let him know it was her later. Eventually. At some point.
Scratching behind the dogs ear he noticed the lack of a collar and somewhere in the back of his mind he toyed with the idea of this dog being a Were. It was very small though, Noah was still getting used to the idea of the Light of May, that various supernatural creatures existed and it wasn't something that he'd directly reach for. Again he was a little startled by the sudden departure of the dog but cracked a grin when it came back with a stick, scruffing the top of the little dogs head, picking up the stick and standing. "So... you want to play, huh?" weighing the stick in his hand he contemplated for a few seconds. Sure, he needed a work out but with big puppy eyes staring at him and Noah's need to let down a few of his barriers, he shrugged and tossed the stick as hard as he could.
She was off running before the stick even left his hand and actually passed it before it started to come down again. Turning abruptly, Raya jumped and caught the stick and then kept on running back towards Noah. Stopping about halfway there, she dropped the stick on the ground and then grabbed it again in a more comfortable position in her mouth. This was why she liked balls. No weird pokey bits giving her splinters in her mouth. Not that she minded in dog-form nearly as much as she would have as a person; dogs were used to doing everything with their mouths, so they were tougher. Stick in mouth, she came back to Noah and waited for him to take the stick again, trying not to drool on it overmuch in the meantime. Raya hoped that all the running would stop her mind from racing as she tried to figure out the best way to find him again later, once she was back in her usual body.
The speed of the dog shocked Noah and all he could do was watch as it caught the stick square in it's mouth. Impressive. Noah stood surveying the furry little creature as it readjusted and carried on, trotting over to him and seemingly waiting for him to take it again. He was still grinning like an idiot because, never having had a dog growing up, he'd never realized how much fun it was to play with one. Without much hesitation, he grabbed the stick and whipped his arm, keeping it firmly in his hand to see if he could fool the little guy.
Raya took off again as soon as his arm started moving, though she pulled up short when she realized that he hadn’t let go of the stick. She barked once as she turned to face him as if calling him out on fooling her, her tail whipping back and forth happily. It was fun playing with him, both like and completely unlike the way they’d played as kids. At least she never had to worry about losing a game of hide and seek ever again. Raya stretched two of her legs out in front of her like she was preparing for some kind of real challenge.
He laughed openly as the dog took off running, stopped short and barked at him accusingly. "Alright, alright, sorry." He called and made to throw the stick again, this time changing direction at the last minute and launching it about 45 degrees off where the energetic dog stood waiting. The last time Noah had played, really played like he was now with this dog was probably with Raya and he couldn't help the nostalgia that gripped him. Little did he know he was actually playing with Raya again, but in a completely new way and if he was ever made aware of this fact, Noah would probably die of laughter.
Noah would tire long before Raya did, but she didn't mind. She'd keep playing until he ran out of energy and got bored, and then she'd go about figuring out how to repeat the encounter with both of them in human form. She only hoped that it would go half as well. Perhaps it would be best if she didn't mention being his new canine friend right away. Just in case.