Re: lakeside mansion; hugh c./dietre a.
Hugh knew almost as soon as he asked that maybe it hadn't been the best question to go with, but it was there, and so he simply took a sip of the chocolate and listened, eyes filling with some empathy. Whomever had given Dietre the dog was someone that he'd had an incredible amount of fondness for, obviously.
"When I first moved here I didn't know anyone, and I was trying to be a hermit I suppose. I'm really bad at it," he added, with a slightly self-deprecating smile. "But um, Heart was my company. She'd watch movies with me and take walks with me, and crawl up in my bed with me, and help me keep warm," his eyes turned to the Lab and her new friend and he looked back at Dietre.
"It's hard when people leave, I can't say I've had anyone leave town, but I've had relationships change, or be different from what I thought they would be, and it's never easy, is it?" It was a rhetorical question. Hugh knew it wasn't easy. "I'm here for a while, I think, for the record. Not that I think so highly of myself that I'm certain you'll want me for a friend," he teased gently. "But you know, I plan on staying for a bit, if you decide you want to risk it. They-" his head tilted towards the dogs "-seem to be getting on just fine."