Roman (touchofsilver) wrote in summerview, @ 2019-02-02 23:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | clara archer, complete, roman etana ka'uhane |
Early One Morning
It was unusual for the dragon to be awake early enough for him to catch the rising of the sun on the beach however after last night's unexpected fun with James meant that Roman was riding on a high which resulted in him getting a handful of his dogs out for a walk.
He was barefooted, no top, and loose haired as three of his dogs ran ahead of him and another stuck close perfectly content to keep speed with Roman. The three ahead were a mixture of a Husky, Jack Russell and another being a Rottweiler whereas the one next to him was a Golden Retriever. Roman even had toys to help keep them busy in the form of balls and Frisbees, all of which they had enjoyed a lot in the last hour or so they'd spent walking the length of the beach. What he hadn't counted on was the beach not being empty and as he spotted what looked like a lone figure in the distance he frowned as Betty, the Rottweiler, in a display not at all befitting of her normal behaviour began to sprint towards the stranger. Ah, shit. Roman quickly picked up his pace to hurry after her as not everybody appreciated a dog barrelling towards them. Clara wasn't the earliest riser but she'd wanted to get out and see the sunrise - even in the chill of the winter weather - and had given some though to shifting into her natural form (she was feeling... constrained, if that was the right word), though had decided against it at the last minute as she wasn't sure she wanted to deal with being naked and aching after she shifted back into her human form. She'd taken off her shoes and was holding them in one hand, toes sunk into the sand as she watched the sun slowly lifting in the air, only to be barrelled over by a very enthusaistic dog. She hadn't even noticed until it was too late, and she was on her back with a black and brown dog clambering excitedly all over her, paws slipping from Clara's chest to sink into the sand on either side of her head, tongue lolling out and then wiping itself all over her face. Clara let out a squeal of delight, though it might have carried differently across the air. She sank her fingers into the dog's fur and giggled, turning her head away so that the tongue stopped trying to go up her nose, though that did mean, instead, that the tongue started licking intensely at her ear. "Fuck, fuck," Roman muttered hurriedly as he heard the squeal of a young woman as Betty did in fact barrel right into her and then to make matters worst the remainder of his pack i.e. Beau (the husky), Charlie (the jack russell) and then in a complete show of disobedience and defiance Lucy the golden lab decided to go and join the rest of them. Of course the closer he got the more he began to come to the realisation that thankfully the person being assaulted by his dogs was not afraid but more... delighted than anything else. Still, Roman made a grab for the dogs. "Man, I'm sorry, they don't normally do this." Clara let out another delighted squeal as more dogs joined her, huffing and panting and pawing at her for attention. The husky laid on his side and rubbed up so that he was lying next to her, his tail thumping against the sand and the jack russell was jumping over her legs. She was covered in dogs and wasn't really that bothered but when the first one that had knocked her down was pulled away by a handsome, rugged man with long, slightly wavy hair, Clara was breathless with happiness and almost glowing, the sensation radiating out of her like a beacon. "It's really okay," she told him, her cheeks slightly flushed and words breathy because she'd been laughing so much. "C'mere," Roman grumbled at his dogs as he attempted to bring them back to heel and give the poor girl a break from all the furry attention. "Seriously I have no idea what's gotten into them." Clearly whoever this girl was she was the sort of person that animals just loved. She did smell different, sweet even, and maybe he was imagining it but he felt sort of... delighted? Once he was certain he had his dogs under control he offered both hands to her. "Here, let me help you up." Clara managed to give a couple of fusses to the dogs that were a bit more resistant to being pulled away before they were all sitting beside the tall man, tails impatiently wagging to be allowed to surge forward again. Once she was fully freed from the dogs, she managed to push herself up onto her elbows but hadn't moved, not until he offered his hands to her and she reached up, taking them. As he hauled her to her feet, she noted just how big his hands were in comparison to her own, and how they completely encompassed hers. "Thanks," she said, once she was on her feet, shaking her hair out to try and dislodge the sand. "It's okay," she repeated, holding out her hand for the nearest dog to sniff, she looked up at their owner, still smiling. "Seriously, I ain't hurt, they're adorable." Okay that was good, her not being hurt that was, really good. Roman shot his dogs a look that told them just how unimpressed he was with them because he thought he'd raised them better than that. "Glad to hear it, wouldn't want any of my mutts being responsible for hurting somebody." Thankfully said mutts had now all come to heel and were sitting patiently beside him. "I'm Roman by the way." "Clara," she responded, looking down at the dogs and how they were sitting chastised, tails wagging but ears low. "They're lovely, and- I mean, this lil' escapade aside they look like they're real well trained." She moved a little closer, fussed the head of the husky, then the golden lab, giving each one a little scritch behind the ears. He might have been mad at them, but she wasn't. "How'd you take care of so many? I don't think I'd do a good job of lookin' after a goldfish let alone anythin' else." "This isn't even all of them," Roman shared with a chuckle as he lifted his hand to thread his fingers into his long hair. "Just the ones who got up early enough for a walk." He didn't really know how he managed to take care of as many of his animals as he did he just did and didn't really think about it. They were after all really important to him. He caught his lower lip between his teeth and tipped his head to regard Clara. "You wanna play fetch with them?" "This ain't them all?!" Clara asked, a wave of bashfulness rippling outward from him. "That's- that's actually real lovely. Maybe one day I can meet your others?" Bold question thought it may have been, the dogs were still vibrating by Roman's side waiting for the go-ahead to get fusses from her again so she thought she might have been at hit with them, at least. She bit her lower lip in response to his question and nodded, rocking up onto her toes and feeling her feet sink further into the sand. "I'd love to, if that'd be okay?" Roman nodded his head and tossed her a couple of the tennis balls he'd stuffed into his pockets "Nah, it's cool. I think they'd like that." Generally speaking if his dogs liked somebody then Roman figured that must mean they were good people because animals were good judges of people. Dogs in particular. Maybe just maybe he'd let her meet his others, maybe. It had been a while since he'd last had somebody over at his place with the exception of Luke but that was Luke and that kid was like family. Clara caught all but one of the tennis balls thrown her way, though she snagged it quickly from the sand before the jack russell could get hold of it, though he gave it a darn good shot. "What're their names?" she asked, as she lifted her arm and threw the first tennis ball. It was nowhere near as far as the dogs were used to, as her upper body strength left a considerable amount to be desired. "The husky is Beau, the jack russell is Charlie, the one that barrelled into you is called Betty and this one," Roman began as he rubbed his hand over the ears of the golden lab, "is called Lucy." Of course when the ball went so did the dogs and so Roman just watched them with amusement. Moments after throwing the first, she threw the others, and the dogs were running around, Charlie fell over his own feet in his haste to get the tennis ball which was actually then taken by Beau - along with the one that he already had in his mouth - so as Beau trotted back over, Charlie was running underneath his front paws, snapping at him in playful irritation trying to get him to drop the ball. "They're gorgeous," she said honestly, glancing up at Roman. He had a small smile on his face, and it was immediately obvious to Clara that he cared deeply for them. It was so nice to see. Roman grinned over at Clara, baring slightly sharper than normal canines as he did so. "Thanks." He picked up one of the balls that had been dropped and threw it, this one going further than the one Clara had thrown which meant Lucy was after it like a rocket. "I think they like you." "The feeling's mutual," Clara drawled as she bent to pick up another ball, hardly bothered by the slobber and sand that coated it. She threw it underarm which meant it went a bit further but still not as far as the one that Lucy was bounding after. "You lived here long?" Roman liked how Clara didn't seem phased by the fact the ball she was handling was covered in slobber and sand. That suggested to him that she was definitely an animal lover and that made her alright in his books. Plus you know she didn't exactly come across as threatening and she wasn't a dragon which immediately put him at ease because there were some territory issues with other dragons. "Mm, long time," he affirmed with a nod. "I'm like that chair in the corner of the room, you know the one that's so old that people can't remember when it got there or even how it got there in the first place. You?" Clara laughed, the sound bright and clear like a bell. "That's a damn good way of describin' it. I ain't been around so long," she shared, "like, a month or somethin'? Just found this place by accident." Nobody found Summerview by accident unless they were supernatural which meant she was one of them and that made Roman feel better about their encounter. Also explained the smell. Not that it was a bad smell. Far from it, but it just made more sense now. "How you liking it?" Clara nodded, "It's different. Ain't never been around people like me before," she confessed. "Still not sure, y'know, what everyone is and I know it's rude to ask so I figure I'll just find it out eventually down the line. Ain't no rush for this stuff." The dogs came bounding back. "An' the folk I've met so far seem nice." Roman met the dogs as they came bounding back and made sure to give them all equal amounts of attention as he fussed them before he glanced up at Clara. "That's good, that people are being nice." He handed the frisbee to Beau who happily ran off with it in his mouth with the others trailing after him. "Hopefully it stays that way." Clara stood beside Roman as the sea lapped at the shore with a gentle hissing sound, the rising sun painting the sky in bright watercolours. She watched the dogs playing together and felt her lips curl up into a smile as she lifted her eyes to look at the huge man beside her. "Mm," she agreed with a hum. "I sure hope so." |