Who: Kate Bishop and Derek Souza When: June Where: Park What: Random Encounter Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
With moving and two jobs and running her pro bono self defense classes, Kate was a busy camper. And she’d grown a little lethargic. Back when she was teaching fencing classes, she was much more active, but working behind the bar didn’t provide for a lot of cardio or strength training. So she found that her black slacks were growing a little tighter than they’d been a few months ago. It was time to get back into an exercise routine.
This morning Kate and Lucky were out at the park for a jog. She hadn’t ever jogged with the dog before, and she found that it wasn’t exactly the easiest of things to do. Lucky kept wanting to stop and sniff at things, meet other dogs and people, and pee on everything. But Kate had been at it for an hour, and she and Lucky were both exhausted. Kate was sweaty. She stopped at the drinking fountain to have some water.
Nothing calmed Derek down like a good run. He had always been drawn to the outdoors and running was the best way to get all his energy and nerves out. He often started the day with a run, before classes and/or work. Today it was work considering classes were out for the summer and he wasn’t in summer school.
He stopped at the water fountain to refill his bottle but there was a girl there taking her time. Derek tapped his foot impatiently as he waited.
Kate finished taking her drink, and pulled a small, folding bowl out of her pocket so she could fill it for Lucky. It was one of those things she felt foolish for bringing around with her, but loved to have when she needed it. She filled it with water, then turned around and noticed a dude standing behind her waiting for the fountain. Tugging the earbuds out of her ears, she gave him a charming smile.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t know you were waiting.” Then she stepped aside so she could give Lucky his water.
And then she filled up a bowl for her dog. Seriously? Well he supposed animals needed water too and that would kind of be him soon enough. Well wolf, but it was in the same family. “It’s fine,” Derek replied although there was a hint of annoyance in his voice. He stepped forward filling his own bottle and glancing over at the girl and the dog in the process. “Do you always sweat that much?” It wasn’t meant to be a rude question. Just an observation. The annoyance completely gone from his voice now.
Kate bent down and put the bowl in front of Lucky. The dog lapped it up greedily while Kate waited. She debated getting her phone out to check her messages while the dog was drinking, but thought better of it. The phone was in her arm band, and it was a bitch to get in and out. So she refrained. But then the guy behind her at the drinking fountain spoke, and she raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, when I’ve been running for an hour and it’s this hot.” Kate replied. “Do you always comment on the amount that strangers sweat?”
Was that rude? Whoops. Derek usually just said whatever was on his mind. Not much of a filter for him. “Maybe you should get a towel.” Again not meant to be rude just a suggestion. “Or run less.”
“But running’s fun.” Kate argued. “And a towel would be cumbersome. Besides, if I don’t care how much I sweat, why would I go to great lengths to try and sweat less?” Kate was insulted at first, but she was also a little amused.
“If you say so,” Derek commented still standing behind her at the fountain. He needed water too after all. “So you done?”
“Yeah, I’m done.” Kate said, then stepped to the side. She couldn’t go far, as she still had Lucky on his leash. Thankfully, her canine companion was just about finished with his water. “Enjoy your day.” She said, and bent down to pick up the bowl. Then she turned and headed on her way.
“Yah, bye,” Derek mumbled stepping forward to fill up his bottle. Finally.