Beginnings [OPEN]

[jasonwright]

It's a shitty way to start your day--waking up stiff, cold, and wet from a morning drizzle. Jason blinks, groans, and rubs his eyes, trying to quickly adjust to the blinding sun. As soon as he's awake, Alfredo is on his lap, soaking wet but happy all the same. The dog licks some dirt off his face while Jason chuckles. "No, Alfredo. I'm not food." 

He sits up, stripping off his jacket and stuffing it into his backpack as he speaks to Alfredo. "Think we could spring for some coffee today? It'd be nice to have something hot." He reaches down to pat the dog's head as he wags his tail, a gesture Jason takes as a push toward coffee. He double checks his wallet and grins. "Coffee it is then."

The new town is easy enough to navigate and pretty soon, he's found what appears to be a coffee shop. Quill. Looks like any other small town coffee shop he's visited, but he's pleasantly surprised when he steps inside after tethering Alfredo to a bike rack outside. It looks like a nice place he can stow away during a rainy day. 

He orders coffee, black, and a muffin, going back outside to sit on the curb next to Alfredo. As he sips the coffee, humming happily, he holds out the muffin for the dog to nibble on. 

Comments

[bonniemcg]

Despite the Tanners giving her a guided tour on her second day, she still can’t remember where anything is in relation to their home (other than a small local store). How she made her way to the main town centre is unclear. But it had been a long walk and her feet had hurt, so she’d opted for a long sit in some café called Quill with tea and toast.

Finally feeling more human and less like the whale she was slowly turning into, she stepped out onto the street. Buttoning her coat up and hooking an umbrella over her arm. Noting the grey sky she frowned at how distinctly Scottish it was. So much for American sunshine. It was then that she noticed the man sitting on the curb, a dog sat alongside him eating a muffin. “Wouldn’t it be better to be inside?” She asked, her accent curling around the words, “Looks like it’s planning t’rain.”

[jasonwright]

An unexpected and adorable accent hits Jason's ears and he turns around to see an equally adorable young woman looking down at him. He licks the one bite of muffin he allowed himself to take from Alfredo from his lips and nods toward the dog who has flipped over on his back. "Can't take my dog in there, miss."

[bonniemcg]

“Oh, of course not,” she agreed with a slight bow of the head, “I always forget that’s a thing.” Back home her village was small enough that people generally just took their pets into cafes and bars. Anyone that disliked animals would let you know and you made sure not to sit too nearby. It generally worked out fine. “Someone should think about opening a dog friendly place really – unless they already have, I don’t really know the place too well.”

[jasonwright]

Jason chuckles, finishing off his coffee and tossing the cup into a nearby bin. "Me neither. Got here last night." He gets up, brushing any dirt off his pants, and holds out a hand to her. "Name's Jason. Nice to meet another newbie."

[bonniemcg]

“Bonnie, and it’s a pleasure,” she replied, shaking his hand with a smile. “Last night? Awesome, I’ve been here a few days. So what brings you to Siren’s Cove?” Bonnie asked, resisting the urge to try and pet the golden retriever, bending over was best to be avoided at the moment because the newly forming bump still surprised her.

[bachjones]

Bachs head was full of stories, no matter how ruthless the music cut off as soon as he left Watersong. There was something about Iris in there, he was sure. Because Iris was something that would almost make him religious.

When your head's full of stories, it's hard to focus on anything else. He walked into something and lost his balance, landing face first on the road.

[jasonwright]

Jason is taking another precious sip of his coffee when something smacks into his left shoulder, sloshing half the coffee onto his shirt. Ow, hot, fuck. He quickly stands up, looking over to Alfredo to make sure none of the hot coffee landing on the dog, but found Alfredo already in the road, nudging his nose at a man.

"Shit, man, are you okay?" He asks, rushing to the man's side to try to help him up. "You probably didn't even see me."

[bachjones]

"Still got my hands they're clinging So I just keep going I don't know where I belo- oh man, fu-" He gets up. "Dude, didn't see you! You're okay?"

He checks his hands and mouth before turning to the obstacle. "That was your coffee? Sorry man, I'll get you another."

[jasonwright]

"I'm fine. You're the one that took a tumble. Something distracting you, mister?" he asks as he takes a napkin to his shirt. "You're good. It was almost finished anyway."

[bachjones]

"You sure? Because I always get something extra at this place. It wouldn't hurt me to share." He rubs his face. "Song. Close to finishing its story."

[elidixon]

Rounding up his usual caramel latte from Quill, Eli has his nose in his cellphone, quickly flipping through his calendar, emails, and text messages. He already has several places to be, and it's only eight o'clock. He texts a brief message to his brother about dinner on Sunday; his grandma had requested a full-fledged dinner with both her boys. Eli wasn't one to disappoint her, and she had promised peach cobbler too. He takes a couple of sips of his coffee, one eye on last night's NBA play-off results, thinking Kevin Durant is a hell of a basketball player, when he notices Jason sitting outside on the curb.

He has seen Jason around town, and he knows a bad situation when he sees one. Eli likes to take jogs down on the Boardwalk, to see the sunrise, clear his head before the day starts, and he has noticed this guy lives down at the docks. But he's never approached him, even though he has wanted to offer him some type of assistance, figuring he needed a good opening line.

He finally has one, and he approaches Jason holding out a hand. "I'm Eli," he says. "You look like a dude with some time on his hands..."

[jasonwright]

Jason looks up when he hears the man speak to him. He looks like a busy guy with those hands working on that cell phone, but he's broken away from it to fix Jason with his attention, something he wasn't really used to. Most people ignored a man sitting on the streets with a dog.

"Jason," he replies as he stands up from the curb to shake Eli's hand. He grins. "That's an understatement."

[elidixon]

As Jason stands from the curb, Eli's eyes go wide, pocketing his phone for a second, because this needs more of his attention. Jason is tall, sturdy, well-built, and he is suddenly Eli's new best friend. The Hydra attack killed most of his garden and shed, and while he loves all his volunteers, most of them are young women, high school students, and old people with nothing better to do. He needs men to rebuild some of the sheds and other woodwork, and he is immediately hoping he just found a new volunteer. He wishes he had a flyer. He usually keeps them in his bag, which he left at home, in a rush to get out the door.

He smiles back at Jason, shaking his hand with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Jason, yeah man. I've seen you around," he says, nodding at him. "You stay up at the beach..."

[jasonwright]

Jason's a bit confused by Eli's overexcited handshake, which lasts a bit longer than usual. Finally they let go and he stuffs his hands in his pockets, listening to the man in front of him. He seems eager, positive, easy-going--something Jason responds well to.

"Uh yeah," he rubs a hand over the back of his neck. "I do."

[elidixon]

Eli has learned that direct, clear instructions often works best to get him what he needs, so he doesn't hesitate with Jason. "You need work?" He asks. "Can't pay you, but I need some help rebuilding a garden. The crop that was there got pretty beat up, but there are still vegetables."

He smiles again, charm works sometimes.

[callmeemily]

It's not that hard.

That's what she tells herself. Don't be the girl with no friends, you'll stand out is her mission - she's supposed to (theoretically) keep her head down, so Raleigh's spent the last few months keeping it down and her mouth shut; but she realised abruptly that this? This wasn't the place for somebody who didn't really talk to anyone, because that made you just as memorable.

But no matter what she tells herself (It's not that hard), Raleigh's never been good at making friends. Not ever, mostly because she never knew what to say.

This, though? She sees him sit on the curb with a coffee and a muffin, and she just goes with her gut. There's a soup bowl that she puts water in, and she grabs one of the dog biscuits from the jar for customers, and a cinnamon roll for him - mostly because she knows they're great - before she slips out of the bakery and moves closer and clears her throat. "Uh- I thought... I brought water - and a biscuit, too. What's his name?"

She doesn't realised she looks like she's about to spook and run off, but she'll get through this hell or high water, because this is how people don't think you're creepy. It's a mission, even if she's really got no idea what the hell she's doing.

[jasonwright]

How long will he stay here? That's always Jason's thought when he arrives in a new town with the prospect of a job that lasts more than one day. How long can he reasonably stay here before moving to the next town. Because that will effect how comfortable he lets himself get here. If he lets himself form some attachments. Home for Alfredo is anywhere Jason is, but home for Jason has a whole new, deeper meaning. He's never been at home before.

He's startled out of his thoughts when he hears a voice behind him--only enough for him to flinch, his fingers clutching his coffee tighter. The dog has already left his side and Jason turns to see a woman.

"Oh, thanks, miss." He gives her a small but warm smile. "Alfredo. After my favourite pasta." Girl seems like she's seen a ghost so he stays put. Usually he'd stand up for a proper greeting, but he doesn't want to startle her more than she already seems.

[callmeemily]

She sees the flinch, and her brows furrow for a second - mostly because she really fucking wishes that the guy who dumped her here had told her why she needs to keep her head down, who she needs to be careful of - but she figures that she's never seen him before in six months so probably he's okay.

Raleigh stoops to set down the bowl and take off the lid before pulling out the biscuit, holding it out on a flat palm the way you'd feed a horse.

"Not 'Miss'," she said with a smile of her own. "Call me Emily." She's starting to key down a little, mostly because of Alfredo being so friendly. She uses that phrase a lot - Call me Emily - because it's not a lie. Not technically.

She sits on the sidewalk, and holds out a box from the bakery. "Random act of cinnamon roll?" She's not really sure how else to offer without it seeming... weird.

[jasonwright]

Alfredo makes a bee-line to the water, lapping it up happily like he didn't just have his fill of water a few hours ago. Jason eyes the dog--he always knew how to put on a show for the ladies. When he sees her hand, he sniffs it momentarily before devouring the treat, licking her hand clean.

"Emily. Nice to meet you." He takes the box gratefully. He's never been one for handouts, but she seems genuine and he's also not one to turn down someone's kindness. Besides, that cinnamon roll smells damn good. "I'm Jason."

[callmeemily]

Smiling, Raleigh wrinkles her nose when Alfredo licks her hand - it tickles - and she's scratching between his ears. "I try and pass out cinnamon rolls to people whenever I can - if I ate all of them, you'd have to roll me home."

She's mostly hoping that what she's saying doesn't fall flat, and she glances up at Jason. "Nice to meet you, too. I work at the bakery across the street." She smiled wider as Alfredo nudged her hand so she'd start scratching him again. "Have you been in town long? If you don't mind me asking - I don't really know a lot of people." She's still got the accent - a weird mix of New England and Tennesee, so it's clear at the very least that she's not just... from here, like some of the lifers.

[asharpertongue]

Osha has a way of introducing herself to other people she finds interesting. It's not very sophisticated consisting of going over to them and looking at them or snuffling at them until they give up and give her attention. Today was no exception and as soon as Osha saw the young man sitting outside Quill she was trotting off to go and investigate.

Lara chuckled and picked up her pace after her beast of a dog. "Osha...leave the poor man alone. He's trying to enjoy his coffee."

[jasonwright]

Before he knows what's going on, there's a giant beast of a dog nudging the back of Jason's head. He turns around, grinning, and pets the strange dog. Alfredo's on his feet immediately, tail wagging as if he's asking permission to make a new friend. "Hey, buddy. You're a cutie, aren't you?"

[asharpertongue]

Osha wuffs happily, leaning heavily on the man and bending down to sniff the other dog.

Lara laughs and smiles at the man. "If she lays on you and you suffocate, you've only got yourself to blame, i'm afraid."

[jasonwright]

The dog's butt is practically on Jason's lap and he smiles. "What's her name? This guy's Alfredo." Alfredo's tail is wagging more than Jason's ever seen it, sniffing the much larger dog and headbutting her.

[asharpertongue]

"Her names Osha." She smiled and held out a hand for Alfredo to sniff and then petted him a little. "He's a cute little guy." She realises she might have insulted the mans companion and holds out a hand. "I don't mean that the way it sounded. It's just every animal is little in comparison to-..." She gestures at Osha who is currently knocking Alfredo about with her paws while the smaller dog barks delightedly.