THEY BUILT ME UP — OPEN, DOG

[BRUCE H]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9.3pt; line-height: 1.4;"]Things really were starting to look up, weren't they? That was such a strange thing to realize, though it was all that Bruce had ever wanted from this place. He had never been overly fond of it. It was cold and dull, and however well the man may fit into that setting, it wasn't what he wanted. He'll take whatever he can get, but sunshine and a good breeze. That's the perfect world he had before he came back to this godawful place. Why? Why bother? That's a really good question, honestly. He'd left his partner and son behind, in a house they had made for themselves. Clean windows and fresh food, someone to fall asleep with a little boy to wake up to. Barking dogs and warm laughter. What the hell made him pick this over them? Maybe Johannes would make more sense of it if he asked himself those same questions.

Why the hell would he come back? Because he wants to help. It was hard to do that when he felt unwanted. That makes this seem like such a childish feud, and makes him seem even more childish for feeling bothered by it, but Bruce would never act on something so small. Johannes can treat him as he will, that in itself is not enough to drive him away. It just means that he has more time for this, settled on freshly revealed grass and patches of snow, still soaked with the sections that have melted so far, and watching the world pass him by. It's calmer when there aren't people around him. Dick goes the the rabbits, Win turns to the dogs. He makes a gentle sort of cooing sound that doesn't suit his mouth, the roughness of the stubble surrounding him, or the scars carved into his skin. "Good girl. You need some more food, huh? Not enough out there. No wonder you were attacking."

The rapid, almost anxious wag of her tail is the last sign of friendliness he gets. A sudden shout from a familiar voice as the canine shrinking away, crouched defensively a few meters away from where they had settled. "Hey!" he protests, twisting where he sits to scowl at the dictator, voice a sharp reprimand. "Have you never seen a dog before?" He certainly acted like he hadn't, sometimes. Sheesh. After one long grumpy moment, Bruce turns towards where she'd crouched and leans forward, reaching out with an open palm. "Don't worry. He's not scary either." (He really, really wasn't.)

[DICK HOLIDAY.]

[align=center][div style="text-align: justify; width:500px;font-size:9.5pt"]
Man's best friend, as the popular phrase went, didn't hold true for some people. Dick wasn't one of them, though; he wasn't certain what would have happened between he and Win if he had a keen distaste for dogs, considering how much his partner loved them, especially Ace, who'd been a faithful companion to him for a long time. He'd never had a pet of his own -although from what he could tell, it stopped being ownership fairly quickly- but when there were friendly animals nearby, that was where he went on occasion, seeking a special kind of solitude that lacked the capacity for speech and yet provided a companionable space to relax in. Animals were fairly simple, especially in comparison to people, and sometimes that proved to be very endearing for Dick. The same went for Win, although they sought different creatures when needing solace. Win went for Ace, Dick the rabbits. Truth be told, some days he thought of Win as a kind of dog. He wouldn't admit it aloud because he knew that from his tongue it wouldn't be very appealing, but Win was one of those large breeds, commonly mistaken for being dangerous. They could be, when pressed, though otherwise their size became less of an intimidating factor and more of a heavy blanket or heater to cuddle when it was cold.

He wouldn't go cuddling the dogs they had running about outside, but neither would he damn them. If one attacked, it didn't have to end with the aggressor bleeding out in the snow.

Dick wasn't surprised to find Win where he was, although Johannes' appearance he didn't expect -maybe he should have, because the man wasn't absent- and the unfamiliar dog Win was wooing with an open palm and gentle words. She might have been startled some distance away by Johannes, but Dick knew that it wouldn't be long before she returned to him, coaxed by a sort of kindness he knew, from personal experience, was...irresistible. Glancing momentarily at the spear Johannes kept with him, and then sliding a smile Win's way, Dick began to slowly approach the skittish creature, muscles loose and relaxed; surprisingly, she allowed him closer, and closer, despite the slight trembling he could see in her tan furred body.

"Hey, sweetheart, look at you." Telegraphing each of his movements, he reached out, curling his fingers behind one of her ears for a light rub. When she reacted, it was to abruptly roll over, not to flee farther away, and her bared belly was slightly swollen, likely with puppies; the thought was both warming and painful. "Such a gorgeous mama, aren't you?" Dick crouched, uncaring that he wasn't exactly dressed to be kneeling in the snow, and he kneaded all along the vulnerable belly shown to him. "Like a big honeybee." Her tail beat out a staccato rhythm on the ground, which he couldn't help but laugh quietly in response to. "Honeybee? You like that?"

[ashen]

build our fate over hollow ground—

[table]

[BRUCE H]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9.3pt; line-height: 1.4;"]When most people say that they were raised by wolves, they don't mean it literally. Those who do tend to be Roman myths or the like. But Bruce — when he says it, it's only a partial exaggeration. His parents had been with him for his young life, but after that... He'd joined a group only to be tossed to the lowest rank. Cleaning the dog's cages and feeding them, checking them for injuries. After a while, he had learned to see the potential. The base had been surrounded by packs of feral dogs that people spent too much time kicking when they were bored, but occasionally there would be one that everyone found exceptional. Brave or strong or particularly intelligent. They were allowed in to be trained and bred, to make a war dog of ever greater quality. The thing about throwing a stray in with more of them — they tended to get along pretty well. That was where Win had first found ace. A little puppy only half-trained, excitable and yipping at the thirteen year old boy that would come to feed him.

And you know what else it did for you? It taught you to recognize that same potential. In the long run, that was how he ended up sitting where he was. The snow was cold and he's soaked through his clothes (he'll regret it later) but for now, Bruce hardly cares at all. It had taken hours of sitting here patiently with a borrowed spear resting over his lap (don't worry Johannes, it doesn't belong to you) and meat in his right hand. Eventually, it had been worth it, as he always tried his best to believe that it was.

With Ace laying patiently at his side, warm eyes closed and silvered muzzle resting on his calf, there was another unfamiliar dog a few feet away, crawling forward on her stomach. She promises that she's not a threat and so he does his best to do the same. His body language is anything but aggressive. Pale blue eyes are focused slightly to the side of her, allowing her to creep up without sneaking up on him, and he hasn't moved a muscle for hours. It's the fourth day in a row that he's sat out here for this stretch of time, and she's beginning to become accustomed to him, along with a few others. A few hours of slowly tossing her bits of meat was an effective lure, if her proximity means anything. Short tan fur framed in the white snow makes for a stunning picture with the sunlight at her back, stomach slightly swollen. She looks pregnant, though he can't tell. Maybe she's just sick.

"That's it," Bruce murmurs when she crawls a little closer, and then rises to her feet. No, she's definitely pregnant, though not too far along. "There we go, see? I'm not scary." Okay, he kind of was, actually, but his voice goes higher to something soothing, as if he's speaking to a child. Once she's within a few inches from his hand, he stretches out an open palm. She takes it quickly but gingerly, and doesn't flinch away when he reaches out to stroke the side of her shoulder. "There we go," he repeats, and doing this sort of thing? It feels satisfying. As if he's actually able to do help again. Even if it's a dog.

[ashen]

build our fate over hollow ground—

[table]