Forums » General Roleplay » Man's Best Friend! (1x1)

Cody Wesson trudged along the streets of a bustling city, his hands in his pockets, looking like a drifter. Frankly, that's the way he wanted it; he was tired of people chasing after him. And he was even more tired of running. He found a set of steps that weren't taken up by any unsavory types before smelling the familiar scent of hotdogs. A street vendor--perfect.

He bought twohot dogs, smothered them in ketchup and mustard, and then plopped himself down on the steps, intending to take his time eating, and watching the hustle and bustle going on about him. For now he looked just like any vagrant, a dusty leather black jacket, a plain, if thick belt around his middle, and camo cargo pants. He smelled perhaps like engine oil, grease and hot metal--courtesy of his motorcycle that had broken down a few miles away.

The helmet in his hand perhaps dangled a little lower than it should have, but he set it aside on the steps and began to eat the first hotdog. He was hungry.

Perry was lurking around in a dark alley and came upon the smell of hotdogs-- Yum! He started toward the scent of hotdogs and came around the corner of a building where the vendor was. He sat down looking pathetic(as usual)he spotted the man, but didn't move. He looked up at the vendor and looked at the cart and while the man working the cart turned to help a customer he snatched the hotdog and sat down beside the man that smelled....... nice. Perry started nibbling on one end of the hotdog, and looked up at the man with the hotdog still in his mouth.

Cody didn't immediately see the dog at first--his attention distracted by the vendor and the people flocking around him. At least, until he realized there was something fluffy and four-footed and...big.

A grin crossed his face as he secured his hold on the second hotdog, watching as the bigger dog scored a hotdog of his own and came over to eat with him.

"Nice job," Cody said with a half smile and downed the remaining bite of his first hotdog. One more to go. It was evident to him at least that the dog had done this before and he looked for a collar or tag to identify who the dog belonged to.

It was an old tag and collar, the collar was fading it's dark green color, the tag was scratched up to where you couldn't really see the name. Perry looked at the man while wagging his tail watching him eat his last hotdog. He was full though. He turned his head and watched all of the other people crowd around a couple of vendor's carts. He turned back around and laid down on his stomach.

Cody started to reach for the tag on the dog and then halted his reach. The dog had seemed nice enough up until this point, but there was no telling if it trusted humans.

He sighed and looked at his last hotdog. On a whim, he broke it in half and offered half to the dog. "Here ya go." He ate the other half, wondering what had gotten into him. Usually he'd be off and on his own again, but something about the way the dog expected nothing from him, and was content to just lay there, it relaxed him.

"You're a good boy," he commented idly, his eyes once again returning to the people passing by. He seemed to be looking for someone, or waiting for something.

Perry nibbled on the hotdog and followed the man's eyes through the crowd. Perry was shy but got up off of his stomach and got closer to the man. Perry had already finished his hot dog and was sitting down, thumping his tail harshly against the concrete.

Cody hesitantly offered the dog his hand to smell, and providing he passed, would pet him. He didn't care about fleas or ticks, because it didn't cross his mind to be worried about them. He just took comfort in the fact that this dog didn't know anything about him, couldn't turn him into the authorities or the feds, and that most of all, could be trusted to keep a secret.

"Guess you and I are both down on our luck, eh?" Cody asked. Now that the dog was closer, he tried to see if there was a name on the tag. "You got a name, boy?"

Perry lifted his neck a little showing his tag to let the man see if there was any information left. You could tell Perry was a smart dog, but yet still pathetic.

Cody fingered the collar and made out a half-legible name on the tag. "Per...ry? Is that your name?" He gave Perry a gentle scratch on the neck. "You're a good boy if it is. Though I wonder why you're out here on the streets instead of in a home..."

He looked around, but he didn't see any immediate "Lost Dog" posters. "Guess you fend for yourself well enough." A cop ambled by and Cody stood up and stretched. "I should be moseying on again, Perry...don't want to be causing too much trouble here."

Perry watched as the man walked off. Perry felt empty on the inside, though he wasn't sure why. He started to follow the man as he walked off. But then Perry stopped and decided to let the man go. Perry was an abused dog so he didn't really know how to feel anymore, he slowly sat back down then went back down the alley again back to the hollow tree he could fit into.

Cody glanced over his shoulder to see if the dog was going to follow, but when he saw it was still sitting where he had been, he gave a sigh. It was just a feral dog--perhaps it had a home at some point, but not now.

"Besides," he grumbled to himself, "you've got enough work just taking care of yourself." He paused--just a few yards from the hotdog vender and contemplated. It wouldn't hurt to at least pretend the dog was his, right? Might make him look more like a local unless the authorities knew Perry.

He gave a sharp whistle and clapped his hands. "Perry! Here, boy!" It was worth a shot.

Perry ran as fast as he could towards the mad and almost knocked him over. H licked the man's hand that was hanging lower than the other one.

Cody stood his ground gamely as Perry charged for him, but the grin that crossed his face--the way his eyes lit up. He didn't mind the fact he was bowled over. Or stepped on. Or licked.

He laughed, an honest-to-goodness laugh, and then moved his hands to rub Perry's head, paying loving care to his ears and then scratching his neck.

"Good boy, Perry! Good boy!" This was a first, a real first for Cody. He regained his feet and knelt down in front of the dog, casting a look over at the vendor. The vendor shook his head and then tossed over a hotdog, which landed next to Perry.

Perry ignored the hotdog because he was too happy, he nudged the man's leg and started walking.
(Again, Perry's a smart dog! )

Cody threw a wadded up bill at the vendor, grabbed the hotdog anyway--he wasn't one for letting perfectly good food go to waste--and then followed Perry. Evidently the dog knew where it wanted to go.

"Where we goin', boy?" he asked softly, casting a wary glance about for cops.

Perry glanced back at Cody and back forward, he was leading Cody to let him see where he slept, which was in a hollow tree he could barely fit into. Once Perry stopped at the old oak tree he turned around and looked up at Cody.

Cody glanced down at the dog, then up at the tree. "Huh, well then." For all that the tree was dead and hollow, the branches looked strong enough to hold his weight and a glance around showed no cops for the present.

With a sudden leap, he grabbed hold of the nearest branches and pulled himself up and into the tree, where he climbed a few feet farther to look around. He could see the city better, well, sort of, the trees obscured some of his vision.

He looked back down at the dog. "Is this what you wanted or...? Maybe you'd rather fetch?"

Perry was a dog-- he couldn't talk. Even though he wanted to tell Cody everything he wanted to, he just sat there on his bum looking up at Cody. Having a look of "this I where I live" on them. He thumped hi tail for a second, but then stopped. Perry looked down at the ground and back up Cody again.

Cody jumped down from the tree with a sigh. "Alright, alright, I guess you came here for another reason." He looked around, and then peered more closely at the hollow trunk of the tree. An idea crossed his mine.

"This would make one excellent drop off point." He caught himself here, and shook his head. No. He wasn't going to start that again. Not yet. But already he was scanning his surroundings--not only for cops but for people who might fit the profile he did. "Good boy, Perry. I think you and I might become quite good friends." He reached out to pat Perry on the head.

Perry accepted the pat and wondered if this was his second chance with a human, in his past he had been abused for his behavior, he was terrified of humans but he connected with Cody in such a way. He felt loved, for once he felt like someone actually cared about him. Perry looked around too, wondering what Cody was looking for.