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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2009 22:58:23 GMT -5
Michael laughed to himself and shifted to sit on the floor. There wasn't much he could do until he got the rest of his stores in, so he told himself that he could relax and get to know Elouai. "Get whatever you want," he said, still smiling as he continued where Dare had left off in the game of attack-the-hand. Business wouldn't suffer from taking a few things for his own use.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2009 23:37:43 GMT -5
Dare found leashes, collars, and self-engraving tags up near the counter. There were a lot of choices, pinks, blues, purples, stars and moons, and plenty of dog bone patterns, but Dare wasn't at all interested in those. For his and Michael's dog, the simplicity of a dark leather leash and, when he found it, a small leather collar with rounded metal studs and a sturdy loop in front. He grabbed a tag too, then headed back to sit beside Michael and Elouai on the floor. "What do you think about these?" he asked Michael. Elouai, sure the question was directed toward her, came to investigate.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2009 23:47:28 GMT -5
Michael looked over when Elouai moved from under his hand to go to see what Dare had. He nodded, "Those are fine with me, as long as she doesn't care," he added, turning his eyes down to Elouai. He didn't see her having a problem, though, considering how excitedly she was sniffing toward Dare's hands. "Where can we take her outside?" he asked, looking up at Dare again. They needed to find somewhere to be outside when they could.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2009 23:51:14 GMT -5
Dare thought about that as he took the tag out of its packaging. "There's got to be parks in London," he said. "Maybe we can find someplace close? If not..." Dare blinked. "Can you side-along a dog?" He had no clue whatsoever. It sounded bizarre, but dogs had to be moved somehow, didn't they? Dare read the spell in the tag's instructions, then concentrated, determined not to screw it up.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 0:01:15 GMT -5
Michael stopped and tilted his head, looking off at nothing in particular. "I don't know, I don't think she'd like it very much if we could, though," he said, thinking. It was uncomfortable for someone that knew what was going on, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to side-along if he had no idea what was going on. "We should look for somewhere when we have time."
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 0:06:01 GMT -5
Dare nodded in agreement, but didn't speak as he held his wand over the tag, watching it imprint itself. When it was done, he let out a sharp breath, then grinned as he tucked his wand away. He'd done a decent job. Michael's wandwork lessons were really paying off. Dare leaned over to press a brief kiss to Michael's cheek, then set himself to getting the tag settled onto the collar. "Come 'ere, Elouai," he crooned. The pup must have known something was up though, as she bounced backward, tail still wagging.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 0:12:40 GMT -5
Michael grinned and reached down to gently urge Elouai forward so that Dare could put the collar on. He could understand not wanting to have a collar put around the neck, but it had to be done, whether she liked it or not. "I'm glad you came down today," he said, still smiling softly when he looked up at Dare from Elouai. Their baby, as strange as it felt to think like that.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 0:16:55 GMT -5
Dare met Michael's eyes, and his lips curved at the look in Michael's eyes. He stole just one more very brief kiss, then set himself to strapping the collar onto Elouai, careful to check the sizing as he did so. She didn't like it much, but Dare distracted her with one large hand that she couldn't ignore for long. "I'm glad I came down here, too," he told Michael.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 0:22:05 GMT -5
Michael shook his head lightly as he watched Dare playing with an Elouai that broke up her play attack with scratches at her collar every so often. It would take her a few days to get used to it, but it was worth it, whether she knew it or not. "Are you going to stay down here or do you have work to do?" he asked, eyes glued to the puppy laying in front of him.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 0:41:17 GMT -5
Dare wrinkled his nose at the reminder. "I don't have to work until tonight, but I should probably get out one of those books and-" Dare stopped short when he noticed that Elouai had wandered away and was walking around in circles with her nose down, far differently than when she'd been exploring earlier. It only took a second for it to click and Dare got to his feet, scooping her up and heading for the nearest exit. "Be right back," he called.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 0:54:32 GMT -5
Michael wrinkled his nose slightly when he realized what had nearly happened. It was so much easier when it was all in a convenient sectioned cage where he could just wave his wand to clean everything. He pushed himself up and went to the counter, pulling out a book that he had written all of the things in the store down in. He turned to the page where he had the dogs listed and made a note that they had taken one, then moved to the accessories section to make a note of the leash and collar.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 2:49:49 GMT -5
When Dare came back a few minutes later, he was holding Elouai, ruffling her fur and crooning praise to her. She renewed her kisses on his face since he was close enough again, and her tail wagged furiously as he gave her a quick description of how nice the space in front of a certain jewelry store was, then headed for the counter to see what Michael was up to. "Mission accomplished," he said.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 11:47:20 GMT -5
"One time," Michael pointed out, smiling as he finished in the book and closed it. "We'll have to take her out in the mornings," he said, crossing his arms on the counter and leaning over it to look at the two of them. He was amused by the enthusiasm of her kisses, but the thought entered his mind that he was going to have to fight her for his turn.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 11:56:21 GMT -5
Dare was thinking about leafing through a dog-owner's manual or whatever they were called. It didn't take much to connect the puppy being about to take a leak with running her outside, but he and Michael couldn't watch her all the time, and that left quite a bit of opportunity for error. He didn't at all feel like coming home every day and scouting for messes. "I'll take her out as many times as she needs to go out," Dare pledged. Even if it was miserably cold like it had been just now. Half the reason he'd carried Elouai in was for warmth.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 8, 2009 12:04:31 GMT -5
"If we need to we can put a box in the kitchen or somewhere for her," Michael said. He knew that cats were easier to box-train, but that it was entirely possible to do the same for a dog, even if different materials were used. It would be stressful the first week or so when they were teaching her, but once she understood he knew it would calm down.
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