Cider Fall Run, Chainsaw, Dog???

[mansbestend]

Who: Denji, his dog Maple, and YOU! Whether you have a dog or not!
Which: Open Dog Walkies Log
Where: Wildlands
What: Denji begrudgingly decides to do some stupid exercise for his stupid mental health.
Warnings: Denji's got a garbage mouth and concerning dark humor. If they encounter a monster it'll get messy.



"Denji!"

A very large snout nudged a messy head of blond hair, facedown in the pillow. The teen responded by grunting and rolling his head to the side.

"Denji Denji Denji!"

To the average ear, Maple the faerie dog- like any other canine- made a series of grumbles and whines to try and garner attention. But to Denji's ears, he could hear his name repeated, clear as day, as if Maple had somehow picked up perfect English.

"Pleeease, Denji...! It's time for a walk."

"Mmmmmghhh no."

"But you said! You said!!" Maple decided to take drastic measures. When she reared back on her hinds and planted her massive paws on the boy's back, she started digging motions.

That did it. With a yowl, Denji was up and flailing to shove the massive dog off of him. By God, he was so fucking glad he clipped this girl's nails the other day. He didn't need to start his day with gouges on his back.

"Okay! OKAY! Holy fuckin' shit-"

"YAY! Walk time! Finally!" Maple immediately sped to the door of the modest tree house.

Denji, meanwhile, all but poured himself out of bed and immediately stiffened the minute he left his cozy covers. Fuck it was cold. It was sun-up, but barely. He could only hope things would warm up a little in a couple hours.

After brushing his teeth, fixing his hair, and throwing on a set of sweats to layer on and keep him warm, he was only a little less of a tired zombie.

"...Breakfast..."

"Breakfast in town!"

"I can make breakfast here..."

"Then I'll pee right here while I wait!"

Denji's face scrunched. "...Fine. We'll go out for breakfast, you fuckin' terrorist."

"AWOOO! Breakfast in town, make friends with everyone! Cure depression!"

"...That ain't remotely how that works."


---


Denji wouldn't have a fully working brain until he'd finished his hot chocolate (he could have whatever he wanted for breakfast, none of you are his mom) and his breakfast sandwich. He was just finishing the latter when he headed for the gates into the woods.

Maple, meanwhile, was licking the last bits of toast crumbs from her jowls. Passersby may wonder when Denji had made friends with a bear, but Maple was no longer the little puppy he'd taken home from the shelter. Made of plant matter and flowers, she was a cluster of red, orange and gold leaves and sprays of purple flowers made manifest.

When anyone approached, her big bushy tail would wag as she loped over, ready to greet. Denji was likely busy pressing the heel of his hand to his jaw to crack his neck a bit or masking a very wide yawn, clearly not a morning person.

Clutched in his other hand was a fire axe dotted with a few stray flecks of dried blood and inky substance.

Comments

[mansbestend]

Maple immediately threw herself down in a play bow. Size didn't matter, friends were friends.

"...Daaamn... yeah, I gotta start makin' breakfast sandwiches at home. I make a real good egg with a jammy middle. Don't think I've ever had a hash brown though... what're those?"

[grandduchess_anya]

“They are essentially julienned potatoes that have been either fried or baked to a golden brown crisp. It was one of the first recipes I was able to learn from reading at the archives for new meals to make,” Anya replies to his question.

Pooka happily barks at Maple again, wagging his tail as much as he can.

[mansbestend]

Maple got the game started, keeping herself hunkered down low to start mouthing the little friend. Paws? Ears? But she was oh so gentle.

"Like a breakfast french fry patty... that sounds so good...!" Next mission: Find and make or buy a hash brown. He liked french fries, especially when they were a little extra salty and crispy.

"I picked up cooking pretty quick after I found work and got a place to live. It beats the Hell outta diggin' through the trash for years and hope nothin's too gross."

[grandduchess_anya]

“Yeah, like a breakfast french fry patty,” Anya chimes in agreement, that does fit the description of a hash brown very well.

Pooka brings out the paws, barking that he is ready for this. Anya couldn’t help smiling at these two getting along so swimmingly.

“Oh it certainly is better than having to dig through trash and find something that is edible enough. I would hate to imagine having to scavenge food among the trash. The orphanage I once lived in did at least provided food for me and several young orphans. It was not the fanciest of food but it was tastier and better than trash.”

[mansbestend]

He whistled in awe. He would have loved the orphanage life or even possibly foster care. But the Yakuza would never have given him that chance.

"Man, everything is better! I would'a loved the 'gruel' or 'porridge' from the storybooks over hoping what I dug up wasn't gonna make me sick or whatever. It was always a gamble, and most nights I chose to go hungry. The aches n' gnaws beats barfing or shitting your guts out in an alley."

He brushed off his hands on his pants.

"Anyway, my life's normal-ish now, so that's nice. Kinda wish I could figure out this dreamotion stuff, though..." He stretched and checked the path. Guess they should get going, but... Pooka and Maple were having fun. Let's give 'em a little more time.

[grandduchess_anya]

“I’ll take the orphanage porridge at any time of the day than starving myself for hours. That’s usually a breakfast meal in Russia but you could try to eat it for lunch or dinner,” Anya nods in sympathy.

Oh gee and she thought that living in a rough orphanage was pretty rough. Well there is no need to dwell on the past right now.

“I have been playing around with dreamotion energy for two years so far and, I can tell you, that it was not easy trying to master each skill without trials. There have been times where I did struggled on some areas more than others. So I could try to help you to figure out dreamotion energy in any way possible.”

[mansbestend]

"I dunno... I've had help n' lessons before, but the most I can do is make toast with different stuff on it. It tastes fine and it makes nightmare monsters blow up, though. So I have that goin' for me."

He polished off the edge of the fire axe and nodded.

"Anyway, they'll probably catch up once they realize we walked off. I could curl up under a tree and fall asleep if I don't get movin'- the whole 'morning person' thing is a work in progress."

[grandduchess_anya]

“That is understandable. Everyone here has to learn things about dreamotion in varying capacities and levels, so not every two people will have the same mastery level and skills for the most part,” Anya replies in return, “At least the toast is a great weapon against nightmare monsters.”

“Oh yeah. I have been dealing with a bit of a schedule slip following me trying to get back to playing violin for a while now. I must have lost some hours for sleeping as the result of trying to play it at night.”

[mansbestend]

"Oh yeah? You any good at it?" He would lead the way and folded his arms over his chest. He wondered what sort of instrument he would take up if he wanted...

Maybe the drums? Those sounded fun.

[grandduchess_anya]

“Thankfully I’m quite skillfully in playing it. I was able to learn from a friend who once came here over a year ago, taught me everything from finger to chord placement to how to angle the bow. It was a lot more fun to play with than having to sit down on piano lessons, I can tell you that.”

[mansbestend]

"I guess so. But imagine how mysterious you look sittin' at a piano, eyes closed, and each tickle of the keys just snags everybody's fuckin' heart. Got 'em in the palm of your hands..."

A beat.

"Well, violins are romantic too, so you could do the same there and be standing... shit. No, you're right, piano's worse for it."

[grandduchess_anya]

“That’s what my friend thought of pianos too. When I first told him that I was thinking about doing piano lessons and that my sisters did it a long time ago, he said that it was not that fun and had me try violin instead. Plus sitting on a chair for hours can sometimes take a toll on one’s rear too.”