At the Park {Tag: Caleb}

[Chadwick Emerson]

Wooo, the park was full of people today!  Look, there's a whole family; mum, dad, and three ankle bitters!  Ooh, Mum kind of looks like a dad.  Poor thing.

Ivi was sitting in the grass, spread out indecently along the grass.  The blades folded beneath her, twisting against the weight of her slight frame.  Her head was tilted to one side so that she could observe the New Yorkers, lost in their daily activities.  Several turned to look at her oddly, to which she'd smile politely back, but no one stopped for a chat.  They all seemed very caught up in whatever it was they were doing, like the man that was flirting with the pretty brunette, or the child that was chasing a squirrel.  That one smelled like a wolf.

She abruptly sat up, deciding that she was incredibly bored laying there.  She didn't even know why she was allowed out today.  Maybe it was something she said?

"Hey, are you alright?"

She glanced up, spotting an elderly man and a woman staring at her with mild concern etched across their faces.  Why were they asking?  Oh, so she was covered in grass and sitting in the dirt looking bewildered?  What did that have to do with anything?  "I'm perfectly peachy, mister," she answered brightly, her accent thick.

"Oh-kay," was the response as they continued on their way.

Such nice people in New York.

[Caleb Allaway]

Caleb walked along Central Park, liking the peace and quiet and similarity to nature... Even if it wasn't completely real and there were a ton of humans walking around.  His life had been quite pleasant as of late.  He'd pause to think about it all and question it, if it weren't so fun.

That's when he caught a scent that made him pause.  There was a dingo... somewhere near.  The smell was pretty faint.  In fact, Caleb had to make sure he wasn't somehow smelling himself.  He spun around, but he mostly just saw ans smelt people.  Normal people doing normal things in the park.  They were playing and walking and laying in the grass. He walked around a moment, trying not to make it too obvious that he was following a smell, rather than some important agenda in his mind.

He didn't have to follow it far before he saw her... and she definately wasn't family... as far as Caleb could see.  That was... interesting... Okay, it was better than interesting, it was fantastic in a very different way from the women he'd seen in the past.  He watched an elderly couple speak to her, and then he made his move.

Trying not to look obvious, or like the type of guy who'd stalk a person and kill them in a brutal gun fight in an alley, Caleb strode to the woman lying in the grass and smiled down at her, trying to look as charming as possible, despite his bare feet.

"Hello there," he said, "Do you want company?"

[Chadwick Emerson]

She smelled him before she saw him.  Her pupils dilated briefly, the hairs on her neck standing on end.

That was strange.

Her ears pricked at the sound of his voice and she tilted her head up to see him, raising her hand to block out the sun as she beamed at him.  "I'd love some company," she answered cheerfully, scooting over to make room for him...in the grass.  It was unnecessary, but she didn't seem to think that.

He was a dingo.  He had to be a dingo.  She had never met him though, and she only knew a few other dingoes; her family.  It was exciting!  What was he doing in New York?  Shouldn't he be in Australia?  Well, she should have been too, but she came to New York for excitement!  Why was he here?  For excitement too?  What were the odds of running into each other?

"You smell good."  She laughed, offering him a flirtatious wink.  "So what'cha doin' in New York?  Long way from home, aren't ya?"

She was still elated from knowing that there were other dingoes and she was meeting one now!  She couldn't wait to tell the O'Riley's!

[Caleb Allaway]

"You smell wonderful.  And actually, I live around here.  Family's only..."  Caleb trailed off as he tried to remember where his family was in relation to where they were.  "That way."  He crossed his arms so that he pointed in two opposite directions to either side.

He laid down next to her.  His parents and sister would love this.  Another dingo in New York City!  That was refreshing.  Wasn't he just telling a drunk girl the other day that he didn't know any other dingos?  Well, if he ever met hyena girl again, he'd have to tell her that thing had changed... or not...

"What about you?  What are you doing so far from home, little girl?"  She was hardly a little girl.  In fact, she was quite lovely.  And she was a dingo...  Devin would be very jealous when he caught wind of this.  That was a good reason to tell no one.  Yes, dingo-girl would be his little secret... until he'd found out everything there was to find out and decided on a method of some sort for something.  Then everyone in his family would know... unless they smelled her on him.  That'd be awkward.

Well, he'd have to just make it up as he went along as usual and hope for the best, right?  Right!

[Chadwick Emerson]

Ivi watched him lay down beside her and twisted herself to face him.  It was only the polite thing to do.  Wow, it was weird to be this close to another dingo.  It was oddly comforting, something she felt that she could get used to.  When was the last time--

No, Di told her that normal people didn't act that way.  They didn't cuddle with strangers.  They didn't touch strangers.  And they definitely didn't walk around the house naked.

Normal... normal...

She grinned at him, shrugging with her free shoulder as she propped herself up off of the ground.  "I came to America lookin' for some change, ya know?  Found it too," which was the understatement of the century.  Oh well.  "My name's Ivi, what's yours, handsome man?"

Her excitement was immense.  She could hardly contain herself, although she was being ridiculously well behaved considering.  The O'Riley's would be so proud if they knew!  She would have to tell them later.  Would they believe her?  Oooh, she hoped they would.

[Caleb Allaway]

If Caleb could read Ivi's thoughts, he'd probably find himself laughing his head off and make her angry, but Caleb couldn't read Ivi's thoughts, even though he wanted to just so that he could figure out what kind of fun she came looking for.

He propped his face up with his hand.  "I'm Caleb.  How long have you been in this fine country?"

Part of him found it hard for him to have never met her or smelled her.  Then again, New York was a large city and America was an even larger country.  Okay, so it was very easy for all of this to be possible, but it still upset him.  Luckily, he knew for a fact that Mr. Lonesome Poet (aka Devin) hadn't mt this girl.  He would've bragged about it and annoyed Caleb about it endlessly.  Family was evil.

[Chadwick Emerson]

Angry?  Ivi could hardly remember the last time she was angry.  Anger was an emotion that she never seemed to reach.  She never consciously thought about it though, so it hardly mattered.

There was a logical reason why they had never met.  Ivi had been in America for several years, however only the first few months she was actually in public.  Between then and the present, she was actually around New York City and the whole scene for a total of half of a year.  The rest of the time was spent with her mistress Amaya.

"Well, huh," she started, shifting her eyes to the sky as she mentally counted.  "Four years now, I think.  Hm, yep, that must be about right."  She grinned, swaying slightly on her elbow, "Hard to keep track."  She laughed, dropping her hand and placing her head back on the ground to look up at Caleb childishly.  "When'd you come here?  Must'a been a while ago if your whole family's here!"

Hopefully the family wasn't like, a wife and some kids.  Ooh, that'd be unfair.

[Caleb Allaway]

"Parents and siblings came over here with me when I was five.  We were all made naturalized citizens," the male dingo explained as he rolled his eyes skyward, "Some sort of business thing on my father's part." 

Caleb shook his head.  "This place is pretty fun to grow up in, but I miss the extended family.  They were all so special and nutty in their own way... and they were fun to play with.  You can only have wrestling matches with your brother and sisters so many times before you find yourself utterly bored."  He found himself chuckling a little at that statement, imagining the times he had fought with them.

He looked over at her a moment and then added, "Though I can't imagine what coming over here alone must've been like..."

[Chadwick Emerson]

Ivi listened intently to his story, tilting her head a little closer to her shoulder.  She was smiling.  The air of tranquility around her made her seem as if she were just as content as could be.  She giggled a little when he mentioned wrestling with his siblings.  She only had a brother, but he was fun to wrestle with, well, he had been fun to wrestle with.  She never won.

"Oh, it wasn't so bad."  She pressed her lips together in thought, recalling her trip.  "It was more like an adventure, really.  I didn't know where I was goin'.  I mean, I did, everyone knows New York City, but I didn't really have a place to go to.  I had found a little apartment that my parents helped me rent, but I started makin' my own money so that stopped.  Didn't know anyone though, so I guess that was part of the excitement.  Tryin' to figure out silly American slang and learn the tubes, oh, and tryin' to dull my accent.  Some Americans just couldn't understand me."  She laughed at the memory.  "I do miss my family though, but I not enough to travel all the way back."

Her eyes strayed away from Caleb as she spoke, watching a bird fly by or a cloud roll across the sky.  She always managed to appear air headed.  It was never intentional.