SeaBreeze Harbor: Day 1

The cold winter brought upon a steady snow down on the residents of the little town. Its almost fully dark out and a few pets have given residence in a fellow friend's cellar. The grounds were slippery with ice, and a a couple of inches of snow was layed down on everything that stayed still. For the residents of SeaBreeze Harbor however, it was nothing less then a standard winter. Some residents have already began placing Christmas lights and decorations around there house and front lawn, giving a holiday spirit to everyone that passed through.

"Now that I think about it, I don't want to go back outside." Parker shivered. The cellar doors were still open, but the wind couldn't penetrate the ground, so the cellar was decidedly less cold than it was outside.

Summer, a female Pitbull-Dalmation mix had brought food, leftover from a party, to share with the others gathered in the basement. Especially for the rogue cat that had wandered into town. Apparently he hadn't eaten for some time...seeing as how he'd polished off half of the impromptu feast. But for some reason he didn't want to talk about his past.

"Is that what happened to the other places you visited?" Summer was gently leaning against one of the shelves adorned with jarred preserves, her eyes closed, and arms crossed over her chest. "...they start asking questions and then strange things start happening?" She opened her eyes and looked at Dale with gentle eyes and a serious face.

Dale looked at Summer worriedly. "Wh-what do you mean? I-.. i just think its a personal subject."

"Dude, think about it. Everywhere you've been has suddenly burst into flame, and when you come back, everyone stares at you like you did something terrible. Put two and two together, I mean, I don't mean to be rude, but..." Parker trailed off.

From out of nowhere, Dimitri came in running with the groceries "Sorry, that I came like this, I forgot my hat! and sorry that I didn't knock the door before entering, the door was open" *picks up his hat and wears it* suddenly he stopped "Oh yes, hi guys, see ya all tomorrow, ok? later!"

Summer stared at the empty spot where the Husky was just a moment ago. "Oookaaaay."
She quickly turned to Parker and Dale rubbing the bridge of her nose with a paw. "Parker, let's not make our guest feel unwelcome, okay." she lightly pushed off the shelf she was leaning on and sat down at the table.

For a moment, the Chinchilla, wearing a Santa suit bestowed upon him by his five-year-old master, Anna...much to his chagrin...paused in his eating of some salad from one of the tupperware containers. "It's not like it's his fault." he chimed in. He suddenly remembered something. "Hey...wasn't there a little kitten with us earlier?" He shuddered as he remembered the glomping it was capable of.

Parker looked around. "You're right. Where's Addison?"

(In front of Dimitri's house)

"Gwad *pant**pant**pant* this reminds me of the 50 Km. marathon I joined back in Tijuana with Eliel..." as soon he looked at the door of the house he saw Eliel (Dimitri's owner) "Heey, speaking of the devil..." Eliel looked a little disappointed, Dimitri asked him "What's wrong, my great comrade?" Eliel, with a disappointed tone he said "Hey Dimitri, bad news, I... i can't let you in. The only thing going inside the house is the milk and the ham. I am really sorry, I tried to talk dad out of this but, kind of put things worst... I would let you in but I just can't. It's too late..." Dimitri, looking sad said to his comrade "Chiort... Really? ugh... look, take the groceries *hands over the bag* well, it's a cold night, I can take it. And NO, I won't sleep in the little crappy dog house you dad made, I don't even fit!" Dimitri made a long sigh "Well, I only have one place were to pass the night, good night, Eliel" Eliel, still disappointed replied to his friend husky "Pashyaluista*, take care of yourself, my brave dog. G' night." Both said Dasvidania** at the same time and Eliel went inside his home and turned off the lights while Dimitri said to himself "Only one place... I hope Darren has some space in that little place..." Dimitri started to walk to Darren's place in a sad mood.

Pashyaluista* Please in Russian
Dasvidania** Good bye/ See you next time in Russian

Alex Mason walked around the area, looking for anyone to try to make friends with. He, being a white lab, easily blended in with the snow.
"One bad thing about being in a new town is not knowing anyone..." He sighed out loud. Alex heard voices and looked in the direction where the sound was coming from.
"Hey, looks like some pets are down there..." He wondered out loud. "Might as well check it out!"
He started walking towards the cellar.

(Hope I'm doing this right...)

Dimitri barely saw the the white labrador walking towards the cellar "Hey!" he called the labrador "Good night, uh... you are looking for a place to stay too?" asked while putting earflaps down of his hat.

Alex looked at the dog who called out to him. He smiled when he saw his hat. "Hey... nice hat! You're Russian, right? Oh and I'm just looking for anyone that I can make friends with." I hope that wasn't too long of a sentence...

"Thanks, uh... yes, well kind of, my biological family is Russian. Uh... and I'm new in this place. I just moved here yesterday, house number 29 down the road." Dimitri nodded and continued "Oh, by the way, my name is Dimitri Ivanovich Molotov, but you can call me Dimitri, what is your name?" Dimitri extended his hand, expecting a handshake.

Alex accepted the handshake "My name is Alex Mason. You may call me Alex, Al, Or Mason. I've moved in recently. But why is your last name Molotov? I don't think anyone has that last name... His voice trailed off. "So... do you like to read?"

"You see, Russian names are a little bit complicated. My owner's dad name is Ivan A. Molotov(wich was my previus owner), so his last name goes to his son (my current owner) named Eliel Ivanovich MOLOTOV, and now, why Ivanovich? Well, my owner dad name is Ivan, so his dad given name goes to my owner's name BUT it is added a "ovich", so that explains why my name is Dimitri IvanOVICH MOLOTOV" Dimitri coughed "Agh, it is too late to be outside, anyway, there is many people with the Molotov last name. *cough* Er... yeah, I like to read, but really depends on it" Dimitri started to laugh.

Alex Blinked, then chuckled a bit. "Well, I like reading action and adventurer stories, and I enjoy the occasional mystery and fantasy." Alex remembered that he brought his DS. "Hey, I have a DS—" Alex took his DS out from his small backpack."—I can let you play it, if you don't already have one.
This making friends thing here is easier then I thought.

Dimitri was about to accept the offer "Thanks, your offer is really generous but right now I am not in the mood for videogames, sorry" Dimitri look down depressed "This is not my night..."

From inside the Darren family's cellar, Summer started to worry about Addison. She hoped the kitten went home with her dad, rather than being separated from the group and being out on her own in the mild snowstorm. She suddenly heard voices outside. She recognized one as Dimitri's, but the other was someone she hadn't heard before. "Do you guys here that?" she asked the others.

Parker's ears perked up. "Yeah, I hear Dmitri and... Someone else. Let's go see!" He ran to the doors and motioned to Summer. "Come on!" He left through the cellar doors.

Summer placed her paw on the table and Darren ran up her arm to sit on her shoulder. She stood up and turned to Dale. "Do you feel like adding another member to this little party we're having?" she asked the black cat. She didn't want him to feel more anxious than he already was. The dog had noticed that with the chairs added to the table, it was getting a little cramped in the cellar. Adding another animal down here might be pushing it, she thought to herself.

Dale shrugged, not even turning around to listen to the voices outside. "Meh, i guess.." he said with as much enthusiasm as a dying squirrel.

Parker, now outside, could make out two animals - Dmitri, whom he had already met, and another dog. "Hey there, who are you? I'm Parker!" He said to the new dog. Please don't ask to go inside, I don't think we have the room...

Alex turned to the new voice. "Well hello there Parker! My name is Alex Mason, but you may call me by my first or last name. He adjusted his weight so he could look behind Parker. "Is there anyone else there?

Inside the cellar, Summer sighed and slowly shook her head as she turned around and headed up the steps with Darren sitting on her shoulder...still in the Santa suit. Apparently it was growing on him. How can I get through to him? she thought to herself, regarding Dale. I can't help but feel sorry for him, but how can I trust him if he doesn't open himself up to us? She reached the top of the stairs to the cellar and looked at the three dogs in front of her...noticing the White Labrador. "Another new pet?!" she said, a bit annoyed. "Why don't pet-owners register with Neighborhood Watch like they're supposed to? It would save me so much from these surprises."

Alex jumped hearing Summer's voice. "GAH!" he cried, as he spun around and midair. "S-Sorry, I didn't know if there was anyone else here--"Alex got nervous as soon as he noticed that the other dog was a female. "Uh... Hi I'm nude--I MEAN NEW! I'm new! Alex facepalmed. Great... now she thinks you're an idiot...

"It's alright, I did the same thing when I first met her, too. You get over it, eventually." Parker turned to Summer. "Well, why don't you introduce yourself, Summer?" I can't believe I have to say that.

"He's not very bright, is he?" Darren whispered into Summer's ear, indicating Alex. She sighed. This was turning into a long night. On the advice of Parker, she turned to the white Lab "Nice to meet you Alex." Summer said, with a quick nod of her head. She noticed it was a bit colder than earlier since the wind had picked up a bit.

"Now if you'll all follow me, we have a warm cellar and a few scraps of food, as a couple of you know, already. We can all get to know each other without freezing to death... " she suggested to the three dogs. She turned to Alex again. "Oh, and there's a cat down here...I hope that won't be a problem," she added, as her face became more serious. "...because if it is, I suggest you go elsewhere, for now." The last thing she wanted, was for fight to break out over some cat vs dog attitude in a cellar full of breakable jars of preserves.

Dimitri said with a nervous tone "Umh, hey Summer, can I spend this night in the cellar? My family did not let me inside the house because it's to late. Do not worry about the space, I can sleep anywhere, in a chair, in a box, in the ground or a... mesa?" Dimitri started to scratch his head because of the language problem "Oh right! a table, yeah I can sleep anywhere. Please, Summer! only this night, it won't happen again possibly..."

Alex, of course, was blushing a lot from saying "nude" instead of "new". He heard the "not so bright" remark but decided to ignore it. "Nope, that's not going to be a problem. Sorry, I'm kinda nervous around new people... Alex placed his hand on the back of his head.

Dimitri whispered to the white lab's ear "I hope Summer did not hear you said that, she looks like the type of people that do not like those types of mistakes" Dimitri took a few steps and started to cough a little.

From Summer's shoulder, Darren raised his arm over his head and looked at Dimitri. "Helloooo...I believe this is my house... Okay, well not technically my house but well, it's my family's. So I get to choose whether or not you stay here, got it?" he replied with a sly smile. "Besides, what do you mean it's too late for your parents to let you in the house?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"We'll discuss it later." Summer interrupted Darren. "Let's not keep Dale waiting."

Parker nodded in agreement and walked back down into the cellar. He popped on earbud into his right ear and began listening to music. (In case anyone's wondering, the iPod he's listening to is stored in his collar)

Alex sighed. Thank you universe, this is going to be harder than I thought.
He started looking through his backpack; he was hungry, and he had brought snacks in advance.

Dale had a blank stare on his face, footsteps breaking the silence as parker walked back into the cellar. Dale stayed quiet, his ear twitching as he picked up on the sounds coming from Parker's ear-buds.

"Ah, here we go!"Alex said to himself, and brought out a bag of beef jerky. Since everyone seemed to like the cellar area, he decided to follow Parker.

Parker noticed Dale's ears twitch. "Like it, Dale? I like the aggressive stuff, it calms me." He held up the other earbud as to say, "Want to have a listen?"

Dimitri looked at Darren with a confused look"Haven't seen the time? It is almost 11 PM, and I am sorry about the cellar thing, I thought it was Summer's for a sec... Whoops?"

Dale didn't turn around or respond, he just simply took out his own iPod, and placed both ear-buds in his ears.

Alex froze while he was looking down the stairs. He had never seen a pet wear full clothing. He smiled though, the clothing really made him stand out, in a good way. He recognized the white wires leading towards his ears, so Alex didn't say anything. He turned to Parker.
"Hey!"he said, while tapping Parker's shoulder. "What are you listening to?"

Parker continued to stare at Dale with a look that screamed, "What's wrong with him?"
When Alex tapped his shoulder, he looked at Alex. "Oh hey, what's-your- Alex. I'm listening to this." He showed Alex the screen on his iPod.