HPU:Applegate

[hypernovatic]

"I'm better, but I wouldn't consider myself 'okay'." Lyn told Ray. He looked back at the book Mickey was reading. "Would you mind reading more?" he asked Mickey.

[Jacey]

"Nah, I kinda did. We were all in the music shop and we decided to go and explore the haunted house and I suggested exploring here on the way because I wanted some new books. So, here we are. I found some books too. Your mom was very accommodating."
"Yeah. What Lilly said. You okay there, Lyn?" he queries, turning to the other cat.
"Where did Draco go to? I haven't heard him for a little while." The ferret sniffs around a little, trying to locate the dog.

Draco had for some reason been very quiet; Likely he had been thinking about some of the books he should read later. His thoughts did find him again looking at the shelves, not paying much attention to anyone coming or going. Finding himself behind Lilly eventually, "Behind you Lilly" He said, placing his paw on her shoulder, hoping that saying where he was and indicating that he was behind her wouldn't startle her.
"I was distracted, what are we talking about now?"

[Hlaoroo]

Thanks to Draco's warning, the ferret isn't startled by the sudden weight of the paw.
"Ah. There you are." She turns to face roughly the direction of the dog. "We were just reiterating the day's events and then I wondered where you were because you hadn't said anything for a while. Find anything you like here?"
"Well, better is a step in the right direction, Lyn. Take you time. We'll go when you're recovered."

[Mickey]

"I'm better, but I wouldn't consider myself 'okay'." Lyn told Ray. He looked back at the book Mickey was reading. "Would you mind reading more?" he asked Mickey.

"Course!"

Mickey began reading again, pausing to try and pronounce a new Husky word she hadn't before. When she was sure she had gotten it down, she continued the story. She hushed when she saw a whole sentence of Husky, but merely chuckled as she said it clearly and correctly.

"Husky language ain't that hard once you've practiced it countless times."

[hypernovatic]

"Okay. Thanks Ray." Lyn said, rubbing his arm. He focused back on Mickey and smiled. "Where'd you learn it?"

[xhunterko]

Terror is terror. Fear is fear. Making someone fear you the rest of a day is making someone fear you the rest of the day. Same thing. Miles thought to Lyn.

Dearest? Erm, er, did THAT slip through? It uh, doesn't matter what time frame THAT'S from. It's just a form of, er, endearment? Eh heh, just never mind it. Miles thought to Rena.

[Marine Fox]

Rena's ears fold back. "Ah put up with all this," she says flatly, giving a wide gesture across the store and everyone inside. It's hard to tell if the comment is sarcastic or not. "Ah can't rightly say ah know where ah'm from. Used to travel a lot and never did care 'bout where ah was," she answers to Mickey before turning to Duke. "Nice of you to finally sniff me. Now how's the leg?"

<Ah think that's far enough. We don't need the bookstore being a complete mess,> she thinks to the cat ghost, huffing slightly. :Nice to see him having fun though. Hopefully the town stays this relaxed...:

(Apologies for the wait. Things spiked up a bit lately)
Duke chuckled and shrugged innocently at first, smiling and taking amusement in the razzing but as the question turned to concern he confidently and gladly displayed his leg to her. The wound had sealed completely and the blood washed away, the only thing there was a bit of a scar and that was it, as he turned it about for different angles he looked back up at her "Works perfectly fine now, no pain or anything just a little scar is all. All thanks to you. So well heh after everything I do owe you an humble Thank you for saving my life" As he said this though he remembered Hubert helped heal his leg and with a ittle concentration and the hope he would hear Duke mentally thought of Hubert and spoke in his mind "And thank you too Hubert. Wouldn't have healed like this had it not been for you as well"
Now having shown he was okay he turned to introduce Serenade but she had gone to help Lyn, which left him looking at an empty space but he knew she was probably helping Lyn if he'd fallen or from the sound of it Mile's scaring the metaphorical and possibly literal poo out of him. Still though Duke looked back to Rena and spoke a little quietly but confidently none the less "Oh! Well the lovely blue vixen that was right here; her name is Serenade (Oh. My. God. I've made that grammar error too many times now >..< Kept saying Sereande ) I think you two will get along just great!"

[The Moon Howler]

A lone figure was walking next to the road - a canine, following it's twisting body and seemingly heading nowhere. It's been 2 days since he was following the road on his own, slow pace, because his backpack was heavy as always. At some point he got tired, put down his backpack and sat down to rest. From time to time he signaled the passing vehicles, but none stopped. for close to half an hour the canine sat there and when he finally decided to get up and continue, a small farm truck, loaded with fruits and vegetables stopped. From it came a man in his late 50s, dressed as a trucker and called the dog.
"Oi, need a ride to the next town, boy?" the man asked

"Yes, sir." the canine said, as he stood up "It'll be greatly appreciated."

"Well, lucky you, then! I have me a free spot in the truck today. Hop in!" the man said "The next town is just a few hours away."

The canine nodded, stood up and putting his backpack on the back of the truck, he entered the truck and sat on the passenger's seat. "Thanks for stopping." he said.

The man entered as well, then nodded as he started the engine "No need to thank me, boy. You look like you could use a ride anyway. So, what's your name?"

"Martin, sir!" the canine replied.

"Nice name." the old man said "I'm Joe McGowan." The man turned on the radio "Why are you alone, anyway? You look like a pet. Don't you have an owner?"

"Used to, sir." Martin replied "When I was a mere pup. I haven't had an owner ever since."

"I see." Joe said "Well, I won't pry about your past. But I will about your unusual clothing. You almost look like a native, but I can tell you're not."

"It's comfortable, sir and the things on my mane are luck charms."

"Got it." Joe nodded once more "So, why are you heading for Applegate? I heard something about them becoming pet-friendly, but for the likes of you that usually doesn't even matter."

"I'm a free soul, sir." Martin replied "I travel from town to town and never stay for long. I guess this Applegate is just-" his sentence was interrupted by a loud yawning. He was tired. "Sorry about that."

"Eh, no worries there, Martin. take a nap. I'll wake you once we reach the town." Joe answered with a smile.
Martin nodded, but by the time his head went down, he fell asleep.

***

A gentle tapping on Martin's head woke the canine up. He opened his eyes and saw Joe as he withdrew his hand from Martin's head.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty!" the old man said "We're in the fine small town of Applegate now. This is the center of the town, so you should be able to make it on your own from here."
Martin nodded and both of them got out of the truck. Joe helped the canine with his bag and before returning to the truck, he pulled out a 50 $ bill and put it one of the pockets on Martin's vest. Before Martin could protest, Joe shook his head.

"Take them, boy. With your way of life you can always use some extra bucks." the man said and entered the car. "Take care, okay?" he waved at Martin, then started the engine and drove off, leaving the canine alone in the center of Applegate.

Martin waived after the leaving truck, then looked around and tapped on his backpack a few times, before spotting the bookstore on the far side of the street.
"Well" he though to himself "At least I can start with a fine new book." with that thought in mind, he headed to the bookstore.

[Mickey]

"Okay. Thanks Ray." Lyn said, rubbing his arm. He focused back on Mickey and smiled. "Where'd you learn it?"

Mickey preforms a small hand gesture, before turning to Lyn.

"Ah learned it like anyone would. Lots of practice. Ah could teach you."

[Jacey]

Thanks to Draco's warning, the ferret isn't startled by the sudden weight of the paw.
"Ah. There you are." She turns to face roughly the direction of the dog. "We were just reiterating the day's events and then I wondered where you were because you hadn't said anything for a while. Find anything you like here?"
"Well, better is a step in the right direction, Lyn. Take you time. We'll go when you're recovered."

"Actually yes lilly, Draco said, wagging his tail. I bought a book earlier about space, this other book I will get later. You know., I didn't know Phantom of the Opera was a book, also I never seen brale before. Could I see what its like in a book? Draco never had seen brale in his life, well, some of it. on restroom stalls and office signs. But never in a book, he was rather interested to see what actual words and a book would be like.

[Hlaoroo]

"Oh, sure, it was a book for many years before it was a stage musical and then a movie. It's had quite a few incarnations too. My favourite was the two thousand and four movie with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rosum. They have such fine voices, just suited to the role! Er, the book, sure!" Lilly pulls the books from her bag again and after running a paw over each, holds them out in turn.
"That one's White Fang and that one's Phantom." The books are the same size as the average book, although somewhat thicker due to the increased thickness of the pages to accommodate the punched-in depressions and bumps which form the Braille alphabet. The covers are simply decorated in the style of older books and the pages inside are plain white paper, unblemished except for the straight rows of dots and devoid of any printed text. The titles are printed on the covers though, for the benefit of the sighted people who shelve and sell them.


Ray's thoughts keep turning to the book filled with mouth-watering pictures of birds and he glances over to the stand a couple of times. He knows he can easily afford the book and he wants it.
Ah, what the heck? he thinks, picking it up. Again, he opens it, thumbing past the glossy prints of robins, wrens, swallows, sparrows, starlings, and all manner of other avian appetisers.
"I can't resist. How much for this, Mrs. Callahan? It's making me hungry."

[hypernovatic]

Lyn smiled. "That'd be nice." he said, giggling when Ray asked to buy the book over birds.

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

"I can't resist. How much for this, Mrs. Callahan? It's making me hungry."

"That'll be $9," Nettie replied.

[Serence Frostbite]

seeing how Lyn had already calmed down , with a great help from Mickey , Serenade decided to retreat back to a distant corner of the shop
Miles , may I ask you something ?

[xhunterko]

All I was trying to teach Lyn that any fear is fear. Terror is terror. And under no circumstances is any amount of them good at all. EVEN to me, as light pranks. Miles thought to Serenade.

[Mickey]

Lyn smiled. "That'd be nice." he said, giggling when Ray asked to buy the book over birds.

Mickey smiles and clears her throat, flipping to the back to the Husky Dictionary. She points to and slowly says words, making sure they are clear and understandable.

"Still can't understand why some ghost would and do that to ya. Ah ain't afraid of no ghost anyhow!"

[hypernovatic]

Lyn smiled and nodded, somewhat understanding what Mickey was doing. "Me either. I think I feel calm enough to go." he told Ray.

[Jacey]

"Oh, sure, it was a book for many years before it was a stage musical and then a movie. It's had quite a few incarnations too. My favourite was the two thousand and four movie with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rosum. They have such fine voices, just suited to the role! Er, the book, sure!" Lilly pulls the books from her bag again and after running a paw over each, holds them out in turn.
"That one's White Fang and that one's Phantom." The books are the same size as the average book, although somewhat thicker due to the increased thickness of the pages to accommodate the punched-in depressions and bumps which form the Braille alphabet. The covers are simply decorated in the style of older books and the pages inside are plain white paper, unblemished except for the straight rows of dots and devoid of any printed text. The titles are printed on the covers though, for the benefit of the sighted people who shelve and sell them.


Ray's thoughts keep turning to the book filled with mouth-watering pictures of birds and he glances over to the stand a couple of times. He knows he can easily afford the book and he wants it.
Ah, what the heck? he thinks, picking it up. Again, he opens it, thumbing past the glossy prints of robins, wrens, swallows, sparrows, starlings, and all manner of other avian appetisers.
"I can't resist. How much for this, Mrs. Callahan? It's making me hungry."

Looking through the book, was rather fascinating, it was like reading another language. He set the book down "I put it by your feet, I guess I should find the one that I could understand. Though it may be silly. Would you ever teach someone how to read braille? I'm curious now as to how it works.

[Leafolawl]

Duke chuckled and shrugged innocently at first, smiling and taking amusement in the razzing but as the question turned to concern he confidently and gladly displayed his leg to her. The wound had sealed completely and the blood washed away, the only thing there was a bit of a scar and that was it, as he turned it about for different angles he looked back up at her "Works perfectly fine now, no pain or anything just a little scar is all. All thanks to you. So well heh after everything I do owe you an humble Thank you for saving my life" As he said this though he remembered Hubert helped heal his leg and with a ittle concentration and the hope he would hear Duke mentally thought of Hubert and spoke in his mind "And thank you too Hubert. Wouldn't have healed like this had it not been for you as well"
Now having shown he was okay he turned to introduce Serenade but she had gone to help Lyn, which left him looking at an empty space but he knew she was probably helping Lyn if he'd fallen or from the sound of it Mile's scaring the metaphorical and possibly literal poo out of him. Still though Duke looked back to Rena and spoke a little quietly but confidently none the less "Oh! Well the lovely blue vixen that was right here; her name is Serenade I think you two will get along just great!"

Rena turns to Duke, kneeling down and running her paw across his leg to feel the area. "Well ah'll be a stuffed duck..." She stands back up. "Ah'll cut the stitches out in a bit. Between talkin' to Ma and headin' out to the ol' house in the woods, alright?"

Dearest? Erm, er, did THAT slip through? It uh, doesn't matter what time frame THAT'S from. It's just a form of, er, endearment? Eh heh, just never mind it. Miles thought to Rena.

<Uh-huh. Endearment? And that thing about sleeping next to your crush the day before last?>

[The-J-Man]

the peacefulness of applegate is interrupted by the backfiring engine of an OLD Moving Van. Inside the cab of the truck is a slightly overweight man and a Black and Grey dog sitting in the passenger seat. A black collar with a silver tag in the shape of an arrow adorns his neck, the Name "Swift Stevens" etched into it
"Dad, why did we have to move out here?" the dog said as he slouched his head forward and gave his owner a look of disappointment
"Whats the matter Swift? I thought you wanted to move to a place with more room, Right?"
"All right, ill try and make the most of it"
The owner stops in front of a vacant house and removes a "FOR SALE" sign as the back of the truck slowly opens to reveal a large amount of crates and boxes all marked with their contents and destinations in the new house.
"That is a lot of boxes, Dad" Swift says as he easily lifts the boxes into the house, glaring at his owner the whole time. Its his way of saying "You'd better help out, Ed"
Finally the last of the boxes are put into the house after several hours
"tell you what, Swift-" the man gives the Mixed breed Collie a 20 dollar bill "-go to the store and pick us up some drinks, go meet some of the neighbors along the way too, just be back before dark"
Before the man could even look back at Swift, the front door slammed shut.

"at last! I get to meet some new people" the black and grey collie said with a slight grin on his face. He walks toward the store.

[Mickey]

Lyn smiled and nodded, somewhat understanding what Mickey was doing. "Me either. I think I feel calm enough to go." he told Ray.

"Alright, Lyn! That's the spirit, with no association ta ghosts. But are ya sure ya ready to go? If not, Ah won't rush ya."

Mickey spotted a few new words on the page and slowly began to speak them, assuming her pronunciation was correct.

[Hlaoroo]

Lilly shifts her footpaw until she finds the book and then retrieves the tome, stowing it safely back in her satchel.
"Sure! I'd be glad to! I can show you on my Braille typewriter. It's set out just like any other QWERTY keyboard so that should help you learn. Braille in its basic form is - I don't know if you know anything about cryptography - but it's a simple substitution cipher so it's not hard to learn. Essentially you have one pattern of dots for every letter of the alphabet and one for each digit and one for each common punctuation sign. Once you master that though, there's all kinds of fun contractions and abbreviations to learn. We'll have to get you a blindfold too so you can learn to read it properly by feel and not just by sight. By the way, if you need to pass something to me, just tap it on my paw and I'll know where you are to grab it. No need for either of us to scrabble in the dirt." smiles the ferret. "Er... You do read the normal English alphabet, don't you? Because that would make it easier to learn Braille. Although it's definitely possible without knowing how to read English - I did it, after all, and so does everyone else who's blind."

Ray tries to be discreet about removing a small wad of cash from the pocket in his collar. He peels off a tenner and passes it to Nettie, slotting the other notes back into place by his neck.
"Er, keep the change as a little thank you for putting up with all of us." he suggests before turning to the Shiba Inu.
"Sorry, Rena, I couldn't help but overhear. Do you mean to imply that you stitched up Duke's leg? That's pretty incredible! Where'd you learn to do that?

[Serence Frostbite]

All I was trying to teach Lyn that any fear is fear. Terror is terror. And under no circumstances is any amount of them good at all. EVEN to me, as light pranks. Miles thought to Serenade.

But , Miles , they were just planning on playing with each other for a little bit , out of harmless intention , surely "teaching" him by scaring him this much is a little too , you know , harsh ?

[xhunterko]

If a child reaches for a hot stove, what do you do? You don't give them a little pat on the wrist. Hopefully this will keep them from going to the extreme and hurting one another. Miles thought to Serenade.

[hypernovatic]

Lyn repeated Mickey's sounds and smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure." he said.

[The-J-Man]

Swift walks down the main street in search of the store as he notices the multitude of pets that were running around this small town, but he tries his best not to draw the wrong kind of attention from the groups.
"I wonder what these guys are like? maybe ill find out later, if they dont come to me first"
Swift enters the store and soon leaves with a small bag of items. Half hoping to meet some new people along the way and half hoping that they will leave him alone.

[Serence Frostbite]

If a child reaches for a hot stove, what do you do? You don't give them a little pat on the wrist. Hopefully this will keep them from going to the extreme and hurting one another. Miles thought to Serenade.

Serenade sighed , just a little , both outwardly and mentally , before replying to the spirit feline , still with her slow , calm , gentle voice , well , her "mind voice" , anyway
Yes I understand Miles , but still , I think it would've been just as good if you talked to him first , explain to him why you think it is wrong to frighten others before , not after you yourself have frightened him so much . Yes I agree that setting examples is possibly one of the most impacting method , but I don't think it is always the best one . After all , harsh actions and decisions , regardless of how noble the intentions behind them , can lead to unforeseeable and undesirable outcome , as I'm sure you're well aware

[Mickey]

"Alright. Come on, Lyn!"

Mickey stands, helping Lyn up in the process. She slowly walks him over to where the other pets are.

"Howdy everybody!"

[hypernovatic]

Lyn grabbed Mickey's paw and stood up. He smiled as they walked over to the other pets. "Sorry about that..." he said.

[The Moon Howler]

...

Martin continued on his way to the store, noticing a dog that was somewhat in hurry on the other side of the street, but he didn't bother calling the pet. Perhaps he had something important to do.
In any case he had reached his destination - the bookstore and taking off his backpack, he opened the door and entered. The store was small and there were plenty of pets, as well as some... feral foxes? He was genuinely surprised to see such animals here.
Still he kept his cool and closed the door, turning and greeting those inside.
"Hello, I am new around here and I'm hoping that I'm not interrupting some sort of private meeting?"

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

"Hello, I am new around here and I'm hoping that I'm not interrupting some sort of private meeting?"

"Oh, welcome. No, you aren't interrupting anything," Nettie replied. "Can I help you find anything?"

[Mickey]

Mickey waved to the new animal that had just walked in. She tilted her head bit, her ears twitching at the sight of him. SHe shrugged off whatever she was thinking about him and waved again.

"Don't judge before you know a guy, Mic, Rosette taught you better," she thought, mentally scolding herself.

She cleared her throat and held out her paw.

"Howdy, fella!"

[xhunterko]

True. If done incorrectly. Sure he probably will still prank and scare. But hopefully he'll do it with more tact and care, and sensitivity. Miles thought back to Serenade, finally appearing in front of her.

"Enjoying someone's company I see?" He said to her quietly with a look at Duke and a smile. Though to make the point he had been somewhere, he was, rather oddly decorated. With candy skull necklaces hanging from his neck, sugar bracelets around his wrists, and a multitude of candy rings on his fingers. One of which he nibbled waiting for an answer. All of them where brightly colored in a traditional festival style.

[Serence Frostbite]

True. If done incorrectly. Sure he probably will still prank and scare. But hopefully he'll do it with more tact and care, and sensitivity. Miles thought back to Serenade, finally appearing in front of her.

"Enjoying someone's company I see?" He said to her quietly with a look at Duke and a smile. Though to make the point he had been somewhere, he was, rather oddly decorated. With candy skull necklaces hanging from his neck, sugar bracelets around his wrists, and a multitude of candy rings on his fingers. One of which he nibbled waiting for an answer. All of them where brightly colored in a traditional festival style.

"oh , well , erm....heh yeah , I guess you could say that" Serenade said , blushing a little while looking at Duke , then turned her attention back to Miles "Seems like you had a pretty fun time too"

[hypernovatic]

Lyn looked at the newcomer who had just entered the building and his eyes widened. He screamed and ran towards the back and hid behind a bookshelf, hoping that he was just seeing things.

[Mickey]

Mickey's fur wen ton end at Lyn's scream, but it de-fluffed when she saw him run and hide. She sighed an transferred her book to her tail before dropping to all fours and carefully walking over to Lyn. She sat down a few feet away from him and waited a few seconds before saying anything.

"Hey, Lyn. It's alright. I know your scared, but no ones gonna hurt you or get you. Just calm down."

[hypernovatic]

Lyn was sitting down with his knees against his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs. He was shaking and his fur was on end. "B-but i-it's a w-wolf." Lyn stuttered, scared out of his mind and thinking that it was the same wolf that Miles had scared him with.

[Mickey]

"Yes, it was, but everyone else saw him too. He's not a hallucination. And if he tried to hurt you, I'll be right there to defend you. There's nothing to worry about."

Mickey held out her paw, not moving any closer than where her paw hung in the air.

[The Moon Howler]

"Oh, welcome. No, you aren't interrupting anything," Nettie replied. "Can I help you find anything?"

"I was actually looking for a good book and..." Martin began until he was interrupted by the scream. He looked at the general direction of the noise and shook his head "... and I seem to have scared another one."

-snip-

-snip-

"I am sorry, but are ye alright back there? Did I scare ya?" he called towards the pet that hid itself, then looked at the human woman "You're not used to have lupines around, I take it?"

[hypernovatic]

Lyn, still shaking, nervously looked from Mickey's paw to her face, then peeked his head around the bookshelf and stared at the wolf. He turned back to Mickey and sighed. "O-okay, I-I believe y-you..." he said, taking Mickey's paw.