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☁ hayley wasn't a dog person. no, correction; hayley wasn't an animal person. or much of a person person, truth be told. she liked strong liquor, cheesy books, and her daughter. sure, some people, some animals grew on her. she liked most of the flintlockers, most of their animals, but at the end of the day she still preferred her top three things.
she was trying with the dogs, though. they'd gotten used to her visits, and she'd... well, she was starting to get used to them. every time she entered the pen they jumped about and played in, they'd scratch at her legs and beg her for treats and attention, and she sort of awkwardly scratched them behind the ears before putting food down. it was a weird sight, seeing a woman normally so laissez faire about animals interacting with them, but feeding them wasn't the weirdest sight. no, that would be when they walked her.
she had four of them, two leashes in each hand, and the powerful canines dragged her along the mountain happily, moving with a pack mentality and energy she simply didn't have. within minutes, they'd lead her up to the lodge, but seemed to be heading right passed it. if anyone were to look outside in that moment, they'd see the twenty-three year old being very literally dragged along by the animals, a look of helplessness on her features.
JUST STANDING WAITING FOR THE PUNCHES
Tomorrow wasn't much of a people person; people were scary, and difficult, and weren't eager to be understood. Dogs were easier to understand, he knew how their minds worked and he knew they wouldn't change their opinion on him unless he genuinely did something wrong.
He'd been surprised at Flintlock's, erm, rather lackluster training for their canines. They'd come when called and were loyal to a point, but their energy was bursting with nowhere to go; it was kind of sad in his opinion, and he had started spending a lot of his spare time with the dogs instead of trying to socialize with the other humans of the lodge.
Right now though, he was sitting wedged in a windowsill, looking outside at the snow and forest. Claire was napping a few feet away, while Jeremiah gnawed on the flesh-stripped femur of an elk. His attention was caught when he saw Hayley, stumbling through the snow being dragged by four dogs. Tomorrow frowned, watching for a minute before standing up and heading outside, his companions hot on his heels when they realized he was leaving.
"Miss Hayley, do you need any help?" Tomorrow asked, shrugging on a coat as he hurried into the snow after her. His features were drawn into a concerned frown, and he offered a hand to take some of the leashes if she'd allow him to.
Claire and Jeremiah were quick to run up to the other dogs, yipping and sniffing at them. Tomorrow was tempted to whistle at them and call them back, but he remembered the dirty looks he'd garnered during the meeting when he'd done such and refrained.
'cus it don't make a difference anyway
tags - 26yrs - 6'1 - he/him - representative of fl
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☁ she'd nearly been pulled down to her knees when tomorrow came running to her rescue. hazel gaze shifting from him to the dogs that seemed happy to engage with the foreign canines, she smiled, clearly grateful, and offered two of the leashes out to him, hoping he might fare better with them. if he'd take them, then she'd move the leashes to have one on each hand, still a difficult task but one she could manage.
❝you're so great with the dogs,❞ she said to him over the barks and yips from the animals playing in the snow, one unearthing a small stick and happily gnawing at it while the other sniffed wildly, trying and failing to pull her along. ❝i don't think they hate me, but i'm not sure they love me. or like to listen to me.❞
and then, almost forgetting his words but remember in time, she glanced at him and offered another smile. ❝you can just call me hayley, by the way. miss hayley makes me feel old, and i'm pretty sure you're older than me.❞
JUST STANDING WAITING FOR THE PUNCHES
Tomorrow was quick to take the leashes offered, and looped them over one wrist and tried to pull the two rambunctious dogs into line, but they yanked on the leashes and were doing their best to drag him off his feet. Still, he planted his feet and dug into the ground and wouldn't let himself be moved and that'd have to be enough for now.
"They've just got to be trained better, they won't listen to anybody right now." Tomorrow tried to reassure her, though he realized a few seconds afterwards that his words might be taken as an insult. "Uh- not that I mean any insult towards the dog trainers."
Tomorrow managed to catch Hayley's glance, and offered his own awkward smile which turned a bit strained as Hayley spoke again, but he nodded anyways. "Erm- if that's what you'd prefer." Tomorrow said. It was more of an ingrained way of speaking for him, but if Hayley was uncomfortable with it then he'd do his best to not. At the mention that he was probably older than him, Tomorrow frowned slightly.
"I'm only twenty six, if I'm remembering properly. That isn't very old." Tomorrow said softly.
'cus it don't make a difference anyway
tags - 26yrs - 6'1 - he/him - representative of fl
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☁ he spoke of the dogs training, and though he promptly apologized for it, hayley couldn't find herself offended in the slightest, truth be told. she liked the dogs well enough, but she'd never once made moves to train them, and she wasn't sure anyone ever had, to think about it. ❝their lack of training could probably be explained by a lack of a trainer.❞ she amused, gaze dancing across his form, trying to mimic his post to minimize the movement of the ones she held, though it still proved rather useless.
he mentioned his age, and this caused the brunettes brows to arch in a moment of surprise, before dissolving back to an easy smile. ❝well, i'm twenty three, so that makes you older than me. i'll be young and youthful while you're gray and using a cane,❞ she joked, the humor evident in her tone. three years really wasn't much and she knew that full and well, but it was plenty fun to joke about it.
JUST STANDING WAITING FOR THE PUNCHES
Tomorrow blinked, surprised at Hayley's admission. Lack of a trainer? It seemed irresponsible to breed dogs without someone to train them, and Hayley seemed like the responsible type. Still, it was possible this ball was set in motion before she came to a position of power. "Oh, that, erm, would explain it."
Tomorrow let a slight, nervous smile spring to his lips as Hayley joked. Twenty three? That was plenty young, and she had the majority of her life still ahead of her; well, if she managed to survive for a long time. The blackout had made lifespans a bit shorter than they used to be. "I'd reckon I'll say fit and spry long after you've silvered." Tomorrow responded, an attempt to continue the joke even though he knew he dropped the ball a bit.
'cus it don't make a difference anyway
tags - 26yrs - 6'1 - he/him - representative of fl
[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 8pt; color: #484848; line-height: 22px;"]oh, if tomorrow only knew how irresponsible hayley could be. hope was far from planned; she was the production of a very irresponsible night, and an irresponsible amount of drinks. even her birth was the product of an irresponsible trip down the mountain when she shouldn't have been on her feet. she was supposed to be responsible, theoretically, but the truth was that she was a twenty-something who, before the lodge, had never even owned a pair of pants longer than a month. she was a shit show, hiding behind the facade of a collected, assertive personality. the world saw a mother, a leader, and they designated her as having her shit together, but the truth was that she was more or less winging it.
❝you say that now,❞ hayley mused, grinning at him, ❝but the numbers don't lie, grandpa.❞ one of the dogs seemed to change his mind about the direction they were heading, instead making a sharp left, whereas the first continued forward. hayley made a face as she pulled back on the leash to avoid being torn in two, and after a moment, and a huff, the canine decided to turn back and continue with the path they were on. ❝a training program wouldn't be a bad idea.❞ she agreed, avoiding the urge to yawn. dogs, as it turned out, were somehow more exhausting than babies.
JUST STANDING WAITING FOR THE PUNCHES
Tomorrow winced as the dogs pulled at his arm again, and he pulled on the leashes a bit more roughly than he usually would. The dogs fell in line again, whining in frustration that he was keeping them in one place - mostly - for his conversation with Hayley. To be truthful, Tomorrow did have a determined, assertive streak in him which was mostly masked by his more docile traits, but it did exist. It served as a reminder for him at least that people weren't skin-deep; there were a lot of layers one had to parse through in order to get a full picture.
"You'll be a grandparent before me, that's undeniable." Tomorrow pointed out, his nervous smile relaxing a bit. He followed Hayley as she continued to get pulled along the path, not necessarily full of energy but he didn't need to be; he'd long since learnt he could burn the metaphorical candle low, and keep going for much longer. "Yeah, someone should be training these. Or- erm, they're just gonna keep acting like this." Tomorrow said, looking at the two dogs Hayley had given him get tangled in each others leashes.
'cus it don't make a difference anyway
tags - 26yrs - 6'1 - he/him - representative of fl
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