[CLOSED] Pet and Owner Reunion

[contocricket]

Who: Archie Hopper contocricket and Donatello purplexing
What: Pongo has arrived and is looking for his pet, Archie. This weird turtle smells like he's been in contact with him...
When: June 1st
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: Wholesome?


One would think a Dalmatian would be simple enough for Animal Control to spot and catch given how easy they were to spot (no pun intended), but Pongo wasn't an average dog. He gave his head a shake, jangling his dog tags as the Animal Control worker drove off in frustration at having been given the slip.

Now that that annoyance was gone, back to the important things: finding his pet, Archie, and then finding a way back to Storybrooke. One minute he'd been guiding Archie on the leash and the next he'd had another lifetime in his head. Then the following minute he was in this strange city.

He lowered his nose to the ground, sniffing deeply. Too many smells here. No way of telling if Archie had been by recently or at all. He sneezed in displeasure, trotting along the sidewalk.

Maybe he'd find Archie if he kept looking.

Comments

[purplexing]

With all the 'wonderful' changes going on regarding guild climates, Donnie knew it was probably better to lay lower than usual, but there was no telling if things would pass, and quite frankly, he was a stubborn sixteen year old who was determined to do things he set his mind to.

In this instance it was a pretty unnecessary trip, but sometimes you really wanted a fancy coffee drink and the cheap canned stuff that Accelerator seemed to live on just did not do it. What Donnie could do without were all the people about. Nothing had really changed, the foot traffic was about the same, and he knew well why he was bothered more than normal, which was more annoying, really.

He ducked off the sidewalk with a sigh, taking cover beside a tree as he pulled out his wallet just to check if he had enough cash. The white of the appointment card he'd tucked in there caught his eye, a follow-up he'd completely forgotten about, but then a lot had happened between then and now. Shaking his head, Donnie slapped his wallet closed and tucked it back into his pocket, sucking in a deep breath as he prepared himself to slip back into the current of people.

At least the coffee shop wasn't too far.

[contocricket]

Pongo's nose twitched as he caught the faint scent of Archie. He trotted towards the source, the stranger who smelled...different. Not human. But there was the faint trace of his pet on the stranger.

He gave a "woof", trying to draw the stranger's attention.

[purplexing]

Getting barked at was not something Donnie thought to anticipate. Not that he particularly figured it was aimed at him anyway, but he still jumped more than he would have. The sound was enough of a sharp contrast from the general city ambiance for his still slightly jittery nerves.

"-!" The turtle spun around, freezing a moment. Dalmatians sure stood out, even more so when you realized this one wasn't on a leash. "Get a grip, Donnie, it's just a dog," he muttered to himself, breathing a sigh as he clasped a hand over his chest.

[contocricket]

Pongo sat down and shook his head, purposely jangling his dog tags. He then stared pointedly up at the not-human, tail thumping impatiently against the ground.

Humans (and human-ish creatures) were so slow sometimes.

If Donnie got the message, he would see on the foremost tag a name: "Pongo". The other tag had contact information: "Archie Hopper" along with his cellphone number and address in Storybrooke, Maine.

[purplexing]

"...Oookay." Donnie paused then, brow arching. Well, at least this dog wasn't intent on jumping all over him and it wasn't like he had anything to throw so they could play fetch.

"A strangely insistent dog..." he corrected himself, turning to face the... "Wait a minute." Dalmatian. Stroking his chin, his eyes flicked from the dog's -(no, he can't possibly be judgmental that's just your imagination, Donnie) - face down to the jingling tags before he hesitantly reached out to have a better look at them as though half expecting it to be a lick trap.

His other expectations were at least confirmed once he got a glimpse of what was on the tags. He blinked at the dog. "Huh, you are Pongo! I bet Archie'll be happy to see you!"

[contocricket]

Pongo's tail started wagging excitedly as he gave an eager, closed-mouth "woof". Yes! Good old Archie, telling others to keep an eye out for him!

He shifted from side to side, not looking to jump up on the not-human but itching to get moving to find his pet.

[purplexing]

The anxious movement from the dog wasn't really reassuring Donnie, but he figured the dog was probably eager to find his human. He gave Pongo a pat on the head that clearly suggested he was unused to doing such things.

"Okay, okay, just um...calm down, huh buddy? Let's hope Archie's number still works around here after all."

Donnie pulled out his phone, glancing at the tags again as he tapped the numbers in to dial.

[contocricket]

Perhaps the multiverse had some sense of mercy, for it was Archie who picked up the phone.

"This is Archie Hopper. How can I help you?"

Long-ingrained habit since most of the calls to his cellphone were from patients.

[purplexing]

Donnie breathed out a laugh. "Well, that makes this easier. Hey Archie, it's Donnie. Got someone here who might want to say hi."

He put the phone on speaker and held it out towards Pongo. "And no drooling on my phone."

[contocricket]

"Hi, Donnie." He paused in confusion. "Drool?"

Pongo tilted his head, considering. He knew enough about these things to know if he barked too loud, he'd blow out Archie's eardrum. He huffed into the phone.

Archie's eyes went wide at the doggy noise, him snapping fully upright in the chair of the room's desk. He swore as he caught one of the wings again.

"Pongo?"

The Dalmatian gave a closed-mouth "woof", tail wagging.

Archie got up more carefully from the chair, going to grab his wallet and room key. "Donnie, where did you find him?!"

[purplexing]

"He actually found me," Donnie explained, giving Pongo a grin. "Guess he figured we were mutual acquaintances. Not sure how long he's been wandering but he looks okay so far as I can tell."

He gave the dalmatian a once over regardless, but at least one thing was for sure, Pongo was eager to get back to Archie. "You at the Diadem? I think we're about several blocks south. Um, let me check to make sure..."

Nudging back the sleeve on his left arm, he somehow called up the holographic projection of a screen just above it. At least he was well-acquainted with his own tech enough to navigate it without too much effort of his Confluence-gained abilities. His eyes might have glowed a brief violet, but soon enough a city map was brought up.

[contocricket]

"I am. Heading down to the lobby." He pushed the button to call the elevator. "I don't suppose he has his leash on him?"

He didn't know what the leash laws were in Central, but he'd rather not start off on the wrong foot.

[purplexing]

"Yep, several blocks. We can probably meet you half way."

So much for coffee, but maybe there'd be something along the way. Donnie blinked before looking back at Pongo. Good question. Leash?

"Uh..."

[contocricket]

Pongo looked pointedly at the empty ground beside him before looking back up at Donnie with a clear "do you see a leash?" look.

"I'm going to take that as a 'no'," Archie said in response to Donnie's "uhhh". "Meeting up sounds good. Do you drink coffee? My treat. Least I can do."

[purplexing]

"Riiight. Well, so long as he doesn't go wandering off we should be fine." Donnie'd never walked a dog in his life anyway so he wasn't sure what one was supposed to do other than hang on. That didn't sound appealing in his book. But Pongo looked perfectly capable of walking himself.

The turtle however brightened at the offer. "Well who am I to turn down free coffee?"

[contocricket]

"If he's actually as smart as I think he is, he should be able to stick close enough to you without making it obvious he doesn't have a leash." He paused. "You hear that all right, Pongo?"

Pongo gave another closed-mouth "woof", tail wagging.

"Great." Archie's smile was obvious. "I think I saw somewhere I can grab a leash at on my way to the coffee shop just south of the Diadem. Does that work for you?"

[purplexing]

Donnie grinned at Pongo. "All right, sounds good. We'll start heading that way then. See you soon, Archie."

He pointed on the map for Pongo to see.

"We are here, and Archie's over here at the Diadem Hotel. Which will be...that way," he said as he looked around to make sure he had his directions right. "Ready to go, Pongo?"

Gonna be a bit slow. My wifi router decided to kick the bucket.

[contocricket]

Pongo barked his assent, standing up and moving to Donnie's side in a "heel" so perfect that any dog show judge would weep. He looked up at Donnie expectantly. The not-human knew where they were going, after all.

nuuooooo not the wifi!!

[purplexing]

Okay Archie, your dog is awesome. "Heh! Well, I'll take that as an affirmative. Just act cool, nothing to see here. We're just a normal kid and dog out for a walk."

Donnie tucked his phone away, giving Pongo a nod before he started down the street.

I know. Gonna have spotty wifi until Thursday o.o

[contocricket]

Pongo followed along, matching his pace the whole way and staying close enough that it isn't immediately noticeable that he doesn't have a leash. Even when another dog barks at him, he simply ignores it and continues on with his temporary pet.

Oof

[purplexing]

Being what he was, Donnie would like to think that he'd graduated from pet status. He jumped slightly at the barking from the other dog. His response to loud noises was still something he was trying to get a handle back on, especially living in a city. Ugh, stupid magic rooms.

At least the other dog was on a leash and Pongo apparently knew better than to answer back. Definitely moving on up on Donnie's list of favorite dogs. Then again his experience with other animals was very minimal, Mayhem being about the only other regular and they weren't even quite sure what he was.

[contocricket]

Donnie, who did you think was the owner in Pongo and Archie's situation?

At Donnie's jump, Pongo immediately moved a bit closer so that Donnie could rest his hand on him. Something to steady the not-human and keep him from getting too spooked.

[purplexing]

Was that a trick question?

It took Donnie a moment to realize what Pongo was doing. He wasn't used to this sort of thing, after all, much less physical contact. This was different though, an open invitation, an option. He'd read that dogs could be pretty sensitive to people, but it was still kind of amazing to see in person.

He smiled weakly, gently setting a hand on Pongo's head. "Thanks pal."

[contocricket]

Pongo wagged his tail, giving a soft huff of acknowledgement. Perhaps when they met up with Archie, he could place his head in Donnie's lap to help him relax.

Speaking of Archie, he was waiting outside of the cafe, looking up and down the sidewalk in a mix of anxiety and anticipation. His wings buzzed every so often, causing some people to jump and for Archie to apologize profusely.

[purplexing]

Were all dogs like this? Well no, Donnie knew the answer to that, having helped build a new puppy paradise for Todd's assortment when he and his brother had been sent to repo the guy's RV.

"Hey, there he is," he grinned, catching sight of Archie once they got closer to the cafe. Guess the wings had grown out. He could see how difficult they would be to try keeping under wraps.