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Post by Briar on Jun 10, 2021 14:10:50 GMT -6
SMT Smooth Talker x Flamestone's Dodged a Bullet 1/3 Breedings for Patronne 0/3 Breedings for Matronne (Loki's)
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Post by Briar on Jun 10, 2021 14:14:57 GMT -6
Briar didn't expect for Loki to end up becoming so popular. ... Maybe 'popular' was a strong word for what this was. Briar certainly had no real frame of reference for qualifying something so nebulous as popularity. But Briar also didn't really expect to have the occasion to take Loki back to the breeding centre again, least of all with a different individual than he had agreed to meet with last time. But that was a good thing, he thought - or at least it was in his mind, anyway, since a stranger he met just the once was unlikely to have any real reason to remember him. Someone he met more often might form more ideas about who he was, might remember enough of him to pass on to some other interested party who asked about the matter. Someone who knew enough details might start to ask questions. Fortunately, manners made this sort of thing uncommon between strangers. Lately Briar found himself relying on this more and more.
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Post by Kadin on Jun 10, 2021 19:48:30 GMT -6
Sometimes Kadin stopped to think about his life and his choices. Sometimes he stopped and tried to examine why it seemed as if he only went between a handful of places in the labs, constantly busy and moving, and never let himself think about anything else. Sometimes he wondered about the gaps in his memories and even considered trying to walk some of the streets he hadn't even been to yet, despite being here for a little while now. Sometimes he even thought about asking Mori about the things he didn't want to talk about. Today was not one of those days. Today was a day where Kadin was, once again, back at the breeding center with a houluh in tow. He'd answered an ad that had another high white, red houluh up for a breeding and thought, well. Why the fuck not? Dodge hadn't been bred yet. Might as well go with something that was close to her genetically so he'd be reasonably sure what they'd throw. And that's how he found himself walking up to the doors of the breeding center, yet again, and would likely be walking home with a puppy, yet again, to continue his apparent quest to make his kennel look like an animal hoarder's wet dream.
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Post by Briar on Jun 10, 2021 22:27:32 GMT -6
It still made Briar feel uneasy to be walking about in the city. Before his old master's house burned down, he had never been allowed off the grounds. There was no sense to his unease; he had been no safer within the confines of the property than he had been off it. But at least he knew what to expect when he was there, knew the rules and how to work them. Here he was a flighty stranger, and if he wasn't careful, even that discomfort might draw attention. He walked briskly, and Loki trotted alongside him, keeping another keen eye out for anything that might pose a threat.
He breathed a sigh of relief as the building came within view. He slowed his approach, scoping out the area first, to see if he could spot any sign of the other party that they were supposed to meet - the one bringing the other half of the pair.
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Post by Kadin on Jun 16, 2021 7:17:27 GMT -6
Kadin stopped outside the breeding center before he went in, looking around curiously to see if there was anyone else lurking around with a dog at their side. When he didn't see anyone in the immediate area, he just shrugged to himself and tugged open the door, telling Dodge to head through first. He figured that if he didn't meet him outside, he'd probably meet him inside. At least this way Kadin could get started on the paperwork and be ready once the other guy showed up. He walked through the doors after his houluh and looked around- yup. No one in here who looked like they were waiting for him. Not that it really mattered, he wasn't going to worry himself about it just yet. Instead, Kadin went over to the counter, Dodge at his side at a heel, and asked for the paperwork he'd need to head into the room once his partner showed up.
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Post by Briar on Jun 17, 2021 19:28:41 GMT -6
What Briar managed to catch sight of was a figure entering the building, with a Houluh at their side. He wasn't close enough - or fast enough, as the case may be - to make out any more details about the person, and given the location, it was possible that they were here for a breeding with someone else... But the timing was close enough that he thought he had better head inside and check anyway.
He pushed the door open slightly, peering inside. There was a man speaking to the counter, and there didn't look to be anyone else with him. The Houluh also more or less matched the description Briar had, so he stepped all the way inside. Loki followed, alert despite having come here before; he didn't know these people, though the fact that Briar wasn't reacting was keeping him calm... for now. Still, he kept an eye on both these strangers, just in case.
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Post by Kadin on Jun 18, 2021 20:47:48 GMT -6
Ah, paperwork. For an area that seemed to get a regular influx of illiterate newcomers, there sure was a fuckton of paperwork that was expected of the general populace for a lot of basic functions of this place. Kadin vaguely wondered if there were any services in place for the people who just straight up didn't know how to read or write. Especially those who could read or write in common. Were there universal translator devices the owners of these places could use? Who the fuck knows.
Kadin eventually surfaced from his unnecessarily deep dive into paperwork to finally slide said paperwork over and look around the center again. Someone had entered while he was filling out the forms and he was relieved to see that it looked like it might finally be his breeding partner. Kadin glanced at the dog, figuring that looked about right from the advertisement, and nodded to the owner. Dodge stayed by his side, surveying both newcomers with a curious look and slowly wagging tail. She'd never met anyone outside her kennel before and wasn't sure what to make of them, but right now she was more on the side of curious and excited.
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Post by Briar on Jun 18, 2021 21:05:51 GMT -6
Briar tensed as soon as the man with the other Houluh looked his way, bracing himself for... Honestly, at this point he wasn't even sure what. A barrage of words, maybe, if nothing else. The other people that he had met here had been fairly chatty themselves. He was surprised, therefore, when the man greeted him with just a nod.
Cautiously, Briar nodded back. He couldn't really avoid the matter any further so... With a glance down, he braced himself, took a small breath and raised his hands to start signing. -Kadin?- That was the name he had - he was fairly sure, anyway.
Now that Loki could see that the other Houluh was friendly, and that Briar wasn't actively on edge - more than he usually was, anyway - he relaxed a little, and let his tail wag once. Loki was still at Briar's side, guarding him, but he seemed mildly curious about the strangers now.
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Post by Kadin on Jun 18, 2021 21:14:28 GMT -6
Well, it was a bit of a relief that this guy wasn't going to be talking his head off the moment they met each other. He seemed tense, for whatever reason, but that was fine. Kadin could work with that. A quick, quiet trip to the breeding center, and he could get back to his day.
His relief was pretty short-lived when the guy started talking with his hands and Kadin could only watch in initial confusion that quickly morphed into... what? Dismay? Not really. It was a bit uncomfortable, he felt a bit bad that- he- He knew what signing was. He'd seen people using it before. He'd just never learn himself and, well. Shit. This really was gonna be a quiet day. Was he supposed to feel bad about thinking that now?
"Uh, sorry. I don't understand sign." Kadin said, a bit awkwardly. "I'm Kadin, you're Briar?" He sure fucking hoped so.
Dodge seemed to relax with the mild tension in the room, taking a small step forward to further greet the newcomers before being warned quickly by Kadin not to leave his side. She glanced up at him and stepped back into her heel, but kept looking at Loki with her tail wagging faster, now, clearly friendly.
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Post by Briar on Jun 19, 2021 11:19:22 GMT -6
Briar definitely recognized the expressions that crossed Kadin's face. The shopkeepers all knew sign, but it wasn't necessarily something that other people picked up if they didn't need to; and there wasn't enough of a mute or deaf community, as far as Briar knew, to make it a necessity for most.
He didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed. It wasn't as if he was eager to have conversation with someone in a place like this, but not being able to communicate at all except through pantomime would make it frustrating if there was something he had to convey.
He nodded an answer to Kadin's question, then turned to the counter as a thought occurred to him. He signed to ask the woman there for some spare paper, and to borrow a clipboard and pen for a bit. Scrawling on it, he turned it to face Kadin: if i have to say something, i'll use this
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Post by Kadin on Jun 19, 2021 14:31:56 GMT -6
Yeah, this was a bit awkward. Kadin briefly wondered if it'd be a good idea for him to learn how to sign later. On one hand, this was the only person he'd come across here who actually knew it. It'd probably be just useless information if he were to learn it. On the other hand, it might be useful for training his pets. Or if he was ever in a battle where he didn't want the opponent to know what he was ordering. But why learn sign when he could just do the same thing with a ribbon?
It was a bit of a relief when Briar got the paper to write on. Kadin nodded once he read over the words, saying, "That works," although he couldn't think of what they'd even talk about even if they did communicate the same way. Once that was all sorted Kadin directed his attention to the women behind the counter, too, to confirm their room number. Once she gave it to him, he thanked her and turned back to Briar. "You ready?"
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Post by Briar on Jun 19, 2021 14:38:18 GMT -6
Kadin accepted the arrangement easily, without any fuss on his part. He looked... what? Guilty? Briar was never quite sure, since he didn't spend a lot of time with other people if he could help it, but he had seen the expression more often since he had freed himself from the family that had kept him.
It might have been guilt, and it might have been pity, but either way he found it generally didn't do him any good, besides maybe giving people some incentive to avoid him. But at least Kadin was to the point when it came to their arrangements, and Briar didn't need to do more than nod. There wasn't much to prepare, other than the paperwork and the... the Houluh. And clearly they had both brought their Houluh, neither of whom were at each other's throats, so clearly there were no issues on that front either.
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Post by Kadin on Jun 19, 2021 14:47:52 GMT -6
Well, looks like they were all set. With the go ahead from Briar, Kadin nodded and headed down the hallway to their room. There wasn't much else to be said about it, really, and Briar wasn't going to say anything Kadin was going to understand about it anyway. So he just did the next logical thing and headed down the hallway. Dodge, as expected, stayed at a heel by his side while they went down the hallway, which was to be expected. She was pretty well trained, considering he hadn't worked with her in a while, and he was looking forward to seeing what pups she did end up producing. Once he reached the room he opened the door and had Dodge go in first, then he waited to make sure Briar and his houluh made it alright. He'd let them go in first and then go in himself, probably, unless Briar had any objections to that.
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Post by Briar on Jun 19, 2021 14:57:17 GMT -6
Despite the fact that Kadin didn't know sign, it turned out that they weren't really impeded as much as Briar might expect in terms of communication. Kadin didn't seem the type to say much or ask many questions, and the ones he had asked were all yes-no answers. And Briar wasn't deaf, nor did he have much to say himself, so the clipboard and pen didn't see much use after all.
He decided in the end that he was relieved more than anything. It was nice not to have to concern himself with the possibility of someone prying into his affairs. He wasn't a talented liar, and anyway he didn't much like to discuss himself.
He followed Kadin down the hall and to the room. Loki took a bit more ushering to get him to go in, but Briar managed it in the end without too much trouble, as Loki had been here once before.
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Post by Kadin on Jun 24, 2021 15:10:15 GMT -6
Once it seemed like everyone was going in the right direction, Kadin headed into the room, too. It'd probably be easier, now that they were in here, since they could just sit around and watch the dogs until it was time to leave. Kadin headed over to some of the chairs that were set up in the room and sat down, figuring that he might as well rest while he could. They probably wouldn't be here too long, both the dogs seemed friendly enough, and Briar didn't seem like the type of person to try and extend this encounter by talking about random crap. Kadin sort of wondered if he should help fill some of the silence, but he didn't feel particularly moved to. It's not like they could communicate that easily anyway.
Dodge, of course, was overjoyed to be let loose in the room. She made a beeline towards the pile of toys in the corner and started to look for one to play with.
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