002; voice

[ifnotloyal]

[ A whole month and one enjoyable beach trip later, Ace is finally crawling out from hiding under whatever bed he'd been sulking under (quite literally, actually). It's about time to figure out what he should do next after the catastrophe in De Chima and so... ]

This might be a weird question, but what kind of work is out there for a dog?

[ Or should he be a little more specific? ]

An imPort dog, not a regular one. I mean, I do sort of still have my old job, but I'm starting to think they're going to leave me suspended for a lot longer and it's getting a little dull.

[ Sure, playing regular household pet dog is fun, but he'd stopped being one of those even before ending up in Heropa. ]

Comments

[ifnotloyal]

You know, there's a good reason I only use the voice option on this thing, because, no, I can't read.

[ Your squiggly lines on paper and screens mean nothiiiiing. ]

And I don't need buttons. Most people use the physical comm they get, but all I ended up doing with mine was burying it. There's a back-up connected to our tattoos, one that's used... mentally?

[ He's not entirely sure, since, like reading, science is another difficulty. ]

[hydraated]

[There's a back up connected with the tattoos that's used mentally.

Suddenly the dog is ...well the dog is still pretty gosh darn important but it's not nearly as important as that until he learns more because did he miss that? He must have missed that]

So you think about it and use it?

[ifnotloyal]

Pretty much. It takes a little while to get the hang of it, but it works.

[hydraated]

...can you talk to other dogs and translate what they say?

[not "would you feel comfortable" doing so.]

[ifnotloyal]

Not with words, no. I can't really talk with other animals anymore.

[hydraated]

[damn. as a dog trainer...a terrible one but still. That would have been great.

There's something sad about that. Ward remembers being different, feeling different due to outside influences.]

...Do you miss that?

[Do dogs have feelings this is important. Why he can't say (Buddy the dog), He just knows that he needs to hear it (He was just a dog, the fact that he might have been able to talk, or brought here, or show up here is disturbing. Disconcerting.)

That's what makes him snap back. The thought of being able to communicate telepathically or them having something embedded in him is one thing but this..]

...Talking to this guy like he's a dog....

[ifnotloyal]

[ Does he?

There's a drawn out silence on Ace's end of the conversation while he thinks it over. There are plenty of humans to talk with, so there is that, but in the end? It just isn't the same. Few conversations go by where he isn't scrambling to make sense of one odd thing or another that's been said. ]

I do, a lot. [ Even if there's at least one other around who he can talk with, but that's a pretty small pool of animal buddies to choose from. ] But it isn't the only way to communicate, so I work with what I can.

[ Body language, scents, there's a ton of non-verbal cues to work off of. ]

And you're talking to me like I'm a dog because I am a dog...

[ Wait, scratch that. ]

Though I guess talking to a dog who can talk is about the same as talking to a human.

[hydraated]

[Ward has a high tolerance for bullshit, not to mention the strange and unusual but a talking dog hits a level that's unusual to say the least.

Really it just drives home the point that he's been off his game since arriving, he's been pegged as some kind of a monster.

He suddenly hates his job. Violently. No more dogs, no more animals, none of that. It just reinforces the idea that he needs to shut down. That's it he has to shut down.]

...Is it? I mean you don't watch movies right? Or talk about sports or art-unless you do?

Do you?

[Jesus did Buddy have thoughts? Feelings? thoughts beyond "Hey Ward can you give me your sandwich? Hey Ward are we gonna eat today? Hey Grant Ward is John gonna come back soon because he owned me first and you should stop being sad all the time because he's not? Hey Ward life's hard but it's okay because I'm here.

Ward's features are impassive but there's a look of longing in his gaze, a look of loss and confusion in his gaze. Subtle human emotions.]

Do all dogs?

[ifnotloyal]

I watch movies and sports when that's what everyone else is watching, if that counts.

[ Although he usually needs a lot explained to him, so he's not so sure it does. ]

Though, no, I don't really talk about any of that. We don't really have sports or a lot of art in our own culture.

[ Which, now that he thinks of it, he's never really tried to explain to anyone before. Human things and dog things didn't really cross the species gap too often, aside from, say, the happiness of being around each other and a passion for all kinds of food (especially ones they shouldn't have). ]

[hydraated]

[This is absolutely fascinating.]

Prove it. I mean honestly can you bark?

[ifnotloyal]

[ Ace considers it, he honestly does, but in the end, there's something fur-ruffling about the request. It's not like he ever asks for human sounds to prove someone's a human, right? ]

Sorry. Barking on command isn't a trick of mine. If you spend enough time around the Heropa neighborhood, though, I'm sure you'll run into me in person sooner or later.

[hydraated]

...I hope we do.

[There's sincerity there. Also he's curious. Really curious.]

[ifnotloyal]

So do I.

[ Likewise. Ace generally enjoyed meeting new people, regardless of if they believed him or not. ]