"The animals," she quietly, holding open the gate for him. *** He sat down in front of her, wagging his tail. *** He stood up the mattress, holding it steady.
He slipped through, his hair getting caught slightly. He reached up to detangle it, raising an eyebrow. * * * "What a good boy," she gushed, scratching between his ears. "What a dog! Hello, sir!" * * * She stabbed the mattress swiftly, drawing a line down it quickly.
Blaise went to help, her fingers gentle as she untangled. *** He barked quietly, apparently trained to keep his voice down. *** He watched curiously, keeping it still.
He blinked, looking down at her in surprise. A slow smile crossed his mouth. "Thanks." * * * "Yes, that's correct. You're a very good dog." * * * She reached in, working with the springs before yelping in surprise. She pulled her finger out and it was cut from the springs. She frowned, squinting at it.
She nodded, stepping back. "You're free," she teased lowly. "Let's go." *** He licked her face, jumping on her. *** He blinked, looking at her. "Are you okay? You're bleeding."
He nodded, following her and looking around eagerly. * ** She laughed out loud, falling backwards and blocking the dog's tongue with her hand as gently as she could. "Gah! Cody!" * * * She stuck her finger in her mouth, frowning. "I'm fine. Give me a second," she muttered, reaching inside again.
She kept walking, looking around. In the distance, they could see something tall eating leaves.. *** He seemed excited, surrounding her playfully. *** He frowned. "Let me help after."
He blinked, stopping in his tracks. "Is that a *squee!*ing giraffe?" * * * "Good boy," she cooed, looking up at the dog. "C'mere, Cody!" * * * "It's really not a big deal-" she began before being cut off by Emerson. "She doesn't need your help," he interjected. "God knows Lucy knows how to take care of herself."
She squinted, shading her eyes. "I think so.. Let's go look!" *** He jumped at her playfully again. *** Jaz looked over quietly. "You know, Rory makes it sound like you're better mannered than you actually are."
He laughed out loud, moving forward. "Jesus. It's huge!" * * * She kissed his cheek, scratching under his jaw again. "What a good boy!" * * * His gaze flickered over to Jaz and he glared. "I'm decent to people who deserve it," he replied flatly.
She grinned, starting towards it excitedly. *** He licked her face excitedly as Dion returned. "I'm ready when you are." *** He shrugged slightly. "We've given you shelter. No harms been done. I don't see what's wrong."
He followed her, his long pace moving him forward quickly. * * * She was laughing deeply, cupping Cody's jaw in her hands. "Dion! I love him!" * * * "You are not the problem I have, Jaz," he said icily. Lucy squinted at him before turning her back, resuming her work on the mattress.
She seemed excited, slowing as they approached. It didn't seem to mind them, eating the leaves peacefully. *** He laughed softly, looking down at her. "Yeah.. I can tell." *** He quieted. He didn't seem too bothered, watching Lucy work.
He tipped his head back, watching it. "That's so cool. We should call it Barb." * * * She didn't notice, too distracted by Cody to look at him. She was scratching his back enthusiastically. "What a good boy!" * * * She pulled her hand out, nodding to herself. "Could you bring the mattress down now, please?"
She looked over at him with a grin. "That's a good name. Should we keep looking around?" *** He nodded, offering his hand. "Want to head back to the camp?" *** He set the bed down gently.
"Yeah," he said with a nod, taking one last look at Barb. "Let's go." * * * She looked down at it in surprise before taking it, pulling herself up, bringing herself face-to-face with him. "Thanks." * * * "Great. Now we just sew it up," she said, sitting on the edge and beginning to stitch it up.
She nodded, continuing brighly. *** "Sure," he said, heading towards the exit. "Let's go." *** "I don't know how.."
He followed her, still looking back at Barb. "What other animals are in here?" * * * She followed him, looking back at Cody and giving him a small wave. * * * She looked up at him before patting the edge. "Here. I'll show you."
They passed a large building labelled 'Aquarium'. "I'm not sure. I think I saw zebras, once." *** He tilted his head at her, his tail wagging. *** He pursed his lips, going to look.
"Zebras? Those are the black and white horses, right?" he asked her, looking over at her. * * * She beamed before turning back to Dion. "I love Cody," she informed him. * * * Her deft fingers quickly sewed up the hole. "See how that works? Under and then over. Like that."
