Complete Private The Act of Repetition

[Elesis Blackstone]

Something about the way he repeated her words made her fluster with embarassment, moreso with the small lapse of time between that and his nod. His smile helped her pick up the extrovert energy of today, influenced by caffeine and a passion topic.

"They may not live as long as we do, but I make sure they enjoy every second of it. I guess you can say I have a soft spot for animals in general." Half-smile covered her lips. "And trust me, it's hard to forget a single one of them." In her case at least. Working with pets meant she had reminders coming her way in a daily basis, but the sad memories had long turned into sweetness.

When Brian finally surrendered Mia rised her smug-dripping smile and aimed a deadly finger gun back at him, the gun lowering just as soon as he made the most powerful promise of crossing his chest for a promise. "Good because I ran out of ammo." She giggled.

Her laptop ended over the counter, closed, as the topic at hand was far more interesting than any of the mails she was on the receiving end right now.

"Blueberries are good for memory, I heard." Mia dropped the fact in a most innocent way to let grandpa Brian find the means to tackle his memory issues. "Big dogs or small dogs, it doesn't matter the type. It's how you raise them. Just like humans." One of the topics that usually made her hesitant to add details to not upset herself over them-- Not everyone raised a dog with the care they deserved.

She couldn't ignore it, but neither did it do any good to remind herself bad people hurt dogs on a daily basis, less so with her mind going faster than usual with a second coffee cup in her.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Brian nodded at Mia's words. "I noticed. It did bring a side of you that I didn't know that exist." He shrugged, but then paused and frowned at his own words. "Not that I know you well at all... Yet." Brian chuckled, then remaining pensive for a moment. There was a hint of bittersweetness on how hard it was to forget them, with the good old quote of 'don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened'.

It was never that simple though.

Brian lowered his arms when the fingerguns were taken away. "Lucky me, it is too early in the week to get shot like that." He said, then feigned squinted at her suggestion regarding blueberries. "They are. Fish in general too." He responded, just to push away the implications, just like he was pushing away anything on the counter so Mia could rest her belongings on it.

"I see, so the breed doesn't matter that much?" Brian had read differently, but theory was different from practice... And he wasn't going to doubt the practice of a woman that took care of over ten dogs per day, especially when the only experience of 'taking care' of anything, was only taking care of himself.

@Elesis Blackstone

 

[Elesis Blackstone]

"E-eh?!" Her confusion had to make itself known, palpable even as he spoke of a side of hers that, of course wouldn't be very visible if she didn't open it up to others in the first place. The irrational shock just dying off when he explained so. "Oh... Uhm, but now you know!" She smiled as best as she could. Positiveness rubbed off they say. That was her best quality. But was there more to 'Mia' than this? If anything, maybe Brian would find out and let her know if she is more interesting than this.

"Heh. It's okay, I had safety on." She wiggled her finger gun one last time at him. If he had gotten a bad impression from her words or not slipped from one ear to another, meeting them with a squeaky giggle. "Oooh, didn't think of you as a fish person. Any favourites?" Perhaps she could roundabout her street and see if there's any nearby restaurants who had these. Nothing like lunch to make friends, or food in general.

But that mindset got pushed aside as the topic at matter returned, and the question caught a frown on her features, less so annoyed and moreso rough against her own lack of foresight for this one. "All dogs can be aggressive or not. Some more than others, but it's all about how you interact with them and what they are exposed to. Socialization is very important for them, they feel just like we do, you know?"

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

The initial shock from the girl made Brian raise an eyebrow, and her recovery came with a sentence he couldn't entirely agree on. "Kinda. People always have cards under their sleeves that they only show later." Brian smiled softly, "But hey, the fun part is to find out things at the right time." He shrugged, tapping his chin as he considered her question.

"Salmon and tilapias are pretty good. The former has a very unique taste and works perfectly for Japanese cuisine, and the latter goes well for more rustic recipes. Nothing goes better than a portion of breaded tilapia with a bowl of parma rosa sauce and a beautiful beach sight and breeze." It was rather specific, but honestly he loved specific scenarios, and that one in particular was one he had experienced times enough to consider it one of his favorites.

"Hmm, I get it, I get it... I will do my best to make them socialize plenty then. Let them make fellow dog friends and some human friends too." He did watch a few times in the television, about how some dogs were locked in their homes for so long, that they developed a severe anti-social behavior.

He sure wouldn't want it to happen to his own.

@Elesis Blackstone

 

[Elesis Blackstone]

It left her thoughtful to try and see it the same way once Brian put it in perspective. "So you have cards under your sleeves?" A genuine question out of her. "The right time just means we have to keep meeting up!" A cheerful smile once she alone managed to clear that doubt. Only for them to move into a far more exciting experience: Food.

And as it stands, he is a chef, so she couldn't piece it together that well that this is a common occurrence for him, and rather a professional's example, being detailed enough for an amateur like herself.

"Last night I actually seasoned some salmon with furikake... Obviously I served it with rice and cabbage." She nodded. Couldn't forget the 'obviously'. Just salmon and furikake sounded boring in her head. "I'm trying new recipes though since I'm trying to keep a diet." The last she wanted was Yara to be up to her throat about it again. But that's how she started in the first place. A little shove and here she was. Thinking about it made her not miss the days of extra pounds.

A pleased smile warmed up her features once the lesson had been successfuly drilled in his head. It was the most important afterall, and while a tingle of guilt riddled her just then, she rather be safe than sorry, just like now with her laptop, making sure to keep it elevated with it's base.

"Is this your first pet, Brian? I'm shocked if that's the case. I can't imagine not having a dog or a cat as a kid." Despite that being... Exactly what happened to her. Dad was never fond of animals given his allergies. But that didn't stop her from adopting every street dog around the block and hand-feed them.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Brian smirked at the question. "Maybe I do." He leaned on the counter, with a grin growing on his lips. "More reasons for us to meet, right?" He chuckled, happy to see how willing Mia seemed to be on meeting up. She was far more social than he gave her credit for, and he hoped he could make her have a fun time with it.

"Salmon with furikake? That's a good combination. Simple and effective." Brian said. Cooking fish was fairly easy, and condiments were also easy to deal with, when they were inherently good. There was truly no secret to make a good fish with furikake. "A diet huh? I will keep it in mind then. If we will keep meeting up, it will be important for me to know where are your limits." He said. "You are wanting to meet up a chef, after all." He slipped a small hint, before pondernig for a moment.

"Yeah, that would be my first pet. My mom wasn't really the type to have pets." Brian shrugged before adding:

"She always said that in the end, the responsibility of taking care of it would fall on her."

@Elesis Blackstone

 

[Elesis Blackstone]

Her lips pursed just as the chef tried to play sly with her, huffing playfully while he laughed, as if to collect herself before a reply after being disarmed with one. "I just need two reasons reasons to keep meeting someone. If they are nice with me and aren't any weirder than I am, then that's all! Oh, and if they like pets that's a plus." She added, obviously downplaying the last part which in some cases turned to a real 'meet-up while having your pet around' moment. But that was all on paper for her only.

"I don't like complex dishes. Simple ones are nice and I can learn something new with each. I like cooking for the fun of it too." She explained it to the best of her abilities. She's gotten better at it- Explaining it, that is. "Oh so wait you are the actual chef and not just cosplaying one?! Oh gods I'm so sorry!" Her voice quivered a little, fingers interlocking together against her bossom once stress made her mind run a million times per second.

The sad reality Brian lived at home however, it snapped her out of it, if only to make her eyes drop a little to what answer he's gotten as a child. It almost felt too close at home for her own taste, even if reasonings differed a little. "W-well you don't have to worry about that anymore. I also didn't get to have a pet as a kid, but now I do, so you can do the same too and have one or five if you'd like. So long as you can take care of them all." Her tone picked up in strength despite holding newfound melancholy over the past, her frown almost holding certainty over what she thought.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Brian chuckled at Mia's feigning reactions. "You say that as if I ain't too much of a weirdo, but you may be wrong, buddy." He said. "But lucky me, since I think I fit every bill." Or at least he hoped he did.

With an understanding nod, he acknowledged what Mia explained about her tastes, and he nodded. "Cooking don't need to be complex to be fun or tasty. I personally like having a bit of everything tho." Brian smirked, knowing he was a big glutton, even if he was rather slender. He couldn't help, however, to frown playfully. "Are you telling me I don't look like an actual chef, just a cosplayer? Hah. I will show you someday how much of a chef I am." He huffed proudly.

"Sure. Let's take a good care of them together then, right?" Brian smiled encouragingly, until the bells of the entrance door jingled, and a big group of customers showed up. There was a small pang of sadness tingling his chest, as he wished they had a bit longer to talk. But they would solve that in the following day.

"Okay, these guys always make our kitchen busy." Brian said, looking at the customers and then back at Mia, pulling his phone out and sliding it close to her, with his phone number showing on the screen. "Feel free to call me later, so we can check where we can meet up to go for the adoption." He explained. "And well... It was great to finally talk to ya, Mia." Brian said, showing a warm smile.

@Elesis Blackstone

 

[Elesis Blackstone]

"N-not weirder than me I suppose!" She puffed her cheeks, but since when this was a 'weirdo' competition..? "I think so too. I mean, dressing up as a chef is plenty weird and funny to me." She added, but not so sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not, now that she had the benefit of two second hindsight.

Which followed with both a word of truth, a perasonal taste, and a reprimend of sorts as he frowned, a yelp escaping her lips. "Nonono I think you look like a real chef!" Already had like five or six different arguments to justify her innocence, but his comical huffing finally let her peanut brain catch up to the fact he was teasing her.

"Right! There's a lot about pet caring I need to tell you about." Mia was ready to do that riiight now, but it wasn't the time it seemed, as Brian pointed out to the customers with no more than a glance. It all happened so fast, and before she could piece it together that time flew, he had let his phone number laid in display for her.

Sheepishly, Mia took a picture of it. Her fingers always slipped when she got this skittish, so she opted for the faster option. "Yea-yeah! I'll... Come back tomorrow like usual. But I'll send you pictures and stuff if I drop by one of the centers!" She wanted to bit her tongue right now. What was she even saying?!

It had to be that compliment. The one that caught her off guard and left her waving back at him like a shy high-schooler to their newfound friend. "I'll talk to you again." She reassured him just as she got herself off the stool and picked up her bag and laptop alike.

"See... See you tomorrow!" She picked up her bravado to call him out one last time before pushing past the door and letting the bell ring one last time.

@Hanno Futaba