cactusy | IC contact for lastvoyages

[ There's some clattering noises as soon as she knocks, and shortly after Will opens the door and Jet dashes out. At first he runs past Shaw, but quickly circles back around because new human. He prances around her, tail wagging and panting.

Will doesn't call him back, because he knows what a dog person Shaw is by now. Instead, he grins at her. Winston stays back a couple of feet, letting Jet meet this new friend of theirs. ]

Energetic, isn't he?

Not that silly.

[She says, with a shrug.]

It's not my thing, not by a long shot, but it's not like it's a foreign concept.

Do you go for runs with him?

[She asks, kneeling down so that she can properly scruff at Jet's neck, murmuring Hey, buddy under her breath.]

I haven't forgotten about you.

[She adds to Winston, holding a hand out and wiggling her fingers at him.]

Yeah. Although he tends to lap me. But he doesn't seem to mind.

[ Jet can hardly contain his excitement, but he's been taught not to jump up. So he just pretty much vibrates with happiness, his tail wagging everywhere as he snuffles lightly at Shaw's arms and face.

Winston takes the cue with a light 'ruff' and comes over for pets. His tail wag is a little less fast, but no less happy she's here. ]

Winston's been doing okay by himself, but he's really better off when he's not alone. He's the type that needs a pack to lead and take care of. So this'll be good for him, too.

Oh, you're a squad leader, huh?

[She sure is talking directly to Winston now, giving him a smile.]

Is his work impressive?

It kind of is to me, but so are most relationships.

[A foreign concept, that is.]

I'm obviously not meant for them and wouldn't have even considered trying one with anyone else. Claudia was an exception, and there will never be anyone like her again.

Do you feel the same about Root?

[ Winston barks in response to her question, because it was pointed at him. Will laughs. ]

He even keeps Buster in line, most of the time. That's the Jack Russell mix. The little ones are always the most...adventurous.

[ Jet, meanwhile, rubs his head under Shaw's hand and nips at her sleeve a bit just to make sure she doesn't forget he's there. Will frowns a little. ]

Hey, come on- [ He points at Jet and gets the dog's attention. ] No clothes. You know that.

[Shaw flinches just a little, as if she's been pricked by a pin. She feels it like a pinprick too, smarting at her skin.]

Pretty much.

[She says it flatly; dully.]

[It's just a t-shirt, and she doesn't really care, but she gets that saying so goes against the point of dog-training, so she dutifully rescues her sleeve from Jet's loose grip, giving him a stern look.]

Nee-- uh, no.

[All of Bear's commands had been in Dutch, and old habits die hard.]

How long have you had this guy?

[ The dog does take instruction, if a little reticently, backing up about half a doggy-step so he's not so in Shaw's face. He breaks into a pant, though, looking like a happy little smile. He's a good dog, really! ]

Oh, he showed up about a year before Winston. That's... [ Between everything that happened (the illness, incarceration, etc), Will's sort of blanking on time. ] A few years, then?

Jet ran away from a neighbor's all the time, kept getting into their henhouse. They eventually asked me just to hold onto him.

I don't think I ever asked but- did you have a dog back home?

We, uh, kinda had a team dog, but he was mostly Finch's. He used to be a military dog - smart as a whip.

Finch would kill me if I asked for him to be brought here.

[Is that how this works? Would Finch even know? It's a weird thought either way.]

[ Yeah, Will doesn't know, either. Maybe time being wonky on the Barge means it wouldn't be noticeable? Regardless- ]

Yeah, probably shouldn't risk it. Well, you're welcome to Winston and Jet as 'team dogs' while they're here, even if they've never been military.

[ He could not be any fonder of them if he tried. His mouth is probably going to be sore tonight from all this smiling. ]

I try not to be too strict, but I want 'em to be safe.

So, the warden-inmate thing. That make us a team?

[She's still looking at the dogs as she asks, stroking Winston's ears and ruffling the back of Jet's neck, but there's only one person who she could really be asking.]

Well. Not a conventional one, since there's a different power dynamic. But I don't think that's honestly a bother to either of us. We're both working together toward a common goal.

So yeah. I think so.

Works for me. So how much do you already know about this whole... set-up?

Me?

[ He looks slightly confused, then shakes his head. ]

Not sure. I mean, I know you can request things on my behalf- obviously. [ He gives Jet a few pets, as an example. ] That includes restrictions, and probably magic? If you wanted it to. I'm supposed to redeem myself, but we're not told for what, exactly. If I manage that, I get my life and you get your Deal. And every pairing is different.

That's pretty much all I've been told. None of this is as bad as my time at the BSHCI, so I hadn't really asked around beyond that.

I'm supposed to redeem you.

[It's quibbling about wording a little, perhaps, but the distinction is a meaningful one to her.]

Not that that responsibility is out of your hands - but it's in mine, too.

[ Will's eyebrows go up as she corrects him, but her explanation makes sense. He wouldn't accept anyone else changing him. But if they're doing it together, then- maybe. He nods. ]

Well...okay, then. I can work with that. Although I'm not entirely sure where to start, on the redeeming thing.

[Neither is she, but it's very early days, which is why she's freely letting herself focus on concrete logistics.]

You know about the file. You know about the warden items? The communicator stuff?

[ It's how he handles floating abstract problems, as well, as much as possible. So he definitely understands this approach. ]

The warden items unlock spaces, right? Communicator...oh, can you read my messages?

[ He looks thoughtful for a moment, then huffs out a quiet 'huh'. It makes sense to him, but he hadn't really thought about that. ]

Track your location, too. But the Admiral wouldn't clone your whole communicator over to mine, which is... weird.

[She drums her fingers on Winston's back, lightly but restlessly.]

At home, we never tell the people we're looking after about any of that, even if we know for sure that they're the potential victim and not the perp. Too big a chance they'll freak out, or switch phones on us or something. Can't really blame 'em; we don't have any reason to trust them, and they don't have any reason to trust us. But it'd make it harder for us to keep them safe.

[ Will nods through her explanation as to why her team would do that sort of thing. And obviously she doesn't have to worry about that now, because Will can't just get a new communicator. But still- ]

Why tell me? Even if I'm not a flight risk, it's...me knowing means I can be more careful about it.

Harold, John, and Root usually know when I have a bug or tracker on them.

[She says this as if it's an answer in and of itself.]

I might not go for the "friend first, inmate a distant second" thing, but, uh... we're supposed to be thinking long-term here, right? You're not a mark I'm gonna save in a week and then never deal with again.

[ Will actually looks a little surprised at that first part. Not that she would tell them about a tracker, but that she seems to equate Will on some level. The rest of it smooths that out with more of a reason, as far as he's concerned.

He still smiles a little to himself. ]

Yeah, I guess that's true. This is a long-term assignment. Best to let me know so I don't have to find out in some possibly upsetting way later.

Well...I'm not sure what problem the Admiral had with cloning my communicator, but you could ask again now that we're permanently paired? Maybe it'd allow you more access.

Not a bad point.

[She says, and she will absolutely be following up on that idea with the Admiral later, but for now--]

Big revelations like that can really screw up an equilibrium, especially if they come out at the wrong time. Not a big deal for a temporary pairing, but for a permanent one--

IC contact for lastvoyages

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