[There's something wet against his hand, and Jay jerks back clumsily, one arm knocking into the armrest. He hears a whine, feels the cold against his skin again, and--]
[Oh. Dog. Was there a dog here before?]
[Jay freezes as Oscar continues to nose around, and when Oscar tries to shove his hand aside, Jay lets him. He should do something, he thinks, but the static hissing between his ears is making that harder than it needs to be.]
[There's a hot gust of dog breath, and Oscar starts work on Jay's face. He winces, but lets it happen. Probably tastes like a salt lick at this point.]
[Then he hears a human voice, and any tension Oscar helped him lose returns tenfold. He doesn't have to worry about telling the truth to a dog. People are worse.]
Hey...Dan? [And that's enough. That's enough to open the floodgates.] I mean, I remember your name's Dan Palmer. I'm good with names, like, too good sometimes, so I sometimes pretend I'm not as good, and-- [He grits his teeth and screws his eyes shut.] I hate this event.
D O G
[Oh. Dog. Was there a dog here before?]
[Jay freezes as Oscar continues to nose around, and when Oscar tries to shove his hand aside, Jay lets him. He should do something, he thinks, but the static hissing between his ears is making that harder than it needs to be.]
[There's a hot gust of dog breath, and Oscar starts work on Jay's face. He winces, but lets it happen. Probably tastes like a salt lick at this point.]
[Then he hears a human voice, and any tension Oscar helped him lose returns tenfold. He doesn't have to worry about telling the truth to a dog. People are worse.]
Hey...Dan? [And that's enough. That's enough to open the floodgates.] I mean, I remember your name's Dan Palmer. I'm good with names, like, too good sometimes, so I sometimes pretend I'm not as good, and-- [He grits his teeth and screws his eyes shut.] I hate this event.