LOG: Sunny Sky Lunches

[the_informant]

Who: Florida (Native), OPEN
What: Florida has a little picnic for him and his friends
Where: Reid Gulch Park
When: Saturday, 3/12
Warnings:

The days when he doesn't have work or information to collect are so rare. Florida would have thought that taking less kill jobs would mean more time for himself, but between watching out for Tex's family, trying to be there for his girl, and everything going on with the team lately, getting out and about has been hard. So today, on his afternoon off, he decides there is only one right thing to do: enjoy the time.

He packs up a large picnic lunch, sends out messages to his teammates, Sigma, and dear little Wash from another world, and heads out to the park. With him he takes all sorts of foods, games like ring toss, a few toys for Rex, and a book for himself in case no one decides to show up. And once he arrives at the park he finds a nice sunny spot to lay out his gear, updating the messages with a gps marker in case people decide to join him.

That done he takes out Rex's frisbee and gives it a toss to watch the now full grown dog frolick off for his toy.

Today is going to be a good day, with or without company.

Comments

[maine_makes_growly_noises]

Florida is out for the day with his dog, and Maine is curious. He hasn't seen much of Rex since the dog was a ball of fluff. Maybe visiting the little beast could be a good alternative to his cardio regimen.

So, he arrives at the park. Florida has kept the location updated, but Maine sees the dog long before he gets there: Rex is in pursuit of a brightly colored plastic disk, ears perked in his excitement.

[the_informant]

"Hey!" Florida waves when he sees the large, familiar man. Rex, hearing hte attention, catches his toy and gallops back toward his owner, tail running wildly. Florida makes a brief gesture with his fingers and the dog is off like a shot to race ever shrinking circles around the large mercenary, still holding the disc in his jaws.

"You've got a longer arm than I have. Give it a good throw, okay?"

[maine_makes_growly_noises]

Maine kneels to rub the dog's furry neck. "Drop," he orders, and Rex obliges. What a happy creature. When Maine grabs the toy and stands, the dog drops on its haunches, barking with excitement.

Maine can't help but smile. He thinks he knows how to throw these things, so he winds back and sends it spinning through the air.

[the_informant]

The second Maine has the frisbee the dog's entire attention is on him, tail wagging with excitement. And when it goes the dog is after it like a bolt, racing with all his speed to go after the brightly colored disc.

"That's why I love him over a cat," Florida smiles. "He's always happy to see you and to play."

[maine_makes_growly_noises]

He is not going to argue the merits of cats over dogs. Not today.

"So much energy." He didn't realize Rex could move so quickly. The pup doesn't sit still, either: he's always in motion, always excited. He catches the frisbee and sprints back without breaking stride.

[the_informant]

"Well trained too," Florida says, standing and moving to Maine to stand by him. "Good to see you big man. Better to see you smiling. How are you and your cats doing?"

The dog leaps in the air to catch his frisbee and then starts to trot back.

[maine_makes_growly_noises]

"Good," he says. They're practically full grown, and both are growing into their personalities. "Not kittens anymore. Stay awake to greet me after jobs."

[the_informant]

"That's always nice," Florida smiles softly. His lover left so he only has Rex to greet him at night. That sucks. "Tex intended to socialize him with your cats so he would be good with other animals. Lou was in it with her. It just... didn't happen before she went."

[maine_makes_growly_noises]

Tex. Maine hasn't talked to Florida about her. He's surprised that she wandered again, even with a family and a lover to keep her here.

"Could still try." It'll take awhile, getting the animals acquainted to each other's smells first. It would be worth it, though.

[ambitious_muse]

Sigma is not a dog person. He is, however, a hungry college student. He hasn't seen Florida in a while, either, but the guy is offering free food and a day at the park. Why not swing by? He shows up at the designated location and tries not to be intimidated by the sounds of happy barking.

[the_informant]

Florida sits on his blanket, watching as a bunch of kids play tumble with his pup. And when he catches sight of Sigma he smiles and waves the younger man over.

"Good day," Florida smiles. "I figured you could use food."

[ambitious_muse]

The dog's playing with kids? It can't be that intimidating, then. Maybe. Sigma circles around them toward Florida.

"Thanks," he says. "I appreciate it." He has a nice setup, living with York and going home to the family for dinner, but it's nice to have a really good cook making the food.

[the_informant]

Florida passes Sigma a plate and a container of sandwiches.

"Gladly. I'd have invited your family, but Maine's coming and I don't want to inflict an ex upon him. Omega and the twins are doing the market thing. Delta is apparently out of town and Epsilon is working, so it's just you and me and whoever else shows up."

With a sharp whistle the dog shakes off all the kids and runs over to Florida and Sigma. And instead of greeting the newcomer, Rex immediately clambers into Florida's lap and starts licking his face.

"Oh come on Rex," Florida laughs as he tries to keep his face away while petting the mutt. "Behave or your uncle Sigma is going to think his sister didn't train you well."

[ambitious_muse]

Oh, sandwiches. Sigma sits with the plate on his lap and opens the container.

"It's a good day for it. We finally have some sun."

He eyes the dog warily. Surely Rex has to be well-trained, if Tex had anything to say about it, but Sigma is awfully protective of his food. Still, he reaches out with curiosity to touch that furry flank.

"Hi, Rex."

[the_informant]

Rex gives a soft wuff but he still keeps his attention on Florida. The older man falls over backwards as the mutt presses him toward the ground and licks his face, his paws pressing on Florida's shoulders.

"Down boy," Florida laughs. "Down."

And like that the dog is off him, curling up at Florida's side, tail going fast.

"Don't worry about your food. Tex taught him not to go after it. Besides, I cook special stuff just for him."

HE reaches for a white tupperware and pulls a biscuit out for the puppy. "Specific to give him sharp eyes and a glossy coat. Oh, and good muscles."

[ambitious_muse]

That creature is so big. Sigma watches in careful awe. If Florida says Rex won't eat his sandwich, though, he won't be as protective.

"You cook for him?" he asks. "How does his diet differ from ours?"

[the_informant]

"Well, being a dog he can't process a lot of the fillers people put in dog food. I mean, he does it better than a cat, but he needs a lot of protein and vitamins," Florida explains. "Tex didn't like the smell of wet food, I don't like the constant crunch of dry, so I mix some wet with these custom made treats I made him. They've got a meat base with fat, flour, vitamin supplements. He can also get sick a lot easier if you feed him the wrong things."

So he had to work with the vet to come up with a good diet. "For instance, cooked meat isn't very good for dogs."

[notyourrookie]

Dogs are not quite his thing, but the promise of food and even company is something that he could do with right now. Or at least, he acknowledges that he needs company every so often or else he gets insular, paranoid. So he needs to get out and this is a good opportunity.

He shows up at the park, giving himself enough time to observe for a few moments before he approaches. He hadn't expected other people to be there. The dog rushes up to him as soon as he gets close though, barking happily.

[the_informant]

Congratulations, Wash, there's a german shepard mix running circles around him. After all, Wash smells familiar. And not famliar. It's very intriguing. Even earns him Rex sitting on his rump and tilting his head curiously at the man.

[notyourrookie]

Cats are rarely this enthusiastic about meeting new people. Wash gives the dog a bemused look but then stoops to offer his hand to the dog to sniff. When that's accepted, he leans in to stroke it, ruffling it behind the ears carefully.

[the_informant]

And that is the key spot. Right behind the ear? Rex's tongue lolls out and his head tilts to the side, pressing toward that touch.

[notyourrookie]

Wash ends up crouched down in front of the dog, ruffling his fur more and it's hard to resist smiling when the dog is so happy. Dogs are always happy.

[the_informant]

"Rex is friendly, isn't he?" Florida smiles as he comes over toward the man and his dog.

At least, he's friendly when he's not being ordered to attack. "You want a toy for him?"

[notyourrookie]

Wash looks up at Florida and nods. "Yeah, seems that way." Very friendly, and very enthusiastic.

"Sure. Why not? He's a good dog."

[the_informant]

"We've trained him to behave when he isn't protecting things," Florida smiles as he holds out the frisbee. "This is his favorite."