2022-01-30 - The dog isn't the one that growls

Despite it being icy cold and snow falling down from the sky, Isi is out here with her dog. She's doubled up on the hoodies and a windbreaker is over all of it to keep the human half of this partnership warm. Elsa is clearly as happy as an almost pure-bred German Shepard can be, jumping up occasionally and snapping at snowflakes cheerfully. The dog is on a leash - it's the law right? Despite the cold, Isi looks relaxes as she jogs to keep up.

Isi's not the only one out for a run today, it seems. Javier de la Vega, nearly unrecognisable in track pants, a long sleeved tee shirt and a windbreaker with the hood up, is midway through his workout when he -- nearly literally -- runs into the woman and her dog. He's in the midst of checking a message on his phone, and has to swerve at the last minute to avoid getting tangled up in the Shepard's leash. Prompting him to snarl something at the owner; until he realises who it is.

"Fuck. Ms. Cameron. Hey." He pauses, panting a little, bent forward with his hands on his thighs. "Didn't see you there, sorry about that."

In pre-dog times, Isi would swear at Ruiz in return but she's got bigger things - literally, to worry about.

Like the fact that her dog just reached the end of her leash and was jerked to a stop. Turning back Elsa realizes there's another person and she barks sharply once and darts at Ruiz to do something profoundly doggy. But Isi is getting use to her dog's squirks and so pulls the creature back at the last second. Greeting has to be on pause as Elsa is pulled back and instructed to "SIT," firmly. With a treat brought out if the dog does it.

The Mexican narrows his eyes and furrows his brows heavily when the dog lunges at him. Teeth bared, he growls at the dog quite sharply and suddenly, as if to tell it to back the fuck off. It all happens so quickly, and then the animal's being brought to hand, and he's not quite sure if Isi caught that.

Glancing away, he focuses on catching his breath, and watching a pair of kids playing together while their respective parents catch up on gossip nearby.

"Did you just fucking growl at my dog?" Isi asks, disbelief coloring her voice thickly. Elsa's butt is still sit and swishes her tail vigorously against the ground. Isi has the leash right up by the collar so that even if Elsa lunges at Ruiz, she can keep a handle on the strong large dog. "LIke, have you never read anything about the dangers of challenging a dog face on? You're lucky Elsa's more of a locker than a biter."

"That mangy mutt looked like it wanted to take a piece out of me, fuck you very much," Javier replies, cutting his gaze back to Isi. "Maybe if you taught it better fucking manners.. wait, Elsa? The mutt's name is Elsa?" He snorts, and drops his gaze again. His phone buzzes, and is ignored.

"ELSA," Isi says snippily, reaching out her other hand to pet her dog between the ears reassuringly. The animal turns her snout up towards ISi and gives out a tiny whine. "Yes, her name is Elsa. You have to problem with that Chief de la Vega? She just wanted to say hello because she's not a dick like some people I know."

The cop pushes his hood off, which musses up his scruffy curls, and tugs out his in-ear headphones one at a time. Seems the music was turned off, anyway. He bundles up the headphones and wires, and shoves it all into a pocket of his jacket. "Elsa, what the fuck ever. No, I don't have a problem with it. Glad to see she's on a leash. And I said hello." He did. Technically.

"If you make a let it go joke I swear to god," Isi just gets ahead of the Frozen joke that is BOUND to come if anyone else is given the chance. "It was her name at the shelter - didn't seem right to change it - you know?" This is an awkward feeling-type moment so Isi retreats from it as quickly as possible. "She's a big dog. I didn't want to scare some fucking kid or whatever when she tried to say hello. Or police chiefs I guess. So - whatever
. Hi."

Well, he has kids. So he's unfortunately not entirely immune to that little bit of pop culture. "It's.. there's nothing wrong with her name," he mumbles, raking a tattooed hand through his sweaty hair. "And I didn't say I was scared. I like dogs just fine. Usually. More than.. more than people, anyway." He tries to smile at that, which makes his eyes crinkle up at the corners.

The kids and their parents are gone, so there's nothing else to pretend to be looking at. Which means he has to keep talking. "What's her name?"

It would be a miracle to live in America and not know that bit of pop culture. It's PERNICIOUS. Ruiz gets eyed warily as he asks her name. "It's Elsa. Like the princess and shit or whatever. She's a rescue. Her former owner fell on hard times so," a shrug." Now she's living with Isi.

Considering they just finished talking about the damn dog's name, that was roughly the stupidest question to ask in the modern history of stupid ass questions. Javier has the grace to chuckle about it. "I meant, how old is she. Fuck's sake." He catches his left arm behind the elbow, and starts stretching out the tricep, grimacing a little.

"Ah - right...." Isi takes a careful sniff. Her nose isn't working quite right in the cold, but she's going to try to see if she smells alcohol or some other substance on the police chief. Who knows what he does with his free time!?

"Four. Not quite a puppy any more, but she's been in the shelter for a year, so...." It is honestly easier to talk about her dog than anything else. "Like mental three year old. She's just so fucking happy to not be there any more."

He hasn't been drinking. Drugs though, maybe. That's certainly a possibility. Guy like him has probably done an awful lot of drugs. Maybe he's just.. not quite right in the head anymore. He squints a little, like he's trying to figure out why she's sniffing at him. He sniffs at himself, too; he'll need a shower after this, but he doesn't smell, really.

"Right. Mental three year old." This small talk thing. He's crashing and burning, God help him. "I, uh. I don't really.. do pets. Rosencrantz has a reptile. I don't remember what kind." He sniffs sharply, and rubs at the bridge of his nose again. "But he, uh." Nope, that's not small talk material. Moving on. "Cold as shit out here, yeah?"

Elsa whines - just a little, to remind her now-mother that they WERE on a nice walk and now they're just sitting here and that guy growled at her when she was just trying to meet him. Isi glances down at the dog and pets her again, a quiet promise that yes, yes, they'll get back to the dog time soon. "Ravn kept going on and on about not being alone and whatever so I figured..." a small hitch of her shoulder. "Give it a whirl. She sleeps better at night then most men and doesn't steal the blankets like women- " oh god she's rambling quick, seize upon the offer he's just given, "Yeah, cold. Winter and shit."

"Right," Javier murmurs again, stretching out the other arm, wincing at how tight it is. Then rolling his shoulders out a few times. "Look, no fucking offense, but I don't know if I'd consider Ravn an authority on this shit." He looks away again as an attractive woman jogs past, and.. what? The scenery's pleasant.

"On what shit?" Isi throws back - defensive the moment that one of her few real friends has some shade cast at them. Even if it's shade that only exists in her own mind. "So you're saying it's better to be alone - fuck everyone else?"

Could be shade. Or could just be de la Vega being his snarly self. Is there anyone he's truly charitable to? Or is it all just an elaborate defense mechanism designed to ensure nobody, nobody gets close to him?

"That's not what I said." He blows a breath out, fogging the chill air, and digs his earbuds back out of his jacket pocket again. "Forget it. Congrats on the dog."

"Just say what you mean then," Isi, exasperated shakes her head. She gives Elsa some slack on her leash - enough for the dog to pop up to her feet and take a step towards Ruiz with an eager nose of sniiififff. "Wait - you were a dog in Ravn's mind... fuckery place, right?"

Digging that gem out of a random place.

It's almost visible, the moment the dog starts toward him; the moment his hackles go up. Like he's some grizzled, mangy thing that's spent a lifetime haunting the shadows. Plenty of blood on his hands, gotta survive somehow, you know?

"I'm no fucking dog," he mutters, stuffing one earbud in. "He tell you that, huh?"

"I don't know if he remembers telling it - he was fucking piss drunk when he was sharing." Isi reacts to that aggression by pulling Elsa away again, and putting herself between him and her dog. It's a completely unconscious movement. She's only had the dog for a few weeks and it's pretty clear she's head over heals for the creature. Even a hint of animosity has her throwing herself int he pathway, even if Elsa's teeth would probably be better at the protection route.

Piss drunk. Oh, right. "Guy can't hold his tequila. I'll have to remember that next time." His dark eyes crease up as he chuckles, and leaves for the moment the other earbud dangling. "But I'm no dog." The amusement fades, and he glances from the dog to the woman, mentally fidgeting with a thought. "Show you, if you want."

"I don't know which is worse, the tequila or him spending the night on my sofa." Isi says, reaching back to reassure Elsa for her mommy being weird. It's okay puppy. Just keeping a physical barrier between her puppy and growl-y - and now chuckle-y cop. "What do you mean?"

Javier makes a bit of a face, like, that bad, huh?, but doesn't comment further on the Dane and the predicament he left him in. The one the other man asked for, mind.

"I mean, I can show you, uh." He cuts his gaze away as some guy jogs past, and calls out, "Hey, Chief," and gets an awkward halfway smile in return.

Elsa whines again because now there is ANOTHER person and she just wants to say hi. She's been so good and well behaved and why why WHY. In reply Isi steps back another step and lets the dog have more slack on her leash. "Look - just say it, she's getting antsy and it's tits cold out here."

"I don't mean, uh, right here and now." He tucks the other earbud in, and pulls the hood up and over his head. It is tits cold; they can agree on that much. "But I could show you. My mind some time. If.." And he's suddenly aware of how obscene that sounds. Like he's propositioning her. Which he isn't.

"Forget it. I te veré por ahí. Cuídate." Then he starts backing up in preparation to depart.

Elsa just wants to say hi. OKAY?! A short bark is let out before she remembers her manners. Sad sad sad sad puppy.

Ruiz' offer has Isi looking him over - and possibly responding. But Elsa yanks hard on the leash and pulls her off balance. "Fine - I'll, text you or whatever." And she'll give the Elsa her head to run with Isi as dead weight at the end of the leash.

That, apparently, is more than Javier's allotted amount of small talk for one day. He grunts something at Isi, glares at her dog, switches his music back on.. and promptly jogs off without another word.