expiationnet

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[Rolo has not been having a good time since everyone's memories came back. He's mostly dealt with this by staying home curled up in bed and ignoring the network completely, but after a few days he's finally desperate enough to pull the network device thing back out.]

Is there anything like a therapist in this city?

[He's not even thinking about shit like going anon right now. That would probably be a bad sign, if his standard preference for anonymity didn't necessarily preclude people knowing about said preference.]

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[ Little does Rolo know, maybe this is the exact path he needs to take to find a therapist, even if neither of them know that yet... ]

Okay. I'll meet you at the Town Square.

[ ominous...

Rolo at least takes a bit to clean himself up before actually venturing out – spending days in bed doesn't really leave one looking or feeling very fresh. When he does finally make his way over to what he hopes still counts as Town Square, he realizes belatedly that he doesn't even really know who he's looking for.

After an awkward few moments of standing by a wall by himself, he pulls the phone back out.]

I think I'm here.

[ It's one of the few places Minato's managed to locate. It helps that the Town Square is center-ish in relation to the rest of the city.

The phone in his pocket goes off. Minato withdraws it, glancing at the message displayed on the screen. There are plenty of people coming and going. Any one of them could be Rolo.

The dog at his side paws at his shin, barking to try and get his attention. With that, Koromaru trots off to a wallflower nearby. Minato trails behind him until Koromaru stops in front of Rolo and takes a seat there. ]

You made it.

[ Minato offers the other a teen a polite nod as Koromaru pants and wags his tail. ]

[He ostensibly came here for a dog, but it's still kind of a surprise to just be approached by this unfamiliar dog while a stranger follows after belatedly. Rolo glances uncertainly between the dog and human.]

Um...yeah. Hi.

[Very abruptly, he feels like he has no idea what people do with dogs. Which is ridiculous, because he has a whole set of normal civilian memories where he'd certainly absorbed enough just from existing in society even if he'd never had one personally. But it feels like the other life shifts into the foreground, and all he can think of are things he's seen out in public or in TV shows he'd only vaguely paid attention to while he was monitoring Lelouch.

In the end, he keeps his hands to himself, fiddling awkwardly with his phone just to have something to do with them. He's at least got a sense that you're not supposed to just pet a stranger's dog uninvited, even if said dog is sitting there almost expectantly.]

[ That much is true. It's both impolite and dangerous to approach a stranger's dog without permission from the owner. Koromaru a little unusual for a dog, coming and going as he pleases.

Minato nods a bit in the dog's direction. ]

This is Koromaru. If you want to say hi, you can crouch and let him sniff the back of your hand.

[ Usually, anyways, so long as a person's passed his vibe check. Koromaru's judgment of character is typically sound. It's why Minato places a great deal of trust in his evaluations. It seems Koromaru's accepted Rolo's presence for now.

And while he could introduce himself too, he thinks Koromaru's name is the more important one right now. ]

[ frankly a miracle for this guy to pass the vibes check tbh

Rolo again glances between the guy and the dog uncertainly before crouching and tentatively extending a hand. No reason to be worried, right? Even if it tried biting him or something, he has–

He sets his jaw and hurriedly dismissed that thought. That's a life he doesn't really want to think about at all right now, and an aspect of it that makes him feel sick every time he considers it. He shifts track to the first thing he can think of to distract himself.]

Aren't you supposed to keep dogs on a leash?

[ Koromaru leans forward, nose just a hair's breadth away from Rolo's fingertips. He sniffs, curious, before giving his fingers a small lick.

There's a pensive expression on Minato's face, as though this is the first time someone's ever brought up Koromaru's lack of leash. ]

I guess so.

[ Rolo's not wrong. Dogs were supposed to be walked on a leash, technically. ]

...I don't have one though.

[ In fact, SEES never had a leash for Koromaru. ]

I'm not sure he'd like it.

[ Koromaru lets out a bark, as though he were agreeing with Minato's hypothesis. ]

[Rolo's nose scrunches a little at the lick. It's not like he's ever been licked anything (or anyone) before, and it's a pretty weird sensation.]

I don't think what the dog would prefer would be accepted as an excuse.

[For all that he's supposed to be interacting with the dog, he's still really only talking to the guy. It's not like a dog would understand anything anyway.

But even with the lick to suggest he's passed the vibe check, Rolo just leaves his hand there for further sniffing or licking or whatever, eyes downcast in thought.]

But I guess this place has bigger things to worry about than loose dogs.

[ Minato glances down at Koromaru. ...yeah, that's probably the case, unfortunately. It's too bad Aigis isn't here to translate for Koromaru, who'd probably be able to make a case for himself against being stuck on a leash.

Koromaru, on the other hand, decides to take matters into his own hands. He steps a little closer and nudges his head against Rolo's hand, demanding pets. ]

...yeah. I guess so.

[ Bigger things, like the way their surroundings suddenly shifted, morphing into a wholly different setting.

Minato looks down at Koromaru again. ]

Oh... You didn't get to see what this place looked like before, right?

[ To which Koromaru stops nudging his head against Rolo's hand to glance back at Minato. He barks twice, wagging his tail as if to provide an affirmative response. ]

Mm. Yeah, that's what I thought.

[ It's as though he is having an entire, coherent conversation with the dog, perhaps an odd sight to someone like Rolo. ]

[There's a little stutter of surprise from Rolo as the dog decides to take the initiative, but he obliges. His motions are a bit awkward and mechanical, but it can at the very least definitely be called petting.

He watches the exchange between human and dog quietly, brows knitting together closer as it carries on. Eventually, he breaks in.]

Uh...do you...understand it?

[ Koromaru pants, tail wagging even more as Rolo pets his head.

Minato looks thoughtful for a moment before responding helpfully with: ]

Kind of.

[ He can't understand Koromaru word-for-word, and though he's not as good as it as Aigis, Minato can infer the dog's responses based on body language. ]

I think it's more that Koromaru understands what we say. He probably understands what you say too.

[That sounds awfully kids' movie-esque, but he can't exactly deny that the dog has seemed like it actually understood shit. Rolo looks skeptical, but he turns his attention back to Koromaru.]

Do you?

[ Koromaru looks back at Rolo. He does, but the dog doesn't have any way to communicate that other than a, "Woof!" accompanied by an eager tail wag.

Little does Rolo know, they're going to be the best of friends in the future.

Minato crouches next to Koromaru, observing the dog's reactions. ]

I think that's a yes. Maybe.

[ After all, he doesn't actually know for sure. ]

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This thread is so funny now in light of Gogol clown hours