Witness to the arc toward the sun [open]

[wildmage_daine]

Daine's not sure how to feel about all the spring in the air. It's hard to be happy about another reminder of how long she's been stuck here - long enough for days to noticeably lengthen and snow to melt.

The People are excited about it, though, and their enthusiasm is catching. And it's nice to be able to make her rounds without having to worry about frostbite in her charges. Spring is far less cruel a season to be a stray in. Once the foliage fills out a bit more, it'll be that much easier for her to tuck herself away while she does her work, so that's another small consolation.

The local animals have learned the routine by now. If they're ill or injured, they make their way to the Ramble (if they can) and wait for her there. Today, it was a squirrel who hadn't been quite fast enough escaping from a hawk, and a pigeon with a mangled foot. That last had taken some time, and now she's eating her third granola bar while she walks around the rest of the park, checking for any too ill or injured to get to the Ramble.

Well, it's more of a double-check. If there had truly been anyone that badly off in the Park, she'd have noticed right away. But it can't hurt to make a sweep, listening closely on the off chance that there's anyone out there too weak to have caught her attention. It's a lovely day for a walk, after all.

Comments

[has_a_horn]

"Seth?" For a second, he's thrown off. Who knew that the little dog could give away that much information. He looks down at Scout and reaches out to scratch the dog behind the ears. "Maybe I should have named him spy instead, hm?" He smirks, and flicks his gaze up to Daine. He's joking around here. He doubts that he'll have to worry much about the information Scout can convey to Daine.

"Seth has a useful power, your rebels captured him and were forcing him to use it." He really hopes that he's giving her fresh information about the rebels. He'd hate for her to have known about Seth's imprisonment without saying anything. "I ran into him after he escaped, he's stayed with me off and on since then."

[wildmage_daine]

"He didn't think it was a secret," she says in Scout's defense. She could also say that she didn't mean to pry, which is half-true: Scout volunteered the fact that Seth was around without any real cajoling from her. She didn't have to ask Gabriel about it, though... but at least she did ask Gabriel instead of silently quizzing the dog over his head.

His answer isn't very reassuring, and she frowns deeply. Topher had said the rebels were up to such things, but she hadn't been sure she believed him (he'd lied about being a god, after all). Frankly, Gabriel hasn't sold himself as an honest sort, either, so how much is his word worth? Is anyone here who they say they are?

Sometimes, she really hates this stupid city. If the island had a proper wilderness, she'd move there in a heartbeat and be done with everyone. Excepting Aly. Aly could come, too.

"They're not my rebels," she says, because nothing in this dratted universe is hers. Brow furrowing, she adds, "What sort of power?" Part of her is wondering just how useful if could be if it took so long for him to use it to escape, and part of her is wondering if it's at all similar to hers. She'd still like to think the rebels couldn't hold her.

[has_a_horn]

Gabriel frowns at the question. It's in his best interest here to keep Seth's secrets, since the guy is staying with him and in the position to be of use. He needs Seth to trust him, so unless Daine is going to offer up some more incentive, he'll keep this one to himself. "Like I said. Useful. But not anymore. He's strictly below the radar these days." Not really true, but does that matter in this conversation? Not likely.

He shrugs. "I'm a good roommate for under the radar." To put it mildly. If he doesn't want to found, chances are he's not going to be found. While Seth is under his roof, he likes to think that the kid is safe. "I like the company. He's sharp. Scout's great, but not much of a conversationalist." Hearing his name, the dog's ears perk up and he turns to face Gabriel. Gabriel shifts his attention to the dog for a moment, smiling and reaching out a hand to scratch him between the ears. "He's good with Scout; no problem there."

[wildmage_daine]

Daine lets out a faint snort. She hasn't forgotten how blithely Gabriel talked about the Hulk, so she's not sure whether to be annoyed by his current dodging or begrudgingly pleased that he's capable of discretion where other folk are concerned, after all. She hadn't thought keeping other people's secrets was really in his wheelhouse.

Or maybe he's just extending his caginess about himself over to Seth, now, since he's apparently taken the other man under his wing(s). And maybe she should be annoyed because she's still far from certain that said caginess extends to anyone else. She doesn't know Seth, but she's fair certain Bruce is just as deserving of having his secret kept as any other two-legger. For all she knows, Gabriel's told Seth all about her.

"Well, don't go telling your new roommate about me," she says flatly, more so she'll have an excuse to be angry if he does than because she actually believes he'll keep quiet just because she asked him to. "And there's nothing wrong with Scout's conversational skills," she adds for the dog's sake.

[has_a_horn]

"My doggie conversation skills then." he allows.

There's definitely a difference between his attitude towards Seth's secrets versus Bruce's. Seth had worked on his sympathy and then immediately after that presented himself as a valuable asset. The combination makes him protective of Seth's secrets in a way he never was of Bruce's. And come on. As far as Gabriel is concerned, everyone in the world knows that Bruce Banner is the Hulk. He's the Hulk.

"He knows where Scout came from. I haven't mentioned your conversation skills."