Don't Kick the Puppies

by **Gale Austin McCenry** on January 2nd, 2015, 7:50 am

51st of Winter, 514 A.V
Fish Market

With Winter lasting for what seemed like forever and the Bonesnapper chilling every citizen to their core, Gale knew that Winter was at it's peak. The entire season was filled with events and probably had more to come, but Gale felt like the worst of it was thrown at them. The second awakening of the Obelisk was a brutal one, one that he was sure no one would forget easily, so he found it hard to think that something worse could happen at this time unless the entire city decided to collapse. He figured that this was rock bottom and that gave him an odd sense of optimism which was rather strange to him given the circumstances.

Gale was walking along the fish market, half expecting there to be no stands up and running. The docks were frozen and there hadn't been much of any type of fishing because of it so Gale figured that people wouldn't have much fish too sell. But preservation was a funny thing he hardly ever considered as it always seemed to fly over his head, and the people who had stands up had be the smarter ones who had stocked up at least some and preserved them when the dock was available.

As such, all the stands that were open with available fish were flooded with starving individuals who were either buying for themselves or for their families. The main path was relatively clear because of this, so Gale found it easy to walk down the lane, but whenever he spotted a stand with food there was almost no way to get in unless he wanted to push and shove. As much as he stomach hurt and longed to shove through and just eat something, he figured everyone else was feeling something very similar. It wouldn't be appropriate or considerate of him if he did such, seeing as everyone had just as much right to eat as he did. Not that anyone had any less rights than anyone else.

Gale's eyes were peeled as he passed by the stands, looking for one that was open yet not crowded by half the city. He walked on and on the length of the docks, the harsh breeze biting at his face, turning his nose and cheeks a crisp, cold red. The more he walked the more he felt like this familiar stretch of stands will never end and he'd never find anything to buy. But thankfully, his gaze fell onto a particular stand with a man sitting patiently. He had a sign that said "out of fish", but he continued to sit there with several bowls on the stand.

Raising an eyebrow, Gale came to a stop and looked at the bowls, curiosity starting to rise in him. He glanced beside the man's table, seeing behind his stand that there was a large bag of nuts. Chestnuts by the looks of them. Gale had seen people selling some other foods alongside their fish for extra coin, but it appeared that no one was interested in just nuts without their being any meat involved, which actually surprised him. Given the famine, he was willing to take any food he got, meat or not, and he thought that more people were willing to do the same. But oh well, suppose that meant he didn't have to wait in a line.

Walking his way to the stand, the man had greeted him with a fairly basic smile and a fairly warm hello, at least compared to the bitter cold. "Hey." Gale offered a smile back. "Are you offering nuts?" He questioned, looking at the contents of the bowls. Each bowl had about a handful of different types of nuts.

The man nodded,"Yes I am. Are you wanting any in particular?"

Gale shook his head,"I'm not too picky. Are you selling an-ACK!" Gale jolted as he felt something press itself against his leg. Yanking himself away from the unknown creature, his gaze zipped down widely to lay his eyes on...

A puppy.

It was a Bozderon Shadow Dog, one of the many types of dogs that were in that dog pack when he was attacked. His eyes narrowed and his eyebrows creased, rage making his hands ball into fists. The red eyes simply starred at him, tail wagging in a curios manner. It fidgeted in it's spot, almost as if it couldn't make up it's mind to stand or sit, but it finally sat on it's hunches and continued to stare.

"Sorry if he scared yah. He tends to blend in sometimes." The man snickered and briefly leaned over his stand to look at the puppy. It couldn't be any older than two or three seasons. But Shadow dogs tend to blend into shadows, he got that right. "His name Kyle. "

Gale let out a sharp breath through his nose, his teeth holding his lips. His face was a mixture of contempt and annoyance, but he looked back the vendor,"Do you have any Chestnuts?" He said this as he looked down at the bowl in front of him, grabbing one of the Chestnuts in his hands. Nuts lasted a long time and didn't require any special preservation, at least none that he knew of, so he wasn't at all astonished that it seemed in good shape.

"More than you can imagine. How much do you want?"

Gale lowered his left hand to his side, his gaze looking at the man instead. "Two pounds please."

He felt the paws of the young dog lay on his leg again. Instantly Gale shoved it away with his foot. The dog fell over onto it's side, it quickly scrambled to it's feet, but kept it's gaze on him. From behind the stand, a low growl rumbled. The blonde's eyes widened as he looked, unable to see where it had come from. The heavy clothe covering the sides of the stand created heavy shadows in the corners, making it an easy hideaway for any Shadow dog. Gale could hardly see anything, even squinting as he was. It wasn't until he saw a slight sparkle in a pair of red eyes that he noted where it was.

"Oh Cherry, hush." The stranger scolded the vague figure as he grabbed two small bag and held them out to Gale. "There you go sir, two pounds of Chestnuts. That would be two GM please."

Gale merely nodded, taking out two gold coin and handing it to the man.

Ledgar-2 GM 2 lb Chestnuts

by **Gale Austin McCenry** on January 2nd, 2015, 7:25 pm

Gale took the bags of nuts and pulled his pack off his back, placing them inside carefully before slinging it over his shoulder. He continued to play with one of the Chestnuts with his fingers though, finding himself running his thumb along the rough, round top.

"Anything else?"

"Um." Gale glanced at the other bowls.

Kyle continued to stare at Gale and his hand, his tail wagging and almost sweeping that spot on the street free from any dirt. He lifted one paw in the air, then changed his mind before lifting the other one instead. His floppy ears were perked and his nose wiggled around as he tried to sniff what was in Gale's hand. He slowly stretched his neck near his hand, without actually touching it, sniffing the nut that rolled around aimlessly in his finger.

Kyle couldn't handle it anymore and stood up, opening his mouth and clamping his baby teeth on the nut, however getting some of Gale's fingers as well.

Gale didn't even yell as this occurred, instead, before he had a chance to think, he swung around, pulling his hand out of it's jaws, and swung his leg, launching the small dog, whimpers and cries and all, about a yard or two away.

Blood thirsty barks and snarls erupted from behind the counter, Cherry, so it would seem, stand up quickly and rushing out of the shadows. Gale's eyes flew to the dog as soon as he had kicked the pup, watching it as the she dog flew out into the street. Gale was already in a defensive position, seeing as he had pulled his leg back behind him once the small dog went away. And as such, once the mother was close enough, he swung his leg once again, closing it's jaw with yellow teeth and pushing it back as well. As the dog caught it's balance, the murderer held a smug grin on his face.

It was swiped clean off, however, when the stranger had grabbed Gale's shirt and landed a full blown fist on his jaw. Gale collapsed onto the ground instantly.It took a few good ticks before he was bale to opened his eyes and realize what had happened, but his vision swam in thick blur. He noticed the ferocious snarls, but for some reason the enraged dog was staying back. He wasn't fully able to wonder why, his head seeing as he couldn't clearly see the man nor did he even remember him being there until he had grabbed Gale's shirt and pulled him into a upright position.

"You filthy vagik! What do you think you're doing kicking around my dogs?!" He spat, some of the saliva spraying onto the blonde's face. He didn't even have a chance to say anything before the man pulled his fit back again for another whop.

Suppose it's time to be Bloodeye again.

His vision started to clear and Gale tried to quickly jag at the man's eyes before he was hit again. It worked in the sense that he got him before he was hit, the man wailing as his eyes closed tightly. Because of his pain, the blonde grabbed the man's hand and pried them off his shirt.

The snarling and barking got louder as the dog charged again. It's teeth lunged for Gale's shoulder. He hollered in both pain and surprised because it actually wasn't as painful as he had thought. It didn't even feel like he was entirely biting him. Was this dog missing teeth or something? Of course, as the dog started to shake it's head, Gale knew it at least had some because it started to remove some flesh, making him cry out again.

It was at this time with all the wailing that people in the nearby lines started to notice the brawl going on a few dozen yards away. Several of them came out of the line and rushed over. One grabbed the dog by it's shoulders and scruff as Gale hit it's nose with a rock that was near him, making it release him. The dog was then pulled away. Another had grabbed Gale's other shoulder and started to pull him off the ground. Of course a few people helped the business man, but squinting his red eyes, he shoved them away, stomping over to Gale and gave him one last sock to his face. The men who had helped the stranger up pulled him back quickly after the action, only to watch as Gale stumbled back.

by **Gale Austin McCenry** on January 3rd, 2015, 1:29 am

Infirmary
Several Bells Later

"So you kicked a puppy, huh?" The doctor questioned, lifting Gale's chin to examine the red and purple skin.

"Mhm." Gale rolled his eyes.

"Why did you go around doing that?" The man let go, simply standing in front of the blonde.

"I'm not particularly fond of dogs." He simply replied, rubbing his temples with a few winces. He had an enormous headache that felt like it wanted to make his head explode.

"I see." Fen nodded. That was his name, Fen. "Because you got attacked by one?" He gestured to the large scar on his thigh, which was exposed during the exam.

Gale merely nodded until he felt he needed to add,"Several."

"Mh." Fen nodded again which rustled his shining brown hair. "Let me look at your shoulder real quick."

Gale nodded, letting his hands down and shifted on the bed to face his shoulder more towards the medic. It had be lightly bandaged for him while he waited for Fen to stop the bleeding and keep the small wounds clean. Fen was quick to remove them though, the small punctures already starting to scab over. "Doesn't seem too serious." He noted upon spotting them. "The man who brought you in made it sound like it would be worse."

"Well, I don't think the dog had any teeth left but she shook her head a lot so he probably was just going off of looks." Gale winced as he spoke, feeling the student apply pressure with his thumbs around each puncture.

"It shook it's head?" Gale nodded. The two men fell silent for a while as the medic focused on examining any damage. He looked at each puncture individually, though not always for the same length of time. The entire time all Gale could smell of soap and iron. "Doesn't seem like she did a whole lot. You probably won't even have a scar, but try to keep it clean to avoid infections." He nodded, leaning away from Gale briefly and folding his hands in his lap. "The bruise on your chin doesn't seem to be anything more than that, but can I check your eye real quick?"

Gale only nodded again. The last throw that the man had hit him with clocked him right beside his eye. It had already gone a deep purple and the swelling didn't make it look any better. Fen used his chin to generally steer Gale's face in the direction he wanted him to look, trying to view the injury from all angles. He only briefly touched around it, receiving a loud wince from Gale, but generally let it alone. Occasionally he would instruct Gale to look left or up with his eyes. When he leaned back he let his chin go. "Your eye will be fine but if it doesn't clear up in a dozen or so days then you should come back. But I'm sure it'll be fine."

Gale nodded once more,"Will I need to do anything special for any of it?"

"No. Again, just try and keep things clean and don't get into another fight." He grinned. It was rewarded with a roll of his eyes. "But I would like to examine that leg and hand of your before you go."

Gale raised an eyebrow, straightening his back out. "Why?" They were old injuries after all and they didn't bother him much in the ways of pain anymore. The only time he really felt any pain was in his leg when he either ran too long, hit it, and sometimes going upstairs, depending on what he was doing before. But the doctor who talked to him about the limp when he first got it said those were all natural. Why would he need to examine it now?

"I just want to check and make sure everything healed properly." Healed properly his ass. "May I?" he held out his hand, obviously asking for his own.

Gale rolled his eyes again with only minor pain, placing his hand in the student's. It was the promptly lifted up and subject to observation from every possible angle the man could muster. He felt the nubs moved his hand around and bent it slightly this way and that. "It hadn't given you any pain at all?"

"No." Gale replied quickly, leaning back on his other palm.

"Good." He let his hand go. "You're leg?" He pointed, obviously waiting for approval. Gale only nodded.

by **Gale Austin McCenry** on January 4th, 2015, 12:47 am

Fen quickly eyed the scar first, getting a general feel of what he was dealing with before placing his hands on the scar. He did something very similar to the bite on his shoulder at first, almost as if still trying to observe it before pressing his thumbs rather gently onto the scar. "Does it give you any pain?" He asked again.

"Sometimes. But not severely."

"What causes it to hurt?" He continued to press around. It was a little uncomfortable at first for Gale, but he dealt with it.

"Usually if I go up stairs or I run for a little bit."

"You can run with it?" The man questioned, glancing up at him. There was a hint of astonishment in his voice.

"Well, the best one can with a limp." He shrugged. "But not for long." He shrugged. Wincing silently as he started to press a little harder.

"Stand up so I can see the other scar." His focus on the injury made his tone sound more like a demand rather than a request, but Gale stood up anyway. The man quickly moved around to look at it. It was similar to the scar on the front of his thigh, with only minor differences, but one had to be thorough, he supposed.

"How hindered is your running with the limp?"

Gale thought for a few ticks. He hadn't actually thought about it much. He didn't do a lot of running most of the time, and the times he did run because of his job he didn't run for very long so his mind didn't typically wonder about it. But he started to recall the season and his deliveries. It didn't seem like it was hindered a whole lot. "Occasionally I have to skip s step because of a sudden pain, and I can't mark a whole of of sudden changes in directions or anything, but if I'm just running or jogging in a straight line it's not that bad. I tend to stay on my left side longer so my strides aren't very even but I don't recall anything other than that."

Fen nodded to himself before stopping for a second. He looked into the air in though, but Gale could see his rather contemplative state. But the medic was quick to return to was he was doing, now pressing harder. Gale gasped, instinctively jolting his leg away. "Apologies." Fen stated, rushing around Gale to view the front again. He did the same method as before, but this time he did it a lot harder. Gale couldn't help but wince as he did such. "That hurt?" He sounded someone surprised again.

"Yeah." No duh it hurts. He's not wincing because he likes to wince when people drive their thumbs into his leg.

Fen nodded and let go, walking over to his seat with a smile that made Gale uncomfortable. "From the looks of it, I think your limp can actually go away."

Gale raised an eyebrow. "Go away? Like I won't have a limp anymore?" How is that possible?

"You'd still have the scar of course, but with a little work you might be able to get rid of it."

"How?" Gale questioned. He has never heard of anyone having had a limp but then overcame it. That's just something he's never seen. "I thought limps were permanent."

Fen crossed his leg and folded his hands, his mouth moving to the side to think of a reply. It didn't take long. "Well, some are. It depends on the situation." One hand started to wave around in the air, almost as if he was drawing a picture. "Limps can be caused by several things. The most common is muscle damage. Injuries such as sprains, bites, tearing in muscles or ligaments, things like that is. But they can also be caused by psychological circumstances or by some illnesses and disease. "

Gale tried to follow along the best he could, his eyes fluttering this way and that trying to watch the man's hand twirl this way and that. "So my limp is muscle related."

Fen nodded. "But there are a few different factors that play into recovering from one or not. Most times limps are fairly minor, caused by a minor injury of some sort. And just like sprains and straining, with some time and proper care, you can recover from it and the muscles can be restored. It's only when the muscles and tissue are severely damaged that one can't recover." He explained, and starred at him.

After a few ticks of Fen no longer speaking, Gale raised his shoulder slightly,"And that means?"

"I believe your injury might be a minor one, Mr. McCenry."

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not."

The two starred at each other for a good chime, Fen with his smug grin and Gale with his wide eyed, irritated expression. He couldn't wrap his head around it being minor. It was a noticeable limp caused by a very large dog shaking him about like a toy. "I was told that it was permanent already."

"When?"

When I was being treated for it."

"I'm not surprised." Gale gawked again. What the heck was he talking about? "It's hard to be sure when things are fresh, especially one of that magnitude. You never know how something is going to heal so it's hard to make predictions. Based on the information at the time I think that presumption would have been correct, but then is then and now is now, and now we have more information about your leg." He smiled again.

Stop looking at me like that."

"Sorry." He wiped the smile off. The two remained silent for another chime or two.

So what do I do about it then?"

"Well, I suggest you take care of it. In order for muscles repair themselves, they need to rest and then be used. I'm sure your leg has had enough time to heal and rest, so go and use it."

"You mean walking?"

"Well, yes, but also running too. Your leg probably has lost a lot of it's flexibility due to the injury so I suggest you stretch it once or twice a day, get a few massages. If you do all of that I think it'll be gone within a season.

Gale blinked blankly. "A Massage?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Because it'll help keep the muscles from being so tense, allowing you to use it more and do such without as much pain. It hurts a lot more to use a muscle that is all cramped up, no?" Gale simply glared. "It'll also help you heal faster with all your other injuries, so I suggest you get one tomorrow if you can." Fen stood up, ready to leave.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, Tomorrow. The sooner the better. You want your limp to go away don't you?" Gale rolled his eyes. Of course he did. "Get one tomorrow." He smiled again, opening the door. "Besides, you look like you need one." He closed the door as he left, leaving Gale to put on his shirt and pants and head out.

by **Zandelia** on February 4th, 2015, 12:55 am

Gale :

Notes :

Any questions or concerns please PM me. As always, keep writing!

Solo Don't Kick the Puppies