[Video]

[toomanypetals]

A.

[Getting close to the Dark Hour, Kanda flips on his feed in annoyance and vague worry.]

Hey. Anybody see that stupid beansprout recently? He isn't back yet, and I don't wanna search the whole damn city for him.

[He'll just be flipping through his phone contacts while he waits for any replies, which leads to...]

B.

[About thirty minutes later, Kanda shows up again looking considerably more upset, eyes and nose a bit raw, though his face is set in a very distinct "I don't want to talk to you assholes" scowl.]

...Never mind. He's gone. Back, I assume, but he's not here anymore.

[And with that, he hangs up and promptly throws the phone in the closet. Any replies to B will be ICly a few hours late.]

Comments

[Text]

[toomanypetals]

[He's only guessing that "Pess" is a dog.]

...What'm I supposed to do with a dog?

[Text]

[truthsnomiracle]

I've found her to be of comfort in trying times -- including a situation much like your own.

[Text]

[toomanypetals]

[Hm...]

If you feel like it, go ahead. I'll be fine.

[Action]

[truthsnomiracle]

[Since the two of them have lived on the same floor of the hotel for five months, he doesn't need to ask for Kanda's room number -- he's noticed by now. As such, there's not much of a delay before there's a knock on Kanda's door by an Edgeworth trying to put on a brave face with a perked-up black-and-white, collie-like dog at his side.]

[Action]

[toomanypetals]

[Kanda's still a bit damp all over when he answers the door, and he raises an eyebrow at the two of them before standing aside to let them in. Things might look a bit...off. He'd thrown things around and then carefully put them back, but of course a few things aren't where they should be.]

...Come in, I guess.

[Action]

[truthsnomiracle]

[If Edgeworth had ever visited Kanda's room before rather than just having realized which one is his, he might have noticed quickly. As it is, only the obvious remains of tears stand out as he leads Pess in. The dog herself sniffs at Kanda in seeming concern, though Edgeworth silently urges her with a tug at her leash to get the rest of the way out of the door's path.]

[toomanypetals]

[And even those are starting to fade away, thankfully. His employers won't like seeing their valuable face all red and blotchy.]

Tea?

[truthsnomiracle]

[Edgeworth nods.] Please.

[Once the door to the apartment is closed after them, Edgeworth unhooks the leash on Pess. She looks at her owner questioningly for a moment, but ultimately starts to follow Kanda.]

[toomanypetals]

[Kanda sets the kettle to boil, then. And when Pess follows him around a bit-- because he doesn't really know anything about dogs-- he stoops down and awkwardly pats her head.]

...She's a beautiful animal.

[truthsnomiracle]

[Well, that's a start as far as Pess is concerned, so have a kiss on the hand in return, Kanda.]

Thank you. I do my best to ensure that she stays that way.

[toomanypetals]

Tch. Is it as much of a chore as it seems it'd be?

[...Yeah, okay, dog, you're cute. Kanda still isn't sure how this is supposed to help, though.]

[Maybe he should just get a pet of his own?]

[truthsnomiracle]

It does take time and skill to do well. Short-haired dogs typically require far less maintenance, however.

[Pess whimpers a bit and rears up slightly for a moment. Come on down, sad human!]

[toomanypetals]

Hm?

[Wat. He kneels down to peer at the dog in confusion. What are these strange noises you're making, Pess?]

I guess that makes sense.

[truthsnomiracle]

They come in all sizes as well, although they tend not to realize this fact themselves.

[And now you're getting leaned on by a large furball, Kanda.]

[toomanypetals]

Couldn't really have a pet at home... They expected us to live like priests, mostly.

[Er... okay, dog. He still has no idea what you're getting at.]

[truthsnomiracle]

"Us?" I don't believe you've mentioned your background before.

[As for the leaning, and Kanda's apparent confusion about it:] She enjoys being embraced. Typically when she leans on me like that, she's asking for a hug.

[toomanypetals]

Us... the Exorcists. Beansprout's one too.

[He sighs and reluctantly does that, then. He's not good with this hugging thing, but he'd been getting used to it with Allen, and Pess is just a dog.]

I guess you could say we were the combat arm of the Church's dirty little secret.

[truthsnomiracle]

[Edgeworth isn't much of a hugger either, but Pess is easy enough to please. The dog snuggles happily.

Meanwhile, Edgeworth half-frowns at that explanation. It's still not the most comfortable idea to contemplate even five months later, but his comfort zone has expanded to a point where this is far from a stretch nonetheless.]

Exorcists... That would explain why you could deal so simply with the concepts I was having personal difficulty with.

[toomanypetals]

We had to deal with a lot of abnormal situations. This was different, but hardly anything new.

[Oh, he sees... good dog. He should get a dog himself.]

[truthsnomiracle]

[And Pess will keep at this for as long as you like!]

I wouldn't call the majority of the cases I dealt with at home "normal" either, but their strangeness was typically a matter of complexity rather than of the sort of abnormality you're apparently accustomed to.

[toomanypetals]

Yeah, I'm talking more like "supernatural" rather than just complex and confusing. No getting around it.

[He'll just do this until Pess shifts. Stalemate?]

[truthsnomiracle]

[Or until the kettle whistles?]

That sort of thing was, er, apparently rare back home. I encountered only a single family with unusual capabilities.

[toomanypetals]

You're lucky, then.

[Saved by the kettle. He'll get up and brush dog hair off of him when it starts whistling.]

I'd much rather live in a world without it.

[truthsnomiracle]

[At least Pess has lived with Edgeworth just long enough to know that sound means an end to cuddles. She makes a small disappointed whine of protest, but gets out of the way.]

Agreed. Human capability falling into a consistent range would make my job far easier.