New Employees

[cottoncandypink]

What Wilford hopes is the next morning (it's hard to tell, the way time is funny), Wilford is waiting at the bar with a cup of coffee. He's supposed to be showing Autor around his new job, but he has a sneaking suspicion he might have somehow skipped forward another few weeks.

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[cottoncandypink]

Buster devours the egg that's left for him, and continues to hover around for more. When the little pieces of chicken are tossed to him, he snaps at the air, but misses every single one of them. The chicken bounces off his face and onto the ground.

When he doesn't get chicken often enough, he yips to make sure he hasn't been forgotten. Each time, he sounds just a little more desperate.

[herr_bookman]

Autor shushes the dog, and tosses him one last piece of chicken before locating a frying pan. He spends a few seconds figuring out the oven--it's similar enough to the one in the bar--and starts frying up the meat. Cooking the meal only takes a few minutes, and he's soon dishing up most of the chicken for Buster--and reserving a little for himself as well.

He places the dog's plate on the floor, and carts his to the table--which is covered in mail and Wilford's coat. Autor sets his plate down on the table and stacks the letters, leaving them in a neat pile. Then he starts to eat.

[cottoncandypink]

Buster's meal is gone in about twenty seconds. And then he spends another ten licking the plate to make sure he has all of the tiny little bits.

When he's done with that, he comes over to the table. Why is Autor at the table? What's up there? He sniffs at it, while still managing to keep all four feet on the ground. Barely.

[herr_bookman]

Autor scarfs down his food just as fast as Buster did his. The ex-soldier sets his plate down on the floor for the dog to lick, and continues working on his grocery list. After Buster has thoroughly licked the plates, Autor carries them to the sink, where he scrubs them until they shine. He loads them in the dishwasher for good measure.

"[Come, dog,]" Autor says, patting Buster on the head. The boy finds a bright pink leash by the door, and clips it to the animal's collar. Then he queues up his map, locks the door, and sets out to the grocery store.

[cottoncandypink]

The leash is weird, because it means they're going somewhere after the car. He tolerates it, but gives a good shake to voice his displeasure at it. Once they're outside, he leads Autor down to the garage and waits for him to open the door.

When Autor doesn't want to go into the garage, it's confusing and exciting. Also, the pavement is really hot on his feet! He dances and steps oddly until he can get to the side of the road to walk on the grass and dirt along the hard shoulder. Everything smells so different out here! He's never been here! He stops to sniff at something green and pokey. It hurts!

[herr_bookman]

Autor lets Buster explore along the shoulder of the road, watching him be startled at every little blade of grass. The boy tugs on the leash, keeping him to a meandering pace towards the store.

[cottoncandypink]

Buster stops to snap at some bugs flying around in the grass, and to bark at a squirrel, and to pick up something dead, making it vanish into his inventory before Autor has the chance to spot him.

When someone walks down the other side of the road, Buster immediately switches from curious exploration to attack mode. He barks and growls at the person, trying to put himself between the other person and Autor. It makes the other person look warily their way and pick up the pace.

[herr_bookman]

"Buster! Nein!" Autor says, tightening his grip on the leash. If Buster is going to bark at every stranger, this will be a long trip. Autor wraps the leash around his hand thrice, holding on to the pink lead. He tugs the dog along the road, eventually reaching the store.

Autor has never seen a supermarket before, and he's amazed at how large the store is. He watches people pick up carts from the outside before picking up one himself. Then he walks up and down the aisles, marveling at how expensive all the food is.

[cottoncandypink]

Buster doesn't bark at every stranger. Just that one. Because he was scary.

When they get to the supermarket, Buster knows what he's supposed to do. When Autor picks his cart, Buster quickly gets into the bottom compartment to stay out of the way. He watches everybody walk past, yipping a few times when Autor passes something he should get.

This isn't the same supermarket they usually shop in though. It's a weird, new place, full of weird new smells, and lots of kids that want to stop to pet him.

[herr_bookman]

Autor tries to tell the kids that Buster is not for petting right now, because they're at a store, but eventually gives in to let the children do as they will with the dog. Autor watches Buster closely to make sure he won't bite, and says, "Welcome," to the grateful parents.

"[Good dog, Buster,]" Autor says, patting him as well. The boy returns to his shopping, and with Buster behaving, he's able to relatively quickly complete the trip.

He watches the person in front of him in the checkout line load their groceries on the conveyer belt, and use the register. He's silent, focused on his task, as he mimics that person. Swiping the card is a lot easier than he thought it would be.

And no one made any loud noises in the store, like he was braced for. So many strangers made for a dangerous trip, but he finds he was able to walk among them without being massively triggered, so he counts it a victory.

"[Buster, let's go home,]" Autor says, after coding all the groceries into his sylladex.

[cottoncandypink]

Buster knows that shopping time is quiet time. Because Daddy gets really angry when he gets kicked out of a store. Buster doesn’t like that, so he sits still and is quiet.

Once they’re outside again, he dances around the hot pavement until they’re able to get to grass again. Then it’s more snapping at bugs and sniffing at things that are pokey and painful. Buster does not know why the plants hurt, but they make him angry, so he starts barking at them every time they pass one.

[herr_bookman]

Autor almost smiles. The dog is angry at cacti. Autor has never seen a cactus in real life, and is tempted to poke the plant himself, but doesn't. He allows Buster to bark and wander and play more than he did on the way to the store, but he's still on high alert for strangers.

[cottoncandypink]

Buster doesn't bark at any more strangers that come their way. Not even the joggers in their neon spandex.

He gets excited again when they come into view of the house once more, and starts jumping and running in circles around Autor. What a fun adventure! Didn't Autor think this was fun?

[herr_bookman]

Autor almost gets tangled up in the leash, but he mananges. He approaches the house, eyeing the giant cactus that blocks the back door. "[Strange,]" he murmurs to himself, and crosses to the front door with Buster.

Unlocking the front door takes only a moment, and Autor enters the house. He shuts the door and unclips Buster's leash, hanging the lead in its place. Then Autor crosses to the kitchen to put the food away.

[cottoncandypink]

While Autor puts everything away, Buster runs a few laps through the house, shaking off the feeling of the leash on him. He tolerates the leash, but that doesn't mean he likes it. Once he feels better, he hops back up onto the sofa with his bear and rolls around, apparently falling asleep mid-roll with his back twisted and his hind legs straight up into the air.

[herr_bookman]

Autor finishes straightening out the fridge. He bought enough to make meals for himself for the next week or so, as well as food for Buster--with extra eggs.

After passing the dog on the couch with another almost-smile, Autor settles into his new room. He figures out the netbook and decides to use that rather than his own while he's in Wilford's world. The ex-soldier still thinks this is the easiest job in the multiverse.