Comin' on strong with all the chit-chat

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

Hawke really needed another dog.

Well, no, he didn't need another dog, but while Diesel was more than enough dog for any man, Hawke suspected he got lonely at times. So it just seemed like a good idea to look around a little, check out some of the local shelters, see if any of the dogs present really spoke to him. There definitely wasn't room for another dog as big as the Mabari at home, but maybe a medium sized dog? None of those little toy breeds, but a nice, mid-sized mutt. But since he hadn't been looking for any pets since he came to Kirkwall, a year or so ago, he wasn't sure where to go. He is currently deeply doubting his decision to take the advice of one of his fellow students who gushed about the shelter down in Darktown.

He'd told the nice woman at the front desk that he was looking for a smaller pet, someone to be a companion to his big dog, and she'd beamed at him and said he'd come to just the right place - the animals here had a wide variety of temperaments, and surely he would find one that fit his household. Then she'd handed him off to a man who'd only shown him cats, so far. Not that Hawke disliked cats, he just ... well, he was a dog person, plain and simple. And so he'd politely peered at the various felines he'd been introduced to, but he was getting impatient.

"So," he said to the guy, Anders, he thinks he was introduced as. Which sounded like a place and not a person. "Where do you keep your dogs? Kind of time to move on to the main event, don't you think?"

Comments

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"Ack!" Hawke's brawny arm shoots out, like the tiny cat is causing him to lose his balance, and he briefly clutches at Anders' sleeve before letting go. The sensation of the small cat tongue is supremely odd, but then-

"So ... cats are basically like small, pointy dogs." After all, he gets face licks all the time from his mabari, it's just considerably wetter. "With less drool."

[mageagainstthemachine]

"Definitely a lot less drool," Anders agrees with another laugh, patting Hawke's shoulder. "And they're not as needy for attention. You generally have to earn their respect and trust. They don't want as many pats and cuddles as dogs, but when they do, they let you know. Personally, I think cats are smarter than dogs in general."

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

Hawke's eyebrows leap practically to his hairline.

"You might be ridiculously good looking, but you're clearly at least a little bit mad if you think that," he huffs, though he is still stroking the little cat quite gamely, even though she seems determined to place her bum squarely in his face while perching on him and sniffing at his chest. "Cats are not smarter than dogs, that's blasphemy."

[mageagainstthemachine]

Anders' eyebrows shoot up at the 'ridiculously good looking', but then he scoffs, tossing his hair even if it's tied back to make the gesture superfluous at best. "I might say the same of you. Just because you've made the term 'barrel-chested' a gorgeous reality doesn't mean you're sane for thinking so little of cats. I have yet to meet a dog that can outsmart a cat."

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"You know mabari understand and can respond to human speech, right?" Hawke demands, even as he subtly rolls his shoulders back a little to show off said barrel chest. "How many cats can do that? And you don't see the police using drug sniffing cats, do you? I'll give you that cats are good at working the system, but that does not make them more intelligent than man's best friend."

He scratches the little cat just at the base of her tail, giving Anders a stern look that is more than a little ruined by the feline, winding around his neck again.

[mageagainstthemachine]

"Cats have a mind of their own and are too independent to be made into servants for people," Anders sniffs. The cat, meanwhile, starts rubbing into Hawke's ear while her tail curves insistently against his jaw, purring hard enough to be heard clearly by the blond.

"... Also, for a dog person, she seems quite fond of you."

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"It's a purely physical attraction, I'm sure," Hawke snorts, but he does pause, then asks, a bit more thoughtfully, "Do cats and dogs get along sometimes? Particularly big dogs and very small cats?"

[mageagainstthemachine]

Smiling to himself, Anders crosses his arms and nods. "They can. When you introduce a new pet to the house, you need to monitor their behavior and make sure to get it settled. Dogs are usually the culprits for causing trouble at first, since they're naturally more excitable than cats. You may need to restrain the dog to introduce it to the cat, and should avoid forcing either animal to be in physical contact with the other."

He reaches out and gently strokes the black cat's spine, adding, "This one is quite mellow in temper, at least, and very inquisitive. If you're worried how she might take to your dog, I think she could handle it, so long as you make sure the dog isn't violent to her and keep it back at first."

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"No, Diesel's a big softie," Hawke admits, his voice warm with affection. "He might drown her in drool, but he'd never hurt a fly. He makes the most terrible watchdog. But I have to be gone so often - he really just needs someone to keep him company when I'm not there. I come back between classes to walk him, and some days he has doggy daycare, but that's expensive, and on my income, not really an option for every day."

[mageagainstthemachine]

"You're a student?" Anders asks, surprised. Given Hawke's appearance, he'd pegged the man to be a post-grad, in the workforce in... "What are you studying?"

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

Hawke isn't surprised at Anders's surprise - he's been getting similar assumptions since his early teens when he sprouted up practically overnight and his facial hair started coming in thick and black. He grins, rubbing the back of his neck in a self-effacing kind of way.

"Law, actually. I intern at one of the law offices in Lowtown, as well - they can always use the free labor and all."

[mageagainstthemachine]

"... Are you new?" he asks, curious. "It's just that I'm in Lowtown most days and... I've never seen you before. You seem like the kind of man I'd remember seeing."

Especially for that body.

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"At the school? No, I've been there a few years now. At the law firm, yes, I've only been there ... three months, maybe? I was doing some work for one of the Hightown offices, but it didn't really suit me." Hawke shrugs, but his tone is more serious, with an edge of intensity. It lends him a charisma that all the jokes in the world can't really match. "I'm not going to University to learn how to help the wealthy get off on the crimes that have already been overlooked time and time again by the police. The people in Lowtown, well, they need help just a bit more, don't they? Abused by the system, falsely accused and imprisoned all the time for things that they can't possibly control - race, magical ability, all of that."

"Besides," he adds, face relaxing just a bit, back into that easily smile that lies so convincingly, Me, serious and passionate about something? No, of course not, why would you ever think that? "I've got atrocious manners, Mother's always said."

[mageagainstthemachine]

Anders is a pretty jaded man for his young age, though when it comes to mage rights and freedom from slavery, he can be surprisingly passionate. But something about the shift in Hawke's tone and expression stirs him up and he's... admittedly moved by it. His eyes are still wide with surprise when Hawke relaxes again, and a slight flush rises to the mage's pale cheeks.

Clearing his throat, Anders reaches up to get the kitten from Hawke's shoulders. "Well, you don't really need them in Lowtown. I do some volunteer work at a clinic there, and I'm lucky if a patient knows to say 'thank you'."

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"The fact that some of them do means it's not a veterinarian clinic, I'm guessing?" Hawke asks, wincing a little as the cat's claws automatically hook into his shirt as she's lifted. His eyes follow her a bit forlornly, though, as she goes - he is apparently a man who gets attached rather quickly. He notes the flush in passing, then his gaze flicks back, taking it in again. "Are you some kind of cat loving doctor or healer?"

[mageagainstthemachine]

"Aren't they the same thing?" Anders points out, not necessarily lying but certainly evading answering about his magehood. Noticing how Hawke's eyes chase after the kitten, though, he asks, "Would you like to consider adopting her? Not today, since obviously you were after a dog, but... maybe go home and think about it?"

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"No," Hawke says with a raised eyebrow, then corrects himself abruptly, "I mean, healers and doctors aren't the same thing, not ... yes, I would like to think about her."

He would actually like to take her home today, because he's an impulsive sort of person, but even he knows he probably needs at least a little time to prepare for a cat. She's obviously too small to eat Diesel's food, and cats need smaller leashes, too, right? Maybe he should ask Isabella. She looks like she owns cats.

"Can you hold her for me? Or does it not work like that?"

[mageagainstthemachine]

A small smile quirks Anders' lips, which he's quick to hide by looking off to one side briefly, masking the movement by taking the kitten back to her cage. "We can hold her for a few days for you. Just leave us your name and number, and we'll contact you if someone else shows up wanting to adopt her before you give us your answer."

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

Hawke considers this, then, once Anders has put the kitten safely away, he reaches out and takes the other man's hand, tugging it toward him and turning it palm up. His own hands are large, callused - clearly he's no stranger to hard work. With a spare pen he'd had in his pocket, he starts writing on the other man's palm, dark curls falling into his eyes as he bends over it.

[mageagainstthemachine]

The blond jumps at the touch, jerking immediately before holding still for the other man to keep writing. After a moment, though, he has to comment, "I meant at the front desk."

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

Hawke glances up, meeting the other man's gaze from close quarters and smiling roguishly. "This way I know you have it."

[mageagainstthemachine]

Again comes the flush, unbidden and unwanted as brown eyes widen with surprise at the smile. "... Are you usually this quick to give out your number to strange men?" he asks in an attempt at levity, a weak smile at the edges of his lips.

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"Only the really attractive ones who are apparently dedicating their lives to good works," the big man replies with barely a breath, grinning.

[mageagainstthemachine]

"... You could just ask me for coffee, you know," he quips, cheeks still a bit reddened, but an answering cheeky smile on his face. It's strange, he hasn't felt like a giddy flirty manchild in a while, but apparently all it takes to bring that side of him back out is another flirty (giant) manchild.

[senseisnotmystrongsuit]

"I could," Hawke agrees, "But this is more memorable. Besides, I really do want you to call me if someone else wants her."

He nods toward the kitten, back in her cage, and grins again. "And maybe when you do, you can tell me more about being a healer."

It's a guess, but not a bad one, he thinks. If Anders was a doctor, he wouldn't be so cagey about his reply, and certainly would say the two were basically the same. Of course, he might be neither, but Hawke is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.