Off the Lead

[Mikhail Thatcher]

Mick bent down and rubbed his canine's belly and when she rolled back onto her feet again, he picked up her harness and slipped it on, fastening in and clipping the lead into place. He rubbed her head as the black retriever sat patiently while Mick pocketed some treats and collected the few toys he wanted; they then headed out of their apartment, the canine never leaving the heel position, even though her nose was constantly working as she picked up new smells and sounds as they made their way down the stairs and outside.

Since they had arrived on campus a few students had come to speak with him about the shooting; which he guessed was because they saw him as a person passing through town, so whatever they said to him would leave with him when he moved back home. Well, either that, or the kids wanted an excuse to be able to hang out with Belle; which he really didn't blame them for, as Belle was good at begging for attention.

Today however, he was going to give her a little time-out. A chance to be what she was; a young canine. Walking through the campus, they made their way to the field and once they were in the middle of the grassy area, he unclipped the lead from the harness and with Belle sitting on the ground watching him, he tossed the ball he was holding straight up and caught it again, smiling as the black dog bounced on her front paws. "Wait." He told her as he pulled his arm back and pitched the ball. "Fetch!" He said as soon as he released the ball and the canine spun around and took off after the flying ball.

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Amber looked out at the academy grounds, topped with a mostly blue sky.  The view from the top of the bleachers was nice and she liked to come up here sometimes to look at it.  She wasn't sure how long she stood there, looking out at the world, when she heard something.  She turned around and looked down at the field to see what it was.  A man and a dog, who she had seen before but had never met, had just walked in and the man let the dog off leash to play.

Amber slowly walked down the bleachers, looking at the dog.  She liked dogs, but her brother liked dogs even more and he had always been sad that they were never allowed to have one because their father was allergic.  Their parents had once, years ago, suggest getting a hypoallergenic dogs but her brother thought that the hypoallergenic dogs were some of the not as good breeds. When he wanted something he wanted to get exactly what he wanted, not close to what he wanted.  Still, at least he had enjoyed the horses, which Amber at least felt were a lot better then dogs but dogs were still good.

Amber climbed down to the bottom of the bleachers and sat down on the bottom step.  She looked at the dog and the man playing and thought that it nice sight. 

[Mikhail Thatcher]

Mick smiled as he watched the Retriever fly across the field and launch herself into the air to snag the ball on its descent before she loped back to her owner and dropped the ball at his feet, nudging it when he didn't instantly pick it up.

"Good girl." He said as he scratched her behind the ear and then bent to pick up the ball. He smiled as he tossed the ball into the air and caught it again. "You want the ball?" He asked as Belle bounced up and down on the spot, letting out an excited yap as she sat on the ground, even though her tail was wagging so hard that it made sitting almost impossible. "Okay then... Fetch!" He pretended to throw the ball in one direction as he spoke the key-word and the canine shot off in that direction before Mick turned and pitched the ball in the opposite direction.

He knew it was a mean trick, but as he watched Belle skid as she changed direction and took off after the actual ball. He laughed heartily as the canine all but nose-dived on the ball as she reached it just as it hit the ground.

Mick watched as Belle stood up from skidding across the grass, give an almighty shake and then heading back toward him, ball held firmly in her mouth as she bounded across the grass. "It's a good thing you're not golden, little girl." He laughed as he massaged her shoulder gently as she dropped the ball between his feet. "Otherwise you'd have a grass-stain along your side." He laughed again as Belle sat and gave an excited bark as though she were telling him off for being too slow in throwing the ball, yet again.

Picking up the ball, he didn't muck around this time as he pitched it in the direction he was facing with a simple. "Fetch!" And the canine sprinted off after the flying object.

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Amber watched the dog who appeared to be having so much fun from such a simple thing.  Horses did not do this to the extent that dogs often did, and humans definitely didn't.  It was fun to watch to dog having fun and she smiled for the first time in a long time. 

She had been pretty upset lately and her horses cheered her up somewhat but they weren't very happy themselves because they both knew that there was something wrong.  Rapunzel was glad that Klein was here now but she still seemed sad and Amber knew that it was because her horse could tell that she was upset, and she had been for a while but lately even more so.  Klein, while he seemed to like being around Amber and Rapunzel, also seemed to notice this and worry about her too, but he also seemed to be looking around for Jackson.  Amber could not fault him for this because, as cruel as he was to her sometimes, he was really caring and comforting and she really felt as if she needed him but she could not have him because he was dead, and her father had told her to tell anyone who asked that he died in a car crash.  Her father had also told her that he treated her like his victim, which she wasn't allowed to tell anyone because her father claimed that he feared people would judge her for it but she feared that the real reason was that he feared that if she told someone that and that person also knew that he was dead then they might put two and two together and get suspicious of him, and that he did not deserve her if he was going to treat her that way.

Amber's smiled had faded, when her thoughts started rushing.  When the ball flew over the fence and the dog ran up to the fence and stood there, eagerly, Amber perked up a bit.  She walked over to the ball, picked it up and tossed it back over the fence.

[Mikhail Thatcher]

Mick laughed as he watched Belle fly across the grass and then launch herself into the air, flying a couple of feet before snagging the ball from the air and then landing, still moving forward at a run. It was moments like this that made him wonder if Belle was being wasted as a therapy dog, and if she would have been better off as an agility dog - she seemed to love leaping into the air and doing things as fast as possible.

He shook his head to clear it as he realised that Belle hadn't returned to him and looking to the dog, he gave a sharp whistle and nodded when the canine came to an abrupt halt before she left the grass and stepped onto the track. He caught a movement on the other side of the fence and watched as something flew over the fence - and watching the way that Belle's tail was wagging rapidly, he could tell that this had caught her attention too - as he was standing mid-field though, he couldn't tell anything more about the other person other than the fact that they were indeed human. Giving another whistle, this one slightly different in sound to the first one, he nodded when Belle looked from the now descending object toward him before she seemed to give a shrug and padded in his direction.

"Good girl!" He praised Belle when she returned to him and dropped the ball between his feet and he was a huge fuss over the canine for listening to her commands. He glanced toward the bleachers again as he bent to scoop the ball up, wondering if he should walk over and explain that throwing something toward another person's dog wasn't a done thing. What if he had been doing a training session? He decided against the thought though as he didn't want to create issues between himself and students before he could have a chance to build a good rapport with any of them.

Scooping the ball up, he turned away from where the person was and pitched the ball in that direction. "Fetch!" He blew out a breath as Belle shot off after the ball. He looked over toward where he now knew a person was and wondered if he should invite them to come and play fetch?

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Amber did not go and sit back down. She just stood there and watched them, threw the fence, for a little while and then she looked down at her fingers. She did not know why but her fingers, on one hand, had gripped the fence and then her fingers, on her other hand, gripped it as well.  This did not surprise her because, for years, she had often found herself gripping things and she never knew why but she did know that she wished that she were gripping her big brothers hand instead of some random fence.

She turned her attention back to the dog, who seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy.  It often amazed her how fast and long horses could run, but this dog was even more impressive.  Amber could not run for more then a few seconds, but it occurred to her that she had never tried to run any longer then that because she had never been allowed too.  Her brother could, or had been, able to run for almost half an hour at a time but she doubted that most, less athletic, people could do that.  Animals could do so much more then humans and Amber had always been amazed by that.

[Mikhail Thatcher]

Mick was regretting that he hadn't brought a water bottle out with him, and as he watched Belle sprinting after the ball, he decided that this would be the last one. He was hot, so the canine must be boiling.

He smiled as Belle came trotting back to him and laughed as she dropped the ball and flopped to the ground, panting and finally tired of running. "Come on then, baby girl." He laughed as he clipped the lead onto her collar and waited for her to rise to her feet before he made his way toward the track so that they could exit the field. "You should have joined us." He called to the girl he could now see properly. "I'm sure that Belle would have enjoyed the company, I know I would have." He smooched to the canine as she nudged his leg with her nose. "Have a good rest of your day."

He could tell that something was off with the girl's psyche, but he also knew that now wasn't the time as he needed to get Belle inside and give her a drink and give her one of the peanut butter, banana ice cream treats that he made, and Belle seemed to love, and they were a great treat on a day like today.

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Amber was sad to see them leaving, as she was enjoying watching them play but she could see that the dog appeared to be getting tired.  She was surprised when he spoke to her and even more surprised by what he said.  She was tempted to say something back but she knew that it was highly unlikely that he would be able to hear her from that distance unless she spoke loud enough that her voice would get too breathy for anyone, except for her brother, to understand.  She turned away from the fence and walked over, closer to them.  "I didn't think that I could," she said. 

She looked at the dog. "May I pet her," she asked.  She had not been planning on that, but she suddenly really wanted too.  The dog looked soft, but she also looked hot.  It must be hard to be a black animal on a hot day.  She assumed that that must be why they were leaving, and then a thought occurred to her. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you," she told him.  She did not want to keep them from leaving, especially when they were probably going to go somewhere to cool down.

[Mikhail Thatcher]

Mick smiled when he saw that he'd caught the girl off guard. "When Belle here isn't wearing her vest, she's just your regular dog." He assured the girl. His smile grew when the girl asked if she could pet the canine. "Sure."

He jiggled the lead to get the retriever's attention. "Belle, mudhun." He nodded as the canine dropped to her belly, resting her chin on her paws as she looked up at the girl with that classic "puppy" look, and her tail thumped noisily on the ground. He knew that she would now remain lying down until he gave her the cue to rise.

He shook is head to the girl's next words. "It's not a bother at all." He replied. "Belle likes meeting new people, and so do I." He smiled again. "As I've mentioned, she's Belle and I'm Mick." He had chosen to remain working here as a counsellor, but he still wasn't sure how the students should address him. When he'd worked with kids in the past, they generally didn't actually call him anything until close to the time with them heading off, and normally then it was just sir - and there was no way he wanted kids addressing him as such here - not if he could help it anyway. He guessed that he should go and talk with Jen and see what she thought about how he should asked the students to address him.

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When he mentioned the dog's vest, Amber figured that Bella must be a service dog of some kind.  She wondered what service she performed and she was about to ask when Bella laid down on command and gave her a cute look.  Amber smiled, crotched down and rubbed the dogs belly with both hands.  She had heard about the new counselor with the therapy dog and she suspected that Bella and this guy were it.

She was relived when he told her that it wasn't a bother, but she could not help but wonder if that was actually the case or if she really was a bother and he just didn't want to make her feel bad. Based on his friendly greeting she decided that she was not, or at least she hoped so.

When he introduced himself, she was surprised that he had used his first name.  She had met some adults who did that but she had always found it odd.  Her parents had taught her, when she was a child, that it was disrespectful to call an adult by their first name but she assumed that it was more respectful to call them whatever they asked to be call or introduced themselves as.  She kept one hand of Bella and held her other hand out for a shake.  "It's nice to meet you Mick," she said.  "I'm Amber."

   

[Mikhail Thatcher]

Mick easily read the surprise on the girl's face as he too crouched down and shook her hand. "It is as pleasure to meet you, Amber." He told her with a warm smile. "If addressing me so informally makes you uncomfortable, can call me Mr Thatcher." Yes, he should be telling her to call him Doctor Thatcher, but he'd worked with children long enough to know that the Dr prefix made a lot of youngsters uncomfortable - and for a lot of them it was a good reason too.

He glanced down as Belle released a whine and stretched forward with her front legs - as close as she would get to breaking a command, but a clear sign that she wanted to return to his apartment. "I had better get this girl inside." He said as he straightened up. "Munggah Belle." The canine rose to her feet at the command and stood at his side.

Mick gave the girl another smile. "Don't stay out in the sun too long." He said with a small chuckle. "And make sure to keep yourself hydrated." Two things that he knew some teenagers didn't think about. "Come on pup." With a wave, he made his way to the apartment building, walked inside and removed Belle's lead so that she could race up to their suite.

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"Um... okay," she replied, a little embarrassed that he had noticed her discomfort. She then realized that a consular would probably know how to recognize things like that and she wondered if maybe she should be more careful around him, or maybe with everyone, or maybe she should just not talk to him anymore.

When he mentioned needing to get Bella inside, Amber remembered that she had looked hot, probably from running around in the sun.  She felt bad for having held them up and she almost apologized for it but she had a feeling that he wouldn't want her too, plus that might just hold them up some more.  It was kind of neat to see the dog get up on command and walk right at his side.  Service dogs were so impressive and there seemed to be more at this school then anywhere else, which Amber did not understand but found odd. 

"Bye Bella, bye Mr. Thatcher," she told them, as they started to leave.  The two things that he told her as he was leaving seemed kind of random at first but then she realized that they both did go along with it being a hot day and were things that she didn't really pay much attention too and she wondered if maybe she should.