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Unlike most of Colin's Saturday's, this one was fairly staid; he only had a moderate workout at the gym before getting a shower and grabbing his camera. Coffee could be had at Quenton's Catfe with plenty of time to head to the park so that he could take some snapshots of whatever caught his fancy, be it flora, fauna, or other in nature.

For once, the danseur was dressed somewhat moderately; respectable dark-wash denim jeans with well worn red chucks on his feet. A large rainbow jacket covered up whatever he might have been wearing as a top, but was quite the eye-catching article on it's own. He wore no hat, just shaggy blond curls held back from his forehead with a broad green headband, and he had his camera pointed at a very handsome labradoodle.

"Is this your dog? I hope you don't mind, I took a couple snaps of him in motion." Colin rose from the half-crouch he'd adopted to get a better shot of the dog and blinked a bit, parsing the question about the - leaves? "Oh? Um...something like that?

"Where are my manners?" Colin put his camera strap around his neck so he could free up one hand, the DSLR camera whirring quietly to stand-by mode with lack of use. "I'm Colin. Colin Hargrove. Nice to meet you. Staccato? Great name for a dog, by the way - its absolutely a stunner!" Smooth from practice, Colin offered his right hand with a smile, certain he was making a new friend.

"He is a very handsome dog, absolutely stunning." Colin's expression was bright as they exchanged greetings and he got his hand back, "Oh, thank you! I figured something bright was appropriate if I was going to be out and about. Wouldn't want someone to accidentally run into me with their bike or something while I'm taking pictures." Also, he just loved bright things, which was heavily reflected in the contents of his closet and dresser at home, not that Julian would have any idea of that.

"Good to meet you, Julian! Mmm..I don't get to take them nearly as much as I'd like. It was a much easier hobby when I was a student. But I get out sometimes, so that's good enough for now, I guess." Colin didn't seem to be too brought down by the lack of time for his photography hobby; either because he was busy enjoying petting Staccato or simply because that was in his nature. "Maybe he just likes the smell of my cat!"

He blinked a bit at the hair comment, then looked from Julian to the dog and then reached up to feel his own curls before blinking once more. "..." Colin broke out in laughter, bright and happy, "I guess we do! How funny." Hearing that his new friend's canine friend was actually a service dog was super interesting.

"Oh wow, a service dog?" Colin then frowned a bit in concern, remembering something, "Should I be interacting with him like this then? I've heard they're supposed to be treated a bit differently because of their training? I don't want to cause any problems."

Colin had no idea why his new friend was so absolutely thrilled to be alive, but it certainly seemed that he was and that joy was something he could get behind - it was infectious and wonderful. There were few enough reasons to be so chipper thanks to the war going on around them that the danseur tended to hold jealously to each and every one that came up so that he could share the joy with whomever would allow it. Julian seemed to be the same in at least some of that regard, which was brilliant.

"Colours are fantastic, they can evoke such emotion, right? I'm pretty fond of them myself." Clearly the outburst had made his new friend a bit embarrassed, but Colin thought nothing about it beyond that Julian was exuberant and wanted to share. Maybe it was a little bit of an over-share, but...well, his own sister did the same sometimes. It wasn't anything bad, certainly nothing to be ashamed of - or upset about.

To help deflect some of Julian's discomfort for a moment, and because Julian had explained that it was alright to do so, Colin focused on the dog, telling him he was a very good dog and leaning over to scritch at his chest the way he knew most dogs loved. "Who's the best boy? Are you the best boy, Staccato? Yes you are, such a good boy helping Julian out! So brave and smart and handsome!"

Unfortunately, Colin's plan backfired a bit because Julian's explanation seemed to take him to the land of over-sharing once more, which had him blushing and flustered again. Poor guy, I guess social situations aren't his forte. Kind of like Miri in groups. "That's fantastic, to have him as a resource. My sister's disabled and we've thought about getting her a service animal, but so far it's not worked out."

He hadn't needed to share that information, but hopefully it would help Julian feel a little less like he'd put himself on the spot and return to being more at ease. "You don't need to apologize, my friend. You've done nothing wrong." Colin's smile was bright and warm and entirely genuine as he leaned over to rub gently at Staccato's curly ears while looking up at Julian so that the other man would know he meant everything he was saying.

"It's obviously something you're passionate about. I get the same way about ballet."

Julian's enthusiasm for Colin's career was endearing and more than a little surprising; Destiny City might have been a place with a fairly strong Arts presence, but that didn't necessarily mean that people one met on the street would be interested in things like ballet, opera, or an art gallery. "Yes, really. I dance with the Destiny City Ballet Company."

He watched his fluffy-haired friend struggling with the word 'Nutcracker', but didn't rush or press him, continuing to pet Staccato while he waited for Julian to catch the word in his own time as he would have done with his own sister. "We do a week long run of the Nutcracker every year for Christmas, it's tradition." Colin smiled brightly and patted the dog on the head before straightening so his back didn't get a crick in it. "I'll be dancing as the Nutcracker prince this year. If you can, you should take in a show. A good boy like Staccato would be welcome too, in his handsome vest."

Like all proper places, service animals were welcomed by the Theatre, though some did not like the sharp smells of the orchestra pit.

Colin could only nod and enjoy Julian's exuberant enjoyment of the idea of him as the Nutcracker prince. Well, and strike a courtly pose and perhaps give Julian a bit of a stage bow, graceful even half hidden by the voluminous street clothes covering the lines of his body. "It'll be my third year in the role, but I've been playing parts in versions of the Nutcracker ballet since I was thirteen or so."

Julian seemed very interested in attending a show, which was excellent; Colin did hope that it wouldn't be too overtaxing on his senses. Some folks got a bit over-done by the orchestra, or the lighting, or that many moving people on the stage. Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing until one tried. "Well, if you've never seen the ballet live, the Nutcracker is the perfect show to start with."

His friend's sudden concern as to the potential dress code brought a very gentle hand to Julian's shoulder while the blond shook his head and smiled. "Not at all, some people dress up because they like to and there are some events that are meant for suits and ties, but usually folks come dressed in what you might wear to go out to dinner." Colin moved his hand from Julian's shoulder, just in case touch was a taboo thing - sometimes he forgot himself, forgot that people had personal space boundaries and that he should respect them - and continued a bit. "Or what you might wear to church, I guess."

"It's not a silly question, either. If I were thinking of going somewhere new, I'd want to know about any potential dress-codes from someone that had been there. I think it's a really smart question."

Colin hoped that had been helpful, he did so want Julian to get to enjoy seeing something magical without having to deal with too many worries.

"It's very usual for a principle dancer to carry the same part multiple years in a row. It makes practice much easier." It also meant that one did basically get 'typecast' unless one asked specifically to do something different from time to time, but that was part of the business. "I'm not so princely right now, but if you come to a show, I promise I'll show you a real live prince." Colin smiled brightly, if Julian was impressed with a bow while he was dressed in street clothes and no stage make-up...he'd probably go into a good sort of overload seeing Colin and all the other ballet dancers in full regalia.

Julian thanking him, just because they'd met - being grateful was kind of strange, but not off-putting. He'd met other people that had similar traits before, so Colin just shook his head while smiling, "No no, I should be thanking you! I get to have two more friends come to see us dance! And of course, Staccato. That's all I could ever want--" Just then, Colin's phone began buzzing in his back pocket, startling him slightly.

"Oh, excuse me-- just a moment." He fished his phone out, letting Staccato nose his fingers for a moment as he checked the display. "It's my boss, I should really take this. I'm so sorry Julian--" He reached out to give his new friend's shoulder another squeeze, since he hadn't seemed to mind it while thumbing over to accept the call.

Putting his phone up to his ear and kicking himself for the rudeness of answering so suddenly, but not wanting to miss the call just in case it was something important. "Yes, sorry, what's up?" Colin stepped away from Julian and his service animal, turning from them and nodding at whatever was being said on the other end, brows knitting close as he listened. "Oh no, oh-- yeah absolutely. I can do that. No problem. Yeah. Mmhmm. No. Kinda ...Uh...twice? Um, give me twenty?"

Colin hung up, putting his phone back in his pocket and stepping back to Julian and the dog. "As much as I've enjoyed talking to you, duty calls. I get to teach the junior ballet class, which should be fun. And giggly." The blond pushed his hair behind his ears reflexively, "I hope I see you around Destiny City, Julian, and I'll definitely look for you at a performance!" After making a few more apologies, Colin had to go. The tiny ballerinas were waiting!