Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was fairly early in the morning, all things considered. On his day off, Roderick Bolasco would lay in bed until about 9 in the morning, then get up and have breakfast. It was a lovely morning ritual, spending some quality time with the people (and dogs) they cared about. Staccato woke up his roommate Julian earlier than that for a bathroom break, and the pair hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the outside world at that time. It was dark, as was the norm for this time of year, with light snowfall across a darkened, gray sky. No tremendous amount of chilling wind today. Julian noticed that snowfall somehow seemed to make the world softer, quieter. It was as though the snow absorbed the early sounds of morning, with some people going to work. The sun did not rise until later in the day, making everything feel sleepier. Clad in a windbreaker Roddy insisted he wear during the colder months, Julian stood on the back porch while Staccato did his business, listening more than seeing the world around him in quiet contemplation.

As a youma, he would not have appreciated this sleepy silence in the same way. No, indeed, if he were called to the surface to hunt, the silence would be considered an obstacle. He distinctly remembered preferring the hustle and bustle of downtown's lively noise as a cover in addition to the darkness. His mottled skin would not have blended into the snow like it did with the looming shadows of tired brick buildings...

A shiver tore through Julian then; not from the cold, but from memory. Chilling memories he sought to overcome and put to rest. Some days were better than others though the nightmares were subsiding gradually. As Roddy had explained earlier, he was sleeping for a very long time - many, many years. It would take time to overcome muscle memory and the nightmares that persisted.

With a sigh, and with Staccato already feeling much better, the pair returned to the warm house to start making breakfast. Julian insisted on giving Staccato a fresh-food diet, as he'd had plenty of time to prepare something to last the dog a few days instead of relying on dried foods. Staccato didn't seem to mind at all.

It was at breakfast, with sizzling omelettes being plated for consumption, that something seemed strange. After serving Roddy his breakfast and getting ready to sit down and eat his own, Julian wandered over to the curtains pulled over kitchen windows to open them and survey just how much snow might have fallen in the last hour or so. To his surprise, the ground seemed to sparkle. Maybe the fallen snow melted a little and re-froze, and it was the ice glistening on top? Hmm. There were still bits of snow falling from the sky, and the gray clouds above cast a sleepy darkness over the neighborhood.

Julian wasn’t about to let his breakfast get cold, however. He needed energy to play in the snow! “Oh, did I forget the orange juice? Roddy, did you want some orange juice? How about some chopped green onions for the omelette? Did you… did you sleep okay?” was the usual morning banter, Julian’s sleepy but soft voice joyful for another morning.

Mrs. Jones was the lovely (little feisty and sassy) elderly neighbor Roddy had been kind enough to introduce Julian to. The poofy boy was shy around her initially, but was brought out of his shell quickly at Mrs. Jones' insistence. Why, she simply had no time to be puttering around someone's shyness. Either spit it out or keep it zipped, ain't nobody got time for that! Julian learned that he could be open and less reserved around her, and Mrs. Jones seemed to prefer it that way. Sometimes, when Roddy was away at the shop, Julian would toddle over to help the older woman clean her house. Being a widow, she could probably use the help! And Julian didn't mind - it was doing a good deed for someone else without thought of reciprocation, which went a long way towards him making amends with the world.

"Do you think she'd like a snowman, Roddy?" came a sleepy reply, Julian taking forkfuls of his omelette. Not bad, but it could use some pepper. Good thing they had salt and pepper shakers handy at the table! Shaking just a little bit onto his breakfast, he couldn't help but smile. "...it's nice to... be able to eat. I guess that sounds funny, when it's so natural to everybody else. I'm just... happy about it."

Most of the time, breakfast was spent with quiet conversation, without the distraction of cellphones or television. Julian still kept the cellphone Delilah gave to him for emergencies, but he didn't do much else with it; there were no phone games or nonessential apps on the phone. Caller ID, weather, photos. That was about it! Julian didn't even possess any social media accounts or an email address. Anyone who needed to speak to him knew where to find him anyway.

"Hmm... I should go get the coats and the mittens... and the boots!" Roddy was kind enough to buy some boots for his roommate, perfect for the upcoming wintry season. Equipped with rubber soles, they were excellent for slick surfaces during rain as well. Detachable rubber cleats were necessary for snowdrifts. "Do you think Staccato should come too? With his sweater? It might be too cold, and I'd hate for his toes to go numb..."

Julian seemed utterly delighted at the thought of a snowman family awaiting Mrs. Jones when she arrived home. Work before play, as Roddy reminded him. Roddy was a very hard worker when he needed to be, setting aside leisure time to prioritize chores and the like before settling down for rest in the evening.

With a giddy nod, Julian was off to the closet closest to the front door, where heavy coats and boots and umbrellas were stored. Roddy ran warm, which is something his poofy roommate discovered when leaning against him on the couch during movie nights. Julian himself always seemed to be cold, so it balanced itself out nicely. "Coats... boots... mittens... scarf... oh, Roddy, you'll need a hat, too. Mrs. Jones said we'd catch illness if we stayed out in cold without being properly dressed. I want to wear... this hat!"

Returning to the kitchen table, arms full of heavy gray snow coats, four mittens, two scarves and two hats, Julian let them rest on the seat he once occupied. "Oh, I ran out of hands. I'll go get the boots~" Donning the hat of choice - a cream-colored hat with fluffy pompom on top - Julian turned around to disappear into the closet again. More than playing in the snow, he loved to help Roddy with important tasks and chores.

Important winter gear donned, Julian found he couldn't quite move his arms in his normal fashion, so he looked somewhat like a waddling penguin. But at least he was warm! Picking up one of the snow shovels, one mitten'd hand opened the door and he waddled out onto the porch. "Ready!"

Julian gave his tired, but jolly roommate a happy nod before taking each step down to the snow carefully. Stairs still sometimes bothered his ankles in that Julian would occasionally forget how to distribute his weight on his human feet. Muscle memory, Ginger would say, and Julian reminded himself to place his weight on the entirety of his foot instead of just the ball. Once he was down into the snow - a little over ankle-deep - the poofy boy set to work. Really, working like this to help Roddy and Mrs. Jones was a great step towards redeeming himself in the eyes of humanity.

Roddy went on ahead to work on the driveway, taking shovels full of snow from the pavement and moving it onto the lawn. Without a clear path, Roddy couldn't drive his care out of the garage. Julian's work would secure a safe path from the car to the house, and vice-versa. They would meet up somewhere in the middle.

Julian didn't mind the work at all. In fact, he rather enjoyed it, humming to himself as he plunged the rubber snow shovel into the white powder around him, chucking it into a pile to his right. Julian was left-handed and it took him a little bit to get the hang of things, but he didn't mind. Working with Roddy was nice enough, and he was happy to do his part. Some of the snow was quite glittery, strangely enough. Julian chalked it up to freezing rain atop the snow giving it a diamondlike effect. It was rather pretty!

With Roddy concentrating on his work, it came as no surprise that the bigger man didn't notice the snowball flying towards his back. It landed squarely on Roddy's left shoulder with a pfff!

"Staccato!" came a joking cry. "Don't throw snowballs at Roddy! We're working!"

Pfff came the snowball landing squarely on Julian’s chest as the young man laughed like he hadn’t in days. It was pure happiness to be able to live like this. To be able to live at all, really. And even if other people didn’t quite understand, they knew what joy was. They remembered pure, unadulterated joy. After brushing off some of the snow from his jacket, Julian had invented the rest of the story to explain just how the dog, without thumbs, cooped up inside the house, could throw snowballs.

“He’s very talented, just like his dad.” came the explanation, Julian putting on his Very Serious Face as best he could. Leaning on his snow shovel in the middle of a halfway-cleared path to the porch, he continued. “He told me he wants to try out for the Destiny City baseball team, and so he has to practice! Since dogs will probably be at a disadvantage, Staccato learned how to throw snowballs through solid matter! He said you’d be very proud of him.”

With another fit of laughter, Julian realized he couldn’t let himself be too distracted with play. He had another half of the walkway to shovel, and then they needed to work their way over to Mrs. Jones’ yard and help her. Roddy was right - work first, then play. “When we’re done, I’ll make lots of hot cocoa to warm us up. Do you like how sparkly the snow is, Roddy? It’s pretty nice. It’s like diamonds. Like those fancy rings in the jewelry store windows at the mall. Very sparkly.”

One shovel, two shovel… It was hard work, but Julian didn’t mind. It built muscle, it helped Roddy. That’s all that really mattered.

More laughter followed, Julian having just finished shoveling from the porch to the driveway. He leaned on the shovel handle, just as he’d seen Roddy do, and smiled. Staccato was a very good friend, confidente, watch-dog and support system, even though he couldn’t speak. The ladradoodle didn’t need to speak - his body language was more than enough to communicate. “We’re a pretty good team, aren’t we, Roddy? All three of us, like a little family, almost.”

His thoughts drifted and a blush crept to his face with Roddy’s jovial commentary. “The snow put on its best show… for me? N-no, no… definitely for you instead.” Julian hid his glower cheeks with gloved hands and turned away from Roddy to keep from becoming even more embarrassed. His roommate had a knack for knowing exactly what to say to fluster the poofy boy.

With a sigh and the blush subsiding, Julian turned back to face Mrs. Jones’ neighboring house. It was large, like Roddy’s, likely having been in her family for quite a while. The sidewalk would need to be shoveled as well as her driveway. Maybe she was sitting inside, enjoying a warm cup of coffee and giggling at them. She was a nice lady.

Lifting his shovel triumphantly, Julian started the toddle over to the sidewalk to begin his work. “Snow blower? Probably! But… I promise to work quickly so we can watch that new movie you got in the mail. Killer Crocs from Venus, right? And… I’ll make hot cocoa and maybe add some cinnamon…” Shoveling began in earnest. The sooner they started, the sooner they could finish!