Aria -
Seren was carefully making her way up the last two flights of stairs to her floor in the apartment building. Her ankle was WAY better, but she still couldn't take all of them at once, so she rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, then went to the stairwell to head up. She was going slowly, and carefully, when she made it to the sixth floor landing. She was about to step onto the next flight when she heard a small, sad whine.

She turned around, her expression worried, and spotted the one who made the noise. It was a corgi, sitting by himself, looking utterly tired and worried. Seren froze for a moment, then slowly began to approach. "Hey there, little guy. Are you ok?" She said softly, in the most calming voice she could manage. She didn't know if he was friendly, or the kind that would n** a stranger. She noticed his tail wagging happily, and he didn't growl, so when she was close, she held her hand out for him to sniff. He did, and then proceeded to lick it and nuzzle into it, demanding pets. Seren couldn't help laughing, then she said "I'm betting you're lost, and I don't hear anyone searching. I'm guessing your human doesn't know you're gone yet. WELL then."

She leaned over and picked him up. However, she did not feel safe taking the stairs the rest of the way, now, so she headed back to the elevator, and then to her apartment. Once she got them both inside, she set her bag on the her coffee table, and went to her shabby couch, settling onto it and proceeded to check the silly boy, who kept trying to wash her face the WHOLE TIME, for a collar. She was pleased to see there was one, and that it had his name on the front. "Remington? What an adorable name! Oh you are just too cute!" She kissed his nose, and laughed when he managed to get a lick onto her cheek, then checked the other side. She was in luck, it had a number.

She pulled her phone out, and dialed.

Pao -
He was off work and not expecting any calls, mostly because he told his boss to please not call him since it'd been days since his last real day off, so when a call came he was busy. Napping. And snoring while he was at it. And then groaning because the constant ringing woke him up. The brunette rolled around for a bit, not wanting to be called in to work again, before picking the phone up. Of course his eyes were closed still, so he clearly didn't bother to look at who was calling, and very sleepily answered.

"I thought you said you weren't gonna call me," he muttered into the speaker. "I've only been off for how many hours. You can't need me that badly, can you?"

Aria -
There was a moment of dead silence, because first off, Seren had not expected this response at all. Hello was more common, after all. Second, the voice sounded sort of familiar. However, she regained her composure and said "Um. I'm not calling because I'm calling you in to work... I'm calling cause I found your dog Remington on the stairs of my apartment building. I'm guessing you probably are in the same one, but the poor boy looked pooped and sad..."

Pao -
The silence threw him off a little, to the point where he opened his eyes while waiting for whoever was on the line to finally say something. And when they did it he realized they sounded a little familiar before sighing a deep sigh.

"The little guy got out again, huh? Should've named 'im Houdini..." he muttered, all the while smiling wide as he sat up and gave a big yawn. "If he's tired by now he probably got out right after I got home...so he missed breakfast?" There was another sigh as he got up to check his pup's bowl, and sure enough it was still half full. The prospect of escape had always been more alluring to the little fluffball.

"Thanks for finding him and calling. I can come get him if you tell me which apartment you're in, of you can drop him off if you want. I'm in 703."

Aria -
There was another pause at the room number, and then a sudden explosion of laughter, because the room number connected why she knew the voice immediately. "Nate, it's Seren. You know where to find me. If you're as tired as you sound, and want to rest a little more, I can watch Remy for a bit more. Does he have any dietary restrictions other then the usual 'no garlic or onions, no chocolate', etc? I can give him a snack to tide him over." She sighed a little, before continuing. "I'd rather not walk him over, my ankle is doing better but it's saying it wants a rest."(edited)

Pao -
It took a bit longer to register the sudden laughter coming from the other line, along with the words explaining why it was happening at all. But when it did he snorted before moving the phone away so he could yawn again. Once he had it back to his ear he said, "Nah, I'll come get 'im. Even if he's tired he won't sit still long enough to nap unless he's in his bed." Or in his arms, though the brunette opted to leave that part out.

"Gimme a sec, I'll be there soon."

He hung up then and quickly made himself presentable, then picked up a small sticky note pad and his keys before heading out. The walk down the hall felt longer since he was lacking sleep, but soon enough he was standing in front of her door and knocking.

Aria -
Seren had to control the urge to sigh in disappointment. She rarely got to spend more then a minute or two petting doggies she met, so she'd sort of hoped to get lucky and get to play at dog ownership for a bit. Instead, she just cuddled the hell out of Remy, and gave him belly rubs and ear scritches the entire time she was waiting on Nate. The pup made her so happy for those few minutes. It just didn't feel like enough time.

When she heard the knock, she actually sighed this time, before calling out "One second!", then set Remy aside so she could stand. She went to pick him up, but apparently he either guessed what was up and wasn't ready to leave, or he thought it was a game, because he jumped down and raced to hide under her coffee table. There was a moment of indecision, then she went to the door, and opened it. "Come on in, he apparently is feeling playful, and is now hiding under my coffee table."(edited)

Pao -
He waited patiently for her to get the door, and when she finally opened it and said those words he snerked and peeked inside to see where his pup was. "If you ever decide to get a Corgi," he started, finally spotting a bit of his tail sticking out from under his hiding place. "Just be ready to commit to an active lifestyle." While he said that he had a small smile on, and he finally stepped into the room.

"Remy, come, boy," he called, and sure enough the pup came bounding up to him, looking up with a serious but still goofy type expression. Nate smiled down at the ball of fluff and leaned down to give him some well-earns pets. Though he did glance up at her before he started talking.

"Again, thanks for finding him. We'll call it square for what happened with your ankle?"

Aria -
"Good to know, should I ever be in a position to do so." She didn't comment that she was pretty active, normally. The ankle was sort of the limiting factor right now. Gods she ached to go running, she had been stuck inside. Sure, she'd used his suggestions but... She was missing the feeling of the breeze on her skin, on the days she was willing to risk an outdoor run.

She watched the dog come bounding out, and there was a moment of sadness that crossed her face, but she tried to hide it. "He's a sweetie. I'm glad I did. He doesn't need to be lost and lonely and sad." She leaned down too, though VERY carefully so as not to put too much weight on the bad ankle, and gave him some warm friendly ear rubs. "No problem. And uh. Sure, if you want. I'd have done it for any lost dog, honestly. We don't deserve the love and loyalty of dogs, our species." She was looking down at Remy as she said that, and her tone was abstract, like she wasn't thinking about her words much. "Far too many of humans don't, anyways."

Pao -
He watched her slowly, carefully lean down to give the short pup some more love. He could tell she was, at the very least, a dog person, if not someone who just had a general love for animals. And he especially believed that after she said those words.

"Mm...couldn't agree more," he said, crinkling his face up at the his loyal, loving pup. It was always nice to come home to a bouncing ball of fluff and energy, not to mention the pup's unconditional love. When he was younger he always had doubts that he would ever actually receive any kind of welcome whenever he got home, but with a dog...at least this dog in particular...it was almost a given now.

He watched as Remy leaned more toward Seren's hand and his brows rose a bit before he looked over at her. "I think he kinda likes you," he said, blinking at the pup again.

Aria -
"Always wanted a pet." She said, wistfully. "Never had a chance to do so, though. I always try to say hello to the doggies I meet on the street, if the owners let me." She still seemed a little lost in thought, as she gave Remy some more pets. The way he leaned towards her made her smile grow, because it was nice to know the dog had decided he really did like her, so fast.

She looked up at that comment, and her smile turned a little shy, and a lot happy. "I hope so. He's an absolute sweetheart, and I'd hate to think he didn't." She gave him another ear rub. "Yes indeed, you're such an adorable and sweet gentleman, aren't you?" It was clear she meant Remington, not Nate. "Oh! Also, I can return your crutches any time now. Obviously, now is not ideal, since you've got a silly little man to get home, but whenever. I can manage without them, but my ankle still needs the occasional break. And thanks for all the vid hints, they've made this easier."

She looked down at Remy again. "Does this little goof ever join you on runs?"

Pao -
It was always nice to see other appreciate his pup, so Nate pulled his hand back and stood up, opting to lean against the nearby wall as he watched the two get along. "A coworker brought it up, said it's a nice thing to come home to if you're single," he said, thinking back to that time a little over a year ago. "Lots of research and hit and miss techniques, learning how to take care of 'im, but it was worth it."

Remy looked over at him, as if he knew what he was saying, and barked playfully before going back to playing with Seren a little bit.

"And no worries about the crutches. Like you said, whenever works for me. Why not just keep them 'til you're fully better? Just in case, y'know?" Since he wasn't using them anyway, better safe than sorry. At her next question he nodded while slipping his hands into his pockets. "Yep. Running, skateboarding, hiking, swimming. I do anything I can to help him get rid of all his energy."

Aria -
"I bet. Coming home to an empty house is... Lonely." She found a part of her brain noting that comment about being single, but beyond that, she didn't react much to it. "And I bet, if you let him sleep in your bed, he makes a great warm companion to snuggle when it's cold out, too."

The way Remy added his own comment had her chuckling. "Are you sure about that, Remy? I mean, it's hard to argue with such a firm statement, but you should be sure about it before you say such a thing!" Her tone was affectionately joking, and she was beaming down at the silly little dog.

"Sounds good, and thanks. I doubt I'll need them again, but that makes sense. Better safe than sorry, as they say." She slid to the ground as she spoke, so that she could pet and play with Remy a little more, without stressing the healing. She glanced up at Nate as he spoke and her expression looked both a bit jealous and also interested. "There's good hiking near here? I've always and to give hiking a try, so I'll have to look into that. I'm guessing by swimming, you take him to a dog friendly beach?" She didn't think there were any dog friendly pools here, and even if there were, she had a feeling chlorine would be bad for their coats.

Pao -
He didn't think much about her comment on the loneliness. It hadn't hit him as much since he'd been on his own for so long, but he could relate at least a little bit. He'd be lying if he didn't feel a twinge of that here and there before Remy came into the picture. Still, he didn't comment on that. Instead, he said, "Nah, I don't let him on my bed. I feel like I'd crush him by accident or something."

He gave a nod as his expression turned thoughtful, thinking on the various spots he and Remy frequented. "I stick to the easier routes for the little guy's sake but there are some good spots around. Just gotta hit Google. And yeah," he glanced down and shot the pup a smile. "He loves the beach so we go a lot." Or what he considered a lot considering his schedule, but she didn't need all that detail.

Aria -
She sighed and finally straightened up, after giving Remy one last pet. "Mmm I can understand that, but at the same time, I bet he'd like cuddling. But who am I to guess? I've never been able to have a pet, so I could be wrong." She shrugged a little and looked down at the dog, eyes soft, before looking back up at his owner, her blue eyes showing a wistfulness in them.

"Mmm I'll look into that. Sounds lovely. Wish I knew how to drive, probably would make it easier to get to stuff like that, but it is what it is." She then leaned down and picked up the silly, if still somewhat tired, doggie and handed him to Nate, her eyes showing that wistfulness just a little more. "And I appreciate you giving me a little more time with your very good boy... But I know, from how you answered, that you're tired, and need sleep. So you should get back to bed." She let him step out and was about to shut the door, when she paused, and added "Oh... if you ever need a pet sitter, or walker, because of work or something... Let me know? I'll happily help out with Remmy. He's such a sweet pup." After that, she smiled and shut the door, knowing it was up to him on that, now.