Welcome to Gaia! ::

Between the five of them, particularly when one of the aforementioned number was Malory (in costume, no less), one wouldn't expect the trio of immaculately groomed dogs to be stealing the show. But Thackery thought they honestly kind of were, because the three back schipperkes on perfectly equidistant leashes and harnesses - all thematically decorated, naturally - were serving a real Look as the loyal guardian(s) of the underworld: Cerberus, the bestest of boys!

Whether the dogs were dressed to match the two of them, or the two of them dressed to match the dogs, was anyone's guess. But match they did, donning a set of theatrical and intricate Hades and Persephone costumes that were arguably deeply unfit for dog walkies.

If it were anyone else.

Their leisurely pace did seem appropriately regal. Thackery had swapped out the majority of his preferred purple for blues and blacks, but the cloak that gently rippled behind him did carry a violet sheen in the evening light. The black crown atop his head, set with some impressive faux stones, was either perfectly balanced without any effort at all on his part, or pinned in place. He'd never tell.

(Of course Thackery had heard about the 'rabid' dogs, and of course he dismissed it as another overuse of the word 'rabid', probably brought on by some kind of social media trend meant for scaring people. He was a PRO. He wasn't worried in the slightest for their safety.)

"Maybe we should stop for selfies and like, a mini-shoot while the lighting's really good?" he asked, ever eager to take more pictures of Malory in particular.

The phone was already in Thackery's hand before Malory even had the chance to agree, because he was a) pretty sure he would, and b) really good at multitasking dog walking and his phone already. There were about 786 published TikToks and even more unpublished drafts to prove it, not counting his most favorite moments that he kept as more personal treasures. Some things the world deserved to see - and some they didn't!

For some reason he couldn't quite place, this was the favorite set of costumes they'd done so far, the world deserved to see as many pictures of this as they could get. Maybe there was some fondness for the theme itself. Or maybe they were just getting exponentially better every year! Malory always had the best ideas for accessories in particular. The pomegranate integration was honestly super inspired.

His mind wandered almost immediately to the best composition for vine arch pics, but the word 'stray' perked him up and snapped him back into the moment. Very few things could distract him from a Malory Photoshoot, but a stray dog in need of some love and attention stood the best chance of it.

"A stray?!" he piped up, looking in the direction as the rest of the pack. "Oh--I think I see something too! Not people sized, or cat sized...gotta be a lost doggy, right? Aw, we have to help!"

Taking on a cheerful little trot that was a little strange to imagine any Deity of the Underworld doing, he turned in its direction and tried a whistle.