Cameron straightened up from where he hid his safe beneath his sink and behind his cleaning supplies, deciding to lock up his home securely as to avoid a second break-in and not worry of his safe. He just wanted to drink, pass out for thirty hours and feel bad for himself. He grabbed the crate of alcohol and took it upstairs, Lily following. He flopped onto his bed and Lily clattered up next to him.
Ava pulls out her favorite weapon, her beloved doubled bladed retractable staff, and begins to lovingly polish it. It was a present for her tenth birthday. Her father had decided that it was time she got a real weapon. She’s had it ever since and she cherishes it. Once this task is complete, she carefully puts it away. Since she’s still wide away, she grabs an unopened bottle of whiskey and starts drinking.
Cameron threw an arm around his doggo and pulled her into a big hug, shoving his face into her warm fur and temporarily forgetting about the beer between his legs.
"Lily, Lily, girl. It's gonna be hard for the next couple days," He mumbled to the dog. She leaned her head down and snuffled his hair, snorting as some of it went up her nose. Cam chuckled tiredly at the dog. Somehow the old girl made him laugh.
Ava lays down on her back and stares up at the ceiling, absentmindedly stroking Kreja’s fur. “You really saved my ass today, love,” She tells him as she sets the bottle down next to her. “Maybe we could go to a pet store tomorrow and get you something nice.” It would be something fun to look forward to. Ditching the bottle, she rolls over on her side and pulls the dog closer. He has absolutely no qualms about being cuddled.
Cameron relaxed slowly into his warm, soft bed. It was a sign that Lily slept in it when he was away. At least he'd be spending more time with her, kept up in his home as he brought himself off in alcohol and stress. Lily relaxed back into the bed with a deep sigh, though she thumped her tail as Cameron tugged her into his arms. He pushed thr alcohol carefully to the side, not having to worry of a bedmate to bother. He pawed off his clothes and laid there in boxers tiredly.
Ava buries her face in Kreja’s soft fur. She doesn’t know what she’d do without him and she never wants to find out. “Goodnight, my sweet boy,” She murmurs, curling up around him as best she can. She’s much too tired to bother changing into her pajamas so tonight, she’ll be sleeping in her clothes. Closing her eyes, it’s not long before she drifts off to sleep.
Cam tugged the blankets over himself and his big teddy bear, who barked softly and licked his messy hair into a cowlick. He rolled his eyes faintly and set his head down with a sigh.
"Goodnight, Lily girl. Don't forget to wake me up tomorrow so I can feed and let you out, okay?"
(What should we do now?)
(Ummmm not sure lmao. Maybe she goes and checks up on Cameron's, asks Zack where the Cam is and we go on from there?)
(Yeah, sure. That’ll work. Who should start?)
(Could you, please?)
(Yep!)
After rolling out of bed early the next morning and changing into some fresh clothes, Ava exits the library with Kreja. She yawns and trails after the energetic dog. While he races around in excitement, she allows herself to think. “Come on, love, let’s go to the beach,” She tells the dog after a few moments of silence. Arriving at the restaurant, she knocks on the door, figuring that Cameron will be inside. She still feels kind of bad for last night.
The restaurant inside was dark and powerless. However, the door opened a smidge to reveal the lanky bartender from last night.
"Er… hey, there. What's up?" He asked, raising his nicely trimmed eyebrows a little. Clearly the place was closed, it kind of confused the man why the girl who seemed to be bothering Cam came up here.
“Where’s Cameron?” Ava asks at once, not caring about politeness. Sometimes it’s just easier to get right to the point rather than to waste time. She remembers that bartender from the night before and since he and the other man appear to be fairly close, she’s assuming that he knows where he is.
"He's at home. Didn't you see the sign?" The bartender pointed at a fairly larger sign written by him. It was in loopier, neater handwriting than Cameron's on a more noticeable sheet of paper. "Closed for repairs. He called me this morning to make sure no one came by. I had to turn away like, five groups of people."
“Of course I saw the sign,” Ava snips, rolling her eyes. Hell, she had been here when the damage happened. “I just assumed that he would be here trying to work on repairs.” It seemed like a logical conclusion to her. “What’s his address?” She asks, wanting to get a move on. While she could always just figure it out, things would be so much easier if the bartender, who’s name she can’t remember, just tells her.
The bartender rose an eyebrow all the way at her and tilted his head. "I'll tell you for five bucks," He bargained, grinning a sharp-toothed, shit-eating grin. "Naw, I'm just pulling your tail. I'll grab a paper for you and write it down." He leaned off the threshold of the door and scooted into the restaurant, grabbing a napkin and scribbling down Cameron's address and handing it over.
Ava finds his attempt at humor less than amusing and her face shows just how much she didn’t enjoy it. She takes the napkin and stuff it into her pocket when the bartender hands it over. “Thanks for the help,” She tells him, the annoyance still in her tone. Turning, she walks away from the restaurant. After checking out the address scribbled on the napkin, she figures out where she needs to go.
Cameron had risen later than what he usually did. He woke at nine-thirty and had a bottle of beer for breakfast, feeding Lily and unlocking the doggy door for her to go do her business. He flopped down on the couch with a faint groan, shouldering on a sweater and a pair of gym shorts so he felt somewhat comfortable. He went to pick up his phone and dial the insurance company, only to catch himself staring at fhe screen.
Ava wonders around for a while until she spots what appears to be the right place. Taking a breath, she pauses to think about if she should be doing this or not. With a sigh, she approaches the door and knocks a few times. While she waits, she keeps a close eye on Kreja while he sniffs around. They usually tend to stay out of this area of the city so this is a new expirance for him.
Lily barked softly from the yard and ducked into the house, scittering over to Cameron and sniffing him awake with a couple barks. Cam looked down at Lily and sighed, standing slowly and making his way to the door. Lily followed him, and practically walked out the door to the other dog curiously.
"What do you want?" Cameron asked dully, not in a threatening or mean way, just in an exhausted way. He grabbed Lily's collar and gently tugged her back.
“Hello, cutie,” Ava ignores Cameron at first in favor of his beautiful dog. Kreja seems just as thrilled by this and wags his tail as he stretches out to sniff the big dog in greeting. The poor pup would just love to make a new friend so he’s rather disappointed when the other dog gets pulled away. Once she’s sure that her troublesome companion will behave, she turns her attention to the man standing before her. “You looked pretty upset last night so I came to check on you,” She answers with a small shrug.
Lily was still sniffing at Kreja and straining towards him, her tail wiggling in midair as she focused. Cameron mumbled to the older girl and tugged her again. She sat down obediently, barking softly up at him. He stroked her head gently.
"I'm doing fine," He lied through his teeth. He wanted to say that he didn't need to be checked up on, but clearly that was a lie, too. "Howe are you doing?"
Kreja’s entire body wiggles as he wags his tail, delighted that the other dog is friendly. Ava chuckles quietly at the young dog before scooting him back. “That’s bullshit. You look miserable, even a blind person could see that,” She tells him bluntly. “Are you going to tell me how you’re really doing or are we going to repeat the same stupid routine from last night?” She asks, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Knowing full well that he doesn’t care how she’s going, she ignores the question.
Lily whined softly but didn't move forward like she wanted to. Cam told her to sit, so she would sit and be good.
"I don't know what you mean by that. If you're referring to me acting like a kicked puppy then yes, I feel fucking miserable, like I said last night. It's not a stupid routine," He explained dully with a sigh. "Can I go back inside now? I need to call the insurance company and my bank to see what's covered." Probably nothing, He muttered under his breath.
“You can go back inside whenever you want but I’m coming in as well. Don’t you know that it’s rude not to invite your guests inside? People who are fucking miserable need company anyways. Besides, Kreja could use a new playmate and he seems to get along with your dog,” Ava says, offering him a perfectly sweet smile. She manages to catch enough of what he muttered to put the pieces together. Money issues. That’s tough.
Cam sighed slowly and opened up the door, slumpimg back into the living room of his home with a faint, unenthusiastic, "Come on in…"
Lily straightened up ane wiggled on her spot. She wanted to follow her master, but she also wanted to play with the new dog. Her large tail thumped on the ground.
“You’re much too kind,” Ava comments, her grin growing a bit bigger. She steps into the house and let’s Kreja off of his leash and slipping the item into her pocket. “Be good,” She warns him lightly before trailing after Cameron. Entering the living room, she glances around. It’s a pretty nice place. The Akita mix bounds up to the big Saint Bernard, his tail wagging like crazy.
Cameron plopped down onto his couch. His livingroom was decored in almost the same color scheme as his restaurant, with a cool gray color as the carpet and furnishings, a faded eggshell blue rug that has definitely seen better days, a coffee table in front of the couch, in front of that a fireplace that was on. Which was odd, since it was in the middle of summer.
"Make yourself comfy," Cam invited as Lily got to her paws, snuffling behind the other dog's ears delicately.
Ava claims one of the chairs and takes a seat. “I take it that you like blue,” She comment dryly, taking everything it. In all honestly, the place is very nicely decorated, not that she’ll ever say that. She looks over to the fire place in confusion. Why on earth is that thing on when it’s the middle of summer? She lightly shakes her head and glances over to the dogs. Kreja stops moving to allow Lily to sniff at his ears. He knows that this is her house and that he needs to respect her.