[Explore] City at Sunrise

"Landfall! I'm home!" Ollie booted open the door of the flat around dawn, feeling bedraggled and sore as he trudged into the place. It had been a long night. He had foolishly agreed to a night shift on the fishing ship, eager to help reel in some of the more challenging catches that only made themselves available in the dark. It had been fun - to a degree - but going without sleep had left him feeling simultaneously restless and shattered, so by the time he shuffled into the dark flat, he had barely enough energy to pull his work-worn clothes off, dump them in a pile by the door, and crawl into bed.

 

He was out in an instant, succumbing to the sweet, warm embrace of sleep with enthusiasm reserved for few other joys in life. If Ollie had had his way, he would have stayed fast asleep well into the afternoon. But alas, such was not his lot in life - not anymore. Not with a demanding hound sharing his home.

 

He had been asleep for what felt like mere minutes, having only just sunk into a saccharine dream about playing on the ship deck of his childhood home, chased around the main mast by his father's old sailor friends, when a relentlessly high-pitched whine wormed its way into his consciousness. Try as he might to grapple and cling onto the fading dream, he could not, and before he knew it, he had been jolted back into wakefulness by a creature that looked utterly distressed for no good reason.

 

"Landfall..." Ollie groaned, cracking open one eye to see the hound's snout shoved unceremoniously into his face. She was huffing insistently, blowing jets of warm air onto his cheeks as she wriggled her way closer. "Get off my bed, there's not room here for two of us." He shut his eyes again and blindly waved his hand until it connected with a furry chest, and he pushed her away firmly. Not now.

 

But the message didn't seem to land. There was a whine and another huff, and then he felt a moist nose shove its way into his armpit, desperately attempting to nudge him awake.

 

"Oy!" he yelped, batting her cold nose away. "That's uncalled for!" He tried in vain to pull his blanket back up around him snugly, but she changed tact and clambered directly onto the bed, trampling all over him without a care in the world. "AH!" Reflexively, Ollie curled into a ball, protecting any particularly sensitive parts of himself that ought not be trampled by a creature with claws. 

 

"Okay," he grumbled. "Okay, fine! FINE! Get off the bed, will you, you silly mutt. Go on, now. Just give me two minutes."

 

His head felt heavy and his body felt weighed down by a ton of lead. But still, he willed himself to get up, swing roll off the side of his bed, collect a fresh set of clothes and put them on. 

 

Seeing him rise seemed enough to satisfy Landfall for now. She sat straight-backed by his bedroom door, tail beating innocently against the wood floor every time Ollie cast a thunderous glance her way. Before long, he had dressed himself to some level of satisfaction, pulling on socks and shoes as well, before wandering into the kitchen to fetch a cup of water.

 

"You know, I didn't sign up for this when I got you," he said, jabbing a finger accusingly in Landfall's direction. "Nobody ever said a thing about how needy you would be."

 

Her ears perked right up. She leaped to her feet and scampered over happily, having mistaken his gesture for something much more inviting. Without so much as a pause, she squeezed herself into the space between his legs, leaning against his knee and staring adoringly up at him with her mouth wide in a panting grin, tail beating against the wooden cabinet.

 

"You're lucky you're cute," he said, finishing his water and giving her head a vigorous pat before fetching her lead. "Alright then, where to? In the city this time, mind! I'm not wandering back into the countryside at this hour."

 

When they left the flat, the sky was barely lightening up. The sun hadn't quite breached the horizon, but the deep navy blue of the night was beginning to fade, and a gentler blue was creeping up from where the sky met the sea, way out yonder. They could see it from here, close as they were to the docks, and Ollie made his way down toward the pier. He had just come from there, but he never tired of the activity. Even in these early hours, vendors were slowly beginning to set up their wares for the day, and there was a freshness to the air that Ollie couldn't quite explain.

 

"Alright, Landfall, shall we walk along the docks for a bit today?" he asked, and though the hound didn't reply, the spring in her step as she watched the boats bob up and down on the pier suggested that the plan suited her just fine.

 

It wasn't so much an exploration as a retread of steps they had walked many times before, but each time felt different as they wove along the streets, pausing to sniff the buckets of fish sitting on the ground and the tables of freshly baked bread waiting for the morning wave of customers.

 

"Maybe we'll find some more cogs on the waterfront today. What do you think, girl?" he asked, after they had exhausted the row of stalls facing the docks. They wandered away from the busiest part of pier, toward the very edge of waterfront, listening to the sound of water lapping against the rocks. Ships creaked as they rocked, and voices sounded out in hushed tones behind them, as if everyone was trying to avoid breaking the spell of silence that lay over the city.

 

As they walked, the sun rose, tinging the skies a vivid shade of orange. The clouds looked as if they had been set aflame, washed over by a golden glow.

 

"Every sunrise is different, isn't it?" Ollie said to Landfall, pausing to admire the morning's beauty. "Let's take a seat, just watch this for a bit." With a sigh, he settled himself on some rocks, watching the waves try to lap at his shoes, breathing in the fresh, salty morning that woke him up despite his fatigue. He let Landfall wander a ways, dropping the lead so she could sniff about behind him, but even she seemed to enjoy the quiet of the morning, returning to sit by his side and lean contentedly against him as he watched the sun come up.

 

What a magical time.

 

But eventually, it had to break. The golden wash of sunrise disappeared, and the sounds of the city waking up grew louder. Ollie rose from his perch, running his hand across Landfall's back and leaning to give her a light kiss atop the head. "Thank you for dragging me out this morning," he said, smiling with gratitude. "I would have missed this but for you, and I'm glad I didn't." 

 

She didn't look at him, but wagged her tail in response. "Alright, well. Let's get on home. I still have some sleep to catch up on."