[Explore] Watched Pot
It didn't take much to rouse Rob from his slumber. He had always been a light sleeper, quite the opposite to Ollie, whose claim to fame among the sailors of Ynnis was a now notorious incident in which he had fallen asleep in his bunk and become so immune to the world that his crew and picked him up, carried him up to the crow's nest, and deposited him there for the better part of the morning before he had woken up.
So when Ollie came scrambling into the house, fresh from his encounter with the black stray, Rob's eyes had already blinked open by the time his brother managed to dash into his immaculate room.
"What?" Rob groused as Leeward and Fathom came bounding in behind Ollie, evidently incensed by the elder Tiller's excitement. The two hounds skidded to a nail-rattling stop by Rob's bedside, tongues lolling, tails wagging frantically to show their delight in seeing him.
Disliking the feeling of being caught unawares, Rob sat up and swung his legs off the bed, rising to fastidiously tuck the blanket back into place underneath the pillow while Ollie caught his breath. He gave Leeward and Fathom some soothing, wordless pats and straightened up, leveling his sharp gray eyes at his brother, who had managed to compose himself to a degree.
"I saw him! That stray, we bumped into him on the waterfront!" Ollie enthused after heaving in a deep breath to calm himself. He rocked up onto the balls of his feet, bouncing his heels off the ground with almost childlike excitement as the hounds burst into a frenzy of energy once again in response. "I left him one of those treats from the festival, we should go and see if he's still there!"
A string of thoughts went through Rob's head - he had only been asleep for a couple of hours. He was tired. He didn't really care in this moment. But then, he had done more on less sleep before and he was already standing up - surely too late to make any excuses about going back to bed.
Rob stifled a sigh, reaching to give Leeward and Fathom both another pat. "Sure," he said, trying to muster up some modicum of energy.
Ollie had enough for the both of them though, and Rob trailed quietly after as his brother whipped around and bounded out the door, leading the charge down the length of the main waterfront, until they had left the busy docks behind. "Up there," he said after several long minutes of walking that went by in a muted haze for Rob. "That's where I left the treat, it's gone now, but he could still be near."
Leeward and Fathom seemed to perk right up as they neared the spot, ears coming forward, noses twitching as they scented the air.
"Must be close," Rob allowed, watching the two hounds' body language change, as if they had met a friend. "Don't see him." He looked up, eyes scanning the area in search of this elusive creature. It was daylight now, and something told Rob that the stray might now readily venture out into the light. But there was no doubt that the hound was nearby, perhaps watching them with care, wondering about them in the same way that they were wondering about him.
"What should we do, Rob?" Ollie said, peering about disappointedly. "I don't like the idea of this hound eking out a life on his own like this. He deserves a home, surely! Leeward and Fathom like him."
"Mm," Rob grunted in the affirmative, reaching into his pocket to fish out the last of those ghostly treats they had picked up at the festival. "Here. Scarf." He pointed to the navy blue piece that Ollie had tied loosely around his collar, and beckoned with his fingers, motioning for Ollie to hand it over.
"What do you want with it?" Ollie asked, eyeing him curiously.
"Just a thought," Rob answered, twining the scarf carefully into a circle, which he set on the ground and nestled the treat into the center. "Scent."
Behind him, Leeward and Fathom craned their necks around his legs, sniffing at the treat.
"Not for you. For your friend," Rob said, lightly batting them away.
"Maybe this will finally work!" Ollie said, bouncing about as Rob stood back up. "I'm going to camp out over there and keep an eye out."
"Careful, watched pot," Rob cautioned, raising a brow with a smile.
"Who cares? I don't! I'm staying," Ollie declared, grabbing Leeward and Fathom. This time, he was determined to see it through.
770
1 - 750 words
2 - non collab
2 - handler depicted
Submitted By MoonRazor
for Autumn 2022 Event Stray: Harrow
・ Location: Ynnis
Submitted: 1 year ago ・
Last Updated: 1 year ago
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[[Explore] Watched Pot by MoonRazor (Literature)](https://itona.io/gallery/view/399)
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