ENRIQUE DE LA PEÑA
Shapeshifter
Posts: 65
Played by:
Julia
Last seen Mar 22, 2024 22:48:16 GMT
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Post by ENRIQUE DE LA PEÑA on Feb 25, 2023 0:18:25 GMT
━ if you support evil, you are evil ━ RICKY DID NOT HAVE THE TIME, NOR THE MENTAL space and energy, to think about that small, black cat who attempted to overtake McGrath’s position. The flea (and who knows what else)-ridden small, black cat. He also attempted to ignore the red-haired woman’s annoying emails about how the freeloading fish-stealer was doing. Ricky didn’t care to know.
While he didn’t waste time thinking about the two guest appearances in his life, he also knew that there could be a better use for some of the old linens in his apartment. Ricky liked keeping his space clean and organized, and he also found that neurotically going through his things made him feel less greasy about this business with Manolo. He also found it to be good housekeeping to sort his clothes and household items every six months or so and decide what to get rid of. He was sure he’d learned that from one of their nannies.
A lot of the blankets and towels could have been kept. They were toeing the line, and while he didn’t enjoy spending money on things like that, Ricky kept reminding himself that some hopeless mutt would like it better than he did. He did not picture that tiny, fluffy, black kitten’s head sticking out of one of his old towels, her fur greatly contrasted against the white terrycloth. Not once.
Piling all his donations into a discarded cardboard box, Ricky dropped it in his passenger seat and went to the shelter. He only stopped at the grocery store because it was on his way and he needed a few non-perishables. He was out of olive oil. And sure, there was a sale on cat food, so he picked up a large bag of that━after standing in the aisle, contemplating the different brands for more than ten minutes. He also bought a box of cat litter because he was already there and going to the shelter anyway.
Ricky nearly forgot his extra virgin olive oil.
Finally, when he arrived at the animal shelter, the food was dropped into the box, though he would need to make a second trip for the box of cat litter━they were far too heavy together. Ricky carried the large cardboard box into the building, dropped it at the counter, ignored the door’s grating ding, and then headed out again for the litter. When he arrived back, that same woman had appeared. “Hello.” He cleared his throat, unsure how to find a way around this. It was far easier to push off certain thoughts when they entered his own mind, but showing up here was clear proof. She knew it, too.
“Well, I was going to throw away these old towels,” They weren’t that old. “However, I remembered you mentioned that it was on your donation list. The homeless shelter━you know, for humans━” A far more worthy cause as far as Ricky was concerned, “Won’t accept most of these things, or claim they’re too tattered. I also saw cat food and litter and thought that freeloader and her new roommates might appreciate it.” Ricky spoke dryly, as if he was breaking bad news to her monotonously so as to not invite an overly emotional response. “I suppose you’ve given her a name by now.” He muttered. All of these animals had been given their own names already━strange ones, too. Peanut, Trixie, Pebbles━the only normal one he’d seen was Max, though it was for a rabbit, which only confused him further.
RHIANNON GREY | no notes.
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RHIANNON GREY
Psychic
Posts: 93
Age:
48
Occupation:
Vet/Owner of Animal Shelter
Status:
Single
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen May 1, 2024 19:26:10 GMT
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Post by RHIANNON GREY on Mar 12, 2023 20:43:53 GMT
Rhiannon pressed her lips to the top of the squirming dog’s head before she eased him back into his kennel. ”You’re gonna have better like next time buddy, I know it.” The geriatric chihuahua whimpered, its gleaming, bulbous eyes fixed on the door the couple and their six year old had just walked through. She bent, distracting him by scritching beneath his neck. He whimpered again, making her heart ache, before he turned and headed for his bed at the back, curling up with a dejected huff.
She straightened, following in the family’s footsteps. Their car was already pulling away as she reached the front desk. The little girl in the back was twisting around in her seat, staring back at the kennels. Maybe the next time wouldn’t be with someone else. Kids had a way of wearing their parents down, even if their desire to adopt an older dog had rapidly become a reluctance to deal with the health problems those older dogs came with. The girl’s face had lit up as the chihuahua had squirmed into her lap, his tail whipping back and forth, his Yoda ears swivelling, his tongue washing her face and hands.
Heading into her office, Rhi dropped into her chair with a sigh. Dogs like that didn’t deserve to spend the last couple of years of their lives stuck in a place like this. They needed people to call their own, fires to sleep beside, enough love that those last years were good ones. The temptation had been there the same way it always was to take him home. Her mom had always had at least a handful of dogs at any time, all of them utterly devoted to her. There hadn’t been room for that when she was enlisted. Ptolemy had tolerated the travel, had been a phenomenal rescue dog, but every ounce of focus had to be on him, on the job, there wasn’t space to spread it out, not the way she could do now.
There wasn’t any need to call the clinic, not the way the former micromanaging owner had done. No need to cluck at her staff about the smallest things while they did all the scut work. There was time to work over here at the shelter, room to breathe and badger folks into giving the unwanted and unloved animals of Mystic Falls homes to go to.
He was apparently still resisting, despite her attempts to turn a one time free loader into a full time one. Rhi logged into her email, looking for that official address to pop up in her inbox. She scrolled down one handed, past the photos from people having the time of their lives with their new pets, past the invoices for food and med orders that she’d deal with tonight, wondering how long it would take before he either caved or those emails started to bounce back, her email address blocked by a man who’d sworn he didn’t a single soft spot for the kitten he’d brought in.
Sagging back in her chair, Rhi flipped on her phone to mine it for a new photo to send. The first had contained more soap suds than kitten, although the coal black face and those green eyes had shone out at the centre of it. ’I hope your clean up was as easy as hers. Flea free, and feeding well. I think you might’ve spoiled her for life with that salmon though.’ The next had been a short video, those tiny murder mittens swiping for the long, feathered tail of the toy the kitten had flown at. Cute as hell, but obviously not enough to melt the detective’s icy heart. Surely it wasn’t frozen all the way through.
She raked her teeth over her lower lip, pondering between the video of the kitten draped over the shoulder of one of her volunteers, the kitten’s purr powerful for such a tiny creature. Or the photo of a tiny strip of that beloved salmon dangling over her, a look of rabid excitement on the kitten’s face. She’d sprung a moment later, snatching the salmon from her hand to devour. Maybe that was a little too on the nose for a man who’d already considered the kitten a little thief. Purring it was.
The email was typed – the lament that the kitten still hadn’t found a home, although she was sure it was just a matter of time added to the end of it. Rhi punched the send button just as the bell above the entry door rang. Another animal being dropped off? Hopefully not. If it was the family already back then she’d break open a bottle tonight and celebrate her psychic powers of predicting the future.
By the time she reached the reception area whoever had been there was gone, although a cardboard box on the counter proved someone had been there. Rhi leaned into the counter, dragging the box towards her. Food – always needed – and linens, again an absolute blessing, nestled in it. ”Thanks for the… hi.” Rhi’s gratitude drifted off as she looked up and found Detective de la Peña standing in the doorway. Maybe the emails had ground him down one cute update at a time. Even the Grinch had caved in the end after all.
Red brows arched as she drew the box down off of the top of the counter to set in front of herself. He might’ve been huffing about not being able to give them away to anybody but animals, but she was already smiling. The homeless shelter wouldn't have turned their noses up at towels and sheets that were clean and perfectly serviceable. They were just as desperate, he’d just been a soft touch in the end. ”Well, I had considered Salmon Thief, but I thought that might’ve put potential adopters off,” Rhi quipped. ”I did go with a salad theme though. Olive. Like her eyes. I’m sure they’ll light up when she sees all of this.” They would’ve done more if her friend here had come back with another salad, and had been willing to share a little bit of it with her.
Amusement crinkled the corners of her eyes as she lifted her chin towards him, her nose scrunching up with her smile. He’d puffed about the updates before he’d left that first time, he hadn’t complained about them yet though. ”I just sent you another little something about her. I know you said no updates, but I figured you’d want to know how she was getting along. Cute, right? It’s hard not to be when you’re that small and sweet. Thank you for these by the way, she will appreciate them.” Her hands curled over the bag of food. Gratitude might’ve been in short supply in a lot of places these days, but she wasn’t gonna be shy with it.
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ENRIQUE DE LA PEÑA
Shapeshifter
Posts: 65
Played by:
Julia
Last seen Mar 22, 2024 22:48:16 GMT
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Post by ENRIQUE DE LA PEÑA on Apr 24, 2023 17:39:30 GMT
━ if you support evil, you are evil ━ HE DIDN’T EVEN WANT TO SEE THE LITTLE furball. Rhiannon’s emails showed him more than enough, so he knew he wasn’t missing out on anything. She was still a menace. She was still small and black. What else was there to see? Knowing that thing, she’d probably latch onto Ricky and follow him out━burrow into his car like a freeloader. He was sure of it.
And he didn’t miss her smile as she looked into the box. He hadn’t done this to be good or receive praise, Ricky had simply wanted to get rid of some old towels. He could’ve just as easily thrown them out. Perhaps he should’ve; he could’ve avoided this entire situation.
But why not donate when it was so easy to? He had the means. He just wished it could’ve been anonymous━then it would come without preconceived notions from the woman receiving it.
He wasn’t interested in the fleabag’s name, either, but he’d asked out of curiosity, and apparently that was a bad move, too.
“Hmph.” Ricky hummed at Rhiannon’s attempt at a joke, his lips refusing to break their hard lines to curve into a smile. “Her attitude would likely put them off first.”
Olive. That was cute, he supposed. She was black, too, so it was fitting━complete with the hard centre that nobody liked. One that would steal the food from your mouth and give you fleas. “Are cats even sentient?” He scoffed, “I’m sure her eyes won’t light up, as you say. Is that the type of thing you say to guilt people into adopting them?” Ricky smirked, thinking he’d bested her at her own game, as though she were a car salesman and Ricky was the well-researched consumer who refused to be taken advantage of.
Another update. He couldn’t believe it. Ricky was happy his phone only had his work email loaded on it, otherwise it likely would’ve been pinging with her incessant emails. He dreaded the thought of returning home and checking it. He didn’t want another video of that… thing. “I don’t want to know; that was the reason I said I didn’t want updates.” Ricky grumbled, though he supposed he wouldn’t be back here without them… and that was exactly the point!
“She’ll appreciate them just as she appreciated the salmon? Great. I can expect her at my door, then.” He scoffed, “Are you sure you were able to get rid of all her fleas? I read that it takes weeks of treatment.” Three months for a full eradication of an infestation. The idea made his skin crawl. Again.
“Those aren’t just for her, I assume?” Ricky asked with a raised brow. “One cat won’t take ownership of a dozen towels, a few sheets, a full bag of food and a box of litter, correct?” He hadn’t had pets, so he didn't know, but he certainly hoped not. He expected his selfless donation to be spread over a few animals and for at least a few weeks. Perhaps months? Did they truly need these items so desperately?
RHIANNON GREY | no notes.
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RHIANNON GREY
Psychic
Posts: 93
Age:
48
Occupation:
Vet/Owner of Animal Shelter
Status:
Single
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen May 1, 2024 19:26:10 GMT
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Post by RHIANNON GREY on May 1, 2023 19:02:05 GMT
The grouchy streak was strong with him, the generous curve of a lower lip that was made for smiles remaining flat. She’d never met someone she hadn’t been able to get to break eventually, or at least crack a tiny bit. The detective could’ve drawn a line under things the minute the cat was handed off, he could’ve ignored her entirely in the first place, but he’d done neither. That hinted at some sort of a heart beneath the suit. Rhi didn’t bother squelching her own smile, it tugged at her wide mouth as she ran her hand over the sheet on top, her thumb brushing down the side of the pile. The cat had known who to approach and undoubtedly if she were out here instead of in the cage there’d have been a black ball of fluff winding its way around his ankles.
Even if this visit had been weeks down the line, her attempts to grind down his resistance taking longer, the kitten might have been here. Not because of her attitude, because people were idiots. The idea that black cats were unlucky should’ve gone the way of the dinosaurs, but given the choice between an adorable little calico and a black ball of fluff, most would go for the calico. The idiots.
Rhi hummed, amusement and something wry in the sound. Her gaze ticked up from the towels and sheets to those lips again, then further up to those dark eyes – not entirely unkind. ”Some people find that sort of unconditional love appealing.” Including detectives who doth protested too much about their disgust over tiny, helpless little creatures mooching a little salmon here and there.
Laughing absolutely wasn’t going to help here. She had to bite down on the sound, propping her hands on the edge of the counter to push the sound back. Were they sentient? ”You mean are they closer to house plants on the evolutionary ladder? They’re sentient, and loving, and they definitely find enjoyment in getting people to hand over their favourite food for lunch.” Lifting a hand back, Rhi pressed her hand to her chest like a southern belle who’d been offended by the suggestion that she was actually good at her job. ”That’s not even close to my full pitch,” she promised. It wasn’t even the first real step, that had been the newsfeed that she was sure he would’ve denied reading. This was a good follow up though, there was even a chance she could coax him out to the kennel area to see the little heartbreaker for himself.
Ah, she had him. That grumble wasn’t even part way to angry. She knew he’d read them, had his ice cold heart melted enough to consider the shelter when he changed the bed or ran some towels through the wash. Rhi narrowed her eyes like she was actually considering his complaint. ”I thought that was more a suggestion about the shelter news in general – like the Chihuahua we got in last week. I’m guessing you’re not a dog person either?” Although, it was easy enough to imagine him griping as he shared his dinner with the tiny little dog too. Animals didn’t exactly see the dividing line between your plate and theirs.
”Mm-hmm,” Rhiannon hummed as the complaining continued. The laughter was tight in her throat, but she knew that letting it roll out would just scare him off. Gotcha. She could choke back the chuckles, but the smirk as he revealed that he had read exactly what she’d sent instead of just punching the delete button was impossible to dial back. ”She’s had more than just the one bath,” she assured him. ”That gets rid of most of the live fleas and the dirt on her. We continued treating her and she’ll get a prevention treatment before she gets adopted too. You keep that up and the chances of them picking them up again is relatively low. How’s the suit?” Probably burned if he’d really panicked about it.
Her smile died back, leaving behind something warm as Rhiannon straightened up. She tilted her head back towards the door that led back to the kennel area. ”No, it won’t all be for her. Anything that comes in we share between all the animals that we take care of here. The sheets and towels will benefit lots of animals, the food’ll probably keep half a dozen going for a couple of weeks. You really went to town.” She’d distribute them later, sweet talking Olive with the tale of their delivery. ”Do you want to come through and see her? Let her thank you herself?” The offer would likely be turned down, he hadn’t shown much inclination towards holding onto her the last time, but each tiny step was one towards convincing the detective that his life would be better with his tiny thief in it.
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ENRIQUE DE LA PEÑA
Shapeshifter
Posts: 65
Played by:
Julia
Last seen Mar 22, 2024 22:48:16 GMT
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Post by ENRIQUE DE LA PEÑA on May 25, 2023 19:07:37 GMT
━ if you support evil, you are evil ━ RICKY SUPPOSED HE MIGHT FIND THAT unconditional love appealing, too; however, it didn’t outweigh the cost of getting your food stolen or cleaning up clay-hardened shit. And, besides, Ricky had gotten this far without it, so why did he need to introduce it now?
“Mhm. Sentient and self-serving.” He puffed, slowly reaching Full Grouchiness. “I don’t want to hear it.” But he assumed that, just like her emails, she wouldn’t respect her wishes. Ricky couldn’t imagine the woman could say anything to get him to adopt that pest, but he also didn’t want to waste his time. His was a lot more valuable than hers, and he assumed she wasted a ton of it forcing people to listen to sob stories. He wouldn’t even entertain it. He didn’t have a child here to cry and yank on his sleeve, either, so what was the purpose?
“No.” Ricky grumbled, “And you knew what I meant.” He wanted nothing to do with said Chihuahua or any other creature locked up in this God-awful place.
His brows went up again at her sudden smile. Had he said something amusing? He didn’t think so. What was so funny about fleas? She’d been less than empathetic about his suit, and teased him about it again. Also, she said “you” as if he needed to know for the future, and Ricky hoped she merely meant it in a general sense. “It’s undergone an expensive dry cleaning, thank you very much.” His mouth was a rigid line, especially as he thought about the suit hanging in his closet… in a bag… and how he cringed every time he looked at it. He might never wear it again, and it was all because of that thing.
Ricky was pleased to know she wasn’t a mooch about everything. His generous donations would be spread out and used on the other animals, but Olive would take more than her share. That he was sure of.
He considered her offer for longer than he’d ever admit. Ricky’s gaze ticked to the back door, where he was sure the little thief was waiting, ready to shake him down for more salmon as if he hadn’t just emptied his pockets for her. Ricky leaned towards the threshold slightly, though he didn’t allow himself to take a step before he looked at Rhiannon and shook his head. “No. I have somewhere to be. And, besides that, I don’t need her to steal anything else off me.” That reminded him. Ricky fished a small packet of treats from his pocket, salmon-flavoured, and handed them to Rhiannon. “Speaking of… these are for her. I would tell you to ensure they’re shared amongst the bunch, but I doubt she’d allow that.” The ghost of a smile flitted across his expression, and, in a moment, it was gone.
Ricky cleared his throat and nodded firmly as a way of goodbye, then turned and got out of there before he ended up doing something foolish.
RHIANNON GREY | zee end!
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