A little over half an hour ago, I buried my doggy.
Not one of the silly doggies. Mable passed away a few months ago, and Sherlock is still pottering around the kitchen. No, this was MY doggy. This was Ali, my German Shepherd, my Alsation, the best dog in the whole world, and the undisputed love of my life.
Almost fourteen years ago, we needed a dog. I was living at home and working on the farm, and it was decided that we were getting a new dog, a few years after our last one had died. My mum, being my mum, looked upon this decision as a starting point. From here, the breed would be chosen, we'd start asking around, and then, in a few months time, we'd actually get the dog.
My dad, being my dad, looked upon this decision as a go-ahead to get a dog the very next day.
And so, while my mum was at work, we drove to a house down the road who'd just had a brand new batch of puppies. It was my little sister who picked which one we'd take home — she picked the quietest out of all the yapping pups — and we took the pup home, and I was in love.
It was obvious to everyone that she was going to be mine. We kept her in a shed for the first week or two, because she was filthy and she smelled terrible. But every evening after work I was in that shed, sitting on the ground with her. I couldn't stand to hear her whine. I couldn't stand the thought of her being lonely. I convinced my parents that she should be an indoor dog, and after she'd been washed and didn't smell quite so bad, my folks gave in.
Oh, and her name? I remember this discussion VERY clearly. We were all in the living room one evening. I wanted to call her something awesomely cool. I'm pretty sure I wanted her named either Buffy or Xena. Nobody else agreed with me. But, I argued, I'm the one who's going to be looking after her and feeding her and spending the most time with her. Surely I should be the one to name her?
Apparently not. I'm pretty sure it was Audrey who suggested the name. Remember, this was fourteen years ago, and the TV show Ally McBeal was at the height of its popularity.
"Ally!" Audrey said. "Because she's an Alsation! And also Ally McBeal!"
I was outvoted, but I vowed that day that my doggy's name should forever be spelled... Ali.
(Take THAT, Ally McBeal.)
Ali became a part of the family. Granted, it was the part of the family that slept in the kitchen and to whom my older sister Nadine never REALLY warmed. Every so often she'd look at Ali lying there, and she'd soften, and go over and pet the dog and say nice things. And then the moment Ali nudged against her Nadine would freak out and the dog would wonder what the hell was going on.
But we all loved her. When she was a pup, she used to run at whoever was sitting in the armchair in the kitchen, leap up and stand on their chest/shoulder/head and look around, like she was proudly surveying her territory. A year or two passed, and it never occurred to her that maybe she was too big to keep doing that, so she kept doing it. Many a time my dad would be sitting in the armchair reading the paper, and I'd see Ali readying herself like a sprinter on the block. Suddenly she'd leap, bursting through the newspaper, and dad would cry out in alarm and there'd be a mad scramble of legs and then sudden stillness, and she stood on my father's chest, one paw in his face, looking around at her kingdom. And the only thing we'd hear from dad would be a "Bloody mutt..."
Then, of course, she got too big and too powerful even to do THAT. The amount of times she'd leap onto dad and find herself hurtling over the back of the chair...
Ali had many talents. She was a bit of an actress, appearing in my very first movie, Dead Bodies. She can be seen at the start, jumping up and down at a patio door. I was on the other side of that door, though you can't see me, leaping about like a nutter in order to get her excited. That was her first and only film role. I think she realised she had a choice to make — LA, or Ireland. She chose Ireland.
I wrote the first Skulduggery book with her in my room. Every single evening I'd sit at my computer, writing away, and I'd hear the pat pat pat of her approach, and she'd nudge the door open with her nose, walk in, jump up on my bed, and curl up and watch me. That's how we spent our evenings. She wasn't happy without me and I wasn't happy without her.
After the book got picked up, I went to New York for a week to meet with my American publishers. After a few days I started to miss Ali DREADFULLY. I called home and my mum told me that Ali was spending her nights in my room, waiting for me to come home. When I finally did come home, she got all excited and started bouncing and whirling in circles, and then we went to my room, and she got up on the bed and I leaned in, and she licked my face for fifteen minutes. It was disgusting — by the end of it, my face had a thick layer of saliva coating it — but I didn't want to move. Fifteen minutes. I counted.
I used to take her for long walks around the fields a couple of times a day. Whenever I'd get stuck writing, off we went. I'd sort out problems with the plot as I walked, and Ali would chase birds and rabbits and splash in puddles and come back to me every now and then for a cuddle, then bound off again. Those memories are some of my favourites from when I was living at home. I was happy, I had a future, my family was proud of me, and I had my dog.
In 2008 or thereabouts, I moved out. I bought a house seven minutes away, so every evening I could go back to visit the folks and walk the dog. For a long time after I moved out, Ali would wait outside my old bedroom for me to return. I hate thinking of times like those, times when she was disappointed or she missed me and I wasn't there. She got used to the new arrangement, of course. Now she started looking forward to 5:30, when I'd walk in. Around that time every single day, she'd be waiting at the kitchen door. She'd get so excited to see me, and after we'd played around and she settled down, she went back to the door to wait for my mum to come home. Her ears would perk up and I'd know she heard an engine, and I'd open the front door just as my mum got out of the car and Ali would race out, excited all over again.
About four years ago Ali got cancer. She developed a large tumour on her belly. I was distraught. She had an operation to get rid of it, but the vet told us the cancer was going to come back. He gave her two years, maybe. Two more years with my dog.
These last few years, Ali got old. She got stiff. The long walks became shorter and shorter. She couldn't handle it anymore. And suddenly there were babies in the house, wobbling about. Ali didn't know quite what to make of them. She learned pretty early on to try and stay away if she possibly could. She was great with the kids. She's never been anything other than gentle and loving and lovely.
Yesterday I took her on a short walk, just out to the shed. We reached the shed and she lay down. This wasn't normal. I went over and petted her and she seemed fine. She got up and followed me to the postbox, and lay down again. Then she followed me back inside the house, and went to her mat and lay down.
"Is everything okay?" my mum asked.
"No," I said.
She had perked up this morning, according to the text my mum sent, but by this afternoon she was lying down again. We took her to the vet. She lay in the back of my jeep and he came out, but he didn't even have to examine her to see that the cancer was back. He injected her there and then and I cried. I haven't cried like that in... I don't ever remember crying like that. I'm crying right now. I love my dog and I miss her, and the reason I'm writing this is because she deserves to be remembered.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
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«Oldest ‹Older 2801 – 3000 of 4959 Newer› Newest»((I know, right Em lol :3))
Hardy har, fairly literate.
*walks down the street*
#ChaseForBook9
Alexis: Lorcan I'll take you to my mother, either way you need to come you may as well meet my parents now Niccolò is with Aretha somewhere. I can teleport you know. *smiles*
Missiles closing in. 3 kilometres. 2 kilometres. 1 kilometre...
(Eh, some people want sci fi in stead of fantasy.)
#ChaseForBook9
*follows tentatively*
Sorry but, What is going on here?
Oh look, those missiles I was promised. *splays hands, and the nukes are caught in a bubble of energy, the explosion is trapped inside and deals no damage to anything*
#ChaseForBook9
*looks up* Nice catch... I'd throw it as far as you can. Otherwise the radiation...
(The missiles are customized to your abilities, any and all attacks will be blocked. You should run. Fast).
((That's god nodding, Dylan...))
Adrasdos. You need your sleep.
(That's not how it works. You can't just say "Every attack against me doesn't work" Because that makes you OP. Plus, this wasn't an attack, it was a bubble around them that caught the explosion. Also, you don't run from a 50km exploding nuke, you say your last goodbies and so does everyone else in your town and the surrounding countryside.)
#ChaseForBook9
ParAdra: *sighs, sitting in a chair and leaning back* No promises.. Don't get caught by the astronaut guys... I don't think they know you're- *falls asleep*
(Well, I am in a godly place, The Nexus. I will eventually explain what The Nexus is. And trip casually waving his hand to bring up a giant fucking ball of energy to stop THREE nukes isn't god modding?)
I am just going to sit here until I am needed *Sits on chair in corner*
((Hey, it was god modding self defence.))
((Dylan stop god modding! Atop. It.))
(No, not really. Because you can kill me, but firing missiles at me isn't how you go about it.)
#ChaseForBook9
((Ugh I gtg! Em if I'm not back.....I don't know when if I'll be back...I am sorry stupid things))
((Bye Zaf.))
#ChaseForBook9
(But god modding none the less.)
Captain, permission to search the area for any survivors?
Captain: Permission Granted. We will send three drones down with you, son.
-walks into the Pod sector, finding a Pod, being launched down onto the last known location of Trip-
Goodbye Zaf... *continues walking*
Goodbye Zafira
I am going to go if there is nothing I can do to help anybody.
-lands in a forest this time, my radar showing Trip 40 metres away-
*walks alongside her* You know, he said he'd optimize his attacks against me, but it seems like he didn't pay any attention at all.
#ChaseForBook9
-cloaks myself, and keeps walking to Trip's last known location-
-speaks to Nexus-
Sir, it would appear that Trip is alive. So is Adrasdos. We need to use The Nexus. I have the key. I just need to put the two pieces together.
Eh. *shrugs* I'm just brushing it off, for now...
*turns in a circle* Which one was it?
(Actually Trip the missiles were custom made to fight that, so your little bubble would have done nothing, but you were an asshole about it, so I'll let it slide.)
He's here, you know. Didn't even think to cloak his ship... *walks into a small hotel*
#ChaseForBook9
*walks in after him* I don't doubt it... Eh, whatever.
-walks up stealthily behind Trip, jabbing him in the windpipe, putting him in a neck lock, electricity crackling towards Adra-
Trip, Adra, Trace is there anything I may do?
((Killing a character is god modding, that's all the is to it. You can't just do that and you know it, Dylan. If he doesn't want his character dead then I think he's entitled to use whatever means of defence he wants))
(Great what am I meant to do now...)
((Why would you need two Adra's? ParAdra is already on the ship... So is Rein. And maybe paraTrip? I don't remember))
*energy smashes Trace in the back of the head, then Trip grabs him around the waist and lift him up, jumps, and smashes him to the floor*
I just... want to.. talk...
#ChaseForBook9
(I get that, but he shouldn't get to stop three fully fledged nukes at the wave of a hand)
(No, para Trip is still on earth.)
#ChaseForBook9
(You have no idea have much effort Trip expended stopping those nukes. If he hadn't, you wouldn't be alive right now.)
#ChaseForBook9
*Jumps up and down* Hello????????????????????????
I shall just go
*holds her side, brandishing her sword with her other hand*
Hello... Hiccup. Nice... to meet you.
#ChaseForBook9
((Okay, Hiccup... Whatever you want?))
-flips up, and kicks Trip in the face, holding out a small silver ball with a button on it. I press the button, an extremely bright, blaring light exploding from it, disorientating everyone but me-
-moves behind Trip and shoves his face into a wall, doing the same with Adra, placing hand cuffs around each of their wrists, binding their powers-
You will no longer pose a threat to The Nexus.
We never fucking did you space prick! *kicks him square in the chest, sending him flying back* We never did!
#ChaseForBook9
(That makes no fucking sense. You waved your hand, stopped three nukes, and keept on walking. There was no sign of effort at all.)
*sighs* Never a day... *stabs backwards through his side with her sword*
(Sorry, I lust don't know whats happening. I'm sorry if I ruined anything)
(The Nexus??? OH I remember where I heard that before... from Antony Horowitz's Power of Five series. Yea...
What do do now...??)
Just not Lust
*sighs*
Well, time to do a bit of reconnaissance.
*reexamines the area around Adrasdos's cell*
Hrmph...
Sir, you are not in a good position at the moment. Both of you are in handcuffs. Now stay still while they bring Pods for you two.
((It is also from Star Trek Generations with TNG and the OS))
(I splayed my hands and summoned all my focus, then yeah, I managed to keep walking after years of training, and now, really need to go to sleep!)
#ChaseForBook9
(Adra. Hello? Are you there? I handcuffed you. You can't pull out your sword and stab me through the back. And this armour is enough to stop a rocket launcher anyway.)
((Really, can this not wait though?))
*Handcuffs Trace and releases Adra*
No! Not until you explain what a nexus is, why the hell I'm not allowed to go and have a nice rest in this hotel, and apart from defend myself from an unknown attacker who in no way told me I'd committed a crime and actively deceived me, what I've done wrong, or I will keep fighting.
#ChaseForBook9
*nods* Thank you Hiccup. *pulls on Trip's arm* Come on...
Okay, your Pods have arrived. -two drones fly down, behind each of you two-
Keep on walking. If you don't, these drones will vaporise you in a heartbeat.
-walks them over to the Pods, and closes them each up-
Tell. Me.
#ChaseForBook9
(Hiccup, fuck off. You can't come in and do that)
I know you have little listening devices in here, tell me.
#ChaseForBook9
OKAY. Okay. I'll tell you all what the Nexus is.
... Huh. These drones certainly have an energy about them. Stars, what are they made of?
(Calm down dude, really. Be nice.)
#ChaseForBook9
Hey, hey. Calm down.
(Sir, they are made out of Celerium)
*picks up her bag, hovering at a safe distance*
I apologise if i have messed up a plot or something, I just wish to help.
You haven't Hiccup.
#ChaseForBook9
Nono! No, don't feel bad, you're not in the wrong
Okay. The Nexus is a space station that orbits Earth. It is completely cloaked, and tracks all data for satellites so none of them collide. It is in the form of a three dimensional triangle, and contains a deadly cannon that is used to vaporise planets. There are a few million people on board, the Nexus being a private project. It dispatches soldiers such as myself in Pods, to different planets, to fulfill missions.
Ok then.
(Okay then. I guess your handcuffs magically floated off. Strange.)
How are we a danger? We were going to dinner
(Oh yeah like you can just come in and wreck a role play to do fantasy sci fi stuff but Hiccup can't handcuff you and release Adra...??? Interesting.)
*Lorcan starts pacing in his cell, wondering what is going on outside the prison*
And why, space jackass, did you arrest my under no legal authority, on no charges? I work in the government, you can't just pull the "I'm a soldier working for a government so do what I say or I can legally kill you." trick. I'm not an idiot.
#ChaseForBook9
(They didn't magically float off, Hiccup took them off.)
#ChaseForBook9
Hello. Shouldn't be on but can't sleep.
Hello Dragona
Trip, need any help?
Hey Dragona.
#ChaseForBook9
It's no trick. It is the truth. Now, there is a beauty to what keeps the world spinning. Deception. Confusion. Fear. You know the old saying, "What they don't know won't hurt them."?
That saying is very, very incorrect,
Earth is ours, Calastan. And there is nothing you can do to stop it.
-cloaks myself, and runs off into the forest-
Hey Dragona..
Yep. Apparently I've just been illegally arrested by an invincible supersoldier who wants to take me to his secret space station. Right up your street I'd say.
#ChaseForBook9
*whispers* Dear god, I half want to leave this to our alter-selves
Indeed. Perfect for someone of my abilities. Now, who is it?
Actually, you just told a lot of information to a guy who, once he's rested again, can fire a damned powerful laser, and blow up your giant cloaked tin can.
#ChaseForBook9
Trace McJesuskiller. Plus he's got this whole space station... meh.
#ChaseForBook9
He just left, Dragona... His name is Trace
Now I beleive you two were going for dinner, I own a 5 star restaurant near here if you wish to eat there?
*activates tactical cloak and turns invisible*
(Um... if I bring in and/or mention, produce Deacon again... any takers?? This will be going on in the catacombs so...)
We've already eaten thanks. Would someone mind getting these cuffs off me?
#ChaseForBook9
*Takes out lock picker and removes handcuffs* Ok
(I'd love to read it, but Trip is a bit worn out, so I don't think he'd take part. But I have ten characters in the area, so yeah, I'd get involved.)
#ChaseForBook9
*unfastens trips cuffs, still invisible*
Ah thanks Hiccup. Man, what a dick. "This is our earth." Screw that.
#ChaseForBook9
(Damn too slow)
*yawns a bit*
*laughs*
So, any ideas?
(bye guys...)
Bye Emerald
Bye Emerald!
Well. This is a bit of a tight spot, isn't it...
(Bye Em..)
Well, you know how Cabader can fly?
And how he can't die?
#ChaseForBook9
Cool Picture Dragona
ParAdra: *yawns* yep
(Bye Em. Sorry about all that.)
#ChaseForBook9
Trip, he can only fly because he propels himself with fire, like a rocket, but yes. What of it?
Thank you Hiccup. Yours is cool too. ^^
War of the Worlds
*shrugs at what Dragona said* *goes to find an alcoholic drink that is- rather- much needed*
Er, I suppose I could absorb the robotic guards' energy, that may deactivate them, but I am not entirely sure how to open these pods.
Well, I'm thinking if Cabader flies into space, and looks around for this space station, he can mess it up, right? Being invincible and all?
#ChaseForBook9
Sir, I have a better idea. My powers are tech based, I can hack into both the pods and the robots. The robots could fight for us too if you wish.
That is true, Trip.
*returns with a bottle of wine, pouring herself a glass and putting the rest away*
ParAdra: I've only got a degree in psychology... So engineering isn't my forte
Well, that's my plan. If the worst comes to the worst, we could just leave this dimension, and hopefully the Nexus on the other Earth won't be filled with such douches.
#ChaseForBook9
*laughs* Hopefully there isn't even one there..
*gives Cabader a call and tells him to go and look for the NexUS*
That would be an excellent plan, Dragona, if you were within a few hundred miles if us.
Sir, *smiles* I don't need to be. I can use the satellites around it to broadcast the signal.
*Places a circle of eggs round a rabbit*
ParAdra: Yeah... *laughs randomly and eats spinach*
*gets a call*
Trip he's found it. Sent you the coordinates.
Should we start a new plot or is there one already going on?
Well what am I going to do with them? Tell him to fuck them up, give them a warning.
#ChaseForBook9
*yawns a bit more, covering her mouth and taking another sip*
(Dylan isn't even here, but no, unless you have one Hiccup no. Apart from trying to get home to our dimension.)
#ChaseForBook9
(Do we have anyone to actually fight or...?)
Ok
(No, I guess it can just happen off camera so to speak.)
#ChaseForBook9
((I don't believe so...?))
Cabader wants to know whether he should destroy them entirely, partially or just slightly.
Ooooh. Let's go for partially.
*grins* And kill about 100,000 people too.
#ChaseForBook9
*doesn't weigh in, sitting quietly in the back*
Right then... So half of the Nexus will be destroyed? Roger that.
*half of the Nexus explodes a few minutes later and Cabader flies back to Earth*
Well, I meant more like a section of it, but half is good.
#ChaseForBook9
So, now what?
*flinches as a violent explosion rips through the Nexus*
......
I do not believe they realize we are upon this station, Adrasdos.
Eh. I think Adra and I were going to go to sleep in this nice hotel before Spaceman McJerkface showed up.
#ChaseForBook9
ParAdra: oh hell....
*nods* Yep. *takes another sip* and yeah what do ya know, just our luck
... And I cannot really shunt right now...
ParAdra: we need to get to one of those pod thingies.
Well, I think I'm going to go for a nap anyway. Adra?
#ChaseForBook9
*uses the satellites to broadcast a signal that opens the pods*
... You mean the two that Dragona just disabled by hacking them?
*sighs*
Very well, I suppose we must find another couple...
Yeah. I haven't a clue where to go, though.. Yeah *follows after him?*
*frowns*
Or... Not? Technology, bah.
ParAdra: precisely. I hope you can run.
*Through a speaker* Sir, you should really understand, as my title suggests, I am an infiltrator. There is not a single structure I cannot gain access to, nor a system I can't hack. I also have a shotgun. Because shotguns are awesome.
*walks back into the hotel, the woman is gone* Oh...
#ChaseForBook9
Hmmmm... This is a predicament
You know, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we just took rooms and paid in the morning?
#ChaseForBook9
We can only hope, I guess?
Humbug. In any case, since all the pods are open, I suppose we sh-
*another explosion interrupts him*
Right, Adrasdos, into a pod!
ParAdra: *runs down a hallway* come on! WE COULD RUN OUT OF Oxygen!
ParAdra: *dives in*
*sighs, and moves after her, going into a pod next to hers*
Dragona, if you please?
*heads up stairs, and finds a room, fills the lock with energy and opens it, going in*
#ChaseForBook9
Sir, if you shut the pod door I can guide you back to Earth. Just get in and I'll activate a homing signal by hijacking the autopilot and putting it on to an individual network.
Oh wait *shuts doors and activates pods*
*nods, and pauses as he examines the door*
Er, there's... No handle. Accursed electronics...
Waiiiiit a second, *pulls on the back of his jacket, pulling him back into the hall* Not so fast there. *pulls him in close* really? No parting words?
Sorry for the delay, we were experiencing technical difficulties with the doors. You are now flying Dragona Airlines. Your ETA is three minutes until you enter Earth's atmosphere and your flight plan is looking good. Please sit back and enjoy the ride.
ParAdra: *pushes a button and sits down, strapping herself in*
*Walks up to large hole in the ground*
Goddamn. I'll DED to... Sci Fi. The nostalgia. *raises glass*
Oh and please keep all hands and legs inside the vehicle at all times under threat of instant death.
You know, now you've said that, I can't think of anything grand enough to say...
May the sweet nectar of rest nurture you to regain your strength and your dreams be filled with endless joy. And for the brief period I am away from you, I will try not to fall to darkness, as you are the redeeming light of my life.
Good enough?
#ChaseForBook9
Hear hear Adra.
#ChaseForBook9
You have now entered Earth's atmosphere. Commencing with landing procedures. Reducing speed.
*laughs* Good enough. *kisses him*
Hear Hear
Hello... I think...
If Mom brings in her iPad like she said she would, I'll be gone, but if she's forgotten (which is not unlikely), I'm here. I hate not being able to move...
#ChaseForBook9
ParAdra: sits there rather calmly*
Hello Fabi
Hi fabi. Why can't you move?
*kisses back* Good. Sleep well, dear.
#ChaseForBook9
*quiet and soft bump for both of them*
You have now landed. Thanks for flying with Dragona Airlines.
*edges in*
Unless anybody minds, I think I'm gonna watch the RP from a secluded corner, and try to come up with a better way to describe Deleter than 'Farewell Continental meet Slipknot meet Bobby Pickett.'
*sits*
#ChaseForBook9
*sighs as the pod enters the atmosphere*
Honestly, this is MUCH less painful than moving through dimensions...
Okay Taia. Hi.
#ChaseForBook9
You as well. *smiles and retreats to her own room*
Hello Taia
Hi Fabi, Taia.
ParAdra: *rolls out* I'M ALIVE! SWEET GOD ABOVE I'M ALIVE
And now after a successful thingy, I shall go. Because I'm tired. Night!
Night Dragona. *goes into his room and locks the door behind him. takes off his coat and flops on the bed*
#ChaseForBook9
Bye Dragona
*Climbs down into hole in the ground and looks round with torch*
Back in a minute
Well then.
*examines the closed door*
...
*those outside see the door randomly fly off of its hinges, sparking slightly*
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