First Step [Video; public]

[dogwalksyou]

Hello? Hello, yes.

[The dog comes into focus at an odd angle - the communicator is on the floor, between her forepaws as she peers down over it. Apparently satisfied that it's working, she yips in delight, rushing out of view in a close-up whirl of paws and tail and glimpses of an old timber ceiling as she spins in a circle. Then her face reappears, tongue hanging out slightly from her canine grin.]

Hello! I'm the Disreputable Dog. Or the Disreputable Bitch, if you want to be technical. Who wants to go for a walk?

Comments

[mattersverymuch]

I am the marquis de Carabas.

[He does not bow, which, paradoxically, is a sign of some respect. His bows never mean anything. The look he is giving her is laden with meaning - curiosity, and the intent to satisfy it.]

Do you prefer your full title, or simply Dog?

[dogwalksyou]

I have no preference whatsoever between the two.

[mattersverymuch]

Dog, then.

And what is your purpose here, Dog? Beyond the commonplace and obvious.

[dogwalksyou]

[The obvious, she assumes, is bargains.]

I'm avoiding a relative.

[mattersverymuch]

[This is a new one.]

And what if they come here? How will you avoid them then? It's a small ship.

[dogwalksyou]

That's the beauty of it! He's already mostly redeemed himself at home without dying, and he's much too self-centered to accept responsibility for someone else's moral standing.

[mattersverymuch]

[He smirks.]

Clever.

Here forever, then, are you?

[dogwalksyou]

Oh, he just needs a little while to cool down.

[Like, a decade or two. She will probably not spend all of it here. But it seems like an interesting place to her.]

[mattersverymuch]

It is, I must admit, a more interesting reason to accept a deal than most wardens have.

[dogwalksyou]

Oh, I've got the boring ones too. Fond of travel, compelling sense of responsibility.

Well. Compelling might be overstating the case.

[mattersverymuch]

. . . Extant sense of responsibility. Of small to middling size.

Better?

[dogwalksyou]

A casual one. Since it's convenient, I really may as well.

[This is sort of, but also not really, a lie. Her sense of responsibility is strong, but strictly delimited. It does not extend to the impossible. In this particular case, it is convenient.]

[mattersverymuch]

Oh, well. There are worse reasons to do things than convenience. Or at least stupider ones.

[dogwalksyou]

An old hobby for befriending problem children, for example. Frankly idiotic.

[mattersverymuch]

Why would you ever?

[dogwalksyou]

[She laughs.]

I am a dog.

[mattersverymuch]

That's not a very good reason to take on a task so unpleasant.

[dogwalksyou]

It pleases me because it is my nature. I can't think of a much better reason than that.

[mattersverymuch]

I can. But I suppose one can't change one's nature.

[dogwalksyou]

And people can waste so much grief trying.

[Wow, suddenly missing Lirael a lot. The Dog knows she's okay where she is, that she doesn't really need her anymore. Still.]

[mattersverymuch]

Strange that you're here if you believe that, despite the reasons already given.

[dogwalksyou]

The bounds of one's nature may be unbreachable, but they are rarely narrow. Within them, there are often many paths.

[mattersverymuch]

Such as?

[dogwalksyou]

Well, I'm the Disreputable Dog. But there are quite a lot of rules in the world, and even I don't have time to break them all. So I generally focus on the stupid ones.

[mattersverymuch]

As opposed to breaking rules at random, or in order to further a particular goal.