10.) [video.]

[ijustlivehere]

[Neil's face is seen for all of two seconds before the device is knocked to the ground, landing instead on an awkwardly-angled view of the underside of a table. A good deal of shuffling can be heard, and the clinking of pet collars.]

Stop-- No! Off the-- Okay, Nymeria, to me! And little dude, you need to-- no, no, guys! Okay, c'mere.

[There is a small crash, and an indignant-sounding meow.]

Nym-- Gods. Nya, to me I said!

[When the device is righted and set back on the table, Neil has his husky puppy in his lap, and is holding her tightly by the collar. Resident cat Little Neil is slinking away in the background, looking offended.]

Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, uhmm.

I mentioned to a couple people that I might do like a belated birthday thing? 'S not really a party, but if anyone wanted to stop by today... there's, y'know, snacks. And you could meet the new puppy. [He pats Nymeria on the head, and she tries to nip at his hand.] It'd just be like, a really informal deal, so you could come by whenever.

[Neil's face falls, and he looks somewhat forlorn.] Stephen is... not here right now. So.

[Nymeria chooses that moment to slip out of her collar and bolt. Neil shoots to his feet, and frantically turns off the device before going after her.]

Comments

[designedtoparty]

Moses!

Did you buy that dog to eat Neil?

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ha, that's hilarious. But I didn't even buy her. She was a birthday present. So there.

[designedtoparty]

You asked some poor, unknowing soul to buy you a dog to eat Neil?

You monster.

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

No, I didn't ask. It was kind of a surprise thing, dude.

'Sides, she's not gonna eat anybody. She's good.

[ action ]

[the-dawnster.livejournal.com]

[There's a knock on the door and when he answers it, there's Dawn with a large bowl of homemade party mix. She sing-song's the next phrase for him.]

Hey Neil! It's your birthday. No it isn't. Go anyway. [She shrugs and rolls her eyes.] Okay I just really wanted an excuse to say that. Happy belated birthday. I brought food.

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Neil is in an instant good mood now, as he leads her in.] I get songs! And food! You totally didn't have to do either of those things. [He takes the bowl graciously and deposits it on the table where some other snacks have been laid out haphazardly-- corn chips and salsa, pizza rolls, a liter of cola, and some rather sad-looking cookies.]

Thanks. You're awesome.

[the-dawnster.livejournal.com]

[Of course Dawn goes straight for the sad little cookies, cause -- cookies. She does pause in the partaking of said cookies to give Neil a quick hug though. But then -- cookies. And after one bite.]

These are so good. Chocolate chip is my favorite. Especially when they're heavy on the chocolate chips, as in "I'd like some dough with my chocolate chips, please". In fact, sometimes I'll just eat the chocolate chips plain right out of the bag, which I've heard is not what you're supposed to do or something like that.

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

I totally do that too. [He looks at her, surprised and curious.] Are those actually good? It's Stephen's recipe and he's like, hardcore-amazing cook guy, but I thought I kinda screwed 'em up. I was actually kinda scared to try, myself. Would've had Nymeria taste-test, but, y'know. Chocolate. No good for puppies.

|| video

[sempreadagio.livejournal.com]

[Jill is leaning in close to the screen as if that would get her a better look at the puppy dog.]

Oh, she's cute. It's a she, right?

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Admiration for the puppy gets an extremely appreciative smile from Neil.]

Yeah! She's really something, isn't she?

[sempreadagio.livejournal.com]

[And there's a rare smile from Jill as well.]

I like dogs. They're loyal.

[Action]

[mghtbconcussed.livejournal.com]

[Lucy shows up with presents (http://www.karaoke-unlimited.com/main/catalog/plemq755%5B1%5D.jpg) in hand (http://technabob.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/atari_shot_glasses.jpg). She's dressed a little more casually in cut off shorts, a cute top and high heels. There's no way she's not going to show up when Neil is dealing with Stephen being gone.]

[Action]

[sempreadagio.livejournal.com]

[Jill quickly put out the cigarette she had been working on and hurried up to Neil's apartment after Lucy. She hadn't thought she'd come since Neil barely knew her, but Lucy had invited her to go with her so she decided making a showing couldn't be too terribly bad. She's dressed down today, baggy cargo pants, a white tank and some boots.]

I feel like I'm crashing a party.

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Neil invites them in, stiff-shouldered and tense, but with a smile on his face.]

Hey, uhmm, thanks for coming and everything. [When he sees what Lucy has in tow, his eyes go wide.] You totally didn't have to bring stuff.

[And then, to Jill,] Nah, 's cool. [He gives her a thumbs up.]

[am-i-being-rude.livejournal.com]

[The Doctor's not doing too much but he thinks the dog is adorable and can probably tolerate the cat because of said dog. And also because Neil kept him safe from unicorns and seemed like a pretty good kid. Neither of those sentences actually complete a thought but I mean to say that he knocks on the door.]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Neil comes to the door with a dull, anxious expression-- but it brightens into a pleasantly surprised smile as soon as he sees who it is.]

Whoa, hey! [He takes a look over both of his shoulders, possibly either assessing the state of the room or checking for the animals.] You should.. totally come in! [So Neil steps aside to let you do just that.]

[manofgnee.livejournal.com]

Dude, your dog is ADORABLE.

Yes, belated birthday party. We are so doing that. We can play games, I'll bring my bad movie collection...

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Neil positively beams with pride.] Isn't she? She's the greatest.

Oh man, that sounds awesome! It'll be good to see you again, man.

[manofgnee.livejournal.com]

She's adorable, man.

It'll be great! Happy birthday, again.

Oh! If you need dog supplies, I have A LOT of extra stuff.

[tangledintower.livejournal.com]

Happy belated birthday again, Neil! I have a present for you!

[Guess who painted a badass picture of Neil as his LARPing persona?]

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

[Neil looks completely floored. It takes him a moment to even form words.]

Oh my god! You totally didn't even need to bring anything.

[tangledintower.livejournal.com]

I wanted to, though. You're my friend, Neil, and you deserve a birthday president!

[Video]

[sitaronthewater.livejournal.com]

[Puppy!] You mean he's actually gone?

[illgrowoutofit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's for real. He says only for a few days, but... [He turns his face away.] He coulda taken me with 'im, at least. But he just... left.

[sitaronthewater.livejournal.com]

How does he know it's only a few days?

[More pouting.]

You want to go back home too?