Prize Fighter

[Yugikun]

Sumac Park, after school. The sun was beating down on the baseball diamond, leaving the ground dry and barren. It was decent weather to play baseball in. A little hard to bear, maybe, but once the team got started it probably wouldn't take too long for it to go away. It was probably good for exercise, too. Working under the Kingman sun meant that more effort needed to be put in to function, which resulted in better muscle and weight loss. Something like that. Probably wasn't true, though. It didn't really matter, anyway. He played baseball more for the fun of it than to remain active or something like that. He was sitting on the bench, roaring to get onto the field.

Just one problem though.

Nobody was here.

((Ben Fields, continued from There's No Time in Space))

Benjamin Fields was sitting on a bench close to the field. Bench Field? Whatever. Today was baseball practice. Or so he thought, apparently. It had been... ten minutes and he was the only one to show up. He was fairly sure practice was today. He remembered the coach saying that they had to practice more since a game was coming up this week and he was fairly sure that today was one of the extra practise days. He knew that at least, he was kinda paying more attention to what he was going to cook his family for dinner, but he at least knew that today was one of the days he had to show up at Sumac Park.

Maybe he could have misheard, though. Tuesday and Thursday sounded somewhat similar. It was entirely possible that when he heard Tuesday instead of Thursday because he was too busy thinking about whether he should cook or order pizza for the family.

Which would suck, by the way. Lana couldn't go out shopping for a homecoming dress because of baseball. Mom had to go to parent teacher interviews until seven PM so no-one was able to accompany her there. She was pretty bummed when he told her the news, which made you pretty sad. He always wanted to see her happy, so seeing her sad made him sad.

Although maybe he could make her happy, considering that baseball didn't seem to be happening.

Hmm...

He whipped out his phone from his back pocket - it was where he always put it, more convenient and not uncomfortable - and went through it. Password, phone, text. He scrolled through the names until he got to Lana Fields. Then, he sent a message.

hey lana

nobody has showed up at baseball practice so I don't think it's on

if nobody comes in the next couple minutes do you wanna go homecoming shopping?

There, it was sent. Now he just had to wait for her to reply. He honestly hoped that nobody would come at this point, if it meant that he could go shopping with his sister.

[Laurels]

((Noah Whitley continued from Airline Food))

Noah hummed to himself as he jogged through Sumac park. He liked to go jogging following his dance class, and since Sumac Park was close to the studio and it gave him the chance to have one last bit of exercise before going home. He hadn't done much jogging before, having only started in the last year or so. He didn't do it as often as he should, but it did give him the chance to exercise without getting too bulky.

He had earbuds in his ears blasting some pop remixes. They made for interesting songs to lip sync to should he get the chance to perform at a club in Vegas again. As he was jogging along, trying to mouth along to the Bassnectar remix currently playing, he noticed someone sitting on a bench near the baseball field. It looked like someone he knew from school. Noah smiled as he got closer. He wasn't sure who it was from the distance, but he knew to smile and wave as he passed by.

Well, that's what should have happened.

As Noah got close, his foot landed on the ground oddly, causing him to stumble. He flailed his arms out in front of him, as he continued to stumble forward. Finally, he realized he wasn't going to keep upright, and felt his body fall towards the earth.

"Fuck."

That's all Noah was able to say before he tumbled on the path. It wasn't loud, it wasn't even angry. It was simply declarative, and he felt himself roll on the path. The earbuds fell out of his ears, and he laid on the ground for a few seconds. He let out a small chuckle as he stared at the sky.

[Emprexx Plush]

((Abby Floyd+A Dog continued from Extraordinary Machine))

Walking Elvis was a pretty good time for Abby, in general. He went at a nice pace when he wanted to, he always had something he wanted to explore, and he was pretty good about doing his business in the grass so people would walk through any leavings she missed with the scooper. For the most part, he was a pretty considerate dog.

For the most part.

The darn trick with him is that every once in awhile, he'd just decide he was done for a bit without warning, and collapse on whatever surface he'd been ambling along on. In this case, he'd encouraged her over into the empty baseball diamond, and when she'd seen there was nobody playing she was pretty content to let him head wherever he wanted. It was only when he made it to home plate and unceremoniously flopped all over it that things got a bit complicated. Normally it was fine to just leave him and wait in the grass, but there might be somebody needing to use the field. It was supposed to be a baseball day, at least she felt like somebody at school had mentioned that in the halls. Maybe she just pulled it plum out of the ether, though. There didn't seem to be anybody around.

[Yugikun]

It didn't take long for someone to come.

Ben saw a dude jogging along the path. He was somebody from school, but Ben couldn't put a name on him. Ben did kinda know him though. He was someone who often spoke up in class and tried to crack a joke. He was pretty funny, although Ben could never really remember his jokes at the end of the day. Other than that, Ben had nothing though. He didn't hang with the baseball people so he didn't hang with Ben. Simple as that.

Anyway, whoever this person was, he waved to Ben. He was about to raise his hand to wave back until he tripped up, rolling onto the path. Ouch. That probably hurt. He remembered back to when he was five when he and his dad were walking here. It was raining and he slipped and he had a massive gash on his knee and it hurt. He remembered crying. He remembered his dad rushing him home so that he could get a band-aid on Ben.

He shook his head. The past wasn't really something he wanted to think about right now, not with people around. He didn't really want other people to see him when he thought of dad.

Instead, he went to the path. The guy who waved was on the ground, it was probably the right thing to check if he was okay or not. The path wasn't long, it looped around the baseball field and the dude was close to Ben when he fell. He was laying face up, towards the sky. He didn't really seem hurt, but it was probably safer if he checked.

...Also, he just saw someone walking their dog on the baseball diamond. Today probably wasn't a baseball day, after all.

"You okay?"

[Laurels]

It was times like this that Noah realized he needed to slow down. There was so much beauty and serenity in the world that he should take more times to really appreciate it. Most days, his mind was trying to balance schoolwork, comedy writing, filming, and familial obligations. But now, with him lying on his backside on a dirt path gazing up at the clear sky, he felt really peaceful. Granted, his head was throbbing slightly and he was sure he had some scratches on his legs, but it was still a nice feeling to have.

Someone did call out and ask if he was okay. Noah smirked and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Oh yeah. I'm good. I just didn't realize how the sky looked from this angle."

Noah held up his hands, using his thumbs and index fingers to make a rectangle shape.

"Yeah, this is the shot. If I had my camera, this is the best angle for capturing this time of day."

[Emprexx Plush]

The sounds of the scramble along the hill drew Abby's attention away from her contented hound. She turned around and caught sight of Ben walking over to check on Noah sprawled out across the ground. At first she was concerned, but from the look of things he seemed to be okay, so she gave Elvis's leash a gentle tug and started to wander over. "C'mon, boy!"

Elvis lazily turned his head and perked up at the sight of more people. His stubby legs carried Abby along as he scrambled over, barking and panting with what looked very much like a big, goofy grin on his face from Abby's perspective. She waved two the two boys as they came over and called out. "Hey there! Ya'll right, Noah?" Everything seemed to be okay from a distance, but it never hurt to check.

Elvis seemed keen on getting a more personal look at Noah's well-being, bounding over to the edges of his leash and sticking his slobbering face just over the prone boy's squared fingers.

[Yugikun]

The person was okay, apparently. He was smiling, looking at the sky and making a square with his hands. Said something about taking camera angles. Was he a photographer? Could be. Wasn't really worth asking about, though. If he was one he was one. If he wasn't one he wasn't one. Ben didn't even know his name yet, asking if he was a photographer wasn't really a top priority yet.

Well, he ended up learning the boy's name soon enough. Noah, apparently. Abby Floyd, the person previously on the baseball diamond, came over asking if Noah was alright, her dog slobbering over his fingers like they were a treat. Ben just kinda looked at it. Dogs were either a good thing or a bad thing for him. They either loved him and showed it every time they could or they totally hated him. Many a shopping trip were delayed because an asshole dog blocked the way of the shortcut. Abby was pretty good with animals though so it'd probably be one of the nicer dogs.

"Your dog seems to like him."

[Laurels]

Noah continued to chuckle to himself as he viewed through his handmade photo lens. He then heard a familiar voice call out to him. It was Abby Floyd, a girl he generally enjoyed being around. Before he could respond, a slobbering tongue started licking Noah's fingers. Noah let out a cry of joy and surprise as he realized he was being given kisses by a dog. He always enjoyed dogs, even though he never had one, and so to get licked by one was a joy.

"Ah! I surrender! I surrender!" he shouted, finally managing to sit up.

He continued to pet the dog as it tried to lick his face. The boy near him remarked that the dog seemed to like him.

"Yeah, I attract all kinds of dogs," he said, laughing as the dog continued to try and lick his face. "You should have seen my last blind date."

Noah started to pet the dog on its belly. If this was the norm following all tumbles, Noah hoped it would happen more often.

[Emprexx Plush]

If Noah wasn't enjoying the whole thing so much, she'd be sorta inclined to pull her old boy back and give him a break. Not that he would have listened, mind you, but she'd at least have to try. They were having a good time, so instead she just grinned and watched them. She nodded to Ben with a little chuckle. "Elvis likes just about everyone. He's a sweetie, though sometimes he goes...a little too far," she said with a glance down to the way he slobbered and tumbled over Noah. "He's a good boy, though. Just a little strong minded, like my Granny says."

Noah's comment made her burst out laughing as she waved a hand. "Noah, you are a card!" Walking Elvis was usually pleasant enough, but running into a few nice folks made it even better. He was happy, she was happy, they were happy, so everyone got a nice little boost from the whole thing. At least, as far as she could tell. Maybe Ben wasn't as in to it as Noah. He seemed kinda reserved, but maybe that was just how he was?

[Yugikun]

"Yeah...." Abby talked about what her dog, apparently named Elvis, was like. Way she described it reminded him of most of the dogs he came across. Wouldn't hesitate to show their feelings toward you and would go way too far in doing it. "Most of the dogs I've had to spend time with are like that. Regardless of if they love or hate you they'll go far in showing it." It was probably why he'd never own a dog. Too outgoing. He preferred cats. They didn't really show their love for you too much but they didn't get in your way.

And then Noah made a joke. "Hah." He snorted, slightly. Noah was pretty funny. Not someone that'd get him to laugh for a long time but he was someone that Ben could smile at without lying. He seemed to impress Abby, though; she was laughing pretty hard. He decided to reply to Noah.

"Guess it must have been a real dogshow, huh?" Ben smirked, a little bit. Apparently he could make jokes too.

[Laurels]

"Yeah, it was. The only way it would have been more of a dog show would be if Purina sponsored it," Noah said.

Noah chuckled to himself as he petted Elvis a bit more. He was still reeling from the rush of getting surprised by the dog's slobbering tongue that he remembered that he actually tripped and fell down. He could feel a slight sting in his right hand and on his knees. One of his knees was bleeding slightly. These were probably the parts of his skin that made direct contact with the pavement when he fell.

"Aw damn," he said, looking at his injuries.

Noah stopped petting the dog and stood up.

"Hey, you guys don't have a tissue or bandage or something, do you?" he asked Abby and Ben.

He shook his hand a bit to try and brush off any gravel that was still on them. He wasn't worried about the injuries, but the stinging sensation from them was an alarm telling him "DO SOMETHING!"

[Emprexx Plush]

Abby was so caught up laughing to herself and trying to keep Elvis under at least a little bit of control that it took her a moment to realize Noah was really hurt and not setting up for another joke. When she did, she let out a gasp and started fumbling in her purse. "Oh, you poor thing, I've got just what you need!"

Volunteering at the shelters had gotten her into certain habits, particularly because of working with kids. They were rambunctious little things and they had a habit of getting cuts and scrapes all the time, and sometimes running off to get a first aid kit just gave them time to stew and work themselves up to the point that helping them was just all that much harder. That's why these days she always carried an anti-septic spray, a small box of bandaids, and a specially laid aside package of Kleenex just for the occasion. She pulled her small kit out and offered it to Noah as she looked up towards Ben. "Do y'all have some water, or know where we might get some around here? A nasty bump like that could use some cleaning up."

[Yugikun]

Abby started laughing, the sound of it making Ben smile a bit. Seemed like he could have a future as a comedian. Apparently he could make people laugh. He threw around the idea in his head a little. It'd probably pay more than some of his other ideas, it'd probably pay enough to help out his family, but... No. Too much of a gamble. No guarantee that he'd get anything. Better just to toss that idea to the side and choose what he was going to be when he got there.

Plus, it seemed that Noah was hurt. Abby apparently had a medkit on her, so he let her take the front, but then she asked where she could get some water.

Um...

"There's a bubbler down the path there, I think." Ben pointed down the path, further down from where Noah came from. "I don't have a bottle or anything to hold it, though."

[Laurels]

Noah continued to pick away at some of the gravel on his hand when Abby handed him a small first aid kit. He smiled and took it from her.

"Oh, you're heavenly," he said.

The other guy said there was a bubbler nearby. Noah didn't have a bottle to carry the water with.

"Ah, that should be good," Noah said. "I'll just run down there and get this taken care of. Wait here and I'll return the kit."

Noah began to walk quickly down the path towards the bubbler the guy mentioned. This probably wouldn't be a big deal, but he wanted to deal with it swiftly and efficiently. There was more time to be spent playing with Abby's dog, after all.

[Emprexx Plush]

Elvis, rowdy little pup that he was, immediately tried to follow along after his new friend when Noah started walking away to clean his hand, and gave a grumpy whine when Abby held his leash fast. She sighed and knelt down, stroking that one spot between his ears that he seemed to like so much as she put her face in front of his. "I spoil you, you big baby. He'll be back in just a minute, let him alone to get cleaned up, you hear?"

With a little bit of effort, she made it back up off her knees and glanced towards Noah to make sure he was alright. Her eyes drifted from the empty field across the way to Ben, and a light went on in her head. "Say, isn't today a baseball day? I could've sworn I had to keep the rascal away from the field 'round this time, usually. Where's everybody at?"