what have I become my sweetest friend?
Teddy stood on the outskirts of the party, his pose relaxed and yet ready for anything. What trouble he was expecting to find here, he didn’t know. This was a party full of the kind of fancy higher ups who had a lot of money, so much more money than he could even begin to comprehend, and who expected him to just… be there. He felt a bit vague and fuzzy on the details of it all. He was to come here, to talk to the guests at the party, to be shown off and whenever he thought about anything further that he was supposed to do it was just met with a blankness, a sort of warm, cloudy feeling that made him feel as if he were drifting.
It was the same feeling that he got whenever he tried to wander too far around the very luxurious and lush grounds that the home was situated on. If he started going too far in any one direction he would feel that cloudy, drifting feeling and he would find himself steering back towards the center of everything. Another dog probably would have fought against that, would have been searching for answers, but Teddy decided that right now it wasn’t worth it. This was the task that he had been given and so he would do it until it wasn’t required of him anymore.
That task mostly had him talking to the others that came over to him - when they did. Whether because he wasn’t actually the host of this party or because of some other reason, most of the others here at this party didn’t really seem all that interested in talking to him. They seemed to flock around some other dogs, practically preening and worshipping them. It was all boot licking, so far as he could tell, and he supposed he didn’t have much to offer when it came to that.
As the party wore on, day began to turn into night. The sun set a pretty picture in the sky as it descended and the grounds around the party itself turned into a mass of twinkling lights. It was all gorgeous, picturesque, but it made him a bit maudlin - as if he were longing for something that he couldn’t quite put a finger on. There was something in him, some feeling of repetition and recognition that the sunset and the glowing lights around the area seemed to trigger, and it was something that left a feeling of empty longing there for him to mull over.
His feet seemed to move of their own accord, taking him away from the party. Maybe it was the slowly sinking sun that called to him, or maybe it was the lights as they seemed to twinkle all around him. The noise of the party dimmed somewhat as he came down the sloping hill, getting close to the outer areas of the grounds where he never seemed to be able to go any further. It was as he was standing there that his ears pricked up, catching the sound of someone off to the right. Teddy’s head turned and he blinked for a moment, staring blankly at another dog that was lying on a reclining chair. His hand reached up for a hat that wasn’t there, feeling the urge to tip it even as he spoke. “Didn’t mean to intrude,” he said, honestly. He had no idea what was going on but if someone was down here by themselves it was likely they didn’t really want visitors.
The other dog took a moment to realize he was even there, it felt like. Teddy waited patiently, waiting for him to acknowledge the apology or even to get mad and order him away. Instead the guy just stared at him blankly before there seemed to be some kind of shift in his eyes, some kind of recognition. “Holy shit,” he said, drawing the words, out his voice sounding blank and thick, almost like the look that had been in the eyes just a moment before. “I cannot fuckin’... believe this.”
“I can leave,” Teddy said, hearing the stiffness in his own words. He didn’t quite know what he had done, outside of stumble over here, but the other dog wasn’t very pleased with his presence it seemed like. He wasn’t here to cause trouble. That same feeling that the sunset and the lights around the grounds had instilled in him seemed to be here too, a somewhat melancholy feeling of recognizable loss even though he would never have been able to pinpoint what that meant.
The other dog gave a laugh that sounded anything but amused, reaching out to pluck a tumbler of alcohol off of the small stand next to the chair. He didn’t bother to sip at it, just throwing it back and downing half of it in one quick drink. “Sure, why not, Ted. You won’t be the first to just walk away.”
There was a thin smile, about as unamused as the laugh the silver and black dog had given, on his own muzzle. “I don’t seem to be able to move one way or another without offendin’,” he said, his tone mild despite the way that he felt. It was a feeling of annoyance at being sneered at for doing nothing more than wandering around but something more than that, too.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s nothing new. Blame it on Logan. It’s the favorite game around here.” The other dog finished off his drink in a quick gulp before he raised his glass towards the building where the party was still going on. The action was both a gesture towards the house, a way of pointing, and also just a kind of half-hearted salute. “Did they send you down here? Did they bring you here just to fuck with me? I wouldn’t put it past ‘em.” He put the glass down again, reaching up to scratch at his forehead idly before he brought his hand down to pat at his jacket suit and then pull out some cigarettes. He separated one from the pack and then seemed to forget about it, neither putting it back in the container nor lighting it up. Logan was silent for a good solid minute or two, nothing but the distant sounds of the party and some night bugs hanging between them as time ticked down. Then Logan gave a scoffing laugh, finally seeming to remember the cigarette he held in between two fingers. He brought it up to his muzzle, lighting it and taking a drag before he gave another one of those scoffing laughs. “Good old Teddy. Fuckin’ solid and unmoving like a goddamn rock and with the personality of one, too.”
Teddy drew back at that. He certainly hadn’t come down here to be insulted, that was for certain. He had better things to do. Things like…. like… well, he had his tasks, didn’t he? He was supposed to stand, entertain, talk. His task had never been to be insulted and abused by someone here. “No need to be rude. I’ll be goin’.”
“Of course. I’m giving you and them too much credit. You sure as shit don’t remember me and they sure as shit aren’t creative enough to fuck with me that way.” He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and made a dismissive wave with his hand, ears flattening somewhat against the side of his head. “Go on. And tell one of those asshole servers to bring me another drink, at least.”
Teddy could only stare for a moment before he shook his head. The last thing this guy needs is another drink, he thought to himself idly. He would go, though, and he would get back to what he was supposed to be doing. He wouldn’t be here ever again and he would forget about silver and black dog with the handsome looks and compelling dark eyes because there was no way they would ever see each other again.
He was so focused on his task and the night carried on so long and so full of distractions that it never occurred to him to think of how the other dog knew his name and why he should feel so uncomfortable with the thought that he would most likely never see him again.