“Thank you,” Ava murmurs, handing over her glass. She hates that she’s even thinking about accepting his offer. Relying on him just isn’t fair. She glances over to him and sighs quietly. If he’s offering, there’s no harm in accepting, right?
Cameron turned his back on her and trotted across the house to the counter where the wine was sitting. He poured the thick red liquid into the cups, nervously inhaling and sighing before going back, a small genuine grin on his face.
When he returns, she accepts the wine from him with a smile. “If you’re positive that you don’t mind, I would love to stay in the extra bedroom,” Ava tells him after a moment of silence. Accepting help is really hard for her to do.
Cameron sat down, still smiling, though it grew at her words. "I'd absolutely love to have you here. I don't mind at all, trust me. Lily will be very happy, too." He sipped at his wine, sitting back into his original pose.
Ava visibly relaxes when he once again confirms that he won’t mind. “Lily is such a sweet girl,” She comments, a genuine smile tugging at her lips. After slightly readjusting her position, she takes a sip of the wine.
Cameron nodded frankly, smiling at the mention of his big teddy bear. "She really is. I'm glad I stumbled across her. She was such a mischievous puppy. It was really hard to train her as she is today," He reflected with a soft sigh.
“Tell me about how you got her,” Ava requests softly, always in the mood for stories involving dogs. She takes a few more sips of the wine before leaning forward and watching Cameron.
Cameron smiled warmly, being teleported back to that rainy day. "I remember the day being miserable. I woke up to cold and rain, and at the time I was going through a divorce. So it wasn't fun for me, and I was lonely. So I decided to go down to my restaurant and enjoy some cooking, and when I walked up the back door was open. I thought it was someone breaking in, so I just steeled myself up and got ready to fight. But I opened the door to find a muddy trail of footsteps– perhaps pawsteps– that led to a small puppy who just wanted shelter from the rain."
Ava listens intently, smiling as Cameron recalls how Lily came into his life. It seems as though the dog meet him when he needed her the most. “That’s sweet,” She hums quietly, unable to keep the smile off of her face.
Cameron chuckled softly. "It was. She came up and greeted me as if she knew me for her entire life. I checked her down and she was just skinny, with no collar. So I picked her up and took her to the vet 'round the corner… and yeah. That's about it. What about you and Kreja?"
Ava’s smile only grows. When he asks about her and Kreja, she pauses for a moment to think. “I was in Russia about a year ago and I had just escaped from the hospital. A couple of nurses were trying to bring me back so I hid in an alleyway. The nurses had gone back to the hospital and I was just about to leave when I heard the most pitiful whining. After looking around I discovered a scrawny ball of fur in the dumpster. Kreja leapt right into my arms and started to try and lick me to death. I couldn’t resist his sweet little face so I took him with me.”
Cameron "awww"ed softly, humming and setting his head back against the wall. He decided not to think about the fact that she had been in Russia. "Dogs are so sweet. Especially our dogs," He said with a laugh. "Oh, jeez… Speaking of them, I hope they're not getting into trouble.
“Dogs really are the best,” Ava agrees whole heartedly. She couldn’t live without her precious little Kreja. “Where are the dogs?” She asks with a quiet laugh as she sits up. The last time she had seen them was when they were begging for scraps. She can only hope that the two haven’t done anything bad.
"Hm, I think they went back outside to enjoy their dinner," Cameron reflected, rubbing his chin. "Well, at least I hope they are. I don't wanna run across town to fetch our dogs out of the ocean or anything."
"Should we go check on them?" Ava questions, glancing over in the direction of the backyard. Chasing after the dogs wouldn't be very fun so she'd like to make sure that they're both still here and safe.
Cameron rose his chin with a faint sigh. "Lily!" He called for his dog, who barked softly, skittering into the home with soft barks, delivering herself to Cameron's feet, where she sat neatly, thumping her tail.
"Kreja!" Ava calls out, smiling little when she hears him barrel inside. The dog races into the living room before launching himself at her and landing on her lap. "Hello, handsome," She greets him, kissing him on his head.
Cameron jumped and looked over to make sure no wine was spilled on his furniture before going back to Lily with soft pets that ruffled her fur and coos.
"Oh!" He suddenly exclaimed as his hands pulled away from her; they were covered in fur. "Time for a brush, yes, Lily?" Lily barked at brush, standing to her paws.
Ava wraps her arms around Kreja and gives him a hug before carefully putting him back on the ground. Luckily, she had put her wine on the table so none of it had spilled. "You are trouble, young man," She tells him affectionately. He barks at her and wags his tail happily. "Such a cute little baby," She coos, covering his entire head with kisses.
Cam exhaled softly in relief and smiled happily back down at his dog, who thumped her tail wildly.
"Yeaaah, let's go get your brush. You know where it is, right?" She barked in response and stood slowly, thumping up the steps and to his bathroom.
"She's such a smart dog," Ava comments, watching as Lily heads up the stairs to fetch her brush. When Kreja barks and starts to paw at her leg, she turns her attention back to him. "You're smart too, I promise," She tells the dog, laughing at how insulted he looks.
Cameron hummed softly and leaned back into the couch. "She sure is. It took forever, believe it or not."
Just then, Lily plodded back down the steps carefully, trotting over with a dog brush in her mouth.
"Dog training is such a long and painful process," Ava nods her head, not taking her eyes off of Kreja, who is still demanding attention. Teaching him to go with her on patrols has to be one of the hardest things she's ever done.
"Mmmhmm," Cam hummed softly, taking the brush and making Lily sit. He slowly ran the brush through her thick fur, holding the pupper fast in case she decided to squirm and get fur everywhere.
Ava lightly pulls at one of Kreja's ears in a playfully manner. The dog wags his tail and starts to nudge and nip at her leg, wanting to wrestle. "Later, buddy," She tells him, not wanting to break anything in here because they decided to rough house.