[Maddox Devereaux]

blahh, i don't even know. AW! : )

Live life to its fullest. That's what people say. It's some sort of unquestionable law of life you just don't mess with, but sometimes Maddox enjoyed rebellion. In fact for the longest time, as long as he could remember at least, it had been his way of life. It was safe to say he hadn't been living fully until recently. Recent events were still fighting for recognition in his brain, trying to understand what was happening, what was going on. Baby, job, engaged, responsibility. These were all words he usually shied away from but for some reason now, and specifically today, Maddox was drawn to them more than ever. With his one hand bunched up in his pocket as per usual, sporting a new shirt and the coolest red shades he'd come across in a long while, he felt surprisingly good with himself since the disaster of the trial. He'd calmed down somewhat. Wrapped around his other free hand was a bright green leash, attached to the base of it a strong-willed Akita. Walking Poppy was one of the few things Maddox could still do that served a purpose. It beat sitting around in an empty apartment while the people around him did things with their lives.

The sky was blue, cloudless and oh so bright. The sun was out but not too strong. Not enough for him to feel the urge to take his shirt off, which Maddox was thankful for. He would have chosen to bathe in his own sweat rather than risk the humility of the island seeing the shameful word cleaved into his skin there. Honestly, he didn't have the faintest idea why he was even here in a park of all places. He'd just been passing by and decided to cut through the nearest trail to the apartment. It had been a total of two hours. A good long walk and Poppy was becoming increasingly exhausted, tongue hanging out in an attempt to ease the temperature of her firing body as she slouched slowly behind Maddox. There were noises coming from not too far off; the clatter and screams of laughter alerted him that his all new favorite fear was near: dun dun dun, children. Before now, the man had never given the little brats much thought. They were just obstacles in his way of life, annoying things that mostly just made a mess and whined. But now with the news ahead of him and Amelia being only two months to the date, he was curious. More interested. Tentatively, Maddox stopped, brown eyes narrowing as he took in the scene before him. Four or five kids, about the age of ten, all jumping around and taking their turns going down the slide, closing their eyes and playing some absurd game where the goal was clearly to find the others before they tripped and - oh. Maddox had seen it coming, even before the little boy completely missed a step and fell to the ground. He was bawling his eyes out in an instant, the sound loud and clear throughout the whole park. Where was the adult? Maddox looked around, seeing no one. When it got to be too much of a wait, and not bothering to think but acting on pure instinct, Maddox pushed himself into gear.

Straight into the sand pit where the boy was still lying, he knelt down and helped tilt the boy's face up so that he could see him, gently of course. "Hey bud, you alright? No blood, no broken bones, hair still lookin' great?" He smirked in encouragement. The little boy shook his head angrily, wiping the tears away roughly from his face. Maddox could identify with this; he knew what it was like to hold back. Before he had a chance to say any more, however, a voice broke out shrill and demanding. "Get away from my son, please." Bewildered, Maddox spun around. "What? No, I was just- " The lady didn't look in the mood to be crossed, and seeing as how he'd had his fair share of confrontation to last him oh, say a good few months at least, Maddox backed off, hands pushed out to show that he had meant no harm. "Jeez." Shaking his head in annoyance, he turned around to leave. Seriously, did being a parent mean you had to be a crank? Was it that fucking horrible? It was then that he realized for the first time his hands were empty. First rule on being a good father: learn how to not lose your own dog. Might be good practice.

[Bella De Vento]

Mind if I claim this? ^^" i haven't threaded with you for a bajillion years ;; aaand crap post </3

move in slow motion, IT ALL GOES BY SO FAST!             The park, again? Bella wasn't sure why she'd turned up here again but beneath the shade of shivering palms, she felt relaxed. Luckily, this time she had come from a bookstore after purchasing something that could help waste time - the book was Before I Die by Jenny Downham. Never in her life had Bella read such an inspiring and heart wrenching story. It was enough to make her weep. She'd been sat reading for a good twenty minutes, her eyes only drifting away from the page to follow a bird that glided between branches, chirruping and calling with a jovial tune. The now strawberry blonde let a smile dance on her lips before she continued reading the story again. It was strange, the things the girl in the book was doing as the date of her possible death drew ever closer. It was that cliché story: character finds out they're dying, makes a list of things to do before they die. Example, sex, drugs, fame and love. Then, it became sweeter, more childish as Tessa (said main character) grew closer to a boy named Adam. Fly a kite, snow, Christmas... on the path before Bella, she hadn't taken notice of a certain man walking his dog, seeming content with his life but, then again, maybe there was something underneath that cool and collected expression, something that was far from both of those descriptions. Bella was far to engrossed with the pages in her hands to bother looking at strangers passing by, even if they weren't exactly strangers. Thud. Usually, Bella would've ignored such a noise but, accompanied by shrill and childish crying, she just had to look up. A boy, on the ground in the sand pit. Poor little guy! Bella slowly stood, her book in hand, ready to walk over and see if he was okay but it seemed someone beat her there. The man seemed to be checking if he was okay but a woman (who was obviously so controlling over her child) asked him to leave her son alone.             The blonde would have sat down and continued reading if it weren't for a figure that quickly exited the scene before her - a dog. Immediatly, trying to be a good person (which she often messed up at) she followed the creature, eyes locked on the rather vibrant lead. Perhaps it was the fact that Bella missed her own dogs more than anything but she hated seeing strays and abused dogs and, although the dog she was following was neither of these, she would've hated to see her become one. She looked like such a pretty dog, too. Bella smiled fondly, remembering her first dog, Pasqal. He was a merle Rough Collie, if she could remember correctly, with splashes of blue in his rich and beautiful fur that Bella put so much effort into almost daily... it was honestly exhausting work but seeing Pasqal look so beautiful was the only thing that motivated her. Perhaps, Bella would get another dog... another Rough Collie! She grew ever closer to the dog, her hands ready to snake out and grab the leash... but for now she'd have to get closer. How did she accomplish this? She jogged forwards, quickly reaching down to grab the green lead. Slowing down, the dog stopped and gave her a 'who-are-you' and 'what-are-you-doing' kind of stare. Bella awkwardly smiled. "C'mon, let's get you back to whoever you belong to." It felt so natural for Bella to be walking with a dog at her side, keeping the pace slow for the tired dog. Wrapping the leash around her wrist, Bella looked down at the dog beside her. Maybe all it wanted to do was go home and sleep... looking in front of her with an awkward smile, she approached Maddox quietly before holding out the leash. "Your dog?"

[Maddox Devereaux]

He was a moron. Maybe it was time to just getting used to saying it, because it more than likely would never go away. Only morons could completely drop their dog in a hurry to reach a child, though he supposed this at least showed he cared? It didn't matter; Poppy was gone, and already the devastated face of Nick and the disappointed look Amelia would give him when he walked through the front door was there in his mind. In a hurry, Maddox set off in the direction where he could only imagine the dog had set off. Interesting; would she have headed for the water, the bush, or the streets? She'd be dumb for the streets, and perhaps a little too smart for that, and so with that understanding, Maddox jogged towards where the palm trees rose and offered shade to the many who were relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. "Poppy! Get back here, dog." But she was nowhere in sight. Everywhere he looked there were just people laughing, children playing, other dogs here and there, but none that resembled an Akita. He was close to panic mode now, stalking through the grass and calling her name over and over, looking around and around in the hopes that she would suddenly pounce him from behind or be not too far off goofing with another dog. Nowhere.

Man, this was bad. "Hi Amelia, guess what? Not only did I lose my job, I lost our.... give it a drum roll please, I lost our DOG! But you know what, we should kiss anyway because I'm handsome. Yeah... not happening." His mutters were silent but gradually growing louder with every step. How could be have made this mistake? How could he have been so clueless? By now, Maddox could tell that the crying boy from the playground was back to laughing with the other children, the wary mother now fixing a controlling glare across the fields at the man who had apparently tried to sabotage her child. He wanted to flip her off, but held back, the hand in question instead pulling up to slap against his face and over his eyes as he groaned with frustration. Where was that damn dog? He heard a bark and then a girl laughing. Maddox turned to face the sound and he was graced with two familiar female presences. One, would be that bitch of a dog of his (and he said this for the sake of accurate terminology, I swear!); the other happened to be a young woman he knew as Bella de Vento. Maddox grinned in relief, holding out his hand to retrieve the leash she offered. "Yeah, thanks Bella, she's mine. C'mere you." He took the leash securely and whirled it around his fist, not that Poppy was in any mood to break away, nor had she really tried to in the first place. It had been more like 'oh wow, look freedom! Dumb ass owner is preoccupied.' But now he was anticipating the thought process of a dog, and that couldn't be good. Maybe the sun was getting to him.

Bella looked at peace with the world around her. There was a book in her hand, she looked all set and ready for a beautiful day, but she was alone. No Joseph. Maddox peered at her, tilting his eyes down to roam over the title of the book she clutched. "Before... I...........die?" He'd been reading it at an angle so it had been difficult, and he wasn't even a good reader to begin with. The irony of it all just made him chuckle, finally petting the dog at his side now that she had calmed down and was simply standing loyally by his side. "Well doesn't that sound enlightening." He teased, meaning it as a complete joke and definitely not to harm Bella's feelings. She had been at the carnival with everyone the other week and he hadn't had much time to really speak with her, and come to think of it he wasn't even sure if she remembered him properly or exactly who he was. Maybe it would be best if she didn't remember, but all the same... how do you bring up such an awkward subject? Instead, Maddox opted for the other awkward subject, but one that was in just as dire need to be approached. "Plan on fessing up to Joey before you die, or how long you two gonna ride this one out?" He smirked playfully, keeping it lighthearted. After a moment, however, he paused and his features instantly straightened. "Sorry. Probably not any of my business."

TABLE BY BECCA

[Bella De Vento]

So this dog was, indeed, Maddox's dog. Thank God she hadn't mixed him up with someone else and given his dog to some total stranger! That would not have been good in anyway, shape or form. The simple fact that the blonde had gotten hold of the dog in the first place made her feel a little accomplished; her good deed for the day was now done! "It's okay, I'm just glad I got you your dog back to you, Maddox." Bella remembered his name from the carnival and he had seemed very familiar. Maybe Maddox just had one of those faces? Whatever it was, the blonde was 70% sure she'd seen this man before... but where? She mentally shrugged the thought away - if she couldn't remember then maybe a part of her didn't want to remember. One of those memories that Bella didn't care for, didn't want lingering in her mind just like her current form of nightmares in which she was caught in the fire and anguish; the one she couldn't forget, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe it was true, that guilt eats away at you until you have no choice but simply turn yourself in, hold your hands up and say 'I did it'. At least, that's always what happened in books and movies - surrendering brought peace and calm back to the criminal. Aah, well, whatever. She'd backed out last minute, got shot and then nearly blow up - karma had already knocked he down with a heavy slap. She wasn't going to repeat that mistake not now or ever again. Saint(ish) Bella had returned! Huzzah!

At least, she hoped.

He looked at her book and slowly read out the title. Well, yes, it did sound a little... what's the word... depressing? Bella laughed, shrugging her shoulders to him. "Yup. Very enlightening." She could've lectured him about how the main character was a girl with cancer with a list to do before she dies which grows and grows until her final to-do list because a giant sprawl of downward emotions as she lay on her deathbed but she had no need to bore him with a blurb. Bella liked to read books, liked the ability to disappear into the words. Nerd. His next statement made her look straight at him. Aah, okay, Bella saw her chance and decided to play dumb - just for giggles and shit. "Ride out what with Joey? Fess up what?" A false look of confusion popped up. Bella liked to mess around with people, tease (in a playful way... even that sound disturbingly wrong) and make herself out as this innocent girl; this was a good enough oppurtunity to enjoy herself and, hopefully, stick Maddox into an awkward place for being so nosey. Hah, from Bella and a sorry from me.

table by becca