A Glimmer of Potential

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[bg=CBC1D8] He ground his molars together and fought the urge to cover his ears as Sparklet opened her mouth in a chorus of yips. Casimir gave the German Shepherd pup a not-so-gentle nudge with his foot to tell her to shut up, and she gave an exaggerated whimper as she feinted away from him. "Oh, stop faking." Casimir said grumpily. He hadn't exactly been having the best day. It was cold, icy, and he couldn't stop falling. Not to mention someone had taken his whole supply of handcuffs. Alright, so they were made of rubber bands and string. They weren't exactly expensive, or effective. But that didn't stop him from feeling the hurt and indignation of sore pride. It was a good thing his ego was so inflated; otherwise Casimir might've actually doubted himself. "Come on, Sparklet," He tugged on her leash as he started forwards, towards the cabin hidden under layers of ice and ivy. The puppy's eyes lit up as she gave a joyous bark before beginning to bound after her master, leaping over snow drifts that were taller than herself. Cas heaved an exasperated sigh. How was he ever going to catch villains if his side-kick wouldn't let him sneak up on them? Now if anyone had made the beautiful, but suspicious-looking, cabin their hideout they would have plenty of warning before the stealthy, self-proclaimed officer knocked the door down. He made it to the antique porch without incident, although there had been a few close calls when he was sure he was going to wipe out. The snow was much more slippery than he would've thought, and even though he had a few bruises beginning to blossom from previous falls he didn't slow down. Thinking was not one of his many talents. The porch creaked as Sparklet climbed up onto it. Casimir pressed a finger to his lips in a silent shushing motion, to which she just panted and wagged her tail. He turned away from her with a disdainful frown, wondering how he had gotten paired up with the clueless puppy. Then he remembered that he had bought her with a rather generous Christmas check he'd been given. Or, well, not given personally... He'd actually just found it, lying abandoned in a tangle of bushes... But the rule was finders keepers, right? It wasn't like he was actually going to find the rightful owner, anyway. And besides, he wasn't getting anything in taxes. He had to fund himself somehow. Feeling uneasy, he drew his trench coat up tighter around him, doing his best to ignore the bone-chilling wind and the nagging guilt. "Don't get weak now, Cas," He gave himself a whispered pep-talk, shoving all things except for the task at hand out of his mind. "You've almost got them, you've been on this case for days." And that he had. He'd been tracking something, and all evidence led him to believe that a small pack of criminals would be waiting on the other side of the door. He closed his bright green eyes and silently counted to three, then turned and kicked the door with as much force as he could muster. Instead of falling over, however, like he read it would in Chapter 12 of The Secrets of Police Life, it merely vibrated angrily and seemed to push back against Casimir's outstretched leg. Sparklet eyed her master warily as he lowered himself to a sitting position, his expression set in a comical look of pain. "Maybe we should try just opening the door, huh, Sparkelt..." His voice trailed off as he pulled himself up, wincing. It felt like he'd knocked his leg out of his hip socket. The young man found that the door was not locked and opened easily. He limped inside, barely able to feel disappointment at not finding even one ne'er-do-well. Sparklet followed at his heels, padding over soft, unfamiliar carpet, taking the time to smell everything before coming to sit by the bed where Casimir had collapsed. She licked his snow encrusted boot a few times, feeling a small stir of worry that he lay so still. At the sound of snow crunching beneath someone's feet, though, he sat up. Both shifter and puppy sat rigid and still, listening with utmost concentration. Casimir could feel his heart beat start to pick up, and adrenaline began to pump. Ignoring the searing pain still spread throughout his leg, he got up and edged as quietly as he could to a shadowy corner behind a cabinet where he would be hidden, dragging Sparklet along with him. There was nothing like the element of surprise. [ for martin c: again, I apologize for the length. trust me, I normally post shorter. oh, and the title is part of the song that his quote-thing is form, just in case you were wondering why I picked that. I'm horrible at naming threads ^^; ]

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[martinconnor]

It was bitterly cold, the snow crunching and slick underfoot. Martin moved along at a brisk walk, eager for a rest in someplace dry. True, he could shift, dig a hole in the snow, and curl up there, but a flat-coated retriever wasn’t completely suitable for that. A siberian husky could pull that off and be comfortable, but he would still be cold. The Safehouse would provide much better shelter.

Ah, but there was already someone inside. Martin paused before the porch, pushing his dark brown hair out of his eyes to examine the fresh tracks in the snow. One human set, and a small canine that was either an actual animal or a shifter in their animal form. Looking back up toward the building, he scented the air, then wrinkled his nose. Carna. Out of the three Rings, Carna was the one he avoided most. However, is was deal with them or stay out in the snow. With a shrug, he started toward the porch again.

As a rouge, chances are that he wouldn’t be attacked. The Carna might think not have a problem attacking him, but because he wasn’t from another ring they probably wouldn’t risk being injured. Besides, it could be worse – a virus, for instance. Compared to them, Carna were manageable. So he stepped up onto the porch, stomped snow off his shoes, and opened the door. Entering the room, he shut the door behind him and glanced around.

“Hello?” he called, not seeing anyone. Martin knew someone was in the house but didn’t know where they could have gotten to, unless they went upstairs. The profound quiet was disturbing, and made him wary of a trap. He listened, glancing around but not moving from near the door, expecting a possible ambush.

yours was ridiculously long, mine was ridiculously short. xD

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[bg=CBC1D8] The footsteps got louder. Casimir found himself nearly trembling with excitement, and Sparklet picked up on that. She stood very still, straining to hear and smell the intruder. He hesitated before stepping onto the porch; she sensed that he knew he wasn't alone. Sparklet stood all the more motionless, beginning to resemble a statue. He stepped onto the first wooden step, and she heard the creak. Behind her, Casimir knelt down and placed and pacifying hand on her back. "Don't worry Sparklet, we'll get him..." Casimir obviously thought she was tensed because of nerves. Well, it was an easy mistake to make. Unlike most of the things he messed up. The stranger stepped into the cabin and closed the door. Cas unconciously tightened his grip on Sparklet's back, making her writhe uncomfortably. Just as he was wondering how to expose himself, the intruder spoke. The 'hello' was innocent enough, but it made his stomach drop. There presence was known by the other... Casimir gathered his courage up, racked his brain for the correct interrogating procedures (you never know when you're going to need to commit an investigation!), and leapt up and out from behind the cabinet. "Stop, in the name of the law!" He held out his hand in a halting motion and puffed out his chest, making the rusted old badge that read 'CHIEF OF POLICE' visible. Sparklet was by Cas's side in moments, her ears tilted backwards and her lips pulled up in a feral growl. This was the fourth time she'd been with her master when he confronted a (supposed) criminal. So far, none had been very succesful. Casimir's left wrist was still swollen from a mishap with a kangaroo shifter. His eyes narrowed as he took in all 6'1" of Martin. Casimir considered himself tall 5'10", but he was dwarfed in comparision to the man. Still, he didn't back down. "They always come back to the scene of the crime. It's just a matter of time." His superior tone suggested he knew something Martin didn't, although he was really just saying random lines from comic books. His foolproof plan was to guilt Martin into admitting what he'd done, and then give him a one-way ticked to jail. Too bad Casimir hadn't read up on the due process of law.

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[martinconnor]

There was a brief pause after he called out, then a rather thin man wearing a long over-coat leaped from behind a cabinet. A pup followed, a German Shepherd who landed at the man’s side, fangs bared in a snarl. He had an air of confidence, almost arrogance, holding out a hand in a ‘halt’ gesture. On his chest was a worn badge – too far away to read though the rust, but the shape was unmistakable. "Stop, in the name of the law!" Martin raised a brow. “Excuse me?” He didn’t intimidate easily, particularly in situations as ridiculous as this. Since when did the Menagerie have a police force?

"They always come back to the scene of the crime. It's just a matter of time." At the lofty tone, the brow rose even higher. However, playing along seemed to make the most sense. Arguing with the stranger wouldn’t get him anywhere. “I’m afraid there’s been a mistake, Officer,” he said mildly. “I have never been here before, though I’ve heard about it, of course. I was just looking for shelter from the weather.”

Glancing around, Martin looked for any signs of lawbreaking – broken furniture, blood, marks of a struggle – and found none. Everything looked perfectly fine, although perhaps he wasn’t the best judge, having never seen the place before the “crime” occurred. Also, considering there were no written laws in the Menagerie, Casimir’s laws could be different than what a human in the regular would consider them to be. “However, if this is a crime scene, I will find some other place. I have no wish to hinder a criminal investigation,” he continued, with a respectful nod to the “Officer.”

Cold or no, he didn’t want to deal with what would result if the man tried to arrest or subdue him. He wasn’t looking to fight this crazy Carna, particularly when he didn’t know what the other man’s shift was. Martin also didn’t have any plans to ‘go quietly’ if he was ordered to do so. Casimir might plan to simply throw him in jail, but the Carna don’t keep prisoners. If one showed up, they’d kill him, no matter what the arresting officer had to say about it.

nah, it was fine. ^^

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[bg=CBC1D8] Casimir almost visibly slumped at Martin's words. "I said, Stop in the name of the law," There was just a hint of a whine to his voice as he crossed his arms moodily over his chest. He was sick of these criminal who tried to appear half-death. They were just trying to fake their way out of punishment, he knew. Plus, his leg was still throbbing horribly. Goshdarn those no-good, dirty, rotten criminals with expensive doors. He had been starting to dislike Martin (well, of course he didn't like the criminal. He was a criminal, after all!), and probably would've snapped his newly-upgraded pipe cleaner-and-fishing line handcuffs* on him if what he said next hadn't pleased Casimir. I’m afraid there’s been a mistake, Officer, Casimir straightened up considerably and puffed his chest out at that. Finally, he was being recognized for the hard-working citizen that he was! Officer... The happy word rang in the young man's ears over and over again. Never before had anyone he'd 'saved' or 'apprehended' shown him the respect that this man was showing. Of course he wasn't a criminal. No criminal could be so well-mannered and level-headed! Beaming, he nudged Sparklet with his foot and gave her a hearty wink, his signal to her that it was okay. She ceased her growlinlg, but eyed Martin carefully anyway. Just because her master had the brains of a pile of rocks didn't mean she would let her guard down so easily. "No, no, it was my mistake, good sir!" He was practically tripping over himself with glee as he moved towards the other. "You aren't a criminal, my apologies! You can stay here with me and Sparklet if you still fear the weather. We were getting lonely!" Casimir said, speaking in a rush and meshing some words together and stumbling over others. His bright green eyes shown. He knew he had plenty of friends, that was a given, but he didn't have a best friend. He really wanted one... "I'm Casimir! Well, actually, I'm Burclay Berkeley, but you can call me Casimir, or Cas, or Sir Dr. Officer, if you want," He stuck out his hand for Martin to shake. Sparklet stayed where she was and watched up until then. Wincing in embarrassment for her master, she turned away. She sometimes wondered how she got stuck with him. But more than that she marveled at how he was able to survive so long without her. --- *he made them after his others were stolen <3 ... just putting this in to avoid unneccesary confusing ^-^ OhmyGod, I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry x-x I promise my next replies will be speedy quick <33

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