Remember We are Always on Your Side

"Oh-- I guess you two already took care of most of it?"

Like Melody, Cody's instinct had been to help. The young boy had found himself a corner of the pub to nestle into, right where the intruding tree met the wall, where he could observe comings-and-goings without being observed himself. As good as he was with animals, Cody had never had that same strength with humans; oh, sure, he could stand up to a poacher like McLeach, but... he never quite 'clicked' with most people, be they his age or otherwise. So, from his perch, he could indulge his fascination for any unusual animals that entered the place - such as, for just one example, that wild Pegasus he'd seen around recently -, while at the same time not drawing uncomfortable attention.

Still, he wasn't the kind to sit idly by if someone needed help; so, when he'd heard the thump and the sigh of frustration, Cody had hastily tucked away the sketchpad he'd been occupying himself with - where another drawing of that stunning white dragon had been taking form; it was fair to say that Cody was still enthralled by seeing her, even two weeks on - and dropped lightly down to the floor to approach--

Only to find that he was too late; between them, the dog and the girl seemed to have succeeded in picking up everything that needed to be picked up. Or at least, mostly everything... Cody captured a couple of escapee wrappers that were skittering away from the rest of the rubbish, carried by a stray breeze from under the door. Moving closer, he stuffed them into Rita's trash sack along with everything else.

He glanced the girl's way for a moment, an expression almost shy on the part-Australian boy's face. It took no great genius to guess that he wasn't very comfortable around other kids, even when they were several years older than him as she seemed to be, and most of his attention quickly returned to Rita. His experience with dogs, too, was limited, save for perhaps the occasional dingos; but she was still an animal, and he understood animals in a way that he didn't his fellow humans.

This particular lady, he'd seen around the pub, but not yet interacted with any more than in passing. Perhaps it was as good a time as any to change that.

"Hey, girl. Do you want me to carry that for you?"

Himself being taller, and possessed of hands, it seemed fair to offer, at least. Rita was always free to reject it, if she would rather.

Melody stooped to pick up another fallen piece of trash and looked up at Rita. "I'm Melody, that's me. Vivienne is the other girl, I think." Melody knew of Vivienne very vaguely, as she didn't live with the other Gilded Wings, rather coming and going from her own home. Her parents were busy in the protection of their own kingdom and she'd been sneaking out all her life, whether to this group or going for swims, so she was more than able to.

She noticed the boy's slight hesitation at her arrival. It made sense, he seemed to be a few years younger than her and she knew that some of the other fledglings under protection had been through more than she could imagine. Trying to make him feel comfortable, she gave him a smile to let him know that everything was okay.

"Here we go," Melody said taking the sack of rubbish from Rita and placing it in the bin. It was heavier than she though, but it wasn't really any trouble. Melody turned to face the other two and gave them an excited grin. "So, now that that's taken care of, where should we start?"