[SP01] Familiar Howls

[Skid-Z]

M8W2D6: Detroit.

There is a small food party in a community square today. Stacks of flyers were distributed to cafes and bars and other common places inviting people to come and taste foods from all over the world. It's comfortably crowded, but not massively. Music plays and the mood is good. People wander little stalls waiting for Greek gyros, Turkish pizzas, Italian pasta and Indian curry.

On the tables all around are flyers from various instances that want to make the most of this event to advertise their own. A local library is holding a live reading session in a few days, several community clubs wish to draw members and a couple of museums are advertising their latest displays; there is a prehistoric exhibition, a car display of histories’ greatest automobile racers and a photography collection of urban neighborhoods.

Samuel is sitting on one of the benches placed for the event, absentmindedly playing with the car museum flyer. There's a large hound lying on the ground next to Samuel, jaw on the ground between its massive front paws. Strange white-blue eyes watch the people walk by. There is a silver-magenta-teal dog-tag hanging from a chain on the neck and the colors shimmer in the sunlight.

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Open to everyone who wants to participate. This is the starting thread for the mini-plot as discussed. If at any point you have questions or want to do something special, feel free to pm me. Let's have some fun!

[Skid-Z]

The longer Samuel plays with the flyer, the more absent and distant his stare becomes. Something in the atmosphere changes and the man shivers. Without a sound the hound lifts its head, tilting it as if hearing the voice of its master. A few seconds later the festival-speakers fritz with interference and snippets of sports commentary intermix with the music.

"Hey!"
"Who turned off the radio?"
"What is this crap? Hey Tony! Turn the music back on will ya?!"
“Right, just a minute!”

As said, one of the organizers disappears behind a stall. For a moment the volume adjusts and the snippets distort. It cuts off entirely, and then restarts with different audio, without distortions. Tony re-emerges and states triumphantly, “That’ll do it. Different CD, fixes everything!”

Except that it doesn’t stay fixed for long. The music cuts off again and is completely replaced with the commentary to a car racing match. The commentator is talking English, but the accent is European. And when the voice mentions that this must be the most exciting race of the year the date is no less than thirty years ago.

The hound leaps to its feet and begins to bark in the direction of the speakers. The sound is hollow and distant and hair-raising. There are several other dogs in the area who respond with their own barks and howls, tails tucked between hind legs. Some remain where they are while others try to hide behind their owners. A Labrador slips away from the collar and high-tails it out the place, tripping a man who barely manages to not land face first in his pasta.

Amidst the disorder, Samuel is still staring at a photograph on the back of the car museum flyer.

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As explained here.

[Hellbender]

Shades Costigan found himself with some time off from his near 70-hour workweeks on Victoria's projects and decided to take in the local food fair. It was only a few blocks away from the K-Tech building he was working out of this week.

He's halfway through a delicious gyro wrap when the dogs start howling. Something.. isn't right. He hears sounds he shouldn't be hearing, and there's something... off about the white dog's bark.

Costigan is very, very sensitive to sound. He "sees" the shape of the terrain from stray echoes and hears the emotions and health of people in their voices. Distance to a sound source and size of the resonating cavity that should produce a certain sound--he just knows.

And the white dog doesn't sound at all like he looks.

[Skid-Z]

The noise continues for a while so Costigan will have plenty of time to listen to the barking and the recording of the past*. Tony, in attempt to stop the hijacking broadcast and restore peace, eventually switches the cd-player off entirely. And yes, the speakers go quiet.

The dogs, however, will be alarmed and frightened for some time.

As the broadcast stops, Samuel wakes from his trance-like state, startled by the chaos. He jumps up and quickly tries to stop the hound from barking, looking very agitated. He curses under his breath and tries to tug the dog away by the scruff whilst clamping a hand around its muzzle. This does nothing for the volume of the bark.

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*During this, the racing match broadcast will mention some drivers. List can be found here.

[Hellbender]

That was... a mite peculiar. Costigan finishes his gyro in a few quick bites as he walks over to the man with the barking dog.

"Your dog's upset," the big man in the broad-brimmed black hat and mirrorshades says. "He do that often?"

[Skid-Z]

Samuel glances up when an unfamiliar voice comments about his dog. He looks very embarrassed and frustrated that the hound isn’t settling down, “Ah, I’m sorry! Yes, he does… at times. He's ridiculous that's what he is, and I don't know how to settle him down. Damnit, Cahnay, be quiet!" He admonishes. Samuel is a fine example of someone who doesn't really know how to handle a dog.

The dog notices the stranger, but ignores him for now, busy resisting being pulled back.