All The Wrong Moves [Duke and Ian)

[Oliver Ken Toulson]

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired.
I know, right now you don't care.

Anger. Revenge. Pain. All things that blended together over time, all things that Oliver Toulson hadn’t thought about in many years. All things that had come back to him when his wife called, then washed away when she explained why she was on the phone instead of their son. Replaced by stress and worry as she told him for the hundredth time that Ashby was sick. Of course, she had been telling him this for a while now, asking him to come over to London and see if his presence helped Ashby get better, her calls at the most inconvenient times. Of course, he had denied the offer every time. She just didn’t understand how busy his schedule was! Eventually, she had stopped calling, and he had assumed that his son was getting better, and he didn’t have to worry anymore. That had been a month ago, and now she was calling again, telling him that he wasn’t getting better. ”You waited a month to tell me this?” he spat into the phone, tempted to throw it to the ground. ”I didn’t want to bother you.” What kind of response was that? She had never minded bothering him with useless information before, why now?

He clenched his teeth, snapping the phone shut. He couldn’t deal with this anymore, couldn’t be bothered to talk to his ex wife about their sick child that was across the ocean from him. If he thought about this any more, he’d probably have a nervous breakdown. He pulled his legs to his chest like a child, taking a deep breath and resting his forehead on his knees. Why did he still have to go through this? His ex wife had ruined the life of an innocent adult, thrown him away and taken the child with her. She was the one that had given him this horrible personality, along with the odd need to manipulate those around him. She had torn him apart, and in return he had hurt others, but he could never hurt her, no matter how hard he tried. It wasn’t fair, his life wasn’t fair. Everyone was abandoning him one by one, and now it seemed like his son was, too. Falling into some sickness that might kill him. Didn’t he understand how that would kill Oliver? No, of course he didn’t. No one understood all of Oliver, not even those closest to him. His ex wife understood the side of him that was father to a seven year old son, and she had understood him when he had been kind and loving. Headmaster Matsumara perfectly understood the part of him that needed physical contact, the part of him that had wanted to hurt people, but didn’t understand the reason for it. Even Oliver didn’t fully understand himself anymore…

Long fingers clutched at a clump of grass along the banks of Lake Eola, willing himself to stop shivering. It wasn’t even a cold day! The sun was shining in the sky and it was as warm as could be, families playing all around the lake, sitting and playing catch and eating picnic food. The one man huddled in a ball to stop himself from crying just didn’t fit in. He stuck out like a sore thumb, and people gave him a wide arc. He should get away from here, go home, calm himself down and then go out drinking to forget all of this. But it wasn’t like there was anyone that could make sure he got home safely, he didn’t have any friends. He could ask Tatsuya, but the headmaster would insist that he wasn’t Oliver’s babysitter and leave soon after that. He could ask one of the other teachers, but they just knew him as that one teacher that flirted with everyone, and would probably say no. Well, there was Hawkins, but the man would probably think that it was another ploy to get in his pants. If Oliver hadn’t been so worried, getting in someone’s pants would have been one of his first choices, but not right now. What could he do, then, other than sit here and mope? Dark blue eyes glared out across the water as he tugged at the same clump of grass, like he was determined to pull it out of the ground. It struck him a few minutes into his little moping session.

Oliver Toulson was lonely.

But stay a while and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me.

[/center]

tagged alan and ian
notes broken. fix it. MY LOGIC RULES. luv three-way threads <3

[Damien Gregory Hawkins]

Too good of a day to stay inside. That's what the weather man had said, as if he were speaking directly through the screen to the people sitting on their couches. Directly to Ian, who was sprawled out on his futon, scowling at the screen. Yeah, right. He wasn't going anywhere. If was fucking hot outside. So he'd changed the channel. *Click* An educational documentary on the growing obesity epidemic across the United States. *Click* Show about the benefits of fresh air and daily exercise. *Click* News story about people who had died in their homes due to a gas leak. "Jesus. Fine. You win." Turning off the TV, he rolled onto his feet. This is ridiculous... He got plenty of exercise, running or working out every day. The man looked down at the couch longingly then snapped himself out of it. As long as he was up, might as well go for a walk.

No doubt it was still sweltering outside, so he stuck to a grey t-shirt and jeans, leaving his jacket tossed over the back of a chair. Once he was actually on the street, winding his way toward the park, it wasn't so bad. The cool air coming off the water and from the shade of the trees bought welcome relief, all the same. Strolling along the perimeter of the water, he started people watching unconsciously. There were couples and families everywhere, walking dogs, playing catch. It was all so happy. At the moment, Ian didn't know where he stood. He wasn't precisely unhappy. Just... bored. With everything. His home, his job, his life. Everything was going around and around, like a record that keeps skipping instead of continuing the song. He wasn't sure when his record had stopped playing, but he had a fairly good idea.

Before joining the Peace Corps he'd been about to get married. His life was like a storybook, all Happily Ever After and all that bullshit. Until it wasn't. Until his wife-to-be had told him, in front of all of their friends and family, that she couldn't do this. That she was done. After that he'd started searching for something new, different, an escape. Facing increasing pressure from his parents to get back on the path, he'd found his exit in the Peace Corps. Since then... he'd never stopped searching for exits. Ian had stopped caring. All old connections had lost meaning to him, and he was powerless to reach out to anyone new. So here he was, floating along in limbo, bored but not uncomfortable enough to act.

With his face vividly reflecting his current mood, the man slowed in mid-stride, narrowing his eyes at the familiar figure up ahead. It was definitely Oliver, but Ian had a hard time believing it at first. He'd never seen the man look so deflated and spent. He walked up to the man, curious rather than concerned. He didn't step onto the grass just yet, remaining out of sight. He was silent for a moment, standing straight with his hands in his pockets and looking out over the lake. He really didn't know how to start a conversation with the guy. He didn't like him, didn't care about his feelings... And then an idea seized him. It was utterly inescapable and so, so appealing. Acting on impulse, Ian moved forward until he was right behind Oliver. Without taking his hands from his pockets, he lifted a foot and shoved the other man forward, into the water. He'd been sitting in a huddled ball; there was no way he would be able to keep from rolling forward and off the side of the bank.

Damien smiled slightly, watching the water and waiting for Oliver to come up. It occurred to him then that the water might be deeper than expected and he'd have to haul the other teacher out. Then came the other hundred reasons why it had been such a bad idea. It was too late, of course. Ian had wanted something to break up the monotony, and he had found it. As the blonde head resurfaced, Damien said, "So, you come here often?"

ooc:: THERE I FIXED IT

[ALAN DUKE OUTLAW]

Yes. Nearly a sweltering, humid, hot day in Orlando. Lake Eola was probably the coolest place in Orange county, at a lovely ninety-eight degrees and rising as the sun lazed across the sky with burning intensity. For many natives of the state it wasn't that bad, it could have been at least a hundred and five, but the humidity was what made it so horrible. Like swimming in salty sea air, but lucky for Orlando it was a distance from the ocean, but it only diluted the salty taste a small amount. For a Sunday, the park was busy, but not as busy as was expected thank to the heat. Though, the singing birds, buzzing dragonflies, barking dogs, laughing people, and other various noises made the park all the more inviting to the public. Especially to one, particularly special, chocolate labrador retriever with abnormally blue tinted eyes.

A dark, semi-short haired, dog came barreling through the grass and flowers and straight into the lake, long pink tongue lolling from it's mouth and tail wagging back and forth excitedly. The canine didn't appear to have a master, but wore a tan leather collar around it neck with no tags and the name DUKE burned into the leather. An odd sight, but nobody seemed to want to bother the dog or take it away from the fun it was having. Many children laughed as the labrador came bounding through the shallow water, barking playfully and splashing them with the lake water. Some parents seemed wary of the animal, but saw no immediate threat, but kept and eye on the dog as it played around their children.

The sun continued to beat down on this beautiful Florida day, the dark haired dog enjoying to cool water on it's fur to keep him from burning up. He spent a couple minutes lapping up the lake water eagerly, thirsty as could be. When he finished he gave his coat a shake and trotted up the shallow water and onto the sand of the lake's edge. The canine shook it's fur loose of any water droplets before retreating to a path of shade along a row of palm trees, the dog followed the shade until he was nearly on the other side of the lake and panting again to keep cool. Boy, was it hot. But the breeze felt great in his face for sure.

A familiar scent wafted it's way through the soft breeze and into the snout of the chocolate lab, a scent he didn't expect. A human he knew, the scent drew his attention as his nose hit the ground and he followed it to the source. A few yards away blue-ish eyes found Ian, the familiar human, and another human who seemed just as familiar but he couldn't quite think of the name. The scene unfolded nicely as Ian snuck up behind the blonde male and shoved him into the lake. A bark, almost similar to laughter, came from the canine's mouth as it trotted over to the place the two men were standing. It only took a moment for the retriever to sense that the blonde male may not be able to swim since he didn't emerge right away, the dog pushed his ears back and bolted into the water like a torpedo to retrieve the blonde male and pull him back to the surface. This side of the lake didn't ease into the depths like the other, it was just deep. Probably only five or six feet, but enough to drown someone caught off guard.

The dog found the male's arms, swimming under one and nudging him back to the surface, where both the blonde man and the brunette dog came splashing up. The canine climbed from the water, barking at Ian and giving his coat a good shake to free himself from the water again. Blue-ish eyes found Ian's, giving the male a dog-like grin and barking again in hello, tail wagging a mile a minute. Typical retrievers.


{ooc; thank god for retrievers.}

[Oliver Ken Toulson]

Oliver had never been excellent at swimming. Sure, he could stay afloat with ease, but he couldn’t cut through the water or do those swimming techniques with the fancy names. So, yes, the push caught him completely off guard and, yes, he stayed below the water for quite some time. There was an advantage to having large lungs, wasn’t there? He could stay below for quite some time without drowning. But did he really want to save himself? He was… truly pondering that. Did he have a real use in the world? He annoyed most of the people around him, and he didn’t have any real friends. Hell, he didn’t even have any real acquaintances. Ian didn’t count as an acquaintance, seeing as he was mostly indifferent to the anatomy professor except in times like these, where he… er… pushed him into lakes. That couldn’t really be called a friendship, now could it? He was seriously considering just keeping himself down here until his lungs gave out when the dog came along, nudging him towards the surface.

The blonde gasped as his head reached air, flailing around for a few seconds before grabbing onto the shore and pulling himself up, so only his legs were hanging in the water. He had to admit, it kept his body temperature cool. Oliver was vaguely aware that Ian was speaking, but it took him a minute to figure out the words. ”No… sorry,” he said quietly, the simple words causing a coughing fit that lasted quite a while. Maybe he had opened his mouth underwater, or something. It wouldn’t have surprised him. He had been quite… mindless, down there. The simple consideration of drowning himself might have made him open his mouth a few millimeters. How odd. Well, whatever had happened, Oliver wasn’t about to ask questions. Damien had obviously pushed him in, and he wasn’t happy about that. Pulling his legs out of the water and shivering at the sudden temperature change, he glared up at Ian. No, he didn’t like being beneath this man, but he could deal with it until he was able to stand up. ”That whole push me into the water thing wasn’t necessary, you know. I could have died.”

That brought things into consideration again. Would Ian really have cared if Oliver died? Maybe. Would Oli himself have cared if he died? Yes. No matter how much time he had spent considering drowning himself, now that he wasn’t in immediate danger, he would mind his death just as much as he let on. Oliver sighed, pulling the dog to his side. Almost drowning made you tired, and he hadn’t noticed that Duke was a shifter yet. Leaning his head against the dog’s side, he combed his fingers through the wet brown fur. Ah… collar. It took him a while, but eventually he figured out who the dog was. ”Hey, Alan…” he murmured, shifting away from the warm creature slightly. He was perfectly prepared to cuddle with an animal to get his body heat back to normal, but someone in their shift form? No thank you. ”Why don’t you go behind the trees and shift back, or something? … You smell bad.” Yeah, that was so damn nice of him to say, but it was true. Oliver didn’t like the smell of a wet dog, though shift animals tended to smell less than normal animals. ”And you,” he said, turning to Ian again. ”Could you at least find a towel for me to dry off with?” Honestly, that wasn’t asking much, was it? He was soaked to the bone and his clothes were probably ruined, so a towel was really quite a small favor. Where Ian could find a towel, Oliver had no idea. He just wanted to be dry again.

Maybe being pushed into a lake had done some good, though. He couldn’t bother himself with thinking about Ashby or his ex wife right now. Depression could come later, when he wasn’t sneezing like mad and wet.

[Damien Gregory Hawkins]

Damien wasn't sure if Oliver knew how to swim, which occurred to him just after he'd pushed him... but come on. Everyone knew how to swim. His muscles had tensed when the blonde man didn't resurface immediately, but before he could act an exuberant blur dashed past him. He was surprised when the chocolate lab showed up, jumping off the bank without any hesitation. He recognized it as Duke, of course, but he still hadn't expected to see him. Not like this, anyway. Duke plunged in and hauled the man to shore. Ian looked down at the coughing man, feeling the slightest bit.... nostalgic. Ian had been "taught" how to swim as a boy when several able-bodied men would throw him off a dock into ice cold water and watch him flounder around. True, he currently hated swimming and didn't look back on those summers very fondly. Regardless, he'd survived just fine, and Oliver was a grown man. "You weren't going to drown." He said it confidently; it was an irrefutable statement. Even if Damien wasn't BFF's with Oliver, he wouldn't stand by while the other sank to the bottom of a lake. The suggestion insulted him, but it would be pointless to say that.

Duke seemed happy enough, although whether or not he approved of Damien's little stunt was left to be seen. He looked down at the Labrador, wondering for the umpteenth time how he got away with frolicking among the public and wandering around the city unattended. He frowned when a shower of water, sand, and quite possibly dog slobber hit his jeans. "Duke, that's disgusting." His tone was mild, though, and he still hadn't shifted from his relaxed stance, hands in pockets. The dog did reek, as Oliver said, but Ian didn't bother commenting. It was an argument he could never win with the man. He couldn't force him to shift back into a human, and even when he did the smell lingered for a while.

The "and you" brought his gaze back to the drowning victim. It sounded so.... accusatory that Ian had to smile. He sighed, thinking that Oliver was seriously over-reacting. "Where am I supposed to find a towel?" As he said it, mostly speaking to himself, he looked around the park, an idea occurring to him. "As you wish, milady," he said with a smirk, striding toward some people sunbathing on the grass. "Excuse me, my friend seems to have fallen into the lake; could I borrow a towel?" The people didn't look convinced, but threw him a spare beach towel from their pile of stuff. Ian returned, dropping the thing in front of Oliver, a smirk still visible on his face.

[ALAN DUKE OUTLAW]

A short whine came from the maw of a dark chocolate labrador, the mention of Oliver possibly dying due to Ian's prank made Duke feel pretty bad. Even though it wasn't even remotely his fault. The canine cast a wary glance at his pal, Ian, unsure of how Oliver might emotionally respond to the joke. It could totally back track any plan they may of had on trying to get the poor guy out of his shell. Duke heard a lot of the staff gossip thanks for having the most story-savvy receptionist on the planet. So he'd heard bits and pieces of Oliver's home life, ex-wife, child, and all that.. He understood how some of that felt, and he knew damn well Ian would too. All of them had once been in serious relationships only to be let down horribly, Oliver was the only one who ended up with a child out of the whole deal.

Duke was thankful his former wife hadn't had a child, because he would always have to wonder if it was his or his former friends. And that was a thought he never wanted to experience. Ever.

The last thing the large dog expected was to end up pressed against Oliver's cold, wet, nearly shivering body. He could only wonder how long it would take for the blonde male to realize he was holding the shift form of his co worker. Duke snorted, almost in a comical manner, somewhat similar to a snorting laugh. The canine looked up to Oliver with big, blueish/brown eyes and gave him a doggy grin, making sure to rub his muzzle across Oliver's shoulder once he made the comment about him stinking. With that he stood on four legs, tail still wagging, and bounding around in a couple circles like your own pet would when he wanted to play fetch. It was true, it'd be better if Duke would just stay a human, but sometimes he felt more free just being a plan old dog.

Duke watched Ian go retrieve a towel for the wet Oliver. The way he approached the strangers made the dog grin from ear to ear, Duke only wishing he could laugh as loud as he really wanted to. Then it hit him, an easy he could make Oliver feel better for the time being, and maybe even get a laugh out of him.

A rumbling, playful growl came from the canine's jaws, followed by a short bark before he charged up to Ian and lunged at the man with his whole body. The nearly eighty-five pound dog was enough to topple the dark haired male to the ground, which would have been the perfect example of a 'dog pile'. Duke had figured it was the best way to avenge poor Oliver and share some of his 'disgusting' doggy smells and slobber with his best from. The lap leaped up from his pal, barking rather happily, his head held high in triumph, making sure to bark in Oliver's direction as well. To any passer-by this sight would've have been pretty damn strange. Two grown men, one soaking wet and wrapped in a towel, and the other flat on the ground covered in dirt, playing with a seemingly stray dog.

[Oliver Ken Toulson]

Oliver was tempted to lay down on the grass and sleep, but somewhere in his mind he knew that it wasn't a very good idea. Mainly because his body didn't react well to changes in his sleep schedule, but also because there was a possibility that one of his co-workers would do something he wouldn't approve of, such as slobbering on his shirt. That was odd to say - that you feared one of your adult acquaintances would drool on you, but it was a real worry when said acquaintance was currently a dog. He looked up at Ian when he proclaimed that Oliver wouldn't have drowned, his sulky glare turning into a taunting smile. ”What, would you have saved me? Acted like the hero after you were the one that pushed me into the water in the first place?” He was too wet and cold and generally unhappy with his life to be too rude, but there was definitely a sting to the words.

”Aaaalaannn” he whined – rather childishly – as the stinking dog rubbed his smell on Oliver's shoulder. Now the mongoose was going to smell like wet dog for hours! That did not make him happy, and it smelled even worse due to the fact that the mongoose was already wet. Why did Duke have to be such a... dog? Though, if Alan ever explained to Oliver about the whole feeling like a dog thing, the mongoose would understand completely. The only thing that limited Oliver from being in mongoose form full-time was the fact that mongooses weren't native to Florida and it would look really suspicious to locals. And he couldn't leave Florida because he had a job here... oh, so maybe his job was a reason that he couldn't be a full-time animal... it had just become such a big part of his life that he didn't even remember it was there anymore. Was that a bit pathetic? Maybe it was... but Oliver really couldn't care less.

When Ian addressed him as milady, Oliver could do nothing but stare up at him, his face frozen in an odd mix between anger, shock, and just plain 'I don't give a shit'. Milady? Really, Ian, that was the best you could come up with? The comment never reached his lips, but degrading the other man in his head did help his self-esteem a bit. Due to how intently he was listening to the brief conversation Ian was having with the sunbathers, he heard every word, and his face was that of a dead man when Ian threw the towel at him. ”Why didn't you just tell them that you pushed me in, friend?” he snapped up at the avian as he snatched the towel, wrapping it around his shoulders. He may have been upset over how the towel was obtained, but he wasn't about to pass it up for his pride. It wasn't like he had that much left, anyway. Getting kicked into a lake and rescued by a dog did that to you. Sucked away your pride, that was... Oh, that must have hurt.

He watched in amusement as Alan tackled Damien, a small smile reaching his lips. No, he didn't laugh, but he only laughed around... well, he only sincerely laughed around certain people. Around people he wanted to make a good impression on, he would give a false laugh that fooled most people, but he didn't honestly laugh that much. It was a rare sight, to see Oliver laughing in real amusement. A sight that... he carefully ticked off the numbers in his head. A sight that three people had seen. Just as carefully, he stood up, testing his legs to make sure he wasn't going to fall over. Nope, everything seemed fine, though he was still shivering slightly. ”Oi, mutt,” he said, the insult dulled by a smile. ”Don't kill the guy.”

[Damien Gregory Hawkins]

Damien's smirk faltered at the taunting words, but he bit back what he wanted to say, about how he would have hauled Oliver's suicidal ass out of the water since he didn't seem concerned with saving himself. The man had noticed how Oliver hadn't seemed to be in any hurry to swim to the surface, or even act like a proper drowning victim, splashing and screaming and generally drawing attention. Well, it didn't matter now. Maybe he just reacted badly to surprises... and suddenly being underwater. There was definitely something off about the blonde, though. First he'd been sitting all alone and morose, and now he was being sulky and petulant. Ian's mind strained away from the idea of finding out what was wrong. It wasn't his business, and he wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. Besides, shoving Oliver into the water had clearly diverted his thoughts. He'd done his part.

He was glad to see Oliver accept the towel, all the same. Ian shot a look over his shoulder at the people who had lent him the towel, waving his hand at them in thanks. It was for this reason that he was totally unprepared when he was suddenly struck by a mass of happy-go-lucky canine. He felt onto his back with a grunt, feeling the air rush out of his lungs. He shoved his forearm at Duke to push him away, but the Lab had already hopped off, barking. "Son a bitch," he groaned, rolling onto his side and taking a deep breath. Yes, he had deserved that. No, he wasn't going to admit it. This was definitely some free entertainment for the people at the park. He didn't know how much attention they were getting, but he didn't care to look around and find out. He got to his feet, brushing off bits of grass and whatever else the goddamned dog had left on him. And now he smelled like wet dog as well. Well, wasn't that just fantastic.

Looking up he saw that Oliver was standing as well. So he'd survived unscathed after all. Melodramatic, much? No doubt his impulsive stunt and follow-up taunts had set him on a direct course to a new enemy, but Ian still thought it had been worth it. This walk had certainly turned out much more entertaining than expected. Despite.... everything, he was still in a good mood. Definitely no hard feelings toward Alan. Sadly, he was used to that sort of exuberant behavior. It was only magnified when the man was hiding behind the cold, wet nose. "Can we call it even, now?" he asked his friend, glad that people talking to dogs was a common occurrence.

[ALAN DUKE OUTLAW]

The deep brown fur of the oversized chocolate lab was slowly drying, his eyes went from one of the standing males to the other, his own friend seeming much more cheerful, the other slightly disgruntled. He had known Ian would just have to deal with the dog's outlandish behavior, and accept it, Oliver on the other hand.. Well, he was another story how he would later react to Duke during school hours. 'Oi mutt!' To Oliver's remark the dog groaned in complaint, and with a short ruff he ambled off into the nearest thick tree line.

It took only moments for the thick dark fur to slowly fade away, nearly melting into sun tanned skin. Back paws shifted to two bare feet, stretching to legs and the half man half dog stood. Front paws morphed into hands, and the dog muzzle squished back into the warm face of a southern man with blue eyes. The dark brown hair on his head was still slightly damp as he ran a large hand through it. The male looked down to the ground and there lay his brown leather collar which he grabbed into a clenched fist, his free hand straightening out his plain white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Blue eyes hunted down his dark leather flip flops he had lain under a bush so nobody would run off with them. Slipping them onto his feet he hunted around for the gold rimmed aviators he had hidden with them, it only took a moment before those were placed onto the bridge of his nose and the male emerged from the trees.

A smirk was planted on Dukes' lips, he spun the collar around in his hand and approached the other men near the lake's edge. "Hey, y'all seen my dog? He done ran off on me again," Duke couldn't help but let out a rough, loud laugh. "Bout ya big, brown, barks alot, and drools too?" As he came to Ian he gave the man a one armed hug with a hearty pat on the back. "Man, y'all sure do crack me up, wasn't expectin' to see either of ya out here today. It sure is damn hotter than hell," Duke grinned from ear to ear, stuffing his brown collar into the back pocket of his jeans. When the football coach/counselor was out of school his southern accent rang true. It was almost a night and day difference between his professional voice at school and his own voice on his off time.

[Oliver Ken Toulson]

Of course Oliver hadn't acted like a typical drowning victim. The mongoose never acted like a victim in general, it just wasn't coded into his DNA to call for help when his life or anything else was in danger. Sure, maybe his staying under the water for so long may have been a bit of something else... but for all he knew, the other man – and dog – thought that it was his pride that had come in the way of thrashing and screaming and other things Oliver considered stupid. If that was the case, he would let them believe that, and if it wasn't the case then he would wait for them to ask questions before saying anything that might arouse suspicion. ”You know, you deserved that,” he said to Ian, putting his hands in his pockets and grinning at the older man. Now they both smelled like wet dog, how lovely.

He watched Duke run behind the trees, amused. So the mutt was finally following his advice and shifting, then? Well, Oliver assumed that he was shifting, because why else would he leave? The dog had obviously been having fun tackling Ian and annoying Oliver, among other things. So the mongoose wasn't surprised when Alan walked out from behind the trees, fully human and with that annoying southern accent, too. Oliver considered his accent much better; not that he noticed it often. ”Oh, Alan,” he sighed, looking at the man through his eyelashes and shaking his head sadly. ”You should really train that dog better, if it runs away so often.” The facial expressions and words may have seemed like flirting, but anyone who knew Oliver well enough would know that he was kidding. Of course, he wasn't really sure how well Alan knew him, but who cared if he was mistaken for flirting again? He wouldn't care if either man was offended by it, but he wouldn't particularly mind if he got either man in bed, either. He had already tried with Ian, but that hadn't worked out too well. Oh well. It was a sign that he was recovering from his sudden swim if he was making jokes, no matter how tasteless they were.

notes I had no muse... forgive how short this is!

[Damien Gregory Hawkins]

Damien frowned at Oliver, noting that the man had taken up the nonchalant stance that Damien himself had had just moments ago. This both pleased and irritated Ian. He was happy that Oliver was done with the theatrics and brooding. On the other hand, he had also just been shoved into a lake. He had nothing to look smug about. ”Don't get too cocky. I will throw your ass back in that lake.” he said with a smirk before turning to watch the Labrador bound away.

Waves of heat continued to come down on them, making a dip in the lake look more and more appealing. Honestly, he didn't think Oliver had that much to complain about. Everyone had had a refreshing swim save for Ian. If Damien wasn't so proud he would dive in. He was careful not to let this thought show, however. There was no need to encourage revenge. No doubt Alan would be right on board with that plan, as well.

As if on cue, the Southern shifter reappeared, playing the part of a dog owner searching for his lost companion. If an act like that was good enough to fool the public... well, Damien wasn't too confident in the state of the human investigative abilities anymore. ”You know, one of these days Animal Control is going to pick you up, and then I'll have to come bail you out. Again.” He looked closely at Duke for a moment, letting him know that he was only half kidding. There were plenty of busy-bodies around, just dying for an excuse to call the authorities. A loose dog was excuse enough. He glanced around, just in case, but no bystanders seemed to have caught on to the deception. Truly pitiful, but Ian wasn't about to go tipping anybody off.

Oliver's flirtatious comment brought Ian's attention quickly back to their little circle of freaks. He looked at Duke to see what his reaction would be, uncertain as to how much he knew about Oliver. To Ian, it was too over-the-top to be taken seriously, but that may be because it wasn't being directed at him this time. The memory of that interesting morning, especially after the events of today, and the sight of Oliver's completely undamaged sex-drive... Ian burst into laughter. He actually had a pretty good sense of humor when he wasn't hungover, and this entire situation was priceless. He turned away briefly to collect himself; he was still smirking when he decided to rejoin to conversation.