estoria | dog day afternoon [OPEN]

Who: Miles Edgeworth, his faithful canine sidekick Pess, and YOU!
When: Any day after the intro log.
Where: Errywhere, pretty much. See prompts for locations.
What: Edgeworth takes his dog around, and runs into people. Adorbs ensues.
Rating/Warning: Dog. Grumpy prosecutor being a little less grumpy.

[OPTION A: RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT

Edgeworth is taking his dog out for a walk around the district. And before he can do anything, the big and very real tricolor border collie suddenly stands up on his hind legs and barks excitedly at the first person he sees (which is you, sorry). Pess may or may not brace his front paws on your thigh or any part of you he can reach, tail wagging with anticipation. It's a new friend. New friend!!! On the bright side, he's a pretty clean dog. NEW FRIEND!!!

Edgeworth doesn't care, and gasps at this public display of affection.]

Pess, no. [That firm "no" is all it takes for Pess to behave, although his tail is still wagging like crazy and he's panting and grinning as a dog would. Edgeworth sighs, shaking his head. He's quick to apologize.] I'm sorry; he enjoys meeting new people.

[Far more than his master.]

[OPTION B: SHOPPING DISTRICT

There's a cleaning robot. It's doing its business, sweeping up some debris from a nearby food stall. Suddenly, out of nowhere comes this border collie. He bounds over to the robot, starts sniffing it, and promptly raises one leg ominously over the poor thing.

What do you do, responsible citizen of Cerealia? What do you do - well, while Edgeworth hasn't caught up with his dog, anyway?]

[OPTION C: GARDENS

Pess is a pro at getting people to play with him. So while you're there, you may just find this dog walking up to you with a stick, or a ball, in his mouth. He drops this at your feet, wanting a game of fetch. If you take too long to decide what to do, he'll just sit down, tail wagging happily and staring up at you with those big pleading puppy eyes.

Edgeworth is close by. He'll be looking for his dog when Pess takes a bit too long to get back to him.]

[OPTION D: GARDENS/SHOPPING DISTRICT/RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT/POLICE DEPT.

Drop something? If you did, you might just find this dog picking it up and offering it back to you suddenly before Edgeworth can act. Yeah, I guess Edgeworth is in this prompt too. Thank his dog. And the master, maybe. THEY'RE GOOD PEOPLES...er, peoples and doge.]

[OPTION E: WILDCARD

Do you want doge somewhere else? Let me know if you want another prompt!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[there it was! England better come up with a good excuse. the moment he starts thinking of telling Edgeworth where he's actually been, his throat starts to feel tight. weird.

the fairy perches beside Pess, also curious, and England holds up his hands in a placating manner] ...I know, I know. I should have sent you a message. But. I've been staying at a friend's house.

[..........really, England? that's the best you could do? that just opens you up for more questions!]

A friend's house.

[Edgeworth raises his eyebrows, repeating the words in disbelief.]

What was so pressing that you had to stay for a few days?

[Don't think he lost track of time, England. He did not.]

[his throat begins to close up again, and England clears his throat, trying to dislodge the tightness]

They were having a really hard time. Adjusting. To life in Cerealia. [yes, good. keep going, England!] You know how it is. I just thought I could offer some guidance, while keeping an eye on them. [he shrugs, trying to make it sound like no big deal]

[Edgeworth has lived with England for a while, and hung out with this nation considerably enough to know when something was up. England never acted like this.

But he's not going accuse his roommate of anything. Instead, Edgeworth is going to keep pressing and wait for England to slip.]

This friend of yours...is a friend from home?

No. The only other person from my world is my colleague, miss Vietnam. [he pauses a moment, considering] At least, I think she's the only one. Unless you've met another nation recently.

No, I haven't. [A shake of the head.] What is your friend's name? [Let's see you get out of this one, England.]

[dammit]

...Mark.

And you don't mind if I check your CEREvice for his contact details?

[He's smirking. It's a bad sign when you're cornered.]

[stop smirking, Edgeworth! smug is not very becoming]

Sure, that's fine! But, tomorrow. Right now... [forced yawn] I'm beat. I need to sleep.

It shouldn't take long. Then you can sleep.

[Edgeworth extends a hand.]

[why does England feel like a child that is about to be scolded? he's a grown-ass man, older than Edgeworth by centuries! and yet, right now, he feels so small.

slowly England's hand moves to his CEREVice. he considers taking it out and giving it to Edgeworth. but why? that's only making them both do extra work. so he instead clenches his hand in a fist, drops it]

You're not going to find Mark in there. [his voice sounds defeated] There is no Mark.

[Edgeworth doesn't look triumphant when the ~~mic~~ CEREvice is dropped, however. Instead, he frowns while staring down at it, a mixture of emotions tight in his chest. He's angry that England had tried to lie to him. He's worried because whatever happened was something that gave England reason enough to lie. He's appalled and he's anxious.

Pess, probably sensing his master's tension, trundles over to Edgeworth's legs, leaning against them.

At least when Edgeworth finally speaks instead of glowering, his voice is soft but controlled, with an undercurrent of "please, don't lie".]

What really happened, Arthur?

[he wouldn't lie if he didn't have to! his code has been rewritten somehow, so that even if he thinks about telling the truth to someone else, his chest hurts.

he sighs and stoops down to pick up the CEREVice. it was probably stupid to drop it, but it looks okay]

I'd tell you if I could. Right now, I can't. [even saying that just that causes his throat to tighten again]

[Edgeworth blinks. It wasn't "won't", it was "can't. And that made a world of a difference.]

You..."can't"?

[that's what he said! and it was very deliberate]

I can't. [he starts moving away, toward his room. the fairy floats after him. maybe he could still tell Edgeworth what happened, if he tried writing everything down]

[Something happened. Something's up and somehow, England has been sworn to silence. Was he being blackmailed, or was he physically unable to speak of it?

Edgeworth doesn't stop him or the fairy from going; he reaches down to rub the fur behind Pess' ears.]

I see.

Get some rest; we'll discuss...whatever we can...in the morning.

[England is so grateful when Edgeworth doesn't try to stop him, so grateful that he doesn't push him anymore. really, England would tell him everything, if he could. he'd done this in order to tell people about what went on inside CERES.

but he was foolish. the secrets he'd learned were of no use if he couldn't tell anyone about them. he should have known better before rushing off and doing things on his own.

England has a smart roommate though, and he's certain that Edgeworth would be able to piece together clues in the future. but for now, he would not get anything out of the nation]

Right. [he pauses to turn and look at Edgeworth before he moves into the hall] Good night. [a beat, and then he adds before he goes] I'm sorry.

[To his credit, Edgeworth meets England's eyes and nods curtly as he straightens up, smoothing out his pajamas. He says only two words softly - softer than his usual voice, but loud enough to be heard.]

Good night.

[It wasn't the time for logical thinking. It was the time for sleep, if Edgeworth could manage it without worrying about England.]

dog day afternoon [OPEN]

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