Event Finished A Last Minute Gift

"Gotta go! Later!"

Leon waved his parents off as he started on a jog out of his home. Leon felt rather relieved that he had signed up for the secret santa this year and it wasn't some girl who'd want to stare at him for hours on end or go on some romantic date. It was...Well rather strange. Leon wasn't exactly someone who knew much about pets or police work. He had to talk to a few people he knew at the Academy to come up with a few good ideas. Given his interest was police work he figured some older man, maybe someone around their 30's. He wasn't entirely sure.

Leon had made arrangements at a pet store a few days earlier, but had grabbed his jogging bag that contained a folder of a few different pets. Leon had already paid for everything, but didn't want to keep a pet at his home on the chance it got attached to him. So he had some food, a bed, and other things along with the pet fully paid for. Just depended on what the guy's taste was.

As he started coming around to the meeting spot Leon slowed his pace down. He saw the fountain and started jogging in place. This stopped after a few moments when he saw a man sitting there. Leon started walking over and sat next to the man and opened his bag to grab a bottle of water, taking a small drink from it.

"Good day to you Dude."

@"Thoth"

"You'd be right on that."

Leon shook the man's hand. He had to admit, Angelo didn't look like any officer he was used to seeing, though he wasn't one to judge a book by their cover. IT was always fun meeting new people in weird ways. Met some of the best people that way, this Secret Santa was no different.

"I'm with you on that one. Most of the time it's within the Academy for me, but outside isn't so bad. You're not the only one who had a weird time going some shopping. Sides it's the thought that counts regardless of whatever the gift is. I'm not an animal person myself so I didn't have any good ideas on that. Sides, I'm not into sports either. I just enjoy a nice run around the city."

Leon was trying his best not to start stretching as he thought it might be a little bit impolite. Just something he did with his jogging routine. Sliding the backpack off of his shoulder and setting it down he reaches inside and grabs the folder that he had prepared for Angelo.

"Well not an animal person isn't completely true. I saw it said a pet and wasn't entirely sure on a good idea so I did this instead for you. Better to let you what suits you better then someone giving you a pet that isn't, well, something to your tastes."

Leon held out the folder. He always went for overkill with some gifts and this was one of them. A smile on someone's face this time a year was worth more then a few bucks or items.

@"Thoth"

Leon reached out and took the bag Angelo had brought with a big smile on his face. Did he put too much thought? Truth be told Leon did what he thought was the better way to do it just so the guy could choose a pet of his choice over something he may not enjoy. Still, if it made the guy smile this would come out as something worthwhile.

"Perhaps it may have been poor judgement, but sometimes something like that can produce results like this. Those ads really are a pain, but it depends on the person per say. I mean if I bought a dog and took care of it till it was time to meet up it would be very much different. Now you can choose a pet that seems like a good fit for yourself and you'd enjoy having around. I checked a few places around town from the normal pets to the unusual ones. One place had a baby hydra for sale so I avoid that. Most of the pets in the folder are from the pet store just a few blocks from here. Others are at the big shelter on the Island."

Leon wasn't trying to be rude while he spoke, but he had been going through the bag to see what Angelo had gotten. The book caught his attention. Hiking trails? Despite being born on the Islands Leon didn't know each nook and cranny. This would be a cool thing to look through later and find good places to head out to. The gloves were the second thing that caught his eyes. Normally he didn't wear gloves unless it was cold out. They looked pretty fancy to what he normally wore, but they did look rather comfy and good for the upcoming weather of winter. Better then the fingerless ones he normally wore. He glanced over the socks mostly because they would be put with his high end jogging shoes. Never could have enough socks to match the amount of jogging shoes he had.

The bottle was...Well Leon just stared at it. He had seen the brand before, but didn't get one himself because it was more an extra thing while he jogged over something he needed. He had wanted to get one for a while, but his money normally went elsewhere that was more important. Leon normally ran with a water bottle connected to his belt loop, but this was something he would use almost daily and not hinder his jogging at all.

"Wow. Honestly I can't tell who was more thoughtful here. Just about everything here I can use on a daily basis, besides the book for special jogs anyway. I'm always out jogging in a good part of my spare time so this is awesome. I just hope there is a pet in there that catches your interest else I'll feel bad, ya know? Oh yeah case you hadn't seen it yet I also prepaid for a bag of pet food, a bed, a few toys. Ya know the basic stuff a pet needs. Just need to show the receipt in the folder at the pet store and they'll get everything taken care of based on what pet you take a liking to."

@Thoth

"A lot of reading? Well I guess I just put down jogging and not recreational jogging or something along those lines huh?"

Sometimes he forgot small details, but most of the time they didn't come up as something serious like this. It was good to see that Angelo was able to come up with a few gifts without much trouble, though Leon still felt a little bad that Angelo had to go through such effort on his behalf. It was the holidays so if someone was able to bring joy to another then it was all good in his eyes.

"Little of both. I go to college mostly at nights so I can help around my parent's shop. Every hear or visit Norama Bakery and Repair? That'd be my home and job."

A pet? Well Leon did have a dog at home, but it was one he had since he was a kid. Most tips he could give were basic stuff and nothing too difficult to think about on their own. Still if he could help Angelo out he would so he didn't have much problems with whatever pet he choose.

"I have a dog named Nate at home. One of the other reasons I hadn't prepicked out a pet because I didn't want Rex and whatever pet I got to end up fighting and such. He enjoys the outdoors as much as I do, though he does get spoiled from time to time. The best advice I can really give is don't ignore them, but don't spoil them. It all depends on whatever pet you get. Like a dog if you make them feel loved then they are, as the saying goes, man's best friend. A cat on the other hand will love you if you simply provide it food and a good home. Most family friendly large pets like cats and dogs enjoy the company of their owner. Long as you treat them right, they'll be your best friend. I guess it's similar to having a little kid running around. Treat them right, take care of them, and you'll be good to go."

Hopefully it wasn't too much in one go. As much as he tried to explain it, Leon couldn't exactly form into a good way to explain any good advice. Most of it came naturally to him when it came to taking care of Rex. He just learned from trial and error most of the time.

"Oh yeah. The best piece of advice is when teaching them what is acceptable and what isn't, it all comes down to how you speak to them. Using a stern tone will cause them to understand it was wrong where a nice and cheerful tone can show them they did good. If that makes any sense to you anyway. Well if you have anything specific I can answer that better."

@Thoth

Leon just grinned. It was his favorite hobby next to cooking, and it made it fun to see the island and all the wonderful scenery it had. He was slightly disappointed that Angelo hadn't heard of his parent's bakery, but he'd just have to bring the guy some samples someday.

"It's not that big compared to some places, but we have our unique charm. Should come by sometime and try some of the goods. Or if you need something fixed then we can do it while you enjoy a nice snack."

Sounded like a radio commercial, but it was what it was. He loved bringing in new customers and if they enjoyed their baked goods then more people were sure to come. Which meant more business and more good deeds he could pull like this without killing his wallet.

"A scarf huh? Don't think I can top that one. Last year this girl bought hair ribbons because she misread my first name as Leona and thought I was a girl so she felt bad. To make things better I wore the ribbons in my hair for the next few weeks and every so often I'll put them back in and go say 'Hi' to her. When it comes to gifts whether I receive them or give them I want to make the person smile. I try my best not to go halfway and to make an effort to make this time of year great for them. One simple act of kindness can be the world for some people. And there is only one thing I ask from people every year."

Leon smiled and pointed to it. That's all he really cared for in life, giving others a reason to smile even if it was just something a simple as covering a meal, keeping them company, or wearing girl hair ribbons to make someone smile and not feel bad.

@Thoth