That's a Familiar Name!

A decently pleasant day, the sounds of the park, a satisfied feeling from a good jog, plus the occasional quick talk with someone about the animal that accompanied him. This had become a relatively normal occurrence for Xavier. Ever since he started volunteering at an animal shelter quite a few months prior, it had almost become daily for him to go on a jog in the park while walking a dog... or a few. This time, Xavier had taken out a Labrador on his run. The dog was well behaved so Xavier was comfortable keeping it off the leash, and it meant he could stop every now and then to catch his breath.

Xavier slowed to a stop as he approached a bench before he sat down, breathing harder as he tried to get his breath again. The dog was playing with a few other dogs that were in the park, which would be a bonus for Xavier cause it would mean he wouldn't have to keep throwing a ball until he was ready to go again. He noticed it would also run up to a few people, wagging its tail with an oblivious face. Not the smartest dog, but definitely friendly. Seemed it had a short attention span since if it didn't get attention near immediately, it would just run off to play again. Xavier decided he'd sit here for a few minutes, to recover some stamina and to let the dog he had been walking wear itself out a bit more, then he would start heading back.


@Zora

Xavier had noticed the person who had been throwing, bouncing and catching the ball but paid no mind. He wasn't one to judge what someone did during their free time. That was until the overshot ball caught his attention. Xavier could feel himself cringe as he watched it, because he knew exactly what the Labrador he had been walking would do. He'd looked the guy over and thought he'd get upset at a dog he didn't know playing with his ball.

But to Xavier's surprise, this person seemed pretty... okay? Xavier got up from the bench and briskly walked over to the stranger and dog. "Oh, uh no. I volunteer at an animal shelter, just walking him so he can get some exercise." He smiled and spoke in a polite, sociable tone. His usual getup would probably mean it would be a bit of a surprise, since he somewhat had a delinquent look to him, but at that time he would be wearing a baggy hoodie with shorts. Something comfortable for working out.

"I guess you've seen firsthand he's a friendly one, I'm sorry if you... uh, rathered not getting dog slobber all over that ball." He scratched the back of his neck, looking a tiny bit embarrassed. "Um, well, I'm Xavier by the way." Xavier offered a small smile as he introduced himself, and even offered his hand for a handshake.

Xavier sighed a little out of relief as this person, Parker, seemed okay with the sudden Labrador. "He's certainly not the smartest dog, but he is friendly." Xavier smiled a bit, giving the dog a pat on the head. "I've always quite liked dogs, used to have one when I was a little kid." He mentioned that fact a bit, but he could hardly remember the dog since he was just so young. Still, didn't change he liked them.

"It's nice to meet you, Parker." He smiled. Xavier couldn't help but think it was an unusual name. Sure, he'd met a bunch of people with unusual names but they usually had something else going on which suddenly made it make sense. This person seemed like they could be human, and Xavier swore Parker was a last name. Well, he could only say 'could' since Xavier had met people who looked human, but definitely weren't. Xavier somewhat fit under that category himself.

Back to the conversation, he shook his head slightly just to clear his thoughts. Then, Xavier nodded with a smile. "Yup, just about anyone. It's fairly common they'll have newer volunteers do something simpler like playing with the animals, or walking them. I also run so it's pretty good to pair them together. Wear myself and the dog out at the same time." He laughed.

Xavier never really did much with dogs with his friends. Not a lot of his friends had one, and he didn’t have one since he was young. One of his closer friends had a fear of dogs, so that wouldn’t really help. Other than that... Xavier had been too busy being a villain.

“That sounds pretty fun. Maybe I should try getting Risky to do it with me sometime. O-Oh, yeah context. She’s my girlfriend.” Xavier smiled, a little bit giddily, as he rubbed the back of his neck. Of course he had absolutely no idea that Parker already knew who she was. Xavier was goofy, not smart.

But while he still didn’t quite realise... he nodded, a sympathetic look on his face. “I understand that. I miss doing some stuff with my friends before I came to the island.” It was true. He missed hanging out with his friends during classes, causing mischief and trouble. But that was the past.

Xavier looked confused as Parked stared at him in shock. For a moment, he got concerned that he had just said something wrong. Could he have offended Parker? Xavier opened his mouth, about to ask what he had done wrong.

Then his jaw became a bit slack and his eyes widened a bit. “Um, yeah actually!” Xavier seemed pretty surprise this Parker knew her, especially since he couldn’t exactly recall her talking about a Parker... “You know her??” He tilted his head ever so slightly. Xavier still hadn’t quite realised that the person he had been speaking to was in fact her best friend.