Poke

[Jack Tucker]

"Hmm. Well she may set her little devil dog after me again."

[Arden Patricks]

"And you're afraid of a little dog?" I ask, shaking my head as if ashamed. "What you have to ask yourself is, would her expression be worth the risk?"

[Jack Tucker]

"Yes, yes I am." He nods,"That thing is a pure evil little ball of fur." He shudders at the thought then grin,"Yes. Yes it would be."

[Arden Patricks]

I laugh. "Okay then... good luck with evading the rabid dog, and I hope she chokes with fury. Not literally," I add quickly.

[Jack Tucker]

"I do." Jack mutters bitterly,"Old hag, I'll get her, and her little dog too."

[Arden Patricks]

I frown, vaguely remembering having heard that phrase somewhere before.
"Bit violent of you," I shrug.

[Jack Tucker]

"She desserves everything that's coming to her," He mumbles under his breath.

[Arden Patricks]

I nod, looking absently around the shop again. "Anything in particular she did, or is it just her winning personality?" I ask over my shoulder.

[Jack Tucker]

"She's just a foul evil vile, old woman." He mutters under his breath,"Telling my Aunt Abby she was a disgrace on our family..."

[Arden Patricks]

"Whereas your aunt Abby was much better than much of your family?" I guess.

[Jack Tucker]

"No, she didn't like my Aunt Abby, my Aunt Abby was a great woman and twice the person Aunt Viv was."

[Arden Patricks]

"Hags are like that," I shrug. "Maybe you should just... envision her dying a slow and pain-ridden death involving some sort of acid, then move on with your life."

[Jack Tucker]

"Yeah, guess so." He mutters, walking along the owl cages.

[Arden Patricks]

I nod and look back at the shelves, trying to remember why I came here. It's being very elusive, so I turn to him again. "Planning on buying an owl?" I ask, nodding to the cages. "Or have you outgrown animal cruelty?"

[Jack Tucker]

"Haha." He says sticking his tongue out at her,"Yeah, thinking about getting an owl."

[Arden Patricks]

I stick my tongue out back at him and nod. "This one's cute," I say of a fluffy white one I'm standing beside. Then I pause. "I don't suppose I happened to mention just what I was doing here?"

[Jack Tucker]

"Yeah, guess so." He grins,"Er no..you didn't."

[Arden Patricks]

"Hmm..." I frown. "Fuck... I hate it when that happens," I mutter to the floor, then shrug and look around again. "That one looks mildly creepy," I add, jutting my chin out at a dark brown owl with an unusually pointy and cruel-looking face.

[Jack Tucker]

"Guessing it happens a lot then?" Jack asks then looks to the owl she was looking at and jumps slightly,"Oh my bob...looks like my Unlce Morty after he's had too much to drink." He snorts with laughter.

[Arden Patricks]

I laugh. "Well, there you go. You've got a name picked out already." I hesitate, then nod. "Couple of months back, someone treated my head like a... candy basket, just picking whatever they wanted and tossing it around. Permanent short term memory issues." I shrug. "Not that big a deal though, just a bit annoying." I look around the shop again, hoping to jog my memory.

[Jack Tucker]

"God, that's sick." Jack mutters knowing how it was for someone to mess with your mind.
"So, it's not getting better?"

[Arden Patricks]

"Ah... well, actually, it is," I say brightly, having forgotten about that. "I had trouble doing magic early on... and I mean even the simplest things... but McGonagall helped me put together a little alternative curriculum, repeating a lot of stuff from about third year and before, and now I'm moving up to fourth. So yeah, it's getting better." I smile widely, suddenly feeling rather cheery and remembering - "Owl treats!" I grin wider, content with the world.

[Jack Tucker]

"Least it's getting better then." He smiles then laughs,"Guessing you came here to get some owl treats?"

[Arden Patricks]

"Apparently," I laugh. "Yeah... that makes sense. I remember now. I just have to distract myself... I get gloomy and it's harder to remember stuff." I shrug. "So... you planning to buy Mortimer then?" I ask, chinning toward the creepy owl.

[Jack Tucker]

"Yuck, that's got to suck." Jack says sympatheically.
"Hahah I should." He grins,"One to piss of Unlce Morty and two I can let his loose in MJ's house. Maybe that'll put a smile on her face."

[Arden Patricks]

I shrug slightly at the first bit, then raise my eyebrows. "Well... that or she'll just kill you," I shrug. "And you shouldn't use animals as tools to piss off your relatives." I whap him lightly on the arm, then turn and look for owl treats.

[Jack Tucker]

"Nah, she loves me too much to kill me." He grins."I wouldn't use them to piss 'em off. I'm just using them to make 'em happy."

[Arden Patricks]

I laugh. "I believe you specifically stated that you want to buy that owl just to piss your uncle off... and I think there's a good chance that she might kill you no matter how much she loves you if you set a bunch of owls loose in her house. Just a possibility."

[Jack Tucker]

"Well yeah, it'll piss him off cos he'll find it offensive in some way." He shrugs.
"Er..didn't think about it that way, hmmm..new plan.."

[Arden Patricks]

"Figure out what's wrong with her and fix it?" I suggest with an apologetic smile. "I imagine you're already working on that one, but I think it's the best way to go," I shrug.