Strange happenings...

[Rose]

It was night now in New York City, but it was still pretty busy, as it always was. People were quickly walking about, wanting to get home after a day's work. Cars screeched and beeped to each other impatiently in the streets.

High above all the commotion, a lone figure was crouched atop a skyscraper, looking down on the streets with a cold expression. A dark purple tunic and lighter purple leggings adored the figure, while black boots, a dark purple belt with a red 'H' symbol on it, and a purple mask, also bearing a red 'H', completed the outfit. Only large, powder blue coloured eyes, and a long blonde braid could identify the person. The teenager in question was Rose, but better known as 'Huntsgirl' in this form. A large green staff, with blades at both ends was in her left hand.

Standing, the blonde predicted the jump to the ground, and carefully leapt from the building, aiming for the building next to this one. Meeting her target, she carefully pushed off from the side of it, and aimed for the wall of the building she had just leapt from. Continuing this pattern, Rose was almost at the bottom, when suddenly, a blur of light flashed in front of her eyes, off-balancing her. With a 'woah!', she lost her footing, tumbling headfirst towards the ground. Her head connected with a drainpipe, and she was knocked out cold.

The other thing she didn't plan on, was waking up at an entirely different place...

[Carl Fredricksen]

Rose would soon come to the realization that she was lying on a very comfortable sofa, in a lavish study. Books, mostly about animals and exotic locations, filled the shelves. There was a desk, upon which were a framed picture of a smiling old woman, and a large photo album. The cover of said album read 'My Adventure Book,' but the word 'New' was obviously crudely inserted between 'My' and 'Adventure.'

If Rose were to feel her face, she would realize that she wasn't wearing her mask; it was missing. Besides the mask, she was just as she was when she was last conscious. No longer on the dangerous streets of New York City, she was now in that cozy study, on a comfortable sofa, with a blanket over her body from the neck-down.

There was no one in the room besides her. At least, for now.

[Rose]

A groan escaped from the dazed teenager, as her vision swam back into view. Slowly opening her eyes, she was not aware that she was in a different location for a few minutes, as she tried to regain proper consciousness. If there was one thing she'd learnt during her time in the Huntsclan, it was to never make sudden movements if you'd been unconscious for a long period of time. Moving a hand to her throbbing head, Rose's eyes opened fully, and then widened as she didn't feel the material of her mask.

It was then she felt something covering her. Forget about no sudden movements; the teenager jumped nearly a foot into the air, before realizing it was a comfy, and durable blanket over her. Feeling at the material, a confused expression came upon her. Now, her gaze traveled upwards, and around the room. She was no longer outside, or possibly even in New York for that matter, but someone's study. Sitting up abruptly, Rose tried to think about what had happened to her. She remembered being on a building, then jumping off it...then, only blackness.

Standing, she took another puzzled and feared glance around. Book were on shelves, and covered a lot of the room. A desk stood to one side, to which Rose wandered over to, and studied the objects on it. She took a longer look a the photo of a elderly smiling woman, to which the blonde gave a slight smile at. She figured someone could've found her outside...but worry crept into her body as she realized she could be far away from New York now. She had to find away back. What would the Huntsman say? Even if she was scared of him [to which she wouldn't admit], he'd be the only person she could call close to family, or guardian.

[Carl Fredricksen]

The handle on the study's door jiggled. It then turned, and the door was pushed open. An old, bespectacled man in his late seventies and dressed like someone from the 30's stepped in. His wrinkly, square-ish face lit up when he entered the room and saw the teenage girl up and about.

"Oh, good!" he said with a gruff yet lovable voice. "You're awake. I was on my way to the hospital. How're you feeling?" Light concern tugged his face as he eyed the girl. He seemed legitimately concerned about Rose's well being.

[Rose]

Rose jumped slightly as the door sounded behind her. She turned quickly around to see an elderly man enter the study. The blonde wondered if he was the one who'd found her. She gave a small, yet grateful smile to him as he came in.

He told her he was on his way to the hospital, and asked how she was feeling. "Oh, I'm fine, thank you," the teenager replied, still smiling. She looked down to her hands for a moment, before glancing at the older man. "Thank you, for finding me. I don't even know what happened entirely." Rose paused for a moment thinking, "What area am I in, at this moment?"

[Carl Fredricksen]

Although Carl was personally willing to scold her for playing ninja fighter (or something like that) in the streets at night, which could have been dangerous, he held off on the lecture... for now. He cracked a smile and his very bushy, white eyebrows raised, revealing some more of his blue eyes.

"You're in the The Spirit of Adventure," he said. He couldn't help but snicker after responding. "Heard of it? It used to belong to..." He waved his left hand lightly and shrugged. "Nah, you wouldn't know. He's way before your time."

If Rose were to examine Carl's left hand, even briefly, she could have noticed a golden ring, obviously as a sign of marriage.

"It's good that you're feeling better. But what were you doing? The streets can be dangerous at night, kid." He didn't sound abrasive; just mildly concerned with a hint of curiosity.

[Rose]

Rose raised an eyebrow as the man replied as her being in 'The Spirit of Adventure.' She shook her head as he asked if she'd heard of it. It still didn't explain where she was. She noticed on his left hand, a golden band, which meant he was married. The blonde wondered for a minute where his other half was, but didn't want to seem rude and ask.

She stiffened slightly as he asked what she had been doing so late out at night. Rose fiddled with her hands for a moment, before replying, "I...I was just, out, looking for someone..." She hoped it sound plausible; how would he react knowing she was looking for a dragon?

[Carl Fredricksen]

Carl furrowed his brows after the girl replied.

"Well," he replied, "it's over now. You want me to take you to the hospital anyway? You can't be too careful." His bespectacled eyes stared straight into hers, almost as if he was trying to analyze her with the superpowers he did not possess. Kids these days, he thought. They don't know the difference between playtime and injuries.

[Rose]

Rose breathed out slowly in relief as the man seemed to accept her reply.

He then asked if she wanted to go to the hospital to get checked over. "Oh, um...no, thanks. I'll be fine," she waved a hand and smiled, "I'm kinda used to gettin' bumped around. I'm always doing it."

[Carl Fredricksen]

"Well, don't push your luck, kid," Carl suggested with earnest. "The older you get, the less hits you can take. Take my word for it." He turned and placed a hand on the doorknob.

"Want a drink? I just got a fresh batch of prune juice." He immediately turned to face the teenage girl again. "By the way... what's your name, kid?" His blue eyes focused on her.

[Rose]

Rose nodded as the man told her she could take less hits as she got older. She didn't want to think about getting older; she had enough problems in her life right now.

"Oh, um, no thankyou," the blonde smiled, declining his offer for a drink. She then paused, before replying once more. "It's Rose," she straightened up, before adjusting her belt with the red Huntsclan 'H' in the center of it, then adding, "And your name?"

[Carl Fredricksen]

The old man smirked. "Call me Carl." He continued smiling for a short pause after he responded to her. "Rose, huh? That's a nice name. Your parents have good taste." He turned and placed his hand on the doorknob again. "What about snacks?" he asked with his back turned. "I got fruit and ice cream. How about some of that?"

[Rose]

The girl then learned that the man's name was 'Carl.' Rose smiled politely at knowing that, and continued when he complimented her name. The smile faded slightly as he mentioned her 'parents' must've had good taste. If only she knew that they had...

Rose regained her friendly composure, trying not to show how that one word had made her flinch somewhat. Carl turned away and headed for the door again, but not before asking if she would like some fruit and ice cream. The blonde stopped a moment; she knew that she really should get back to the Huntsclan...but then figured that they wouldn't worry about her. They never did; they were only concerned about if she had caught that stupid dragon or not.

"Oh, um...I'd like some of that, thank you," Rose finally replied, her tone grateful.

[Carl Fredricksen]

Carl smiled and nodded, and then turned back to the door and finally opened it. "Sure thing. Be back in a jiffy. And don't break anything!" He added the last sentence with a playful laugh. He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. This gave Rose ample time to investigate her surroundings, should she feel the desire.

[dug]

Very shortly after Carl had left, Rose would hear the sound of claws clicking against the wooden floor. It seemed something was coming into this room, very quickly...

And into the room exuberantly bounded the mystery creature: a fluffy golden retriever, smiling widely and panting eagerly. Rose probably barely had time to react before the dog introduced himself by leaping onto her, his forepaws on her lap. She might have noticed an odd glowing collar on the animal, but before she could wonder what it was for...

"Oh, oh boy! A new friend, a new friend!" the retriever, surprisingly, shouted excitedly, not even moving its lips. A quick wit could determine that it was the red-lighted collar that allowed him to speak in a human's voice, as it blinked on and off while the amazingly cheerful voice spoke up. Proceeding with greeting in his dog-like way, he attempted to give Rose an affectionate slurp or two on the cheek before speaking again. "You smell like Master! I like that smell! I like you too!"

[Rose]

Rose smiled as Carl left the room. She took another look at the study around her, checking out various items in the room. Until a soft noise from outside the door caught her attention.

The Huntsclan apprentice barely had time to turn around before a mass of fur almost knocked her to the ground. The girl gave a shocked expression; before realizing that the animal was nothing more than a excited dog, which seemed happy to have met Rose.

Before she reacted, the dog suddenly spoke, making her even more baffled; until she caught sight of the glowing collar that the animal had around it's neck. Rose studied it for a moment.

'The Huntsmaster might want to think about getting these, for those magical creatures...' She thought, before grinning kindly at the dog.

The dog was apparently over-joyed to have met 'a new friend' and that he liked her because she smelled of Carl. Rose tried not to look dis-pleased at being licked on the cheek [she had never found that appealing much], but hugged the adorable dog, before setting him on the floor, and gave him a friendly pet.

"You can talk, huh?" She gently asked, before adding, "I'm Rose, who are you?"

[dug]

Dug's tail whirled around and around, loving every second of being hugged and petted by the girl; such simple things brought infinite pleasure to a dog, Dug being far from an exception. Despite his exuberance, he obediently allowed Rose to lower his paws down to the floor, but continued to gaze up at her with that unchanging canine grin.

"Yes!" he began to respond as she gently nudged him off of her lap, "My old master made me this collar, so that I may talk to humans! He was very good and smart, but he is not my master anymore... I have a new master, though! He is very good and very smart and very nice, and I live with him here in this flying house. I did not know houses could fly before I went here!"

The dog babbled on and on without a movement from his mouth, except for a single lick of his lips to remove a crumb of a past meal from his whiskers, and his bright eyes wandered around the room in intervals. He spoke in a voice that, frankly... didn't sound terribly bright. The words were spaced apart from one another, as if it took a while to comprehend each one, but each word spoken had plenty of emotion in it. Even if he could speak English (among at least ten other languages), Dug was still only a dog, and thought just as any dog thinks.

[Carl Fredricksen]

Eventually, Carl returned to the room, carrying a simple tray with various fruits in a bowl and a few dishes of ice cream of different flavors. He watched every step he made as he re-entered the study and set the tray on a table near the guest.

"I didn't know what kind of ice cream you like, so I got a few different flavors." After he set the tray down, he straightened himself. As he stretched, his back made a few cracking noises. "Uuurgh," he exhaled, following an 'oh, well!' kind of chuckle. He turned and faced Rose and his beloved pet, Dug.

"I see you met Dug," he said, pointing to the overweight canine. "He's a handful, ain't he?" He meant that lovingly, of course, and signified this by stroking the top of Dug's head. When Carl remembered something, he snapped his attention to the girl. "Oh. Forgot to give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the hood that Rose was wearing prior to being treated. He extended his hand, offering the mask to her.

"Be careful the next time you play ninjas and robbers, all right?" His bushy eyebrows furrowed.

[Rose]

The teenager didn't know what to say; here she was, with a talking dog opposite her. All she could do was smile, as she wasn't put out by this sudden event, as the dog seemed friendly enough, and Rose liked most animals [believe it or not.] Her expression was one of interest as Dug told her how his old owner had made him the collar, but now Carl was his new owner. Her eyes widened as he mentioned the house could 'fly.'

"Fly? If I may, what do you mean by that?" Rose began to ask, before she noticed Carl coming back into the room with a tray of fruits and ice-cream. She smiled as he told her he'd brought a few flavors as he didn't know what she liked. "Thanks," Rose replied gratefully, and then looked to Dug as Carl mentioned him. "He's very friendly...its amazing that he can talk with that collar device."

She gave the dog a friendly expression, before her face became serious as Carl revealed the mask she'd been wearing prior to her black-out. Taking the mask gently, she quickly managed to stuff it into a pocket in her tunic. "Oh, thanks for keeping it. I thought I'd lost it." Rose made sure the garment was tucked away, before turning back to the elderly man. "I will be careful, I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble." Her face became one of guilt as Rose realized how careless she'd been at worrying someone like that.

[Carl Fredricksen]

Carl's blue, bespectacled eyes remained on Rose. He rested his hands on his hips after he returned the mask to the teenage girl. "Well, you learned your lesson," he said to her. "So next time you'll be more careful!" He smiled, winked, and turned to look down to the dog. "How do you like our guest, Dug?" He asked with a light, playful tone.