Let it Snow | Open

[Drake Lane]

Drake hummed along to the tune of Blue Christmas as he sat strumming out the chords on his guitar and watching his dog, Timber, dash around the garden. The air was cold and crisp this morning and a thin layer of frost still clung to the grass around where he was sitting but on a whole Drake wasn't overly concerned about the weather. He supposed that this might not be the first place many would think to crack open their guitar and sit down for a little jam session on a chilly winter's day but being the son of a snow goddess this time of year with the brisk air and Christmas just around the corner was a little refreshing. This being the case he had decided that today was the perfect opportunity to get out and walk his dog and to enjoy a little time to himself.

He was skipping curling practice to be out here but that wasn't much of a concern. Any time he could get out of practice was a pretty good day in his book and frequent absences were pretty common for him this time of year. How could he be expected to confine himself to hours of boring practice in an ice skating rink when there was plenty of nice winter weather out in the open to enjoy? The choice was pretty clear in Drake's mind and he made it without a second thought.

In Drake's opinion there was no better way to spend a nice winter's day. Let his sister keep practicing for the Olympics, she could have her dreams of that grand champion's life. He was content to stay right here dog by his side, guitar in hand and enjoying the freedom and fresh air. The only thing that could make this day better would be a little snow and come to think of it he might just use his powers to make some just, after he finished this song of course.

[Kaylee Wulff]

Kaylee was up early this morning for whatever reason, but she was going to make the most of it. The sunrise was always pretty around camp and and loved frolicking through the gardens no matter what time it was. So that's why she decided to head there this fine morning. She skipped on her way over towards there and soon enough the gardens were in her sight and she heard music. However, that didn't pique her interest at all. What really caught her attention was the doggy she saw running around the gardens.

"PUPPY!" she cried out as she went into a full run towards the dog before she embraced it into a big bear hug. She giggled as she dog seemed so happy about his new friend and was licking her face. After a couple of moments, she noticed someone nearby. She pulled her head just far enough from the doggy's face before she asked, "Is this your dog?"

[Drake Lane]

Drake had just started up the intro to Let It Snow when he noticed someone else joining him in the gardens. He smiled at the girl and gave her a welcoming nod but it wasn’t him that her eyes fell on. With a girlish squeal she practically pounced on his dog and Drake couldn’t help but chuckle as she fawned all over Timber who, for his part, took it in stride wagging his tail and showering the girl’s face with doggy licks.

Drake kept playing his song as he watched and waited for the girl to acknowledge him. Other people noticing his dog wasn’t too uncommon and he didn’t mind so much. It was nice to meet a fellow dog lover and Timber certainly loved the attention. In any case it wasn’t long before the girl was turning to him and speaking. Drake stopped mid song and gave her a little nod of acknowledgement. “His name is Timber and he really likes being scratched behind the ears.” The son of Chione smiled at the girl again as he watched her. “Looks like he likes you so you must be a pretty good person. I’m Drake by the way.”

[Kaylee Wulff]

Kaylee giggled as the dog showered her with kisses as she pet him. This was one of the best things ever finding a dog in the garden, but he owner was here as well. "Timber," she said as she nodded her head and turned back to the dog to give it an ear rub. "That's a very good name for a doggie." She giggled a bit slightly as she pet it before turning back to the boy. He introduced himself and she figured she might as well introduce herself even if that meant dragging herself away from Timber.

"I'm Kaylee," she said as she straightened up and managed to pull herself away from the dog to walk over to the boy. Not that it helped much since Timber just trailed after her. "So do you and Timber come out here much?" she asked before she sat down on the same bench that Drake was on.

[Drake Lane]

Drake watched the girl giggle and pet on his dog. She really did like Timber and that was always good to see. Animals had that kind of effect on people. They could always put you in a good mood if you let them. Well, unless you were his sister of course but then again Danielle was probably a bit of a special case. This girl though didn’t seem to have his sister’s reservations and that was just fine with him.

Drake followed the girl as she made her way over and set his guitar aside just in time to welcome a lap full of dog when Timber practically tried to tackle him to say hello. Drake chuckled and began to scratch his dog affectionately behind the ears as he glanced over to the girl beside him. “Nice to meet you Kaylee. Don’t mind him. He just likes to make sure he’s part of the conversation.” Nodding to answer Kaylee’s question Drake continued. “Occasionally. I like to get Timber here out and give him some room to run every once in a while plus it’s a nice day to be out. Good and chilly. Almost right for a little snow.” He paused for a moment before giving the girl a curious look. It wasn’t often he met someone willing to take a walk in the cold and yet here she was. “What about you? I don’t know many people who enjoy a good winters day like I do.”

[Kaylee Wulff]

Kaylee giggled as Timber decided to join her and Drake on the bench... well, mostly sit on Drake's lap like he was tiny little purse pet. That image made Kaylee giggle even harder. Most people probably would've found it annoying, but Kaylee didn't mind it at all. He reminded her of her dog Buddy back home. He was a big ole lab who thought he was a lap dog no matter what. She smiled as she reached out to give Timber a couple of pets before she looked back at Drake.

"I couldn't sleep," Kaylee said with a bit of a shrug. "And I don't like tossing and turning, but I like the Gardens so I decided to come here. They're really good gardens for frolicking in. The flowers are really pretty and everything smells so nice. I usually don't like the cold, but today isn't too bad."

[Drake Lane]

Timber was far from being a lap dog but Drake had gotten used to his frequent bids for attention. Perhaps he just liked to spoil the dog or maybe it was just because Kaylee seemed to like him so much but Drake thought he would let Timber lay around for a while. He wasn't planning on going anywhere any time soon after all.

When the girl said she hadn't been sleeping well Drake gave her a curious. She didn't seem too bothered by it which was good and he decided he wouldn't ask her about it. If she wanted to offer more she could but it might be a little personal to go asking about what was keeping her up when they had just met. He did pick up on something though and when he spoke up again it was with a little smirk. "Frolic huh?" His mind filled with images of Kaylee skipping through the gardens happy and carefree and as it did the smirk turned into a grin. She definitely seemed like that happy sort and that was kind of refreshing.

"Well I'm sorry about the sleepless night but you're more than welcome to join me out here. I was just playing songs and watching Timber run around for a bit. I happen to really like the cold." Drake gave her a wink. He considered telling her about the fact that he was a Chione kid but it didn't seem too important at the moment. Instead he gave a nod to the guitar sitting beside him. "Do you like music? I could play you something if you want."

[Kaylee Wulff]

"Yup, frolic," Kaylee said as she nodded her head. "It's really nice to frolic around here. I think Timber's already pretty good at it and I think you'd enjoy it as well." Kaylee giggled a little bit at the thought, but it was nothing really embarrassing. "I have a dog back at home. His name is Buddy. I loved to frolic with him. He had these big floppy ears that would just go all over the place." She smiled to herself as she looked over at Drake with that same smile. "I think you're lucky to have a dog here. My dad said it was probably a bad idea to have my dog here at camp."

She caught Drake's wink and it confused her for a second, but she was welcomed to stay here with Drake and Timber and she was okay with that. "I do like music," Kaylee said as she nodded her head. "I like whatever is on the radio usually." But did she have any requests? "No, not really. You can just play whatever. I don't mind."

[Drake Lane]

Drake chuckled at Kaylee’s insistence that she wanted to frolic. He had never heard someone talk about it like that but with her he could definitely see it. Not that it was a bad thing. He just thought it would be a pretty interesting sight to see and he was sure Timber wouldn't mind filling in for Buddy every now and then. "I think I'm pretty lucky too. My family lives here so Timber can stay home if I have to be at the barracks. He's a good dog though. I don't think he would mind helping out if you needed a doggie surrogate. Isn't that right boy?" Timber looked up at Kaylee contentedly his tongue lolling out and his tail wagging happily behind him as Drake scratched him. He didn't say anything but it was hard to imagine he would be anything other than agreeable.

Drake considered her statement about her music preferences for a moment and then picked up up his guitar and began strumming a few test chords. "Well I don't know about popular right now but here's an oldie that my parents used to listen to. Kind of funny when you think about it. See how you like it." With that he hummed a pitch and started into a song.

[Kaylee Wulff]

Drake's family lived here and Timber could stay with them? Well, that was definitely quite lucky of him. "That's quite nice that he can be here with you," Kaylee said with a bit of a giggle as she reached out to give Timber pets. "He's definitely a good boy and I definitely wouldn't mind borrowing him. I think Buddy would understand that I need like a fill in dog or something." She reached up to give Timber an ear rub as she looked over at Drake. He seemed pretty cool and he had a dog. Kaylee already liked him just for those two things.

Since Kaylee didn't have a song request, Drake started to play something. It was familiar to her, but the same time wasn't. She swayed to the music as she hummed along as she continued to pet Timber. Once the song was over, Kaylee looked over at Drake and smiled. "You're really good. How long have you been playing?"

[Drake Lane]

He played the song for the girl and after he saw that she was getting into it he may have shown off just a little. He wasn't that great of a singer but he thought he more than made up for it with his playing and if he did a little solo to show them off well that wasn't so bad was it? Drake didn't think so and besides it was kind of fun to watch Kaylee sway and hum along with his music. She was kind of cute after all.

When he finally finished up Kaylee was the first one to break the silence. Drake smiled at her and picked out a few simple chord progressions while he thought and then answered her. "Can't say I remember exactly but I picked it up when I was a kid. Just sort of kept going from there." He shrugged. "Thanks for the compliment though. It wasn't anything that special but I'm glad you liked it."

Timber woofed energetically at this which caused Drake to chuckle. "I'm glad you liked it too buddy." He stopped playing long enough to give the dog a little scratch behind the ears but then turned his attention back to the girl. "So Kaylee, do you like to song while you frolick? I noticed you humming along and I bet a song is never too far off. I can tell you right now the quickest way to Timber's heart is music. Well that and doggie treats...and playing with him...and well, turns out there's lots of ways to her on Timber's good side but color me curious."

[Kaylee Wulff]

Kaylee watched Drake as he plucked at his guitar before he finally spoke about his experience. She nodded her head before she said, “That's really cool though that you can play an instrument. I wished I learned how to play an instrument.” She smiled as she looked down at Timber before she looked back at Drake.

Did she sing? She thought about it as she shook her head. “Not really. I mostly just hum. I don't think my singing is that good anyway. And it's mostly just tunes that my Granny sang to me when I was little, but I might sing them to Timber if that'll make him like me more.” She giggled even more before she added, “But I can make sure I have treats and pets for him.”

[Drake Lane]

“I could try and teach you if you want.” He said genuinely enough. “Never thought of myself as a teacher but it’s not too hard to pick up. Plus I find it pretty relaxing to play.” He didn’t know if it would be something Kaylee would be into. She didn’t really seem like she had much interest in music beyond just listening to it but if nothing else maybe she would like to come hang out sometime. It wasn’t often that he had someone to play for so that might be a nice change of pace for once.

“Well it’s not for everyone but I enjoy it. Guess it’s good I have a little skill huh?” He grinned as he watched her. “I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble winning Timber over though. He likes you.” Getting an idea Drake dug in his pocket for a moment and came out with a doggie treat in the shape of a bone. Timber wagged his tail expectantly but instead of giving it to him he held it out to Kaylee. “Want to see if you can get him to do a trick or two?”

[Kaylee Wulff]

Drake could teach her how to play? She looked over at him and smiled before she nodded her head. "That is really nice of you. I don't know how good I would be at it, but I bet you're an excellent teacher." She smiled a bit wider as she looked over at Timber. "I think you're good at it. At least Timber seems to enjoy it. And I enjoyed it too." Her face heated up a little bit as she nodded her head. "But I don't think that dogs are that hard to please at all. Buddy liked you if you had food or good ear rubs."

She looked back over at Drake as he pulled out a dog treat and handed it over to her. Her eyes widened a bit as she nodded her head. "Sure, do you think he'll listen to me?" She grabbed the dog treat and got up off the bench as she walked a few feet away. "Timber, sit!"

[Drake Lane]

“Never know until you try and you seem like a pretty cool girl.” She did seem pretty cool and he didn’t think he would care if she ended up not being much good at it or not. The lessons were just an excuse to hang out with her again anyways. “No reason to worry about it now though. Just something to think about.” He gave her a smile and listened to her talking about the dogs nodding in agreement at her conclusion. “Very true. They make pretty good friends but aren’t really the best at giving an unbiased opinion on music. People are a lot better at that and I do appreciate it.”

Just as he expected Kaylee jumped at the opportunity to play with Timber. She was obviously excited and he liked that about her. He just hoped Timber wouldn’t totally mess up his game right now as even with treats he had a tendency to get distracted sometimes. Fortunately Timber seemed to be following the treat pretty attentively and that gave Drake a little hope.

Holding his breath as Kaylee gave her command Drake watched as his dog turned his head to the side obviously weighing his options. ’Come on buddy, don’t make me look a fool.’ He thought as he willed Timber to obey and then finally, to his relief, the dog laid down in front of Kaylee with his tail wagging expectantly. “I think you’re a natural. I’ve never seen him take to anybody this quickly. You sure you’re not some kind of dog whisperer or something?”