Randomizer - 2 - Fury

Jacob was used to being assaulted by drunken patrons, normally when he informed them that he would no longer give them drinks after they’d had a very large amount. What he wasn’t used to, however, was being assaulted by someone who was sober, and this woman looked very sober and aware of her actions.

As he was frozen, though, there was suddenly a loud and panicked barking around his feet; apparently, he’d left the door to his residence open and Charlie had heard the commotion and come rushing out, and was now loudly barking at his attacker.

“Charlie! Charlie down! It’s okay, I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding!”

Randomizer - 2 - Fury

“Gah!” 

Jacob gasped in pain, his head slamming against the wall, his ears ringing and vision flashing white from the impact. He didn’t know what he’d done to trigger her wrath, but the look in her eyes terrified him as it was far from the drunken fury he was somewhat used to seeing in his more unstable patrons.

“M-miss Haley? Miss Haley are you okay? Please let me go,,”

Jacob suddenly froze, the ceramic plate falling from his grip and crashing to the floor before he could stop it. It had been almost half a decade at this point, so why was he still hearing her voice? He could feel himself start to tremble, his heart rate spiking and his breathing becoming unsteady; it was so clear, so vivid, as though she were standing right next to him.

Hearing the plate shatter, Charlie came bolting into the kitchen as fast as she could. She’d been trained to recognise that sound as a sign that something was wrong with Jacob, and as soon as she entered the room, she carefully picked her way in between shards of ceramic and stood up on her back paws, leaning against Jacob’s leg and let out a soft and worried ruff, licking at the fingers of his limp hand to bring him back to his senses.

It took her a moment or two, but eventually, she felt his hand twitch. Knowing that this meant he was regaining his senses, she gave another, louder, bark to ground him in the real world.

Jacob jolted slightly at the bark, staggering backwards as the world came back into existence around him. Noticing the shards of the plate around his feet, Jacob quickly stooped down and scooped his bulldog up.

“Hey there Charlie, I appreciate you bringing me back but you didn’t hurt your paws, did you?” A pause, “was there anyone else in here when you arrived?”

Charlie gave a small, confused little whine and tilted her head uncertainly, giving the human a few kisses by way of an answer.

He shook his head, “guess I’m gonna need to arrange another appointment with Dr Oberon then.”

If Jacob was honest, it was rather common for people to say things like that to him. However, it pretty much only happened when they were drunk, so he wasn’t sure how to feel here. The woman seemed somewhat sober, and she’d only had about a glass of wine, so he chose to do the safe thing. He smiled warmly, bowing his head graciously in response to the comment.

“Thank you very much, Miss, I appreciate the compliment.”

“In the bar? Sort of, yeah; the place is connected to my living quarters in the back., it’s very cozy.”

Jacob laughed, blushing rather deeply on the tips of his ears as his eyes scrunched up and the dimples on his cheeks deepened.

“Oh, um, uh, th-thank you Haley. Your smile is very pretty too, though.”

“You’re not wrong…”

“there really is a difference between the tranquillity of solitude and the loneliness of isolation. From my experience, abandonment is one of the most common fears to exist.”“

Jacob tilted his head in thought at the statement, absently scratching Charlie behind the ear. 

“I suppose so. However, at the same time one is opening oneself up to large amounts of stress when one cannot find important things one needs.”