Hey Jude

"Come on...come on little girl...I won't hurt you." It was the third time she'd seen the dog at the park. It had no collar, no signs of ownership. It likely survived off the generosity of other park goers. Still, it was shy and cowered underneath a bench in the park. Sayo probably could grab her but she was afraid the dog might bite her. "I just want to hug you," she said quietly with her arms out.

Well...maybe not hug. She looked filthy. But she certainly wanted to pet and take care of the small dachshund retriever mix. The dog just whined, looking at her from under the protection of the chair. Sayo sighed, putting her arms on her knees and pouting. "Well...maybe next time."

She was normally good with animals. Maybe it was her outfit. She was wearing a yellow one piece costume of Pikachu and perhaps the dog thought she was too weird to ask for attention.

Charlie was walking in this park for the first time since he lost LC. He felt that just as bad as Talia walking out, if not moreso. he was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts, along with old sneakers. As Charlie walked along he flipped his 30 day coin in the air. AA had done him wonders. He knew it wasn't going to be easy getting back to normal, but he felt like he had been on his way.

As he walked along, he noticed a small lady in a pokemon costume talking to a dog? Charlie wasn't sure why but he approached. Not because of the woman, but this small dog seemed scared. Charlie wandered over and knelt down. "Hey pal, no need to be shy. Come on out and say hello to Charlie." He said, holding out his hand.

The dog barked and ran over to Charlie, tongue out and tail wagging. She looked up at the man with its mouth open. Sayo laughed, keeping her distance for the moment. "Looks like she likes you over me," she said with a shrug.

Charlie began to pet the dog as it happily made its way over. He became aware of a female voice, looking up and seeing a small woman in the pikachu costume. "Oh, hey... I mean she knows a sucker for animals I guess." Charlie said as he looked her over. The energy, the curiosity, the demeanor..... this was like LC all over again. Charlie kept petting the dog before finally looking up at this young woman. "Hi... I'm Charlie."

The dog barked happily as Charlie pet her, it's tail continuing to wag. Sayo slowly made her way over, carefully making sure not to spook the dog. "I'm Sayo," she said with a smile. There was an accent in her voice, and she could tell he wasn't from the area instantly from his own. "Well she couldn't sense it on me!" she continued, leaning forward with her hands behind her back.

Charlie looked up, and saw a pair of gorgeous eyes. He looked into them for a minute before returning his attention to the dog. "I had a little corgi up until recently. She might have sensed that I was missing a little something." Charlie said as he looked up at Sayo. "Its good to meet you Sayo. You have quite the interesting outifit, but its really cute on you." He said as he knelt next to the dog, giving her attention while also looking up at Sayo.

Sayo goofily smiled as she cautiously got closer to help pet the dog. She'd gotten comments before on her outfit but it was usually condescending or creepy. "Thank you...I think it made her uneasy about me though," she said with a small laugh. Then she looked up at Charlie with a slanted mouth. "Missing something?" she asked quietly. "Did...did your dog run away?"

Charlie looked and sighed. "He was old and passed away in his sleep. He was always there ya know? I miss him." Charlie said somberly. He didn't want to be a downer. He fiddled with the coin in his pocket and tried to bring more cheer to the situation. "Its really cool to meet someone who apprecaites animals." Way to go.....

Sayo's face shrunk when her fear was confirmed. "I'm sorry..." She whispered. She'd lost pets before, and missed them as well. But it was never easy, especially for loyal, long term ones. She never had a dog before, and from how sad Charlie looked she wasn't sure she could take losing one. The woman reached up as if to put a hand on his shoulder but then shifted to pet the dog instead. "Yea...it's nice too..." Sayo said, still caught up about his lost dog. "What was his name?"

Charlie smiled a bit as memories of LC flooded back to him. He was a smart but goofy little bugger. "I named him after me. He was a corgi named Little Charlie, or LC for short because I'm too damn lazy to call him by his full name." Charlie said as he looked down at the lady. She had an odd calm about her, and he was digging it right at the moment.

The small woman smiled lightly. This time, she did put a hand on the relative stranger's shoulder. "He sounds like he was a great friend." It was interesting meeting a man so clear about his emotions. She scratched behind the stray dog's ear. The dog tilted her head, wagging her tail. "Have any more room in your heart for this little girl?"

Charlie smiled as he looked down at the dog. "You know what? I think she's gonna save me as much as I am saving her." Charlie answered as he scooped the dog up, holding her in his arms. "I am sorry, I never properly introduced myself before. I'm Charlie Haines." Charlie said as he extended one hand, while still holding his new pal in his arms.

"Aww," Sayo giggled as Charlie scooped the dog up into his arms. "I'm Sayoko Morishige. Nice to meet you as well." She shook his hand happily. "I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit envious of you right now." She rubbed the little dog's back. "You should bring her back here sometimes so I can play with her!"

"Heh, consider it done Sayoko." Charlie said with a smile. There was something familiar about her...."I have a dumb question again. Your name sounds familiar. Do you wrestle? I think my friend Alaina faced someone with your name." Charlie said, rubbing the back of his neck.

The girl scrunched her face to one side with her mouth. "Yea...yea I do," she said hesitantly at first. Well, she didn't actually wrestle, she just got beat up a lot. But Alaina's name wasn't all that bad in her head. "Oh...yea I remember her. She's really tough, and a friend of yours?" Sayo grinned with a shrug. "Small world I guess!"

Charlie laughed, and recalled poor Sayoko bouncing a mile off the mat after being amabombed. "Yeah, she is good way better than I am." Charlie said sheepishly. Still, he felt that was true. "I bet you are a ton of speed!"

Charlie laughed, and recalled poor Sayoko bouncing a mile off the mat after being amabombed. "Yeah, she is good way better than I am." Charlie said sheepishly. Still, he felt that was true. "I bet you are a ton of speed!"

Sayo laughed back, shrugging. "I try to be but some of those wrestlers are really strong, and not exactly slow to begin with." She bashfully looked away. Wrestling wasn't exactly something she was confident about. "But...you're a wrestler too, right?"

"Yeah...." Charlie said with a sigh. "I kinda suck but, well, gotta try right?" Charlie added with a nervous laugh. Thankfully Sayoko didn;t see him in action. Two lucky wins and two bad losses...

"Heh...yea..." Sayo muttered shyly. She turned her attention back to the no-longer-stray dog. "He's taking you home, yes he is," she smiled at her. "Say...she's probably hungry...do you want to get something to eat...I know an outdoor grilled meat place that we can get her something."

Charlie smiled and nodded to Sayoko. "That'd be great!" Charlie said as he pet the dog. "We need to think up a name for her don't we?" Charlie said as he was ready to go eat. We? Why the hell did he say we?

"Hmmm...well she's so sweet isn't she? And so innocent. How about Angel?" Sayo could think of a ton of Japanese names but it seemed more fitting to choose an English one for Charlie's dog.

"Angel? I like it!" Charlie said as he held Angel up in front of him. "Do ya like that Angel girl?" Charlie said in a goofy voice as Angel seemingly barked in agreement. Just like LC would have...."I think LC will feel better knowing I found you sort of how I found him."

"Aww, was he a stray too?" Sayo asked while pointing in the direction of the eatery and leading the way. "And yea I like her. Not why I picked the name but I think it fits her don't you?" she asked with a big grin. "I know she won't replace LC, but maybe she'll help build new memories to cherish!"

"Yeah, picked him up at a shelter when I was 18. They said he was mistreated and nervous around people but he took to me for some reason." Charlie said with a shrug. "I bet Angel and I have us a good time, and I'll treat her like the princess she is. Isn't that right girl?"

The dog happily barked as if she understood what he was saying. "Aww how sweet," Sayo said with another smile. "I'm sure you'll make a great hooman to her," Sayo grinned and scratched the dogs back.