On the swings [Open]

[Evangeline Reinette Jones]

The sky had a slight pinkish tint to it and it was almost dark. The first few stars could be seen if you looked very carefully. It was just after sunset and it was probably Evie's favourite time of the day. There was a slight chill in the air but it wasn't very windy so it was bearable. She'd originally planned on going Salem Mall, so she could basically blow her savings at the CD store. It was music, and if the albums she wanted were out, Evie would end up spending a lot.

Wearing pair of baggy camouflage pants, her black chucks and a black hoodie, Evie was well dressed for the weather. Passing by the park, she decided that she didn't really want to miss out on her favourite part of the day by spending it in a music store. Evie slowed down as she was passing by the swings, she stopped as a slow smile spread over her features, her eyes gained their mischievous glint as she took her canvas messenger bag off her shoulder and let it fall to the ground near the swing. She looked around, just to make sure that there weren't that many people around. From what she could see, the park was practically empty, it was too late for the kids to be out anyway.

With one last glance around the place, Evie was on the swing and going as high as she could. Her dark hair flew about in a haphazard manner but she really didn't care. How long had it been since she'd been on a swing? Closing her eyes as the swing moved, Evie let it slow down naturally until it came to a stop. She let it sway back and forth slightly, using her feet to made it go when it stopped, she smiled and let out a soft laugh. Maybe she was really still a kid. No, she didn't want to grow up too much, it seemed so... tiresome!

[Jackson Daniels]

He figured that exploring the town that was now his home would not be that bad of an iadea. Jackson had phoned his mother to tell her why he wasn't going to be home or in his dorm room, for she always freaked out when she didn't know where he was. But he expected that. It came with the rest of the baggage. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled softly and planted his feet fimrly and carefully, taking slow steps because he didn't really know where he was going. His loyal canine companion strode by his side carefully, guiding him to wherever his owner wanted to go. Jack was a full bred German Shepherd, larger than most, with a gentle look in his eyes and his movements. He was a good dog, and he would never hesitate to greet someone who seemed kind. He could sense when a person was good or bad though, so he usually strayed away from the negative ones. As the pair moved forward, Jackson wondered where they were going. he knew that there was a park around here, and he knew his dog would recognize the swings and the slides, and whatever else that a normal park held. He looked down in Jack's general direction. "Find the park Jack.." He requested of him, and Jack stepped to the left immediately.


The ground below him remained a sidewalk for a long while as they traveled on in silence. He felt people passing far away from him so they wouldn't disrupt the blind boy who was traveling around. Jackson Daniels and the rest of his family had been involved in a serious and fatal car crash. His father had been killed on impact, his own knee had been shattered in to pieces and his eyesight had been torn away from him. He could tell when it was going to rain, and he still walked with a slight limp to his step, for the bone was weak, but healed. It didn't btoher him much in the warmer months, but when the cold weather came around, he'd be gimping around then. Just another reason for people to feel bad for him. Shaking his head, he suddenly felt Jack's nose press agaisnt the leg of his pants, and he was being pushed very gently to the left. He moved around and started that way, praising his extremely intelligent guard dog. "Good boy." He finished and then strode forward, his button up shirt billowing behind him in the breeze, revealing his white undershirt.


His black adidas sneakers soon felt the cement fade to grass as they crossed over the grounds to the park. Jack had recognized the swings, and he had gone to it immediately. The parks usually meant that Jackson had a hidden ball with him, and a good fetch for himself. Sure enough, as Jackson felt the swings near him, he let go of Jack's harness strap and crouched down, landing on his knees easily. Shifting off of his once broken one, he pulled a bright green tennis ball from his pocket. His eyes started straight ahead, unseeing as his dog jumped back and forth in front of him, woofing excitedly. Jackson smiled and spoke quietly. "I think you'll have more fun without your harness. Come here boy." He requested and then let his fingers feel for the buckles on Jack's harness. Once the harness was off, Jack knew that work was over for the time being. He sat obediantly and patiently, his tongue hanging out as he panted in his excitement. Jackson knew the general direction of the road, so he brought his arm back and tossed it a short distance ahead. Jack was off in a minute, traveling like a rocket after the ball that was eluding his capture. They both didn't know that the swings on the other side were inhabited by another person until Jack caught scent of her. He dived for the ball and grabbed it in his mouth, then came up, looking around with his big ears perked forward. Seeing her, he dropped the ball for a moment and barked in greeting, wagging his tail. But he had to return to Jackson. Picking up the ball, he galloped back and dropped the ball in his owner's hand, nudging and prodding him with want. Jackson let it fly again, and the process was repeated once more as Jack bounced after the bright green ball.

[Evangeline Reinette Jones]

Evie's eyes opened as a cool breeze blew past the area. She tugged on the sleeves of her hoodie, trying to make them cover her hands which she realised were cold. She was missing home, her brothers, especially her twin. It wasn't that she wasn't ready to move away from home but there were so many things that she'd been pretty much torn away from. The band being one of them. Mike and Rob, two of the band members had been two of Evie's best friends. She missed Cornwall and the seaside, she missed going to Cardiff for a weekend. It was an experience being away from home but she wasn't quite sure she'd made the right decision in picking an entirely different continent... let alone different country!

Evie could admit that she was a bit lonely. Having three brothers around normally meant that you couldn't get a minute of peace but she didn't mind that much. She quite liked all the noise, all the fun and all the arguments, midnight feasts and rough pillow fights. Her two oldest brothers had moved away, leaving only her and Owen, the two pranksters of the family. Even then, she'd had a good time and she'd got busy with the band. It was all different now. Well things had to change sometime, everything that she'd had during the previous year was too good to last.

She noticed someone walking nearby and stopping around the area of the other swings. He had a dog- a German Shepard with him. She smiled to herself as she realised that this German Shepard reminded her very much of her own back home. That just added to the list of things she missed about home, she missed Jerry, her dog. Looking more carefully, she saw that the dog was in a harness at first, the sort that were normally seen on guide dogs. A bright green ball flew through the air and Evie watched as the dog dove for it and caught it in a rather impressive manner. She laughed and clapped as the dog came up to her, dropped the tennis ball for a moment and barked in greeting before going back to his owner.

Getting up from the swing and grabbing her canvas messenger bag from the side, she decided to go up to the owner. She found him a few meters away. "Hello." she said, getting closer, her Estuary English accent was clear but the slight hint of London cockney was there as well. "Nice dog, he's very clever too." Her tone was friendly and light, "what do you call him?"

[Jackson Daniels]

Jack was once again bounding after the ball that just kept bouncing away from him. This time it kept rolling very quickly, bouncing haphazardly so he couldn't get his jaws around it. It kept going until it disappeared into the bushes, leaving Jack wondering where it had gone. Plopping down upon the ground outside the bush, he panted heavily, whining slightly as he tilted his head, waiting for the bush to spit it back out at him. When he figured out that that wasn't goingt o happen, he pushed himself up and went to investigate. He sniffed around the bottom edge of the bush, and finally saw his ball lodged deep inside of it. Grunting, he barked repeatedly at the bush, with Jackson trying to figure out why in the world the canine was barking. But he had long since figured out that that usually meant the ball had disappeared somewhere, so he wasn't too worried about it. He could tell by Jack's bark that it wasn't important, so he let himself sit back, pulling his sunglasses back down to cover his eyes. He was more at ease when he knew that his eyes were covered. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled, and just waited for his loyal dog to come back. His fingers played with the leather harness that was still slightly warm from coming off of the do's body. Jackson didn't know what he'd do without his dog. He could always use a cane he supposed, but he didn't want that. It made him look more like an old man than a blind man. He shook his head slightly at that thought and thought about the first day he had met Jack.


Jack had still been a puppy then, going through his rigorous training schedule to become a guide dog. He was bouncy and full of energy, but there was something that was reserved about him too. He listened extremely well for such a young dog, and it was a reason that his energetic personality was looked over. They knew the dog would be a good guide, so they were intent on training him to behave while the harness was on, and off as well. And Jack exceled at it. Jackson had been fifteen then, and the two had hit it off immediately. He would have to come back in another three months for a whole month to train along with Jack, and then the two could graduate together and become a pair in their everyday lives'. Both of them learned extremely fast and well, and it didn't take them very long to venture off into the real world on their own. They bonded from the beginning, and their love was still great. If Jack was to be taken away from Jackson, Jackson would feel as if a part of him was missing. His dog was his life, his eyes, his way of getting around without relying too much on a person. And that's what he needed.


Jack finally grasped the ball between his lean snout and was trotting happily back to his owner with the object held firmly within his teeth. He whined as he neared, alerting Jackson that he had finally found the ball and was back now. Jackson smiled and patted the dog's head before taking the ball in his hand again. "Good boy Jack. This time we're going long alright?" He said, knowing he could throw it far. He had been the quarter back on the football team before this mishap, and if he could throw a football, he could throw a tennis ball. Pushing himself up off of the ground, he brought his arm back and suddenly threw the ball with all of his might. Jack was off even before the ball had left his owner's hand because he understood the word long. He knew that meant it was going far and he'd have to really shoot to catch it before something happened to it. The park was huge, and Jack found himself weaving through slides and swings to run after his favorite toy. Seeing it land up ahead, he perked his ears and picked up his pace, showing that he did hold a lot of speed. He bounced forward and suddenly launched himself onto the ball, pinning it beneath his paws. It slipped out from them and he growled mencaingly at it before picking it back up and starting the trot back to Jackson. Seeing the girl approach his owner, he picked up the pace and started loping in that direction. He knew the girl wouldn't bring any harm to Jackson, but he'd rather be by him just the same.


Jackson was aware of clapping and laughing off to the side, and he reddened immediately, although it wasn't directed towards him. He was used to people laughing at him, staring at him, and just being plain rude. So that was why he expected this to be directed at him as well. Shifting from foot to foot as he stood and waited for his companion to return to him, he heard the light footsteps upon the ground approaching him. By the sound of it, it sounded like the person was a female, or an extremely thin male. He'd go with female. Tilting his head slightly to find out exactly where she was coming from, he turned slightly, making sure the sunglasses were still covering his eyes. Once he was certain, he suddenly heard her voice and turned to focus on her once more. Jack bounded to his side and dropped the ball at his feet, sitting down beside him and panting heavily from the run. But it was easy to see he was enjyoing himself. Jackson looked to the young woman once more. As she complimented Jack, Jackson stroked his dogs long ears, knowing that was a favorite spot of his. "Thank you. His name's Jack. I'm...Jackson..Jackson Daniels." He finished, wondering if she had anything else to say. He was a bit wary around new people, so that was why he was being a bit reserved.

[Evangeline Reinette Jones]

Evie looked at the owner of the German Shepard, yes he could easily be about her own age. He was much taller than her as well but the sunglasses grabbed Evie's attention first. It was definitely dark outside so... she stopped thinking about it for a moment and then put things together. The guide dog harness and the glasses. How thick could she be? Being the sort of person she was, Evie didn't think it was necessary to ask. She didn't think he needed or wanted anyone's pity, he was clearly rather independent and obviously managing very well. She admired that about him but kept her mouth shut about it. "Thank you. His name's Jack. I'm...Jackson..Jackson Daniels." Evie laughed softly, "Jack... I was about to name my dog Jack but my brothers liked 'Jerry' better. Jerry is a German Shepard as well and Jack just reminded me a lot of him." Her normally light, friendly tone, turned a little sad but it changed back immediately as she spoke again, "it's nice to meet you, Jackson. I'm Evie, well Evangeline Reinette Jones if you'd like a full name, but I'd rather not be called that." She looked at Jack, he was clearly good natured, much like Jerry but Jack also seemed rather protective of his owner, "do you mind if I pet him?" Evie asked Jackson.

Evie was being like she always was, displaying her normal light hearted manner even if she didn't exactly feel up to it. She had been feeling homesick all day and was thinking a little too much about home. It just made it worse that it was her choice to leave home. The only thing that kept her going was her optimistic side. It would get better, and easier, or so she hoped anyway.


((OOC: Crappy post, sorry! No muse at all, I suppose rushing an english essay has drained my creativity dry!))

[Jackson Daniels]

Jackson could not tell the difference between the darkness and the light, and he didn't realize that wearing the sunglasses would in fact give him away more than just standing without anything on his face. His eyes held the faraway misted look yes, but at first glance they looked normal, with the colors swirled into one rather attractive shade. He took a deep breath as he stood there, exhaling gently and looking down at Jack, who was nudging his leg as if to say what happened to the game of fetch? Jackson's hand went to gently rest on the Shepard's head, and he scartched him softly behind the ear, knowing that he liked it. Patting him once more, he looked up at the girl as the silence passed back and forth between them. He had a feeling she was figuring out that he could not see, and he remembered that he came out here kind of late. He had one of those clocks that actually told you time if you pushed the right button, and he remembered now. It was late, and he doubted she'd be able to see his eyes even if he did remove the glasses. So he reached for his face and slipped them off, folding them up and placing them in his front pocket. He didn't look at her now as he stood, and he listened to her words when she finally found her voice to speak.


As she said she was about to name her dog Jack, he smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah. I didn't name him..when we went to get him, he was already called that. But it doesn't matter to me." He said honestly, patting Jack once more. The dog could have the weirdest name in the world and Jackson wouldn't love him any less. He sighed slightly and then tilted his head as he listened to the rest of her words. He couldn't figure out what it was, but there was something pained in her tones, and he wondered if she missed home. For she seemed upset when she was talking about it. Jackson had moved to this town with his family, and even though he lived in the dorms, he could visit them whenever he wanted. His mother and brother gave him his space though, for Jackson enjoyed being independent. "It's nice to meet you too Evie. And no not at all...he loves the attention." He said and looked down in the direction of his dog. Jack was a loyal companion, and he knew that the dog would never let anything happen to him. He waited patiently for any other words to be exchanged.