[center][indent][b][u]3:53 PM, October 26th
Kasimir Castle; Gotham City, New Jersey[/u][/b][/indent]

[color=black][b]"Hey mom, I'm back!"[/b][/color] David yelled as he entered his home, whilst taking off his backpack and tossing it aside. He continued walking, heading up the stairs and to his adoptive mother's room. Swiftly, he knocked once, twice, thrice, and then said: [color=black][b]"I'm coming in, so you better be decent."[/b][/color]

With that, he waited until he received an invitation to come in. What? He wasn't just gonna barge into his mother's room for no good reason.

An alert had sounded out in the room as soon as David had crossed the threshhold of the castle, making the lone occupant of the large bed jerk up. Zoey's steel-blue eyes darted around rapidly, taking in her surroundings. Everything was in place. Everything was fine.

Her heart was beating rapidly against her ribcage, slowly calming down as demons clawed at the back of her mind. Her slender fingers ran through her hair and she took a deep breath before checking the phone at her bedside, where the alert had come from. Nearly four in the afternoon. Lovely example you're setting there, Zoey.

By now, of course, David probably was well versed in how she ran into overdrive mode around the end of October and beginning of November, despite her trying to hide it. Still, she'd like to pretend otherwise. Rising up Zoey moved quickly to the bathroom attached to the master bedroom, smoothing down her hair and brushing up the mussed up makeup, even taking the time to change shirts. She had time. The castle was big.

When finally David's voice was heard, his knock upon the door, Zoey was waiting for her son at her desk.

[color=IndianRed]"Come in,"[/color] The redhead called out, pencil tapping against the simple paper in front of her. She was back to working on the Iron Fang armor, drafting everything up surrounded by the pictures of her son, one of Jaina, and of course her old dog Stickers.

She should really get David a dog.

Hearing his mother's voice invite him in, David opened the door, seeing her drawing up drafts for some new armor. However, just one glance at her eyes and he could tell she had just woken up. He grinned, [color=black][b]"Did I wake you, oh mommy dearest?"[/b][/color] He joked, walking up beside her and looking at the drafts and pictures.

Spotting the picture of his mother's old dog, Stickers, David hummed slightly. [color=black][b]"Y'know, I think it would be nice to get a dog. Maybe a corgi or something. Call it something real scary and imposing, like Kerberos the Hellhound or something."[/b][/color] He let out a small chuckle. [color=black][b]"... Or Breadloaf or something, if we do get a corgi."[/b][/color]

Zoey's hand moving across the page abruptly stopped as David began to speak, sighing as she realized he had figured out what she was up to. She was a mess this time of year, and actually only managed to crawl into bed a few couple hours ago.

However, his next topic immediately had her attention, the billionaire perking up from her sleep-deprived haze. Well, nearly.

[color=IndianRed]"A dog would be a good. Every growing child needs one. Just... a corgi?"[/color] Zoey quirked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, glancing back to the pictures of her own black lab mix. [color=IndianRed]"Wouldn't you like something bigger? Intimidating?"[/color]

[color=black][b]"C'mon, big dogs are nice and all but the little ones are better. It's like the feeling of having a puppy, but it never grows up."[/b][/color] David continued, leaning against the wall and hoping he was convincing his mother. Really, it was because the other day his friend Andrew brought his corgi to school and... Well, it's been on David's mind for a while.

[color=IndianRed]"Big dogs are much better at keeping you warm and protecting you, David,"[/color] Zoey raised a hand, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. She had a headache. Finally however she shook her head and rose up, looking down at her adopted son. [color=IndianRed]"If it's a corgi you desire however, then so be it. Even a ... 'breadloaf' can be a good dog."[/color] Mostly since every dog was a good dog. Honestly, it was surprising that David brought it up now - she was thinking of getting him a dog for awhile.

After all, considering the whole icon, and name - people still mistook it for Grim Reaper, not that Zoey was complaining - it was pretty obvious she was a supporter of them.

[color=IndianRed]"Let's pick up supplies before going to the shelter. I assume you [i]do[/i] actually want one and it wasn't just idle talk, David?"[/color]

[color=black][i][b]'Wait... We're actually gonna get a dog?'[/b][/i][/color] David thought to himself, rather stunned. He supposed it made since that his mom would be fine with getting a dog, after all she had one growing up, and her symbol was a dog ([color=black][i][b]'How did [u]that[/u] connect to the name Grim?'[/b][/i][/color]'), so of course she must like dogs.

After taking a moment to process this, David smiled at his mother, nodding his head. [color=black][b]"Yeah I want a dog! Let's go! The sooner the better!"[/b][/color] He was practically out the door already, laughing all the while.

A smile curled the edges of Zoey's lips upward as David flew out the door. Seeing how happy the decision made him eased the lingering darkness at the edges of her mind from her night terrors, and made her wonder why she didn't decide on this sooner. After all, Stickers was her steadfast companion since she was a little girl - even the heartbreak of losing him didn't compare to the joy he brought her. Which was probably why she had so many pictures of the dog.

... Probably more pictures of him than even David.

The billionaire made sure to store the notepad in its locked drawer before following after him. [color=IndianRed]"Just because we're getting you a dog doesn't mean you're neglecting your homework, David!"[/color]

[color=black][b]"Like I don't already do that!"[/b][/color][/center]