Paragon Hatter

Masson told Warren this would be a good place to eat. Paragon Hatter, a little café with some good reviews hidden in this, as he put it, "Growing Town's" art district. Warren's not too familiar with the area. Seemed to have just popped out of nowhere. Though all the other fur folks and scalies seemed to like the place. The painted dog wasn't much of a café person. He would rather go to the nearest sport's bar. Order a couple of rounds and watch the game. That's something brothers would do right? Right?
He took a big breath in and swallowed it down. The air bubbled dropped down into his gut like a rock and smashed on in. His lips were so dry, and yet no matter how many glasses of water the waitress brought over doesn't seem to quench his thirst. Or even moisten back his lips.
He looked to the entrance. The sky outside emitted duskly colors. Any minute now the mutt, well... brother, would show up. The next thing Warren had to wonder was how to approach the situation. He's known Scrap for about a couple of weeks now. But that was him as a coworker. Never would he think that he was his brother. Still the thought of him being related to him puzzled him. They didn't look alike. He's a mutt, probably a sheppie or a heeler, and he's a full painted dog. What was their link? Besides their collar. Was his mother... rather his/their mother, a Heeler or a Dingo perhaps? Or was she a mutt like him? Maybe he had his father's genes. Or maybe what if they adopted him after he left. "Ugh... So many questions..." He groaned and banged his like a drum. Suddenly he stopped and took a deep breath in. "No... Forget about that. It shouldn't matter. Let's just get through this meeting and be done."
The waitress came back to his table again. Refill his cup for the fifth time. Warren gazed at her. A Doe waitress. She smiled and gave him a winky smile. "Waiting on your date." She giggled. "You've been waiting for quite a while."
Warren coughed and cleared his throat. "I-I--I-I-It's Not a date. It's more of a meeting." He smiled very twitchingly.
She laughed again. "Oh... is that what we’re calling it now?"
"No! No! No!" Warren replied. "It's not what you think."
She continued to laugh, "I'm just joking with you. Trying to lighten the mood here. You look really tense up here. It's not like this is the end of the world here."
"Oh..." Warren sighed and rubbed the back of his head." Yeah I guess you can say that."
"You sure, you don't want anything right now. I hear our pastries and treats are to die for."
Warren smiled, "No thank you. I'm good. I'll just wait until my--'' Suddenly the entrance made a loud creak. Everyone turned their attention to the door as Scrap came in. For some reason the door wouldn't budge as he tried to come in. Unbeknownst to him, it seemed to be caught on the floor mat. After a few huffs and shoves the door flew open and he dropped in. He landed on the floor, his bag spilled out like an avalanche. He yipped and raced to collect all his contents which was basically a few scattered papers and documents and one weird book he's always with.
He stood up and brushed himself up. "Sorry about that, folks." He said and leaned on a small table. His paw slipped and knocked the contents off. Luckily he managed to grab them before they fell and crashed. He tried to put it back, but ended up making more of an embarrassing impression of himself.
Warren raised an eyebrow and then took a deep inhale. "-- it seemed my party had just arrived. He sure knows how to make a spectacle of himself."
Scrap gazed around the cafe. Staff and customers gazed his way before returning back to their conversation and delectables. His ears perked up as he spotted Warren's table by the corner. A waitress stood by him waiting to grab his order. He gulped and raised his hand to give him a little feeble wave. The painted dog grinned at him and waved back. Scrap sighed and shook himself. "Well this is a great start..." He mumbled to himself.
The waitress said to Warren. "I'm guessing he's with you?"
Warren watched Scrap walk his way. Bumping into the first table passed and then into a waiter. He managed to catch the plate and placed it on the table. The waiter, a large monkey, gave him an angry look. Scrap smiled and stepped away only to clumsily knock into another thing. Then it became a domino effect. It took awhile. one plate smashed and a drink was spilt, but Scrap managed to make it to the table. "S-S-Sorry, Folks." He said and waved to the crowd. There were some angry murmurs but the customers went back to their business.
"You sure know how to make friends in these places." Warren kidded around as he observed the event. Scrap lowered his head out of embarrassment and shame. "Don't remind me. Please..."
Warren smiled and chuckled awkwardly. He tugged his shirt and sighed softly, "oh boy... I hope I didn't say something bad." The boys were definitely off to a good start.

The two dogs remained silent for what felt like eons. Scrap kept ducking down and checking his bag for some reason. It was emitting a weird bluish glow for some reason which was making him act all nervous for some reason. Warren kept tapping his fingers on the table, pulling out his phone to check the time. As if he needed to be somewhere. The clock on his phone showed only 4-5 mins had passed. "Oh man..." they both quietly muttered under their breaths.
The waitress came back to see if the boys had made up their minds on what to order; but rather, she was more of the buffer between their awkward silence."So guys... Have you guys decided what to order?"
"Huh?" Scrap shook his head and broke out of his train of thought. His ears pointed up and he said, "Oh! oh!" He grabbed and fumbled the menu around. Plain obvious that he hadn't read it at all. "O-okay... U-Um..." He gulped and pulled his shirt. "Aw.. Man..." He thought as he looked over the menu. Everything looked so good, but over his price range. He barely paid his rent this week and barely has enough to pay for groceries. "Um... I'm not that hungry really... Haha.--" Suddenly his stomach let out a harsh rumble.
Warren rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, don't sweat it man. Order what you want. It will be my treat.”
"Oh..." Scrap replied and felt a weight off his shoulders. "Um... I guess... I'll have..." He pointed to something on the menu. His finger trembled. "This..."
"Oh sure, no problem." She said, so cheery. "That ones a good one. And what about you, Mr. Wild thing. haha. What would you like?"
Warren sighed and a grin rose up. "That's a relief." "Just get me the chef's special for the day and I guess some of those bottled drinks you have up there." The doe looked back and see's the fine display. She nodded and wrote everything down.
"Alright guys. No problem, I'll come back with your orders when it's ready." She closed her book and walked off.

She disappeared into the cafe, the boys waved her off; however, the moment she left the awkward tension had returned. Scrap slumped down onto the table. Warren sighed, flapped the menu like a fan, looked over to his brother and tried to figure what to say next. Nothing came to mind, but suddenly he had a thought. He grabbed his phone and typed on the search bar for "Conversation starters." There were so many sites and blogs on that topic. But he decided to take a gamble and pick the first website he saw.
He cleared his throat and patted his chest. Scrap looked his way and wondered what he was doing. He licked his lips and said, "So... Scrappy. If you could be any vegetable, What vegetable would you be?"
Scrap immediately tilted his head and said, "What?!"
"OH," Warren immediately jumped and searched for another random question on the site. "Sorry... I mean. Are the voices in my head bothering you?" Scrap jumped back. Warren slapped his face and pulled it down. "Sorry... shit... I mean..."--Damn it... who the hell came up with these questions, he thought to himself.--"Do you have monsters living in your closet?" he blurted as he was searching for a decent question to ask.
"Um..." Scrap gulped and looked away. The question did make Scrap think of Mr. Fixit, who is still bottled up. "You... can say that." It was one mess of the Journal Scrap still figuring out how to get rid of it. However, it begged the question. How did Warren know about that? "Hey, wait a minute--"
"Scrap... Buddy! How many chickens would it take to kill an elephant." Suddenly a customer let out a dramatic gasp. The brothers looked that way only to see, a couple of Hens gasping at them like they were offended at what he said.
Scrap gasped and stood up. He slammed Warren hand down and waved to the customers. "He didn't mean it, hehe." The pair scuffed at the boys. Threw a couple of bucks and then left the restaurant. Scrap sighed and thought, "Why do I feel like that going to bite me in the ass later down the road."
Warren leaned forward to stick out his hand and apologized, but the pair already left. "Aw damn... I didn't mean that." He looked back at Scrap, let out a small nervous grin. He looked at his phone one more time, ready to ask another question. “Um… Hey a lil bro…”
Scrap grunted and fell back into his chair. He let out a solid growl and pulled down his face. "okay... okay... what is going on here?" Scrap just went straight to the point. Warren gasped and immediately stopped. He gulped and tried to come up with something but his mind just went blank. After a while, Scrap just gave up.
Things weren’t going the way Warren had hoped for. He hadn’t learned anything about the mutt, besides what he already knew. Every question ended either in confusion or someone getting offended. Now it was back to the long period of silence. It got more awkward as the whole cafe suddenly became silent. Customers and onlookers stared at the pair waiting to see what other weird things they would say. Eventually the waitress came back with their drinks. “They’re you go, guys. Anything else I can get for you?” They didn’t answer. She looked around the cafe. The noise returned as everyone else went back to their business. “Ohh… okay. Well your meals should be ours shortly."
She went back to her duties, Waren raised his paw to her as if he was going to ask her something, but really he just wanted her to be his side and help him through this awkwardness. He slapped his head and let out a soft groan. "Oh my god... why is this so hard? I've never had this problem talking to someone." He looked over to Scrap. His slumped posture really told him everything. "Jeez, man I screwed up." He cleared his throat and patted his chest. "Um... Hey... umm..." He looked around and then saw his drink. "Um... how’s the drink?"
Scrap gazed at it briefly. He ordered what the cafe called, “Island tea.” I looked like an ordinary ice tea, but it looked like they stuffed the drink with all kinds of different jellies. He took a sip of the drip. His tail wagged a bit. “It’s… it’s good. Wasn’t expecting all the jellies, but it added quite the flavor. I think I will order it again.”
"Do you prefer hot or cold?" Warren added.
Scrap shrugged and answered, "Cold is okay. Hot is alright too, if I'm in the mood for it."
"Well, it's a start." Warren thought and smiled. "That’s good to know. So how long have you lived in Havor?"
Scrap returned his gaze at him. "All my life. At least I think,"
Warren tilted his head back. "You think?"
He rubbed the back of his head. "I mean... yeah, well according to Mrs. Jenner I've been here since I was a pup. Living in an abandoned camper van.”
"Woah... Jeez." Warren said and then rubbed his chin. "Jeez, why did the folks do that? I mean, I wasn't the best kid around. But for them to abandon him like that... that's really uncalled for."
What about you?” Scrap asked. Warren gasped and gulped. A cold sweat dripped down his side.
“Um…” He scratched the back of his head. “Well… I was born here, but I left home when I was really young.” He grinned a big tooth smile and laughed nervously. “I wasn’t the best kid growing up. Major Trouble maker, always getting into fights, you know… The problem child/ rebel. I had the stupid idea that I didn’t need my folks or family so I ran away. Haven’t been home for the longest. And when I did return. Well.. The house was abandoned and all that was left was this.” He pointed to his bracelet collar.
“So what did you do on your own?”
More cold sweat dripped down his side. “Oh I did…Um--” Warren took a while to answer that question. Mainly he didn’t want to tell the actual truth. How he was a bum for a couple of years and then got into some serious stuff before turning his life around. “--Lets just say, I’ve been jumping from place to place before settling down at the vineyard.” He ended with a big toothy smile.
Scrap didn’t pursue further. He noticed the small tick in his smile. He probably had some trouble in his life. And if he didn’t want to share with him then it’s fine. Scrap didn’t want to pursue something if Warren wasn’t too comfortably sharing in. Like Scrap with the Journal. His eyes wander over to his bag. Still noticing the glow. Thankfully the clock hasn’t started ticking, or has the pitch rang in his ear. But it can go any minute now. It just makes this meet up so stressful to him.
“So, I guess I should ask this then.” Warren asked.. Scrap gasped and returned his attention back to his brother. “How did you end up getting yours?” He pointed to his bracelet collar. "I know my dad, our dad, was a leatherworker. But, he only made these collars for family members. Mom had one, My uncles and aunts had them last time I remember."
Scrap looked down to his collar. "Oh this?" He tugged it. “Well… I’ve always had it. When I was little i had this around my neck When Mrs. Jenner found and took me in. I never part away with it. She believed that my actual parents gave it to me before abandoning me. I like to believe this is my only link to my family. And… I’m hoping that it is not some trinket someone just slapped on me.
"You keep mentioning this "Mrs. Jenner" character. Who is she to you? Is she your foster mom or something?" Warren asked.
Scrap gasped. He took a deep breath in and sighed. "W-W-Well... Um... Yeah... but also no. It's kind of complicated. She took care of me and watched over me as I grew up. So... yeah you can say she was like a mom to me. But sadly she never adopted me. Mostly it was due her job with the city and other things. But she was always there for me. Even tried to find me foster families.--" He stopped right there with a sudden gasp and then retreated back to his seat.-- "Let's just say... it didn't work out. Once I turned 18, I was on my own since then."
"Damn man..." Warren’s voice started to deepen. As a wave of guilt started to surface. It’s so sad that he never knew about him. He couldn't believe his folks never mentioned anything to him about this mutt. Even when they disappeared…. They could have left a note or something. If only he didn't run away...
"Hey... Look," Scrap added as a bit of nervous droplet trailed down his side, "I’m not blaming you for anything! Heck, I didn't even know you'd exist either. I'm just grateful that I have a brother." He grinned hoping to bring a smile to his face.
Warren shook his head and grinned back. HIs tail wagged slightly as he took a big gulp of his drink and said, "Well you know, I definitely would like to meet her. It be nice to meet the person who raised you.--"
"Um… She’s no longer here." Scrap immediately blurted.
Warren gasped, "What? What do you mean? Did she move or something?" He replied back.
"No... I-I don't know how to explain it." Scrap went silent for a second as if he was lost in thought. "Just know..." Scrap stuttered as he tried to say this. "S-Sh-She v-vanished." He slouched back and crossed his arms. "What's worse, no one recalls her. Or any of the things she did for this town."
He sighed a bit before reaching for his drink. He was going to take a drink, but then placed it on the side. "It doesn't surprise me... I do have a history of people suddenly vanishing and leaving me behind." He forced himself to laugh, but Scrap didn't mean it.
"Hey!" Warren reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Don't say that! You still have loads of friends around town that still care about you. Not to mention all the nice folks at the vineyard. Haven't heard a complaint about you, yet. Plus.--'' Warren smiled and his tone began to sound a bit cheerier. "I'm sure too that some of those fosters families are still around--
Scrap slammed his paws on the table. "Warren... can we please change the subject." The sudden action caused all the customers to look their way. The restaurant suddenly had an eerie silence. Warren pulled himself back and swallowed down a big chunk of air. A bit of cold sweat ran down his cheek. Scrap realized what happened and he slumped back to his seat and lowered his head in shame.
Warren 's peaked up. He then turned around to all the customers and shouted, "HEY! Mind your business why don't you!" Suddenly the restaurant's customers and staff snapped back to normal and continued their business. Warren sighed and rubbed his temple. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was a touchy subject for you. Look... I get it, this is not going the way I planned. You gotta understand. I'm normally a social butterfly, able to talk to anyone I see. Why do you thinkMr. Cray make me handle most of the tuffles at work? Everyone feels more comfortable talking to me, than Mr. Cray. They're always afraid to approach the wolf.
"Try working with him at the library."Scrap muttered.
Warren gasped and then grinned, "Hey, I know Mr. Cray can be a hardass, but he means well. Sure his tactics are harsh, but he means well."
Scrap sat up from his slouch. "I doubt it, He seems to show more harshness to me than anyone else. I feel more like a gopher to him, than a mutt." Warren suddenly let out a laugh.
"Gopher?! Please. That’s child's play from what he put me through when I first met him.--" Warren tells his tales of all the adventures and pain staking tries he went through being Masson's right hand man. Some of it sounded estranged, some of it sounded light hearted and then other times it sounded like he was the devil himself for the kind of task he had asked him. Scrap laughed and added more tales of himself working with the wolf.
The conversation kept going, eventually the boys started talking about random things. Soon they discovered they do have other things in common. From favorite meals, to favorite activities. They both enjoy Scifi/Horror stuff. Though Scrap enjoys more Sci Fi stuff, while Warren prefers more Horror stuff. Scrap enjoys staying home and reading a book, though Warren enjoys going to the movies and seeing the movie version of the book. Scrap can cook... the bare minimum. Warren struggles in that department. Before they knew it, They're food had arrived.
“Okay… Okay… Favorite guilty pleasure!” Warren stated.
Scrap blushed bashfully, “Um… ear scratches especially on my chipped ear. Belly scratches and rubs. Warren slapped his thigh and laughed. “My god, you’re such a pup.”
Scrap grumbled. “Okay…. What about you!” Warren stopped and then answered, “Trash Tv and Reality shows… like the Bachelor and the Bachelorette, Housewives of Whatever county, and come on… you really going to make me say it? Scrap nodded and folded his arms. Warren slapped his face and pulled down. “Top Model, One Month of Marriage and… Jeriday Shore.” Scrap spat out a bit of drink when he heard those shows. Warren growled but then laughed around with him. “Favorite things to do around town! Go!”
“Movie night at the park, Open Mic down at the college, they usually have some good stuff there, and… and… I guess hiking to the temple up the mountain.” Scrap then asked, “Things you’ve always wanted to do if you had the money for!”
Warren thought for a second, “Road Trip around the states, and see every “World’s Largest ____ and then send postcards to Mr. Cray just to say I've been there haha; then i’ll buy the biggest mansion out there and feature it on one of those Home Improvement shows. HAHA. And buy the biggest bowl of ice cream and then just share it with all the townsfolk.”
This kept going on for a long time. Back and forth just asking and stating random stuff. The tension the dogs had with one another had ceased. They were more open to each other than before.
“I’m glad we did this, Scrappy.” Warren complimented and took a couple of bites of his meal. “I don’t know what’s Mr. Cray, or these townsfolk, deal with you. You’re a swell guy. An oddball, but a good guy.”
Scrap smiled, but blushed to the comment “Uh… thanks.”
“You know… we got to hang more like this. Heck! Why don’t we hang out at your place. Love to see you’re home and such. Maybe I can cook for you or something.” Warren chuckled. Scrap laughed too, but then realized that he was being serious. “And don’t worry. You don’t have to go all out at my expense. It will be my treat as well. I’ll bring the stuff over. Mr. Cray has been a great teacher. He says my skills are adequate at best. You have a fire extinguisher ready on hand right?”
"Um..." Scrap thought for a second. He had no idea if this was a joke or not. "Sure I do."

---
Scrap and Warren belong to me  Scrapbook
Art was done by Artwork done by https://twitter.com/moon_bara