a nervous animal. and yes, she very much appears so, wandering about the apartment with all the confidence of rigid-spined soldier stepping through a BATTLEFIELD of mines. but rather than reassure him, it serves to quicken his pulse, unblinking gaze focused on elizabeth as his hand tenses on victoria’s back, twitches against the urge to draw her CLOSER in search of ––– something weak. “ you could befriend anyone you smile at, ” he points out with a scoff, keeping his tone dismissive. it sounds like a compliment, but it’s really just FACT; she’s caught his interest, mark’s, piper’s, her roommate’s, all these varying people with such contrasting personalities. still, he’s ANNOYED with himself for saying it, and this is the only reason he allows her to leave his side.
a rough start. nervous. skittish. she’s such a VULNERABLE dog. and victoria wants her to stay HERE? ward counts backwards from ten, focuses on his breathing, practices learned long ago to calm his unease. he takes a large step BACK when victoria next speaks, shaking his head before she’s even finished her last sentence. “ no. if you don’t have anywhere else to go, then you’re staying here. just keep her away from jefferson and i. keep her SAFE. i’m not –– ” he hesitates, frowns down at her, mulls over how to phrase the confession. “ i’m not… good with dogs. ” ward hesitates again, then turns away, stiffly marching over to the door. “ just keep an eye on her while i grab your things. ”
as always, she’s pleased when she takes his comment and perceives it as a COMPLIMENT. so she does smile up at him, pleased blush settling on her cheeks as she presses up on her tip-toes to kiss him once before she draws away. after all, she has a dog to comfort, to get settled into this house for the next couple days. and elizabeth, as sweet of a dog as she is, is still pressing close to victoria, tail tucked between her legs when ward moves. “ grant, i would not have brought her here if i did not trust you completely, with my well being as well as hers. i have no doubt she will be safe here. “ she never doubted for a second that elizabeth would warm up to him. he may have never PERCEIVED it in himself, but he was really quite an attractive person--- personality as well as physicality.
so when he returned, she was already curled up on his couch, elizabeth’s long limbs curled up on the seat next to her, head placed in her lap as she tried to calm the dog down. this was BETTER, now that she was sitting. the pup sighed, head raising off victoria’s lap when ward reentered the room. she quietly shushed the dog, fingers running over her back as she soothed the dog back down, turning to smile at ward. “ see? she is already getting a bit more accustomed. she just needs time. “ ward was pretty much guaranteed not to push elizabeth’s boundaries, which was particularly important for the dog. her eyes fell to her bags, drew back up to ward. “ would you like my assistance? “