Owner	Pose
Pepper Potts	After something of a warming trend to the spring, the City is once again experiencing the capriciousness of Mother Nature. Temperatures are dropping, though at least it's not raining. Cooler temperatures, however, do have their upsides; better sleeping weather and better exercise weather. And it's warm enough to not have to bulk up, and cool enough not to sweat too much and stay comfortable. Perhaps a little known fact about Ms Pepper Potts. She is a jogging enthusiast. Also little known fact about her personal bodyguard? He's not. Hasn't ever been. But now, more than ever, Happy has attached himself to her to ensure her safety, and that means jogging. Dressed in a form fitting black jogging outfit, with strawberry blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail, Pepper has taken to the jogging trail in Central Park, her pace a good, solid cadence for covering ground. It winds around the fields, the small ponds and lakes, and playgrounds. She's dressed so casually, doing something so ordinary that no one would even begin to recognize her on the trails. (And this is New York. No one cares.)
Luca Bandoni	Luca, on the other hand, is an avid /runner/. Rain, shine, sleet, snow - he runs like the post office. When he's off shift, he runs at least once per day, sometimes twice and it's always with Rigs. He's rounding one of the blind corners in the path, coming toward Pepper when Rigs breaks off and runs ahead. Fool dog stops and barks at Pepper. BarkBarkBark. It's not an aggressive barking, not in the least. It's more an excited bark - it's the bark of a trained dog signalling to something. It's not often that Rigs signals off cue or wrong, but maybe it's just something about Pepper's new tech and her healing wounds. Whatever it is, Rigs seems determined that she needs /help/. Luca picks up his pace to catch up to the dog. Shit. "Rigs, heal!" Obediently, the big Shepherd returns to Luca, stands off to one side and just behind the firefighter when he comes to a stop. "Sorry about that..." he offers lamely.
Pepper Potts	Pepper is very much the same. She really does try to balance work and life, but sometimes things just really do fall by the wayside. Yoga on Wednesday morning is sacrosanct. Jogging in the evening is almost; she's trying to form that new habit, and so far things keep getting in the way. So when the opportunity presents itself? She absolutely takes it. The corner is overgrown, forming that blind spot, and when Pepper sees a bolting, barking dog running up to her, she's startled to a stop, her eyes widening. It's not aggressive, no, but it takes a second. In that second, there is out of breath Happy coming up, ready to act as a human shield. Putting her hand out, Pepper shakes her head, her ponytail bobbing behind her. "Happy, no," and in the next breath, "Hey, boy.." Even as those words are out, Luca's coming around the corner, yelling at his dog to come back to him. Obedient as ever, Rigs does as he's told. Pepper watches and when she recognizes the man, she chuckles, "Mr Bandoni. Hello again." A name and face she'll not forget now. "Is he okay?" The dog, that is.
Luca Bandoni	"He's okay, yeah. For some reason he's was alerting to you." Luca reaches down to scratch the dog between his ears. "He's trained in search, rescue and retrieval. He's never done that before." There's an awkward moment that Luca's looking down at the dog in a way that seems he's only doing to not be looking at Pepper. When he finally brings his blue eyes back up, he says. "I owe you an apology, Ms. Potts. You were talking about trying to help and I was was being an ass. So, I'm sorry." He's tough, he's loud and brash and sometimes even crude, but Luca's a good man and a good man can admit when he's wrong.
Pepper Potts	Pepper gives Rigs a long look, her expression considering before she nods slowly. "He's right," she says slowly. There are things that //didn't// hit the news, things still hidden. After all, she is also getting used to the entire change of everything in her life. "I.." and she pauses again before finally, "He's right," she repeats. What do trainers do when their dogs signal correctly? She //looks// healthy now; her skin clear and bright. Nothing that could even begin to hint that she was in a struggle between life and death. "You were not being an ass," Pepper corrects, her head dipping slightly. "Hey. I understand. You didn't expect me, and I really do understand. It's a lot, and you did a good job coping. Really." After all, who honestly expects a sleek, black sedan with the license plate STARK2 to roll up to a block party? Who expects a woman who is now the head of a billion dollar corporation to visit a firehouse? No one. Absolutely no one. "Your Captain was more than happy to take my money." Is she teasing? Green eyes are sparkling, her expression warm and genuine.
Luca Bandoni	With Luca and Rigs, it's a favorite tug toy, a minute of play and a lot of 'good boys'. Unfortunately, he doesn't have that toy so he has to settle with, "Who's a good boy? Good job! Good dog!" all done from the crouch he took the second Pepper admitted that the dog was correct in his signalling. He's listening though and he once he stands he says, "Well, we appreciate everything we can get. It's not like we're busting at the seams with funding." It sounds a little like there's a but coming - a persona but not a 'represent the entire department' but. He doesn't voice that one, instead he goes with, "But I really am sorry. I didn't represent well. I should have done better for the FDNY."
Pepper Potts	Pepper stands, her hands before her now, fingers entwined. She's watching the interaction between man and dog, her smile remaining. "He's very perceptive. You're very lucky, and he's a lucky dog." She nods, her had canting as she listens. Attentive. "Well, that's why our donation is two-pronged. One for a quick infusion of cash. Just enough for others to be able to match it and not feel ashamed if they fall a little short," Pepper is shrewd with her money; everything has a reason and purpose behind it. "And the other is quiet, and long term." It is a generous endowment, with the only oversight being that to spend it will require multiple signatures. Just to make it harder to skim. (Plus other things..) "You are a perfect representative. You run in when others run out. You help rich and poor alike without regard. And you made a difference to many peoples' lives. Make. Every day. Because one of us that you save have a handful of people around us, and you impact their lives as well. So, never ever say you're not a good representative."
Luca Bandoni	"I think I got the better end of the deal." Seriously, Rigs is the best dog /ever/. There's an opportunity here and he knows it. Now the only question is can he take it or will he push it off and blow it. Once again, Rigs has Luca's complete attention in what appears to be a reason to not look directly at Pepper. Finally, "It's tough out there sometimes, but it's what I live for, what I was always meant to do." His voice grows a little more quiet when he adds, "It's even tougher when we're on the ground with shit raining down between the Big Names like Stark and Rogers and whatever flavor of the week they're battling and we're blind. We have no idea what's happening so we're playing whack-a-mole with a fly swatter instead of a mallet trying to keep up."
Pepper Potts	People would almost literally kill for this sort of access to Pepper, who has direct access to THE Tony Stark, multi-billionaire genius tech who literally made an Iron Man suit in a cave in one of the many -stans. Not only does he have access currently, but he has her full attention. Some might say she's only being kind, and will ignore it and forget about it later, but that's her detractors. (And she does have those!) Others, who know her, know her to be the direct opposite. She nods slowly, her expression turning sympathetic, with that edge of empathy. It's as if she can feel the vibrations in the air, and it's strange to her. A new physical sensation to what should be purely emotional. She listens to each word, how its spoken, with the fervor of a man who only seeks to help. "Mr Stark and I were talking about that last month." It's a rare statement, considering there have been no new announcements regarding communication technology. She does choose her words carefully. Wisely. Pepper navigates the waters between not enough information and giving that false-feeling 'it'll be fine' with 'too much information' that could be used against them, by, yes, their detractors and their rivals. "We're very much aware of the fallout of what actions can be. But, sometimes, not enough. Never near enough." It's an admission that, should it reach the newspapers, it might reflect poorly. Pepper is, after all, a high profile 'celebrity' of sorts. "Mr Bandoni," she begins again, "I'd like you to come to my office so we can speak more plainly." Twisting towards Happy, she makes a motion with her fingers, and he produces one of her business cards. She writes a number on the back of the card before offering it up. "This is my assistant's number. Tell her who you are and when you're available." This might mean she'll clear a time from her schedule? "In turn, I'll tell her that I am expecting your call." There is a pause before her expression shifts and she laughs self-deprecatingly. "Or, speak to Sara and she'll bring you by the Tower."
Luca Bandoni	She has Luca's full attention as well. Maybe he'll take everything she says to heart or maybe he'll just toss it out the window as some sort of platitude despite it all. People who know him, know he's not that way at all. He takes the card in, one hand, flicks it with the fingers of the other and pulls out his wallet to tuck it away. "My dad was killed during the Invasion - in the line of duty, NYPD. It might not have ended that way if he had enough notice to get him and everyone else out of that particular area quickly." A moment, two, then three and he says, "I'll call, as soon as I figure out what my shifts are looking like. We're down two men since the UN, so I've been pulling extra time." He scratches Rigs between his ears again and prompts, "Go on, say goodbye." The pup approaches tail wagging excitedly and sits at Pepper's feet, waiting, apparently, for those really good 'see you later' scratches.
Pepper Potts	Everyone can remember where they were during the invasion. Pepper was in the air, flying from an overseas meeting. Tony kept the US government from nuking NYC, though that is not widely known (like, no one except those involved). She nods quickly, her ponytail moving with the gesture. "I'm sorry. It was horrible. Too many lost and injured. I'm sure a lot of people still have nightmares about it." Tony. "But a son should never lose his father." It //sounds// heartfelt. Thoughts of the Invasion are still raw, this many years hence. There are still sites that sport their insults. "It might not. And we can discuss that." Pepper gestures towards the card, "please do call." Though.. "Down two men? Why?" Of course, the dog gets the attention again, Rigs being front and center, positioning himself for the best scritches. Crouching in front of the talented shepherd, Pepper gives his head and neck some good, two handed scritches. "You're a good boy, Rigs," she whispers. "Thank you for being concerned." More scritches ensues until it's finished, and time to separate. "Call me or speak to Sara," is given as almost an admonition once more. Then, it's back to the trails. Chef is serving dinner in an hour and she needs to be showered and ready.
Luca Bandoni	Rigs eats it up. At one point the dog even looks over his shoulder at Luca and the expression is one of pure bliss - can we keep her dad?"EMT didn't make it and one firefighter will never walk again," Luca replies. Is there a little bit of bitterness in his tone, maybe. But mostly he just sounds tired - tired of losing people, brave /good/ people. He doesn't immediately go back to running, instead he squats down to give Rigs a little attention. He waits until she's out of sight before standing. "C'mon, lets go boy!" And the pair of them are on the run again.