What a night.
The mastiff had become one of them, a star, in the course of a day after a few near death experiences the day before that, and he was surprised his life had taken such a drastic turn. He went from a miserable guard dog in a mountain village to a rockstar over such a short time, and he had to admit, he had no idea how that happened. Bodi was expecting it to take much longer than that, but his persistence won Mr. Scattergood over in the end.
Speaking of the slightly obnoxious cat, he was laying next to Bodi on the grass at that moment, smiling softly to himself.
"You know, Bodi, you did pretty good out there tonight," Angus murmured, picking at the grass on his lawn absentmindedly.
"Aw, thanks Mr. Scattergood, I'm glad you thought so!" Bodi exclaimed, looking over at the cat next to him with a lopsided grin.
"You keep this up and you could get pretty big. Probably not as big as me, but still big. You've got some real talent," the feline replied, yawning as he sat up.
"You really think I could be successful just like you?" The mastiff asked, his tail wagging as he got up as well.
"There's a small chance if you keep working as hard as you are right now," Angus stated, standing up and stretching.
"So this means you'll give me lessons, for real this time?" Bodi questioned, looking up at the cat with a hopeful smile.
The white cat hummed, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "You know, perhaps I could. You're pretty good with a guitar as is, but there's always room for improvement," he murmured. "Sure, why not? I'll teach ya for real this time."
Bodi's eyes widened, and he jumped up to his feet, hugging Mr. Scattergood in his elation. "Thank you, Mr. Scattergood, I won't let you down, I promise!" He exclaimed, laughing.
"That's great, Bodi, but you need to actually let me down, you're crushing me!" Angus replied, struggling against the mastiff and failing to move him.
"O- Oh, of course, sorry!" Bodi stammered, setting the smaller cat down, his face heating up slightly.
The cat started to dust himself off, grumbling about how clingy Bodi was, and then he crossed his arms, looking back over at the mastiff. "We could start tomorrow if you want. I'd imagine you want to go home and get some sleep," Angus stated, turning around to head into the front door to his castle of a house.
"Oh… I actually don't have a place to stay. No money, remember? I can't go anywhere, and Snow Mountain is pretty far away," the mastiff murmured, wringing his hands. Angus stopped and looked back at him with a frown.
"So ya got nowhere to spend the night, huh?" He asked thoughtfully. Bodi shook his head slightly. Angus hummed, scratching an ear. "Then… I suppose you could spend the night here, if you want to."
Bodi grinned, his tail wagging behind him. "That's awesome, thank you very much, Mr. Scattergood!" He exclaimed, grabbing his nearly forgotten guitar off the ground and following the feline inside his mansion.
"Don't mention it. Just try not to touch anything while you stay, alright?" Angus asked, the front doors closing automatically behind the two while the cat led them through the open living room.
Bodi nodded silently, following Mr. Scattergood through the maze of hallways that was his mansion until he stopped in front of a large oak door that must be where he would sleep.
"Well, here's the guest room. My room is down the hall and to the left, and I'll see you bright and early in the morning for lessons," Angus stated rapidly, pushing the doors open and starting to walk down the hall.
Bodi frowned softly, confused as to the cat's sudden briskness. "Hey, Mr. Scattergood, wait a second," he called out before the other could get too far away. The feline turned back to look at him, expression unreadable due to those sunglasses he never took off.
"What is it now, Bodi?" Angus questioned, annoyance present in his voice.
"Thanks, you know, for all of this. Letting me stay the night, lessons, this guitar, everything. I just wanted to say I appreciate all you've done for me," Bodi murmured with a soft smile.
Angus's frown softened. "It's… you're welcome, Bodi. Now get some sleep, it's late," he conceded, waving him off.
The mastiff chuckled quietly. "Night, Mr. Scattergood!" He called before walking through the huge doors into his temporary bedroom.
The mastiff gasped, looking around the guest room. It was massive, easily the size of his house back in Snow Mountain, and there was a very large bed in the middle of the room. It looked to be about twice the size of a king sized bed, with black blankets and pillows adorning it. Bodi also noted the absurd amount of vinyl records adorning the walls, and the two large desks on both far corners of the room with blank sheet music scattered across them.
It was a bit too large for Bodi's tastes, but he could survive a night on that bed. It looked a whole lot more comfortable than the stiff mattresses back in his home.
The dog gently set his guitar down at the foot of the bed, and climbed in, but the feeling of the mattress was strange, and rippling, like… water?
Bodi pressed his paw down on the bed, and sure enough, he saw water rippling under the sheets, and it felt relatively cool. He pressed his paw down on it again, a little more roughly, and laughed at the larger ripple.
The Tibetan mastiff then crawled up to the head of the bed and took his sherpa hat off, setting it on the small nightstand, next to the lamp. He crawled under the covers and shut the lamp off, cloaking the room in darkness.
After a moment of shuffling around to make himself comfortable, Bodi sighed heavily in contentment, staring up at the high ceiling.
"What a day," he whispered, grinning to himself.
The mastiff wondered what Mr. Scattergood would have in store for him tomorrow. He just really wanted to actually learn how to play the guitar better, and this time, Angus wouldn't trick him into furthering his own goals.
Bodi wondered why his cat mentor was so quick on getting him to bed earlier. They had only just returned to his mansion after dropping Darma and Germur at their respective apartments, and lay on the front lawn for a few moments. It didn't really make a lot of sense to him, but he guessed Angus was just really tired after the long day.
Shrugging to himself, Bodi turned over and closed his eyes, sleep finding him quickly as he realized just how exhausted he was. The dog slipped into unconsciousness, a smile on his face as he dreamed of rock music and electric guitars.
-o0o-
Bodi yawned, cracking his eyes open against the bright morning light that was filtering out of a window. He groaned, rubbing them sleepily while he slowly sat up, grumbling about not getting enough sleep as he did so.
The mastiff was surprised, however, that he was able to sleep so well. Usually, the mattresses back home were too stiff for him to get anymore than a few good hours of sleep. He supposed it was his dad's way of keeping him vigilant in case of an imminent threat. The strange water bed was a very nice change of pace for him, however.
Bodi crawled over to the nightstand, grabbing his sherpa and putting it on, and then he climbed out of bed and stood up, stretching his limbs out once he was upright. After a moment, he walked over and grabbed his old guitar and headed out of the spacious bedroom to search out Mr. Scattergood.
The dog started down the hallway in the direction of the living room, trying to remember the route he'd taken last night. He wished that Mr. Scattergood hadn't decided to live in such a huge place, especially by himself. Bodi guessed it could get pretty lonely, having nothing but a mechanical butler to keep you company.
After heading down a few hallways and turning himself around a number of times, Bodi managed to reach the living room and was greeted with Mr. Scattergood sitting on his oversized couch with a newspaper and a large cup of coffee in his hands.
"Good morning, Mr. Scattergood!" Bodi greeted cheerfully, walking over to the cat and sitting down on the couch next to him. Angus looked up from his newspaper, and smiled softly.
"Morning. How'd that water bed treat ya?" He asked, setting the paper down and taking a sip of his coffee.
"Oh boy, it was the best thing I've ever slept on, even if it was rather strange. Thanks again for letting me stay the night!" The mastiff exclaimed, a huge grin on his face and his tail wagging.
"Of course, mate. Now, we need to get started on those lessons, don't we? We've got a lot of ground to cover, you know," Mr. Scattergood stated, getting up from the couch, his mug in hand.
"But I haven't even eaten anything yet! I just got up and I'm really hungry," Bodi grumbled, clutching at his empty stomach to emphasize his point while the feline look at him with slight amusement, lips curled up in a small grin.
"You can have something to eat later, Bodi. We've got lessons to start, come on," Angues replied, chuckling at Bodi's groan of annoyance as he waved the dog to follow him.
The two walked throughout the mansion in silence for a few minutes, Bodi content to gawk at his surroundings and wonder why someone would want a house like this. The same thought from before about Mr. Scattergood being lonely flitted back through his mind as he observed everything, and the mastiff looked over at the cat with a slightly upset expression.
"What are ya looking at me like that for?" The feline questioned suspiciously, immediately turning defensive to the gaze.
"Sorry, Mr. Scattergood. I was just wondering, if you have such a big house, why do you live here all by yourself? Isn't it really lonely, staying cooped up in here every day of the week with nobody to keep you company?" Bodi asked, his frown deeping and his tail dropping. He couldn't read Angus's expression through those sunglasses of his to see a reaction.
The cat chuckled nervously. "Lonely? No, of- of course I'm not lonely in here. I've got Ozzie to keep me company! It's never been a big deal, I like the quiet and isolation. I'm fine, Bodi," Mr. Scattergood insisted, crossing his arms and giving a reassuring smile.
Bodi nodded, although he wasn't convinced at all. There was no way he could be content living here in isolation, especially after that horrific lie to assure the dog he was fine. Maybe he could track down Ozzie when he had a break, and see if he could get anything out of the butler.
The mastiff had figured out Angus didn't like people, but there had to be a really good reason for him to literally lock himself inside of his mansion and do nothing but sit around all day. He didn't like that one bit. Maybe he could find a way to drag the crabby feline out of the house for a little while that didn't involve being chased by crowds into dumpsters.
He would have to figure out everything later, he decided, as the two came upon the dark recording studio that they'd written Glorious in a few days beforehand. Angus set his half empty mug of coffee on an amp before turning to face the mastiff.
"Alright, time to get to work. Let's see, what to start on, what to start on…" Mr. Scattergood trailed off, grabbing a guitar at random from the group next to the doorway.
Bodi smiled softly, ready to start the day strong and learn something from his idol, and maybe learn something about him as well.