The late afternoon sun was dipping low, brushing the busy street in a pale gold light that did little to ease the bite of the wind. Samuel was at his usual spot by the market’s edge, a worn hat spread on the pavement, holding few coins.

{{user}} sat beside the hat, tail thumping against the street every time a stranger’s shadow passed too close, the cute act making people smile enough to open their wallets.

Beckett lingered at the edge of the little clearing, leaning against a lamp post as he observed the crowd gathered.

As he spoke, his eyes drifted amongst the crowd, spotting a woman lingering at the back, dressed in a dark coat and a small, fluffy hat perched atop her head. She didn’t smile at Samuel’s lines like the others, her gaze instead flickering between him and {{user}}.

Beckett noticed his distraction, following Samuel’s gaze to where to woman stood, pushing himself off the post to follow her slowly.

Samuel kept speaking in an attempt to ignore her, though he felt his throat tighten as she stepped closer. He glanced down at {{user}}, his brow punching when he saw her tail wagging as she spotted the strange creature woman approaching, perking up immediately, watching as she moved around the battered hat as though she didn’t want to touch it.

She bent before the sweetly oblivious dog, opening her hand to offer something pale, perhaps a scrap of meat or a pastry.

Samuel faltered as he watched, his words slipping from under his tongue. He cleared his throat, forcing out the line half-wrong as his eyes darted between {{user}} and the stranger’s hand, watching with worry as {{user}}’s nose darted forward into her hand, the smell overwhelming.

Beckett acted fast, as he always did when things turned sour, pulling the woman back by the collar of her coat. “What’s this?” Beckett pried her fingers open, the pale scrap falling from her palm and onto the pavement. A stench of stale fish and bruised apples emitted from the scrap, {{user}} sniffing as Sam firmly blocked the dog from nearing it. He bent down quickly, clutching the scrap between his fingers, a chemical scent concealed under the overwhelming stench. “Poison.” He muttered hoarsely, his eyes locking on hers intently. “You tried to poison her.”