The day had been peaceful...

Zoom in on the use of past tense. Velma had found the day had been uneventful enough to read a book in her favorite spot. It was an old favorite she hadn't picked up in a while and thought to give it a read again. Probably was for the best since it wasn't as bothersome to get interrupted, as the silence that had been resting around her was broken.

"Relma Relma Relma!"

Bounding into the room was the large Dane of the household. Odd that she had not heard him coming till he rounded the hallway arch and burst into the living room. He looked excited, bounding up and down with seemingly endless energy. He wanted her attention and he was going to get it. She moved the book aside just in time to get a soggy leash flopped into her lap. She was thankful for a bookmark, a habit she had learned from long ago in this house to prevent the loss of her place due to random events. Looking at the thing in her lap she guessed what he wanted, but thought to double check the dog's intentions.

"What's up Scooby?"

She questioned the pogo stick imitating mutt. She watched and soon found herself dizzy from following his lively motions before he responded. A hand coming to her head to steady herself.

"R'uh Relma… Ralk! Ret's r'o!"

"Oh, you want to go for a walk. Alright."

Yep, she was right. Looking in her lap she found the dripping leash. It was one of the few things she had to get used to when living with a dog in the house. He was pretty good about anything that might belong to someone else, but most of Scooby's things got covered at one point or another with his drool. Picking up a bit that had not gotten soaked, she stood up and brushed the drool from her relaxed sweatpants she used indoors. Leaning over, she waited till he sat still enough for her to clip the leash upon his collar. Not that he really needed it, but it was an easier way to keep tabs on the inquisitive Dane. She was almost pulled to the door as Scooby pushed to get towards the door.

"S…slow down Scooby! I need to open the door first."

"R'o r'ow Rurry r'up!"

"Let me get dressed at least…" She tried to protest as he pulled her nearer to the door.

"R'o! Rets ro Relma!" The Dane looked back at her. She was dressed well enough, it's not like she wasn't wearing anything. So he barked back. "R'ou rook r'ine. Ret's ro!"

With a sigh, she pulled on some red sneakers she had in closet nearby the door and got nearly hauled out face first to the sidewalk as she had opened the door to let him outside. Thankfully, she was able to lunge into an odd landing, so her face had not had to meet the concrete fast. Skidding almost a foot in that awkward pose, she managed to get him to stop so she was able to close the door. Once the door was closed though, he didn't hold back on his urge to get somewhere. Velma had to run to keep up till he got the initial 'whee I'm outside' rush out of his system and moved to making sure to sniff everything on the way to the park. Since she was going to be force outside, they might as well make a day out of it. Nothing else major happening at the house anyway, that she would have to stay around for. Though she wished Scooby had given her time to get out of her sweatpants and into something more normal for her to wear. Oh well, nothing she could do now, the house was in the distance and the pulling from the leash told her that he wasn't stopping any time soon. He had a lot of sniffing to get caught up on. Not like she was running around in her underwear, sweatpants were clothing either way. Just not what she liked to wear when outside.

The park was a nice sight; even Scooby had gotten tired of updating his sniffing index to look forward to some time in the park. The park was broken into sections all covered in pathways and walkways from one side of the park to the other. Finding a little path, she wanted to find a nice part of the part that was a bit more woods then the open sections but had enough to have Scooby run around.

Settling down upon a fallen tree, she pulled Scooby over to unhook him from the leash. Once free, Scooby dashed abound enjoying the freedom only to return to Velma as soon as he had gotten it out of his system.

"R'ay rith re Relma!"

He bowed his front half down low to the ground as his fuzzy butt wiggled in the air playfully, tail going side to side. It was a typical 'play with me' pose. Velma laughed and fiddled around where she was sitting to find the perfect stick.

"Play with you huh? How about… THIS!"

She stood up enough to chuck the chosen stick across the location she picked. Jumping to his feet, he dashed after the thrown stick.

"Rayy!" Came a joyous howl from the Great Dane. His stride was long and loping, but Velma had threw the stick far enough that he had to run a ways before catching up to the branch to be able to retrieve it back. Which he did and then waited to do it again. Velma wasn't sure why it was so much fun to chase after it time and time again, but then again she didn't understand why it was so much fun to watch Scooby do it over and over again either. She guessed since it never landed in the same spot, and he never brought it back the same way was enough of a difference to make the game take a while to get boring for the both of them.

It was a while before Scooby had gotten tired of the game, at least the version they were playing, so he decided to change the game up. With stick in his mouth, he ran over close enough to be in reach before he danced out of reach again. Velma tried a few times before she forced a sigh out at him and shot him a glare.

"Scoooby…" She drew out his name, as if that was going to make him come any closer.

It was like the Dane's eyes were twinkling, mouth full of the stick. He got into the 'let's play' position again and shook the stick at her.

"Rom r'and ret re!" The dog taunted, wagging his butt and giving her a bark through the stick in his mouth. He was careful enough to be able to bark and not drop the stick. Velma was fast enough, he knew that he wasn't going to have enough time to get the stick and dash away without giving her an opportunity to get him before he wanted the game to end.

"…. I'm coming after you!" Knowing the game he wanted to play, she forfeited being lazy sitting on the fallen log and gave chase. Pushing off the log, she got an impressive dash going as Scooby made a b-line out of the way and off running. "Com'ere! You mangy mutt!" Scooby laughed, looking over his shoulder at her chasing behind him.

Not looking where he was going, Scooby tripped over his own big paws and fell into a tumble. Velma had to skid to stop in time from ending up on top of the heap of paws and legs flailing about as Scooby tried to get up. With a thud, all limbs managed to find footing, though before he was able to get to his feet to run again, Velma had pounced upon the Dane. Grabbing the stick on either side of his mouth, she was trying to wrestle the stick away from him. One of the reasons she had picked a slightly move covered area, she didn't have to feel self conscious as she tackled the dog to the ground and covered her sweats in grass stains.

"Gimmie!" Velma growled playfully at the Dane, tugging at the stick in his mouth. His eyes looked playfully back at her as he resisted.

"Ro! R'y rick!"

The battled lasted a while, the sticks possession going back and forth before they both collapsed laughing in an exhausted heap. Velma fixed her slight askew glassed upon her nose better, having been bopped out of alignment as she had fought. Scooby gave her an affectionate slurp against her cheek, happy he had gotten someone to come and play with him. And Velma was always fun, since she fought back. It usually took a lot more to get Daphne or Fred to join him in getting dirty and rolling around in the grass. Shaggy was easy, but sometimes when it was too easy it was less fun, that's why Velma was so much fun to play with.

Lying upon Scooby for a while, Velma found herself relaxed and looking up at the canopy of the trees around her. The sunlight dancing through it as the wind played around, moving the branches to and fro. She was slipping into the comfort of the moment before it got broken for the second time today.

"Hey!" Came a shout from the cement pathway. Looking up and over at the commotion, Velma noticed a bunch of young boys, about middle school ages, were skateboarding along the walk. Though the call came from behind them and belonged to a rather tired and beaten up little girl. She seemed younger then them, and looked as if she had some trouble skateboarding to keep up. Her elbows and knee's had been cut up and bruised and her clothing looked dirty from the ground. The boys stopped, most had unhappy looks upon their face as the looked behind them as the struggling girl. One boy turned to another and nudged him.

"Come on… Let's just ditch her. So she's your sister, it doesn't matter unless she can keep up man. But just look at her, she'll never be able to keep up with us boys. She's a girl."

Velma watched, though her eyes narrowed. She never liked the idea that a girl couldn't do something just because her gender. And having skateboarded before, she knew that, that statement was a lie. Though she hadn't moved yet off of Scooby, who was now also watching the commotion over her head. The boy that seemed to be the brother of the girl stopped as the rest of the guys kept going. He flinched as she came to a rather messy stop, meeting the cement. Turning his back to her, the look of pain and conflict was upon his face. He didn't seem to like the fact she was getting hurt, or the fact that he was about to say this.

"… Marcie… If you can't keep up, go home. Yeah. Maybe it's better for you to go home."

He didn't look back when he left. The girl Marcie watched from the ground as he left, tears being fought back. For a second she seemed to have given up before pounding the ground once and dragging herself to her feet. Getting her board, she placed the board on the cement again and steadied a foot upon it. Her hands were shaking, but clenched in determination. Pushing off, she moved a bit on the board before slipping again. She met the ground hard.

Velma turned away from the girl, not able to watch it. She didn't want to watch the girl struggle and hurt herself. Looking away, she wasn't able to open her eyes until something hit her shoulder. Looking up, she opened her eyes to see Scooby looking unhappily over at her. Gripping the back of her shirt, he pulled Velma to a sitting position before butting his head at her.

"Ret r'up r'and relp!" Growled Scooby. Hitting her more on the back to urge her to get moving already. "…R'ou r'anna relp. R'o relp!"

She did want to help. But something had indicial held her back. Maybe it was the fact that she remembered how it was to start off and not get anywhere. Or maybe it was the fact she saw that there was some peer pressure to do it. That had not made the girl stop trying any less. If anything it was one of the things that kept her from dragging herself to her feet as she hit the ground hard again. Throwing herself to her feet, she tried again. She was getting somewhere, but it was slow. Pushing off, she traveled a bit but the slight change in the cement due to the uneven ground, made the edge of the cement hit the board and throw her off yet again. She braced to hit the ground but she never hit it. Instead it was like someone had caught her. Looking up, she noticed the smiling grin of a older woman, who had moved out of no where and caught her. Velma set the girl upright before she let go and took a step back. The younger girl in front of her blushed, and stuttered a thanks, Velma smiled down at her.

"Your welcome. My name is Velma, what's yours?"

Velma leaned forward, hands upon her knees to not seem as tall and imposing. Though she was shorter then most people her own age, to a younger girl, especially Marcie, she seemed tall. She had overheard the girl's name, but she wanted to make an introduction anyway. Not to seem like some random stranger. The girl looked up at Velma and replied shyly.

"…Marcie… My name is Marcie."

"Well Marcie, it looks like your having a bit of trouble riding that skateboard." Velma looked over at the board. It looked like your normal skateboard.

Marcie looked over at the board and got a hurt look. "…I want to ride it."

Velma looked over at Marcie and nodded. "Well, why aren't you wearing any safety gear? Like elbow pads and kneepads. They help a lot when you're learning." Velma had loved her helmet and pads, they had saved her many scrape and scratches when she was learning.

"… They are dorky." Came a murmered response to Velma.

"…And who might have said that?" Velma had a pretty good idea, but she wanted the girl to tell her in her own words. It was easier to talk to a younger kid when they did most of the talking.

"…The boys… I want to keep up with my brother and his friends but they say that kneepads and those are dorky."

"So… Hurting yourself is better?" Velma asked. Not looking at the injuries on the younger girl happily. They looked pretty bad.

"…N..No… But." Marcie tried to protest. But as she moved, her joints reminded her of their condition and she cut herself off.

"…We should take care of that." Velma wished she had something to help. Normally she had a small fist aid kit with her stuff, but in the rush she hadn't taken anything. Marcie moved, pulling her small backpack off her back and she dug out a few things. Tossing the set of pink kneepads and elbow pads, Velma noticed why the guys wouldn't want her around them and wearing those. But what Marcie was searching for was exactly what Velma was looking for. She had a small first aid kit.

"…Mom packed it for me." Marcie held up the small kit. Velma smiled.

"Your mother is a smart woman." Leaning down, Velma sat besides Marcie and opened up the offered first aid kit. The younger girl also produced a small water bottle.

"You have to take care of yourself. Especially when skateboarding. If you hurt yourself then you can't use the board as well as you might be able to." Velma told her as she looked through the kit and took out the necessary things to help Marcie. Some gauze, some anti-bacterial cream and Band-Aids. Cute one's too, with little butterflies on it.

"Really?" Marcie wondered. It had been harder when she had hurt her knees and elbows to move on the board. Maybe there was something to what the older woman was saying. She didn't seem to be a bad person.

"Yep. I was skateboarding when I was young age, though it's been a while since I rode on mine." Velma felt nostalgic when she thought about it. Her board had been gathering dust for a while now in the garage. Maybe it was time to bring it out again. Looking over at Marcie, she knew she wanted to take care of those cuts.

"…Marcie. Do you mind if I take care of your knees and elbows? It might hurt though, but it's not good to let those stay dirty like that. What do you say?" She knew that it was hard for young kids to trust people, and there were many people who someone her age should not talk to. But Velma wasn't going to be happy to just leave her like that. It could get infected if she didn't take care of it. It looked as if it was ignored longer then she should have already. Marcie looked pensive. Her mom and dad told her to be careful of strangers. But the woman was asking her what she thought. Would a person bad ask what she thought? She wasn't sure but the cuts had begun to get really bad.

"..O..Ok. I can handle it." She said with gritted teeth, offering her arm to Velma.

Velma's face softened, the younger girl was trying so hard to be strong. Taking the arm in the lightest grip she could, she brought the girl closer. Taking some of the gauze, she took some water and put it on it. Then carefully not to hurt the younger girl, she started to wipe the dirt out of the wound on her elbow. Marcie flinched, her teeth coming down on her lip biting back the pain. Though once washed off, it didn't look as bad as she thought. It was a lot of dirt and less injury. One butterfly band-aid with anti-bacterial cream covered that, and then Velma moved to the next arm. Marcie looked over at the finished arm and bent it. It felt better not all gritty with the dirt, but the water and cream had stung. Though Marcie made a face at the butterflies.

"…Does it really have to look… so… girly?" Marcie said with distaste. Apparently the guys had probably thought negative of girly things enough to affect her thinking. Velma thought about it and then picked up on of the band-aids.

"But I think it looks nice. The butterfly is such a fascinating creature. Some can travels from Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico for the wintertime only to return back for spring. One type of butterfly has been recorded to exist on every continent except Antarctica. They even were depicted on the walls of Ancient Egypt pictures in Thebes, over 3500 years ago." Velma informed Marcie as she looked over the butterfly band-aid. The butterfly was a remarkable and resilient creature. Marcie looked surprised. She never knew that they were anything more then a pretty insect.

"Well… ok." Marcie let Velma work, finishing up on the other arms and doing both knees. It seemed that they were the only things that took any damage. Once done, Velma collected all the garbage and since there was no place near to throw them out, she put it in her pocket.

"All right, you look all set. I think maybe for now, the best idea is for you to head home and rest up before you try anything again." Velma stated, not wanting Marcie to hurt herself more in this condition. Marcia stood up and looked indignant.

"…I'm not going to stop!" She said angrily. Velma stood up and dusted off her pants.

"I didn't say stop. I said for now it's best to rest. Wait till your cuts get better then try again. I'll even help if you want." Velma suggested. Marcie looked at the older girl suspiciously. She skateboarded? She didn't look like it.

Velma knew that look. So, to prove it, she picked up Marcie's skateboard. It was a bit smaller then she was used to, but it would do. Checking the wheels for their status, she found it good enough for now. Jumping forward, she leaned down into the ground to catch herself on the board, riding low and using the momentum of the jump to push her forward. Marcie watched in awe as Velma propelled herself forward on the board and down the small hill that she had fallen before getting to. Leaning back, Velma popped the front up to skid a bit in that position, before rotating a full three hundred sixty degree turn to face away. Kicking up, Velma launched herself from the leaned back position. She pushed off and up creating the jump off the back foot and slid her front foot further up the board to flatten out the board in mid jump, so she landed pretty flat. Popping another wheelie, she spun to face Marcie up hill and grinned up at her, Feeling the rush come back from the short but fun ride. Simple yet it looked impressive out of nowhere. How she missed skateboarding. Kicking the board up, Velma grabbed the board and walked up the hill to give the board back to the stunned Marcie.

"…How about next weekend, I'll meet you here and we'll start on the basics and once you're ready I'll teach you enough tricks to keep up with the boys." Velma offered, though added in hindsight. "Only if your mom say's it's ok."

"Yeah!" Marcie said excitedly, finally shaking herself out of the shock of Velma's performance. It was even better then watching her bother and his friends. They were still learning but they looked impressive enough. But this lady knew what she was doing. Velma grinned.

"Ok, so until then, take care of yourself and bring your pads." Velma pointed at the pads. Marcie looked over at them before picking them up. She looked up at Velma, and decided that she would bring them but hoped to not have to use them unless she had to. She would agree to anything to be taught.

"…Ok. Thank you miss Velma. I'll meet you back here. You better show up!" Marcie pouted. Velma nodded and grinned.

"Sure. Next weekend. But go home and rest and don't tell your brother. So we can show off once your ready!" Velma nodded and Marcie grinned.

"Bye bye!" Marcie said calling back to Velma as she ran off. Board under her arm and her backpack repacked. Velma sighed, just realizing what she had promised. She hoped that nothing came up that would prevent her from showing up. Looking back, she looked to where she had left Scooby. The Dane had been watching for a while before he got bored and fell asleep in the grass… Belly to the sky a tongue hanging out. Velma had to laugh, wandering over she woke the sleeping Dane up.

"Come on Scooby let's go home for now. I have a lot of practicing to do." The sleepy dog gave her and look, he didn't even fight back against her clipping the leash to him. Home sounded good.