Plot Bunnies

Dark materials X Harry Dresden

• Marcone

  • Thorn, Endurance, Sword Like, Patience
  • Cabreena 
  • Tiger (authority, fearless, fierce when provoked, strength)

• Nathan Hendrix

  •  (African Origin) name meaning loyal and courageous.
  • Zeeno
  • Wolf

• Murphy

  • Kandarie 
    • (Indian) “protector; defender”
  • African painted dog

• Thomas

  • Caracal.
  • Innana
    • The name is of Sumerian origin. Innana was the Mesopotamian goddess of beauty, justice, and war

• Harry

  • Alexis
    • “defender of the people”
  • Maremma sheepdog
    • Will take down wolves to protect their flock
    • Can be big lovable cuddle monsters
    • Stubborn and difficult to train

• Harry about Murphys Kandarie 

  • Compassionate, friendly and social. Hardworking and Loyal.
  • family, community, and a positive attitude. African wild dog as a totem teaches us success through perseverance, to be a good judge of character, and to be free with our affection but guarded with more intense love. Wild dog people tend to be friendly, social, compassionate, and determined.
  • A Dog totem symbolizes the ability to devote oneself to a spiritual path or personal ethic no matter the situation
    • Murphy believes in the law

Harry about Marcones Cabreena

• Include soul gaze?
• Or maybe its Hendrix about Marcone

Marcone about Harry's Alexis

• Harry dresden just turned him down for a paid vacation to stop him from investigating jennifer and Tom Tom
• Maybe rewrite this as they haven't met yet and he doesn't foolishly offend him by trying to own him

“Any idea what type of dog that was?” he asked Nathan Hendrix. The man had the look of someone who was all brawn and no brains, he so loved the look of surprise people got, when they realised the red headed giant had finished his Masters and was looking for a Phd project.

“It looked kind of wolf-like but the proportions were all wrong, not to mention the teeth and no wolf is that white,” Nathan replied. As someone who actually had a wolf Daemon, he was the closest thing to an expert that John had right now. “I took a picture. Someone should be able to identify it.”

“Get me an appointment with Dr Belacqua. If anyone can identify it, she can.”

Dr Lisa Belacqua was a world renowned expert of Daemons. Her specialty was their forms and the meanings, both spiritual and practical, behind them. She had agreed to a meeting, if she could study both John's tiger, Cabreena and Nathan's wolf, Zeeno. Neither tigers nor wolf Daemons are all that common.

After the initial meeting, where she took photos, measurements, weights and paw prints, while John and Nathan were stuck completing personality tests, they finally got down to why they were in her office and handed her the photograph that Nathan had taken of Dresden's Daemon.

“Now this is a man I would not want to go up against,” Dr Belacqua mused as she studied the slightly blurry picture.

“How do you know it is a daemon and not a domestic dog?” John asked

“Simple. No one, with any brain cells, would let a Maremma off a leash in the middle of the city,” she said amused. “Scarily intelligent dogs but incredibly stubborn. They can't be bribed or threatened, they must be coaxed. They never forget and they never forgive. You can't ‘own’ this kind of dog. You must gain its respect and loyalty. Once loyal, they are loyal to their death, unless you mistreat them.”

“I'm assuming at least some of this transfers over to the Human?”

“Oh definitely. Tell me, Mr Marcone. Do you know the difference between a shepherd and a sheppard?” 

“I always assumed they were regional differences,” he replied with a shrug.

“Shepherd is short for sheep herder. Sheppard is short for sheep guard*. A Maremma is a sheep dog, but not in any way similar to a Border Collie. They are the Guardians of their flock. Once they have chosen a ‘flock’, or a ‘family’, they will risk their own lives to protect them. They would rather die than let a predator near their family,” she smirked at Nathan. “They are known as Wolf-Killer dogs.”

“That would explain why he calls me Cujo,” Nathan muttered to himself.

 (I made this up but it makes sense since there are two types of sheep dogs with many breeds in each type.)

This new information about the nature of Dresden's daemon made Marcone rethink his strategy for gaining Dresden as an employee. Maybe he needed to prove to the man that he too wanted to protect the ‘flock’ that is Chicago, from external threats?