1stmacleod

Regina is cautious around magic - Kairos isn't exactly known to show restraint when it comes to the people around her at large after all - but Balthazar is just fascinating, once she's gotten past the initial 'wow, he's.. MAGICAL :O' sniff. Her little tongue flickers out and tastes Balthazar's fingers.

Kai just grins. "Yes, let's! I haven't been to a Nexus pound." Regina and her sister Aphrodite (who belongs to Kai's twin) came from a breeder. Which Kai's been feeling guilty over ever since she brought her home.

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He may taste just a little like brown sugar pop tarts. He's been hitting them hard lately, for breakfast and snacks. He's happy to pet the dog, though, because ultimately he is an any-animal person. "Hey, there, pretty girl," he murmurs softly.

He glances up as the others start to make for the inside of the pound. "Sure, yeah."

Straightening again with a wince, he moves to get the door for the others.

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1stmacleod

Connor is of the opinion that just about everyone should have a dog to love, and be loved by. He's on a mission to help his friends with that.

"Yeah, let's-" And Balthazar's beaten him to being a gentleman, although it's pretty obvious the way he reaches toward the door he was going to hold it for everybody else. Instead he just rolls his eyes at him a little, grins, and lets the ladies go in first.

It's a big place, full of all kinds of animals, some of which would be more than a little out of place on the more mundane earths.

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One thing Jelani knows for sure is that she's not going to be bringing home some little yappy lap-dog. No Chihuahuas or miniature Poodles for her. No, if anything she has this idea for a larger dog, something more kick-ass. Like a Doberman or Great Dane. Something like that.

But hey, that horse-size catlike thing with the green scales over there looks cool to. But, naah, that would never fit in her apartment.

"What kinda dogs are you guys lookin' for?"

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((My phone's autocorrect has confused Kai's name as Coitus and Cooties. I am both wickedly amused and horrified.))

Kairos is at once fascinated and in love with every animal the building currently houses. "Wow," she says, spotting a cute little penguin-like thing. It opens it's mouth to reveal something out of Aliens. "That...would certainly keep thieves away," she says as Regina quickly moves away.

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Balthazar's watching the rafters, where a number of scaly winged things with glittering jeweled scales are roosting. "Something that I can walk without covering up strange features with a glamour, I suppose," he answers absently. "Although the little dragon things are tempting, too. But I'm eccentric enough already without walking around the shop with a reptile on my shoulder."

"I'm not much for toy breeds, usually," he adds. "But I'm not sure I can give a big dog as much exercise as it would need. A medium-sized working breed, like a spaniel or a hound, would be nice. I love corgis, but they need a lot of attention."

There are barks coming from further back in the building, and he's quick to head for the pens they're coming from.

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1stmacleod

((Connor doesn't think she's got cooties, anyway...))

"Biggish...?" Connor tends to think of dogs along the same lines Jelani does, although Regina is a sweet little thing. She's definitely Kai's dog though, not his. He edges carefully around the alien penguin, wary by nature. Who knows what that thing eats?

"Yeah, I want something I can walk without getting stared at." He follows Balthazar toward the back, where dogs of all shapes and sizes are jumping up to put their paws against the wire fronts of their kennels, tails wagging, making lots of noise because There are PEOPLE guys OMG look people! People are awesome! He gets a little grin, just looking at all those enthusiastic greetings.

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Jelani can't help a grin forming in her face as well. Okay, this is very cute. Large and small, puppies and older dogs, and just about all equally enthusiastic.

Well, if she was in a kennel like this, she'd be jumping at any chance to get out too.

She looks at the dogs quietly. They all have their charm, sure, but there's no-one catching her eye right off the bat.

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Kairos lets Regina sniff around - she seems to like the 'normal' looking animals the most. There's a blue English mastiff puppy that's quite interested in her, too. He's only a few months old - and is about the size of Regina herself.

"I'd almost wish we could take them all." Kai says, kneeling next to the kennel and letting the blue puppy lick her fingers.

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Balthazar is very quiet, passing from pen to pen, now trailing behind the others, now far ahead of them. He pets all the dogs he can reach, even the ones that are speckled purple or pink and clearly of Nexus stock, smiling but saying nothing.

At length, though, he stops to look at a dog dozing on a pile of blankets in one corner of its pen. It's long-haired, white and golden brown, and in his mind, about the right size. He leans on the bars and studies it, and its eyes open, as if it senses his gaze. The furry head goes up, and it gives a big yawn.

Balthazar whistles softly and holds out a hand. "Shy?"

A moment later it becomes clearer why this one isn't hopping around. It takes it a moment to get up, because it's missing its left front leg. Once on its three feet, however, it trots up eagerly and begins slobbering on him.

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1stmacleod

Connor walks slowly, close to the cages up one side to let the dogs sniff him. He's watching them sidelong, calm and quiet and thoughtful. He lingers at a cage with four floppy, scrambling, gangly grey puppies. They whuffle and make a few yips, but they're not too terribly noisy. They do climb all over each other trying to reach him, though. He crouches, and lets them slobber all over his hands, but tears himself away first to see the one Kai is looking at, then to amble over to Balthazar. "Aww... guess that guys had some hard knocks..."

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Jelani walks over as well to stand beside Connor. "Wonder what happened to it," she muses and leans her shoulder against the concrete wall that separates this pen to the next one. Her ponderings about whether the dog lost its leg to sickness or injury is however interrupted by a low Wuff! right behind her. There, in the next pen, right up by the bars, is this not quite fully grown dog looking up right at her. It's at that stage where it looks like its paws are still a size too big. Jelani doesn't recognize the breed, but then she doesn't know that much about different dog breeds. She thinks it looks a bit like a german shephered, only smaller and with longer fur. And even if it isn't fully grown yet, she can see that it is never going to become a big dog.

She looks back to the three-legged dog, still wondering what caused it to loose its leg. But again that dog in the other pen gives a low bark, making her look back at it again, this time raising an eyebrow. "Ya want somethin', Fido?" This time when she looks away it gives a brief whine before barking again. Okay, it has caught her attention.

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"He could definitely use some TLC," Kairos comments as she and Regina come to a stop beside Connor. "All of them, really." She's contemplating two dogs.

Or three.
She really likes those grey pups.

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"I think that one likes you," Balthazar has noticed Jelani's new friend, and leans over to get a better look. "Still young..."

The tripod-dog he's been studying barks in protest when he looks away, and he returns to it quickly. "Sorry! I didn't realize you had decided already."

He squeezes an arm through the bars and scratches behind the animal's ears. "But do you handle stairs okay?" His voice is soft and warm. "I have a few at my place."

The dog licks his sleeve, then rears up on his back legs and paws briefly at the bars with his one good forepaw.

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1stmacleod

Connor gives a raspy chuckle, watching Jelani and Balthazar. "Guess it's not us that picks them..." He bumps shoulders with Jelani. "And Fido's a stupid name. Pick something better."

Connor crouches to say hello to the tripod, although he's very aware of the puppies back across the way. "I knew one like this that did stairs fine. Well. It was the back leg missing. He just hopped up one at a time." He scratches its ears. "Drank beer, too."

One of the grey puppies he was watching before gives a high little howl.

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"Hey now, I ain't decided on anything," Jelani protests. The dog barks as if to say "yes, you have" and then sits there with its tongue hanging out, looking like it is grinning at her. She crouches down to look closer at it. "Yeah, guess Fido's a lousy name," she mutters and then looks over at Balthazar. "But you've decided already, huh?"

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"You need a name like Ferdinand, or Ambrose," Kairos tells Jelani. Who knows if she actually means it. She didn't actually name her own dog, and really, she probably would still be debating if an old friend hadn't decided for her.

Regina pulls on her lead, and comes to a stop in front of the puppies. She lets out a short, sharp little bark and manages to look serious at the one that had howled, as if to say, "Shh!" in an older-sister manner. She doesn't seem to care that the pups are already as big as she is.

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"Well, I can't leave him after that." He looks sheepish, mussing the dog's fur. "Although I do wonder how he lost that leg."

He sighs silently, sympathetic but pleased about his choice. He thinks Horvath will approve, too.

After a moment, he glances at Kairos. "Ambrose isn't bad, but I don't like Ferdinand." He knows she's talking to Jelani, but it's an opportunity to get the attention off him. "What about Aloysius? Or Edgar? Edgar's a good name."

No, he will not be naming his dog any of these.

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1stmacleod

"Edgar?" Not only does he sound extremely skeptical, but his voice cracks on the upnote like a teenager's. It does that sometimes. Just a leftover hint that he never quite finished growing up before he took his first death.

To cover his embarrassment, Connor gets up to look at the puppies again. "All right. Which one of you was that?" He grins a little, and slides an arm around Kairos companionably, kissing the top of her head without taking his eyes off the four puppies now gathering to all try to sniff Regina at once. "They... look like Scottish Deerhounds, or Irish Wolfhounds or something..." He's obviously taken with them, he's just shy about saying so.

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Jelani looks first at Kairos and then at Balthazar, slowly shaking her head at them. She clearly not liking those names, and is quite glad that Connor agrees with her, at least about Edgar.

That young dog is still sitting there by the bars, looking at her. Not feeling all that sure about even getting a dog at all, she reached out a hand for the dog to sniff. Unsurprisingly to everyone other than Jelani, probably, the dog sets out to give that pale hand a thorough slobber-bath with its tongue.

...okay, this halfgrown thing is kind of cute. She's actually going to do this, isn't she? Bring this dog home? Wow...

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Yes, she is, because Kairos will make her. Somehow. She hasn't thought that far yet.

"That's a dog that will totally not eat your shoes, Jelani. Geeet hiiim." She's trying not to be too bossy, especially when it comes to telling two of her friends what to do.

Connor, on the other hand, isn't so lucky. "We're gonna get two! We have to. Regina will drive one insane with big-sisterness. They'll need each other."

Pause.
Pause pause.

Something's occured to her. "We..really shouldn't break up siblings, don't you think?"

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Balthazar smiles innocently at Jelani, then loses the battle as Kairos begins sketching out the basis for adopting an entire pack of puppies. He laughs, quite loudly, then claps his hand over his mouth to stifle it. Next to him, his choice in dogs yips and wags excitedly.

"Those are going to be big dogs," he points out after a moment. "They'll need lots of training, and the more you adopt, the more work you'll have to put in."

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1stmacleod

"Come on Jelani, we can have puppy playdates..." He grins, but it falters and his eyes widen at Kai's suggestion. "You... don't... uh..." He flounders, and gestures a little in a vague and completely meaningless way. Connor has a tendency to wave his hands around a little when he's distraught, although he doesn't talk with his hands much otherwise.

"I'm not sure... they'd run over Regina. We'll be its pack. In a week it'll have forgotten it was any other way. Dogs are like that." He's had quite a few dogs before, but an entire pack is a bit much. "And they're working dogs. We don't have much work for them to do, not all four..." Somehow it didn't occur to him that she'd be so enthusiastic about this. If he doesn't stop her, he's afraid she'll want to take the whole store home.

Edited Date: 2012-02-17 05:39 am (UTC)

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"He'd better not," Jelani replies to Kai. She has some expensive shoes, dammit!

And yes, indeed, the dog is a he.

Then she can't help but to grin at Kai's enthusiasm about getting several dog. "Come on, teach! You really gonna split up siblings?"

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