1stmacleod

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.

From:

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.

From:

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..."

From:

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.

From:

"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.

From:

"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.

From:

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.

From:

"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?"

From:

"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.

From:

"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.

From:

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.

From:

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...

From:

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?"

From:

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."

From:

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)

From:

"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?"

From:

Kai's only half serious, really. She hates the thought of splitting up siblings, though. Look what they've gone through at such a young age! "Yeeaah, Teach!"

What she really should do is buy one for her brother in law.

From:

"Don't look at me," Balthazar says promptly. "One dog is enough for an apartment in the city. But if you're worried about them you could ask the shelter if you can sponsor whichever ones you don't adopt. Or help look for foster homes or something."

From:

1stmacleod

"They're puppies. I don't think they'll have any trouble finding homes..." He's looking a little overwhelmed, though. He looks to Jelani, because he finds her the easiest to pick on. Mostly because she has the least trouble teasing right back. "Why don't you adopt the rest? They can visit, and you'll have a whole pack! They can threaten the next guy you meet." He's still flailing around with his hands a little.

"Ip! Waooooooo!" One of the grey puppies puts in, and stands up against the wire closest to Connor, reaching to try to nibble on the belt of his long coat.

From:

"Hey now, I live in an apartment. I can use Balty's excuse." She suddenly looks a bit sheepish. "An', uh... That guy actually ended up crawlin' back. Now don't get me wrong, not like I just took him back like that. Beat him up a bit first an' we had some words, but, um... With Wylie an' then this guy right here," she has reached in between the bars to scratch the dog's ears, "I'd say I've reached my quota fer taking in strays."

From:

"Actually." Kairos frowns just slightly. "You know...my brother in law's been looking for a dog, and I can always surprise Jao and Scott with one, too.." They're always going about wanting dogs manlier than their wive's pocket pet. "But.. maybe surprising them won't be the best of ideas. Sponsor for now, take 'em home when I've got yeses?" she looks hopefully at Connor.

From:

"Shall I get an employee?" Balthazar is so not interfering in these decisions. Despite his sympathy for Connor. "I know which one wants me already, anyway."

He glances back at his choice, who is now seated patiently, eyes fixed on him.

From:

1stmacleod

Connor gives Jelani a look, a little skeptical and thoughtful, but he's distracted by Kai's suggestion and Balthazar's offer. "Yeah... sure, okay. I mean, to both of you!" He looks between Balthazar and Kai. "I guess we should at least start whatever paperwo-hey!" He turns to pry his belt away from the puppy.

It lets go and pants at him, tongue lolling. "Uff!"

From:

Jelani meets that look from Connor with a a bit of a shrug, not quite knowing what to say. With how upset Jelani was last time they saw each other , practically ranting about giving men up forever, she can understand him being a bit skeptical.

Thankfully all the dogs provides such a wonderful distraction.

And so, she just have to come to terms with the fact that this dog is apparently going to follow her home. He is kinda cute, she has to admit. And while she had thought about getting something larger, he's not that small either. "Wonder if they sell collars and leaches here."

From: