Hawknell Humane Society New furry friend
#1

Outfit!(bandages still on her left hand)


Amira was here to hunt for a pet, she needed a critter to love on and just have fun with and so she was pet hunting.

Once inside, she would start looking around all of them. There were no hedgehogs here but there was a lot of dogs and so she would go into the meet up room and sit down as they let in a few pups for her to look over and one was just sitting.

Smiling, she held her hand out and saw this Three Legged Handsome boy.

"Well hi there! " Amira beamed as she would start to pet the dog with her good hand as he started to lick her face. She was all smiled as she kept petting him and looked to his collar.

"Chief... I like it, hi boy, " she told him as she would look around to make sure that she wasn't snagging someone else's pup. Amira wanted him but also didn't want to take from another. So, she would ask a person that was closest to her.

"You weren't looking at him, were you? "
#2
Heidi was not going home with a dog today. But after months of her son's incessant pleading, and daily proximity to domesticated canines, Heidi was... considering it. But there was no decision-making today. Her goal here was experimental. Sure, she got close to dogs at work, but it was only ever in passing. Some regulars, she greeted with familiarity, offered treats and friendly scritches, but that was it. For someone that owned a dog cafe and park, Heidi was not someone that would describe herself as a dog person.

Well, in some ways, she was more dog than a person, but that was a different kit and kaboodle.

She'd signed herself up for an open meet and greet, figuring that she ought to get used to the idea of being in direct contact with a dog. It'd been years since she'd actually played with one. This was also a way to familiarize herself with what this shelter had to offer. What kinds of mutts had been here longest. What Dog Run might be able to do to help.

Any and every excuse she could think of in order to justify coming here, so long as it was clear that she was not. Getting. A. Dog. Today.

Heidi played observer, letting dogs come up to give her interesting sniffs, but not making strides to engage any in particular like the rest of the people in the room. In fact, she was part way distracted by the lingering smell of cat. Did the shelter just clean their rooms poorly? Or was it her sensitive nose getting the better of her. She couldn't shake it, especially as she wandered over closer to where the more relaxed dogs seemed to be congregating. She was eyeing an older lab mix who was licking his paws when the girl nearby, who was cooing over a tri-pod shepherd, piped up.

Tucking her hands into her back pockets, Heidi regarded the young girl with an easy smile. "He's handsome, but I think my kid would run that guy to the ground." Heidi admitted. She hated to admit it, but she'd probably end up with something more energetic. That'd be fun to handle when a twelve year old eventually proved to be a twelve year old, and left most of the responsibility to her.
#3
Amira could only smile at that, her nose not really picking up the scent of canine but she did get the feel of a were close by and that had her curious as to the who and the where they were. She would continue to pet the dogs head, she was excited and he was sitting with his tail just wagging like crazy.

"Oh? Young energetic small one I assume?" she asked her a little curiously. Amira couldn't remember the last time she played with kids, she didn't look like one long enough and she hadn't been able to meet other were like herself. This was her now trying to get some play in while still having to be an adult as well. She would find the first care of Chief while she was at work and all of course but she hoped that it would be close and she'd get to be with her playmate a fair amount.
#4
The assumptions were fair, and mostly accurate. Heidi laughed through her nostrils, edging a bit closer, but mindful not to crowd.

"Young and energetic. He's twelve, but he's wanted a dog his whole life, I'm sure he'll want to take it everywhere." She chose her words carefully, not wanting to commit to the idea of the dog being anything specific. No breed, no gender. Just something young and healthy, but nothing that would eat her out of house and home and drive her up the wall.

And, probably something larger. She'd survived raising an infant, but babies didn't tend to bolt across the yard like a rabbit. Some instincts were hard to kick.
#5
Oh he was a little younger than herself! But was she a teen still when people tended to think of her as an adult while she also tried to be an adult. It was enough to cause her a headache so she stopped thinking about it as she would reach down to pet the dog's head gently.

"Honestly...I've wanted a hedgehog for as long as I can remember but they didn't have any here," she told her with a little smile, "But then I saw this guy so...I can see how someone would want one, they're so sweet! " she told her rather excitedly at that as she would keep petting his head gently.
#6
Heidi smirked. A hedgehog. Now, that sounded like something she'd rather take in. It was small and prey-sized, but it was prickly enough that the mutt in her brain knew well enough to leave it alone. If only her son was not so indomitable.

"That guy's a bit bigger than a hedgehog." She observed, stepping a bit closer to offer the shepherd some fingers to sniff, if he took interest.
#7
A sheepish smile would cross her face as she would nod, "Maybe a little bit...you think my Ba will notice the size difference? " she asked her, her tone a little playful as she watched Chief give some sniffs before his head was pressing into the woman's hand for pets.

Amira would reach down and start to pet his back gently, enjoying the soft fur. Right now, Amira was trying to figure out if this woman right here was like herself or not, with all the animal smells around her it was hard to pinpoint it exactly. So that would leave a mildly curious look on her face as she tried to figure this little puzzle out.
#8
Her Ba? Pa, possibly. Father? Or maybe mother. Heidi wasn't exceptionally familiar with this young woman's apparent culture, and she certainly wasn't someone that liked to assume. She accepted it as someone that was of value to the girl, possibly a parent. Someone that might not be too pleased with a dog in place of a hedgehog.

"Hm, maybe if you pose it right." She conspired wryly, running her fingernails across the dog's noggin as she glanced down at its missing leg, "Say you got a discount, since it's not in mint condition." A cruel joke, but it was pretty funny. She smirked, glancing up at the girl, and didn't miss the expression. Though, she took it as a reaction to her joke. Did she not get it?
#9
It took a good 30 seconds for the joke to register and she let out a sudden laugh that made her cheeks fo red and her hand covering her mouth.

"I-is that...an ok thing to say? Like...leg discount? " she asked, inadvertently making her own poor joke at this dogs expense. Thankfully he probably didn't understand since he was just loving on all the attention he was getting. Amira though, was learning about these jokes and her curiosity would have to wait a moment.
#10
She was accepting of her joke falling flat, aware that it wasn't everyone's kind of humor. She might have removed herself from the conversation or changed the subject if the girl hadn't suddenly laugh. Oh, just a late impact. Heidi smirked, straightening up and tucking her hands into her back pockets as the girl questioned how appropriate it was to say. "Think it depends on who you say it to." Heidi decided.

"I'd think it's harmless. Poor guy doesn't know any different." To think she could have ended up like him for a while if that shot had gone any lower. She was begrudged to think of how it might have translated to her human body.
#11
Thinking on that for a moment she nodded, "I'll have to word it right- he has always been a bit against pets, " she said with a slight pained smiled at that. Oh well though, she made her own money! And she would pay for Chief and take care of him because she needed a friend that she could cuddle with at night.

"Yea...he mostly seems like he wants to go and have fun, like it doesn't bother him at all that he doesn't have it, " she said with a nod before looking at her again, "This might sound silly but are you like me? It's hard to tell with all these animals around, " slight vague yes but mostly not. It would be fine and Amira never knew how to keep her curiosities to herself really so.
#12
Dogs were adaptable like that. Not stop them, when they got their minds set on something. That's where a lot of people seemed to fail in training them. She'd kicked out enough dogs from Dog Run to know that.

She might have said as much, maybe invited her to Dog Run with her new buddy. But, the girl decided to address the coyote in the room full of dogs. Heidi smiled wryly, giving a cursory glance about to make sure no one had heard over the den of panting and thumping tails.

"I wondered where the cat smell was coming from." She confirmed, keeping it vague.
#13
The sudden question of cat made her grin a bit. Oh, she was the cat, totally! A hundred percent because there were no cats in this little section since Butterscotch did not like the idea of sharing space with another cat that wasn't a tiger.

"That would most certainly be me for sure, stripes n all, " she told her with a bit of a grin.

So she hadn't been wrong to guess that she was like her but yet not. She smelt of dog, maybe another wolf like Zelda?
#14
That'd be her. Stripes, huh?

"Hm, is it rude to assume tiger?" She prompted. There were other striped cats, of course, but tiger was an easy guess.

Christ, a super-sized tiger. Not for the faint of heart.
#15
Shaking her head with a little smile, "No at all! And you'd be right, me and everyone in my family are tigers, " she said rather proudly. She had been growing more and more at ease with saying that and it just felt good.

Thinking then for a moment, "Are youuuu a wolf? " she asked tentatively. She hadn't met other canine weres yet. Bears, yes. Jaguars, yes. But only one wolf so it was all she had to go off on.
#16
She'd gone out on a limb, though a rather sturdy one, so she wasn't surprised when it held. A tiger, her and... her whole family. Heidi couldn't quite know what to make of that. It would be easy to assume she meant something like a Band, but... she'd used the word family. Her parents? Siblings? Who had been first to infect the rest? Her gut clenched at the dangerous notion she'd considered hundreds of times over. She couldn't think of the horror of infecting her own child.

So, the girl's own guessing was an easy distraction. She smirked. A wolf, in some ways, yes. A Wolff.

"Think smaller. Coyote."
#17
When not questioned, her brain just assumed she understood and had been around families of weres like herself as if it was common. It made her feel even more at ease and relaxed as she would scriff the pups head. He was going to make the best friend ever she felt.

Learning that she was not in fact a wolf but a coyote made her bounce little.

"Smaller sure but fast, " she said with a big smile, "Is there a group of you or not yet? " she asked curiously. Amira had no idea if she was a lone coyote or had a group of them that caused fun terror around to the other weres. It was a funny thought, just the coyotes teasing other weres like they did in the wild. At least the ones in Alaska did, they liked to mess with the wild wolves to steal their food.
#18
The reassurance wasn't necessarily needed. Heidi didn't suffer from a Napolean complex. There were smaller Weres out there, and it wasn't ever about size. Especially when she could don the coyote's claws and teeth without getting on all fours to do so. Girl was sweet, though.

Curious, too. A little more open than Heidi was used to. "A Band, yeah. Out in Camp Baron. You could call me the... backup singer." Lead guitarist, more aptly.
#19
The back up singer joke made her smile and chuckle a little but she understood it! This woman was strong and a second to their leader, which was pretty cool, "Oh wow, man I've been in that area before but mostly at the Sanctuary, " she told her in awe. She needed to explore more! Though she did promise her brother to stay out of trouble; which wasn't exactly easy to do when she was a curious tiger ninty percent of the time.

"What it like at you're guys' spot? " she was curious, her fingers still scriffing behind Chief's ear as she blissfully chatted with the woman.
#20
The Sanctuary. Heidi was glad that a place like it existed.

She smiled at the dog that looked like it'd found a new home today, and waved a hand toward him, "It's a dog park. And a cafe, called Dog Run. You're welcome to bring your new friend to visit."
#21
It would seem like it was settled, she was getting this pup and would be able to bring him to the coyote place even!

"Dog run. I think that will have to be our first outing then, " she said with a bit of a happy grin at that one. Yea, Chief was coming home with her, how well behaved he was and calm he was next to her. She already was smitten with this pooch

"Oh! Any rules I should be aware of? I don't want to accidentally break anything or do something wrong while visiting there, " something she'd learned was to always respect group spaces and their rules so, she wanted to be sure she knew them before going.
#22
Looks like the girl was decided on taking this tripod home. Heartwarming, really. Even if there was a risk of the poor thing becoming catnip if she wasn't careful.

"Nothing serious. Just keep your claws to yourself." Heidi offered in answer to the question. They weren't an especially strict group of individuals, and neither did the Sleuth seem to be. So long as there was mutual respect, Baron was a place that didn't require visitors to walk with a straight spine or their head on a swivvel.
#23
"Oh, that's easy peasy to do! " she told her rather happily as she patted the pup who was pacing around her. Oh right, she probably needed to sign papers and stuff to adopt him and all of that. She was going to be bringing this cutie home and then heading over to the run, it sounded like a great plan in her head.

"Thank you, for telling me about there. I hope I haven't kept you from getting a fluffy friend for you and your son, " she said with a happy warm smile- OH that brought up a question in her brain but she'd wait a moment to ask.
#24
Easy peasy. Heidi smirked softly. The girl was cute, if not a bit ditsy. Her thanks was unnecessary; pulling business was one of the reasons she'd told herself she was here today, after all.

"Oh, I'm not looking to add to the family just yet." Heidi assured her, head shaking. "Just... getting a feel, I suppose."
#25
Oh! "Nothing wrong with that...I was planning on just looking but he kinda called to me, " she admitted with a little smile, "Oh I had a possibly silly question, your son...was he born like us? " she'd really love to meet more that were born into this life, just made things so much better in her book.
#26
The question took her off guard. Heidi straightened, growing still, as if she were made of the very stone that the wall she fortified around herself. Call her overbearing, but questions about her son were something she treated with a natural sense of hostility. Born like us? Was Jonas a Were? The idea was almost laughable. How would he be? If she had had him as a Were, her shifts would have killed him.

Eyebrows straight and narrow, she shook her head. "No. I had him as a human." Human for no more than an hour before she was turned. She remembered that time with him on her chest. The fear that had gripped her so violently that she'd almost wished she could run from it all. The guilt. How evil to keep something so innocent for herself when she was going to be turned into a monster. "I don't think that's possible." She added. The girl was young, still learning.
#27
Oh...Amira forgot that was a thing and her cheeks turned pink for a moment. Then though, she said that she didn't think it was possible. Oh well...heh that made her mildly uncomfortable as she played with the dogs head for a moment.

"It is...my brother and I were both born as tigers, " she told her honestly. Not giving her age but she knew what she was, that she grew stupidly fast and the world felt like a mix of teen angst and adult problems for her.
#28
The girl's next words were... so incredibly unbelievable that it was easy for her to assume it must be a joke. Maybe an overexaggeration. Maybe she'd been raised among them, but only turned when her body could handle it. Because... a child couldn't shift. It would break them.

"Funny." Heidi said dryly, not finding it funny at all.
#29
A confused look crossed her face at that, no one had said that before. She hadn't been trying to be funny, just honest.

"But I'm not being funny...it's true. I was never bitten or scratched or anything...I was born like this; why would I joke about it? " there was honest confusion in her voice at this because she'd never before been called a liar over how she was born. It made her feel uncomfortable and maybe a little sad? She didn't like the feeling of someone thinking she wasn't being honest.
#30
Heidi wasn't so deaf in her self assurance that she could not hear when a nerve had been struck. The note of hurt rang clearly through the young woman's words. The face was an accompanying sculpture of true confusion. There was still the urge to reject it. To brush the girl off as sticking to such a cruel joke. But what would she have gained from it? Why would she feel the need to lie about this, especially after having been so kind before? There'd been no indication of cruelty before this.

So, why did Heidi still find the idea an affront to every law of this existence? Because it was frightening. Horrifying. The idea of a child shifting. Of small bones breaking and teeth and claws pushing out from between round cheeks and chubby fingers. It was the thing of her literal nightmares. She had dreamed this for Jonas more times than she could admit. Almost as often as she dreamed of him standing there, struck with fear, as a looming coyote appeared behind him, and swallowed his head.

Heidi swallowed, looking away from the girl. "I'm sorry. It's hard to accept." She admitted, though her voice was hard and stale. How was it possible? How did pregnancy survive a shift? She had shifted often enough that she knew everything changed within her. There was no possible way a fetus could survive such a drastic change in environment. There were too many questions, and she was unwilling to ask them of this stranger, especially in public.

Heidi took a step back, head shaking as she blinked away her coldness. She smiled warmly at the girl. "It's just a surprise is all. I should get going. But you'll be around the Dog Run soon, yeah?"
#31
It was hard to accept but how? It wasn't hard for her to accept it was apart of her life so she never had trouble with it. Her parents raised her, she was here and happy- though confused a good portion of the time as things were in this weird in between for her constantly.

"It's ok...it's something I'm learning isn't common around here but it's possible, " she told her, hoping that she understand that there was no lie in her voice as she told her this.

The step back but the look of change on her, back to happy, did put Amira at ease and had her smiling at her. Nodding a bit, "Yea probably in the next week or two I'll be out that way with him, " she told her happily. It was nice to know of another spot where other were could be found. It set her at ease as she would scriff Chief's head, "It was nice to meet you and thank you for telling me about Dog Run, I hope I'll see you there, " the young woman would tell her honestly, a happy little smile on her face. The little incident was seemingly forgotten already by her.
#32
Not common was an understatement. Was there somewhere it was common? Heidi didn't have it in her to ask. It was a mercy that the girl was letting her go.

Heidi nodded, maintaining that pleasant smile.

"I'll keep an eye out for this guy." She gestured to the tripod.

And that was that. She took her leave, dogless and gutted.
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