An Inquiry (Stern)

[Cora Addison]

Cora made her way to the Small Animal Clinic for the first time, curious, but a little worried. She was going there to visit Dr. Hastin and make an inquiry, and she could only hope that he'd agree. Beside her walked Poppy, her greyhound that she'd gotten very recently. Poppy was warming up to Cora quickly enough, and seemed to actually enjoy her presence now. Poppy, she'd found, was very polite on the leash, and neither pulled nor lagged behind for the most part, which made their walks pleasant. She hadn't yet seen Poppy run, and hoped to soon. Perhaps, if her talk with Dr. Hastin went well, she'd be able to see it sooner rather than later.

Once they reached the clinic, she opened the door, bringing Poppy in with her. The greyhound wore her normal collar with her tag that she always had on, but also one of the martingales that Cora had gotten for walking. Poppy couldn't be walked with a normal collar, since her neck was very delicate, but also because greyhounds have very small heads that a normal collar would slip off of if she pulled. Finding herself in the waiting room, she stood with Poppy, waiting for someone to find her there.

[Leander Hastin]

Leander heard the bell on the door of the clinic jingle and dropped the cloth that he had been using to wipe down the table. He hurried to wash his hands, then called to Akamu, "Want to come check out who it is?" He left his bottle of water sitting on the table of the kitchen and then walked out of the kitchen door, his red tri-colored border collie at his heels. As he walked through the hall, he saw a woman and a greyhound on a leash. He left Akamu sitting beside the desk, since he didn't know how the sighthound was with other dogs, and then approached the woman, "Hello there." He wiped his hand on his light-blue shirt, then held it out to the woman smiling, "Dr. Hastin, feel free to call me Lee. What can I help you with today?" He glanced down at the greyhound at the woman's feet, examining it with his dark brown eyes. It seemed at ease, and rather in good health, but there might have been symptoms that he hadn't noticed from a mere glance.

[Cora Addison]

It didn't take long for sometime to appear from what she assumed was a hallway that led to the rest of the animal clinic. Poppy clearly grew more interested in the new people, but didn't try and greet them, and barely wagged her tail. Her ears just perked forwards a bit, attention mostly focused on the other dog. Still keeping some attention on Poppy, she smiled at the man and shook his hand firmly, only wondering for a moment why exactly he'd wiped his hand on his shirt. "Hello," she returned in reply, "I'm Cora. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Reaching a hand down to pet Poppy's head, she introduced the dog as well, since she would be the subject of the conversation. "And this is Poppy. She just got to Blue Ridge a couple days ago and we were wondering about a favor." She looked back up at him, to judge is reaction. She knew that when someone asked her about a favor, she was a bit hesitant at first, and she wanted to see his first reaction. "I'm sure you understand that Poppy can't run off-leash if she's not in a fenced area. I was wondering if I would be able to bring her here to run in your fenced area." She was rather blunt about it, knowing that would probably be the best way to do this.

[Leander Hastin]

Lee smiled at the woman, "The pleasure is all mine, Cora." He glanced down at the greyhound by the woman's side, nodding as he heard the dog's name. He liked the name, although it wasn't one that he might have chosen for a sighthound, or only for the couch-potato side of the sighthound. However, it wasn't his place to judge the names of the animals that were brought to him, and he kept his opinions to himself. As he heard that the pair of them, or more likely the woman, needed a favor, Lee turned his attention back to Cora, gesturing in a 'go-on' sort of motion. He didn't know what the pair of them might ask of him, but he wouldn't be able to say yes or no if he didn't know what the question was.

As the woman launched into her question, seemingly hesitant, Leander listened carefully, already working out things that he might be asked. However, the question that he was asked was a simple one, and he smiled, chuckling slightly, "Of course, it wouldn't be a problem." He didn't mind, and he would just have to keep Akamu and any of the clinic's other occupants out of the yard while Poppy was in there, until he knew more about the dog in front of him. Nodding easily, Leander asked, "Would you like to see the yard now, then, or were you just asking as a precaution?"