Housepets!

"...I'll come every week instead....."

Kimberly picks takes the papers from the doctor and puts it in her purse.

"Thank you Doctor. Houston will be coming here more since he doesn't have a vet here yet. Also, shall we discuss the payment now?

"Great. Thank you. And sure, we can sort that out for you now." Geoff shows Kimberly the costs on the invoice. "You can pay in any form you like. We can also do payment plans if it's a bit much all at once. Since you'll be coming back, I'd also like to ask you to fill in a form about Houston's medical history just so we know if here's anything he's allergic to or if he has any other medical conditions we should know about. I'll give you the form now and you can drop it in next time you bring him in, if you like."

~~~~~
Jake nods slowly. "Thank you. I appreciate it." He wipes his eyes and then stands up again.
"I'm sorry. Look at me, making a fool of myself and blubbering like a joey without his mother. I dunno what you must think of me."
"Hey!" Jake can't help but let out a small laugh. His brother always knows how to cheer him up.
"Not you! You know what I meant."
"Heh. We'll be a funny looking mob, won't we? Two boomers and a lion. Who'da thunk it?"

Kimberly finishes up with the Doctor and thanks him for the kind gestures.

"Would you like to talk to the other pets that are here Houston?"

"..... I bet they think I'm such a cry baby...."

Geoff demurely thanks Kimberly for her gratitude and custom and then turns to address Houston's concern. "I'm sure they don't, Houston. You were injured. You had a right to be upset. And like I said before, the true measure of strength is not keeping it together but in keeping going when you're falling apart."

Houston doesn't take comfort from his words and withdraws. He simply utters:"..Okay.."

Hlaoroo wrote:Jake nods slowly. "Thank you. I appreciate it." He wipes his eyes and then stands up again.
"I'm sorry. Look at me, making a fool of myself and blubbering like a joey without his mother. I dunno what you must think of me."
"Hey!" Jake can't help but let out a small laugh. His brother always knows how to cheer him up.
"Not you! You know what I meant."
"Heh. We'll be a funny looking mob, won't we? Two boomers and a lion. Who'da thunk it?"

"I live with a monkey, I'm used to being in funny looking groups," Met replied. "Now, should we head back to the vet?"

"Alright. Well I'm happy to release him so he can either stay here with the others or you can take him home, whichever the two of you prefer. You've got the form there and Sue will fix up the payment and all that jazz out the front. Is there anything else I can do for you at all"

~~~~~~~~
"A monkey? Really? Is he a movie star too?"
"... Do we need to go back? I suppose we should check on Houston, but... back to the humans?"

Hlaoroo wrote:"Alright. Well I'm happy to release him so he can either stay here with the others or you can take him home, whichever the two of you prefer. You've got the form there and Sue will fix up the payment and all that jazz out the front. Is there anything else I can do for you at all"

~~~~~~~~
"A monkey? Really? Is he a movie star too?"
"... Do we need to go back? I suppose we should check on Houston, but... back to the humans?"

"I think I want to wait near a window..."

Alright Hugh.... I'll just settle everything outside. Kisses Houston on the head.

I'll go finish up then. Thank you for all your help doctor.

Hlaoroo wrote:"A monkey? Really? Is he a movie star too?"
"... Do we need to go back? I suppose we should check on Houston, but... back to the humans?"

"She," Met corrected. "And she was the organ grinder's monkey in one of the scenes of the same movie I was in. As for going back, you'll have to get used to interacting with humans sooner or later."

"You're very welcome. And please, call me Geoff. Would you like a drink or something to eat, Houston?" Geoff asks while Kimberly talks to Sue.

~~~~~~~~
"In Pridelands? I don't remember that..." By now, Joey has all but forgotten their ordeal but Jake is still worried.
"I suppose you're right... I suppose this can be the first opportunity to try trusting one..." Jake turns and after a moments hesitation, beings hopping slowly back towards the clinic.

Hlaoroo wrote:"In Pridelands? I don't remember that..." By now, Joey has all but forgotten their ordeal but Jake is still worried.
"I suppose you're right... I suppose this can be the first opportunity to try trusting one..." Jake turns and after a moments hesitation, beings hopping slowly back towards the clinic.

"Oh sorry, I meant the one I was in that my dad directed," Met explained. "I mentioned that one, right?"
he then followed after Jake back to the clinic.

"The one about Barnum? I saw that one. You did mention it. I remember the monkey too." says Jake, trying to distract himself from his dread of what he's about to do.
"Er... Was it left at this intersection or straight through? I wasn't really paying attention when we were running."

Kimberly heads outside. ".......I guess....."

Geoff fills a bowl with water and puts some chunks of steak onto a plate and then sets them in front of the bird.
"There you go. You'll be just fine, you know. In a few weeks you'll be flying just as well as you were before. You're lucky that you're young so you'll heal quite well."

Hlaoroo wrote:"The one about Barnum? I saw that one. You did mention it. I remember the monkey too." says Jake, trying to distract himself from his dread of what he's about to do.
"Er... Was it left at this intersection or straight through? I wasn't really paying attention when we were running."

"You know, I'm... not exactly sure myself," Met said. "I probably should have payed attention."

"I saw in a movie the humans had a little box they could use to talk to other humans and that they could use to find out where they are. Do you have one of those?" suggests Joey.

"It's called a phone, and I do have one," Met answered. "But each phone has a number associated with it, and you need to know that to connect to it with another phone. And I don;t have the number of anyone at the vet."

"I've seen in some of the more recent movies that some of those... phomes? have maps on them. Do you have maps?" Jake stumbles slightly over the unfamiliar word.

~~@~~@~~
Houston slowly begins imbibing and nibbling at his meal while Susan swipes Kimberly's credit card in the machine.

Hlaoroo wrote:"I've seen in some of the more recent movies that some of those... phomes? have maps on them. Do you have maps?" Jake stumbles slightly over the unfamiliar word.

"Actually... yeah, I didn't think of that," Met answered as he reached into his collar to check the GPS on his phone.
"The vet's this way,"He said leading the roos back towards their destination.

Before long the small group arrives back at the veterinary clinic. WalkingHopping in through the front door the roos stick to the back wall of the room as they see the two women talking at the reception desk.
"Oh, hello again you three. Go straight through. Geoff is expecting you." The roos nod and head out the back nervously to where Geoff is looking after Houston and the wolves and Namine are still visible outside the door.
"Oh, hello again. Thank you for coming back. Will you let me take a look at you again to make sure you're OK?" The roos nervously look to Met again for support before nodding dumbly at the vet.
"Thank you." Geoff unhooks his stethoscope from around his neck and unhurriedly approaches the roos, making sure to come in from an angle rather than from directly in front.
"This is a stethoscope. I'm going to use it to listen to your heart. I'll just put it on your chest and move it around a little. I just need you to hold still for me. Can you do that?" When the roos nod again, Geoff carefully closes the final gap between them and gently places the metal disc against each of their chests in turn, asking them to breathe in and out a few times. Trembling slightly, the roos obey. Satisfied by what he hears, Geoff attempts to encourage and comfort the roos with quiet words. Opting not to freak them out by taking their temperatures, he instead pulls out a blood pressure machine. After explaining what it'll do, he affixes the cuff to each of their arms in turn, noting them stiffen as the machine buzzes and tightens around their arm. Still, the reading is normal and Geoff is satisfied.
"Thank you for that. You two have been very brave and you seem to have recovered just fine from that little incident earlier."

Namine noticed the two kangaroos and Met walk in. "Hey guys." she said.

"G- G'day, Namine."
"How's it going?" The two roos are still a little nervous around the vet.

"I'm fine, are you two okay?" Namine asked.

"...This meat is tasty..."

Houston continues to eat, feeling better.

"Fine."
"Fine." answer the roos in unison.
"We'll live." adds Jake, trying not to look at the chunks of meat that Houston is devouring too closely.

"So did we miss much while we were gone?" Met asked.

"Not that I know of." Namine replied. "Are we still up for fireworks and video games?"

"I'll say!"
"Sure! Why not?" The kangaroos are now excited all over again. Their obvious energy relieves Geoff and removes the last vestiges of doubt in his mind about their health.

Houston stops eating for a moment and wonders what the commotion is about. He finishes the last piece of meat before hoping down to where the commotion is taking place.

(ooc: I'm not sure if we're all in a large room or something.

hypernovatic wrote:"Not that I know of." Namine replied. "Are we still up for fireworks and video games?"

Hlaoroo wrote:"I'll say!"
"Sure! Why not?" The kangaroos are now excited all over again. Their obvious energy relieves Geoff and removes the last vestiges of doubt in his mind about their health.

"Yeah, we're still doing that." Met answered. "It'll be a while before it's dark enough for fireworks, so we may get tired of playing games before then."

Suddenly the JJ's faces fall.
"Dark?"
"Harry expects us back by dark..."
"He can be rather..."
"... Unpleasant if we don't co-operate..."

Aida made her way through her new town. Her dad was busy getting settled in, but she couldn't bear to sit still and unpack. Instead, her dad had given her permission to go into town and explore at her leisure. She had he camera with he and had already taken pictures of various interesting sites along the way. She had seen a few people but no animals.
"Where are all the pets?" she wondered aloud.

Hlaoroo wrote:Suddenly the JJ's faces fall.
"Dark?"
"Harry expects us back by dark..."
"He can be rather..."
"... Unpleasant if we don't co-operate..."

"Do you think he'd agree to let you stay out if you ask him first?" Met asked.

"We could ask but..."
"He has a friend coming over and..."
"He likes to show us off..."
"So we doubt he'd let us."

"Hmm, maybe If I asked for you," Met suggested. "I don't really like it, but a lot of humans are scared to say no to a lion."

"I wouldn't advise it."
"Harry's an ex-cop."
"He carries a gun."
"And putting restrictions on us is apparently perfectly legal."
"We don't like it but...
"There's really nothing we can do."

Geoff's heart goes out to the kangaroos but he knows that as long as they're not being abused or mistreated, and he'd seen no evidence of that, there's nothing he can do for them.

"I wasn't suggesting I threaten him, just ask politely," Met explained. "You'd be surprised how many people assume I'm going to hurt them when I don't give them reason to. But I guess being an ex-cop means he'd be less likely to think that. And you're right, there's nothing inherently wrong with him wanting you home at a specific time, It's just that some owners bend their rules for special occasions."

Met thought for a minute. "Does your house have a yard where you can be home and outside at the same time? Or would Harry need you inside all night?"

"Huh! He won't bend his rules for us!"
You might as well try to eat a galah as get him to change his mind when it's made up."
"We do have a yard though. In fact, that's where he expects us to be, so he can look out the window and watch us."
"It's a bit creepy actually..."

Hlaoroo wrote:"Huh! He won't bend his rules for us!"
You might as well try to eat a galah as get him to change his mind when it's made up."
"We do have a yard though. In fact, that's where he expects us to be, so he can look out the window and watch us."
"It's a bit creepy actually..."

"Yeah that is pretty creepy." Namine agreed.

hypernovatic wrote:

Hlaoroo wrote:"Huh! He won't bend his rules for us!"
You might as well try to eat a galah as get him to change his mind when it's made up."
"We do have a yard though. In fact, that's where he expects us to be, so he can look out the window and watch us."
"It's a bit creepy actually..."

"Yeah that is pretty creepy." Namine agreed.

"Well, Creepy or not, that means you'll probably be able to see the fireworks from your yard if we set them off in the right spot," Met said.