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TWENTY

It was drizzling slightly but not enough for it to be a bother. It was actually quite refreshing and cool and Felicity looked adorable with her frizzled hair. And the upside was that the sanctuary was nice and empty because nobody wanted to come on a daytrip in miserable weather.

Felicity slipped her hand in mine and I hissed in pain.

She instantly let go. "I'm sorry, is your hand still tender?"

I nodded. "Just a little."

She twisted my hand up and gave my palm a very, very gentle kiss. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

"It's okay, it's my fault for not letting go. I don't even know why I did that, it wasn't like I was going to be able to hold the crate up on my own."

"You just care. A little too much sometimes."

"Jacob said the same thing." I sighed. "Is it really bad?"

Felicity paused in the rain, a droplet rolling down her nose. "I say this with love but you can be a bit obsessive."

I frowned at her statement. "I'm not."

"A little. When an animal captures your heart, you live and breathe taking care of it. Everything else in the world disappears. You forget to eat, to sleep, to spend time with me."

It did ring true which was a little confronting, especially when I thought I'd been doing better at balancing my life and the demands of my job.

Apparently not.

We continued on to the new Hellhound House while I thought about it. She was right, I did forget anything and everything else when I was focused on an animal. In the past weeks, I spent every free moment I had to put Obie at ease. Even if it wasn't really in my job description.

We reached the new hellhound house and passed the scorch mark when we went inside. I was curious to see that Obie was getting on in his new enclosure and hoped that yesterday's events didn't forge an association between me and stress.

We got to the enclosure and I realised we weren't alone. A woman with lots of tiny dark braids was mopping the area. She looked up when she saw us and gave a wide smile. "Hello. Can I help you?"

"Umm. I'm here to check on Obie. I'm on the veterinarian team. Who are you?"

"Mandy, I'm Obsidian's new keeper." She gave me a thoughtful look. "You must be Charlotte."

I hummed. "I didn't realise Obie got assigned a keeper."

"I was transferred yesterday." She smiled. "Obie. That's a cute nickname. Much better than calling him Obsidian. I think I'll use that from now on too."

An unpleasant feeling made my stomach clench. I knew this person was just doing their job but it felt like they were coming between me and Obie.

Felicity cleared her throat. "So why did you get chosen to look after Obie? Did you already work here or do you have experience with hellhounds?"

"Oh yeah, I've been here at the Griffin Sanctuary for almost ten years. I have a few part-time animals which is perfect so I can make Obie my main focus."

I fidgeted with my hands. "He's very scared and shy so don't be offended if he ignores you for weeks. That's what he did to me."

"I don't mind that," she said with a smile and a shrug. "I used to work with rescue dogs before I came here so I know a thing or two about handling scared dogs. You have to let them come to you but when they do, it's magic."

"How are you handling feeding time?" I inquired. "Obie's very particular. I've noticed he only eats out of a round metal bowl and his favourite snack is pepperoni. I can tell you which his favourite brand is."

Mandy smiled. "Oh, that's not necessary. I already read it in his file. You included a lot of detailed notes which were very helpful, so thank you."

Her dismissal was rubbing me up the wrong way even though I had no reason to feel that way. It was great that Obie had a dedicated keeper, it meant he was upgraded to a permanent member of the Griffin Sanctuary family. So why did this feel so horrible?

When an awkward silence fell over us, Felicity carried on the conversation. "So is Obie exploring his new home?"

Mandy turned towards the enclosure. "He sniffed a few spots earlier this morning but he's mostly sticking to that corner in the back.

I'm giving him some time to get used to me before I start working on enrichment.

Maybe I'll use the pepperoni to get him to do some nosework.

That's what we call engaging their sense of smell. "

"I know what nosework is," I replied tersely.

"Of course." Mandy looked at me directly. "So are you here to do a medical check-up or were you just dropping by?"

"I wanted to make sure he was settling in alright and the move or fall hadn't caused him any more stress," I said, omitting the fact that this wasn't an official assignment. Then again, Jacob did say Obie was in my care so technically, I got to decide when I wanted to check up on him.

Mandy nodded and gestured to the enclosure. "Be my guest. It was nice to meet you. I heard that you were very dedicated but it's nice to see it for myself. Obie is lucky to have someone like you look after him."

I ignored her as I made my way into the habitat, glad to be away from this new keeper. Felicity matched my pace, her hand finding the small of my back. The comforting gesture made me relax slightly which was good because I knew Obie would be able to pick up on my stress and frustration.

"She was so passive-aggressive," I grumbled once we were out of earshot.

Felicity gave me a look. "Really? She seemed really nice to me."

"No? She kept giving all these underhanded compliments."

"I think they were genuine compliments. Why would she be passive-aggressive?"

A huff came from deep within me. "Okay, maybe she was being genuine. I just felt suffocated and like she's taking Obie away from me."

"Oh, Char." Felicity touched my face. "Nobody is taking Obie away from you. The bond you've formed with him already won't be erased simply because now there's someone else who will take care of him."

"I know that, logically . It's just that now he's not in Quarantine anymore, I won't be able to see him as much anymore. And I can't keep checking in on him daily."

We reached the end of the habitat and checked the den. Stone boulders had been piled on top of each other to create a nice alcove that was a perfect resting place for a hellhound like Obie. I crouched down to look into it, pleased when two red eyes stared back at me.

"Hello, Obie. You look nice and cosy down there."

He closed his eyes, perfectly blending in with the darkness of the den. Such great camouflage for an animal that could be the top of the food chain if it wished.

I grabbed the packet of pepperoni and pulled the plastic off. The sound made Obie open his eyes again and he poked his snout out.

"Aha, is someone in the mood for a snack?" I dangled the first slice in the air, hoping to entice him out. I wanted to have a proper look at him, just to assure myself that he was going to be alright from now on.

Obie stirred and I automatically moved back, just in case his nails sparked a fire. I didn't want another brush with his flames and I knew to be more careful if I didn't want to get hurt again.

It took a moment but Obie clambered out of the den, his nose wobbling as he followed the scent of the spicy sausage. It was remarkable how much more cooperative he was now than in the beginning even after the added stress of the move.

I tossed him the first slice. "Are you enjoying your new home?"

His ears wobbled as he chomped down on his snack. There was even a slight tail quiver that could be considered the beginning of a wag.

I gave him another piece. "I hope you'll be very happy here."

He gobbled it up happily and came a little closer looking for more. It was adorable and it reassured me that our encounter yesterday did not affect him too much. He was resilient which made sense, he did survive the private collection.

I crouched down so I could assess his physical state.

He'd definitely gained weight since he came into our care.

His ribs were no longer poking out the same way and he stood a little taller.

The difference was amazing and it made all the time and effort worth it.

He looked a lot happier and at ease too, happily munching on the snacks.

My stomach twisted into a painful knot and my voice came out shakier than I wanted. "I'm going to miss him."

Without missing a beat, Felicity wrapped one arm around me. The warmth in her gesture broke something inside me and hot tears pooled in my eyes before inevitably falling down. I grabbed hold of her and buried my face into her arm.

"I don't know why I'm so sad."

"Because you care so, so much."

"But I've looked at lots of animals before and I've not felt like this before."

She rubbed my back soothingly. "Sometimes we bond more with certain animals. It's okay to be sad. It just means you did it with heart."

I nodded and let the sadness trickle away, feeling a lot lighter now that I'd let it out. It felt a little embarrassing to cry over an animal that wasn't even leaving the sanctuary, just moving out of my care.

And for that I could only be grateful.

We got up so we could leave Obie in peace and Felicity bumped her shoulder into me. "I have an idea. How about we celebrate Obie's move with a pizza party of our own? I've missed spending time with you and you could use a quiet evening."

I felt myself smile. "That sounds wonderful. But no pepperoni, I'm kind of sick of it."

She laughed and pulled me closer. "Fair enough."