recolle | And Two Is Company

WHO: Ainsley and Augustine.
WHERE: Chata at the Recollé Animal Shelter. Followed by a trip to Tisse.
WHEN: Before the 3rd of February.
WHAT: Advice on animals, adopting, and how much cake a person really needs.
WARNINGS: None.

There are two ways to distinguish Ainsley from the rest when it comes to picking her out from a crowd. It's an important skill to have when waiting for her arrival during a particular busy weekday over at the Chata District.

One way is remembering her choice of clothing. Always fond of bold colours such as red or blue, she's a pop of colour amongst the crowd who are more likely to wear sensible blacks and browns. The other way to find her is-

"Hey! Augustine! I'm over here! Hi! Augustine! Hi! Hey!"

-that way. She has a set of lungs on her.

Running up to where she sees her friend waiting for her, the grin on her face is undeniable as she waves her arm in the air. As if she needs to make extra sure he knows that she's coming.

"Thanks for waiting! I hope I didn't make you wait for too long." She claps her hands together, the very picture of bubbly excitement that's tinged with some nervousness. It's not every day you may meet your doggie soulmate after all. "So-! I talked to others who work here at the shelter and they also have in mind some pooches I should meet but I would love to hear your thoughts on who I might be a good match with."

After all, she and Augustine have known each other for a while. Ever since meeting each other at the university that one fateful day, she's come to admire and respect her friend quite a lot. Augustine's judgement about this affair of hers means a lot to Ainsley.

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"Of course!" She's about to follow his head when she realises something if the sudden and dramatic gasp out of her is anything to go by.

She reaches out with one hand, no doubt an attempt to grab his arm or hand to get his attention, and the other hand pulls out her phone from the tote bag she's carrying on her person. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what she's trying to do, the screen of her phone showing how she's opening the camera app.

"We need to take a selfie together for the occasion." Really. Seriously. She's really being serious about this. "You rarely join me in these sort of things, you know."

There… There maybe a reason for that, Ainsley.

As he's friends with her for long now, he learned that whatever she has in mind for him and herself, she can never change her mind as Ainsley grabs his arm and asks for a selfie together with her. And with that look in her eyes right now, he feels that he doesn't have a choice now.

"Actually, that's because..." He then stops, realizing that he might hurt her feelings if he runs his mouth around without any warning. "You know what, sure."

He then smiles for the camera near his friend as he waits for her to take a selfie shot. Once they're done, he then decides to ask her regarding what kind of dog she wants. "You said they also have ideas about your future pet, but other than a small pet, what else do you have in mind?"

Snap! Flash! She takes the picture, making a point to ensure the angle was flattering to both of them, and beams at him appreciatively when it's done. She's always so grateful that he's so gamed with whatever she does - Be it taking selfies to helping her find a friend. He's the best friend an elementary teacher could ever hope for.

The question he asks has her smile become brighter as she quickly opens the photos and shows him a snapshot of a cute pooch that Dave had showed her earlier. "There's someone specific I would love to meet if its possible.

"Dave introduced me to Kara. She was rescued from a bad home and needs a good one now." Hearing Kara's story broke Ainsley's heart and has made her determined to give the dog the best home she could ever have with someone. "She sounds like a darling from what he told me so I want to see if we click. If we do then there's no question on who I want to take home."

As he listens to the little pooch's story from Ainsley while looking at the photo on her phone, he can see why she wants to take it home. Also, he doubts that she might not change her mind once she sets her mind on something, which is actually a good thing considering that the dog's previous owner wasn't so very kind of it.

"Looks like he's made a good choice. In fact, I think I saw Kara when I was feeding some of the dogs 2 weeks ago. I can't believe she managed to endure her old home." Of course, he feels guilty at Kara at the same time as he can't believe someone like her old owner treats her like that. "Since that's what you want, I suggest we better go in and meet your future friend."

If Ainsley can follow him, he might able to lead her where Kara was kept in the shelter.

Her face lights up at the thought of meeting Kara in person, the spring in her step so light that she's almost skipping. Almost. She does know how to behave herself in public when around with her friends. If only for their sake because how can she not be excited about this? She'll meet Kara and then Kara will be cared for and this will be the best day ever. She just knows it.

"Thank you! You and the others have been amazing since I talked about this on the app."

The mention of the app does cause her cheery demeanour to sober up a bit. The conversations she had with others about it still fresh in her mind. She looks around before continuing, unsure if this app was meant to be public or if they were allowed to speak about it in public at all. Better safe than sorry if she doesn't want to get sued.

"Soooo… How are you these days with Retrospec? Planning to change your passwords on your other accounts like some of the others too?"

As they entered the shelter and looks for Kara in one of the cages, he hopes that the little pooch might be okay with living with Ainsley as she did mention that she's still living in her apartment and he wonders if her landlady might agree on living with a pet.

But once she mentions about Retrospec, his expression grew dim as he is still suspicious about that social media app.

"Well, considering that I still don't trust this app a little, I'm just browsing through the posts for now. I don't know if I can make one anytime soon.

Yes, I am. But I'm still curious about one detail when I'm browsing through the app."

Then before this conversation can go on, he notices a cage containing the same dog he saw on Ainsley's phone next to a beagle's cage.

"Alright, looks like she's still here, wide and awake."

The moment she sees Kara's face, this time for real, she falls in love with her all over again. And also doesn't get a chance to ask about what was the detail that Augustine is curious about because look at Kara she is perfect!!!

"Oh! Look at her." She excitedly to the cage where Kara resides in, crouching down and waving at the slightly befuddled dog. "Hi sweetie! I'm Ainsley. I hope we can be great friends because you sounded like a darling when Dave told me about you and I would love to give you a home. It's a little cluttered right now but I promise to have it cleaned up by-"

Kara, perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and all the words, stared at Ainsley for a few seconds before looking over at Augustine. More used to his face considering the work he had done here in the past, the collie seems to be waiting for approval or signal that Ainsley is one to be trusted.

Though her tail is wagging a little bit thanks to the attention she was getting. So far, so good.

Once Ainsley sees Kara in the cage, Augustine then watches her squeal at the sight of the young beagle as she spends the next few minutes adoring her. Of course, he doesn't want to stop her as she really wants to adopt her after hearing about it from someone in Retrospec.

Then, he notices the beagle stares at him, which she got used to him due to his volunteer work at the shelter. As he can tell from her tail wagging and her stare, he guesses that she needs approval from him if Ainsley is trustworthy.

"It's alright, Kara. I know she is very excitable, but I know she will able to take care of you and give you a lot of TLC."

He then waits for Kara to react to her future owner.

And Two Is Company

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