Korean Kennels
"Hello, traveller!" a cheerful voice booms from behind you. You spin around and find yourself face-to-face with a large white canine. He looks you up and down with his beautiful blue eyes and tilts his head. His bushy tail swishes behind him as he takes a step forward. You notice a bright pink crescent moon with a small star next to it imprinted on his left haunch, and a pair of angelic white wings pressed tightly against his back. "Where would you like to go?" he asks politely with a slight nod of his head. "I don't know.. I.. I think I'm lost," you stammer, eyeing the strange yet majestic beast cautiously. "There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm Blake, alpha male of the Sunrise Pack. My pack resides at Korean Kennels." "Korean Kennels?" you inquire. "Yes, I'll take you there. I'm sure Melody will have a place for you to stay. If you're lucky, she'll let you sleep in the barn." You gape at him in disbelief. He chuckles and swipes playfully at you. "I'm only kidding, no need to have a stroke." You feel your cheeks growing hot and glance down, embarrassed. "Well, are you coming or not?"
You nod your head, then ask, "How far away is it?" Blake bounds forward. "It's on the other side of Crystal Lake," he notes, gesturing with a forepaw toward the shimmering blue lake behind him. You rest your hands on your hips. "And how exactly are we going to get there?" Before you can say another word, he charges forward and lowers his head, knocking your feet off of the ground. You shriek as he bucks a bit until you're facing the same direction as him, and suddenly two fabulously long, feathery wings extend from between his shoulderblades. He stretches them out and you shuffle a bit back. "Hang on," is all he says before kicking off from the ground. You grip his luxuriously thick coat of clean fur and hang on for dear life as he swiftly ascends. You soar into the azure-blue sky and past puffy white clouds. Below you, you can see Crystal Lake, the stretching blue waters glittering as the beaming yellow sun shines down on them. After what seems like a half hour, Blake lands gracefully and you gratefully climb off his back. In front of you is a small, somewhat shabby building made of red bricks. A thatched roof looks out of place, as do beige shutters. Next to the building is a stable-like structure, painted the same colour as the bricks - a nice, bright chrome-red. Its peeling yellow doors on rusty hinges remind you of a saloon bar's entrance. Blake pads past the stable and nudges the double doors of the building open, padding in. You follow him and look around. The inside certainly tops the outside appearance-wise: a polished marble floor glints beneath your feet, modern lanterns lighting the brick walls; a waiting bay contains two separate rows of oak chairs with burgundy cushions and a small wooden coffee table piled with magazines; ahead of you is a marble counter, equipped with a sorted series of notebooks and a silver bell, with a rather tempting sign beneath it: "Please Ring For Assistance." Blinking, you realise you have wandered up to the counter. Leaning forward casually, you reach out to tap the bell when a pretty face pops up from beneath the desk. You pull her hand back quickly and smile. The young girl smiles back and tucks a rebellious strand of raven hair behind her ear. Silken ebony curls spill over her shoulders and onto her plain white blouse. She grins broadly, pushing a pair of silver-rimmed spectacles up her small nose. She clears her throat, then looks over the counter at Blake, who is sitting patiently on his haunches. He smiles warmly and she smiles once again, then looks back at you. "Hello. My name is Melody, and I run Korean Kennels and make sure that every member of the Sunrise Pack..." She pauses and winks at Blake, who grins. "... is healthy and well." You quirk your head and ask him, "May I ask what you are?" He shifts his paws and Melody nods. "I'm a Korean Huskdog. That's how this place got its name," he says, nosing your thigh softly. "A what?" You smile and scratch behind his ears, which causes him to start purring faintly. "A Huskdog," he repeats. "We're closely related to huskies, but we have magic in our blood, therefore the irregular genes may cause mutations on rare occasions. Like myself, for example, I've been gifted with angel wings - advanced genetics may trigger evolutions in the mutations, such as archangel wings." You nod and try to soak all that has happened in the last hour up. "Do you shelter all of the Huskdogs at Korean Kennels?" The girl frowns a little. "As much as I'd like to, I'm afraid keeping the newly born litters here at the Kennels doesn't comply with my budget. We should be remodelling soon, but even after that I won't be able to support all of the pups and adults." As you open your mouth to ask about where the pups live, Mel answers your unspoken question for you. "So, I distribute the pups to appropriate owners who have a good home for them. We always make sure that Blake, Amia and the others' kits are awarded to a proper location and not to so some inferior owner who will mistreat them," she says sharply, narrowing her eyes. Her usually joyous, bright blue eyes now appear cold and icy. But, just as you feel the need to look away, a small smile returns to her pale pink lips. You inhale a deep breath. Mel lets her head fall to one side, supporting a cheek with her shoulder. She observes you for quite a while, then begins to hum quietly. An almost familiar tune, it seems. She pulls out a notebook and flicks through the pages, then opens a drawer and pulls out a grey quill. She dips it into an old-fashioned inkwell and scribbles something across a page, then closes the notebook. "You are going to adopt a pup, aren't you?" She gazes at you expectantly, although she doesn't have to wait long for you to reply, for after several seconds of staring, you jump at the opportunity. "Oh, I'd love to!" You clasp your hands together and grin crookedly. Mel nods calmly, then reopens the handbook. She turns to another page and taps it with the tip of her quill, creating a small spot of ink on the paper, "Sign here." You obey and whisk your signature across the top of the thin line. "You're all set, then!" she chirps, hopping daintily to her feet. "Follow me, please." You glance over your shoulder and realise that Blake has disappeared, but you follow Melody nonetheless.