Meanwhile, Katie, still amused at Gabriel having been called a cute dog, looked at Anwyn with curiosity. She could feel the girl's embarrasment keenly, as well as Dani's exasperation and Melissa's worries.
Wishing to help diffuse the situation, Katie looked at Anwyn with a smile. "His name's Gabriel, and thank you for saying he's cute. You made his day."
Anwyn grinned back as Katie passed her. It was only polite to hold the door. And anyways, this allowed her to get a closer sneak peek at them. When Gabriel paused for a moment beside her, Anwyn gave in to the temptation to stroke his soft fur. The dog's eyes were deep pools of colour, with his owner's face shining within them and surrounded by a sparkling electric-blue haze. It was so realistic that, for a moment, she thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her, and that it was JUST a reflection. But then she realized that there _WEREN'T_ any blue lightbulbs in the room. "Hey ! Wow !", she exclaimed softly in wonder, recognizing it as a vision.
Looking back up, Anwyn ventured cautiously to Katie, "So _who_are you ?". Then, in a sudden spurt of bravery, she added "... or perhaps I should say instead ..._what_ are you ? ... Does Gabriel _understand_ you when you talk to him ?". Remembering what Kay had told her about feyfolk, that was as explicit as Anwyn dared to get. And even then, she wondered if perhaps she'd gone too far.
Katie saw that Melissa was deep in conversation with her friend, and realized that whatever the situation was, she wasn't needed for any huge emergency right this minute. She looked at the girl, bemused by her direct interrogation and shyness - unusual to find them both in the same breath!
"I'm a friend of Melissa's." she explained with a grin. (in Standard) "my name is Katie - " she left it at that "...and Gabriel here is a special kind of dog. I inherited him from a friend of mine, who had to - go away." How did one explain teleported out of thin air to someone? "He does seem to know what I say, but any smart dog will learn how to tell what you mean, mostly from the tone of your voice. It's not magic or anything." She patted Gabriel, and fixed Anwyn with a curious look in return. "And what about you? How are you mixed up with all of this?"
Anwyn shrugged, feeling very dissapointed. Here was yet ANOTHER person who wouldn't tell her anything _important_. But perhaps it had been rude of her to ask such a personal question. "I'm just Kay's student ... nobody important ... when I couldn't find her, I went looking ..."", she said, scratching gently behind Gabriel's ears, and trying to pretend that it didn't matter that she hadn't gotten any of the answers she'd wanted.
Mairead had been none too happy when she saw a _DOG_ enter the room. It was a complete mystery why so many humans cared for them. Didn't these foolish humans know that these animals were the natural enemies of her kind? And here before her eyes was the she-human-cub petting the dog affectionately.
A small and and angry hiss expressed the little black kitten's dissaproval as she jumped down to the table to stand guard over bird-sister. Softly, she nudged Amadaine's beak with one of her small paws. When no initial response came, she poked harder and meowed insistently, broadcasting her distress at mommy-human.
Katie was about to reply to Anwyn, when she heard the distinct kreel of a small bird - in distress of some sort. She looked up sharply, taking note finally, of the rest of the occupants of the room. A small kitten was glaring at Gabriel with indignant hostility, and Katie saw with some surprise the injured girl on the kitchen table with Melissa, a small bundle wrapped in her arms.
The bundle seemed to be the source of the muffled sounds, and Katie could almost taste the young woman's worry about it. She excused herself gently from the girl, and quietly went to stand near Melissa, waiting for their conversation to come to a pause so she could introduce herself.