He stared at her blankly for a moment, before asking, "How the hell did they find a hellhound?"
Beth giggled as he unconsciously echoed Kieran's words. Before she could explain, the exam room door burst open. Nathan and Harper emerged first, still wrestling with their makeshift climbing rope leash as the pup bounded between them. Troy followed after, still with that disconcerted expression on his face.
The hellhound's tail wagged frantically at the sight of a new person, nearly knocking over a display of pamphlets as hedragged Nathan and Harper toward Tyr. Red sparks showered from his thick black coat, making Troy take another step back with a muttered curse.
Tyr crouched down, completely unfazed by the magical display. He held out his hand, letting the puppy sniff his fingers before scratching behind the massive ears.
"Hey there, little guy." His voice carried the same gentle tone he used with the clinic's smallest patients.
Beth caught Harper's eye, pressing her lips together to suppress a giggle. Harper's shoulders shook with barely contained laughter as they both looked at the "little guy" who already stood nearly as tall as Tyr's waist.
"Little?" Harper's voice climbed several octaves into dog-whistle territory as she lost her battle with composure. "He's already the size of a pony!"
Beth dissolved into giggles, earning a confused look from Tyr. "Kieran says he'll grow to be the size of a bison," she managed between laughs.
The puppy woofed happily, his tail thumping against the reception desk hard enough to rattle the computer monitor. Red sparks sparked through his fur as he attempted to give Tyr's face a thorough washing.
Tyr straightened, still scratching behind the hellhound's massive ears. His blue eyes flicked to the bag of kibble on the counter.
"Yeah, that won't work," he said, shaking his head. "Hellhounds need fresh meat. A lot of it."
Harper's amber eyes went wide with alarm. "How much is a lot?"
"For a pup this size?" Tyr considered the massive black puppy, who was now attempting to climb into his lap despite being nearly as big as Tyr himself. "Probably about fifty pounds of raw meat. But he'll only need to eat every week or two."
Nathan's face went pale. "Fifty pounds?" His sandy brown hair fell into his eyes as he stared at Tyr in dismay. "Where are we supposed to get fifty pounds of meat?"
"And where would we store it?" Harper added, her voice rising in panic. She gripped Nathan's arm. "Our freezer is barely big enough for our groceries!"
"Just check with a local butcher," Tyr said, ruffling the pup's fur so it sparked even more. "Order a bunch of roasts. Tell them you're having a big barbecue or a family reunion or something."
The hellhound's tail thumped harder against the reception desk at the attention, nearly knocking over a stack of appointment cards.
Beth shrieked "No, no!" and dove forward, catching the stack of appointment cards just before they scattered across the floor. She nudged the massive puppy sideways, redirecting his enthusiastically wagging tail away from the reception desk. Harper lunged past her, snatching the container of pens before it could go flying.
The hellhound woofed happily at all the excitement, his tail now thumping against the wall instead in a thudding rhythm.
"Sorry!" Nathan grabbed the makeshift leash, trying to pull the puppy back. "He doesn't quite understand how big he is yet."
Beth straightened up, carefully setting the rescued cards back on the counter. Her heart was still racing from the near disaster. The last thing they needed was to spend an hour sorting scattered appointment cards off the floor.
The puppy attempted to turn around, his back end not quite getting the message from his front end. His oversized paws scrabbled against the tile as he nearly fell over himself, saved only by Nathan's quick grab of his shoulders.
"Careful, there." Nathan steadied the gangly pup, who rewarded him with another attempt at a thorough face-washing.
Beth couldn't help laughing at the sight of the massive hellhound trying to climb into Nathan's arms like a lapdog, completely oblivious to the fact that he was nearly as big as the musician himself. Red sparks continued to dance, creating a mesmerizing display in the fluorescent lighting of the clinic's reception area.
Nathan turned to Tyr. "That... that could actually work. About the butcher, I mean." He ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair, pushing it back from his eyes. "We wouldn't even need to worry about storage if we just bought it when it was feeding time."
Tyr nodded. "Exactly. Every week or two, just pick up what you need."
Beth couldn't help smiling as she watched the massive black puppy trying to spin in circles between them all, his oversized paws scrabbling on the tile floor. Despite his intimidating size and supernatural nature, he was still very much a baby, ungainly and sweet.
"That's actually brilliant," Harper said, her amber eyes brightening. "We can rotate between different butcher shops too, so no one place gets suspicious about our massive meat orders."
For the first time since the hellhound had bounded into their lives, the group seemed to relax slightly. They had a plan. It might be unconventional, but it was workable.
A soft pop of displaced air announced Jacinth's return, and with it, another complication. The puppy's tail wagged harder, sending another shower of sparks through his shaggy dark coat as he attempted to turn and greet her. His back end didn't quite cooperate, resulting in him nearly bowling over Harper in his enthusiasm.
