so you can throw me to the wolves

Cypress' gut clenched as she punched her card mere seconds before disaster. At least she was here, and clocked in, and the day had only just started so... She clenched her fists, trying to slow her anxious breathing. Luke, cleaning out one of the kennels to her left, lifted his brows at her as if to say that was a close one. She grinned recklessly at him, but her fingers were shaking. The master barked her name and she startled, accidentally knocking over a shovel, and she scrambled to pick it up.

"Watch your new friend, Cy," Luke said in a low voice. At his nod she whirled around, wondering if Qarinah had followed her inside. Thus far the canine... thing (Olive and Cypress suspected she was based from some sort of jackal, but had been reluctant to mention it with Jacopo's Bethany still missing) hadn't done so - both her and Luke's familiars had been banished from the building and paddock - but Cypress still wasn't sure how much she understood or was even listening. Their bond had grown no deeper in the time since they'd become bonded, and she was no less a mystery. Her gut already clenching at the thought of the kennel master encountering Qarinah inside - whom he exclaimed "gave him the fucking creeps" - she was pleasantly surprised to find someone else. It took her long than it should've, likely a result of the pounding footsteps heading towards her and Luke. It was a wolfy someone... Wolf. Thoth! Her eyes went wide in her face, confusion and surprise and no small amount of affection brightening her features after a second.

"I thought your powers didn't work on...?" Luke whispered. They were standing almost shoulder to shoulder with the wall of the stall between them, both pointed in the direction of the kennel-master's approaching footsteps. Thoth stood before her, teeth bared. She hurried to touch his shoulder, to reassure herself that he was really there.

"He's not full, just a wolf mix," Cy replied hurriedly. "His name's..." She looked down at Thoth. "Er, Thor."

"Another of your mongrels?" the kennel-master snarled as he rounded the corner, beady dark eyes narrowed and lip curled with distaste. Still, he seemed to have enough common sense not to approach the "wolf-mix", stopping well out of lunging range as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, sir, I-" Cy began.

"You think I want your excuses? Get this bad-tempered mutt out of my kennel. And while you're at it, put the dogs through their paces."

"Yes, sir," Cypress said obediently. She turned back towards the coat rack.

"DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I SAID? GO. NOW."

"B-but, it's cold-" Cy began. She was wearing a plush sweater, but a thicker coat would really make the difference against the chill.

"But it's cold," the man mocked snidely, slamming into the kennel next to Luke's to inspect one of the pregnant females. Cypress' shoulders drooped. She moved, releasing a batch of dogs from their kennels, and proceeded outside. Luke snuck her a pair of warm gloves on her way past, his mismatched eyes full of hate while he made sure the kennel master wasn't watching him do it. As soon as they were outside - and away from the kennel master - the dogs seemed to loosen up, wagging tails as they surrounded her and, after a second or two of confusion, Thoth. The first step was warming them up, and she gave the order to run the length of the paddock a few times before turning to Thoth.

Out of habit - accustomed to doing so with her pack dogs - she held his face, looking into his familiar brown eyes, before she smiled. "You're really not supposed to be here, you know." She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him close as she shook - just a little. The cold hadn't quite hit her yet, but she always seemed to shake when the kennel master was around. She hated it, but she couldn't seem to make herself stop. "But I'm glad you are."

Cypress;