[VET] Braving the Beast

A cough. “So uh, are you going in first… or am I expected to, as the man?” A side-eye from the man’s female companion next to him has him clearing his throat, the German’s Adam’s apple bobbing nervously. “Right… in I go.”

Dominik fuddles with his pockets before drawing out a piece of paper, hands trembling slightly as he glances at the paper in one hand, fingers on his other tapping at the keypad, inputting the code that slides the doors open with a heavy shift.

The veterinarian shifts her medical bag from one hand to the other anxiously,following the blonde man hesitantly through the opening in the reinforced concrete fence. Her name tag reads Dr. Mariana Vasquez, although right now she’d give to be anything other than a veterinarian.

Pushing her hair behind her ear, she glances around her as she takes in the environment. She’d only been here a handful of times, and that was before there were any prehistoric beasts walking the sanctuary grounds.

“Do we know where Graham is? Did he read back on the radio?” Her voice wavers as she startles at the sound of a twig snapping under Dominik’s heavy black boot.

“He said he was at the southeast river bend. I hope he’s already got that animal sedated. I’d hate to be his next meal…”

Why did it have to be the bear dog that got sick? Mariana thought to herself. Out of all the animals, it just had to be the one capable of biting me in half.

“And his mate… she would also be sedated, correct?” she asked.

“I would like to think that Graham knows what he’s doing, so I would say yes, and if not, I’m sure he has it covered.”

The pair continued walking, both admiring and fearing the scenery around them, until they heard the sound of the river. Dominik was the first to notice the large creamy-white beast, his sides slowly rising and falling with each breath he took. The amphicyon’s breaths stirred the grass around him, each exhale stirring the dirt around him. Squated next to him was Graham Thatcher, the “beast handler”, as he was adequately nicknamed by Mariana herself.

Graham doesn’t glance up. “Took you long enough. Who needed the most convincing to come out here?”

Dominik and Mariana both glance at each other quickly before turning their attention back to the handler. The vet coughs quietly, anxious that any loud noise might wake the amphicyon, despite logically knowing that he was too pumped full of sedatives to even lift his massive paw. “Both of us?”

The handler chuckles before looking up at them. “Nothing to worry about here. He’s sleeping heavily. His breathing is slightly irregular, but I haven’t noticed anything else that’s different about him. I’d say we should be done here fairly quick.” His brown eyes shift to Mariana. “You should just need to draw some blood, right?”

A curt nod before she’s squatting down with him. She can’t help but admire the creature’s lethal beauty. An amphicyon ingens, he is a perfect representation of what the prehistoric creatures might have looked like millions of years ago when they still roamed the earth. Curiosity almost has her drawing her hand over his pelt, like she might pet him as though he were nothing but a large dog. Logic tells her to get this done quickly.

“Where’s the female?” Dominik asks, looking around warily.

“Seraphina? I set her chip to keep her secluded away from him. Didn’t want to risk two of our finest personnel, now would I?” He grins at them, clearly not affected by the presence of the pale bear dog in front of him. “Plus, I wouldn't want to risk her getting sick if he has something more serious than a simple cold.”

The blonde man nods before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Graham eyes him up and down. “You know, considering you are the one who aided in the creation of these animals, you’d think you’d be more appreciative of their company.”

Dominik’s blue eyes flash to Graham’s. “I can admire my creations without being within 10 feet of them. An artist doesn’t need to scrutinize his art up close every day to know it’s great.”

The keeper shrugs his shoulders. “Suit yourself. They’re beautiful animals. You’ve done a great job pulling this off.” He looks back at Brutus, the sleeping animal completely unaware of the woman bringing a needle slowly towards him. “As long as you’re patient and aware, you’ll be fine.”

“Right… I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Mariana’s fingers tremble as she puts a hand on Brutus’ large leg, and she forces herself to breathe slowly and steady herself. Her fingers trail over him, searching for a vein. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she injects the needle into the bear dog’s vein.

The geneticist and the vet both startle and gasp when the animal lets out a groan, and both let out sighs of relief as the animal continues to sleep.

“Let’s just get this done and over with so we can leave. I only need the blood sample and then we can see if there’s something else affecting him other than a common cold.”