bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
The excitement that Noa exhibited matched the anticipation that Beth had inside. From what little she had read about how to approach animals, she allowed the hound to sniff her hand first, then gently ran it over the soft patch of fur between Noa's ears. Finding that the movement of her fingers over a certain spot caused the dog's tail to wag even more, she continued to scratch at it, cooing softly, "You are such a sweet, pretty puppy, aren't you?"
She ran her other hand under Noa's chin simultaneously. The dog looked so pleased by the attention that she was almost about to flop herself on the floor and roll over to expose her belly. But she didn't, still possessing enough self-control to simply roll her head around so that one of the mage's palms was within range of her tongue. Noa gave an appreciative lick; the small amount of slobber came as a surprise to Beth, but didn't bother her, given that she was far too ecstatic to play with a real live dog than she was concerned about hygiene.
Her attention was divided when she heard Coan ask her a question. "Oh, no, I don't mind. They brought me when I was seven, and I've been here...nearly seventeen years now, I think," Beth paused, only because her hands had stopped moving along the Mabari's back, and Noa was displeased. The hound was nudging at her to continue, and the woman couldn't help but comply while she resumed her conversation. "I'm just a mage, but if you have any questions, I can try to answer them. Or maybe find you a book on the subject. I usually work here, in the library."