Leah shifts the unwieldy box in her arms, her frown quickly replaced by amusement as the doctor's attention is pulled towards the furry blue creature. "Zoe-..." she begins, taking a step towards the coffee table to set the box down, "...is a gzzzzzzk." she explains, adding a few too many 'z's to her pronunciation as she continues to feel out the alien word. She takes a position beside Tara, eyes turning to Zoe while she recieves
#Leah'sHouse – May 3, 2020
pets. "We saw her in a pet shop down at the market yesterday and-..." she trails off, glancing Tara's way before drawing in a breath and giving a small shrug, "...well, we thought we might be able to give her a home. Isn't that right?" She props up a gentle smile, well aware that the decision was about more than just aquiring a pet for the young woman at her side.
Tara glances up towards Leah and nods softly, a small smile crossing her lips as she looks back to Zoe.
Halisi smiles a little herself, looking up to Tara briefly. "That's very nice." she comments, peeling off one of her gloves to feel the gzzk's fur. "I can't say I have ever seen a - what was it, gssk? - before. She's beautiful."
Zoe still seems uncertain about the new arrival, ears standing up as she continues to sniff her. When the doctor extends an ungloved hand the gzzk recoils a little, pressing low to the ground and making a nervous noise that's close to a growl.
Tara frowns and quickly reaches out to stroke Zoe's back in an attempt to calm her. "Halisi is nice." she assures in the same soft, patient tone that she always uses with the gzzk, but Zoe doesn't seem to relax.
Halisi frowns a little and stands up. "It's fine. Maybe it was a bit too much attention." she offers apologetically, before sniffing her own hand. "Or... maybe my choice of soap." she adds with an almost comical, scrunched up expression.
Leah's gentle smile grows a hair at Tara's clarification to the creature. She's quick to join Tara in attempting to calm Zoe, balancing on the balls of her feet as she crouches down to give the gzzk a few soft pats. "I think she's just still getting adjusted to everything..." she explains, seemingly more for Tara's sake than Halisi's given the way she glances to the girl at her side. "...It's probably a lot for you to take in.
Isn't it~?" she asks Zoe, her voice taking on a goofy tone as she addresses the creature, continuing to stroke it's back.
Zoe settles down, but soon seems a little bothered by the excessive petting and fussing, slipping away from the two of them and disappearing deeper into the house.
Tara blinks and looks after Zoe as she stands up. She turns towards Halisi and offers her a polite tilt of her head before looking to Leah. "I will go look after her." she says, her tone one of asking for permission to go, hovering on the verge of leaving as she awaits the okay. Tara hasn't been very comfortable leaving their new arrival alone over the past day.
Leah's big bright smile emerges as she continues to pat the furry blue creature. "She's a sweetheart." she assures Halisi before once again addressing the gzzk, "Aren't you~? Aren't you~?" But no sooner do the words leave her mouth that Zoe begins to try and slip away, causing her to scrunch up her nose in mock offense. Tara's eagerness to keep up with the critter quickly draws her smile back out, however. "Probably a good
Halisi has that look of warm amusement again as she watches Tara scurry away. A quiet laugh slips out, smile ligering as she turns her attention back to Leah. "It is good to see her happy."
Leah watches as Tara chases the creature out of the room, smile still etched into her features. But as soon as she finds herself left alone with Halisi, her smile pulls back ever so slightly, gaze continuing to rest on the doorway into the kitchen. She gives a nod of her head to Halisi's statement, ponytail bouncing about behind her. "It is..." she agrees. But the doctor's words only serve to remind her of the elephant in the room
and- without Tara around to serve as a buffer to her discomfort- there's little reason to avoid it. "I-... umm-..." she tucks a loose strand of hair back behind her ear as her green eyes finally turn back to Halisi, "...I wanted to call you." she says, her words sounding almost like an admission.
Halisi lets out a sigh, her smile slipping away. She nods faintly, her expression neutral as she studies Leah. "Why didn't you?" There's an undercurrent of frustration to her question, but her tone is not unkind. She sounds more tired than anything, a bit of that exhaustion slipping back into her expression.
Leah opens her mouth to respond, but the words get caught in her throat. There's an awkward silence that follows, causing her eyes to turn towards the floor. "I should have called you." she says. There's no frustration in her tone, but it does share a bit of that exhaustion. It's been a long few weeks and, despite her best efforts to keep it from showing, she has certainly felt it. She swallows hard as she meets Halisi's gaze
once more. "Guess I thought-..." she stammers and trails off, offering a subdued shrug as she pulls a breath in through her nose. "...I guess I thought I should give you your space." No, it was more personal than that. "I thought you didn't want to hear from me." she corrects with a sigh.
Halisi slips her hands into the pockets of her coat, eyes closing for a moment as she draws in a slow breath. She shakes her head slightly. "Leah..." she says softly as she exhales. "I may not be happy with some of your choices recently, but I consider you a friend. That hasn't changed." she assures gently. "Goodness knows you're not the first one around here to do something foolish in the pursuit of helping someone else." The addition is
Leah allows the semblance of a smile to tug at the corner of her mouth as Halisi speaks. The addition even gets a small snort out of her. It's carried on the tail end of a breath full of relief. Relief at hearing that she hasn't yet driven Halisi away. But the smile is short lived, slowly slipping from her face as a bit of guilt settles back into her chest. She hadn't exactly handled their last exchange with the most grace. A fact
that she regretted nearly immediately after leaving the office. "I'm sorry, Halisi." she says, sincerity heavy in her voice as she says what she should have the last time they spoke. "I am. I should have told you..."
Halisi offers a nod of acknowledgement. "You should have." she agrees, not bothering to soften that sentiment, but she soon adds a "Thank you." and another nod, flashing a small smile to show that she's ready to move past it. Grudges were never really her style.
Leah draws in a deep breath, a soft smile returning as she expels it. None of her previous excuses follow. No explanations. None of that matters. Her actions put Halisi- and Ilyna, for that matter- in a tight spot. An honest apology is the least she can offer. She sucks in her lips, a weight lifted from her shoulders. "Oh!" she exclaims suddenly, big green eyes widening as she bounces up on the balls of her feet briefly, "Wait