I shrugged, taking the lead and entering Cassie's barn. Ax made a good point, and it wasn't like I wanted to go eating fries off the floor. I just worried slightly about the bird's instincts. The seagull was on a perch far from the birds of prey, and I advanced towards it slowly, trying not to make a sudden movement. The seagull seemed wary, but not too fussed. I wondered whether it was because people used to feed it at the beach so it got used to humans. Reaching out carefully, I touched its unhurt wing and concentrated on it. It felt jittery under my touch, but immediately calmed down as I acquired its DNA. Backing off before it started to feel uncomfortable about a human being in its personal space, I left the barn and nodded.
"Done here." Then an idea occurred to me. "I'll be back soon." Cassie might not have any dogs to look after, but there was a shelter for dogs a few blocks away. It was for abandoned dogs, dogs whose owners couldn't look after them anymore and that kind of thing. I power-walked the whole way there, letting myself in and striding right up to the reception desk. I felt stupid, but acted like an airhead teenager the entire time to the receptionist. "Hi! I was walking my friend's dog the other day, but it was so strong that I accidentally let go of the leash and it ran off. I need to find it before my friend finds out. She's on holiday at the moment, you know? So I'm supposed to be looking after it. She gets back tomorrow so I'm, like, desperate to find it?" The receptionist nodded.
"What breed it is?" I flipped my hair, trying not to be disgusted with myself.
"Oh, like type? It's a German Shepherd. Can I see if it's here?" The receptionist called in a member of staff and I walked through the kennels. All the dogs were trapped behind mesh wires and the staff member, a guy a couple of years older than me, tried to engage me in conversation. I continued to act the airhead and he gave up soon enough. From then on, it was business only.
"Does your friend's dog have a microchip?" He asked. I frowned at him.
"What's a microchip?" I shouted over the noise of barking dogs. He sighed, shaking his head, and I spotted a rather energetic German Shepherd who bounded towards the wire. I reached out to stroke it, touching the fur just past its nose, and it fell into a trance as I acquired it. It was well-built, even I could see that despite knowing nothing about dogs.
"This your friend's dog? It seems to like you." The staff member asked and I stood up, turning to him.
"Uh, no? I just thought it looked cute so I wanted to say hello to the big guy." He gritted his teeth and nodded.
"OK, so the dog isn't here?" I shook my head, smiling at him cutely.
"No, I guess not. But thanks so much for your help!" I spoke, winking, and turned to leave. He looked confused for a moment, as if my charm had worked on him and I hurried out of the pound, shuddering as I walked away. Ugh, gross. If there was anything I, Rachel, was not, it was an airhead. The boys at school used to think that before I rejected them harshly. Since then, they kept their distance. If they complained about me, what did I care? They complained about me, not to me, so it wasn't my problem. Feeling more prepared for tonight's mission, I couldn't help but reflect on morphing seagulls, and then what Tobias had said. He really seemed to like being a hawk. I could understand why, because the ability to take off and fly anywhere you wanted, that total freedom, was really awesome. It was tempting to just morph and fly everywhere... I just hoped that he wouldn't do something stupid like getting stuck as a bird. Birds are no good in fights... I looked up at the sky, slightly anxious, and thought about getting back to the barn.
