âAnd how long have weâve known each other?â
   Caelum couldnât be more bored with this impromptu trip, in fact, he didnât want to come in the first place but when someone like Ellin whines, he follows. Well, okay, maybe itâs just that itâs Ellin to begin with. Caelum wouldnât drop his charts or break from his independent study for anyone else. âEvery thing is for sale.â Itâs stupid, highly unlikely, and excessively vain for Caelum to let his thoughts wander down that path but as itâs been since the beginning, heâs worked to impress Ellin if nothing more than to keep her company. To keep her smile. She softened out all of the edges for him.
He pitched the idea that, after he bought her a present for âsurviving the first half of the yearâ, they should take a stop by the animal shelter. The one heâs been to plenty of times before up until he crawled under a rock a year or more ago. He had practically dragged his friend through the rooms until the last, where he found a small fluff of white and gray huddled into the corner out of reach from the other bouncing pups. Thatâs it. Thatâs the one Caelum wanted.
So, naturally, he made the girl go ask and naturally he didnât like hearing a no. But as it turns out, the one little loner pup was sick and none of the vets were sure if heâd even make it through the week. There was no bargaining or pleading that even touched the surface of being hopeful so instead Caelum reasoned with Ell that theyâll just come back. That theyâll come together each day until one of two things became fate. The prince only hoped that Ellin would stand up next to him like heâs done for her years ago when needed.
  There were hardly moments where Ellin questioned Caelumâs intentions, yet wanting to have a sick dog seemed utterly pointless to her. Her eyes alternated between him and the pitiful dog, almost finding similarities between them. The older woman knew it was almost impossible to argue with the prince, as heâd bring up the numerous amount of times he had helped her in the past. With that, she had no choice but to negotiate with the employees of the shelter. Offering a bit of money never hurt either.
  âThatâs..I mean, you know I have work schedules..but I can try visiting as much as I can.â she reasoned, her voice a bit soft as she didnât want to disappoint him. She hated rejecting him more than anything, but her duty had always been towards her family, ever since her fatherâs death. It was the reason she decided to study in a foreign country and work with her brother. âHm, you think he has a name? Letâs name him!â she declared, positioning herself in a squat to level with the small dog.Â
  âSomething with meaning, we canât call him pizza just because we like it.â she jested, poking her finger into the cage. âItâs a shame we canât even hold him, he needs love too..â The petite woman pulled herself up with a huff, glancing up at the taller man with a hopeful smile. âHeâll be okay, heâs got us as friends right? And speaking of dogs, how is Mona?â