Kennedy Ashmore

Hunter beamed at the question, “Yes! All of the comment sections on our channels and socials, as well as the various ‘official’ forums associated with us are digital safe spaces, but Luke and I have definitely been discussing the possibility of bringing in a diversity center of sorts to the town. Of course, all of that is currently on pause because Keagan has asked me not to instigate and/or encourage high brain activity in my friend until her head’s all better, but it’s definitely something in the works.”

Kennedy smiled at how proud the other looked when talking about the different platforms that they deemed as safe spaces for others. “That sounds like a good idea.” She nodded in agreement. With what she heard, she could only imagine how much it’d hurt to simply think about anything. “To rest, I mean.. before starting on your projects - well, the projects too, are a good idea..” 

“It is,” Hunter agreed, before she let out a defeated sigh. “But, unfortunately, there’s so much intersectionality between just thinking of other’s opinions and having to think of other’s opinions in order to survive, especially when you’re in a marginalized group, in an unaccepting area? Luke pointed out how much privilege we both had in how we got to grow up, and by the end of it all, I was severely bummed out to know that not everyone has that.”

“That’s a good point.” She sighed. Kennedy had been just as fortunate to be able to find a small group of people she could call friends, who didn’t mind that she barely talked. “Your video ideas seems to be off to a great start though.” She nodded, “Do you.. have plans of creating some sort of safe space for this to happen too?”

“Exactly! Which is the most logical and obvious conclusion that we should all draw and base our actions on. However, most of us have been raised in environments that were forged by a society that is constantly telling us that we should place more value and, therefore base our actions on, the opinions of others rather than taking a step back to consider our own comfort and admit that we have value ourselves just by existing.”

“...That’s just.. tiring.” To constantly think about other people’s opinions of you? Kennedy stayed in her clinic most of the time just so she could avoid it as much as possible. It was truly a blessing that her friends were far more talkative than she was and could handle holding a conversation on their own. 

Hunter smiled and said, “Luke and I just did whole video on the same topic a few weeks ago. How even though we understood it was easier said than done, we should work towards ending the fostering of such ideas and behaviors on how we treat ‘otherness’. I mean, if you talk too much, people want you to know why you aren’t quite more often. If you don’t talk enough, people want to know why you’re so quiet. And even if you manage to talk just the right amount, but it’s about things that are different to what they would talk about, they want to know why they difference or you can’t just think like they do. It’s madness, really.”

She didn’t quite understand what this video she was talking about but Kennedy simply nodded at what the other was saying. “...someone’s bound to be annoyed no matter what you do.” The vet started cleaning up the desk just for her hands to have something to do while they chatted, “It’s not possible to please everyone..” And therefore, she made very little effort to cater to everyone because what was the point? Someone was bound to give a negative response so she did whatever was comfortable to her. 

“I find that highly doubtful,” Hunter replied. “You’ve already managed to deal with me for longer than my own sister often prefers too, which is definitely not a reflection on her. I really am just a lot. There may have been some wires crossed in our communication, but nothing that would come across as heartless. I don’t really believe you can dedicate your life to caring for some of the most vulnerable beings, who can’t even speak for themselves, without having a great deal of empathy…even if it’s not demonstrated as readily as others might.”

Hunter nodded to one side as she raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement. “That…kind of happens to be the issue I’m always worried about,” she said with a small laugh. “I’m self-aware enough to know that I talk a lot, but it’s such a subjective thing from person to person that it takes me a while to figure each person’s threshold. So first interactions tend to often go south.”

“I don’t talk a lot.” She started. “So.. first interactions don’t normally bode over well in my favour either.” Kennedy offered, wondering if that would make the other feel better about .. people not handling her well. Her own group of friends were rather small too. They either talked enough for the two of them, or they barely spoke at all. “I don’t think it’s an issue.” 

While it did seem reasonable for Hunter to think that Kennedy wasn’t heartless simply because of her job, the vet knew there was still a selective few who would break that assumption. “...Some just like to treat it like a puzzle.” 

“That’s a big leap to go from ‘they don’t agree with my idea’ to ‘they don’t like animals’,” Hunter said with a light laugh. “I mean, I’m sure there may have been a few dots along the way to connect the two and give a bigger picture, but they seem to have stayed all up in here,” she tapped her head, “And didn’t quite make it out to here,” she tapped her lips. “It’s all good though, I won’t tell them the town vet thinks they have no heart,” she joked.

Following the woman’s glance to the empty waiting room, she couldn’t help but chuckle and smile sheepishly as she said, “I didn’t mean it literally. I was more so trying to give you an out, since it seemed you’d rather not really have to keep up a conversation with my motormouth. Which is fair, to be honest.”

Kennedy pursed her lips, not sure how to answer that. Somehow she didn’t think that it was too far-fetched if someone thought she was cold-hearted - or as Hunter put it, if she had no heart. Her first impressions weren’t the greatest and sometimes the way she delivered news could.. lead to that assumption. Even Hunter had thought she was a rude person just a few moments ago too. “They might already think that if I weren’t healing their pets.”

“Oh.” She shook her head, “It’s fine.” It’s not like she was known to speak a lot either. In fact, this might be the most she spoke within the hour that wasn’t about the diagnosis of an animal. “I don’t think you talk too much... if that was the issue you were worried about.”

“That makes two of us,” she chuckled, before giving another shrug and saying, “Just because something is a part of your job doesn’t mean it can’t be appreciated when it’s done. I mean, dish duty is one of the job responsibilities listed for my team, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel grateful when I see an empty sink after a massive order.”

Hunter beamed. “You think so? I thought so, but some of the others were a little iffy. But I figure if so many people come into the shop with their pets, why not have something nice for them too?” The receipt in her hand reminded her that technically their ‘transaction’ was done. “Oh, sorry. I should probably get out of your hair. I’m sure there’s other appointments and stuff. It was nice meeting you though!”

“I suppose..” It did feel good when the lab was clean so she could understand that to a degree. Especially when the fur was all cleared up. Oh that was the best feeling after a long day. They may not get as much as a pet grooming place, but enough to never wear dark coloured clothes to work. 

“Maybe they’re just not animal people.” Her eyes looked out to the empty waiting room at the topic of appointments and she had no idea if she was supposed to say since it’s true there were others later, just.. not right now to rush Hunter of out here. 

Hunter seemed to debate it. “I suppose I could see how the shoulder works for now, but at the first sign of trouble I’ll have to double-down and get in some squirrel training after all. I had one pet unfortunately run out into a busy road once before, and I just wouldn’t like a repeat.” After a brief pause, she realized how they may have sounded, so she quickly added, “Oh! Buddy was fine. I cushioned most of the blow, but I had to spend six weeks in a cast and couldn’t do anything. It was awful.”

Taking the receipt, she smiled and said, “Thank you so much. Not just for giving Kevin her once-over, but for humoring my questions. I’m aware I can be handful…my sister reminds me regularly. Oh, if you’re in the need of some treats, hit me up at the Queens. One of the next items on my ‘to master’ list is pet treats so, maybe we can collab……orate! Collaborate. Sorry. Work jargon.”

The topic of harnesses and training did not prepare Kennedy for the story about a pet running out into a busy road... only to then be reassured that it wasn’t the *pet* who got injured but Hunter herself. While it was a good thing that the animal wasn’t hurt, it was not a good thing that the owner broke something. “I hope.. you won’t have to experience that again.”

For a moment, the gratitude confused her a little. “..Answering questions about how to care about animals is part of my job.” If Hunter was going to raise the squirrel, and had no prior knowledge about it, Kennedy didn’t find it a nuisance to answer her. “That sounds like a good idea.” There were a lot of pets in Fallcrest so it sounded like a profitable plan. 

Hunter nodded at everything she was being told, but did let out a snort of laughter at the mention of training. “Oh, I’m not really looking to use the harness for training. I was more considering it for when I have to make deliveries of walk around town. I think it’d be safer to keep Kevin on a leash that I can use if needed as opposed to attempting to chase her down in the middle of Main Street traffic. We’re starting to get more tourists coming in for the holidays this year, and they don’t tend to brake for squirrels as much.”

The blonde read along on the paper as the woman spoke, her eyes darting up. “Niche? Ooh, I have a handful of those now. I’m sure I convince at least one of them to go with me if need be,” she said.

Kennedy smiled, giving a nod, “Getting her used to wearing one - that itself is training... but.. I guess you don’t need to worry much about that..” The squirrel did seem to be well behaved enough, but that could always be an one-off thing. “Perhaps having her.. be on your shoulder would be safer.” 

It showed on her face as her brain turned to actually figure out what the woman meant, but she had no idea what to say about it. “Right.” Turning back to her computer, the vet ripped out the receipt and passed it to the other. “I hope you find what you want in those stores.. If not, you might need to order them online.” 

Hunter looked deeply concentrated as she took in the information being provided. Her plan was to, of course, give the little gal the opportunity to return to the wild once she was all better, but if her buddy opted to stay longer, she wanted to be properly prepared. “Oh, yes please. That would be greatly appreciated,” she replied to the offer of a place to get started.

As she took the receipt she added, “Are there like general care rules to follow with squirrels? Like, dogs can’t have chocolate, certain breeds should only be bathed a certain number of times…ooh, would a harness be too much?”

Kennedy gave a small nod and took out a pad of paper to jot down the address before looking up momentarily at the question. “As long as you don’t feed it too much processed food, I think you should be fine.” She smiled softly, “There are harnesses meant for the size of a squirrel, but squirrels are pretty difficult to train. Building habits over time might be your best bet if you want them to do anything.” 

Handing the other the piece of paper, she closed the cap of her pen and stored it back to the pen holder. “That’s my recommended place for most pet products.. But if it doesn’t have what you need, I also noted another one, but they’re a bit more niche.” 

Hunter could only laugh lightly at the hastily made addendum to the petition. “No worries. I know that even though it may not seem like to most, choosing to change or upgrade the payment systems can often be a hefty bill to deal with. I was there when the Manhattan had to go contactless, and then I opened the bakery, so it’s cool. I wouldn’t dream of making any such decision on your behalf before running the numbers by you first. That’s be an ass move.”

She stood there for a second before recalling why they’d started that avenue of conversation to begin with. “Oh! Right, payment. Sorry.” She walked over to the machine and held her phone over the designated spot. “Oh, uh, what’s the best feed for squirrels?”

Kennedy smiled, not knowing what to say to all that despite agreeing to the fact that it was true - the bill can be surprising at times and she would rather not be taken off-guard. As she waited for the machine to do its thing, the vet answered the latter question, “Rodent blocks. They should be the primary source... For snacks, on the other hand, fresh foods.. like nuts, low sugar fruits and such will be fine.” She paused, “.. Do you need me to refer you to a place where you can get the blocks?” 

She clicked on the mouse a few times and then a receipt started to print. “I’d suggest avoid giving her too much sunflower seeds since they don’t actually provide as much nutrition for them.”

“Oh, I’m alright,” she said with small laugh. “Growing up my interests were always such that one of the first things my dad taught me was how to recognize the signs of a concussion, and that a bump is always preferred, because that means pressure is outside of the skull going out and inside of the skull going in.” Hunter briefly thought back to how gnarly Luke’s scar still looked when she’d gone to visit and shivered a bit. Nope, unlike her best pal she had limits.

“Oh, my friend Kieran is looking at alternate systems for us at the Queens, I can either have reach out to you or I can drop off a copy of the list she gets to me if that would help? Maybe I can even just go ahead and place in an order for two of the same and cut back on the hassle,” she offered. The good animal doc didn’t really strike her as someone who would appreciate dealing with customer service…

That did sound like a good thing, for her father to teach her how to tell if one had a concussion or not, but Kennedy had a feeling that it was because Hunter would often get herself injured which was why she needed to be taught.. just in case. “..If you’re sure.” The vet backed off, not that she trusted the woman’s judgement but she couldn’t really insist if the other didn’t want to. 

“That sounds like a good idea.” She nodded, “I would like to see a quote first.” As important as having a proper system was, it wouldn’t do if it blew the budget. “If you don’t mind.” She added, realizing that she was basically asking for a favour. Hunter did not need to do this, yet she was being nice enough to offer. 

“Yeah, I’m good. It happens so often I think there might even be a callous under my hair now,” she half-joked, partly wondering if that was scientifically possible. “According to my friend, this particular system’s main fault is that if it’s not in pretty constant use, it tends to just decide it’s no longer needed so ‘what is life’ and it goes caput,” she explained.

Once Hunter was close enough, Kevin did a rather nice ‘leap of faith’ and landed on her shirt. Hunter did her best not to laugh at the mess the squirrel had managed to make of the vet’s hair in the process. “Uh, yeah. Basically just unplug the machine from the computer, then unplug it from the router, and lastly unplug the power source. Let it chill for a minute or two and when you plug everything back in, it’ll trick the machine into thinking it’s been reborn basically.”

“...Do you .. want me to take a look at it?” Kennedy only interpreted that as the other having a bump forming and she felt bad that someone had gotten hurt after helping her out. Then she sort of, blanched out at the explanation provided because she all she could understand was.. don’t leave it off too often..? 

Thankfully she did elaborate shortly after, “Oh.. That’s easy.” Not very convenient to have to unplug and plug it each time but still better than nothing. She ran her hand through hair, knowing that the squirrel made a mess out of it when she jumped back onto her new owner. “..We might need to upgrade the whole set up.” That was going to be something she’ll look into later. “Thank you..” 

Once she was sure that Kevin was secure, she turned to take a look at the screen and after going through some very familiar motions, the blonde concluded it was in fact the same issue they sometimes faced. After trying the couple of fixes that Kieran had shown her could be done from the computer itself, with no luck, she went for the last ditch attempt: a hard reset. Which in this case meant unplugging and plugging everything back in. It took less than two minutes, and one foretold crack to the back of her skull, but when she managed to stagger back up and re-do everything on the computer, the readout on the card machine lit up brilliantly. “Alright, I think you’re all set now,” she said, though judging by what she saw, she wondered if maybe the good doc would rather just deal Kev the rest of the day.

Kennedy was so immersed with playing with ‘Kevin’ that she forgot about the card machine entirely until she heard a thud. “..Are you alright?” She asked with genuine concern since it was a pretty loud thud. It was only when she noticed the numbers did she realize that the machine was fixed now. “What was wrong with it?” Thankfully, she didn’t have to replace the machine altogether - or even hire someone in to take a look. 

As she walked back over to the desk, Kevin found refuge on the top of her head but the vet didn’t even bat an eye about it. “Is it something we can do ourselves the next it happens?”

“If it’s the same issue that happens to us on occasion, then I’ve definitely got the know-how,” Hunter began, “But, even if it turns out to be something I haven’t faced, I have direct line to the town techwizard. She can fix anything.” As she began to make her way around the desk, she gently scooped up her buddy off her shoulder and said, “You mind watching Kevin? I might have to crawl under the desk itself and given my height it’s already likely I’m going to underestimate when I pull out and crack my head. Don’t want to risk my new little pal.”

Kennedy didn’t question who this ‘techwizard’ was but she seemed very confident so the vet didn’t want to burst that bubble. In fact, she was very grateful that she was given the squirrel to look after - accepting her with open arms even. The squirrel easily made her way to Kennedy’s shoulders and the vet took a seat in one of the chairs in the room, already scratching the animal on the head. 

Animals were always easier to deal with. Humans were hard - extroverted humans were even harder. Not that she intentionally left her client to her own devices, but the squirrel really got her attention. “Hey..” She chuckled when the squirrel started to nuzzle into her neck, “That tickles.” 

Hunter gave a small half-shrug and grinned in response. “Misunderstandings happen,” she said, before adding, “Though you might want to consider putting up another sign on the door as well. That way people know before entering what to expect. These are some weird times after all.” At the explanation, Hunter’s face fell into an almost comical look of understanding as if that made everything make sense…even without zero context.

She adjusted her mask as the woman fiddled with the computer behind the counter. When she seemed to give up, Hunter offered a smile -that was clear in her eyes if not her face- and said, “I can take a look at it, if you’d like. We use the same system up at the Queens.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She looked up at the door before giving the other a polite smile, and then back to the computer. Her receptionist would have enjoyed this guest who seemed to be capable of holding a conversation on her own even when Kennedy wasn’t providing much back. However, when the other offered to take a look, the vet was genuinely surprised by it. 

“You know how to fix it?” Not that she doubted the other, she just didn’t expect it. Without much argument, Kennedy stepped back from the desk and gave a small nod, gesturing that it was all hers now if she really wanted to.