THE MOMENT
"Let me guess," Dr. Franklin was suspicious of the short woman immediately. She was well-dressed in a red suit with a polished chrome tie, but the Dr. found her alone in the waiting room with no four-legged companion. Lately Dr. Franklin had been getting stranger and more exotic animals, but they'd all been animals. Something was different about this meeting, and he had developed a certain sense working with mythical creatures. He gave the woman a careful appraisal, then announced the first inkling he had. "You're a dragon," he said.
"That is impressive," the woman nodded with a smile. "My name's Ruby and I represent Chroma Corp.," she introduced herself preparing to add more, but the doctor shook his head.
"I'm sorry. Look, I'm sure you must have come a long way, but I'm already out of my element, barely holding on. A pet unicorn I can handle, a dragon is completely foreign to me. I wouldn't even know where to begin."
"You know," Ruby smiled warmly. "I'm already here to offer you the support of Chroma Corp. But, I am happy to see it was obviously a correct decision, just from your professionalism."
"Are you a patient or not?" Dr. Franklin asked. Ruby shook her head.
"I only wanted to guarantee a moment of your time, I'll be out of your way shortly," she said. "My company works extensively with Fae communities, and a lot of them have mythical pets. We'd like to enroll you in our Trade network so that others can find you more easily."
"I can barely keep up as it is," Dr. Franklin shook his head. "Half the time, I don't even know what I'm doing and hope for the best."
"Well, you certainly seem to be pulling that off well," Ruby nodded. "I suppose the question becomes, would you like to continue with more mystical patients? If you're concerned about knowledge, Chroma Corp. is a multiversal corporation. Even if you don't accept our offer, you're welcome to the latest medical findings we have regarding non-standard creatures. And, we also have regular symposiums to keep everyone up to date. You've done a good enough job that word got to us, and the only thing we want is to help you keep doing it, however you're comfortable. You can keep your practice as is, and attend any training you find interesting, or you can join us, and Chroma Corp. will expand your practice with some of our experienced employees, and you'll start getting more fantastical animals coming through. Or, if you're tired of all of it, we can arrange it so you're only getting normal animals again."
"I can comfortably decline that option," Dr. Franklin shook his head. He loved the new and unusual problems he was dealing with; his only issue was confidence in his own knowledge. And now, she'd offered a way to fix that.
"I'm going to assume I don't have to answer right this minute?" he asked her, and Ruby nodded. "I'm interested, but I'm also working right now. I need some time to process the fact that you just said 'multiversal company'. Just leave a card with the receptionist, and I'll get back to you, one way or the other," he said.