The phone was pressed loosely against his ear, his voice low but steady as he leaned against the edge of the hotel desk.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired," Izan said, running a hand through his hair as he listened.
On the other end, the media liaison's tone was polite but edged with hesitation, like someone unsure of how to bring up bad news.
After a moment, the man continued.
"There's… something else I wanted to talk to you about, Izan. It's about Miko."
That name pulled Izan's eyes toward the wall.
It took him a second to remember.
"The Samoyed from the Purina event?" he asked quietly.
"Exactly. The reps from the shelter called. They said that ever since they got back from the event, Miko hasn't been eating. They took him to a vet, and the diagnosis was, well… depression. Nothing they've tried has worked."
Izan didn't say anything as the sound of faint traffic from outside filled the silence between them.
"They told me it started after that day," the liaison went on.
