|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:07 pm
It was odd to step inside the library again. He had no real reason to, but he figured he owed Anthony a thank you for helping with his paper. He'd gotten a surprisingly good grade - he usually tanked that subject pretty hard, and the note had pretty much saved his class.
That was worth a thank you, right ? Beside, Bell was busy with Ainsley, and he certainly had nothing better to do this afternoon. He only worked three hours this evening, and until then, he was more or less left bored stiff.
Beside, maybe he could find a book about main belt asteroids... And if the librarian had gotten in his mind to fight youma, it was probably worth making sure the man was still in one piece.
And that was the reason why he pushed the large door to come inside, familiar laptop bag hanging from his shoulder.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:18 pm
Tony wasn't having the best day. He had to bring Dogby to work again, because Nathan had refused to take care of her, and had run off before Tony could force him. Not that he could: that boy was impossible. Tony really felt like he was reaching his wit's end, as far as Nathan was concerned.
He was sitting at his desk, trapped on the phone without someone arguing their late fees, blaming Tony for somehow convincing the computer to charge them more than they owed, and he was doing his best to keep his calm.
Dogby, who was getting better and better at getting out of her collar, toddled on her dumpy little legs over toward the boy who had just come in. She was a young puppy, her ears floppy and her legs much shorter than they needed to be, her stump of a tail wagging furiously enough to shake her bottom. The corgi looked up at the boy, yipping excitedly.
Tony saw her escaping the confines of the counter and hurriedly hung up the phone, scooting over to try and catch her without making her run off. He smiled apologetically at Xavier, glad that she was at least bothering someone he recognized.
"Sorry, she's a bit... inquisitive."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:24 pm
Dogby caught him a little off-guard at first - weren't animals not usually allowed in libraries... ? But the corgi's presence didn't seem to bother him, and the boy crouched carefully, letting his bag touch the ground as carefully as he could before holding out his hand for the excited puppy to sniff.
"That's fine, she's adorable.... Your dog ?" He looked up to the other man with a smile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:32 pm
Dogby skipped over the sniffing him part, automatically assuming he had something tasty in his hand and she wanted it. She started to lick at his fingers happily, then looked up at him with a dopey, happy expression that seemed to want to know where the food was.
Though she was still happy he had offered!
Tony grinned, watching the little dog. She was such a sweetheart, he thought, and he was completely in love with her. He shouldn't have gotten a pet, really, but Randy had given it to him for Christmas, and it had been one of the nicest things any one had done for him. Of course, Tony did not know that Randy had stolen the puppy, but that was not important. It was probably better that he didn't know.
"She is. I couldn't leave her at home, so she comes to work with me. But... she has a habit of getting out of her collar. I don't think I tighten it enough, but I don't want to hurt her..." he sighed, watching at Dogby waddled closer to Xavier, sniffing at his bag and legs and wandering in between them curiously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:38 pm
He wriggled his fingers a bit, finally reaching out the pat the top of her head. She didn't look at that old really... must have been a recent addition.
"I have a cat." He said with a grin. "She doesn't mind when I leave her alone, but she's two so it's not like she's a kitten... I got her at the shelter last september."
Xavier had a soapbox as far as his Lady was concerned, yes.
"Hey, hey, now, there's nothing good for puppies in there." He laughed as Dogby tried to find her way into his bag.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:54 pm
"Oh, dear," Tony laughed, moving to pick Dogby up. She wiggled and yipped excitedly, thinking it was a game to try and get away from him. Her new goal was getting into that bag.
"A cat, huh? I like cats. I like all animals. Well, most, anyway. I didn't get one before, a cat, because I had a hamster and I didn't want him to, ah, be eaten." He chuckled. "This is Dogby by the way. She likes to hide in things, and is a bit of a princess. She likes to be carried in bags."
He smiled, looking down at the little puppy, who was still wiggling playfully.
"So, ah, are you here for more research?"
He had no idea, of course, that this was the senshi he had 'fought' a youma 'with', which had mostly just been him getting in the way and then providing a useful yell. Still, Tony had felt very thrilled after that fight, and wanted more than ever to keep up his efforts to try and help senshi, however he could.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 4:02 pm
Thank god for henshin glamor - it looked like Tony suspected nothing. He rose from his crouch when the corgi was picked up, making sure his bag was following around for the ride, and gave the excited puppy one last pet.
"Yeah, I have to write another paper over break." Clearly this was inhuman... not that he actually had a paper to write over break. He just needed a convinent reason. "I did pretty good on the other one, so I figured you could help me ace this one too ! I gotta write on main belt asteroids." He wasn't willing to push his luck more than that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 4:13 pm
Tony tilted his head.
"A paper over break? That just sounds vindictive," he frowned, shaking his head slowly. He felt bad for any student who got stuck with an assignment like that, and knew that if he had been in school at this age he probably would not have done it.
Though, he opted against suggesting that as an option for Xavier.
"What is the subject? Astronomy?" he asked (oblivious to the fact that this was a lie), moving back to the counter so he could put Dogby back on her leash. It was clear her getting out was his fault: he didn't do it up too tightly for fear of her choking herself. But he didn't want to cause her any pain or discomfort! He had seen those embedded collars on TV...
He was a very over-protective puppy owner.
"Main belt asteroids, hmmm?" He moved to the computer to type in a search.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 4:22 pm
"Yeah, astronomy." He went with it. What else would have him writing about asteroids ? "It's not my major, I just took it for extra credit. Basic course." Did I even work this way ? s**t.
"I've yet to decide on my major." Nervousness meant idle chatter. "Something music-related, probably."
He settled the strap on his shoulder again, waiting for Tony to look up in the database.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 4:31 pm
Tony didn't seem suspicious, nodding his head as Xavier explained. Made sense to him: he had heard stranger things from students. Some just really liked being students, and went a bit over the top with taking strange classes.
Someone taking astronomy didn't sound too out of the ordinary, really.
Anyway, a lot of kids come in to the library researching space-related things... he supposed it must have been a required course, like when kids all came in at the same time looking for copies of Hamlet or To Kill a Mockingbird.
"That would be fun. Do you prefer playing music, or teaching?"
He found some asteroid books in the QB section, which was up on the third floor. He wrote down the call numbers, offering the paper to Xavier and spotting Dogby trying to wiggle out of her collar again. "Ah, Dogby, really." He said, exasperated as he scooped her up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 4:38 pm
"Playing, I guess ? I want to be a DJ. Turntables, club music, pretty much." He was pretty good ! Or so he liked to think. Maybe Tony would like to listen ? Though, that would probably break the whole 'quiet' atmosphere of the library.
He took the paper when it was offered to him, giving an amused glance at the corgi puppy. "Maybe if you kept some toys at your desk ? She might get distracted enough to stay put for a little bit."
Not that Xavier knew, really - his father had never been fan of sharing his living space with animals. Tempo was his first true foray into pet-ownership.
They'd gotten to the elevator before a loud 'crash' was overheard, and Xavier froze. "The hell was that ?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 4:54 pm
"Really? That sounds really cool," he nodded his head, looking up at the boy with a grin. He had an appreciation for music, though he knew nothing about being a DJ. He would be interested in listening sometime, though he, too, imagined it would be a bit out of place in a library.
"Do you do that kind of stuff in public? Performances anyway?"
"Toys? Hmm... that might be a good idea. She keeps wandering off to play with people or, her new favorite game, run and hide under things so I can't get her."
He was carrying her with him, since he didn't trust her to stay alone, when he heard the crash. He winced, looking up on instinct.
"This is the first time I hope that a bookshelf has fallen over... but somehow I doubt it." Unless it had some help, of course. He just hoped it wasn't anything... supernatural. Monsters always made a mess of things, and his library had some past history with a youma. At least that time it had only been the front desk that had been ruined (though that had, in the end, been half of the work of the senshi who had saved him).
"I need to go take a look. Would you hold on to Dogby for me?" He offered the boy the dog. It was his library, after all: he was responsible for any loud crashes he heard.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 5:02 pm
"Very rarely... you need to be 21 to enter most places. But ill get there !" He said, assuredly. He would make it happen.
The world just needed to not <******** explode before that could happen.
Talking about things exploding, Xavier was largely unconvinced that bookshelves fell over on their own, just like that - and rose him arm to stop Tony. "No, ill go check it out. Just wait here, okay ?"
This was bad. This was kind of like being caught doing your girlfriend in your parents' bedroom (not that he had any experience on that, but like hell if he was gonna admit it), only somehow worse. Now he had to find somewhere relatively hidden to henshin up...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 5:10 pm
"Now hold on a minute," Tony protested.
"This is my library, and you're a patron. I would be held responsible for you if there is something dangerous up there. Anyway, it's probably... nothing. Someone might have... uh... dropped a shelf..." he frowned. He doubted it would be very likely, and had a creeping feeling down his spine that told him things were going to be bad.
It had to be a monster up there, a youma. Tony just knew it.
He hurried to store Dogby in the back room, then limped his way over to the stairs with his new cane. Metal, since it had proven to be very useful to him.
"Stay there!" He called again as he hurried up, not risking taking the elevator considering it had a habit of breaking when it was actually needed to be useful. For all he knew, it was in cahoots with the bad guys. It and the vending machine on the first floor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 5:24 pm
Yeah, and im the senshi. was what he wanted to say, but he had to bite his tongue. He also had to keep himself from facepalming when Tony put the dog somewhere safe (thankfully) and then went right for the stairs (******** his life.
At least this was the opening he needed - there was no one else in the immediate area, so he was able to dodge behind a bookshelf, but pretty much had to spill his bag to get to his pen, which he then promptly made use of. He didn't bother to pick up his s**t, through... He went and pocketed his phone, ripping out the earbuds before doing so.
This could be useful because, sure enough, he could sense the youma from down here.
And then he dashed for the stairs. Poor Tony would probably get the surprise of his life when a black blur ran straight past him. "I thought I was clear on this last time, Mr, Darrow !" He tried to give his best stern librarian voice.
Irony, right there. He ran right past the second floor and straight for the third.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
