Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sometimes, Katriel hated being part human. Being part human meant she needed certain things to blend in. Like clothes. And shoes. She really hated shoes. But things like that were necessary if she was going to keep Anoki and Liluye safe and fed. Speaking of food, she needed to get some more. Which meant she needed a job. Which meant she needed to put on her shoes and find work. Ugh.

She left her two pups in the camp ground, locked in the camper. Even though they were only 8 months old, they were still larger than normal dogs and anyone who had half a gram of sense would notice that they weren't domesticated. Anoki--the ham that he was--whimpered at the door for a moment while Liluye watched him from her favorite napping spot in the cupboard under the small refrigerator. They'd be fine until evening, when she'd be back. If she couldn't find a job today, they might be able to make a midnight hunt together and find some duck eggs or something.

But Katriel was hoping for a job. She wasn't too fond of duck eggs, and would much rather bring home some ribs or t-bones. She also didn't like pulling all-nighters, because that meant she needed coffee to stay awake the next day. Coffee always gave her gas, and it was hard to keep up a job when she was like that.

So leaving her pups at home, she hopped on her motorized bicycle and headed towards town. Her first stop was the community center. She could usually find under-the-table odd-jobs on the bulletin board there. Baby sitting wasn't her favorite, but it was constantly available. Lupine endurance was a blessing then; her "secret" was literally running the kids ragged. Sometimes hard labor came up, which payed well enough to compensate for the cat calls. Landscaping was one of her favorites because she could spend the day digging holes. Once she'd been a waitress for a weekend at a club, but after she'd broken the hand of a customer who'd tried to pat her rear end, she'd decided to avoid that profession.

Today, however, pickings were meager. She was eying a baby-sitting flyer obviously written by a desperate working mother when she heard someone approaching the bulletin board.

Katriel gave Vince a quick once-over. He looked harmless enough, tho the odour of his work masked all but the strongest scent indicators.

"Work would be nice, especially if pays cash daily," she replied.

Katriel looked back at the flyer and briefly weighed a night or two of chasing brats for instant pay against steadier work with delayed gratification.

"I just really need something to take home tonight," she murmured. Then she saw the Vegetarian cooking a plus requirement and decided to risk the shelter job. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to look. I'll get my bike and you can lead the way."

Katriel looked at the nearest dog--a beaten up doberman who was growling aggressively at her. Katriel could tell he wasn't growling because Vince had yelled. This guy wanted her to know he was top dog. She growled back softly and shifted her weight, just enough so that the dog could catch a real wiff of her. Immediately he backed down. He circled his pen and then rolled belly up in front of her.

She looked up and saw Jess eyeing her.

"He's the friendly sort, isn't he?" she asked, trying to make light of things.

"Sounds great--thank you so much. Where do I start? On pooper scooper patrol? Just show me the shovel!" Katriel opened her eyes wide and innocent. She purposefully named the job that everyone probably hated doing, because she wanted Jess to know that no job was too menial--espeically if it meant a paycheck.

Katriel threw herself into her work. She got the pooper scooper and started cleaning the cages.

The first cage she stepped into held a female cockerspanial mix. The poor dog backed into the corner until Katriel invited her forward. Then the little dog was happy and wiggling. The next dog reacted similarly, cautiously submissive until invited to interact. Katriel wanted to get done as quickly as possible, but she knew that unless the dogs reacted normally around her, her cover--and job--would be completely blown.

Then she came to the doberman's cage. Feeling bad for the aggressive move she'd made in the beginning, she took a few extra moments to snuggle with him. He was the alpha in this pack, after all. Once he knew he was accepted by her, the dobie was all kisses and body-checks. She probably spent too long in his enclosure, because Vince found her there, playfully fending off the dobie's tongue.

"Oh--sorry," she gasped, standing quickly. "I know I'm supposed to be hosing down the kennels by now, but he just seemed so lonely."

"He'd be a great body guard for a single woman," Katriel said as she scratched behind Dobie's ears. "He's not much for men tho--although he seems fine with you, but that's probably because he's used to you being pack leader around here."

"Oh, I already have two...er, puppies. They're not really good with other dogs," she said as she left the cage and got the hose. "So after I hose things down, do you want me to scoop more poop in the cat house? Or should I change the newspaper in the bird and rabbit area?"