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 Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 2:52 pm
Anthony Darrow was increasingly of the mind that his library was his safe haven. It used to be split between two realms, his apartment and his job. It being peace of mind, of course. He had fallen into a rhythm, getting up for work, going to work, coming home from work. Anything crazy happened to him between those instances, and only fleetingly while he was actually in the library itself.
Recently, most of the 'crazy' had been left out on the streets, which counted, in his mind, in establishing the library as a safe place. Maybe. Except for giant spiders and literal 'book worms'.
In any case, his life at home was no longer peaceful. With a puppy that did not like being cooped up, and a son who was infuriating at every turn, in absolutely every way, he no longer looked forward to going home. No, he much preferred the library. His dog, Dogby, was happier here, as well, and it was much easier to keep her in control and not destroying things. And Nathan? Never showed up here. Also good, though Tony felt bad for admitting that, even silently.
Once they moved to that new place near the park, things would be better.
He was at the front desk, doing the last check outs for people who were on their way home, the library closing early because it was a Sunday. Five PM, and not a minute later. Unless someone needed help, of course. He was humming to himself, Dogby sitting at his feet, in a good mood despite how rough the week had been so far, with little sleep and lots of worries. It was a risk, letting himself relax and think things were good, of course.
Something could always go wrong.
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:16 pm
There was no other place Ainsley loved to be at more than a cozy chair with a book which in this case happened to be in the library. It was so relaxing here, no hustle and bustle of the daily life. She could completely be taken into the book. She could forget about all the troubles that happened to the world and her life when she was here. She could read books about knights, princes and princesses -- that happy ever after ending. She was just sitting there with the book in her lap, her eyes intently on the pages. Her face looked serious and calm like she was at peace until her hand flipped the page over to discover the story was over, that was the end. Reality would set back in.
Her eyes started to look around, particularly on the clock on the wall. It was 5 PM! She closed the book in her lap and carefully climbed down from the chair, her shoes meeting the floor with a small tapping noise. A feather on a necklace swaying in the small breeze that was caused when the child moved. She went to put the book back in the spot she had originally got it from but after a moment she realized it was too high -- the librarian had gotten it down for her. She would just have to return it to the front desk.
After making her way over there, there wasn't anyone left in the library: just one person ahead of her who just finished checking out a book and was on their way out. She looked around, it was more quiet than it was usually. Everyone must have went home for dinner already. No one in front of her, she made her way up to the front desk, pleased to see the librarian with the familiar face.
"Hello," she said politely. "I wish to return this book. I cannot reach the shelf you got it from!"
She leaned up as high as she could and pushed the book over the counter towards Mr. Darrow.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:37 am
Tony looked surprised when he heard a voice, but at first didn't put together that there was someone at the front desk. He saw her head, though, and looked down to find the little girl who came to read princess and other such stories. He smiled.
Dogby got up when she heard Ainsley's voice, padding around the counter toward the girl. Tony didn't need to keep the dog on a leash, most of the time at least, but it seemed Dogby was forgetting the lessons about not crossing the desk to go and visit the girl.
She wagged her tail and sat down, looking straight up at Ainsley with her tongue lulling out the side of her mouth in a dopey, happy expression.
"Oh!" Tony said, reaching for the book. He nodded his head, putting it on the counter with some other books people had given him and not checked out. He'd In-House count them, though put them in the back for shelving, with everything else. He nodded his head.
"I'll put this back for you. Did you enjoy reading it?" He smiled jovially, noticing Dogby now sitting near Ainsley. He shook his head, imagining the puppy would follow her home if she could. Dogby loved kids, and since Ainsley came in more often than most, she had taken to following the young girl around. The only reason she hadn't been with her earlier was because Dogby had been sleeping.
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Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:43 pm
The child's face brightened up immensely when she seen the little puppy pad around the corner of the desk and sit in front of her with the cutest, more dopey expression ever. She even wagged her tail! The child hadn't been able to see Dogby most of the day, which was rather unusual. She was used to the dog joining her in her reading adventures and so when the dog sat in front of her as it did, she couldn't help but lean over and pet the puppy. She was very happy to see her.
When the librarian, whom Ainsley had learned was named Mr. Darrow, directed his attention from her book to her she smiled and nodded her head. The book had been Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the child very much had enjoyed the story. She especially loved when all the animals helped Snow White clean the cottage, and when they had helped her. It reminded her of Big Kitty and Mister Birdy and those were thoughts that caused the child to grin greatly.
"Yes! I loved it," she said as she gave Dogby another pet, giggling at her tongue that hung out of her mouth so cutely. "I hope a prince comes on a white horse to rescue me someday!" She said white, but any colour horse would work!
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:48 am
Tony smiled as he watched Dogby lick at Ainsley's hands and try to get more pets out of the girl then was probably possibly. Dogby seemed to really like kids, or at least this one in particular, and it was rather adorable. The librarian shook his head, half thinking his dog liked everyone else better than it did him. Which was fine, in a way, as it made coming to the library a bit less routine for the patrons whenever Dogby was there to greet them.
Of course, Tony had been forced to leave a dispenser of hand sanitizer near the desk because of Dogby's penchant to lick anything that moved and was within muzzle distance.
"You want to be saved by a Prince, do you?" he laughed, opting to start scanning in the books that needed to be counted for in house use then, since everyone was all but gone from the library and he would be able to close up sooner once the end of the day clean up work was done. "But that would require being in some kind of danger, which I don't think would, ah, be as fun as you might think."
Despite not being a damsel, Tony was rather familiar with being the one in distress.
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:56 pm
Ainsley sure did love Dogby. The little puppy was always around to greet her, attacking her with loads of love and kisses. The puppy would even allow her to read to her when Tony was especially busy at the front desk. It made her enjoyable time the best time ever. It was really no wonder the child spent almost all of her free time here. She really like the librarian too, he was so nice!
She nodded to him. Yes, yes she wanted a prince to save her if ever she were in danger. Someone to sweep her off her feet and sail away with her off into the sunset. As she absently ran her hands over the dog's fur, she wondered if Dogby desired to have a prince sweep her off her four paws, and run away with her into an alley. If not now, surely she would when she was older. Every girl wanted to be rescued by a prince! At least, Ainsley thought so.
Her eyes found their way to Mr. Darrow as he his seemingly normal routine. It hadn't occured to her that perhaps she should have gone home as she played with Dogby and watched the librarian. She tilted her head to the side one way, then back to the other before it once again sat some what normally. She was curious about what he was doing but she didn't want to get in the way. Talking seemed okay though and she smiled as she spoke, "But the end result would be forever!"
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 2:39 pm
Tony smiled as Dogby and Ainsley interacted. He thought it was adorable, though he wondered if Dogby liked the young girl better than her old librarian owner. Jealous of a patron's relationship with his dog? Not quite, he was just curious. He chuckled, at least taking away from the whole thing the fact that Dogby had created a return patron in Ainsley.
Reading was a good habit to have, as was visiting and supporting libraries. Dogby could be a mascot, if not for the fact that she couldn't sit still for very long before needing to bark at something or run around and lick.
That wouldn't work so well.
Dogby, for what it was worth, didn't know what a prince was and didn't much care for danger. As long as she was being pet, she was having the best day of her life. Throw in a walk and maybe some fetch? That was her idea of a dream.
The library had emptied itself now, and Tony, not feeling like sending the girl outside on her own, opted to close and lock the library now, and head home 'early' for once. He smiled at her, nodding.
"I suppose you're right, but I still think the... well... if it's your dream, I think you know better than me," he laughed, not wanting to crush her romantic view of the world just yet. Kids were allowed to be idealistic: adults certainly couldn't be so. "Come on, I'm going to lock the library up now." He motioned to the doors, taking Dogby's leash and putting it on her collar, then offering the lead to Ainsley if she wanted to play with the puppy for a bit longer.
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:05 pm
Ainsley was surprised when she realized that Mr. Darrow was closing up the library. She had never been here long enough to see him close the library before. This was partly because on weekdays the library was open rather late, and she usually had to be home for dinner before it ever got that late. She was delighted to be able to spend more time with Dogby though and she quickly found herself bouncing off of the floor and towards the door where she promptly waited for the older man and the puppy, holding the door open for them with a smile when they finally made it over.
Her eyes found their way to the sky, observing the change in the colour of the sky. She thought she seen a shadow, but she quickly bushed off the thought to her imagination. It was already starting to get dark out and night was on the way. It was one of the few downfalls of winter, right under: really cold. She didn't want winter to go away yet, even if she couldn't wait for spring to roll around with all the beautiful flowers, colours and longer days.
"Dogby!" She giggled as she waited for the dog to come through the doors.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:33 am
Tony shook his head, chuckling as the two younger creatures, Ainsley and Dogby, excitedly lead each other toward the door, with Tony connected to Dogby by the leash. It was difficult to tell just who was walking whom. No, she wasn't exactly a strong dog considering her size, but Tony always feared choking her and he had to hurry to make sure she didn't pull on the lead too much for her own good.
Maybe she knew that, and was using that to her advantage now. Tony wouldn't be surprised if he had managed to adopt, or rather had been given, a devious dog that knew how to take advantage of people to get what she wanted.
But, looking at her little face, he couldn't suspect anything evil of her for long. Sucker.
Dogby yipped excitedly as she strained to get to Ainsley, and Tony laughed. He led them out, locking the doors and shaking his head as the dog bounced at Ainsley once she was close enough, all nuzzles and licks of affection.
His attention was drawn from them by a shadow moving over the sky, and he looked up in wonder. He frowned, looking down at the young duo.
"Do you have a ride home, Ainsley?" he hadn't brought his car, as he never did, but he would walk her to make sure she was safe. His nerves were up, as he knew this wasn't the safest area, as far as monsters went. He didn't want anything to happen to the girl.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 5:15 pm
Ainsley looked between Dogby and Mr. Darrow as she thought about his question. She wasn't sure if her sister had a car or not nor did she know if Bell would even have the time to pick her up at the whim but she knew that it didn't matter. The child had legs and she knew how to use them, usually. On top of that she knew the way home and a fluffy prince to keep her company! Slowly, the child shook her head to the adult.
"I do not," she admitted. "I was going to walk home with Octavian Oswald."
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:33 pm
"Octavian...?" Tony frowned. It didn't sound like it was a real person, and he realized she meant her toy. He shook his head, offering her a laugh. "I don't think I could feel good about leaving you in his hands, though I'm sure he's more than capable. I'll walk you home, alright?"
He smiled, Dogby tugging the leash again. She wanted to be walked by Ainsley, or at least walk nearer to her.
The shadow moved over the sidewalk again, and Tony looked up. His instincts told him that trouble was ahead. Or, in his case, above. A youma, or so he thought it to be, let out a cry and he realized it was likely one of those bird things that he had seen before. He saw it just as it was diving out of the sky.
"Look out!"
He dropped the leash, Dogby barking in fear and running behind Ainsley, and moved to put himself between the two younger beings and the monster. He didn't want it flying off with either of them. It was an impulse, one he had no chance or will to fight against, and he felt sharp claws hit his back hard enough to send him toppling forward, bleeding from his shoulders. He landed on his knees, arms around Ainsley, protective. Dogby barked furiously as the monster circled round to dive again.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:22 pm
Octavian Oswald was totally a real person, somewhere, one who probably would like being suggestion that he didn't sound like a real person. How ridiculous, yes? Not only was he a person, but just as Mr. Darrow had deducted, he was also a white bunny plush toy that the child carried around with her everywhere. She didn't catch him shaking his head but when he laughed she could only giggle back in response as the older man's chivalry. He may not be a prince but he was certainly worthy to be called a knight.
"It would be my pleasure to accept your services," she said with a smile and a giggle before momentarily drawing her attention down to Dogby who was even closer than she had been before. She almost appeared to be the one giving him the walk, instead of the other way around.
With a smile, Ainsley gave Dogby a little way over her free hand. After that everything started to blur. The child heard someone yell 'Look out!' and before she could realize what was happening Dogby's leash was dropped and the dog quickly found her way behind her. She barked in a way she child had never heard, and concerned she looked behind her just in time to miss sharp claws dig into Mr. Darrow's shoulders. Her eyes were wide, and she found herself in the protective embrace of the man. She looked up at him with a concerning expression growing larger by the second. What was going on? She was unable to see the shadow of a bird lingering above them, waiting to take another swipe.
"Mr... Mr. Darrow?" She gasped, looking around, holding loosely on the man's jacket. "Mr. Darrow! What's going on?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 4:21 pm
Tony looked thoroughly dazed, holding on to the young girl tightly. It took him a moment to recover his senses from the blow to the back, craning his head around in an effort to see where the monster had gotten to and if it was coming back.
"Hold on, Ainsley," Tony said, sounding panicked and in control at the same time. He hoisted her up and carried her hurriedly down the street. He wanted to get her someplace safe before he tried to fight the thing off, limping as he went. He looked back to see Dogby running beside him, and grimaced in worry. If the monster didn't go for Ainsley, it might go for the next easiest target.
The bird didn't do that, however.
It curled around in the sky, letting out a shriek before it flew back down at them, slamming into Tony's back again hard enough to drop him to the sidewalk. He dropped Ainsley, letting her skid away from him. His eyes were closed, and it looked as if that hit had knocked him out cold. there was blood on his jacket from where the claws had gotten him.
The monster landed on the pavement nearby, waddling toward Ainsley. It looked like a malformed pigeon, with a grotesque beak and twisted claws. Dogby was huddled near Ainsley, having come to a stop, whimpering helplessly as she was torn between staying safe and scooting over to see if her master was okay.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 10:19 am
The child was in utter confusion as she was suddenly hoisted up into Mr. Darrow's arms much like a doll. For a moment she felt like Octavian Oswald might, being tossed back and forth as Mr. Darrow began to move hurriedly down the street with her in his arms. She tried to heed his warning and hold on tight however she was so confused, her hands holding lightly onto what seemed to be his jacket. What was going on? She couldn't tell, and she really wanted to know! Where were they going? She could barely see anything past his broad shoulders.
She should have heed his warning because there was a shriek from the sky and before she knew it she had been flung from Mr. Darrow's arms and skidding across the ground, away from the seemingly unconscious man laid in the distance. Her eyes were dazed, and her expression very confused. She didn't know what happened, she didn't know why Mr. Darrow had thrown her? She didn't even know where Octavian Oswald went! Her eyes began to look around, first to her legs where her knees were now scratched up and bleeding a little from the fall; second to Dogby who was huddled nearby; and third her eyes finally found Mr. Darrow a few meters away. He was on the ground, and he didn't look too good.
"Mr. Darrow!" The child called out as she immediately tried to get to him. She hadn't moved very far when she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes had found a strange looking bird... making its way over to her. Was this what he was running from? Did this thing do that to Mr. Darrow? Why was it looking at her like that? She had decided Had the circumstances been different the child might have tried to feed it bread, or play with it, but the child had enough self-preservation not to become a meal for the bird to play with. It attacked them, it hurt Mr. Darrow.
"Shoo! Get away!" She said as she huddled back against Dogby. What was she going to do? Her eyes immediately fell on Mr. Darrow but he couldn't give her answers right now, he couldn't help her! He couldn't even help Dogby. It was up to her to help make sure the bird didn't get them now but but how? She could barely move, her legs trembling at the thought of what the bird had done to Mr. Darrow. Why couldn't this bird be like Mr. Birdy? Well, in a way, it was. But the child didn't see that side of him, and even if she did see it she would decide he was just protecting himself. What had they done to this bird? Nothing.
She shook her head, grasping her arms around Dogby to protect her. She didn't know what to do and it was getting closer. She could try to run but she couldn't abandon Mr. Darrow there and there was absolutely no way she'd be able to move him. It would be on top of them soon, waddling triumphantly before whisking one of the two away. Her hands found themselves digging into the gravel she had fallen onto and grabbing two handfuls of pebbles.
"S-stay away!" She said, holding her hands up in the most threatening way she could. "I'll throw them!"
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:32 pm
Tony groaned softly, taking a long, at least in relation to the problems at hand, moment to wake himself up. He wasn't much a fan of being knocked unconscious, particularly when there were demons about and there were fights to win. Or get away from, as the case may be. He pushed his hands under him, his arms shaking a bit as he got himself propped up and looked around.
He heard Dogby barking and looked toward that sound. It wasn't hard to spot Ainsley and Dogby, and the monster waddling toward them menacingly.
It didn't seem deterred by Ainsley's efforts to shoo it away from them, snapping its beak, which was sort and rounded in a bulbous kind of way so the action was rather limited. Still, it produced a rumbling sort of coo from its body, close to a growl, and complimented the sound by rhythmic, angry clicking. It spread its wings, one lifting up and the other going straight out at its side, feathers rumpled or missing. It was trying to make itself look bigger. As far as it was concerned, it was the most threatening thing here: the girl and the dog were smaller than it and thus not threats.
No, they were food and fun.
Dogby whined as she huddled with Ainsley. She wasn't much of a guard dog: she didn't exactly have a mean bone in her body. The older she got, the more it became apparent that she would not growl or try to bite anything. She was protective, but in a worried kind of way. She did not know how to fight or snarl or look tough. Unfortunately, she was a passifist.
"Be careful Ainsley!"
Tony's voice. He managed to get enough of a hold of his senses to also grab his cane and take a swing at the monster, smacking it in the back.
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