[Reg] Lunch Break [Tony & Oliver] FIN

[Lithiasaur]

Anthony Darrow liked slow days at the library a little less than busy ones. Busy ones entailed lots of interaction with people, and lots of things to do. Time moved quickly. But that wasn't always a good thing. Even though he liked them better, slow days had an appeal that busy ones lacked. He had time to relax, enjoy the quiet of the library.

Eat lunch at his desk.

Which, because no one was really around this afternoon, he was doing. He didn't normally, usually retreating into the back room to eat his lunch in quiet. And because it was kind of awkward, having people watching him. But hey, no one was hear, and he could hide behind his computer monitor if someone did ring the bell for service.

Dogby was waddling around near the front counter, chewing on her squeaky bone. Though Tony got irritated with the noise sometimes, it did, at least, tell him where she was. She got random impulses, despite her 'training', to go running away from the front desk. And a corgi puppy loose in the library was not as fun as it sounded.

At least not for Tony, who had to go find her, get her out from somewhere usually, and clean up whatever mess she opted to make. But he was learning her signs as much as she was learning his, so he could tell if she needed to 'go out'.

Right now, she was fine. If not lonely. She was chewing on the bone, staring longingly at the front door.

 

[Marsh the Sex Panda]

Oliver was worried. He didn't worry very often, problems always had a solution after all, but today he was definitely worried. Garvey was sick, he was being listless and not eating right. The brunette had searched the internet in vain for answers and not having the same collection of books in his dorm that he did at home he headed for the library.

Walking up the steps he pushed the door open, looking around the library. Before he managed to get a good look around a barking ball of fur came flying at him. Looking down he couldn't help but laugh at the Corgi puppy that had her paws against his leg staring up at him.

"Hey there, dog." Leaning down he reached out petting her. He was curious to why there was a dog in the library, but he didn't pursue the thought too far. He had bigger things to worry about. Giving the pup one last pat on the head he stood up and approached the counter.

"Hello?" He glanced around spotting what looked to be the librarian eating his lunch. "Oh, sorry." He scuffed his foot against the ground. "I didn't meant to interrupt."  

[Lithiasaur]

Dogby was so excited when the door moved. She knew that people came through those doors, and there hadn't been many that day. She was sufficiently behind on her head pat quota for the day, and had made no new friends. This was unacceptable. She barked when it opened, though that sound was muffled by the oversized plush bone.

Waddling over to the boy, dragging the toy and stepping on it with her short legs a few times, it releasing squeaks of protest, she looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes. She dropped the toy to yip at him excitedly, her stump of a tail wagging so hard her whole backside was wobbling.

Tony looked up from his food, hearing Dogby making sounds that usually meant she was up to no good.

He stood, food still in hand, moving over to the front counter and finding a young man there, the younger corgi following him eagerly. "Oh, that's alright. I shouldn't have... ah... been eating at the desk." He said that last part quickly, ducking down for a moment to hide the food under the counter. He popped back up, leaning on his cane and offering the boy a smile. Apologetic.

"Is there something I can help you with? Oh, Dogby, don't bother him. I'm sorry, she's... harmless, just very affectionate." He chuckled, shaking his head as Dogby sat right next to Oliver, watching his hand expectantly.  

[Marsh the Sex Panda]

Dogby was so cute that she nearly took Ollie's mind off of Garvey, nearly being the key word. But his fish were the most important thing in the world to him and he had to figure out how to help Garvey before he went belly up.

Gold eyes watched the librarian hide his food, feeling a bit bad about interrupting his lunch. "I promise not to tell anyone." He smiled, the joke not really coming off as one. He was bad at the humour thing. Glancing at the cane he was curious as to what kind of danger a librarian could get into to warrant a cane. Maybe he was just old, or maybe one of the terrorists attacked him. Pulling his mind from that thought he remembered why he was there.

"Well, I was looking for books on fish care, Beta fish in particular." Glancing down at Dogby he couldn't help but lean down and pet her on the head again, she was adorable. Looking up at the older man again he smiled. "It's alright, I like dogs, not as much as I like fish, but close enough."  

[Lithiasaur]

Tony was very familiar with animals dying, as he had lost his hamster not too long ago. Despite being thirty eight years old and well aware that hamsters did not live long lives, it hadn't been the most fun he ever had.

And to even think about Dogby ever being in trouble, or sick, was too much, too soon. The poor thing had already seen a lot of monsters and youma, and had proven she did not have a bone in her body geared toward self defense or anything angry. Tony was fairly sure she didn't even know how to growl anymore.

He grinned at the boy, nodding his head. "Thanks for that. I'm sure the worst that could happen is someone wanting me to share with them, but I'd still rather now." He laughed. Tony, at least most of the time, tried to distinguish when someone was joking or not. He had quite a lot of customer service under his belt, and it was easy to be casual.

"Beta fish?" he echoed, turning the monitor so the boy could see the screen of the computer on the desk. He typed in a search for fish, glancing over to see Dogby excitedly stretching up to meet Oliver's hand, licking at him and yipping eagerly. If she knew how to purr, she probably would be.

"Ah, any kind of book in particular? General care? Biology?"  

[Marsh the Sex Panda]

Oliver nodded. "Yup, B-e-t-t-a." He was sure the librarian knew how to spell, but it was second nature to spell out fish species for people. It didn't help that a lot of people he knew who spelled Betta, Beta, or the occasional Beda. He looked towards the screen, watching to see what the search turned up. He kept himself half bent over, continuing to pet Dogby absently, not noticing she was licking his hand.

The librarian's question made his gaze flick back to the other man. "Oh, uhm, anything on health care I guess. My fish is sick, I'm hoping I can figure out a way to save him." He really didn't want to have to flush Garvey. He knew that eventually the Beta would die, but he hoped that didn't happen anytime soon.  

[Lithiasaur]

Tony nodded, not looking offended by the offered help of spelling a fairly simple word. It wasn't unusual, and he wasn't much of a fish person so he was glad, at least, for the confirmation that he had spelled it right for the search. He had considered putting too many or too few T's in it.

A few books popped up for them, though admittedly not many. Two, in fact.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe a vet might have some more information? Or, ah, where ever you bought the fish? Pet stores usually have books on care. It seems we have... very little..."

He frowned, wanting to help. He certainly did not want someone losing their pet because he couldn't find them the right book. He wrote down the call numbers for the two books that did come up, offering him the small square of paper.

"These will be up on the third floor, in the S section." The Library of Congress method had little to do with titles or authors, so the S didn't stand for anything on that front. "Do you think that it might be a more general fish problem? If we widen the search we might have better luck... unless you think it is Beta specific?"  

[Marsh the Sex Panda]

Ollie wasn't surprised when the librarian mentioned a vet, it was the first place he'd called. Unfortunately the vet in Destiny City didn't seem to know much about fish. "I called the vet, I don't think they're very well versed in exotic fish unfortunately." The pet store was another option he hadn't thought of, he'd have to check there next if the library didn't pan out.

Looking at the screen he frowned. Only two books? That wasn't very reassuring. Scuffing his foot on the ground he thought about it. "Well, it couldn't hurt to expand the search, I suppose." He wasn't even sure if what Garvey had could be cured, it might be some untreatable thing. That thought scared him and he tried to push it out of his head.

He scratched Dogby behind the ears, taking a bit of comfort by the dogs affection towards him. That was the thing about fish, they tended not to live as long as other pets. That didn't lessen his love for them any though, he wasn't sure why but fish always held a large place in his heart.

"Thank you for helping me, by the way." He knew it was the older man's job to help him, but he still appreciated it.  

[Lithiasaur]

Tony nodded his head, frowning thoughtfully. He wasn't sure what else to suggest, though he would try to search a bit better for fish illnesses and general care.

Exotic fish would maybe be a good search strain. He tried it while he listened to Oliver, nodding his head slowly.

"You're welcome," he said thoughtfully, writing down a few more call numbers for him. He took a little bit of time, typing in search efforts, coming up with little or no relevant titles, then handed him a small list of books in various places around the library.

"Ah, I found what I could, I think. If you think of something more to search, there are computers all over the library for patron use in locating books. This one," he pointed to one near the top of the list, "is about exotic fish care, and it might be useful? I hope it is, at any rate."

He offered a reassuring, warm smile.

"I'll keep looking around. If I find anything else, I'll make sure to find you, or have it waiting at the desk."  

[Marsh the Sex Panda]

Oliver was starting to think that his search was a lost cause, unless one of the few books that the librarian had found miraculously held the answer he needed. Taking the list he looked it over and nodded. "Thanks again for all the help," Looking up at the older man he smiled. He'd start with the book he had pointed out then work his way down the list.

"I'll probably be here for an hour at least," He planned to go through each book on the short list thoroughly. Reaching down he gave Dogby one last scratch behind the ears before he wandered off into the library to search for the books he needed.