Furnado Animal Shelter, Tuesday

[puppy_fair]

Zack was in a pretty okay mood today at work, and he was spending his shift running his errands around the shop, telling Girl (who was basically his dog now and he was okay accepting that) all about his reasons for it. Sure, she didn't really understand the finer details, but she wasn't exactly complaining about the attention, or the fact that Zack was doing better today than he had been in a while. Every time he'd look her way, she'd give him an encouraging tail wag, and when he wasn't looking her way she was right at his side, pressing the warm weight of her body encouragingly against his leg.

Karla had really been on to something, bringing the trained therapy dogs here for him to find homes for.

Tseng had really been on to something, getting the animal shelter, of all places, for Zack to run, after everything.

He was feeling up to the 'actually dealing with the people' side of the job today too, so Zack put a Now Hiring sign in the window. Why not share the love, right?

And, uh, they probably actually needed more staff anyway.

[OOC: Open!]

Comments

[studyingfear]

Even if he wanted to, which he didn't, Rufus probably wouldn't be the sort Zack would want to hire.

While Dark Nation played with his dust bunny friends at Book Haven, Rufus swung by the pet store over lunch.

"Oh," he said, affronted and dismissive all at once at the sight of... a SOLDIER. "It's you."

Fantastic.

[puppy_fair]

Sorry, Rufus. Even you can't ruin Zack's pretty okay decently not bad mood, today.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's me. And this is my business. You didn't know?"

He thought you knew everything, Shinra.

[studyingfear]

Shut your face, SOLDIER.

"A momentary lapse," Rufus said dryly. "I won't trouble you long."

[puppy_fair]

"I wasn't too worried," Zack replied easily, crossing his arms over his chest. Girl made her way over to investigate the new person with a sniff. "What do you need, anyway?"

[studyingfear]

"I could just be looking," Rufus said, because... he couldn't help being a brat where he was unwanted. It was a personal issue. "I do have a dog."

Also, he was going to let Girl sniff at his hand before trying to pet her, sure. Shut up, he did not have a weakness for dogs. Honest.

[puppy_fair]

"I know," Zack replied, raising an eyebrow a little. "You had me watch him that one time."

He'd met Dark Nation. He liked Dark Nation. And apparently, Girl liked Rufus.

Traitor.

[studyingfear]

The dog had better judgement than the SOLDIER! ... Rufus was not surprised.

"I was just reminding you," he said mildly, more of his attention on Girl than on Zack.

[puppy_fair]

Zack sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I never forget a good dog," he said, maybe a touch indignantly. "Is there something I can help you with?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

Sidon was feeling rather melancholy over the loss of his egg for Ethics class; having been hatched from an egg himself and having had experience with protecting and caring for the eggs of his people, it made him feel a bit homesick and he truly felt he bonded with the egg, even if it was a simple unfertilized one from an entirely different species. He'd taken a quick (and brisk!) swim, but, even then, he still felt a little down, and so he headed to a place he knew would instantly cheer him up...the pet shop!

Especially all those beautiful fish! He bet they tasted as wonderful as they looked!

The sign in the window made him pause, however. The 'Now' he understood, but the other word, he had to look up and translate in his handy little codex. "Hiring," he tested the word outloud before it clicked in his shark head. "Oh!" And then, a second later with another thought, "Oh! That is spectacular!"

So please don't mind the large red shark man bursting into your shop, Zack, and asking quite boisterously, "Can it be true? This marvelous establishment is truly seeking the assistance of someone in the form of employment??"

[puppy_fair]

To Zack's credit, he blinked and reached for his dog rather than blinking and reaching for his sword as the large, toothy boy came into his shop all at once.

And then words happened, and Zack heaved a bit of a sigh, letting Girl go. She immediately trotted over to say hello to the big red shark man.

"It, uh," Zack laughed and shook his head a little. "Yeah, it's true," he confirmed. "We've got shifts open most days of the week, actually. How are you with animals?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Oh! Hello, little one!" Sidon said, smiling down at the dog that had come to greet him, and he flashed his smile over to Zack as well. "And hello to you as well! That is wonderful news! I believe I am quite good with animals," --sort of...being one surely helped with that-- "but, ah, perhaps we'll let the expert here be the judge of that!"

He laughed, kneeling down to help bring him closer to the dog, holding out his hand for her to sniff. "What do you think, my four-legged friend? Do I pass your test?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack gave a crooked little grin as Girl happily sniffed at the offered hand, and the proceeded to give it some very enthusiastic doggy kisses, tail waggling away behind her.

"I think that means you pass the test," Zack laughed, placing his hands on his hips. "It's hard to get a better reference than that, I'd say."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Either that or she's hungry!" Sidon said with a laugh, happily tolerating the doggy kisses and knowing quite well that he might have been on the menu if it weren't for his size. "What is her name, so that I might properly thank her?"

[puppy_fair]

"It's, uh," Zack blushed the tiniest bit. "It's Girl."

Girl turned her happy doggy grin his way upon hearing what she had come to recognize as her name.

"Which I'm told is a better name than what I called my gerbil."

Mr. Winkles was still plotting world domination from within the Habitrail on the front counter. He was still alive these days mostly out of spite, probably.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

The cuteness was almost too much for poor Sidon, who hoped that Girl wouldn't mind the vigorous ear scritches she was getting from a giant shark man who was spewing out adoration for her. "Well, I must thank you, then, Girl, from the very bottom of my heart for your wonderful recommendation! I am proud to have passed through this very difficult gauntlet and risen above victorious!"

And, when he was finished beaming at the dog, he, naturally, had to ask, "And what did you name your gerbil?"

What even was a gerbil? Sidon had to know more!

[puppy_fair]

"I named the gerbil Mr. Winkles," Zack confessed. "It was, uh, way back in high school."

He gestured toward the rodent habitat, where forty grams of pure malice stared out at the room at large.

"I'm Zack, by the way. I'm the guy who does the hiring."

Obviously.

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Mr. Winkles is a stupendous name!" Sidon complimented brightly, following the gesture and perking up at the sight of such a fluffy ball of probably delicious evil. Awww! He smiled, lifting his hand to give Mr. Winkles a little wave.

And then stopped, reminded himself that he needed to stop acting like a wet-behind-the-gills fifty year old and interact with the adults in the room like the nearly grown Zora he was. He cleared his throat and stood back up from his kneeling to nod in greeting.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, and Mr. Winkles, and Girl," he said. "I am Sidon," and at this point, he really couldn't help the arm pump and the smile and the tooth sparkle, no matter how serious and grown-up he was trying to be, "the Zora Prince! And I think I would very much like to be hired to work in this spectacular menagerie of little creatures and beautiful bright fish!"

[puppy_fair]

"Well, we can arrange for that," Zack laughed. Wow, he hadn't seen an introduction that enthusiasic since... well... since he was a SOLDIER 2nd Class, himself. "You want to work out front here, helping people with pet supplies and introducing them to the animals? We have positions for veterinarians too, but I'm guessing you're a student at the school?"

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"What a brilliant deduction!" Sidon said brightly. "I am indeed a student; I would think that perhaps it was my youthful exuberance that gave me away, but we Zora age much different than humans and Hylians and those similar. But, yes! I would love to help out up front, whatever what I can! My father sent me here so that I might have new experiences to broaden my horizons and make me a better leader. I doubt having a job was something he had in mind, but if you ask me, it certainly fits the task! Besdies, winter is coming, and I hear it gets cold. I'll likely not be able to enjoy the ocean as much as I have these coming months, and I'd hate to get bored..."

[puppy_fair]

Zack for the life of him was pretty sure he couldn't begin to guess at Sidon's age, but the exuberance was at least part of it anyway.

"Well, it's hard to get bored around here," he chuckled. "Is there a particular day of the week you would like to take a shift? Pretty much anything but Wednesday is free for the taking."

[in_sidon_we_trust]

"Well, then," said Sidon, stroking his chin a moment though he barely gave it much thought, "how about the day after Wednesday, Thursdays? My schedule is pretty clear then, and I think that would be quite spectacular!"

[puppy_fair]

"Thursday," Zack decreed, with all the enthusiasm he'd apparently been saving up over the past six years now, "sounds great. Just come on in then, and we'll make sure you have everything you need for your first shift!"

Mostly that would be one of the vet staff to make certain Sidon didn't accidentally drop a ferret or something.