fandomtownies | Furnado Animal Shelter, Tuesday

Entry tags:

Furnado Animal Shelter, Tuesday

Ever have one of those days where you felt almost cheated about not having a hangover? That was Zack today as he made his way into the animal shelter and pretty much immediately set to work. He'd gotten home later than late last night, had trudged his way more-or-less soberly to crash on the sofa, and was now at work, quietly holding a grudge against the SOLDIER treatments that made 'drink to take the edge off' into an hours-long slog that mostly amounted to, 'drink one of everything to experience the thrill of a minor buzz.'

If Hojo wasn't dead, he'd kick him for not warning him in advance about that particular side effect.

Not that he would have especially cared, at the totally reasonable age of twelve, if he had.

Ah well. At least there were puppies, here. It was hard to go wrong with puppies. And kitties. And-- it must have been Easter recently, huh? Far too many rabbits and baby chickens, already starting to trickle in as people realized that, yes, pets took effort.

"There are maybe ten people living on this island! Who keeps doing this!?"

Was that a lamb?!

[OOC: Open!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Kaidan was still worried about Zack. He made a point to go to Furnado to see if he was there - which, thankfully, he was - and to kind of low-key check in with him.

"Hey Zack," he greeted, pushing through the door. And paused. "Uh. Is that a baby sheep?"

"That... is apparently a baby sheep," Zack agreed, watching the little ball of bleating puff bounce around the playpen that usually was put to use for puppy playtime. "Easter happened, I guess? People are always idiots about animals right around Easter."

It rubbed his every nerve the wrong way even at the best of times. Today he was mostly just gritting his teeth as he tried to find a farm on the mainland where a baby sheep might get to grow up happy and not, say, end up being turned into lamb chops shortly thereafter.

Kaidan blinked. Had the words 'people are always idiots' just come out of Zack Fair's mouth?

He wandered over to the playpen to hold a hand out. The baby sheep promptly licked his hand and tried to eat his fingers. "I think it might be hungry," he grinned, "Is there a bottle or something for it? Her? Him? Them?"

"I'll ask the vet if it's just about feeding time," Zack sighed. "Even she's upset about that one, and she usually takes this sort of thing in stride. She's seen a lot of ugly cases around here, you know? But that lamb is way too young to be separated from her mom."

Ideally, they'd be able to find a farm that had a ewe who might even be open to the idea of adopting the little one. Otherwise they'd be bottle-feeding until they could wean her, and who even adopted out lambs that weren't weaned yet? This one was maybe two months old, needed about another month at least...

Zack kind of wanted to stamp around in circles about it. He was valiantly refraining.

Kaidan nodded. "She seems pretty little," he admitted, patting the silk of the little lamb's nose, "It'll work out, Zack. I'm sure there'd be no lack of volunteers to come in and feed her until she finds a home. It's garbage that she was adopted out so young but she's here now where she'll get good care." Trying to remind him of the positive.

He asked casually, as an invitation, "You doing ok, Zack? You seem pretty off, buddy."

Zack winced a little at the question, and then sighed and slouched back against the counter. Girl trotted up almost immediately, placing a warm, steady weight against his leg as she leaned against him.

"I'm a little off, maybe," he admitted. "It's nothing I can't handle, though."

Well. It was nothing that was going to go away even if he couldn't handle it. That was practically the same thing, right?

Kaidan saw the wince and the slouch, and Girl's reaction. "Just because you can handle it doesn't mean you have to handle it on your own," he said gently, "Buddy, is there anything I can do?"

Zack exhaled, and while he put forth a decent effort at keeping a game expression on his face, it faltered somewhat.

"I don't know," he murmured. "Iris came back to the island yesterday, and I... I'm..."

He was contemplating setting up a hammock in the puppy pen and living there forever.

"... Maybe avoiding that conversation."

Tiny bit.

Kaidan processed that. "Would it be easier for you if you had somewhere else to stay for awhile, so you could have the conversation on your terms?" He lifted a shoulder and offered a lopsided smile, "I have a spare room if you need the space, buddy. The offer's still open if you need company but also space."

Zack gave Kaidan a little smile, a genuine little smile, though on his face right then it was maybe on the 'wan' side of the scale.

"I appreciate that," he replied. "And... I might take you up on it? Miguel offered, too. They have plenty of room in his place, I guess? I don't really..." He frowned a little. "... Want to impose?"

That was a very roundabout way of approaching the 'I am prone to screaming nightmares and it's easier not having to acknowledge that to people,' thing.

"We're your friends, Zack," Kaidan said, insisting, "It's not an imposition. You'd do the same for any of us."

Zack would give the shirt off his back to a stranger in need. That wasn't a hard call to make.

"Honestly, you'd be doing me a favor. If the room is occupied, Jack will have to spend time in her own damn apartment."

He frowned a little, thinking, "Come to think of it, I'm not sure you've met my sister yet. She moved here right before New Year."

"Jack? Oh, I've met her," said Zack fair, who made best friends with everybody about three seconds after meeting them. "She was at that Parents Weekend brunch, right? Shaved head, asked me what I was compensating for?"

He didn't carry that particular sword around anymore, but the one he had resting on his back wasn't exactly tiny, either.

Kaidan scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck, muttering, "Yeah, that could only be her. She has her own apartment over at MCA but she borrows the room at my place sometimes."

When she was avoiding life, or people. Certain people. Ok, one person.

"Sometimes you just have to keep company with a safe person in a safe place," Zack mused. "I can appreciate that."

Which, hey, was what this conversation was actually about, but leave it to Zack to get squirmy about accepting offers of help from anybody. Particularly when it meant admitting that he was anything less than doing perfectly fine. He fell silent for a few moments.

"I don't sleep well," he noted, finally. "You saw a bit of that back when I was a puppy, I guess."

Kaidan nodded, "I can as well; hell, that's why I'm offering." He offered a lopsided smile, "I'm just tired of having Jack kamikaze-pounce me at the crack of dawn. It's her favorite way to wake me up, even when I'm not asleep."

58 kilo of shrieking banshee was more stimulant than coffee and he preferred his mornings a little quieter.

The lopsided smile took a turn toward wry. "Zack, I'm a veteran. I don't sleep that well either. I'm pretty sure the only way I was sleeping at all when you were there was because there was this floppy puppy on the bed."

He had seen how poorly Zack slept. He'd also noticed that having a calm voice in the room had helped him sleep better.

Man, Zack could totally go for another stint of puppydom right about now, though. He smiled a little wryly.

"That's one of the many great things Girl's good for," he offered. Well aware, yes, that Kaidan had been talking about him. Even that little wry smile sobered up slightly as he added, "There's some... some old stuff that I've been thinking about a lot lately. My wake-up calls aren't just going to be a little bit of tossing and turning."

For the sake of full disclosure.

And the hell of it was, none of those worst of those traumas had ever happened, so far as home was concerned.

"She's a good Girl," Kaidan said with a smile at the fuzzy little dog, because it was completely true.

Kaidan's turn to smile wryly, "Zack? Combat veteran. Really ugly war. I have my own share of bad nights. I can handle yours without freaking out and I know the standard protocol to wake you from a safe distance, preferably without touching you. Do you have any sort of signal word or phrase that you respond to, to get you to snap out of whatever's eating your brain when you wake up bad?"

Zack gave his head a shake.

"Nothing, really," he admitted. "Most nights like that, since... that... haven't been spent in the company of another person. I wake up on high alert and sometimes..." A small shrug. "It's a wonder I haven't burned the apartment down, yet."

Sleeping with his Materia? Zack?

You bet.

"Good thing I just installed an upgraded fire suppression system," Kaidan said with a wry little smile, "When I bought the building, I had it retrofitted with a concrete shell. My bedroom doesn't have windows. It was a security measure. Not to prevent thieves, but to retard a biotic discharge if I woke up badly. So far I haven't. Not here. I'm all too aware it can happen, though."

A beat and he added, "I can shield, Zack. Two different ways. Both of them can take a helluva lot of punishment. Together, it's pretty much indestructible. I'm not worried, buddy. I'm really not. If you need the space, it's there, ok?"

Zack bowed his head a little, offering Kaidan a small, grateful smile.

"I'll keep it in mind," he promised. "I was thinking of maybe staying here for a little while, to get my bearings on my own home turf, sort of. There's an apartment upstairs, even if it's mostly just dust right now. But," he hiked up a shoulder slightly, "I might need the company at some point. If my head gets... bad. You know?"

He paused, standing there silently for a few seconds before he added, "I know I'm bad at asking for help. I know right now I can't afford not to, if I need it. Even just knowing the option is there if I need somewhere to turn is... it's a lot, Kaidan. Thank you."

He nodded. "Yeah, familiar environment and reconnecting. I get it, that's important too. Can't hurt to have a room full of cuddly puppies downstairs, right?" Kaidan offered a lopsided smile. Considering everyone had been ~~nagging~~ suggesting he get a dog for the last year.. including Zack..

"I do know, man. I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, I just want you to know the option's there and that it's a real option and not an offhand gesture. If you need the company, come on by. If you need safe crash space, it's there." The lopsided smile firmed up a little, "Always nice to have someone to play cards with. Solitaire gets boring after awhile."

Zack had a bias! Those puppies needed homes! And his dog had been great for him.

... Bearing in mind that his dog had special training, and all.

"I'm awful at solitaire, anyway," he mused. And then gave Kaidan a small, genuine smile. "Thanks, Kaidan. I have this feeling I'm going to need someone to bully me into getting out more, too. I mean. Beyond just running around with Girl, you know?"

He scrubbed a hand across the back of his neck. Kaidan hadn't been so great about getting out and about the last few months either. But he smiled back. He could make a better effort, especially if it helped Zack.

"I hear you. Hey, you've been here more than a year, right? Do they do summer activities like the games they did last year?"

"I used to be a student here, actually," Zack replied, smiling crookedly. "Forever ago. The games things were new, at least as far as I could tell. Fun, though. I hope they do them again, you know?"

...

"Maybe with candy or something for prizes."

Something safe.

Kaidan made a face. "Definitely nothing that people would attempt to destroy all summer," he agreed firmly. "That was my line of thought," he added a moment later, "I wasn't sure if it was an every year thing or a one-shot deal. Guess we'll see soon enough if they do it again. If not, maybe I'll just start throwing yard-game parties on the beach or something."

"Hey, beach parties," Zack said, breaking into a little grin. "Those are always a good time."

A pause.

"Even when monsters start coming up out of the water and you have to fend them off with a beach umbrella."

... He was speaking with a wealth of actual experience in that area.

Kaidan laughed a little, "Buddy, we're gonna shoot for 'not that', ok? Even if it would be fun for some. I was thinking more like bean bag tosses, volleyball, sand-art competitions.. things like that. More low key than monsters from the water."

"Well, it's not like I asked for monsters from the water," Zack replied, smiling crookedly. "But I get your point. If any of those do happen, I'll get on it right away and everyone else can keep on playing volleyball."

That was probably not how that hypothetical would pan out, Zack.

"I'm sure you wouldn't be fighting monsters all by yourself for long," Kaidan assured him, still chuckling, "It's been quiet and it's been winter, so everyone's antsy and feeling a little cooped up."

Things hadn't changed much since before Zack left.

"Weather's turning nice, people will be out looking for things to do and, uh, the island doesn't have a whole lot of active stuff to do. I keep trying to think of ways to change that. Not coming up with a whole helluva lot, though, other than the beach party stuff." He shrugged, "I'll keep thinking on it."

Zack nodded a little, looking thoughtful.

"I'll think on it too," he offered. "It'll give me something productive to focus on. I need something like that." He smiled crookedly for a moment. "Maybe I can arrange for puppy parties in the park or something. Use my power of puppies for good and all that."

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Kaidan said thoughtfully, "The puppies get socialization, people get puppy therapy without the guilt of coming into a shelter knowing they're not planning to go home with a puppy.. maybe some of the pups get a home anyway. Maybe some of the other animals could go with on different days so people could learn about them. I dunno, I'm just spitballing, here."

"So... kind of like that class I taught," Zack mused, "but... just kind of a free-for-all if anyone wants to stop by." He paused, and then laughed a little. "Maybe I can adopt out some of these rabbits."

Or the three million chickens.

"Couldn't really hurt to try," Kaidan said with a smile, "It'd have to be good for the animals, too, right? To get out in the fresh air and sunshine and learn how to interact with different people?"

"Definitely," Zack agreed, grinning a little. "Introduce them to sunshine and grass. Some of them have never really felt grass before, you know?"

He could kind of relate.

"I bet that's cute," Kaidan speculated, "Watching them romp and play. Rabbits eat grass, don't they?" He had only the vaguest idea what rabbits did. He was pretty certain they were herbivores.

If he ever learned 'they've never really felt grass before' was for a reason other than 'they were babies too small to go outside', he'd probably start target shooting people entering the shelter to drop off animals. Maybe don't tell him.

"Rabbits eat grass," Zack agreed. "So I'd have to make sure there's no chemical weed killer or anything in the park if I take any of them out to play. And... maybe set up some pretty good enclosures for them. Not that I can't catch a rabbit if it makes a break for it, but I'd rather not have to, either."

"I'm not sure this town bothers with things like chemical lawn care," Kaidan said after a moment of thought, "It's not like they do a whole lot in the way of infrastructure. I've never seen anyone spraying in the park."

Zack nodded a little.

"I'll check just to make totally sure, but I'm not too worried about it. The ducks and the flamingos there all seem perfectly happy, after all."

"The flamingos confuse me," Kaidan admitted, "I always thought they were tropical birds. This is not tropical."

"I'm pretty sure they're imported from somewhere else," Zack offered. And then tilted his head a little. "They seem happy enough in spite of it all, though."

Because Fandom did weird stuff, he supposed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Furnado Animal Shelter, Tuesday

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject