street rats [RANI] ●

[Balthazar Ackerman]

Unruly black hair stuck to the sides of the man’s face as he shook his head in an almost dog-like manner. The rain could be heard pelting against the roof from outside, and it put him in a less than happy mood since he'd happened to forget his umbrella that morning. A bit of water never killed anyone, sure, but it made him look pretty scruffy all things considered. A thin jacket was shrugged off and placed on the coat rack, his short-sleeved shirt revealing the sleeve tattoo on his right arm and the half-sleeve on his left. When he was working he always kept them covered, but he had today off, so he’d seen no need.

“Find Raziya.” He commanded the familiar who had padded in beside him. Caesar knew her scent, after all. Immediately following the command, the black wolfdog’s nose was lifted in the air, bright blue eyes closing as he sniffed. After a moment, he stepped forward into the library. Balthazar wiped his shoes on the mat one last time before following after the creature who was looking back every so often to make sure it didn’t get too far ahead. The man found his familiar to be exceedingly useful so far, and was more than pleased with it, really.

He weaved through the shelves of books after the wolfdog, and eventually it would come to a stop in front of the woman he was looking for. It sat back on its haunches as he stepped forward, smiling at her easily. “Hey, Raziya.” He greeted, giving her a little wave. “Do you think you can help me find something?” He went on to question, his head tilting slightly in another canine-like mannerism. He could have just told her to help him, but he saw no need to be rude presently.

--
Rania Daher

[Rania Daher]

Rania had just finished sorting through the new library books that needed to be put on the shelves and had admittedly gotten distracted reading a particularly interesting one. It was a fictional story set in Egypt and about a girl's adventures as they travelled through the city in search of treasure. It was silly really, Rania didn't understand why anyone would go through all that trouble in search of money that changed value so often. When she was attending college, it had always amazed Rania how much the value of money could change from when it was first created. How ironic that paper money was at first scoffed at when silver or gold was far more reliable. Now however, the monetary value of gold and silver hadn't diminished in the slightest, but the value of paper money has gone down significantly since it was first created. Even more foolish was how jealous and greedy people got over what money they did have, either refusing to spend much at all or chasing after more green paper. The girl in the story was no different it seemed, risking her life for the possibility that there could be gold buried under mountains of sand dunes. It sounded like utter nonsense to Rania, but then again perhaps there were people who simply liked to risk their lives for foolishness.

Finally putting the book down, carried the stack of books to the shelves they belonged to and carefully put them back. Rania loved working in the library, surrounded by books that held their own share of secrets within them, secrets that would be revealed to them if only someone listened to the words they had to say. She was always careful to treat them with reverence and care lest they be harmed in any way. Of course there was always the chance that someone else would mistreat them but it certainly wouldn't be by her hand. By the time she finished putting the last of the returned books away, Rania heard the familiar sound of a wolf's paws coming toward her and looked to see Caesar approaching her. That meant that Balt was nearby, did he need something? Maybe Maxine wanted to see her or...well, whatever it was, it would be nice to see him again.

"Well hi there, Caesar~,"Rania greeted the wolf before bending down to scratch the familiar's ears gently,"Where's Balt?"she continued briefly. No sooner had she asked this however that Balt's voice reached her ears, causing a smile to appear on her features as he said her name. "Hey, Balt~"Rania chimed before nodding to his question."Of course I can~. What were you looking for? A book, or did you need something else from me?"Rania chimed, smiling at him as she answered the question.

~~~

Balthazar Ackerman