nine to five [rowan]

[BECKETT MASON CARLISLE]

One of the first things he'd needed was a job. Beckett had never been afraid of a hard day's work – in fact, he loved that satisfying feeling of being well and truly exhausted at the end of the day because it meant that money was in his pocket and he could do the things he needed. Well, sometimes he liked to wind down in other ways; drinks at a bar, outings with friends, but he was still getting established in Manuka and even though he didn't have bills to pay – Mia was nice enough to let him stay with her, and he would insist upon helping with her bills once he had more than a few hundred to his name – he was pretty damn broke. Luckily, he'd found a job working at the animal shelter, which was a lot different than the work he'd done with the forest service in California, but it was still satisfying. As a shifter, he had always felt a sort of animal bond and a 'warm, fuzzy' feeling that came from being around other four-legged critters, and being able to help people find companions was... well, it was more than he'd ever gotten, that was for damn sure. Of course he had his parents, and even though he'd done a stint in juvie, they'd never stopped loving him, but Beckett wanted... well, he wanted a partner. Someone to come home to at the end of a long day and tell about all the random, crazy things that had happened. Someone to fall asleep next to at night. Someone to love him.

Okay, so he'd had relationships, but they had mostly been placeholders on his part. Ever since he was a kid, he'd known exactly the woman he wanted to come home to. Mia Suerez. His best friend, and the reason why he was flat broke in a town in Maine where he had absolutely no connections other than her. No safety net in case he fell on his ass with no way to stand back up again. But, to him, she was worth it. She'd always been worth it. He'd waited around, trying to hear something that would tell him if she was doing all right since he'd gotten out of juvie at age eighteen, and now he was twenty-five and finally, finally back where he always felt he belonged. Even if she still saw him as her 'very best friend.' But he supposed that was better than nothing, and better than if she'd thought it was totally weird that he'd driven all that way and basically spent every dollar to his name on the off chance that she'd remember him. They'd been children together, but he'd missed so much. So many years, and he hoped that he'd get a chance to make up for all of that lost time now.

But first, he had to start earning money again. Had to get established, and eventually he'd want to get out on his own, even though living with Mia was... surreal. Painful in some ways, especially when she brought around some random guy she'd picked up at the club where she worked or wherever the hell else and he wished that she would just look at him instead... for once. Still, he was closer to her than all of them, even if he didn't get to be that man in her life romantically. Beckett moved over to where there were puppies and knelt down next to where they were all jumping against the fenced in corral where they got to play. He stuck his hand in and patted one, a floppy-eared Doberman mix, on the head, talking to him softly and hoping that this litter would get adopted out soon. Everyone deserved someone to love them. That was what he kept telling himself, every single day.

Then, his attention turned toward the counter where someone was standing. Beckett stood, remembering that he couldn't just hang around and play with the puppies all day. He had a job to do, after all. Even though he was still kind of gun-shy around people sometimes, the shifter put on a bright smile. ”Hey, I'll be over there in just a minute.” Then, he stood and made his way over to the counter.

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[ROWAN SAMANTHA ELLIS]

As strange as it sounded, her parents actually didn’t want their teenage daughter to work. Rowan could only take being locked away in her room to an extent. The girl loved playing video games and watching TV, writing and over all just staying at her computer. But even she knew she would have to get out and start becoming an adult sooner or later. The girl sat quietly in the bus as it drove around the city. She bit her lip and kept her eyes on the area around them, making sure to not miss the spot given to her. Finding a job was actually a little bit scary. You had to have experience, but to have experience you needed a job. Pretty hard thing wiggle out of when it was a requirement on every application.

And anything involving house sitting or pet sitting didn’t really seem to work. However, this next place might be a little bit better than everywhere else. Her pet sitting abilities might actually be beneficial. Her mother egged her to dress nicely, even thought this wasn’t an interview. Rowan was a bit awkward in such nice clothes, but she figured making a good impression was better than looking like a total wreck. Her spot slowly came up and she pulled the cord on the bus, causing it to ding and ultimately stop. She looked at the Manuka Humane Society front doors and took in a deep breath. Even volunteer work would be just as good.

The doors chimed open and Rowan was greeted to the strong smell of animals. She smiled a little bit and looked around, seeing all the dog and cat toys as well as food and other items a new pet would need on their adventure to a brand new home. Inside she began to feel that childish want for a pet of her own. In truth, if she could have one she would much prefer to have a cat. Cats didn’t require much, and they could love you on their terms. As weird as it sounded she liked that more. Her cousin Calan who was a sworn dog lover, had two big brutes and as much as she loved seeing them and playing with them, the idea of a small fluffy thing that could curl up with her while she was playing a game seemed more inviting. The girl looked around and bit her lower lip, she was inside so that meant someone had to be here yes?

“Hello?” She said loudly, biting her tongue afterward so she didn’t make another sound. She could hear puppies whining and yapping in the back. Someone was here, they just weren’t up front. Everyone could fall under the spell of cuteness. If you couldn’t well then it was likely you didn’t have a heart. After a moment she heard the shuffling of human feet and an older male greeted her. The shy girl flushed a little bit and looked off to the side for just a moment. The speech she had memorized in her head escaping her. “Hello! My name is Rowan Ellis, I was just…” She took in a nervous breath and smiled. “I was just wondering if you were hiring for a job… or not even a job if a volunteer position was open I’d happily take that!”

She hoped she didn’t sound silly, but her nerves were getting the better of her. The girl had never done this before and everyone was nervous when asking total strangers about a possible job. Suddenly, she remembered the large folder in her hand. “I have a cover letter and resume as well, if you wanted to look at it or if someone else wanted too.” Yeah, it was painfully obvious this little girl was trying to grow up.

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[BECKETT MASON CARLISLE]

Beckett really liked his job, but he was definitely more into the 'caring for animals' part than the 'talking to people' part. It wasn't like the shifter was shy or didn't like people – he was a pretty social guy, most of the time, but he was still getting used to his surroundings in Manuka. After having moved from San Diego, California, Maine was a lot to get used to. But it seemed like people in Manuka were friendly enough – kind of strange, some of them, but Beckett figured that there were a number of strange people everywhere. And he wasn't judgmental, so that wasn't really important, anyway. For the most part, he was a pretty good judge of character and even if people who weren't exactly nice didn't get in his way, he had no problem with the way others chose to conduct their lives. He had been back playing with the puppies, a new litter that had just come in, when he heard the sound of a voice – probably a customer – sounding from out front, which meant he had to go be social. After calling out, Beckett emerged from the back and saw a young woman – well, she was more of a teenager, certainly younger than him – standing at the counter. So, Beckett smiled and made his way over to her.

She introduced herself and gave this little speech that seemed like it was sort of practiced, and Beckett just sort of stood there awkwardly for a moment before she finished, explaining that she was looking for a job or volunteer work or something. Beckett extended his hand and went to shake hers, figuring that if she was there for business purposes, and there was a chance that they could end up working together, he should probably be less casual and more professional. Speaking of 'professional,' Beckett looked down at his own clothes, realizing that he wasn't nearly as dressed up as she was for such a casual establishment. It wasn't like they were a fancy pet store or anything – just the humane society, but he appreciated that she took the time to look put-together if she was hoping for a job interview. ”I'm Beckett, it's nice to meet you.” Then, he looked over her clothes and smiled a little bit awkwardly. ”Sorry you got all spiffed up... I'm kinda the only one here today, and I don't do any of the official hiring. I'm kind of the new guy around here, but I can pass this on to Sawyer or one of the others who work here for them to look it over.”

Beckett did take a glance through the folder that she handed him, and saw that she had put together a cover letter and a resume really well for somebody so young. When he was that young, he wouldn't have even known what a cover letter was, but he had been in juvie until he was eighteen, so he had to learn a lot of things on his own. Granted, he was never one of the 'trouble kids,' so he got more privileges than some of the other boys, but he still wasn't completely free to do whatever. ”It looks really good, though. I'm sure they'll be able to use you for something, even if it's just volunteer stuff. We could always use a couple extra hands. Even when the animals just have someone to play with them for a few minutes, they appreciate it.”

The shifter shoved his hands into his pockets, a little out of sorts and sort of apologetic that she'd come all this way for an interview or at least somebody 'official' to talk to and got stuck with him. But... he had no other customers at the moment, and all the animals had been fed. All he had to do was clean out a few crates and cages, and he would have downtime. Beckett couldn't really take official off-premises breaks when he was the only one there, but he had been looking for something to do. ”Hey, if you're wanting to work here and all, I could show you around or something. You could ask me questions, whatever. I might be able to give you a better idea of what it's like around here.” Beckett picked up a few things that were out on the counter and put them away, then waited for her to respond, because he really did just want to be helpful. And she seemed nice enough.

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