It was, without a doubt, a beautiful day. And the further he could get from the Piazza, the happier he would be. Someone would pay for putting him up there, Cole swore to that.
But today was his day off, the sky was an incredible shade of blue, there was just the right amount of breeze. And he knew just where to spend it. At the library. He chuckled at himself as he climbed into his truck. There hdd to be something wrong with him that he would prefer to spend a day like this in a musty old library. His packmates would howl themselves silly. Well, he'd get out this afternoon, maybe take a run in the forest. It had been too long since he'd shifted - and the full moon was only a week away, it would be better to not wait that long.
The library was easy to find and hadn't been open for long. That was good. Should be pretty quiet. There were some things about this city that were a touch odd - like the sheer number of places that were either open 24/7 or were only open at night. He wanted to know more about the history of the place, figure out why there were those subtle differences. He was about half a dozen steps into the building when he remembered that his notebook was still in the truck. Rolling his eyes at his own forgetfulness, he headed back out to get it.
And the list of possible sources he had found on the net last night. There were days he swore that if his head were not attached quite so firmly to his shoulders, he'd have lost it years ago. He shoved his hair back out of his face - it needed another trim, not that it would help make it look neater - and asked the librarian where he might find the books on his list. A friendly women, she guided him to the books he wanted and suggested a few others. Thanking her, he headed off in the direction she had pointed.
City Research (Open)
It only seemed right, now that Nikki was actually here, to do a bit of research, figure out how the town was organized, that sort of thing. The best place to start would be the library. She'd have access to newspapers as well as the librarians, all of which would give her a better feel for the city she called home now. Not to mention that they probably had a "History of Nachton" section.
She was waiting impatiently on the front steps when the doors opened at 10:00 am. A glance at her watch made her smirk. Their clock was 2 mintues late. But no matter, they were open now.
It took a few minutes to get the general layout of the place and only a few more to arrange for a library card from a still sleepy librarian. She had just gotten her new license yesterday so there were no hassles there. Thanking the woman, she headed back to the newspapers. Pulling a steno pad and pen out of her bag, she started making a list of the things she wanted to know, then numbered it for priority.
First on the list, the current municipal structure. She needed to know who the Mayor was and the heads of the various departments, not to mention the general structure of the city government. Best place to do that would be the internet, then, if anything caught her eye, start pulling newspaper articles. Tucking her hair behind one ear, she reversed course and found a computer. She couldn't wait to have interent at her apartment - she could have already done this part, but it would be a few more days before they could get out and get her hooked up. Oh well.
Five minutes later, she was deep into the city's webpage, noting names and positions as well as how long they'd been in office, oblivious to her surroundings.
Cole Adams
15 years ago