Pet Store

Very rarely did Oliver take days off, considering he lived at Tormino's. He worked as many shifts as allowed for a part-timer seven days a week. It helped cover part of the rent Oliver owed, according to Cyrus, and then save up for his place or art supplies. The money was more than anything spent on art supplies since he still hadn't moved out of the attic. So on the occasional day off, Oliver would go out and sketch or get supplies. And today was more of a sketching kind of day since he didn't have any money.

He wandered around town, looking for something to sketch, but nothing was quite jumping out at him until a dog leaped on him.

"Down girl, off." The person at the other end of the dog's leash tugged, so the dog retreated, unaware of its wrongdoing.

"Sorry, I'm trying to train her when I can," the owner apologized while Oliver dusted off any dog hair.

"It's fine… Miles."

At the other end of the leash was Miles. Right, Miles would be working the afternoon shift today since his sister worked the morning shift. And he would take care of the stray dog in the morning at Cyrus' request.

"Hey, Oliver, no wonder she was friendly with you. Huh, girl?"

The dog barked in agreement.

"Finally, your day off?" asked Miles as he adjusted the empty backpack on his back.

"Yeah, trying to find somewhere to draw." Oliver showed him the small sketchbook he held in hand, a pencil, and a pen on either side of his ears.

"Sounds fun. I was on my way to get her some dog food, as well as other stuff for my pets." Miles petted the dog on the head; the dog nuzzled her head into his hand. Oliver looked between the dog and her walker; their bond would be an exciting subject. Maybe after they go to the store, he could sketch them.

"Mind if I come along?"

"Not at all."

Oliver fell into step beside him, studying his companion and the dog. Other than the initial encounter, the dog was well behaved, stopping to sniff spots along with the wall.

They didn't walk long, as Miles turned into a small store with lit up letters in the window, reading “Domestic Zoo”. Oliver raised the eyebrow not hidden by his hair before following inside. It was lengthy store, split into two sides by shelves filled with pet supplies. On the walls were various cages and tanks. This store was likely where Miles got most of his fish, as Oliver could see past the shelves were several fish tanks.

"Miles, is this where you got…?" Oliver started as he walked down the aisle. He stopped when he noticed a chameleon inside one of the cages. One of its eyes looked at him, then glanced elsewhere, before rolling back. It moved one of its legs slowly forward, debating whether it should take a step or not. Fascinated by the animal, Oliver squatted down and started sketching. Miles continued to roam the store with the dog, looking for supplies.

Miles piled his goods in his arms, including two dog bowls, dog food, fish food, meal worms, some bird treats, and toys for the birds and the dog. He wandered up to the counter to pay for the supplies and swung his backpack over to put the items inside. As the cashier rang him up, he looked back at Oliver.

Oliver was deep into his sketch as the chameleon climbed around the cage. He sketched from various angles, zeroing in on small details: the horns on its head, the way its toes grabbed a branch or the scaly pattern on its side. He was thankful he was sketching in pencil when the dog nudged his arm, causing his pencil to slide.

"Come on, girl." Miles pulled the dog away, his bag loaded with supplies.

"You going to draw some more?" asked Miles, looking between the sketch and the chameleon.

"Yeah, do you think they'll mind?"

Miles turned to the older man at the desk. "Do you mind if my friend stays here to draw?"

The older man bent over to see Oliver sitting in front of the chameleon cage.

"No worries, he can stay. Let me know if you have any questions."

"Thank you, sir."

Oliver turned back to the chameleon that glanced at him before sticking out its tongue out to catch a cricket.

"That's a Jackson's chameleon," commented Miles.

"Huh," answered Oliver before going back to his sketch. Miles watched for a bit until Oliver moved down the row. He stopped again when he found another animal that piqued his interest.

The dog whimpered, letting Miles know she wanted to leave.

"Alright, girl, let's go." Miles pulled on the leash, and the dog led him out to the sunshine. Oliver continued to sketch the various animals until closing.