Dallas Public Library
The library is a rather large building that extends two levels. Security gates at the entrance lead past a long rectangular circulation desk where patrons may check out or return books. Across from the circulation desk is large, archaic looking card catalogue beside which is a computer that is set up to locate books. Following the typical Dewey Decimal Classification System, the rows of shelves are laid out systematically, with large signs overhead so that patrons can find precisely what they are looking for. Study carols and tables line the walls, and one corner of the library is set aside for two separate lecture rooms that can booked for meetings.
Since Chloe is AWOL, Mischa has been called in to cover one of her shifts. It's later than he normally works, but he has effectively risen to the occasion. Mischa strolls into the library in his usual work garb (button down shirt, sweater vest, slacks, loafers) and makes a straight line for the counter. A few of the other librarians are already on duty, stacking books back in the recesses of the library. The tall librarian searches the desk for any specific instructions before adjusting his glasses and taking a quick scan of the library. Everything seems to be in order.
Things may not be in order for much longer. A weary looking man enters the library, his pace slow. This man's face is extremely pale, his eyes carrying deep circles. Where normally there is a shinning smile there is just Robert. He looks around momentarily before finally just stepping up to the counter. Bobby's too tired to give much of a fight for anything at this point, so he patiently waits for someone to notice him before attempting to get answers.
As Mischa notices Robert approach, he gives the bedraggled young man a polite smile, if not a slightly concerned one. "Hello, is there something I might be able to help you with?" He asks. Mischa starts to do some light computer work in the meantime. Or at least, he pretends to. A large part of his 'defense mechanism' at work is looking busy without actually being busy. Right now, he feels, is the time for one of these defense mechanisms. A few more fleeting glances are afforded to Bobby, Mischa adjusting his glasses once more.
"No. Well, yes." Robert sighs heavily as he stands on the other side of the counter. He'll sound tired and defeated, not angry or upset at all. "I know this is a long shot, but is Chloe working today?" The family resemblance may not be noticeable, something that Bobby knows. "Or did she leave a forwarding address? I can't reach her but it is very important that I do." The words very and important are stressed in a rather urgent way.
Ordinarily, messages from family are not exactly a priority, which is why her voicemail has been allowed to fill up. Finally, though, it reaches a point where Mellie simply couldn't keep ignoring the calls, and finally waded in to retrieve them. What she expected to only earn an eyeroll and a press of the delete option now has instead been enough to send her en route to the library as well. Arriving a short while later, heading inside to scan the area.
That causes Mischa's brow to raise. He furrows his brow at Robert and shakes his head. "Chloe didn't work today, no. And I'm very sorry, but I can't give out that information. If you like, you can leave a message with me and I'll make sure she gets it." He sounds very confident about making sure that Chloe will get it. The shape that Robert is in coupled with the questions about Chloe makes him a bit on edge — he doesn't notice Mellie's appearance just yet. While vaguely aware that the door has opened, Mischa's attention is on Robert.
Poor Mischa. The way that he sounds so positive causes Robert to glare at him, almost as if staring a hole right through him. "Look," he finally says, rather calm. "I don't know where she is, or what you're doing with her, but this is serious. If you know her at all you'll know why I need to talk to her." Feeling the anger creep up on him, Bobby takes a deep breath and actually goes as far as to take a step back. As intimidating as he's known to be, he doesn't want to be presented as a threat. "I'm her brother. Our parents… look. I just really need to talk to her. She needs to be there." Mellie is unnoticed as Robert is trying his hardest to simply remain calm.
Mellie might be unnoticed, but scanning the library as she is, it doesn't take her too long to notice the two familiar gents speaking at the desk. There's just slight hesitation before she heads in that direction, arms crossing crossing in a mix of defensiveness and self-protection as she slips up beside Robert, capable of a rather quiet approach when she doesn't feel like being the centre of attention. Her gaze flickers between the two of them for a moment, before she offers a somewhat uncertain, "Hey."
"Doing with her?!" Mischa exclaims, a bit too loudly for the library. A few of the patrons stop to glance over towards the desk before going back to what they're doing. Someone even shushes him. He turns a shade of scarlet red from embarrassment rather than anger. "Chloe and I are friends. I haven't done anything untowards to her. Nor would I!" He lowers his voice and takes ina deep breath as well, eyeing Bobby for a long moment. When Mellie appears, Mischa seems reasonably happy to see her. "Mellie! Is this really your brother? Oh, thank God you're alright. Chloe's been worried about you and when I told her…" He trails off there. If this is their brother, Mischa recalls what was said about the FotS. Saying that he left Bobby's baby sister in the custody of a strange vampire probably wouldn't be wise.
If he thinks he's going to change the way Bobby is reacting to him, he has another thing coming. If anything, he just stares more, as if he's face to face with an alien. "You are the one who brought that up, not me. Perhaps for one who blushes so easily you shouldn't go looking for things that have not been implied." This is all said in monotone, the desire to act on rage again building up in him. One victim in a day is enough, though. That step he gave is reclaimed and a hand raised, an index finger leveling at Mischa. There is more to be said but he should be thankful that Mellie appears. "Oh thank God," Bobby says as he moves to wrap his sister in a hug. He certainly isn't acting himself. "Am I the only one who knows? Please tell me that you heard."
"Of course I'm all right," Mellie replies, frowning a bit that there would be any thinking otherwise. "And, yeah, this is my brother…" She trails off, glancing over to Bobby with a growing expression of confusion. "Heard what? Did something happen to Chloe?" The teen isn't known to pay particular attention to the news at the best of times. Not that she's worried about her sister, of course. That was definitely not a note of worry in her tone. The hug is only really met with surprise. "What the hell is going on?" The question is directed equally to the two of them; she doesn't care where the answer comes from, so long as there's an answer coming.
Alright, so Mellie isn't screaming as Bobby embraces her. That's a sign that Bobby isn't a weird creeper, probably. Mischa seems relieved, though he shrugs his shoulders at Mellie. "I don't know. He's looking for Chloe." Mischa takes in another breath, letting Robert's comment about his blushing and implications roll right off of his back. He's on edge now, but less so since Robert seems to be who he says he is. He lets them converse for a moment while he turns to the computer and starts to key a few things in.
The hug is brief yet longer than it should be, not that Robert is the type to hug people. "One of these days I'm going to get both of you to understand the importance of answering your phones." This is said to Mellie and he's speaking for Chloe as well. "Mellie, we need to get to the hospital. Mom and Dad, they were attacked." That's the best way to describe it since a wild animal was involved. "Mom was torn up but will be okay. I don't know if Dad's going to make it." If she was worried before, hopefully she is now. Yet Bobby takes the time to glance back at Mischa. "I need my sister and I need her now."
After an initial moment of shock and denial, Mellie pales considerably - a mean feat, given her avoidance of direct sunlight on general principles. "…What?" is all she can reply for a moment, her voice small and young, as she just stares at her big brother in disbelief. The debate about Chloe's whereabouts is tuned out for right now, as these thoughts turn themselves over and over in her mind. Attacked? Torn up? Daddy? Her arms tighten over her chest and she leans back against the desk as though her legs have gone out from under her.
Mischa can't help overhearing. Forget the fact that he was eavesdropping. His own face drains of color for a moment and he looks shocked by what Bobby says, though he manages to keep his composure. If not for looking quite tight around the facial features suddenly. "I don't know where your sister is. All I meant earlier was that I would make sure she gets the message — we leave them for each other behind the counter." He nods down at the desk and looks to Mellie with concern, slowly coming out from behind the counter. He doesn't make any sudden movements towards the siblings, but simply stands by in case he can be of any assistance.
Mellie's reaction is very similar to his own, only that seems like ages ago. Only she doesn't have the guilt that Robert carries for having not spoken with his father in years. "They said some wolf or something did it, but they can't find it and they don't know why. Jesus, it's been all over the news. Hope knew about it before I told her because of that." Bobby isn't yelling - far from. The man is actually just trying to remain composed. "I just think we all need to be there. Mom's drugged up bad and Dad's in critical. Hope's sitting with them right now until I can find you guys." That look of defeat is carried towards Mischa. "That's all I meant before. I just really need to find her, but she left me this note and isn't answering her phone."
"Yeah, well, I don't usually watch the news," Mellie replies in a defensive tone, feeling a little like it's somehow a judgement that she didn't know until just now. Or perhaps that's a bit of a guilty conscience of her own. Guess she shouldn't have been dodging his calls after all. "Yeah. Yeah, we can go. I've got tonight off," she goes on, now more distantly. Not that her job would come before her parents, but it's these little details that swim into focus, since she can't quite grasp the big picture stuff. Her gaze finally flickers over to Mischa, realizing belatedly that he's come around the counter, but she doesn't know quite what to say.
"Wolf?" Mischa asks Bobby, his brow quirking. Something about that makes him look grave and ill all at once. He nods towards Bobby and reaches for a piece of paper, grabbing it and jotting down a note. 'Chloe, parents in hospital, call Bobby.' He's going through the motions for their sakes right now, looking distracted with his own thoughts before he turns back to them. "I'll keep a watch out here for Chloe, in case she decides to come in. Please, go be with your parents. I'm…really sorry to hear about that. Let me know if there's something more I can do for you."
This is just not a conversation the man ever imagined happening. He's not certain how he's even making it through coherently. "Yeah, something like that. Like they just opened the door and it attacked them. Was waiting for them. What kind of messed up stuff is that?" He's not actually asking Mischa's opinion but rather is just looking to vent at someone. Anyone. Even the strong Bobbyguard is near tears but he's as calm as possible for his sister. "I was actually headed to the bar next. I just, I'm worried. First Chloe decides that she has to vanish for a week and now this?" He should be running, just taking off with Mellie but everything is in slow motion. Eventually Bobby reaches for a small piece of paper he grabbed earlier. "Here," he says to Mischa. "I don't keep my cell on in the room. It's the hospital room number and one to reach Hope, just in case."
The fact that he was going to venture to the bar actually draws Mellie out of her thoughts enough to give him a look of surprise - and somehow only make the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that much worse. It must be bad if he's going to those lengths. "Yeah. What the hell is going on?" she wonders weakly, glancing over at Mischa as well, though the question isn't exactly directed at him per say. She's having trouble even just keeping up with the conversation, watching absently as information is exchanged. "Thanks, Mischa," she offers up somewhat belatedly, as his offer of help sinks in past the fuzzy buzzing in her head.
Mischa nods to Bobby and takes the piece of paper from his hand, looking it over. He copies it onto another piece of paper, putting it down behind the desk. "I'll hang onto this in case I hear from Chloe," he says, pocketing the original slip of paper with the hospital phone number on it. "I'm really, really sorry you two. If I hear from Chloe, I'll have her give you a call straight away. Please, don't let me keep you. Your parents have my best wishes." Mischa moves back behind the counter, just shaking his head. He looks troubled by the news, almost like someone related to them himself. Turning his back towards one of the file cabinets behind the desk, Mischa tries to give them a bit of personal space so that they can leave without feeling too scrutinized.
The lack of any answers at all is something that he's been getting since the moment his phone rang. A hand reaches out for his sister, to find her shoulder if she'll allow and just relax there. Bobby isn't going to be pushy, not now. He has enough guilt as it is. "Thank you, Mischa is it? I really owe you one." Even if the man can't find Chloe, he's at least offering to do so. "Did you drive? If not, I'll take us there." This is of course said to Mellie. "I mean, if you're willing. But yeah, let's go." Of course she's willing. "Once we're there I can get you whatever you need."
Mellie doesn't shy away from the touch for once, and it's enough to bring her gaze up from where she's been giving the thousand yard stare at the floor, to meet his if he happens to be looking that way. There's a pause, like again she'd like to say something, but nothing comes forth. Oh good, a direct question. Those are easier. "I - No, I didn't drive," she replies with a shake of her head. She doesn't even bother to confirm that she's willing, just gives a little nod, ready to be led wherever, an absent wave offered to Mischa.
"Think nothing of it. Family is important," Mischa says, looking over his shoulder at the siblings. "Take care of yourselves. I'll have Chloe get in touch with you if I hear anything." With that, he's back to going through the antiquated notecards in the filing cabinets, perhaps looking for contact information.