Paying Tribute #2-3

Back at the armory today, Marble and Gaol spotted a stranger hanging out with Humla and Salmiakki. Gaol was tempted to introduce himself, but decided it was best not to, seeing as they were in the middle of a conversation, and barging in just to say hi would be rude.

With a smile Koi waddled over to the tall iguanodons.
“Hello, welcome back! You almost seem to feel right at home here now.” the piebald chuckled. “Today we will, unfortunately, have some less fun things to do. We have to tidy up the place.”
Marble groaned, he had just started to get accustomed to the work they were doing in here and was not pleased having to do something different yet again, but deep down he knew it had to be done.
Gaol just politely nodded and grabbed the nearest broom to sweep the floors in the armoury to start off his janitor work. He didn’t want to argue, despite hating to clean, so he figured it was just best to get started as quickly as possible, so he could finish as soon as possible and perhaps have some more fun work lined up for him.
Koi was pleased by his enthusiasm and looked back over to the much less eager Marble, intending to try and motivate him a bit.
“No need to convince me, Koi. I will work on it..” the spiked tabby sighed. “Would picking things up and putting tools back suffice, as a start?”
“That is absolutely perfect. Thank you Marble. I will go clean up some workstations that aren’t occupied right now. That way everyone can just get started on work as they arrive without needing to declutter.” Koi enthusiastically replied.
Marble couldn’t help but admire how much Koi seemed to appreciate and care for his workshops, and he could almost not understand why he had initially been so against working here. He was happy that Koi forgave him for his rude behavior and gave him another chance. He appreciated Gaol a lot for talking him into returning. But he was not sure if he wanted to say that out loud to anyone.

Gaol was swiping the floors as thoroughly as he could, picking up tools and junk from the flor as he moved forward too so he wouldn’t just fling them around in the floor. He did wonder why other dinos had not picked up after themselves, but he also did not care that much, it’s not like it took that much time for him to move things out of his way to keep going.
While he didn’t necessarily find it fun to clean, it was somewhat calming and a nice change of pace. He could just think and do things on auto pilot, which was a neat treat.

Marbe was, just as he said he would, picking up things and moving tools back to their designated locations. Workers were for sure great at grabbing what they needed, but not nearly as good at putting things back. He could not for his life understand why, it seemed disrespectful to leave unnecessary work for others to clean up. But then again, that was what his family had use oviraptors for his whole childhood, so he did start to feel a tiny bit of guilt, not that any of his childhood was his own fault, but still. He swore to himself that he would do better as he kept cleaning up around the workshops, and Koi smiled at him as he passed by with a full toolbox in his beaked mouth.
“You’re doing great Marble, thank you.” he managed to muffle out as he waddled away, leaving Marble behind with a smile too. He was really starting to enjoy Koi’s company.

Koi returned the tools he had picked up to their respective stations, and also started swiping those tables clean while he was there. He also picked up some trash that Gaol hadn’t had the chance to get to yet, seeing as he was at the opposite side of the workshop currently.
The piebald euoplo appreciated how helpful they were, and especially that Marble was loosening up and not arguing about anything anymore. It was nice and peaceful, and they worked very well together. Gaol was able to take his own initiative very good, which made Koi’s job as a supervisor a lot easier too, as he didn’t have to tell him each and every new task he needed him to do.
With a smile, Koi grabbed a mop and started to swab the floors where Gaol had already been sweeping, Sure, they wouldn’t stay clean for long with all the trampled plant matter and dirt all around Atlantis, but the effort was appreciated by the workers, as they didn’t have to work in a constantly dirty environment.
Gaol looked back at Koi as he was swabbing the floors behind him and nodded approvingly.
“I hope I did a good enough job!” he called out.
“Seems good to me!” Koi replied without looking up from the floor.
Gaol kept at it, half the room done, not much more work left now, for the floor, at the very least. He nodded as a greeting as he walked past Humla, Salmiakki and the white, spiked stranger. They weren't actively talking right now, so this was as great an opportunity as any to say hi.
“I hope I don’t disturb your workflow as I clean around you. I’m Gaol, by the way.” he said, looking at the crested creature.
“No worries here, my name is Calamity. We appreciate it, in fact. A clean work environment boosts morale.” Calamity replied with a smile. “Keep up the great work,”
“Likewise. I hope you two are doing good as well.” Gaol responded and looked at the euoplo siblings this time.
“I’m doing just fine, thank you.” Salmiakki answered, short and straight to the point as usual.
“So am I! Isn’t Calamity super cool looking?” Humla chimed in as she happily wagged her tail, looking at the white dacen.
“He sure is.” Gaol chuckled. “I will catch up with you all later, I still have to finish cleaning.” he added as he walked off and kept cleaning the floors.