Name: Benjamin Bueller
Gender: Male
Occupation: Ben is a search-and-rescue dog trainer. He and Charcoal, a bubbly black lab, respond to everything from missing persons to earthquakes, but their specialty is bombings. It can be very difficult to handle the things he sees when he and his dog get to work, but Benjamin assures himself that in the tragedy of death, they are on the hunt to find life.
Sometimes Charcoal will pull Ben to an already deceased kalon, at which point they both feel discouraged, but that is overruled by the monumental feeling of relief, satisfaction, and happiness that comes from finding a survivor amidst the rubble.
When the duo are not responding to a call, they are at home enjoying life. Charcoal is not just a working dog, he's Ben's best friend. Charcoal loves the fact that his partner is a dog trainer, since this means many other dogs come to live with them, and Charcoal gets to be a leader in teaching the rookies everything they need to know about finding survivors and keeping your cool in those types of situations.
Benjamin loves to work with dogs, both in the training process and in the real situations. He finds peace in working with his best friend, and at the same time saving lives. Nothing feels better than knowing that he and the dogs he's training have great futures ahead of them. Futures of bring kalons home to their families.
In short, Benjamin Bueller and his bubbly black lab work their best to bring back kalons from bad bombings to their beloved family.
Charcoal isn't the only friend Ben has. Masamba is Benjamin's father figure. Though not at all related, Ben always goes to him for advice.
"Masamba," asked a kalon in a soft voice, "A young kalon has asked for you," she explained. "He says he's having some life problems. Won't say what, but he'll tell you."
"Send him over," Masamba waved, and plopped down in the protective shade of the oldest oak tree. Soon he was joined by a perky young lad, whose eyes drooped with sadness. "Masamba," Benjamin blurted out, "please help me, I'm lost inside my own mind." His voice cracked, and lips trembled. He was desperate for the wise kalon to guide him, and waited impatiently for a reply.
Masamba regarded him with a weary eye. "You seek something I cannot give,"
Ben's heart dropped, and he opened him mouth to argue but was silenced by Masamba's voice. "You seek the answer. I do not know to what, but either way I am unable. I don't know the answer, but I can help you on your journey."
Benjamin didn't realize he was holding his breath until he gasped. He felt light like a feather, and a bit dizzy. "Ok, yes. The journey, that works. You'll help me, then?" The nervous kalon asked. His anxiety was eating him.
When Masamba nodded, Ben began his story.
"I don't know what to do. Every day I see things, things that nobody wants to see!" His breath was short and his fur was getting ruffled. He explained how he worked with working dogs in disaster situations like bombings. "We help kalon, pull them out from the rubble, but it's not always a positive find. Sometimes there's no survivors. And the families... well, the families come to us! They cry and weep, beg us to search harder! And when we try to tell them what they don't want to hear, they get mad. Mad and extreme sadness for someone they lost. I see this every day. I'm trying to help them, can't they see that?!" His voice rose to a shout. He took a breath and gathered himself. "I don't know if I can keep doing this." He whispered. After a long pause he looked up at Masamba, who was in deep thought. Ben slumped as he waited for the answer, mentally exhausted from the confession.
Masamba gazed up at the sky. " 'We'... you refer to your dog?"
Benjamin nodded. "Charcoal my best friend."
Masamba sat back, satisfied with the conclusion he was brewing up in his mind. "And how does Charcoal feel about all this?"
Ben glanced away, digesting the thought.
"Don't you think," said Masamba thoughtfully, "A dog is not fit for that kind of work? They have weak hearts."
Ben whipped around to face him, eyes sharp. "Don't you dare! Don't you..." he growled angrily, struggling to collect himself. He fidgeted with his paws to calm down. "Not my Charcoal. His heart is stronger than mine, stronger than yours. He can find a survivor faster than anyone." He sneered, anger threatening to bubble up again. To his dismay, Masamba didn't stand up to fight with him, which for some reason Ben really wanted. Perhaps he wanted an outlet for all his stress. This thought had occurred to Masamba. He smiled.
"I know," he breathed in a voice which was gentle like a breeze, more powerful than a thunderstorm. "And now you see something that was in front of you for the first time. Your companion has always been there for you, provided a shoulder that you didn't lean on because you were blind of it. Well now you see. You have a friend next to you through the whole ordeal."
Benjamin met his eyes.
"And you have a friend in me." Masamba stood and took him in his arms. As he did, something caught his eye. A black nose poked through the grass, and a tail swung side to side behind it. Charcoal burst into the scene, covering Ben in affectionate licks, letting him know how much he missed him. Ben laughed, feeling the stress seep away. Masamba wondered how Charcoal found Ben, but quickly remembered he was trained to sniff out kalons.
Charcoal approached Masamba eagerly, and he scratched behind his ear. The dog curled up beside him and licked his hand. Ben laughed. "You got another friend," he smiled. Masamba looked up at the kalon who stood taller now that he'd had a breakthrough. The old kalon nodded, flashing a toothy grin that gave a glimpse of young happiness.
Ben loved what he did, truly and to the fullest. Yes, sometimes he questioned the difficult job he had to do. But his two friends always pulled him out of his slump and reminded him why he does what he does, and the joy in the survivor's family when he brought back their son, or daughter, or mother, or father.
