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X ..
Olivier ~
X ..
Remus ~
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August ~
X ..
x ..
Octavia ~
X ..
Emery ~
X ..
x ..
Kiara ~
X ..
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Harley ~
Looking down at the watch on his wrist, then up at the glaring afternoon sun, Emery let out a quiet sigh as he paced in front of his booth. Dragonheart wasn't the most popular zoo, and it was really a pretty small establishment, having seen a lot in it's heyday ... well, now with the original owner dead almost four years, the place was seeing less upkeep and less income than ever in the past ... at least that's what the monthly budget and accounts meeting that Amber Benning ran had said the last few months. Now... well, they were expecting a new arrival any time now. The Grandson or something of the previous owner. For whatever the reason, this guy, Valentin or something, had finally accepted the offer to take over the zoo.
Catching sight of two approaching vehicles going opposite ways, and what looked like a moving truck following the one heading toward the Zoo, Emery slipped back into his booth and hit the button to raise the gate allowing the slightly beat up, red toyota out before tapping onto microphone and waiting while the passenger of the black dodge pickup let the window roll down. Though there was a bit of tint on the windows, Em could still make out what looked like two more people in the back, kids though... and the passenger closest to him was young too. "
Hello, moving truck belong to you?" he asked into the mic and listening to the response. Taking a half step away from the buttons on the speaking machine he reached up and pressed into his walkie "
Hey everyone, Owner arrived... he's got company." Emery kept the message short and sweet as he offered the family a smile "
head on in. Officer Teller will be around to direct you to the house in a minute."
Olivier ducked his head a bit to be seen easier through the window since it was a bit of an awkward angle as they were talking to the security guard. "
Yessir. I'm Olivier Claes, we arrived a few days earlier than anticipated" he said briefly, trying to keep his voice somewhat soft as to not wake either of the little kids in the back seat. "
Thanks" he murmured before returning his attention ahead of him and carefully making his way through the narrow and fairly low gates at the entrance. Hopefully the moving truck would clear it without breaking the structure or getting stuck.
Stopping the truck beside a ranch-like building maybe one hundred feet from the entrance, Oli climbed out of the truck to stretch his legs while he waited on Officer Teller. Running a hand through his short, golden blonde hair, the thirty-four year old was beginning to regret not wearing a hat... but they weren't pleasant to drive with, and it was quite the drive coming all the way to Dragon, Utah from Roanoke, West Virginia. But, after all the kids had been through in the past seven months... no, the past three years really, it just seemed like time for a fresh start. "
Rem, roll down all the windows, thanks bud" he said, peeking back inside at the three remaining members of his family. Life wasn't the same without his late wife, Ashley, the mother of his kids... but they coped well ... Remus especially had been a big help. He was able to sympathize with his mother's sickness to a degree, and he didn't complain too much about having to help with August or Octavia. It was always amazing to Olivier just how much they all resembled Ashley, especially his youngest. Everything from her looks to her personality just reminded him of her.
The drive had been long, and though he had swore to himself that he wouldn't fall asleep, Remus knew that he had done so at least a couple of times. Still, whatever small amount of naps it was that he had caught, Rem was fighting to stay awake now, even as their new home loomed closer and closer. In fact, he must have started to doze again, because he jumped suddenly when his dad gave his should a gentle nudge with his hand, asking him to press the button to roll down the window. "
Oh, yeah ... sorry dad" murmured the almost fifteen year old. He didn't tune into whatever conversation was being held between the security attendant and his dad, Remus couldn't help himself anymore and essentially just gave up trying to stay awake. He slept another few minutes until he was asked to open the other windows, probably just so there would be better air circulation, gave a sleepy nod, pressed the buttons to open all four windows completely and promptly fell back asleep, his head half lolling out the open window. Finally allowing himself to succumb to the same fate his siblings had taken several hour earlier.
Today was kind of atypical, or at least it was atypical from the standpoint of the last two and a half months. Kiara stood outside the camel enclosure, observing the animals in view, in particular the one on the ground. Though she was still technically on maternity leave, there had been an emergency that they needed her help for when they called around eleven in the morning. Thankfully her staff had been able to keep the situation mostly under control until she got there about twelve thirty (she had to wait for a sitter to show up first... as much as she loved the zoo and intended to raise her daughter in the environment, Anna was only two months old. It wasn't all that safe to bring her out unless absolutely necessary just yet). Once she had gotten there though, everything was go-go-go. The emergency surgery had proved a success in house, but now they needed to wait for the sedatives to wear off so the injured Bactrian Camel could go back to being itself. Glancing down past the time on her phone, Kiki stared at her background: a picture of her long-time boyfriend cradling their daughter when she was only a few hours old, before sliding the smart phone into a pocket on her scrub bottoms just as she began to spot a flick of movement. Pressing herself closer to the gate and raising her binoculars, Kiara let out a sigh of relief as more movement pursued and he eventually stood up, albeit a bit shaky. Nodding to her team she began to head back to the main building so she could write up her report, and hopefully catch Jax before she left to go back home to their daughter. Regardless of all the new commotion about the new owner having arrived early, Kiara finally felt as though she had a human that was more of a priority than an animal... something that hadn't happened before.
"
C'mon Taz" Harley coaxed as the prairie dog stubbornly sat on her foot to try to keep her from leaving "
I'll visit you again later bud, but c'mon, for right now I've gotta head off" he said, lifting her foot in a slightly pointed position to try and get him to slide off ... which would have worked had he not scampered immediately over to the other foot before she had a chance to exit through the solid enclosure gate. Sighing, Harley started searching her pockets in an almost desperate manner. The last thing she needed was to radio for help because a prairie dog was infatuated with her. "
aha!" she smirked, pulling out a slice of raw carrot ... she must have missed a piece from earlier. Breaking it into a smaller piece she offered the little rodent a portion first, waited for him to take it then tossed the other piece a few feet away when he looked up for more. Finally succeeding in escaping. Apparently it was true across all species. The way to a man's heart was through his stomach. Wiping her probably grimy hands on her shorts, the young lady made her way back to the main building ... or as she called it, the hut, when she stopped in her tracks at the sight of a pickup and moving truck. "
Come in, Opal" she fiddled with the radio, hoping to hear over the static. Their budget was low, and Harley had the unfortunate and somehow utmost ability to break all four of the walkie talkies she had been given over her two short years at the establishment so far. Hopefully she had her walkie tuned to the right person, because lord knows she didn't have a cell phone as of yet. She was struggling enough just to pay rent, the few utilities she needed, school bills and food bills... she didn't need technology or transportation on top of that. "
I may have missed something earlier, but we have a visitor... and either the hot guy outside the truck is our owner, or he made a seriously wrong turn somewhere cause a moving van followed him" she breathed in her usual, laidback and friendly voice as she stayed where she was off to the side of 'the hut'.