Work Text:
“Alright kids! Remember the rules! Stick together, no running off, no yelling. We’re to be respectful of Miss Park’s time!”
Bright eyed and bushy-tailed, tour guide Park Zoey grinned and waved. “No need to be so formal!” She said to the teacher, light on her feet as she stepped towards the group of sullen teenagers that didn’t look too happy to be treated with the kid’s gloves. “You guys can just call me Zoey! I’ll be your tour guide today.”
Usually, this would be the moment Zoey would look at her notes. Every school that booked an experience here sent through a packet of documents, detailing what particular things they were looking for and which aspects of the tour related most to the student’s area of study.
But Zoey didn’t exactly have those notes with her right now. She could see them in her mind’s eye though. On the bedside table, next to the phone chargers and charged phones, the water bottles and that jewellery box that hadn’t been opened in a long time.
She should have grabbed the papers before heading out today but she’d been in too much of a rush, distracted by the hands on her hips and the hand around her throat and the soft murmurs and kisses that led to the rush to get out of the front door this morning.
Flying solo it was then.
Zoey could be good at that. She kind of knew the gist of it anyway.
“So,” She said, clapping her hands together and pulling the radio from its spot attached to her belt loop,” Does anyone know what we do here?”
Silence.
She hadn’t expected anything else. It was a particularly rainy morning. It had been pouring down earlier but it had eased off now, a light drizzle and Zoey could get by with just her work issued coat’s hood flipped up.
But these students looked like a particular brand of drowned. Not the sad wet cat variety that Zoey knew oh so well. More like, displeased wet rat that fell in a puddle and now has to forage in bins for food kind of drowned.
She let the silence linger for longer, eyes wide and smile still on her face.
Someone in the back coughed. “Zoo.”
“Well,” Zoey drew out the word, “Not quite but close enough! We focus mainly on conservation and education here. All of our permanent animals are animals that can’t be released out into the wild.” She turned on her heel and started walking.
The school group scrambled to catch up.
“Whether that be because of abuse, injuries or they simply never learnt to hunt.” Zoey looked down at her watch. “We get a lot of funding from the government, conservation charities and any guests that want to donate after visiting. All of the money goes towards conversation efforts and making sure our ambassador animals can live fulfilling lives with us here.”
There was muttering in the group behind her but Zoey didn’t pay them any mind. She was never the most engaged in school trips either. She wouldn’t hold it against them.
“So we keep two kind of animals here. Our permanent residents are the ones that cannot be released into the wild so they act as ambassadors for education. But we also have temporary residents. These are animals that we’re rehabbing to be released back into the wild.”
She fished the back set of keys off of her carabiner, sorting through them all before putting one into the door look.
“When I’m not helping out with tours, I’m here.” She grinned, arms wide in welcome. “Welcome to the Turtle Trove!” She swept into the room like she owned it. Granted, she didn’t actually own it but it felt like she did sometimes. “Turtles are some of our residents that are never permanent. We don’t have the facilities to keep them indefinitely so we only focus on their rehab here! But, please! Come closer and I’ll introduce you to a few of them!”
Zoey’s journey to Sunlight Conservation had been a complete accident. Marine biology had always been the dream, the big goal that Zoey worked towards even as a child. Her bedroom used to be full of turtle posters and turtle toys and even her membership card to the aquarium had a cute little turtle cartoon on it.
It had been when a special guest lecturer had come to Zoey’s classes. The illustrious Choi Poppy had arrived to give the talk. Zoey knew all about Choi Poppy, a world famous ocean conservationist and documentary maker who had stepped back from the public eye when Zoey was ten to set up her own conservation shelter with her two partners.
It was years ago now, that first meeting. Zoey had asked a question, several questions actually and even stayed behind to ask more.
Poppy offered her an internship on the spot.
Zoey had never left.
The internship turned into a job and the job was the reason Zoey was so in love with her life now.
So, she waffled on to the students about turtle mating habits and migration patterns and why exactly these individuals were here and for how long they’d stay.
Most of the student were uninterested but maybe one or two felt inspired. Zoey could only hope.
Just one. One would be good.
The drizzle had long since disappeared when Zoey finally led the tour group out of the building. She could still feel the water in the air but at least there was no rain on her head anymore. Even the sun started peaking out again.
“So,” She said, leaning up against one of the enclosures and gesturing inside,” We’ve got some pygmy hippos in here, an endangered species. That’s Abby in there with them, he’s their main keeper.”
She tried not to feel a little bit jealous when the class immediately looked more engaged staring at the hippos than they ever looked listening to Zoey’s turtle lecture. Or…maybe they were staring because Abby had his shirt off again and flexed as he lifted one of the smallest hippos up and out of the foliage it had been hiding in.
Zoey rolled her eyes, reaching for her radio. “Celine?”
The answering crackle came from a stern woman that Zoey could imagine was sitting in her office and already massaging her temples to stave off the headache.
“Yes, Zoey?”
“Abby’s got his shirt off again.”
The answering groan she got in response was a long suffering one. “In front of the high school students again?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll talk to him. Send him up, will you? No doubt that he’s forgotten his radio again too.”
“Yo, Abby!” Zoey yelled over the giggling of the school girls as Abby heaved an enrichment toy out into the open,” Boss Lady wants you in the office.”
He barked out a laugh. “Which one?”
“You think Poppy and Miyeong want to stay up in the office all day?”
He laughed even harder at that. “Yeah, silly question. Hey, listen,” He briefly checked his watch, nodding for a moment before glancing back at Zoey again. “It’s about that time Romance is bringing out the rhinos if you wanted to take them to see that. He can talk about horn poaching.”
Romance was Zoey’s age, taller than her of course because practically everyone here was. Sometimes, she wondered how he even stumbled into this job considering he was quite the successful model in his teenage years.
It must have been a big step down in pay to start taking care of rhinos.
But Abby was right and Zoey guided the group along just in time to see the big doors to the indoor enclosure opening and one of the rhinos to stepping out.
Zoey stood up slightly on one of the wooden fences nearby and looked over the group. “Obviously, I think you guys all know that some of the most famous poaching is done to gain rhino horns. The removal of a horn isn’t life threatening on its own but it does have an impact on other aspects of a rhino’s life like socially or defensively. These guys came to us from a reserve after being injured and having their horns poached. After rehabbing, it became clear that returning them back to the wild wouldn’t be in their best interests. This is Romance, he’s their main keeper and he can answer any questions or thoughts you guys might have in rhinos.”
Zoey’s radio crackled to life again. It wasn’t Celine though.
“Why did I just see Abby walk past wearing a shirt two sizes too small from the gift shop?” Baby asked dryly.
“He got sent up to Celine,” Came Zoey’s reply,” I think he tried to old ‘I forgot my shirt today’ routine on her.”
“That would explain it. Boss Lady must have ripped him a new one.”
“Did he look embarrassed?”
“He said that his ladies might feel jealous his shirt has a giraffe on it and not hippos like them.”
“Why do we even have shirts with giraffes on them? We don’t even house any here.”
“No idea.” There was silence on the radio for a second. “Zo, you’re guiding that school trip around, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, the turtles have no more rehab to do so Poppy scheduled me for the tour groups until release day.”
“Head over my way,” Baby said,” I’ll bring out a few snakes for them to look at. I’ve got some old snake shed they might be interested in.”
“Got it. We’ll be right over.”
Kids, even teenagers as sullen as this lot, always appreciated a hands on demonstration and Baby was one of the best at giving those.
The snakes housed at the site adored him, even the big ones that wanted nothing more to wind around a prey animal and constrict until they weren’t breathing. Maybe they thought Baby was one of them. That would explain a lot.
Zoey wasn’t sure but she was more than happy to let Baby take the reins with this part, content to just stand there and handle a few of the more docile snakes while he waffled on about venoms and anti-venoms and venom milking and snake sheds.
If anything, it made the students more engaged and more engaged students meant Zoey could actually take them to see the bigger animals without it seeming like she was trying to impress them. Which is why right after the snakes, Zoey hooked a left turn further into the reptile house and pushed open a very heavy door.
“Class, this is Mystery. Mystery, this is today’s school group. I think they’d really like to meet the crocodiles and alligators we have here.”
Mystery’s smile was nothing short of feral and Zoey was sure that under his bangs, his eyes were alight with that same mischief. All the more reason for Zoey to back up against a wall and wait this out.
Mystery could go on for hours if she let him so Zoey hunched over her phone and swiped through it aimlessly. She’d received no texts from her favourite groupchat but she hadn’t expected much from that at all, at least not during working hours.
She only tuned back into the conversation when she noticed hands shooting up from the students to volunteer for something and she raised a brow.
“You know you’re not allowed to let students into the enclosures with you.”
“Jinu can do it!”
“Because Jinu doesn’t work with crocs and alligators.”
“Sounds like discrimination to me.”
Zoey laughed. “Bring it up with the Boss Lady. I’m sure she’d love to have this conversation with you again.”
Mystery pulled a face. “I’ll pass.”
“And I’ll take these adoring students on their way to Jinu now.”
Jinu, at Zoey expected, flashed a charming grin and the last of the sullenness disappeared from the group. Everyone clamoured over themselves to sit at the table he’d prepared.
“Now this here is a black-footed ferret,” He explained, gesturing to the animal draped around his neck,” They’re an endangered species but the population is increasing.”
Jinu had always been charming. Both with girls and boys. It was the face, Zoey decided. He had that boy next door look. He just had that look. He looked like the kind of guy that would help a granny with her grocery bags, holding her arm to help her cross the street and walking her all the way home. He looked like someone you could depend on, a guy that would look after your drink on a night out and make sure no dickheads approached you.
Dependable, respectful, charming.
All words Zoey would use to describe Jinu.
It was a little annoying just how perfect Jinu could be sometimes.
But, at times like this, Zoey was grateful. The whole class hung off his words and she could briefly sneak away to ask something in the group chat with no one watching her.
“We’ve got time for two more talks,” She explained when Jinu had exhausted all of his ferret knowledge and more,” So, I thought I would take you to see my two favourite people. I think you’ll enjoy them both.”
Mira was exactly where Zoey expected her to be. She stepped out from the bird house like a model and Zoey was pretty sure some student mutter a ‘holy shit’ behind her but she didn’t bother to turn around and check.
The condor bird on Mira’s shoulder shifted suspiciously, beady eyes narrowed as he took in the big group of students. Mira’s eyes roved over them too and her expression settled to one of general disapproval.
She never did enjoy teenagers.
“This here is Sussie,” She said, voice bright and clear,” And he’s our longest serving bird ambassador. He’s a condor.”
“And this is Mira!” Zoey said,” She’s in charge of all the birds at our sanctuary here.”
“I am. If you’ll all follow me, I’ll show you our ambassadors.”
Mira drew people in, in a different way to Jinu. Jinu was all charm. He was sweet and relatable and the light caught his smile just right to make him seem approachable. Mira wasn’t charming. She wasn’t sweet. She wasn’t relatable.
But people still hung off her every word. People still listened to her. People still stared at her in awe.
Usually, Zoey would hang in the back of the group and let the keepers explain everything.
But not with Mira. Never with Mira.
Their shoulders bumped together as they walked and even Sussie hopped from Mira’s to Zoey’s briefly before switching back again.
“Er…Miss Zoey?”
Zoey turned with a smile. “You don’t have to call me ‘Miss’! Zoey’s just fine. Have you got a question?”
“Erm…None of the other keepers came with us to other sections…”
“Is there a question in there?” Mira asked dryly and Zoey swatted her on the shoulder.
“Mira’s coming with us because she wants to see Rumi too! It’s been hours since we all last saw each other!”
Mira rolled her eyes. “Rumi’s been busy today. We couldn’t even eat lunch together because of Celine.”
“Who’s Celine?” Another one of the students asked.
“Celine’s one of our owners!” Zoey came to a stop in front of one of the signs, picking up a leaflet and opening it up. “Sunlight Conservation was a dream realised by Choi Poppy, a marine biologist, Ryu Miyeong, who worked with the WWF and Kim Celine, who’s done conservation work around the world. Celine’s our big boss. She’s the one that’s making sure everything stays running. She’s a very busy woman and sometimes she needs help too.”
“That doesn’t mean she can steal Rumi from us,” Mira muttered and even Sussie looked a little bit annoyed,” That’s what she’s got wives for.”
“We all work collaboratively here,” Zoey continued for the students, walking through the sanctuary before finally arriving where she needed to go,” I’m going to need you all to be on the lookout. I’m not entirely sure where Rumi is right now.”
She didn’t need to say anything though because this area was the big finale. There was a reason why it was always saved for last on every tour group.
Everybody loved the big cats.
Teenagers were no exception.
“Hi, Zoey! Hi, Mira!”
Okay, so not exactly the Ryu that Zoey wanted to find but Miyeong was always a welcome addition.
“I see you two are finishing up with the tour?”
“Yeah,” Mira said,” Just looking for Rumi now. You haven’t seen her, have you?”
“Last I saw her…” Mieyong frowned, head tilted to the side the exact way Rumi did whenever she was thinking. “With Celine? No, that was at lunch…Hmm…Rumi…Rumi, Rumi, Rumi…Oh! She was up a tree! Try the tigers.”
“Of course she is,” Mira muttered.
“Thank you, Miyeong! We’re still on for dinner on Friday, right?”
“Of course, girls! We’ll have dinner ready for when you arrive.”
Zoey should have known Rumi would be at the tigers. Frankly, Mira should have known as well. Rumi was just one big tiger sometimes. It made sense she would hang out with them all the time.
Honestly, they should have known she would be up a tree too.
Her purple braid hung down from the branches and her body came into focus the closer they got, languidly lying on a branch with her back up against the trunk. A furry body was also up the tree as well, on a different branch but very nearby.
“Alright, class, you’ll notice here we’ve got a white tiger. That’s Derpy. Tigers don’t typically go up trees unless they’re in pretty severe danger. Derpy, however, doesn’t play by the rules.”
“Derpy has neurological issues,” Came Rumi’s voice. It got through Zoey’s and the whispering of the students. She jumped from the tree fluidly, leaves crunching underfoot as she approached the edge of the enclosure.
“Which is why he can’t be released. He doesn’t know how to hunt for himself and he’s on a strict regime of medication. But-” Derpy leapt from the tree, smashing head first into the dirt before sitting up and allowing everyone to see how his eyes slid in completely opposite directions. If Zoey didn’t know any better, she’d say Sussie was laughing at him. “-He’s a very affectionate boy and was bottle fed with us here at Sunlight since he was a few weeks old.”
Derpy butted his head against Rumi’s body and chuffed at her.
“Give me five minutes to set out his meal and I’ll be out to show off our other big cats.”
Apart from Poppy, Rumi was the first person at Sunlight that Zoey met. She’d grown up at the sanctuary, raised with the animals. The only people more passionate about this place were Rumi’s mothers and it was clear to even the students now.
Rumi spoke with such poise and elegance. She answered questions easily, pointed out little bits and pieces that no one would even think about. She allowed the students into the back areas and even let them to get a glimpse of the snow leopard cubs that had been born a few weeks ago.
“I’m so glad that’s over,” Zoey groaned in the employee lounge an hour or so later,” Finally! Man, I’m so tired.”
“That’s what happens when you spend all night gaming instead of sleeping,” Mira laughed, leaning forward to peck Zoey on the lips.
“Really?” A grin spread across Zoey’s face. “I’d say it was you and Rumi fucking me until my legs shook this morning.”
“Ah.” A matching grin appeared on Mira’s. “Well, we certainly tired you out this morning. I didn’t hear any complaints.”
“We were nearly late for work,” Rumi reminded her as she joined the pair on the couch and stole a kiss from each of them,” I certainly complained about that.”
Mira rolled her eyes. “I meant complaints about the sex.”
“Well,” Rumi winked,” There’s never any of that.”