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Special thanks to Midsully for pointing out a mistake of mine!
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Enjoy.
Introductions
When Hiccup had heard a female voice demand don't shoot! panic had seized up his insides comparable to phantom leg pain. Whistling a low, staccato note, he heard Toothless slink away, having heard the signal to return to his enclosure. The domestic panther was one of the bigger attractions of the park – when he was safely in his cage. It wasn't exactly common knowledge that he prowled along with his master after hours, or that he slept in the same hut. He even helped acclimatise new animals. But the new visitor would undoubtedly let it spread that a wild animal was about the park, and he couldn't loose Toothless.
When he approached the reception clearing Snotlout was aiming at a crouched blonde woman between him and the wolf. The woman wore a sort of studded skirt and leggings with sturdy boots, along with a somewhat faded jacket fastened over a blue threadbare top. Hiccup crept past Snotlout, murmuring, "Shoot on command." The woman heard him approach but kept speaking lowly to the wolf, nonsensical soothing words that rose and fell with the fear in her voice. He crouched down slowly next to her, lifting his hand and intending on dragging her slowly away.
"You're being an utter moron. If you're going to tranq her, do it now."
His ready words faltered at the angry bite in her voice. Bemused, he considered her profile, sweeping over a snub nose and blonde hair that hid most of her face from view. Nervousness clenched at his throat as he replied naturally with sarcasm.
"Right away, milady."
The shot made everyone jump, and resulted in what only could be described as awkward heroism. His attempt to deflect the terrified wolf led to him landing – hard! – on the strangers chest. Furious blue eyes flashed at him before he scrambled away, her breathless anger tightening his chest even as he stood and ordered Snotlout to take the wolf to the animal Med centre. The following punch almost made it worth it to look fully at her face, the muted fury he could sense coming through her myriad of facial expressions. The relief he felt at her being the new start rather than someone important melted into amusement at the commanding tone she directed their conversation with, prompting him to reply with guileless sarcasm to see those searing blue eyes narrow. That same impulse made him whisper something about trolls to her – to Astrid – to see those same eyes twitch and flash with barely repressed irritation. He couldn't help it. Sarcasm was his defence, his first retort. Seeing such reactions urged him on more, especially with such an expressive audience. The revelation that he was her boss took the cake though. Such blatant horror spread across her face he actually bit his tongue to stop the nervous giggle erupt and spoil the moment, shifting his one foot a little apprehensively at her sudden, forced silence.
Maybe that wasn't the best way to introduce her to the park.
After her mortifying treatment of her new boss, Astrid had been ready to go straight home. But Hiccup had insisted on taking her on a personalised tour. They explored each and every enclosure so he could prattle on about the animals, even encouraging her to sit and talk with them. Astrid politely declined.
He kept asking her questions about her previous experience, making her bite back certain responses in order to keep vague but respectful. His behaviour confused and irritated her in equal doses, resulting in a combination of short, politely strained answers on her part. The highlight of the day was when Hiccup showed her the staff canteen located next to the public restaurant, and told her to have some lunch while he got some paperwork.
Astrid tore through the buffet to rival a dragon. She started with a burger and chips before inhaling a portion of lasagne like it was her last meal. Her third plate of mashed potatoes and various vegetables made her stomach grumble, but she still followed it up with two glasses of coke and slices of pie drowning in custard. That took the edge off. If she knew this place had had a canteen like this, she would have applied earlier. She reclined in her chair, feeling slightly nauseous at the fullness of her stomach.
"Good food?"
Hiccup's arrival startled her, enough that she made to get up before realising who it was. "Oh. It's just you."
"Resident wolf saviour and park boss. Yep, just me."
There it was again – that creeping irritation at his casual sarcasm. "What documents do I still have to sign?"
"Just a couple." He pulled a blue folder with her name scrawled on the side and handed it to her. "So you know, you won't be working with the animals straight away since you're not certified, but we can get you working towards qualifications if you'd like."
Astrid blinked in surprise. That sounded like a costly offer. "That's kind, but I don't have the money to go on a course."
"All paid through the park expenses." Hiccup mumbled absently, brushing aside her concerns. His lips pursed as he leafed through a thicker folder, already sliding a pen out of nowhere to scribble over various sheets of paper. Astrid stared at him over her induction folder, feeling like she was inspecting a rare sort of insect.
"How did you become the boss so young? You must be what – twenty three?"
Her voice drew him from the concentrated notes he was pouring over. His eyes caught hers before glancing away, shrugging modestly at her assessment. "Twenty four. My dad passed it on to me after I finished high school – it used to be a lot bigger, actually." He passed her a couple of documents, pointing at a few circled paragraphs. "Could you read them? I need you to read and sign that you've understood. Any questions, just ask."
His serious manner set Astrid on edge. Gritting her teeth, she whizzed out her signature and handed him back the pages, the next question tripping off her tongue without her consent.
"So...we can eat all we like at the canteen, yeah?"
His answering bark of laughter tipped her mouth up in the semblance of a smile, grudgingly admitting to herself that free food wasn't on everyone's important list. The teasing look she got in return, however, quelled whatever good feelings she had.
"You're okay with the salary?"
"Sure." Short answers hopefully meant a quicker end to this meeting.
Hiccup started sliding pages back into her folder before finally handing back her documents without looking her in the eye. "We have morning handovers from whoever was on night shift to the day staff. They start at 6.30 – we all make sure everything is ready for park opening around 9.30. After your permit comes we'll focus you feeding some of the easier animals first, then build you to other areas of the park. You should know a lot of it already after working on your uncle's farm. Tomorrow you'll meet the others – sound good?"
Astrid was reminded, again, of how much she'd lied on that form. Uncle's farm my ass. More like Uncle Wikipedia. "Great. Mind if I stay here a bit? My bus isn't for another small while."
"Not a problem." He lifted himself awkwardly off the bench, somehow off balance despite both feet on the floor. "Hope you come back!" He joked. After seeing her fist twitch he tipped an imaginary hat in her direction, smiling crookedly at her reaction before clanking away.
She didn't have a bus to get – she had walked here to save money. Thinking of her cold flat with bread and a smidgeon of milk in the fridge, she practically skipped back over to the buffet, eyeing the steak with renewed enthusiasm.
The other employees of the park welcomed her extremely warmly the next day, adding to her suspicions that they didn't get new staff often. The handover took place in the staff canteen, where continental plates of cold meat, bread, fruit and hot drinks awaited them. Astrid dug in with the others, thanking whatever deity that had listened to her gurgling stomach.
In charge of the Aquatic Area covering Reptiles and Fish was a man nicknamed 'Fishlegs' for his extreme love of frogs. Within two minutes of shaking Astrid's hand he was quoting statistics under his breath, providing an amusing backdrop to the general conversation. A man with slicked black hair introduced himself as Eret, the 'handsome man in the Affection Section'. Two leggy, blond and squabbling twins were introduced next; respectively Tuff in charge of the Avian Area and Ruff co-manning Teeth Cove (aptly named for the predators it housed) with Snotlout. Both twins were bickering too much for an in-depth introduction, leaving her to wave awkwardly at the leering behemoth.
"You know me, babe." Snotlout winked. "I saved you from that wolf."
Astrid's faint smile widened to a baring of teeth. "Don't call me babe."
Gobber, the in house cook, snorted from where he was peeling potatoes. "Ach, don't mind Snotlout, Astrid. He's just a lump of a boy."
"In charge of the most ferocious animals you will ever see!" Snotlout boasted, puffing out his chest. "I'm in charge of Roaming Ranch and Teeth Cove – rhinos, lions, wolves..."
"And zebras. Oh, my."
Hiccup appeared quite suddenly from somewhere behind Gobber, a shadow of a beard clinging stubbornly to his chin. He clanked in his unique Hiccup way of walking to their bench, sliding down onto the seat with a sigh.
"Quiet night, Hic?" Fishlegs mumbled through his mouthful of ham.
"Quiet enough. I had another look at the wolf enclosure again, to see how Stormfly got out – it was a loose board in their night kennels."
Astrid stared harder at Hiccup, noting how he blinked more often than usual and yawned every couple of sentences. He had night shift? After seeing her yesterday for her induction?
Snotlout interrupted Astrid's musing by flailing his arms and groaning loudly. "Aw. Man! I fixed those a couple weeks ago!"
"We'll have to reinforce their closure again." Hiccup was already scratching out notes. "Snot, remember that vet from ZooCare is coming at 8AM to check the rhinos teeth. Heather, our resident vet..." He mentioned for Astrid's obvious benefit. "She'll be busy with that as well until ten. Other than that, you'll need to look at the fencing in the eastern side of the Zebra paddock and let me know how that's holding up. Tuff, you forgot to give Xena her antibiotic for that gunk on her beak last night. I did it, don't worry, but try to be an adult today?"
"I swear, that eagle hates me." Tuff groaned over his tea. "She only likes my hair."
"Only decent thing above your shoulders." Ruff muttered next to Astrid. She couldn't help but huff a laugh through her nose, sharing a smile with the tall bombshell.
"Fishlegs, you're good to go with that new frog exhibit you were wanting to set up next to the Giant Tortoise. Try to stick to little words. Oh, and the iguanas need a clean out this morning, don't forget."
Hiccup paused to drain a nearby cup of coffee, his long throat convulsing with the liquid. Astrid lifted her eyes to the ceiling, pointedly ignoring the tanned expanse of skin.
"Ruff, you're looking pretty good. Just remember not to growl and scare the kids like you did yesterday. Oh, and try not to kill Snotlout when he comes over to help." Hiccup nodded at Astrid, seeming buoyed by the caffeine. "You'll be joining reception today under Gothi to get a hang of how that works. I'm still waiting on your permit to work with the animals. Tour Guides will be hanging about each section, so direct customers to them if you get approached. Remember where the toilets are and the restaurant – I'll have Gothi run through a fire drill with you before we open."
Astrid nodded back in confirmation, still keeping an eye on the increasing number of yawns Hiccup was cracking through.
"Oi! Any orders for me, good sir?" Gobber started to slice the potatoes with a contraption in his right hand. The longer Astrid stared, the more bizarre the metal knife appeared, until he caught sight of her inquisitive eyes and waved cheerily in her line of sight.
"Don't be scared by my right stump, missy. Lost that years ago on the African reserves."
Astrid recoiled, an apology springing to her lips. "I...sorry, I didn't mean..."
"Nah, don't ya worry. We all got missing parts here."
Astrid shrank further into her seat, feeling like she'd blundered into a social faux pas. Day two and she'd insulted the cook! The possibility of sneaking extra meals home suddenly seemed impossible, and her stomach groaned in agreement at her stupidity.
"Astrid, do you remember the way back to reception?"
Hiccup's voice brought her out of her stupor, leaving her to blink owlishly at his too close face. "Huh?" She managed, before an even redder blush stained her cheeks.
Never mind the food, you're about to get fired for daydreaming!
"Yes." Astrid held back the snap in her voice, desperate to appear capable and not like a dim witted ninny. "I'll head right on over."
"Excellent." He beamed and swung to leave, grabbing a brown satchel along the way. Astrid found herself calling out at his back, unable to help herself.
"You get some sleep."
The sentence came out sharper than she intended, and echoed her first demanding conversation with him. If he was offended by her comment, though, it didn't show. Instead, he gave her a lazy salute, that mocking grin tugging on his lips.
"Right away, milady."
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