"You know, it's a little depressing that these animals live in better conditions than I do," Casper said, as he lugged a bucket of mixed feed into the habitat, Robin and Sophie chuckling at his statement as they followed him in. It was the end of the workday, and it was feeding time for everyone. Usually everyone had their own scheduled feedings that they were responsible for, but there was one animal in the zoo that everyone had to switch off on taking care of, and that was Leonard, the Goose.
"Well, maybe you should try harder and not be such a loser," Robin said, making Casper chuckle.
"Gee, thanks mom," he replied, "god this thing is heavy."
"You can't just dump it? You have to put it into the trough?" Robin asked, as Sophie shut and locked the electronic doors behind them. Casper sighed and scratched his forehead as he continued to carry the bucket further, the girls on his heels.
"Yeah, he's fuckin' picky, he won't eat unless it's where he likes it," Casper said, "but it's a quick feeding, in and out, like 2 minutes max. As long as he doesn't harrass us and usually he doesn't, so long as we don't invade his space too long."
Sophie was chewing on a necklace that appeared to be made of silicone, and Robin was watching cautiously, so as not to arouse suspicion. After a bit, Robin looked back at Casper, who had finally successfully managed to dump the enormous heavy bucket of mixed feed into the trough, check the water supply, and then wipe his hands on his pants. He wasn't wrong, it really was a quick feeding. The group headed back for the main doors to the habitat.
"What happens if you invade his space too long?" Robin asked.
"You don't wanna know," Casper replied, making her laugh. Suddenly, there was a large popping sound, and the lights went out. After a moment, the emergency dimmer lights came on, and the three of them looked around at one another, confused as to what just happened. Casper walked briskly to the door and tried to enter the number into the keypad, but to no avail. Not only did it not take any numbers, but the door remained jammed shut. Everything in this zoo was electronic, very secure, something Nelly felt strongly about, but this meant...
"Power snapped," Casper said, "we're stuck in here."
From somewhere in the back of the habitat, they heard a soft honking noise, and all turned towards it.
"It's Leonard," Sophie whispered.
"I get the feeling we're gonna invade his space," Robin said.
***
Nelly was the one who had devised the schedule for Leonard's feedings, much to the disappointment but understanding of everyone else. After all, after what had happened to Andy, it only felt right to ensure it didn't happen again. And seeing as this was Robin's third week here now, she was assigned to help Casper, if only because she would eventually be expected to feed Leonard herself, so she should know the ins and outs of the situation. Sophie, on the other hand, just happened to be in the area when they were heading to the habitat, and decided to join them. Robin asked around, wondering what had happened to Andy, but nobody would talk about it, which only piqued her interest all the more. Why the mystique? Did Leonard somehow kill a zookeeper? The intrigue fascinated her.
When she was a little girl, she used to go to a nearby park with a pond with her favorite aunt, and together they would feed the birds. This was a ritual she loved, and looked forward to, memories she held dearly to her heart. There were ducks, pigeons, swans, and of course some geese. So it wasn't like Robin was unfamiliar with birds - for god sakes she'd been named after one, albeit not intentionally or anything, her mother just thought it was pretty - because she spent a good amount of time down at this park pond feeding them. Her aunt, Minnie, used to say "birds are the last connection we have to the old world", and what she meant by this was their relation to dinosaurs. She wanted people to appreciate that something had survived so well, so long, had managed to adapt to the new world with seemingly such ease, something Robin wish she could do herself.
The very first play Robin ever wrote herself and performed in was a one woman story about a little crow, and it was for an audience of one, her Aunt Minnie, who loved it and supported to the ends of the earth. So why should she be scared of a Goose? Well, at this point. Robin was scared of everything, especially her own fear, which was the saddest part.
***
Another lone honk in the night and Sophie buried her face in the crook between Robin's neck and shoulder as Robin rubbed her back. Sophie seemed especially frightened, and Robin wasn't above giving her reassurance as Casper toyed with the keypad. Robin glanced from Sophie up at Casper, who looked down at her and exhaled, shaking his head.
"We're trapped, we're not getting out until either someone comes by and has the override key or the power comes back on," Casper said, shutting the little hatch door to the keypad, "and that could be hours for either."
Robin ran her fingers up into Sophie's hair and pet her while she exhaled, frustrated. This wasn't how she'd expected to spend her night. Casper turned around and leaned against the doors, stuffing his hands into his unforms pockets. After a few minutes of silence, he finally groaned and shut his eyes.
"This is the worst possible habitat to be stuck in," Casper whisped.
"Is it?" a voice asked, taking everyone by surprise. As they glanced around, they suddenly spotted Fletcher over in the habitat to their right, featuring Swans. Casper walked over to the wall between the two habitats and spoke through the small holes in the plastic so the zoo keepers could communicate between habitats.
"The hell are you doing here this late?" Casper asked.
"Nelly has me installing enrichment devices," Fletcher said.
"At," Casper asked, checking his watch on his wrist, "11pm at night?"
"Well, to be fair, I did kinda..." Fletcher looked down at his shoes and mumbled, "ya know, I kinda..."
A pause, as Casper crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"I taught her about how birds have corkscrew dicks, and she wasn't happy," Fletcher said.
"I'm not surprised, that's disgusting," Casper replied.
Robin couldn't help but chuckle, but then felt Sophie shift and get even closer. Robin ran her fingers through Sophie's hair.
"Are you okay?" Robin asked, and Sophie shrugged, before responding quietly.
"Birds scare me," she said, "always have, but violent birds especially. They're leftover from dinosaurs, so it's almost like being attacked by a dinosaur. I'm sorry for being so in need of comfort. It must be annoying, make me look stupid and childish."
"Nah, you're all good, we all have stuff that makes us uncomfortable, I'm happy I can be a safe support spot for you," Robin said, and Sophie hugged her around the waist. Robin laid her head back against the wall as another honk, this time closer it seemed, rang out through the habitate. He was coming, and they were, not to be cute, sitting ducks. Sophie was right to be afraid of birds. Robin herself had been at one point, until her aunt had taught her otherwise. Humorously enough, at this point in her life, birds were likely one of the few things she wasn't afraid of.
"When I was little," Sophie said, "my mom took me to a petting zoo. They had all sorts of animals; lambs and pigs and goats, the usual stuff one would expect to find at a petting zoo. I was having such a good time. I was being so brave. They had these little pellets that you could give some of the animals, and I was givng various animals handfuls of pellets, they would come up and eat right out of your hand. I remember the pigs nose tickling my skin so hard that I couldn't stop laughing."
Robin smiled warmly, her fingers still in Sophie's hair as Sophie continued.
"...and then, without warning, this canadian goose showed up," Sophie said, "wasn't even part of the zoo, was just a random canadian goose that had picked that particular spot on that particular day to see what the fuss was all about. He starts to approach me, honking at me, and I got so scared I peed. Understandable, given that I was, ya know, 5, but still. Embarrassing. And then I did the unthinkable. I took the remaining pellets I had and threw them at my mom, so thee goose would go after her instead of me."
Robin wanted to laugh, because, well, it was funny, but to Sophie it probably wasn't, and she didn't want to hurt her feelings. She liked that she felt comfortable enough with Robin to open up and share about this kind of stuff.
"She had to go to the hospital," Sophie whispered, "she wasn't badly hurt, like, no life threatening injuries or anything, but it cut up her legs pretty badly, especially at her knees. To this day she refuses to wear shorts or dresses unless she's got stockings on. She says she doesn't blame me, she knows I was just a scared little kid, but...I can't help but feel responsible for giving my mom the gift of semi disfigurement."
Robin nodded, resting her head against Sophie's.
"It's okay," Robin whispered, "these things happen."
"They do?" Sophie asked.
"Well, I don't know, I just know it's what you're supposed to say," Robin replied, making Sophie laugh, which made Robin smile. Meanwhile, Casper and Fletcher were still talking through the airholes in the adjoining walls.
"Ya know, you should give Nelly a break," Casper said.
"Yeah, and why is that?" Fletcher asked.
"Because she works super hard, and she's absolutely in love with this place," Casper replied, "it's, like...her whole world. And here you are, coming in and antagonizing it. That has to hurt. Think about if you had something you poured your life and soul into and someone continually came in every single day - under the guise of being the help - and just shit all over it repeatedly. That would wear a person down."
"You and I both know that I'm not the core problem," Fletcher said.
"You're not helping though."
"It's Rufus and you know it," Fletcher said, and Casper nodded. Fletcher had a point there. Casper exhaled and leaned against the wall, his back to Fletcher, his arms folded.
"I know," he said softly, "I know it's Rufus. I know she's still in a lot of pain. But you're not helping that process along, if anything you're hindering it."
"How am I hindering? I'm trying to take her mind off things," Fletcher said, taking Casper by surprise as he added, "ya know, she comes in every day and she cries in her office or cries in the bathroom or cries in the breakroom. All she does is think about it. She needs...she needs people to pull her mind off of it, make her think about something, anything, else. I'm just...I'm trying to do that cause it's all I know how to do when it comes to helping people."
Casper smiled to himself. He rarely heard Fletcher talk about anything serious, especially in regards to himself, so this was surprising but nice. Suddenly another honk, and this time extremely loud, as if Leonard was closer than ever. Casper stood up and looked around, on edge, prepared. Fletcher did the same. Together, the two looked into Leonard's habitat in the dark, trying to make out any kind of goose like shape that might be approaching either Casper or the girls. After a few minutes, Casper let his shoulders fall again, feeling once more semi at ease, when he turned to face Fletcher and saw a large white goose coming up behind him. His eyes widened and he pointed.
"LEONARD!" he shouted, causing Fletcher to turn around, only to scream like a little girl before taking off into the attached habitat, Leonard chasing after him furiously. Robin approached the wall and watched, befuddled.
"Wait wait wait...what the hell is he doing in there?" she asked.
"...the power," Casper said, "we have these little holes hidden away in the habitats that allow zookeepers to crawl between them, for easier immediate access in case of an emergency. When the power switched off, Leonard must've gone through it himself and ended up in there."
This whole time...this whole entire time they'd been cowering in fear, completely oblivious to the fact that Fletcher was, in fact, the one in remote danger.
"He screams like a girl," Robin said.
"To be fair, most men scream like a girl when chased by a scary animal," Casper replied.
"...that's fair," Robin said, nodding. Even Sophie came by and watched, chuckling to herself. All things considered, it wasn't too bad an evening.
***
"That sounds absolutely terrifying," Kyle said, stirring the food in the pain as Robin sat at the kitchen table and painted her toenails; he then asked, "is Fletcher okay at least?"
"Well, the power kicked back on about 3 minutes after, so yeah, he was able to make a quick escape. However, Leonard was now stuck in a habitat full of parrots, and, uh...that was someone else's problem, let's just put it that way."
Kyle laughed as he scooped some of the food out of the pan and plopped it onto a plate, then putting the plate in front of Robin, who thanked him.
"You gotta admit, it isn't a boring job," Kyle said, and Robin nodded.
"This is true, it's vastly more entertaining than I ever anticipated," she replied. Truth be told, she'd really thought it was a good job regardless, but wasn't sure if it'd be good fit for her personally. But atfer having been there a few weeks now, she felt more settled in than she ever had at any other job. She enjoyed her coworkers greatly, and she had a lot of genuine fun giving tours to the children as Miss Gazelle. But...as she thought about this, eating the food Kyle had so lovingly prepared for them that evening, Robin couldn't help but once again think about Sophie. How scared she had seemed. How sad she had been. How much Robin liked giving her comfort. Robin had never had a female best friend, so this was a new, albeit wonderful, experience. But...if that were true...
...why did it feel like so much more than that? And why did she want to spend time with her more than her boyfriend?
***
Robin had finished her tour for the early morning and decided to pop on by Sophie's area of work, bringing her lunch. She didn't know why she was bringing her lunch, it just seemed like the nice thing to do. Robin found Sophie in the janitors closet, gathering her materials for another day of cleaning. Robin knocked gently on the door with her knuckles, causing Sophie to turn, surprised, but then smiling at seeing her.
"Hello," Sophie said brightly, "what are you doing out here?"
"I just...I came to...I brought you lunch," Robin said, "yesterday, er, last night rather, was such a shitshow, I figured, ya know, to make you feel better I'd do something nice for you. I hope this is okay, and-"
Without warning, Sophie lunged forward and hugged Robin tightly, taking her by surprise. Robin just set the container of food down on a nearby table and hugged her back. A smell filled Robin's nostrils, and she couldn't place it at first, and then...blackberries. Sophie smelled like blackberries. It was most likely her shampoo or something of the sort, but it was also lovely, as was everything else about her, and that's when it hit Robin like a ton of bricks. Why she had been feeling the way she'd been feeling.
She was...in love.
Meanwhile, in Nelly's office, Fletcher came through the door, closing it behind him. He had a large duffel bag over his shoulder, and a container wrapped in foil in his hands. Nelly looked up from her desk and sighed, rolling her eyes at the very sight of him, something that had, unfortunately, become a common reaction towards him from almost everyone.
"What do you want, Fletcher?" Nelly asked.
"I want you to listen to me for a minute," Fletcher said, "I baked these for you."
He set the container down on the table and Nelly, cautiously, pulled the foil up to reveal a large plate of cookies. She bit her lip, then looked back up towards him.
"Why?"
"Because I've been kind of an ass, and I wanna apologize," Fletcher said, "and women like it when you bake them shit. I heard that on one of those morning shows. But more importantly than these is what I have in this bag."
"If this is a prank, Fletcher, I swear to god you'll be fired on the spot," Nelly said through her teeth. Fletcher plopped the bag atop her desk and unzipped it, then stepped back. Nelly, again, very cautiously, stood up and leaned over it, then gasped, reaching inside and pulling out a handful of very old animal magazines, asking, "...are these?"
"Yeah, vintage back issues of Violent Earth," Fletcher said, "always thought that was a weird name for a magazine."
"Well they printed the stuff nobody else would; animal attacks, animals attacking other animals. I remember I had an issue about vultures that included the smell of a fresh carcass they would feast on, it was, like, a scratch and sniff thing and it was absolutely disgusting but I loved it."
"That one's in there," Fletcher said. Nelly stopped and looked up at him.
"Why...why are you giving me these?" she asked, her voice sounding wavery, as if on the verge of breaking.
",,,I'm sorry about Rufus," Fletcher said, "I just...I thought you could use something nice. You do so much around here, and...and I guess I've been kind of an ass and making it difficult for you and-"
"I like that you're an ass," Nelly said, taking him by surprise as she added, "like, you're the only one who's got the gall to tell me to my face that something is bullshit or try to actively piss me off. I know sometimes I might go overboard in my reaction, because I'm overworked and underslept, but...Fletcher I appreciate your bullshit. Don't ever stop being an ass. Oh my god here it is!"
Nelly tugged free the vulture issue and opened it up.
"Wanna smell a dead animal with me?" she asked, and he smirked.
"Gladly, what a better way to get close to your boss than by smelling a decomposing corpse," he asked.
With that, the two of them stood hunched over the table, stuck between the smell of death and the smell of baked goods, and frankly, neither would have it any other way.
"Well, maybe you should try harder and not be such a loser," Robin said, making Casper chuckle.
"Gee, thanks mom," he replied, "god this thing is heavy."
"You can't just dump it? You have to put it into the trough?" Robin asked, as Sophie shut and locked the electronic doors behind them. Casper sighed and scratched his forehead as he continued to carry the bucket further, the girls on his heels.
"Yeah, he's fuckin' picky, he won't eat unless it's where he likes it," Casper said, "but it's a quick feeding, in and out, like 2 minutes max. As long as he doesn't harrass us and usually he doesn't, so long as we don't invade his space too long."
Sophie was chewing on a necklace that appeared to be made of silicone, and Robin was watching cautiously, so as not to arouse suspicion. After a bit, Robin looked back at Casper, who had finally successfully managed to dump the enormous heavy bucket of mixed feed into the trough, check the water supply, and then wipe his hands on his pants. He wasn't wrong, it really was a quick feeding. The group headed back for the main doors to the habitat.
"What happens if you invade his space too long?" Robin asked.
"You don't wanna know," Casper replied, making her laugh. Suddenly, there was a large popping sound, and the lights went out. After a moment, the emergency dimmer lights came on, and the three of them looked around at one another, confused as to what just happened. Casper walked briskly to the door and tried to enter the number into the keypad, but to no avail. Not only did it not take any numbers, but the door remained jammed shut. Everything in this zoo was electronic, very secure, something Nelly felt strongly about, but this meant...
"Power snapped," Casper said, "we're stuck in here."
From somewhere in the back of the habitat, they heard a soft honking noise, and all turned towards it.
"It's Leonard," Sophie whispered.
"I get the feeling we're gonna invade his space," Robin said.
***
Nelly was the one who had devised the schedule for Leonard's feedings, much to the disappointment but understanding of everyone else. After all, after what had happened to Andy, it only felt right to ensure it didn't happen again. And seeing as this was Robin's third week here now, she was assigned to help Casper, if only because she would eventually be expected to feed Leonard herself, so she should know the ins and outs of the situation. Sophie, on the other hand, just happened to be in the area when they were heading to the habitat, and decided to join them. Robin asked around, wondering what had happened to Andy, but nobody would talk about it, which only piqued her interest all the more. Why the mystique? Did Leonard somehow kill a zookeeper? The intrigue fascinated her.
When she was a little girl, she used to go to a nearby park with a pond with her favorite aunt, and together they would feed the birds. This was a ritual she loved, and looked forward to, memories she held dearly to her heart. There were ducks, pigeons, swans, and of course some geese. So it wasn't like Robin was unfamiliar with birds - for god sakes she'd been named after one, albeit not intentionally or anything, her mother just thought it was pretty - because she spent a good amount of time down at this park pond feeding them. Her aunt, Minnie, used to say "birds are the last connection we have to the old world", and what she meant by this was their relation to dinosaurs. She wanted people to appreciate that something had survived so well, so long, had managed to adapt to the new world with seemingly such ease, something Robin wish she could do herself.
The very first play Robin ever wrote herself and performed in was a one woman story about a little crow, and it was for an audience of one, her Aunt Minnie, who loved it and supported to the ends of the earth. So why should she be scared of a Goose? Well, at this point. Robin was scared of everything, especially her own fear, which was the saddest part.
***
Another lone honk in the night and Sophie buried her face in the crook between Robin's neck and shoulder as Robin rubbed her back. Sophie seemed especially frightened, and Robin wasn't above giving her reassurance as Casper toyed with the keypad. Robin glanced from Sophie up at Casper, who looked down at her and exhaled, shaking his head.
"We're trapped, we're not getting out until either someone comes by and has the override key or the power comes back on," Casper said, shutting the little hatch door to the keypad, "and that could be hours for either."
Robin ran her fingers up into Sophie's hair and pet her while she exhaled, frustrated. This wasn't how she'd expected to spend her night. Casper turned around and leaned against the doors, stuffing his hands into his unforms pockets. After a few minutes of silence, he finally groaned and shut his eyes.
"This is the worst possible habitat to be stuck in," Casper whisped.
"Is it?" a voice asked, taking everyone by surprise. As they glanced around, they suddenly spotted Fletcher over in the habitat to their right, featuring Swans. Casper walked over to the wall between the two habitats and spoke through the small holes in the plastic so the zoo keepers could communicate between habitats.
"The hell are you doing here this late?" Casper asked.
"Nelly has me installing enrichment devices," Fletcher said.
"At," Casper asked, checking his watch on his wrist, "11pm at night?"
"Well, to be fair, I did kinda..." Fletcher looked down at his shoes and mumbled, "ya know, I kinda..."
A pause, as Casper crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
"I taught her about how birds have corkscrew dicks, and she wasn't happy," Fletcher said.
"I'm not surprised, that's disgusting," Casper replied.
Robin couldn't help but chuckle, but then felt Sophie shift and get even closer. Robin ran her fingers through Sophie's hair.
"Are you okay?" Robin asked, and Sophie shrugged, before responding quietly.
"Birds scare me," she said, "always have, but violent birds especially. They're leftover from dinosaurs, so it's almost like being attacked by a dinosaur. I'm sorry for being so in need of comfort. It must be annoying, make me look stupid and childish."
"Nah, you're all good, we all have stuff that makes us uncomfortable, I'm happy I can be a safe support spot for you," Robin said, and Sophie hugged her around the waist. Robin laid her head back against the wall as another honk, this time closer it seemed, rang out through the habitate. He was coming, and they were, not to be cute, sitting ducks. Sophie was right to be afraid of birds. Robin herself had been at one point, until her aunt had taught her otherwise. Humorously enough, at this point in her life, birds were likely one of the few things she wasn't afraid of.
"When I was little," Sophie said, "my mom took me to a petting zoo. They had all sorts of animals; lambs and pigs and goats, the usual stuff one would expect to find at a petting zoo. I was having such a good time. I was being so brave. They had these little pellets that you could give some of the animals, and I was givng various animals handfuls of pellets, they would come up and eat right out of your hand. I remember the pigs nose tickling my skin so hard that I couldn't stop laughing."
Robin smiled warmly, her fingers still in Sophie's hair as Sophie continued.
"...and then, without warning, this canadian goose showed up," Sophie said, "wasn't even part of the zoo, was just a random canadian goose that had picked that particular spot on that particular day to see what the fuss was all about. He starts to approach me, honking at me, and I got so scared I peed. Understandable, given that I was, ya know, 5, but still. Embarrassing. And then I did the unthinkable. I took the remaining pellets I had and threw them at my mom, so thee goose would go after her instead of me."
Robin wanted to laugh, because, well, it was funny, but to Sophie it probably wasn't, and she didn't want to hurt her feelings. She liked that she felt comfortable enough with Robin to open up and share about this kind of stuff.
"She had to go to the hospital," Sophie whispered, "she wasn't badly hurt, like, no life threatening injuries or anything, but it cut up her legs pretty badly, especially at her knees. To this day she refuses to wear shorts or dresses unless she's got stockings on. She says she doesn't blame me, she knows I was just a scared little kid, but...I can't help but feel responsible for giving my mom the gift of semi disfigurement."
Robin nodded, resting her head against Sophie's.
"It's okay," Robin whispered, "these things happen."
"They do?" Sophie asked.
"Well, I don't know, I just know it's what you're supposed to say," Robin replied, making Sophie laugh, which made Robin smile. Meanwhile, Casper and Fletcher were still talking through the airholes in the adjoining walls.
"Ya know, you should give Nelly a break," Casper said.
"Yeah, and why is that?" Fletcher asked.
"Because she works super hard, and she's absolutely in love with this place," Casper replied, "it's, like...her whole world. And here you are, coming in and antagonizing it. That has to hurt. Think about if you had something you poured your life and soul into and someone continually came in every single day - under the guise of being the help - and just shit all over it repeatedly. That would wear a person down."
"You and I both know that I'm not the core problem," Fletcher said.
"You're not helping though."
"It's Rufus and you know it," Fletcher said, and Casper nodded. Fletcher had a point there. Casper exhaled and leaned against the wall, his back to Fletcher, his arms folded.
"I know," he said softly, "I know it's Rufus. I know she's still in a lot of pain. But you're not helping that process along, if anything you're hindering it."
"How am I hindering? I'm trying to take her mind off things," Fletcher said, taking Casper by surprise as he added, "ya know, she comes in every day and she cries in her office or cries in the bathroom or cries in the breakroom. All she does is think about it. She needs...she needs people to pull her mind off of it, make her think about something, anything, else. I'm just...I'm trying to do that cause it's all I know how to do when it comes to helping people."
Casper smiled to himself. He rarely heard Fletcher talk about anything serious, especially in regards to himself, so this was surprising but nice. Suddenly another honk, and this time extremely loud, as if Leonard was closer than ever. Casper stood up and looked around, on edge, prepared. Fletcher did the same. Together, the two looked into Leonard's habitat in the dark, trying to make out any kind of goose like shape that might be approaching either Casper or the girls. After a few minutes, Casper let his shoulders fall again, feeling once more semi at ease, when he turned to face Fletcher and saw a large white goose coming up behind him. His eyes widened and he pointed.
"LEONARD!" he shouted, causing Fletcher to turn around, only to scream like a little girl before taking off into the attached habitat, Leonard chasing after him furiously. Robin approached the wall and watched, befuddled.
"Wait wait wait...what the hell is he doing in there?" she asked.
"...the power," Casper said, "we have these little holes hidden away in the habitats that allow zookeepers to crawl between them, for easier immediate access in case of an emergency. When the power switched off, Leonard must've gone through it himself and ended up in there."
This whole time...this whole entire time they'd been cowering in fear, completely oblivious to the fact that Fletcher was, in fact, the one in remote danger.
"He screams like a girl," Robin said.
"To be fair, most men scream like a girl when chased by a scary animal," Casper replied.
"...that's fair," Robin said, nodding. Even Sophie came by and watched, chuckling to herself. All things considered, it wasn't too bad an evening.
***
"That sounds absolutely terrifying," Kyle said, stirring the food in the pain as Robin sat at the kitchen table and painted her toenails; he then asked, "is Fletcher okay at least?"
"Well, the power kicked back on about 3 minutes after, so yeah, he was able to make a quick escape. However, Leonard was now stuck in a habitat full of parrots, and, uh...that was someone else's problem, let's just put it that way."
Kyle laughed as he scooped some of the food out of the pan and plopped it onto a plate, then putting the plate in front of Robin, who thanked him.
"You gotta admit, it isn't a boring job," Kyle said, and Robin nodded.
"This is true, it's vastly more entertaining than I ever anticipated," she replied. Truth be told, she'd really thought it was a good job regardless, but wasn't sure if it'd be good fit for her personally. But atfer having been there a few weeks now, she felt more settled in than she ever had at any other job. She enjoyed her coworkers greatly, and she had a lot of genuine fun giving tours to the children as Miss Gazelle. But...as she thought about this, eating the food Kyle had so lovingly prepared for them that evening, Robin couldn't help but once again think about Sophie. How scared she had seemed. How sad she had been. How much Robin liked giving her comfort. Robin had never had a female best friend, so this was a new, albeit wonderful, experience. But...if that were true...
...why did it feel like so much more than that? And why did she want to spend time with her more than her boyfriend?
***
Robin had finished her tour for the early morning and decided to pop on by Sophie's area of work, bringing her lunch. She didn't know why she was bringing her lunch, it just seemed like the nice thing to do. Robin found Sophie in the janitors closet, gathering her materials for another day of cleaning. Robin knocked gently on the door with her knuckles, causing Sophie to turn, surprised, but then smiling at seeing her.
"Hello," Sophie said brightly, "what are you doing out here?"
"I just...I came to...I brought you lunch," Robin said, "yesterday, er, last night rather, was such a shitshow, I figured, ya know, to make you feel better I'd do something nice for you. I hope this is okay, and-"
Without warning, Sophie lunged forward and hugged Robin tightly, taking her by surprise. Robin just set the container of food down on a nearby table and hugged her back. A smell filled Robin's nostrils, and she couldn't place it at first, and then...blackberries. Sophie smelled like blackberries. It was most likely her shampoo or something of the sort, but it was also lovely, as was everything else about her, and that's when it hit Robin like a ton of bricks. Why she had been feeling the way she'd been feeling.
She was...in love.
Meanwhile, in Nelly's office, Fletcher came through the door, closing it behind him. He had a large duffel bag over his shoulder, and a container wrapped in foil in his hands. Nelly looked up from her desk and sighed, rolling her eyes at the very sight of him, something that had, unfortunately, become a common reaction towards him from almost everyone.
"What do you want, Fletcher?" Nelly asked.
"I want you to listen to me for a minute," Fletcher said, "I baked these for you."
He set the container down on the table and Nelly, cautiously, pulled the foil up to reveal a large plate of cookies. She bit her lip, then looked back up towards him.
"Why?"
"Because I've been kind of an ass, and I wanna apologize," Fletcher said, "and women like it when you bake them shit. I heard that on one of those morning shows. But more importantly than these is what I have in this bag."
"If this is a prank, Fletcher, I swear to god you'll be fired on the spot," Nelly said through her teeth. Fletcher plopped the bag atop her desk and unzipped it, then stepped back. Nelly, again, very cautiously, stood up and leaned over it, then gasped, reaching inside and pulling out a handful of very old animal magazines, asking, "...are these?"
"Yeah, vintage back issues of Violent Earth," Fletcher said, "always thought that was a weird name for a magazine."
"Well they printed the stuff nobody else would; animal attacks, animals attacking other animals. I remember I had an issue about vultures that included the smell of a fresh carcass they would feast on, it was, like, a scratch and sniff thing and it was absolutely disgusting but I loved it."
"That one's in there," Fletcher said. Nelly stopped and looked up at him.
"Why...why are you giving me these?" she asked, her voice sounding wavery, as if on the verge of breaking.
",,,I'm sorry about Rufus," Fletcher said, "I just...I thought you could use something nice. You do so much around here, and...and I guess I've been kind of an ass and making it difficult for you and-"
"I like that you're an ass," Nelly said, taking him by surprise as she added, "like, you're the only one who's got the gall to tell me to my face that something is bullshit or try to actively piss me off. I know sometimes I might go overboard in my reaction, because I'm overworked and underslept, but...Fletcher I appreciate your bullshit. Don't ever stop being an ass. Oh my god here it is!"
Nelly tugged free the vulture issue and opened it up.
"Wanna smell a dead animal with me?" she asked, and he smirked.
"Gladly, what a better way to get close to your boss than by smelling a decomposing corpse," he asked.
With that, the two of them stood hunched over the table, stuck between the smell of death and the smell of baked goods, and frankly, neither would have it any other way.