[STM] Shelter for The Storm

Amara bit her lips as she glanced over the severe storm warning again. She’d been hoping they wouldn’t get the worst of it, but it looked like they were going to get hit pretty solidly.

Which meant it was time to lock down the reserve and ensure all the residents, and employees, were safe.

She had already sent home basically everyone but the bare minimum, all of whom should be finishing up their own tasks and leaving in preparation of the small emergency storm crew arriving.

Not that anyone would be going out in the storm.

She took a breath and nodded to herself.

Right, time to get everyone inside…

It was times like these that she was glad that so far the three exhibits that had been set up for the reserve all had an area that the inhabitants could be safely contained in that was out of the elements, without having to remove them from their exhibit entirely.

She decided to start with Chisanu, the African leopard usually quick to come when called for food.

She didn’t want to risk overfeeding him, but with everything going into lockdown, it shouldn’t hurt to give him dinner a bit earlier than usual.

She stopped by the backstage part of his exhibit, gloves slipping on as she picked up the slab of meat that had been portioned off for his meal, before making her way to the cave nestled within his exhibit.

The primary purpose of it was to serve as a way for him to hide away, and avoid the sun, entirely when he wanted to, but he usually preferred the trees as his napping places. Still, she settled the food within and retreated back to the hidden door at the back of the cave.

“Chisanu! Chisanu, dinner!” she called, easing the door open.

She waited the couple of minutes it took for him to appear, ears pricked and expression almost curious even as he focused in on the meat she’d left for him.

Good.

She slipped out of the exhibit entirely, tapping the control next to the door that would close the cave. Through the door, she could see the artificial lights hidden in the cave’s roof come on as the metal plate, essentially invisible while it was down, slid up to cover and secure the entrance back into the rest of the exhibit, made perfectly to slot against the rocks.

Chisanu made a concerned noise, staring for several moments. He even paced across the room, sniffing along the edge of the sudden blockage, before he seemed to shrug it off and returned to his meal.

Alright, that was good…

She could check again later to ensure he didn’t start freaking out, but for now he seemed settled enough.

Her next stop was the reserve’s newest exhibit, where Astrid, their hyaenodon, had recently made her home. Amara would be lying if she said she’d truly expected them to get their hands on an extinct creature, but…

Well, when the opportunity had presented itself, and with a shockingly decent amount of time to get everything set up for the creature, she hadn’t found a reason to say no.

Most of the exhibit was open fields, longer brush and ancient plants offering coverage and several areas of rocks for Astrid to enjoy climbing. However, they had erected a decently sized wooden hut as a shelter. Well, ‘wooden’.

It looked and felt like wood, but the core of the walls was far sturdier to ensure it could withstand all manner of events, including the coming storm.

A quick look at the security cameras for the exhibit confirmed that, as usual, Astrid was taking her midday nap inside the shelter.

Amara grabbed dinner for the hyaenodon as well and slid into the exhibit.

She was cautious as she moved, ready to book it if she had to. Unlike Chisanu, who despite being a predator who was treated with all the caution his status entailed, had never once shown any sort of aggression towards them unless they got too close to his food while he was actively eating, Astrid…

Well, she didn’t mind the reserve’s guests, but she’d taken offense to a keeper on more than one occasion if they pushed their luck even a little with her.

Still, sometimes things couldn’t be helped.

Amara was as silent as she could be as she settled the bowl of food just inside the shelter, holding her breath as she eyed up Astrid. Luckily, the creature didn’t stir.

She stepped back, quickly closing and locking the shelter doors that were usually left wide open, and blew out a breath of relief.

Alright, the most dangerous of her tasks completed…

Last but certainly not least, she mused as she made her way out of the exhibit, were Attie and Ody.

Those two were usually the hardest to secure, mostly because they preferred the den they’d dug out themselves to the shelter the reserve had provided for them. Still, they could be bribed.

As she slipped into the small cave, only a fraction of the size of Chisanu’s, she ensured the small water dish set into the floor was filled, before grabbing the treat balls with bugs that she knew the foxes enjoyed, along with a couple slices of peaches.

They were a rare treat only occasionally given to the duo, especially considering that bat-eared foxes didn’t eat much fruit in the first place, but they usually worked like a charm to attract them.

She left the balls and peaches in the middle of the cave and slipped back out.

It took a while, nearly an hour, but eventually the duo slipped into the cave, Attie going straight for the food while Ody took another moment to look around before following his mate.

Amara smiled, moving to press the button and close the way out.

Ody yelped, spinning and racing for the entrance, but was too late to actually make his escape.

Attie seemed to observe the situation for a moment, tail flicking, before she turned back to the treat ball before her, batting it towards her mate and seemingly distracting and calming him.

Good.

Amara smiled, staying a few moments longer to ensure they were settled, before she ducked out and headed to her own shelter from the storm, the clouds starting to gather overhead and the wind picking up.