Another Weasley

[chose_dragons]

He'd never been in a bloody jungle. It had been a change going from Ottery St. Catchpole to Hogwarts to Romania, but it wasn't all that different. Taller mountains, harsher winters, but he'd gotten used to that right off. Egypt had been hot when the family had visited Bill. But this? This was mad as pants. It was hot and lush and humid in a way he'

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[frakkup]

Calliope waved back, prompting her mother to look over her shoulder at the redhead in the grass. Kara gave him a quick nod in greeting, and was going to leave it at that, but Calliope began to wriggle in her arms.

"Hey!" the little girl called loudly, succeeding in slipping down to the ground. Kara sighed and took her hand, helping her walk across the space between them. "I guess we're meeting."

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"Oi, little miss," he chuckled, waving at the small, fearless girl and then looking up at who he'd guessed would be her mum. She was a fit bird, to be sure. He wiped his hand off on his leather trousers and held it out in offering, bowing just a bit at the waist. Never let it be said a Weasley couldn't have manners--when he wanted to. "Guess we are. "I'm Charlie. Charlie Weasley."

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"Weasley?" Kara didn't know Bill, but she knew the name and the face and the voice, and this guy shared parts of all three. "Eeezz," said Calliope, shaking his hand after Kara's short, firm shake.

"Are you related to the other guy?"

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"Only if being related means I won't get a smack," he chuckled. The little one was a doll and he shook her hand carefully, as if his rough, work-calloused hands might hurt her tiny fingers. "Bill's my older bother, yeah. You been here three years like him, m'am?"

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"M'am," Kara half-muttered to herself. "Call me Kara, Captain, or sir," she said without any heat, having had too many ma'ams over the years to expend the energy on offense. She'd yet to give her name anyway. "Sorry, Captain Kara Thrace, but Kara's fine. And yeah, I'll have been three three years come next month."

She touched the top of Calliope's head. "She's been here a year and a half. And you look...new."

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"Kara, then," he agreed with a nod. "Fell on my ars--erm--off my broomstick. This morning." It didn't seem like his slip fazed the little one, but he figured he'd best learn to watch his tongue.

"Seems neither the broom nor my wand are working anymore. I think it'll take some getting used to, but other than that? Doesn't seem so bad. You like it here?"

[frakkup]

"It has its moments." Even with the occasional zombie attack and constant threat of disappearance hanging over their heads, the island was far more comfortable than life back home. That didn't mean the feeling had displacement had faded, nor ever would entirely.

"Actually," she said, gathering Calliope into her lap as she sat to save Charlie becoming a jungle gym, "it can be too quiet around here. Sometimes I'm not sure I don't want the dinosaurs to get out again, just to have something to shoot at."

[chose_dragons]

Carlie perked up almost instantly. "Dinosaurs? This I've got to see. I was a caretaker at the dragon reserve back home. Was on my way to a rescue just before I dropped at Bill's feet. What are they like? Are they brilliant?"

The threat of boredom that accompanied quiet was enough to unsettle him, but if there were dinosaurs, well, that might do for a bit. All he'd read, they were regular reptiles, unlike dragons. Definitely worth a look.

[frakkup]

"They're really frakking big with sharp teeth," said Kara, which privately, yes, she did think was pretty brilliant, even if she was still averse to being eaten.

"They're all on the other side of the island behind an electric fence. People slip in there, though. Sometimes, the island dumps us there." Kara shrugged. "For fun or something. Waking up in dino territory with an infant...I wouldn't do it again."

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"No, I can't imagine the wee one would stand much of a chance among beasts like that. Good thing she wasn't on her own," he agreed. "M'sorry...my manners are shot. Are you hungry? My mum packed lunch before I left this morning. Care for a bite?"

Dinosaurs. He was aware of Muggle electricity, sure. He could get around a fence, if only to have a peek. Other side...might do to take a walk later.

[frakkup]

Kara hid a wince at that. Gods, what it must be like to have left parents behind. It was one of the few ways in which Kara counted herself lucky.

"Thanks, you eat it," she said, frowning when Calliope reached for the food in his hand. "Sorry," she said, pulling her daughter's hand away. "I'm a terrible role model."

[chose_dragons]

"Nah, hardly," Charlie said, holding out the cookie. "Take it. Keep it for later, maybe. Mum always packs too much. Was just going to catch a dragon. Not like the team was going on safari. We knew where he was at," he laughed.

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"So what, is that like, your job?" Kara asked, fingers grabbing the crumbled bits of cookie out of the air when Calliope squeezed her prize too hard. She smiled a little. "Catching dragons?"

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"Catching them. Studying them. Caring for them...and the hatchlings when we were lucky enough to get them," he explained with a nod. "Just before the last battle of the war, a Welsh Green escaped from the bank vault it was guarding and the reserve finally tracked him down. We were on our way to get the poor bugger. Blind and cranky, scared I'm sure. Goblins aren't known for caring for their beasts very well."

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"Poor bastard," said Kara, though it was mostly a guess. She didn't know what a Welsh Green was like, but that sounded pretty wretched.

"Last battle," she continued after a moment, worrying briefly at her bottom lip. "Your war over then?" And then, because she'd forgotten to ask, "Are you guys from Earth?"

[chose_dragons]

"The wizarding war is over, but there's plenty of Muggle wars. We steer clear of those, though. Seems like they're all over. Earth, I mean. That's right--that's where I'm from. Why? What're you?," he snickered, "some sort of alien?"

She certainly didn't look like any of those creatures in the Muggle books he'd read thanks to his dad, or on the still images advertising films at the theaters in Bucharest.