[color=f7941d][centre][h2]Sarah Cooper[/h2][/centre][/color] "Alright, buddy, lunch is on!" Sarah shouted into the cave, banging a stick against the plastic bucket threatening to tear her arm off. Before she'd started work at the Sol City Zoo, she would never have guessed that a slurry of fish parts, fruit and vitamins could be so heavy."Get out here and eat, you big fuzzy jerk." The cave was situated at the top of a large hill, dotted with brown grass and meant to imitate the subalpine habitat of the Grizzly Bear. Down the bottom of the hill was a lake for swimming, with an artifical waterfall to bring out the natural look - guests could view the exhibit from behind the plexiglass fence by the lake. The other side of the hill was densely forested and surrounded by a reinforced fence, on the other side of which was a path that lead to the food court and the reptile house. The scratching of claws on stone was followed shortly by the snuffling of a massive creature as a great snout emerged from the cave, sniffing at the bucket in her hands. "There you are," Sarah said, rubbing the bear's head affectionately and setting the bucket down on the ground in front of him. Peanutbutter grumbled in acknowledgement and buried his wide face in the bucket, slurping and crunching messily. Sarah leaned against the cave wall and watched him, brushing a few leaf crumbs off the shoulder of her uniform. On a busier day, Peanutbutter's afternoon feeding would be significantly more of a production - she'd bring him out in front of the waiting crowds, explain his diet, crack a few jokes, rub his tummy, maybe play-wrestle with him a bit if the crowd seemed particularly invested. It was a fun show to put on, even if it was a bit much to do it day after day during the busy period of the summer. Today was a slow day, though, which meant fewer shows and much more actual work. The walkie-talkie at her belt crackled, and Sarah brought it up to her ear. "Cooper here," she said mechanically. The southern drawl of Angela, her supervisor, rumbled from the device, interrupted by the occasional sharp cracks of gum. "You done feeding PB?" "Yeah, what do you need?" Sarah picked up the now empty bucket, holding the walkie-talkie with her shoulder and waving down the exhibit hill at a couple of visitors who were staring up at the bear girl. She didn't mind Angela's constant task-mastering, really; it was nice to always have something to be doing, and though lacking in tact, the older woman was always a straight shooter. "Peters and Xiezhi need help with the lemurs," she replied, "It's bath time." "Oh, god." Bath time was rarely an enjoyable experience with any of the zoo's creatures, but it was common knowledge that the lemurs were particularly filthy and rambunctious; it was rare to escape from washing them without being covered in a fine misting of urine and feces, and the process itself was an invariably frustrating ordeal. "Oh god is right," Angela replied. "Say hi to the shitmonkeys for me, poster girl." 'Poster girl' was a common nickname her fellow employees had given her when a picture of her feeding Peanutbutter had been made the front page of the zoo's website. You could also buy an actual poster of it in the gift shops; apparently they were hot items. Sarah sighed. "I'm on it." She gave Peanutbutter a final pat and turned towards the keeper's exit of Bear Mountain. He snuffled after her, gave a low moan, then turned and padded back into his cave. He wasn't much one for long, dramatic goodbyes - typical of the men in her life, really. "Don't have too much fun without me!" she called after him and continued walking, humming some commercial jingle that had gotten stuck in her head.