This is based on the stories of a keeper reader with the octotrio by ashensgrotto and merakiui .

Summary: You're a brand new zookeeper at The Halfling Zoo- a place where half-animals live in captivity. Your job is simple- feed them and study them. Your main worry is that one of the more dangerous halflings might kill you.

Unfortunately, that may become the least of your worries.

WARNINGS: none for now

Note: All characters are aged up, since there will be mature themes in future parts.

Also, I can't promise I'll finish this. I suck at finishing stories.

Note 2: I'm in love with Ruggie, so I accidentally made half of this chapter about him. Oops.

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You decided that the best course of action would be watching from afar. The hyenas were afraid of you, the king of the lions didn't like you, and the wolves were wary of you. All in all, not the greatest situation.

You didn't know what you expected. Did you really think they would all love you from day one? They were half-animals, after all. They had the instincts of wild animals, not domesticated pets.

Still, you were determined to make them like you. The hyenas would probably be easiest, once they warmed up to you. The wolves would probably get used to you eventually. The lions- well, that was a tricky situation. They all followed Leona, so you'd have to win him over before you could win over the entire pride, and that would not be easy.

You grabbed your journal and pen from your locker and walked to the savannah exhibit's door. This time, you had brought a water bottle with you, prepared for the upcoming heat you would have to face. You had also bought binoculars from one of the vendors, knowing you would need it if you were going to keep some space between you and the halflings.

You entered the exhibit, wincing at the heat that hit your skin. You scanned the dry land for the hyenas and found them lounging around the watering hole, talking amongst themselves. You stepped behind a large rock and leaned over it, raising your binoculars to your eyes.

It was impossible to hear what they were saying, but they seemed to laugh a lot. You really wished you knew what they were saying, but if you approached them, they would probably stop their conversation and focus on getting away from you.

Day 1

HYENAS

There are seven hyenas and they all seem to be close to each other, as they stick together in a group. Their conversations seem to be humorous, as they are often laughing. This could be from their hyena half, as hyenas are known for their "laugh".

Each of the halflings are easily differentiated by their hyena ears and tail. They all seem to be around 5'5, but even the tallest ones do not hit 6 feet.

They are relaxed until a female approaches them. In this case, all seven hyenas are male, so the problem starts when a female keeper tries to feed them or study them up close. They suddenly become extremely wary or even frightened and are very hesitant to come anywhere near a female keeper.

The best way to calm them down, I believe, is to show them that you are not aggressive like female hyena halflings are. It doesn't get rid of their fear, but it definitely helps.

You peered through your binoculars and watched the six hyenas as they drank from the watering hole- most of them scooping water into their palms and drinking from their hands, while others put their head down to drink directly from the source.

Wait- six hyenas? Weren't there seven?

You felt a hot breath on the back of your neck and you spun around, heartbeat skyrocketing. There, standing behind you, was the hyena halfling you had talked a little bit with when you were handing out breakfast.

He retreated to a safe distance and sat down, cross-legged, studying you curiously, a slight smile on his face as though he was proud that he had frightened you. Suddenly, you were all too aware of the claws on his fingers and the unnaturally sharp canines that shone in the sunlight when he flashed you a lazy smile.

"Shishishi," he giggled, eyes locked on you, waiting for your reaction.

"You scared me, Ruggie!" you said, your heartbeat starting to go back to its normal pace.

His grin only widened. You noticed his eyes flickering from you to your notebook.

"Oh! Are you interested in my notebook?" you asked, holding it out to him.

Ruggie frowned, looking a little offended, "I can't read."

Oh. You felt your cheeks growing warm. Of course a halfling, who had spent his life in the wild and then captivity, wouldn't know how to read. It was a miracle that any of them had picked up enough English to be able to speak it.

"Do you want me to read it to you?" you asked.

Ruggie's eyes widened and he cocked his head at you. Finally, he shook his head. A little disappointed, you closed your notebook. "That's alright. Did you want to talk?"

Ruggie shook his head once more and you felt yourself at a loss for words. You weren't sure why he was still here if he wasn't interested in talking. One of the other hyenas made a whooping sound and Ruggie responded with his own hyena noises, turning his attention to the other hyenas for a moment before he turned back to you.

You decided to try to get him to speak to you, "So, did you enjoy breakfast? You had three servings, after all."

Finally, Ruggie nodded then, as an afterthought, added, "I like donuts better."

"Donuts?" you couldn't help but laugh, "Would you like it if I brought some?"

Ruggie's eyes widened, "Donuts?"

"Yeah!" you said happily, "My boss said I could bring you guys anything, as long as I paid for it with my own money."

He looked at you like you had hung the stars in the sky, "Donuts!"

Ruggie called back to his friends with a series of whoops and other hyena noises and they responded back enthusiastically. You wished you could understand their language.

You turned back to your notebook.

It seems like hyena halflings like sweets or, at least this group likes donuts. One of them, the one named Ruggie, seems like he has warmed up to me a little. We talked a little, mostly about donuts, but I feel like he isn't as scared of me as the others are.

Ruggie seemed to have had enough, because he stood up and, with a curious glance back at you, he ran off to join the others, kneeling by the watering hole to drink along with his peers.

You were a little disappointed by how short the conversation had lasted, but more than anything, you were excited that you had a conversation with a hyena halfling at all. Ruggie still seemed a little wary of you, but much more comfortable with your presence than earlier.

It was a step in the right direction.

You were not looking forward to seeing Leona, but you were already in the savannah exhibit and the lions weren't too far off. The pride's positions were the same as this morning's, with Leona lounging on the large rock while the other lions sat and laid on the grass beneath him. The lions were either napping, grooming their hair, or just talking quietly amongst themselves.

The lions were not frightened by you and why would they be? They had a killer bite and claws on each hand. They regarded you lazily, as if you bored them a little.

"Hello, everyone!" you did your best to not sound as terrified as you felt. None of the lions stopped what they were doing for you, continuing their actions as if you weren't even there.

You hadn't even noticed at first that Leona was awake, until you glanced at the rock, hoping to get a reaction from him.

He sat up on the rock, staring at you with an impassive expression. Despite his lack of a warm welcome, your heart soared. This was your chance!

"Hi there!" you said cheerfully.

He looked down his nose at you, clearly not impressed by your greeting.

"Did you have a good nap?" you asked.

Leona continued to stare at you, unimpressed with your attempts at earning his attention.

"So, I know your name is Leona, but would you like to know mine?" you asked hopefully.

Leona's eyes turned to the right, as though he was making a decision. Finally, he spoke in that slow, rumbling voice of his, "Whatever, I don't care. Go ahead"

You smiled up at him, pleased that you had gotten his permission, even though he wasn't as interested as you had hoped, "I'm (Y/n), it's nice to officially meet you."

Leona laid back down but didn't close his eyes, watching you as you looked back at him.

"Did you eat your steak? I don't want you to go hungry."

Leona's eyes widened a little, as though you had taken him by surprise. And maybe you had.

His gaze evaded yours as he responded to your question, "Yes, I ate it."

"Oh good!" you smiled happily up at him.

Leona studied you closely, clearly unable to read you. Leona tilted his head and turned away from you, "Is that all you need?"

"I'll write in my notebook, if you'd prefer me to do that."

Leona grunted in response and closed his eyes.

DAY 1

LIONS

The lion halflings are not shy like the hyenas, but they are hesitant to talk to me. I feel as though, if I earn their king's acceptance, I will be able to talk to them all. The king has started to talk to me, even if it was only a few words.

The lions are taller than the hyenas, most around 6 feet tall. They are easily differentiated by their lion ears and tail. There are 19 lions, with most being female, and only one cub.

Unsurprisingly, the lion halflings spend a good chunk of their time sleeping. I assume this is from the lion part of them.

"Did you want to read what I wrote?" you asked, sensing Leona's eyes on you. Your eyes met his and he held your gaze for a few moments before growling, "I'm going to sleep."

He flopped back down on the rock and closed his eyes again, his breathing becoming rhythmic almost right away.

You didn't want to bother Leona when he was trying to fall asleep, so you sneaked away, sending an unrequited wave over your shoulder to the other lions. Maybe if you weren't so determined to get out of the heat, you would have noticed the eyes boring into the back of your head.

The walk to the wolves' exhibit was a long one. After all, you had to cross half the savannah before making it out into the back hallway meant for staff. Then, you had to push through the crowds to get to the wolf exhibit. At least the crowds weren't too bad, since evening was on its way.

You were excited that the sun was falling. You'd be able to watch wolf halflings at their preferred time of day. After all, wolves hunted in the twilight hours.

You hoped that didn't mean they'd see you as prey.

The exhibit door opened easily and you found yourself breathing the air in deeply. It took you a moment to discover just why you liked the wolves' enclosure so much. Mountain air. Somehow, some way, the zoo had made the enclosure smell like the mountains. The air was even a little thinner here than it was on the pathways.

These wolf halflings must have been living in the mountains when they were brought to the zoo. The thought made your heart hurt a little. Were they offered a deal to live in captivity or were they captured and brought here by force? You didn't like to think about it too much.

This wasn't your battle to fight.

The keeper who fed the wolves their evening meal walked past you with full buckets. As she passed you, she gave you a word of advice, "You aren't gonna find them all together like they are at mealtimes. They all split up, especially in the evening."

You nodded, a little disappointed. That could make it harder to find them, much less study them. Plus, it's not like you could look in several directions at once. This might be a little more complicated than you thought.

Or maybe it'll be fine, you reassured yourself, trying to stay positive.

You reached a steep, downward slope and decided it was probably the best vantage point you would find. You found a nice place to sit down between a cluster of rocks and took out your binoculars.

It took almost half an hour for you to see any movement. Down, at the base of the hill, one wolf halfling walked close to the barrier between the wolves and guests. He had his back hunched in a sort of prowl, and you realized that he was probably in hunt mode.

Excited, you pulled out your notebook to make some notes.

Your pen froze above the paper when you heard a growl.

You slowly turned your head, and what you saw made your blood run cold. A buff wolf halfling with dark gray hair and pin-pricked ears had his lips drawn over his fangs in a snarl. He was growling so ferociously that flecks of spit flew in your direction. His yellow eyes dilated as he grew closer, back hunched as though he were ready to lunge for your throat at any moment.

You gulped, forcing yourself to stay completely still. You were afraid, if you moved, you'd have your throat torn out before you could blink.

The wolf took one step closer, growled one last time, then lunged.

The halfling seemed to stop midair and, before you knew it, he was lying on his side in the dirt a few feet away. The cause of his sudden stop was made clear after a few terrified moments, when your eyes turned upwards.

The white-haired wolf halfling stood with his shoulder still out in front of him. You realized that he had shoulder-checked the older wolf during his attack. Shakily you smiled at him.

"Thank you so much!"

The dark-skinned halfling took a seat on one of the rocks surrounding you. You studied his features, everything from his white tail to his white ear tips. He, on the other hand, watched the older wolf warily.

The older wolf pushed himself to his feet, shaking the dirt from his clothes. His yellow eyes glared at you, but he limped off in the opposite direction, disappearing into the shadows of the trees.

The white-haired halfling turned his attention back to you. You decided to offer your friendship to him.

"My name is (Y/n), what's yours?"

He stared at you for a moment, before his rumbling voice said, "Jack."

"It's nice to meet you Jack," you said, trying not to come across as too excited to be talking to him. You didn't want to scare him away with your eagerness.

Jack continued to stare, his golden stare softening a little when he said, "Not safe."

He didn't seem to have a very good grasp on the English language, but that was understandable. It didn't seem like the wolves were all too friendly toward humans.

"I have to stay," you explained to Jack, hoping he would understand.

"Not safe," Jack replied. He got up from his sitting position and crossed the distance between you in less than a second. You watched, trembling, as his one of his clawed hands took hold of the back of your shirt collar.

You blinked owlishly as Jack began to carry you by the collar, stunned by his behavior and not wanting to tick him off by fighting. From what you could tell, he didn't seem to want to actually hurt you, but you didn't want to push your luck.

After a long walk, Jack set you back down on your feet. He pointed one clawed finger behind you. "Not safe."

You turned around and, to your surprise, you were met with the exhibit door. Comprehension dawned on you. He wanted to keep you safe.

"No, no, I'm okay," you soothed, "I have to study-"

"Not safe," Jack responded, voice even gruffer.

You tried to come up with the perfect solution. You had to soothe Jack but you also had to do your job.

"Well, you could protect me," you suggested.

"Pro-tect?" Jack's eyes widened.

"Yeah, keep me safe," you replied. Jack took a while to think that one over. Finally, he nodded.

He followed you back to your spot like an obedient puppy, but refused to sit down, choosing instead to hover over you, eyes darting in all directions.

Day 1

WOLVES

Wolf halflings tend to be around 6 feet tall, distinguishable by their wolf ears and tails. There are 12 of them in this zoo, with 6 females and males each.

Some of the wolf halflings are very aggressive, and this seems to amplify in the evening hours, possibly because these are their hunting hours. One wolf, however, acts in a protective manner towards me.

It is interesting to note the wolf halflings appear to be in hunting mode despite just being fed.

All of the halflings, save for one, have hair and fur in different shades of gray, while one has white hair and fur.

You didn't see any other wolves for the next few hours and you eventually decided it was time to go home. Jack shadowed you on your way to the exhibit entrance. You waved goodbye, and he mimicked the action awkwardly.

Laughing a little, you went home for the day.