Fire in Her Eyes - Charlie Weasley

3 - Monsters

**Warning: alcohol, smoking, suggestion of PTSD

Kai looked down at her watch. She had just finished putting away her things and realized that it was almost 7:30 pm. Her stomach growled and she decided to check out the dining hall.

She grabbed the leather jacket that she had left on the couch and her wand from the table in the kitchen. She placed the wand in her boot and put the jacket on. Grabbing the key, she stepped outside and locked the door before heading down the road to the dining hall.

An owl hooted a greeting at her as she walked down the road. Happy hunting night brother, she thought in response.

Ten minutes later, she was pulling open the door of the large building. The room was large and furnished with four long wooden tables. There was a serving line in the back and she walked over that way. She slowly walked down the line, glancing at the options. Most of it was meat and she sighed internally. She had been vegetarian for four years now and just couldn't bring herself to eat meat anymore. She loaded her plate up with veggies and grabbed a bowl of veggie soup with a side of bread and turned to find out where she should sit.

Kai slowly glanced around the room taking everything in. There were about three or four groups of people, mostly men, siting at three different tables. She spotted a bright spot of blonde hair and recognized Chelsea, who looked up and waved her over with a smile.

She smiled back and headed over to sit next the girl who was animatedly talking to an attractive man with brunette hair and a week's worth of hair growth. She noticed his bright green eyes and smiled a hello to him.

"Kailani! Hi! I'm glad I caught you," The bubbly blonde gave Kai a side hug. "Everyone!" Chelsea raised her voice to get the table's attention. "This is Kailani. She's our new healer. Kailani, this is everyone."

"Hopefully you last longer than the last dozen," another handsome man spoke with a twinkle in his eyes, "I definitely wouldn't mind you sticking around." He was blonde and clean shaven with close cropped hair. His eyes scanned her face and he winked at her. She laughed off his advance and took a moment to look around the room. Most of the people in the room were men, only one other, older woman, besides Kai and Chelsea. And every single man that she saw was fit and fairly attractive, ranging in ages from young, looking barely out of adulthood, to men who might be nearing forty. She internally smirked at herself, but corrected dirty mental thoughts almost immediately. She wasn't just passing through the sanctuary. She would be here for a while. She couldn't just let anyone warm her bed otherwise things would get messy. And she didn't want to be "that girl".

"What do you mean the last dozen?" Kai asked the blonde man, tilting her head to the side and frowning. Was there something driving people away?

"Charlie's driven the past twelve or so healers out of the sanctuary because they 'weren't up to the standards'" he shrugged. Of course the cold, ruthless giant she met earlier was the reason why so many healers didn't last. "I'm Kellen by the way. You're American? Where in the States are you from?" He reached out to shake her hand.

"Hi, please call me Kai. And yes, I was born in Hawaii, but I'm kind of from all over the place," she shook his hand and began to eat her food.

"I've never been. But if all the women look like you, I'm asking Charlie for a vacation next week," Kellen smiled at her and she laughed, rolling her eyes.

"I don't know. We island girls can be a lot to handle," she smirked at him. She enjoyed his flirting. And the proper English accent was an added bonus. That was the best part of living overseas, the accents.

Kellen scoffed at her laughing, "I work with dragons. I got this."

She appreciated that he could joke and instantly felt at ease. She got to know the rest of the people at the table. Kellen, she learned, was 27, from the UK, and had been at the sanctuary for nearly four years. He was the second in command, after Charlie. Cooper, the brunette man that Chelsea was talking to, was 26, from Ireland, and had been at the sanctuary for about six months. She learned that Chelsea was from London and was only a year older than Kai's 24 years. She suddenly realized that she was the youngest one there.