Her aussie Alpha

The dry heat hits my face as i leave the comfort of the air-conditioned jet. Climbing down the stairs, the flies happily greet me by the masses. The smell of smoke and eucalyptus infuse the air. I walk down the hot tarmac as i follow the line of fellow firefighters and officers through to the airport. It's been a long flight, and i am busting for the toilet. I am one of many international firefighters coming to help in another bad australian fire season. Many homes lost, hundreds still missing due to communication towers down and no access to some areas, and currently 200 active fires within victoria, queensland and new south wales alone. Of course, i put my hand up to come and help, i was born and raised in australia, but I moved to Canada a few years ago and haven't been home since. I hobble along to the toilets, trying not to leak. I sigh as it gushes out. The bloody toilets were blocked on the plane. As i stand in front of the mirror, i see my mousy blonde hair all curled and frizzy, bags under my eyes, a line of freckles over my nose. My curved figure was hidden under my baggy clothes. I've never really cared about my looks. I've always preferred to hang with the guys than other women they can be so judgemental. A short, stocky woman with heavy makeup comes out of the toilet stall, washing her hands next to me, making small talk asking where I've flown in from. I quickly tell her with a smile and move on my way to the busses where everyone has gathered to head to the staging ground. A tall ginger haired man with a bushy beard and glasses stood in front of two big coaches with all the personnel gathered in front of him. ‘Ok everyone i hope you all had a fantastic flight. We appreciate everyone coming to help out. My name is Matt. Welcome to sydney. The time is currently 830 in the morning, and we are expecting another 45 degree celsius. The winds are expected to pick up around noon. it is going to take a couple of hours to get there. We currently have two separate bases set up around 50kms from each other. The bases will be going to separate areas and firegrounds. You will be working on asset protection, spot fires, working on firebreaks and evacuations if needed. When we are able to, we will trek through the forests to see if anyone needs help with buildings, fences, and first aid. If we find fatalities, it will be recoveries. Keep an eye out and report any buildings we can see burnt down. If you would like to stay with your fellow crew members or friends, i would strongly suggest you get on the same bus as them. Choose a bus and jump on it. You probably will not see the other group until your flight home.’ I grabbed my bag and headed for the second bus. I only had one other member from my station and two others from nearby areas that i knew, and i could see them all heading towards the second. As i boarded the bus, i could see gary waving at me. Gary was a tall, muscly guy with short black hair. He had that look about him that made all the ladies gawk. Not me, i knew him so well i wasn't interested in him as i knew he was an arrogant, self-centered a-hole with testosterone levels enough to keep a city at bay. Always seemed moody and ate like there was no tomorrow. He was a good friend, though i could talk to him, and i knew he would always have my back when needed. He eagerly moved his bag off the seat, allowing me to sit next to him. As the bus started driving out of the city, the buildings eventually gave way to tall trees, winding roads, and the most beautiful scenery. We passed many tiny little towns with a few houses and a pub or general store, long driveways with flags with little wolves flying proudly at their gates. Super cute little flags, i thought to myself. There must be some sort of event on. As we reached the base of the mountain, the bus in front of us turned left, and we continued on the road veering to the right. As we made our way up the mountain the trees got thicker, and the views got more stunning the higher we got, there was smoke, but it looked more of a haze with visibility still quite high. The bus came to a stop at a recreation reserve now known as the command centre and staging area, there were so many tents in a large clearing, food and coffee vans, a building to the left was a makeshift command and communications room, a toilet block, the football oval littered with large marquees. As we got off the bus, Matt was standing to the side, ushering us over to him, marking off names and giving directions on where our tents were, where we would be assigned our crews and rosters. Matt marked our names off, “ok stella your up in section 2 with the ladies. The coordinator up there at the moment is melissa she will help assign you a tent. Gary, you are in section 1. Your co-ordinater up there today is axel. There are rotating meal times. They run for around 2 hours each meal, thanks for helping us. We truly appreciate the help.” As we started walking through the tent city we could see fatigued firefighters, people laughing and chatting with one another, others reading books, some covered in ash just coming back from their shifts, many strangers united as one. As we reached the entry tent for section 1, there was a large burly man with blonde dreadlocks pulled into a bun, a short beard, and tattoos all over his muscled arms. He wore a shirt that left nothing to imagination with how tight it was. I heard a cough and jumped as i realised both men were looking at me, axel smirking as he said ‘the view is fairly distracting up here, as i said you cant come past this point your section is further up.’ he pointed his finger further up the path, my face turning bright red at being caught gawking. As i turned i glanced through the gate to section 1 i could see people training almost like you would see the army train, a commander at the front barking orders the others doing the exercises and motions he demanded. It wasn't unheard of to have the army and defence force helping at these catastrophic events. There must be a section for them here.