The Zookeeper 2: The Past and The Present

Ch. 14: Zoo Problems

... nothing. All that came out was just the usual noises they made when Amity worked with them. Amity let out a sigh and took the necklace.

"So much for that idea."

The young giraffe could smell the magic from the necklace but paid it no mind as she moved to comfort Amity, sensing her sadness. She bumped her snout against Amity's head, trying to get her attention. Amity looked up to the baby and gave a small smiled, moving to rub their foreheads together.

"Oh well, maybe some other day." Amity said.

She didn't want the giraffes to worry.

'Amity is sad.' The young one thought.

Amity walked back to her family and sat down.

"How did it-" Alador stopped as he noticed Amity's sad expression and the necklace was off. "It didn't work, did it?"

Amity sighed as she placed the necklace back in the table before him.

"No, it didn't. I don't know if it's because it's not ready or because it's meant for magic animals, but it was a no go." Amity said.

Alador took it back, he would try and work on it more later.

"Hey, cheer up, Mittens. Just because it didn't work now, doesn't mean dad won't make it work in the future." Emira said as she gave Amity a smile.

"Yeah, buck up. A few more adjustments and we can try again." Edric said with a thumbs up.

"Yeah... sure." Amity said.

Alador didn't like, he didn't like seeing his daughter so sad after trying to give her hope. There has to be something he can do.

'Something.....' he thought as something new came to mind, something that he and... her wanted to save for Amity. 'The palisman.'

That palisman hasn't been active for almost two decades, not since Amity disappeared. If what he thinks might happen... it might be the perfect gift. But he's not going to give her false hope again, he's going to make sure this works before giving it to her.

"Lunch is almost over, isn't it? We wouldn't want to keep you from your work." Alador said as he finishes his food.

"Yeah... sure." Amity said.

Amity walked away, wondering how Luz was doing. She could assume her fiancé was having a better time than she was.

At the other zoo, Luz was speaking to the other animals, seeing what she could learn about this place. They varied from animals that were happy in the zoo to animals that somewhat hated being held or raised in captivity. There was something about each of the animals that didn't like being in the zoo... they all looked... injured.

'Maybe I can talk to Hazel about the zoo. He's the boss, so he can do something about it.' Luz thought as she petted the hyena that told her.

She fit right in with the hyena's; they are female dominated in the wild. They can be dangerous together or dangerous apart, making them one of the powerful hunters in the African Savanna. And despite what many people think, Hyena's are actually just as good at hunting than Lions, if not more. It makes Luz wonder why they weren't made the queens of the jungle sometimes. Why any animals with an amazing looking physical ability but was actually worthless? Luz was taken out of this thought when she started getting licked by the cubs.

"Ahahahahahaha! Hey, no fair. You guys snuck up on me!" Luz said with as she hugged some of hyena cubs, "You're so cute!"

"And you're so amazing!" A hyena cub said to Luz.

"We've never met anyone that could understand us!" Another cub said.

Luz scratched them on their chins.

"I know a few Wild Dog pups you'd get along with wonderfully." Luz said.

"Wild dogs? Are they nice?" A girl pup asked.

"The nicest." Luz said to them.

"I knew their parents since I was a kid." Luz said.

'And now, I'll have to see if I can transfer these little ones to my zoo.' Luz thought, 'We have been needing new hyena's after the old group had been either transferred or put down due to a disease outbreak that most had caught and were dying from.'

That was the only time Luz asked for the day off, she would never be able to witness that. But thankfully, that was three years ago and everything was fine now. After a few more minutes of playing with the hyena cubs, Luz got up and left their habitat to make her way to Hazel's office. Once she did, she knocked on the door.

"It's open." Hazel said from his desk as Luz walked into his office and closed the door behind her. "Ah, Ms. Noceda. Already done with you look at our zoo?"

"Yeah, and I wanted to say, there is some... problems I've found."

"Problems?" Hazel asked her. "What problems?"

"Well, a lot of animals seem to be... unfairly treated." Luz said.

He let out a sigh.

"I see, I've been dealing with this for a few weeks, but I can't find any evidence of who's doing it."

"Not even from the security cameras?" Luz asked.

"No, they seem to be hacking them to escape being seen too." Hazel said.

Luz rubbed her chin, this is going to be something she needs to investigate.

"Do they have a pattern in how or when they do cause trouble?" Luz asked him.

"Hmm, every two to three days to be exact." Hazel said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I have my way with animals, which means I can get into the enclosures without causing problems." Luz said, "I can catch them in the act."

"While that would be wonderful, you don't need to do this, Luz." Hazel said to her. "This isn't your zoo."

"If there's a problem with any zoo I'm a part of, I make it my mission to help." Luz said with a nod, "If not for you, then for the animals."

Hazel was surprised once again by Luz, never meeting anyone as dedicated to animals before outside of nature activists.

"Very well, I noticed that there is one animal that gets messed with the most, that might be the place you want to start." He said.

"Which one is it?"

"... The Tigers." He said, "It's most likely why they're so aggressive towards people."

'The tigers. So Mona might know something.' Luz thought.

"Thank you." Luz said, "I promise this problem will be settled soon."

"Hmm, if you do, I promise you'll be compensated." Hazel said to her.

"The animals safety is enough." Luz said, exiting the room.

Luz headed to the tigers, if there was anything that could tell her more, it would be them.

"Hey, Mona." Luz said with a wave, seeing her 2nd favorite tiger, behind Tina, laying in the shade.

"Luz, you're back?" Mona said in surprise.

"Yeah, and I'm on a mission to stop the person messing with the animals."

"Really? About time. That human has been a thorn in our paws for too long." Mona said with a growl.

"Don't worry, they won't that much longer." Luz said, "What can you tell me about them?"

Mona "smiled" at Luz and gave her everything she knew about the sneaking human. Luz was happy that she got some info, but the only way she could catch this person was to catch them in the act. After all, no one would arrest someone on the word of a tiger... well, except Luz, but she was a Zookeeper, not a cop.

'Looks like I'm having a steak out tonight.' Luz thought with a smirk.

'Hopefully Amity is doing okay.'

Luz left the zoo and headed for the hotel for a quick rest before her stakeout. Hazel gave her a spare key to the zoo, so she still had a way inside.