The Zookeeper

Ch. 5: Mother Knows Best

Luz made sure to keep an eye out for the woman but didn't see her anywhere. The woman was walking out of the zoo and put a hand on an amulet.

"Well, Blight, I found her." The woman said, "Your lost daughter is working at a zoo."

"A zoo? A ZOO?!"

The woman recoiled from the shouting before removing her hand from the amulet.

"Will you calm down? It's just a zoo job." The woman replied as she grabbed her necklace again.

"As if it wasn't bad enough that she disappeared, making me look bad, but now she's working a filthy job with filthy animals, in the filthy human world!?"

"You know this world isn't that bad, but you've never seen it. Besides, those humans have giraffes in that zoo. GIRAFFES. If they can catch and tame those freaks, they must be strong." The woman replied.

"Well, that doesn't matter, Edalyn." Odalia said, "All that matters is what I'm paying you for."

"Yeah, yeah, get your daughter and bring her back. But do you even think she wants to come back or if she even remembers she's a witch? For all we know, she believes she's human and doesn't even know about her magic or forgot it." Eda said as she stood in an alleyway close to the zoo. "If I do get her, she's basically gonna see you as a stranger."

"I don't care if she wants to come back or not, she's my daughter which means I get to say what happens with her."

"Yeesh, you are strict. Even when she's currently in her twenties, Odalia?" Eda asked her

"Age is just a number, Eda." Odalia replied.

"So is money." Eda said, "I'll find out where she lives, and I'll get her."

"See that you do." Odalia said as the necklace's glow faded.

"What a bitch." Eda said, "Eh, time to stalk her and find out where she lives."

Later, near the Zoo's close, Luz was in with the Dwarf Caiman. One of them resting on her lap like a kitten while several other's surrounding her.

"What am I going to do? She so cute and I can't think straight when I'm around her." Luz said, rubbing the back of the Caiman on her lap.

"Maybe don't think. Just trust your instincts." One of them said to Luz.

"Human instincts work differently than animal instincts." Luz said to the caiman.

"You've spent so long learning from other animals, you must have picked up something by now." Another said.

"Maybe but I don't know if it's all useful." Luz said as a male Caiman jumped in her leg.

"What's the human expression? "Sometimes you just have to roll the dice?"" He said to Luz.

"True, but I'm pretty sure these dice fell of the table." Luz said.

The Caiman growled/groaned at this, Luz was OVERTHINKING this! She just needs to go for it!

"Maybe you need to be put in a breeding program." One said, very annoyed by Luz's inability to do this.

"Humans don't do breeding programs." Luz said as she placed the caiman in her lap on the ground.

"Why not?" Another one asked.

"Because... I don't know, this isn't the conversation I was expecting to have." Luz said, "I have to go, it's almost time for the zoo to close."

The younger caimans moaned, they always hated when Luz had to leave. Being with her was so nice and she was so gentle, it was like having a second mother plus she knew just what kind of foods each one of them liked most.

"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow." Luz said, giving each Caiman a kiss on the head.

"Bye, Keeper Luz! See you tomorrow! Bring snacks!" The caimans said to her as Luz left.

Luz smiled. The animals were truly her best friends.

"Bye guys." Luz said before she left the reptile house.

Though to her surprise, someone was waiting for her by the door.

"Hey, Luz." Amity said with a wave.