The Zoo (a comedy)

[MARS]

"The sun's shining...Oh, you must be a new one. They're always grumpy. Well I'm sure you'll find your place here soon enough. Everyone does eventually. You should be glad! In other zoos all of the cages look identical! I trust that yours looks like your home yes?"

[Eltee]

Arja looked around. "A little, I guess... I still hate it."

[MARS]

"Well that won't get you anywhere" Marsi said in a pseudo-annoyed voice. "Why don't you walk around a little bit? See if you can find any friends. I'll be back to check on you after breakfast!"
With these words she strolled off, occosianally meowing and rubbing against a visitor's leg.

[Eltee]

Arja watched the cat go, feeling strangely sad. "Bye." She murmured. She sat in place for a few more minutes then started pacing restlessly.

[Duh]

Rantil despised the humans. Every one of them. Short or tall, fat or skinny, strong or weak, young or old, dark-skinned or light-skinned - it just didn't matter. He wanted to tear them all apart. The hatred was almost too much to bear.

He shared the exhibit with five other spotted hyenas - four females and one other male. But he viewed them as timid and weak without even interacting with them. The way they accepted this captive lifestyle irritated him. They begged for food and embraced the idiotic attention they were getting from the humans.

Rantil paced restlessly along the edge of the large moat that separated the hyenas from the humans. The exhibit was moderately sized, positioned at the eastern edge of the zoo. Palm trees on the nearby stone path and the rock barrier at the rear of the exhibit provided a perfect amount of shade for the animals. Rantil glared at the humans with his teeth bared. He continuously let out low, somewhat frightening laughs that differed greatly from the other hyenas. His laughs sounded sinister. They sounded dark.

[King Acunasti]

Arja's Exhibit

A young, fairly attractive female guide with bright blonde hair approached Arja's exhibit with a large group of children. It was most likely a birthday party, as the children were also accompanied by several other women (presumably mothers).

"Alright, kids." the guide said in a kind and lighthearted tone. "Are you ready to see our next animals?"

"Yeah!" the children answered simultaneously.

"Okay!" The guide turned to face the exhibit and the animals within it. "These beautiful creatures are called grey wolves. They're native to North America and parts of Europe and Asia. Most of these wolves we have here were born in zoos," She pointed to Arja. "Except for that one. That's our newest wolf. Her name is Arja. She was born in the forests of Ontario. Can anyone tell me where Ontario is?"

A little boy raised his hand. "Canada!" he answered.

"Very good! Arja was just recently brought into our care. She's only two years old."

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

Haald sat perched on a branch. He was insanely afraid of the humans. He had never seen one. He quickly tried to blend in with the environment, while being as stiff as possible.


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Yuggoth roared at the thought of being shown to humans. Tigers were superior to primates, for tiger's sake! He clawed at his piece of meat, then tore it to bits. He began chewing the pieces of meat while thinking about what his life will be like now. "[&@%!] this...." he whispered to himself.

[Eltee]

Curious in spite of herself, Arja slowly approached the perimeter of the exhibit, looking at the children. She cocked her head. Little things, aren't they? She thought. Catching herself, she retreated away from the children and sat back on her rock, resting her head on her paws, watching them.

[King Acunasti]

Arja's simple actions caused a wave of "Oohs" and "Ahhs" to erupt from the crowd of youngsters.

"She's ugly." a small girl said, not buying in to the other children's fascinations. "And why is she so small?"

"She is beautiful!" the guide responded. "Grey wolves are one of the most amazing species in North America."

"Yeah, but she's small and weird looking."

Many of the children began laughing.

[MARS]

Meanwhile, Marsi had found her breakfast. The employees were too busy to feed her, so she ate a bird's carcass that was lying in the bushes. It wasn't quite as fresh as she would have liked, but the bird had been a fat one. After her meal she strolled back to Arja's cage, purring.
"So, has the world become any better while I was gone?" she asked the wolf.

[Eltee]

Arja approached the cat, grinning (how else?) wolfishly. "The little two letters are staring and laughing. They are lucky there are bars..."

[MARS]

"Oh, you'll get used to them," Marsi laughed (how the hell does that work?). "You'll start liking them when they start feeding you."

[King Acunasti]

The guide frowned. "Never insult an animal!" she scolded. "They're part of nature."

She paused. "Let's move on, kids! Who wants to see the laughing hyenas?!"

The children replied with "I do! I do! I do! I do!"

"Okay, let's go!" Before leaving the exhibit, the guide turned back to face Arja. She winked. Afterwards, she began leading the children towards the hyena exhibit.

Suddenly, a large black bird landed in front of Arja on the rock and flapped his wings. "Crickey..." he murmured with a thick Australian accent. "Mind if I rest here, doggy?" he asked the wolf.

[Eltee]

"Do you mind being lunch?" Arja responded half-heartedly. "Nah, joking. I don't want to have to pick you out of my teeth. What's up, bird?"

[King Acunasti]

"The sky's up." the bird replied. "I've been flying all bloody day watching this sh*t go down." The bird chuckled. "You're the new one, aren't you?"

[Eltee]

"That I am, bird." Arja replied. "And, I take it, you are as far as one can be from being the new one, huh?"

[MARS]

Marsi curled up into a ball. The sun was nice and warm.

[King Acunasti]

"I'm from Sydney, Australia." the bird responded. "My best mate is a dingo from the outback. They captured him and sent him to the States, so I followed him here."

The bird hopped onto Arja's head. "You the p*ssed off type?"

[Eltee]

Arja pushed him off with her paw, but not in a way that would hurt the bird. "That I was tranked and dragged out of my home to damned LA? That miffs me a little. But you guys here seem nice, at the least."

[King Acunasti]

"They say that tiger on the other side of the zoo is a real nutcase." the bird explained. "He was born in those violent jungles. And I heard some rumors that the big spotted hyena in that exhibit over there is even worse. They say he took on three lionesses by himself...and won."

[Eltee]

"Hyenas are all bloody nutcases." Arja said drily.

[MARS]

"He's a sociopath that one," Marsi confirmed. "Wouldn't even talk to me."

[King Acunasti]

The bird nodded. "This one is different. He's got that smart look in his eyes. And most hyenas would get butchered by a single lioness. This guy beat three of em' by himself."

[Eltee]

"Who wouldn't want to talk to you?" Arja commented. "Well, as long as the crazy safari dog is chained up faaar away from me, I am happy."

[MARS]

"See? Life is better already" Marsi said and smiled (^_^),