The Zookeeper 2: The Past and The Present

Ch. 21: Chit Chat

In San Diego, Amity was returning to the giraffe exhibit after the tour.

"I must say, that was a riveting tour. You were really in your element, Amity." Alador said as he walked with her.

"Thanks, it's pretty easy when you know what you're doing." Amity said.

"I especially liked the tigers and lions! Who knew Earth had felines of such ferocity!?" Ghost asked as she became visible again.

"Yes, they can be very intimidating." Amity said.

"I wonder if I could transform into one of them." Ghost said, imagining herself like a jungle cat.

"A white panther? That would be amazing and very rare." Amity said to her. "But it would catch too much attention."

Ghost pouted.

"Don't give me that look, it's very dangerous." Amity said.

"But there HAS to be a way! There has to be some species of jungle feline that's pure white. I want to be big." Ghost said, whining a bit.

"You can, when we aren't in public." Amity said.

"But I want to frolic with the other tigers." Ghost said to Amity.

"And reveal you're magic?" Amity asked.

Ghost looked upset.

"Hey, maybe when Luz get's back, she'll let you." Amity said, "She's good with them."

"I could make peace with them on my own." Ghost said.

"No, you can't." Amity said as she scratched her chin.

Ghost purred at Amity's touch. Alador smiled, seeing Amity's mood changed completely from the other day. It seems her palisman was just what she needed to be happy again, not to mention it may be the key to understanding the giraffes and other animals with a little practice.

'At least until I can see how to fix that necklace.'

"So, I suppose I should leave you to the rest of your day. If you want a lesson with how to use your palisman, please let me know." Alador said.

"Yeah, my shift is going to be over within two hours anyway, and I want to go home and enjoy some quality time with my little kitty." Amity said.

"And then you will "sand" me? As you said earlier?" Ghost asked.

"Oh definitely, you have split ends." Amity said with a nod, "And I don't need any more of them in my lip."

"I understand but will it hurt?" Ghost asked Amity.

"I'm not sure but I'll be sure to be gentle with the sandpaper and then, I think I'll give you a nice wood polish." Amity said to Ghost, "And... maybe a little paint, your color is faded."

"Faded? What's wrong with my coat?" Ghost asked, looking over her fur.

"It's just... I can see your wood." Amity said, "Parts of you are white, and parts of you aren't."

Ghost looked around herself, seeing that Amity was right in some spots. Her "fur" was a mix of pale white and chipped off brown. How long had it been since Ghost had looked over herself in a mirror?

"I suppose you're right. I could use a touch up." Ghost said.

"Don't worry, I excelled at art in school, nearly went to an art college, but my love belonged to animals." Amity said.

'Painting? Hmm, could she paint me a different color then to suit her needs?' Ghost thought as she imagined herself as other colors.

Red, pink, black, even golden!

"Could you paint me another color?" Ghost asked with a smile, liking the gold idea the most.

"Maybe, let's just stick with your normal color right now, just to be safe." Amity said.

Seeing them getting along, Alador decided to take his leave and exit the zoo so Amity could finish her day. Perhaps he could explore a bit more before heading to Eda for the portal home. He began to walk around the town, finding many interesting places here.

"Hey, Al!"

Alador sighed as Eda walked up to him.

"Hey, glad I caught ya." Eda said, "I wanted to know how your daughter was after getting her palisman. Come on, let's go somewhere and talk, I know a great Pizza place around the corner, and I have the credit card."

"The credit card?" Alador asked her.

"A Human thing, come on, let's go."

Shrugging his shoulders, Alador walked with Eda as she noticed his cane. She chuckled a bit as she knew just what it was.

"So you brought out Swiss, huh?" Eda asked.

"What can I say, I'm getting older, it's a wise choice to have a cane." He said.

"That's not what everyone thought back in school." Eda said as they reached the pizza place.

"Well, too bad for them, I was very forward thinking." Alador said to her.

Eda rolled her eyes.

"So, what do you think of the Human Realm?"

"It's very....interesting. More advanced than our home but more at peace." Alador said as he took a whiff of the air. "The air just feels cleaner as well."

"Don't think that much about the air, it's California, air is known for being polluted." Eda said.

"Polluted? By what?" Alador asked.

"I said don't think about it." Eda said as she opened the door, and they walked in.

In Milwaukee, Luz arrived back at her hotel and laid in bed, she had to get up early tomorrow and needed to rest as much as possible.

'One more day before I'm back in San Diego. I wonder if Eda has gotten dad's journal yet.' Luz thought.

Luz closed her eyes and began to drift off. Her dream was of returning home, walking into her apartment and seeing Amity sitting in the couch waiting for her. It was perfect.