Earthworms emerged from the damp soil between the paving bricks.
The moment they poked their heads out, they seemed to sense impending danger and abruptly retreated into their burrows.
A massive, damp scaly paw stepped heavily across the cracked brickwork, leaving a shallow claw mark behind.
“Um.
That owl.
I think it should technically be an eagle-owl, right?
Are owls usually this massive?
Never mind.
Do you think we should try to build a nest for her too?”
Titan remained completely silent.
He simply continued his leisurely waddle down the corridor.
“Number Two and Number Four really seem to enjoy fighting with each other,” Old Larry muttered to himself, carrying a wooden ladder.
“I probably shouldn’t put them in the same room next time.
Tsk.
Those kids are such a handful.”
Old Larry is definitely losing his mind.
Titan genuinely felt the old man’s worldview had become hopelessly distorted.
Did he seriously think it was completely normal for an apex avian predator and a crocodile to be best friends?
Ring, ring, ring!
The heavy landline telephone in the ticket office suddenly emitted a sharp, crackling ring, instantly grabbing the attention of both the man and the crocodile.
Titan merely threw a brief glance toward the noise before turning away.
Old Larry, however, quickly set down his toolbox and ladder and jogged back toward the front gate.
Finally, some peace and quiet.
Titan slowed his pace and leisurely waddled back to his own enclosure.
Ever since surviving that sudden heart attack, Old Larry had become incredibly talkative.
He practically treated Titan like a personal therapist.
Although Titan didn’t quite understand the sudden shift, he sensed the old man desperately needed someone to talk to, so he never rejected the one-sided conversations.
As expected, I am still way too soft-hearted.
The terrifying Deinosuchus, who had braved a hurricane to rescue a nest of baby crows and viciously mauled any burglar he saw, secretly reflected on his own gentle nature.
He definitely wanted to keep this soft side strictly anonymous.
“Hoot!”
The absolute second Titan stepped into his enclosure, the eagle-owl dropped from the sky.
She landed squarely on his back without the slightest hesitation.
She delivered a sharp peck directly to the top of Titan’s head with her curved beak, then began gently patting his scales as if preening her own feathers.
Titan hadn’t felt a thing.
Because he had been walking on dry land for so long, his spatial awareness regarding his own massive weight had grown slightly dulled.
It wasn’t until his scalp started itching that he finally noticed his avian partner perched on his head.
Sister, what exactly are you doing?
He stopped and looked up, genuinely confused about what the owl was trying to accomplish.
The massive bird looked down.
In her mind, Titan’s wide, blinking eyes looked incredibly cute and apologetic.
She naturally assumed the crocodile had realized the error of his ways for running out into a hurricane.
The eagle-owl proudly puffed up her chest, shooting him a look that practically screamed a stern warning not to ever do that again.
Satisfied with her reprimand, she flapped her wings twice, flew over to the island sapling, turned her back to Titan, and closed her eyes to rest.
Well, that was strange.
Titan pondered the bizarre interaction for a moment but couldn’t come up with a logical answer.
He decided to stop worrying about it.
He slowly slid into the lake, happily enjoying the cool, refreshing sensation enveloping his thick scales.
“Caw!
Caw!
Caw!”
“What was that sound?”
“Oh, it is nothing.
Old Larry pinned the heavy telephone receiver between his shoulder and his ear.
He continued chopping up fresh meat for the animals while talking to his son.
“At a time like this.
It really feels like a bad omen.”
“Don’t overthink it, Jason.
Ravens don’t necessarily bring bad luck.
In fact, these specific birds are actually incredibly lucky to be alive.”
Old Larry’s words carried a heavy, hidden meaning.
The young man on the other end of the line fell silent, clearly not knowing how to respond to the cryptic statement.
“Dad, I have finalized Rachel’s funeral arrangements.
But I am probably going to need you to come over again soon to help with the paperwork.”
“Ah.”
The air inside the ticket office seemed to instantly freeze.
The only sound remaining was the rhythmic, heavy thwack of the meat cleaver hitting the wooden cutting board.
The ceiling fan swayed back and forth overhead.
Old Larry mechanically repeated his chopping motions, not saying a single word for a long, agonizing minute.
Strangely enough, neither man hung up the phone.
It was as if they both implicitly knew the other had something important left to say.
“Have you decided on a name for the baby yet?” Old Larry finally asked softly.
“I was actually just about to ask for your opinion on that, Dad.”
“Me?
You know how terrible I am at picking names.”
The heavy atmosphere in the room seemed to lighten just a fraction.
The suffocating air finally began to flow again.
“Hmm.
Oh dear.
My stupid brain always fails me at the most crucial moments.
You should be the one to do it, son.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.
Go ahead, tell me what you are thinking.”
The wall clock ticked rhythmically.
The ceiling fan swayed a bit slower.
The cleaver finally stopped striking the cutting board.
“Lily.
Lily Hayes.”
“She is taking her mother’s maiden name?” Old Larry asked.
“Do you think that is okay?”
“I think it is perfect.”
A faint, barely perceptible chuckle echoed from both ends of the line.
“It is settled, then.
I will bring little Lily to come see you soon, Dad.”
“Okay.
Okay.
I will be right here at the zoo waiting for you both.”
Click.
Old Larry sat down heavily in his desk chair.
He clutched the telephone receiver in his lap, taking deep, shuddering breaths.
He waited until his racing heartbeat had completely stabilized before lifting the receiver back to his ear and dialing a new number.
“Hello, Captain?
It is me, Larry.
Listen.
Do you happen to know any exotic reptile experts who specialize in crocodilian growth rates?”
Titan was floating lazily on the surface of the lake.
He was casually playing with the heavy metal flashlight in his jaws.
He honestly didn’t know what he was trying to accomplish.
He was essentially just practicing his death-roll technique on a piece of solid junk.
He still harbored a deep, burning resentment over his humiliating failure to death-roll that piece of chicken on his first day.
If he had been alone, it wouldn’t have been so bad.
But there had been two people watching!
Two!
Splash!
The calm surface of the water violently erupted.
In a sudden fit of crocodilian rage, Titan aggressively twisted his body.
The heavy metal flashlight suffered a terrible, tragic fate.
It instantly buckled under the immense pressure, disintegrating into twisted shards of metal and shattered plastic.
Unacceptable!
My hard-earned spoils of war!
Titan frantically swooped down toward the bottom of the lake, desperately trying to salvage his favorite toy.
Unfortunately, the flashlight was already completely destroyed beyond repair.
How tragic.
Titan floated back to the surface looking incredibly dejected.
Only a thin, severely mangled piece of the aluminum casing remained stuck between his teeth.
However, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
He spat out the final metal fragment and optimistically looked toward the future.
When was another idiot burglar going to break in?
He needed some new loot!
“Caw!”
A few sharp, shrill caws interrupted Titan’s thoughts.
He looked up and spotted a large, black raven perched on the concrete wall of his enclosure.
Hmm.
It doesn’t look like the same bird that tried to steal my chicken the other day.
The baby crocodile and the wild raven stared intensely at each other for a long moment, as if actively trying to confirm each other’s identities.
Titan seriously doubted the raven was stupid enough to try and hunt him.
That would be an absolute death wish.
Assuming it was safe, Titan raised his upper body slightly higher out of the water.
The very next second, the raven spread its massive wings.
Its dark black feathers caught the sunlight, revealing a stunning, iridescent shimmer of deep purple and emerald green.
It took off, swooped low over the enclosure, and immediately pulled back up into the sky.
Something small fluttered down from its talons, dropping directly onto the grass inside the exhibit.
Titan nimbly swam to the shoreline and quickly scrambled up the bank to inspect the fallen object.
It was a long, simple blade of grass.
Its head and tail had been meticulously tied together into a loop.
However, what bound the knot together was a single, glossy, jet-black raven feather.
This simple addition elevated an ordinary piece of yard waste into something incredibly deliberate and profound.
A feathered knot.
Titan stood completely frozen in place.
The sheer shock of this discovery was honestly no less mind-blowing than seeing a dinosaur come back to life right in front of him.
Corvids were highly intelligent, but this was a deliberate, crafted gift of profound gratitude.
However, this specific type of gift was not something everyone, or every animal, would appreciate.
“Hoot!
Hoot!”
The eagle-owl had woken up at some point during the exchange.
She instantly swooped down from her branch, landing aggressively on top of Titan’s head.
She began cooing and hooting with intense, frantic anxiety.
Unfortunately, Titan was completely oblivious and destined to never truly understand the source of her sudden, burning jealousy.
“It is so beautiful,” Old Larry whispered softly.
He gently pinched the woven grass stem between his calloused fingers.
He raised the delicate grass ring high into the air, quietly admiring the dark, luminous raven feather catching the afternoon sunlight.