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[color=f49ac2]Sakura Level 11: 044/110[/color] 
Location: Panther Zoo
Word Count: 2,474
Points Gained: 4
New EXP Balance--- [color=f49ac2]Level 11: 048/110 [/color]

[color=D34C25][b]Primrose[/b] - [u]Level[/u]: [b]11[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 326/110[/color] 
[color=BC8DBF][b]Therion[/b] - [u]Level[/u]: [b]10[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 383/100[/color]
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Getting to the zoo itself did not take very long. Chanko House Edomon wasn't far from one of the lifts that connected the Mid and High Tiers of Esaka, and as Primrose had mentioned she knew exactly where the attraction was. When she, Sakura, and Therion split from the group headed to the casino they made a beeline for the zoo, though Primrose's casual strides slowed their pace down from Sakura's earlier eagerness. Soon enough they stood across the street from the establishment. Though the gates were locked the exterior lighting around its perimeter and lamps along pathways the Seekers could see inside remained lit. From where they were standing, shaded by the contrasting shadows cast by the street lights, it might have looked like they were a group that had just missed closing time and were at a loss on what to do now. It was, perhaps, partly true.

[color=D34C25]"I was hoping to look around a little while we were here…"[/color] Primrose said. Her arms were folded in front of her as she glanced between the zoo and her two companions. [color=D34C25]"but regardless, this is the place."[/color]

[color=f49ac2]”Ah, shoot. That’s too bad, I really like the zoo.”[/color] Sakura scratched her head. [color=f49ac2]”Do you think they’ve found it yet? I know what I would do if a fully cooked meal literally fell out of the sky,”[/color] Sakura said nervously.

Sakura walked up to the closed gate. [color=f49ac2]”Hello?”[/color] She asked. [color=f49ac2]”Anyone?”[/color] She sighed.

At that point Primrose and Therion joined her, the latter starting a walk around the wall and glancing up every now and then. 

[color=D34C25]"No bell or knocker... not even one of those communication boxes,"[/color] Primrose observed. [color=D34C25]"They must not want to be bothered by anyone after closing hours."[/color]

[i]And who can blame them?[/i] was the silent implication in the upward quirk of the dancer's lips. It had always been a hassle to deal with latecomers and patrons who refused to leave after last call at the tavern.

[color=f49ac2]”Where I come from, if food delivery gets waylaid like this, you just order another one. In fact, it would probably be illegal to deliver this food after not knowing its whereabouts for such an extended period of time. And lost in a zoo of all places?! It could be contaminated in a million ways. There must be something in this order besides food. Maybe a secret message or something.”[/color] Sakura said. [color=f49ac2]”The United Nations is spy stuff, isn’t it?”[/color]  

Though, when she looked back at her two allies, she realized they might not know the answer to that. [color=f49ac2]”...I think it is.”[/color]

She was right in assuming that the Orsterrans hadn't a clue, though Primrose looked back at her with mild curiosity. 

[color=D34C25]"You're familiar with them?"[/color] she asked. Maybe the group had a bigger presence in Esaka than she'd thought.

[color=f49ac2]”Well, yes, a little bit. But in my world the United Nations is like, a place where all the countries on the planet come together and do diplomacy. There’s probably spies there, right?”[/color] Sakura reasoned. 

The dancer raised an eyebrow as though she found the notion far-fetched.

A moment later and there was a soft click from beyond the gate. It opened slowly just an inch or two, and when there was no squeal of the metal joints it was pulled open fully to reveal Therion on the other side, casually stashing his picking tools away. He had disappeared for what seemed like only a handful of seconds, now standing aside to let the girls in. Sakura blinked her wide eyes, and scratched the back of her head. 

[color=BC8DBF]"That makes sense,"[/color] he said of Sakura's hypothesis. She hadn't been at the meeting with the UN earlier, so he went on to explain. [color=BC8DBF]"They had a lot of information, agents spread over the city... and a bit of a condescending attitude."[/color]

It was hard to tell if he meant that last part as a joke or not. [color=BC8DBF]"And you're right, a guy like that? No way he'd want a meal that'd been tossed around in animal pens."[/color]

The thought that they were retrieving something more important did alleviate some of Therion's earlier annoyance at this even being asked of them, but they couldn't be sure they weren't just literally fetching lost food until they found it.

[color=D34C25]"Let's see what we're working with then,"[/color] Primrose said, waltzing inside. The zoo was quiet, but there still had to be staff members around. 

For Sakura, there was something very grounded about breaking into a type of place that she recognized, and she found herself getting a bit nervous. Like she was worried she would get in trouble with her parents. [color=f49ac2]”Sh-should we just ask?”[/color] Sakura asked with a lowered voice, glancing around.

Not far from the entrance there was some kind of staff building with the lights on. Everything was low light, except for the lamps next to all the walk ways. Around them, dark cages hid shifting shadows of creatures. That was creepy, too. An owl hooted, and Sakura flinched.

	Sakura scampered a bit towards the staff building. [color=f49ac2]”Guys?”[/color] 

[color=BC8DBF]"Sure, if you want to explain how you got in and why you're going so far for some noodles,"[/color] Therion said. He gave a casual shrug, but the mild sarcasm in his voice easily told Sakura what he thought about that plan. Primrose elbowed him lightly in the side.

[color=f49ac2]”Hrmm.”[/color] Sakura made a displeased noise. 

[color=D34C25]"We'll say they simply forgot to lock the front gate,"[/color] Primrose told Sakura, turning to look at the street fighter. She followed Sakura over while waving Therion off over her shoulder. The thief scoffed lightly and dipped around the office, taking off silently to some other place within the zoo. Likely to check the panther enclosure while the girls talked with the staff.

Sakura and Primrose peeked in through one of the windows. Its shade was drawn but the blinds weren't completely closed, so they could see that inside a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/2551499361b0.png]woman[/url] was discussing something with a few of the mii workers. Primrose turned to her fellow Seeker. 

[color=D34C25]"I'd be happy to take the lead, if you like."[/color]

[color=f49ac2]”Sure.”[/color] Sakura said. This wasn’t going how she thought it would go at all, she thought. But it’s not like she had any money to gamble. While Primrose approached the building, Sakura scooted off to the side. Not too far away was a large pit enclosure. Trees and artificial overhangs hid the animals within. Were there panthers in there?  

She would have to get closer to find out. In the meantime, Primrose gave her a nod and then walked right up to the office door. She moved calmly and confidently, at least up until she knocked on it. Between then and when one of the miis came over to answer it, she had adopted a look of curiosity, mixed with a touch of hope and guilt. The very picture of innocence. 

[color=D34C25]"Good evening,"[/color] she said quietly. [color=D34C25]"I'm so sorry to disturb you all, it seemed that the zoo was still open and... I've seemed to have lost a delivery in here... would you help me?"[/color]

Even her voice had lightened from its usual cadence. The mii tilted her head, leaned out to look at the gate, and then ushered Primrose inside. The dancer's gaze flickered briefly over to where Sakura was hidden and she sent the girl a subtle wink before disappearing into the building.

[color=f49ac2][i]”Kowai…”[/i][/color] Sakura muttered to herself at Primrose’s display. But Primrose’s facade had gotten her inside. 

Which left Sakura alone, in the dark, with only pockets of light to help see. Somewhere close a bush rustled. A shadow passed overhead. All very normal things had it been daylight hours. And perhaps that owl seemed to have some grudge against her, because during a stretch of silence it hooted again, louder. 

[color=f49ac2]”Eh-?!”[/color] Sakura jumped one more time. With a laugh, she shook her fist. [color=f49ac2][i]”Fukrou-san! Temee![/i]”[/color] The little scare had lifted her spirits. 

Suddenly, one of the shadows in the peripheral of her vision actually took shape. From the direction of the panther exhibit, a large, agile beast leapt out from a bundle of decorative foliage. As big as a leopard, the blue, black, and white [url=https://i.ibb.co/WckGGPm/Ranulf-cat.png]feline[/url] landed right in front of Sakura.

[color=f49ac2][i]”Kowai.[/i]”[/color] Sakura wasn’t laughing anymore. Yep, it was back to being scared. 

Sakura began to back away, hands raised, staring at the feline. [color=f49ac2]”Uhhh…nice kitty?”[/color] She racked her mind for animal safety tips. 

Play dead? No, cats loved messing with things, dead or alive. As fast as she was, she couldn’t outrun a panther. Especially a magic panther like this one. 

Maybe..? Sakura grabbed the edges of her jacket and stood on her tippy toes. [color=f49ac2]”Boo-aaah!”[/color] She tried to make herself look as big as possible, coming to an imposing five feet four inches as she stretched. 

The cat... looked unimpressed. It stared at her like it had no idea what she was trying to accomplish. For an animal, its thoughts were surprisingly easy to read. After a moment it blinked, and seeming to realize something, showed its teeth in what could be called an amused smirk if one was being generous. But it didn't hiss or roar or jump at her, so that was good.

 [color=f49ac2]”...Eh?”[/color] Sakura deflated.

One of its ears twitched and it looked beyond Sakura to the zoo's office. It had only been around ten minutes or so, but Primrose emerged with the staff and their other guest in tow. 

"...every other series or so. Zoanthropes, animal fighters, we're never the most popular in these sort of things y'know? The events earn some fans - and some funds! To help out [i]engineered[/i] Zoanthropes too. Also..."

The woman in white seemed to be talking about some program that her organization planned to put on. Primrose nodded politely, making a vague promise to spread the word. The group made their way to the front gate to let the two visitors out, though just before leaving the dancer spoke up, a little louder than she needed to be to ensure that perhaps someone else nearby would be able to hear her.

[color=D34C25]"Thank you again for trying to help. So you think a bird really flew off with it?"[/color]

"Yes ma'am, like we said there's a real avian jerk that comes around at night. Pretty sure someone saw it with a bag in its claws, but who knows if it's still here in the zoo." One of the miis said.

Once Primrose and the other woman were safely outside, the gate was closed and locked once more. The miis turned to walk a side path, meeting the janitorial staff who'd wrapped up their duties for the night as they took a separate employee-only door out. Not before hitting a switch to kill most of the remaining lights of course, meaning only a few ground lights were still on. Now the zoo was truly empty, and all the spookier for it.

[color=BC8DBF]"A bird..."[/color] came a voice from behind Sakura. 

The feline beast had disappeared, leaving Therion in its place. A familiar set of cat ears twitched atop his head. [color=BC8DBF]"There wasn't anything in the enclosure, so I guess it's possible it got snatched if it landed in a tree, or..."[/color] He frowned. [color=BC8DBF]"Either way, how can we find it now?"[/color]

At this point, Sakura had turned away from Therion, her face covered by her hands. It wasn't long at all though before the heckling hooting returned, making the search a non-issue. The culprit came into view following a passing cloud, its silhouette just barely illuminated but its large, yellow, evilish eyes unmissable. The nefarious [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/c2baa718a9f6.png]Hooter[/url] looked down from its perch as though it were looking at inferior beings. And sure enough, there was a plastic bag with some container inside of it clutched in its talons like a taunt.

For an opening gambit, Hooter decided to explode into blue light and a cloud of feathers, dropping the bag onto the ground and flying away into the distance. By the time it was twinkling like a distance star, one would have by then put together it had been hit by an energy blast.

The source of that energy blast, Sakura, face beet red, jumped onto Therion’s back and grabbed his head.  [color=f49ac2]”Don’t you think you should tell someone before you turn into a panther at the panther zoo?!”[/color] 

[color=BC8DBF]"Wh-! Hey! Get off!"[/color] They flailed around, Therion stumbling at the surprise weight on him. It was hard to keep track of who knew what about each other, but whether Sakura hadn't expected his sudden appearance in beast form, or just hadn't expected the transformation at all, he countered with, [color=BC8DBF]"when would there be a better time?! I figured it was an easy assumption!"[/color]

[color=f49ac2]”Easy assumption?!”[/color] Sakura complained. 

[color=BC8DBF]"Yes!"[/color] Therion complained right back. When it became clear he couldn't rid of himself of Sakura by shifting the blame for her embarrassment back onto her (and the fact that she was just physically stronger than him), he instead stooped suddenly to see if it would throw her off. Sakura let go, rolled off his back and landed on her feet in front of him. She prepared to start kicking at his shoes.

[color=BC8DBF]"Alright, alright. I'm sorry if I scared you."[/color] He offered an awkward apology.

Though not even a moment later added, [color=BC8DBF]"now can we grab the bag and get out of here before any of the actual panthers break out?"[/color]

With a huff, Sakura ran over and snatched the bag from the ground. [color=f49ac2]”Fine. Not that [i]you[/i] would care, panther wannabe.”[/color] With that epic burn, she ran away and jumped clean over the gate. Once on the ground on the other side she slapped herself on the forehead hard and ran her hand down her face. It’s a good thing she only had about nine more years left to live before her memory got wiped. 

Unbeknownst to her, Primrose had seen the little display. After leaving the zoo, the dancer had found a spot to await her companions across the street, in the same sort of shady spot they'd been in when they'd first arrived. Though she didn't know what had gone on in there, she could hazard a guess. She chuckled lightly and gave Sakura the few seconds to compose herself before walking toward her as though she'd only just spotted the girl. A moment later and Therion landed on the ground nearby, having followed the street fighter's lead. Though part of his face was obscured by his bangs, the look of bemusement he sent Sakura was clear. 

[color=D34C25]"Mission accomplished?"[/color] Primrose asked, nodding to the bag in Sakura's grasp. 

[color=f49ac2]”Huh? Oh, yeah.”[/color] Sakura looked down at the ‘food bag’. Some agitated part of her was tempted to rip it open, but instead she hugged it tightly. [color=f49ac2]”Let’s get outta here. I don't like zoos.”[/color]