The radio was playing softly in the background, while Rae was sitting sideways in one of the chairs in her office, her legs swinging in beat to the music off the arm of the chair. She had a pad of paper in her lap, and pen in hand. But instead of important business plans, or answering mails she was doodling random things while she watched the second hand of the clock on her desk tick the seconds by. She had been sat there for what felt like hours; her tea on the table next to her had long since gone cold. It was nearly time, and everyone had gone to bed except she could hear WhySoSerious puttering around doing whatever it was he did when he wasn’t being bothered by her. Earlier she had tried to convince R2D2 and Count_Spatula  into helping her over a few drinks, and they had agreed but then forgot that to stop drinking so now the pair were passed out on a couch somewhere in the building. She hoped their heads hurt in the morning, since now she was going to have to do this by herself. She glanced at the clock again just as a knock sounded on her office door. WhySoSerious stuck his head in and nodded and she tossed the pad of paper covered in scribbles onto her desk with a whoop of excitement. She swung her legs to the front of the chair and got to her feet. As she passed by WhySoSerious handed her a flashlight, hat and a bag with a few other needed items in it.With a giggle she shoved everything into her purse and headed out the door to the airport.

Once the plane landed in Detroit she contemplated getting a cab, but at this hour it would probably just be faster to walk. She headed down the street, cursing herself for not owning a black coat. She shoved her hands in her pockets and wondered who’s crazy idea it was to do this at four in the morning. Then she remembered it was hers and so she spent her walk to the destination muttering under her breath about idiotic ideas. Once she got closer, she pulled the cap on, tucking her hair under it and turned the flashlight on. She got to the gates of the zoo and frowned when she saw the chain around the bars. Muttering to herself about stupid and reckless ideas she started climbing. She got almost halfway up when she lost her grip and fell to the ground with a shriek. She grumbled a bit as she got back to her feet, rubbing her ample backside which had taken the brunt of the fall. Picking up the fallen flashlight she flicked it back on just to make sure it hadn’t broken before shoving it into her pocket so she could get to it faster.

She backed up a few steps and ran towards the gate, this time with a jump managed to get a bit further up. After a few seconds of some rather hilarious scrambling and a few unladylike grunts she managed to make it to the top and get her leg over to the other side. She sat there for a moment, panting wondering how someone her age got into this sort of predicament. She leaned slightly to the side to get her other leg over the gate when she nearly lost her balance again. Rae somehow managed to get down to the ground in one piece, thankfully. She moved further into the zoo, hoping that she’d be able to spot a sign or something soon, leading her to her destination.

Once she was far away enough from the front gates she pulled the flashlight out and switched it on. She had to admit, this place was creepy at night without the sound of children screaming and animal noises. She found a directory posting and dragged her finger over the listings for the exhibits until her finger landed on the one she wanted. Tapping it twice she glanced at the map listed and moved her finger over the path she’d have to take. Knowing her sense of direction wasn’t that great, she sort of regretted not bringing paper and a pen, but she’d make due. She had at least an hour to get in and get out. It should be plenty of time. With one last look at the map she headed off to the left, where the aviary was supposed to be.

As she was walking down the paths, she kept stopping to check out the animals, since it had been years since she had actually been to the zoo. She found herself wasting precious minutes when she got distracted by another cute fluffy animal. With a sigh she forced herself to focus and continued on her way. After another fifteen minutes of walking she spotted the aviary was ahead of her. Jogging up to the door she said a silent prayer that the employee she paid off had done his job. With a twist of the handle she grinned and pulled the door open. The entire place was spookily dark, except for the moonlight coming through the glass windows. She made her way inside after closing the door behind her. There were a few noises and screeches around her, but it was far quieter than any other time she had been here. She walked slowly, as to not disturb any of the birds living here as she made her way towards the back where she had been told he roosted.

As she approached the owl turned his head to look at her and let out an irritated hoot, if you could say that an owl was capable of being irritated. But having heard stories of this owl, she believed it. She reached in her purse where she had stored the snacks needed to accomplish this. There were slices of ham inside for him to munch on the plane, but she had heard rumor that he one true love these days was pickles. She pulled out a gherkin and offered it to the owl as he sat on his perch, which strangely almost resembled a throne. She squinted to make sure she wasn’t seeing things, but was jerked out of her scrutiny when the owl moved his head and bit off half the pickle. She nearly shrieked, but managed to keep quiet by biting the inside of her cheek. She looked down at the remains of the seven inches of gherkin she had offered him and was astounded he managed to grab as much as he did.

She tossed the rest of it into her purse and then moved it in front of her, holding the bag open. She looked at him and nodded her head in the direction of the bag as he crunched the treat he had pilfered from her hand. He appeared to be mulling over idea of getting in the bag, and then with what she would have sworn was a shrug he hopped down from his perch and onto her wrist. With another hoot, this one slightly amused it seemed, he hopped into the purse. She pondered zipping it closed, but was worried he might suffocate, or worse unleash some sort of GodKing wrath upon her. Instead she put the strap of the purse back over her shoulder and patted the side of the bag gently before heading towards the front of the building.

She started on the path she thought would lead her to the front gates, her mind distracted by wondering how she’d manage to get over the gate without killing herself or crushing the poor owl to death.  And since she was only half paying attention to the signs around her, confident she would remember the way, she ended up hopelessly lost. She heard a low growl coming from the right and said a word that would have caused her mother to wash her mouth out with soap if she had heard it. She turned slowly and looked at the lion that was pacing in his enclosure and glaring at her. She took a few steps backwards wondering why she hadn’t thought to bring any bacon with her in case this exact thing happened. Deciding it was better to be alive than look brave she turned around quickly and sprinted away, holding the purse to her side as carefully as she could so the poor Owl wouldn’t be jostled to much. It didn’t work though; his hoots of displeasure could be heard even through the bag.

Once she had gotten far enough way she slowed to a brisk walk, as she wondered how the hell she was going to get back to the airport. She turned her flashlight back on and nearly laughed as she saw a door up head for employees to come and go into the zoo. She got to the door and tried the door, and luckily it was unlocked. She wandered through the building and finally found a door that led to the outside. Opening it she slipped out into the night and quickly got as far away from the scene of her crime as she could. She wouldn’t relax until she was back on the familiar grounds of New York.

Once the plane landed she scanned the parking lot for the familiar car before making her way there, delighted that she had managed to get away with the greatest caper of her life. She slid into the passenger seat, gently setting the purse on her lap. She pulled it open wider, allowing the owl to pop his head out with a hoot. She was scared to look into the bag and see what kind of mess was in there, so instead she rested her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep before they got to their destination. When the car came to a stop, the driver gave her shoulder a little shake, waking her from her short nap. She blinked a few times and then Rae held up a finger to the driver and slipped out of the car, taking the bag with her. She set it on the roof of the car and pushed it down so the owl could hop out onto her wrist again. She took a few steps further into the empty city of the Bronx. She patted the owl on the head, and then with a small motion of her arm she watched him fly off into the distance to his new home.

I wasn't asleep! 

I was......thinking.............of filthy, filthy kitchen utensils.