Many Therians have gathered at The Zoo, to watch the Humans kept in the enclosures. This isn’t unusual, as The Zoo was always pretty packed, but it’s always extra busy around 4:00 pm, the current time. This is due to two things. One, their kids had just gotten out of school, and needed some kind of outlet, and Two, 4 pm is always Playing Time. For Therians it’s a great show, but for the Humans, it’s a bloody nightmare. A Therian, typically a large or carnivorous one, is brought into a large enclosure, where several Humans have been placed. It then decides freely what it wants to do next. Anything could happen, but it rarely ends well for the Humans. They were getting ready for today’s Play Time session in the back room. The Therian chosen today is a Crocodile Type Therian named Gus. He was preparing by putting on fingerless gloves, and wrapping his hands and feet with gauze, so as not to hurt himself. Of course, he wouldn’t get hurt by stray rocks and sharp objects, and certainly not a human, but better safe than sorry. He was preparing with a Hippo Type Therian named Tank, who’s going into a session in another enclosure.

“Ready for your little escapade, Gus?” She asked him, as she sharpened her tusks.

“Yeah yeah…” He said, polishing his sharp teeth. “Hope at least one of them’s eaten recently. Last guy I chomped down on was bone thin.”

“Word of advice, toy around with ‘em a bit.” Tank said. “Get yourself a little tired while messing with them. Makes the meal better, and entertains the folks.”

“Right.” Gus said.

They went separate ways, going into the ready rooms, which were basically medium sized metal chambers that lead into the enclosure. Gus waited, impatiently tapping his foot.

“...Rrrgh…when are they gonna get ready…” Gus grumbled. “How long does it take a couple of dudes to hide behind some rocks…”

As Gus sat there, getting frustrated, the door finally opened. He sighed and walked out, being a bit blinded by the difference in light for a moment. The enclosure was similar to a swamp, with trees, vines, and rocks all around the place. Plus, there was a small lake in the center. Perfect. He got down on all fours, and sniffed the ground, trying to pick up on someone’s scent. After a moment, he caught something. A smell of fear. He turned to the nearby Lake and smirked. He slowly crawled over, and reached in, grabbing one of the humans by the hair. He then pulled them out, and bit down on their neck, making a sickening crunch.

“Well, the first one went fast.” He thought to himself, as the Therians cheered from above. “Should be two left.”

He then climbed over the rocks, and found one of the Humans hiding in a tree. He looked up, glaring at him.

“H-hah!” The Human taunted. “A-Alligators can’t climb trees!”

As the Therians booed at the human, Gus scoffed, and used his claws to climb up the tree, shocking the Human so much he couldn’t run.

“I’m a crocodile type, dumbass.” Gus said, approaching him. “And both species can climb trees~”

“H-hey, um, can we talk about this?” The Human said nervously.

“No.” Gus bluntly responded, tackling him out of the tree. He screamed for a moment, but stopped upon hitting the ground. “Damn…killed another one…at this rate they’ll be gone too fast…”

He then took his time hunting after the last Human. He sniffed around the dark lake area, while giving a few False Alarms to keep the crowd interested. It may have been his first time in the Play Enclosure, but he knew what to do to impress the viewers. He then caught the scent. The last Human in the Enclosure. He smiled a little, as he crawled over to a bush. He slowly came up, and then pulled the leaves of the bush aside.

“Found you~” He said to the cowering Human.

He bit their leg, dragging them out of the bush. They kicked and flailed, to no avail. He then laughed, as he started to drag him towards the lake, already drooling in anticipation for his meal. It was then that the Horn blew. An Hour has passed, and Play Time is over. Gus grunted angrily, and let go of the Human’s leg. They whimpered, and stumbled to the security, as Gus went back to his room. His apartment in The Zoo is quite similar to the enclosure. Almost identical, in fact. He even had a large, deep lake to swim in, which is quite warm. He was laying back in said lake, when he heard his door open. He turned, to see a Guard carrying the Human from before, who had been handcuffed, and was trying to wriggle away.

“The Higher-Ups figured you didn’t get a good enough meal from those bodies, and since it ended a bit early, they’re lettin’ you take care of this one.” The Guard said, throwing the Human onto the floor. “Take care.”

The Guard left, as the Human sat up, rubbing his head. Gus hissed, and crawled out of the comfy lake. He stood up straight and walked over to the Human. As the Human looked up at him, he whimpered, and tried to scoot away. Gus simply stepped over, and grabbed the chain between his cuffs, pulling him to his feet. Gus and the Human were both around 17, but Gus was much more muscular, and towered at 8 feet tall, whereas this puny Human was only around 5 foot 9 inches at most. The Human turned his head away, and closed his eyes, bracing for the worst, when he felt the chain snap. He glanced back, to see the chain was broken, and Gus had stepped back a little.

“Well?” Gus hissed, startling the Human. “Put your hands up, dumbass.”

The Human said nothing, seeming confused, and still terrified.

“WELL?!” Gus yelled, which startled him a LOT more. “You just gonna go without a fight or what?!”

The Human whimpered, and punched him in the chest, which, of course, did absolutely nothing. Gus rolled his eyes and reared back. He then punched the Human in the stomach, making him crumple to the floor, holding his gut. Gus squatted down, scoffing.

“Come on, I didn’t hit you that hard.” Gus said, grumpily. “Oi! Get back up before I do something you REALLY won’t like!”

“Y…You hit me in the stomach!” The Human nervously yelled. “I-I couldn’t breathe!”

“Oh? So you wanna get sassy, hmm?” Gus said, smiling a bit.

Gus then grabbed his neck with his tail, and dragged him over to the Lake. He then picked the Human up, lifting him over his head.

“H-HEY! WH-WHAT ARE YOU-” He started to ask, before getting thrown into the water.

As he struggled for a moment, he then resurfaced, gasping for air. He noticed a shadow over him, and turned as Gus piledrived him into the water. They resurfaced again, with Gus holding him in a bearhug.

“Hahah!” Gus laughed. “I gotcha!”

“S-stop it!” The Human said. “I-If you’re going to eat me, just get it over with, okay?!”

Gus growled, kinda pissed that a Human was giving him sass. He then flopped onto the side of the lake, leaving the Human floating in the water. He laid, while resting his chin on his hand, and got a good look at the Human.

“Hmm…Nah…I don’t think I’ll be eating you.” Gus said.

“W-what…?” The Human said, visibly confused.

“You’re way too thin. You look like you’d be sick often, too. You wouldn’t even be a good snack.” Gus said. “...Although…you’re the perfect size for a bath toy~”

The Human gulped, and tried to swim over to the side to climb out. As he started to climb, Gus came over and placed his hand on his head. He then pushed down, forcing his head underwater. He flailed and squirmed, while bubbling from underneath. After a second, Gus let go, letting him resurface.

“Bath toys stay in the water.” Gus said. “Unless you feel like wrestling a big, muscular, Crocodile~”

“Y-you…stupid himbo…” The Human mumbled quietly, not meaning to be heard.

“...The Hell is that?” Gus said. The Human looked away, trying to ignore him. Gus pulled him closer. “What. The Hell. Is a ‘Himbo’?”

“U-umm…i-it’s just a phrase people on the internet use…s-sometimes…” The Human said, still trying not to look him in the eye.

“Mhm. Mhm.” Gus said, hissing a little. “And what does it MEAN?”

“Um…” The Human said, starting to sweat quite a bit. “I-It’s um…a-a guy who’s…strong and…attractive, but…r-really dumb…”

Gus was silent for a moment, still holding the Human. He then brought him closer, slowly.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it! P-please don’t eat me, I’ll do any-” He started to beg, when he was cut off.

“So you’re saying I’m attractive~?” Gus asked, slyly.

“H-huh…?” The Human said, going a bit red.

“You said someone dumb and attractive.” Gus said, pinching his cheeks. “So…you called me attractive~?”

“O-ow!” The Human exclaimed, from the pain in his cheeks. “I-I didn’t mean it like th-th-that!”

“Hm…oi, what’s your name?” Gus asked, letting up on the pinching a bit. “Mine’s Gus, as you might know.”

“U-um…Elijah…I-I’m called Eli for sh-short…” He said.

Gus suddenly lifted him out of the water, and carried him over behind a wall of rocks, not being gentle at all with him, of course. Behind the wall of rocks was his bedroom, with a bed, a TV, and a fridge plugged into a wall. Real nature-like. Gus slid down, carrying Eli, and dropped Eli on the floor, making him grunt a bit because…well he just got dropped on his back.

“You get the floor, I’m sleepin’ in my bed.” Gus said, yawning.

“Seriously?!” Eli whined. “I at least got a bed in my cage!”

“Well, if you’d rather share a bed with the big grumpy crocodile~” Gus said, patting the spot next to him.

“I-I’ll take the floor, sir…” Eli said, nervously.

“Hm. Suit yourself.” Gus said, laying back to fall asleep.